My only question... Any resolution to the story? I'm not seeing any, after all of the discs.
Ohh man! I was thinking to myself "what more do you want?" Then I thought "did he really finish?" .....and then I thought "did my finale work?" Turns out it didn't even though I tested it a hundred times :/ You got robbed man. One F******* missing piece of redstone dust Argghhh!
Here's the ending for Fangride only
Seriously, you don't want to see this if you don't want to spoil the ending!
Don't do it man! I'm telling you!
The Darkness wins! When you place the last record 576 Ghasts spawn!
My dreams are crushed! Fangride, will you post some pictures of your inventory and chests closing out the map? Thanks a million to Avidy for posting those screenies, but I'd be interested also to see the end-game loot.
And heh Hybran! You have finally been bested...
meanwhile, I haven't even started on the map. Derp.
Oh, I've finished. However, the screenshots and stuff are on my school laptop and I have no time to have a writeup.
Ohh man! I was thinking to myself "what more do you want?" Then I thought "did he really finish?" .....and then I thought "did my finale work?" Turns out it didn't even though I tested it a hundred times :/ You got robbed man. One F******* missing piece of redstone dust Argghhh!
Here's the ending for Fangride only
Seriously, you don't want to see this if you don't want to spoil the ending!
Don't do it man! I'm telling you!
The Darkness wins! When you place the last record 576 Ghasts spawn!
I noclipped afterwards and fixed it
Small review:
Hall thingy: Fairly easy, fire resist.
holycrapend!
Went to Transparency first. More of a puzzle than anything. I went to the top of the middle chamber, launched tnt off and jumped down with feather falling, sprinted out and easy.
Enemy Mine was fun. Nice tools in there.
FIL was hard. Bombs everywhere and falling down to other platforms...
Architect Of The Universe was epic. I loved how it summed it up and just felt like a true good peaceful final dungeon.
No deaths, and finished within an hour between of Fangride or anything. Fun map, wasn't too hard though
Welp, in my haste to fix the JBM and re-upload the save last night I forgot to update the version number of the map. Instead of version 1.1 it is still reads 1.0 in the save file. The mysteriously missing redstone dust has been replaced along with a few embarrassing missperlingz on signs and maps.
In other news: I'm updating an old SkyBlock style survival map I made about 5 or 6 months ago. I mostly just want to see how many 12 year-olds think I got the idea from SethBling's SkyGrid filter. Should be available in 2 weeks. I'm also trying to come up with PVP version.
I've had an idea for another mini-map brewing since I started constructing VFII. Think I've mentioned it before but, it will be a suburban alien invasion map. I'm thinking "Backyard Blues" for a title. Probably available in about 2 weeks.
I'm also experimenting with the idea of a "No Magic" mini-map where all the geeky/nerdy stuff they've added since 1.8 is unavailable. Be ready in 2 weeks.
I haven't even begun to conceptualize VFIII but, as soon as I do, it'll be out in 2 weeks.
I honestly enjoy a slower playstyle the first time through...not just saying that. There's definitely a time and a place for speedruns in my book, but I enjoy carefully wandering through CTM maps the first time around and building aesthetic bases etc. Just my personal preference. But regardless, great work to those that have already finished it! Very speedy
Honestly, I wasn't even trying to speed-run it The goal is mostly just to not die, so I run around as quickly as possible to avoid getting hit in the first place. It just means I zip through areas and largely leave them uncleared in the process!
Ohh man! I was thinking to myself "what more do you want?" Then I thought "did he really finish?" .....and then I thought "did my finale work?" Turns out it didn't even though I tested it a hundred times :/ You got robbed man. One F******* missing piece of redstone dust Argghhh!
Here's the ending for Fangride only
Seriously, you don't want to see this if you don't want to spoil the ending!
Don't do it man! I'm telling you!
The Darkness wins! When you place the last record 576 Ghasts spawn!
So exactly like Mini Hostile
I'm now trying to re-beat the darkness by killing every single one of those Ghasts. I fixed the redstone and then made myself a little bunker, through which I'm rampaging through Ghasts with my Infinity 1 Power 3 bow.
Welp, in my haste to fix the JBM and re-upload the save last night I forgot to update the version number of the map. Instead of version 1.1 it is still reads 1.0 in the save file. The mysteriously missing redstone dust has been replaced along with a few embarrassing missperlingz on signs and maps.
In other news: I'm updating an old SkyBlock style survival map I made about 5 or 6 months ago. I mostly just want to see how many 12 year-olds think I got the idea from SethBling's SkyGrid filter. Should be available in 2 weeks. I'm also trying to come up with PVP version.
I've had an idea for another mini-map brewing since I started constructing VFII. Think I've mentioned it before but, it will be a suburban alien invasion map. I'm thinking "Backyard Blues" for a title. Probably available in about 2 weeks.
I'm also experimenting with the idea of a "No Magic" mini-map where all the geeky/nerdy stuff they've added since 1.8 is unavailable. Be ready in 2 weeks.
I haven't even begun to conceptualize VFIII but, as soon as I do, it'll be out in 2 weeks.
I expect to play all of those in 2 weeks. Don't let me down.
I honestly enjoy a slower playstyle the first time through...not just saying that. There's definitely a time and a place for speedruns in my book, but I enjoy carefully wandering through CTM maps the first time around and building aesthetic bases etc. Just my personal preference. But regardless, great work to those that have already finished it! Very speedy
You and I both. I'm all about lighting places up and doing the full exploration thing. Granted, it sometimes takes me forever to complete a map but I don't mind.
Welp, in my haste to fix the JBM and re-upload the save last night I forgot to update the version number of the map. Instead of version 1.1 it is still reads 1.0 in the save file. The mysteriously missing redstone dust has been replaced along with a few embarrassing missperlingz on signs and maps.
In other news: I'm updating an old SkyBlock style survival map I made about 5 or 6 months ago. I mostly just want to see how many 12 year-olds think I got the idea from SethBling's SkyGrid filter. Should be available in 2 weeks. I'm also trying to come up with PVP version.
I've had an idea for another mini-map brewing since I started constructing VFII. Think I've mentioned it before but, it will be a suburban alien invasion map. I'm thinking "Backyard Blues" for a title. Probably available in about 2 weeks.
I'm also experimenting with the idea of a "No Magic" mini-map where all the geeky/nerdy stuff they've added since 1.8 is unavailable. Be ready in 2 weeks.
I haven't even begun to conceptualize VFIII but, as soon as I do, it'll be out in 2 weeks.
I'm looking forward to all of these just to see what you cook up. No rush, obviously, as I figure it will probably take me "2 weeks" to finish VF2 anyway.
It is a reference to a poem my friend. 1000 Light Years and Running. Most certainly used in the proper context of this map's light vs. dark theme.
Oh well, then blame on me^^ English is not my first language so I don't know any english poems and I can't remeber a german one that is called any similar to that.
My guess would be that the poem is actually a song, though from what artist I do not know.
Well crap, I mis-titled it. it's actually 100 light years and running. In my defense I am slightly dyslexic, especially with numbers (thus three_two instead of 32)
Check it:
Day by day, the planet slips
Foils over my humanlike heart
On the alter of a couch, pig like skin
Food for the butchers and the auctioneers
Trade my fur, my balding top
How long must I block the medieval clock?
Tested hands beat me to a pulp
Wake up to insult, pat yourself on the back if it ain't broken
Symbiosis is noxious fumes from the womb to the tomb to the emergency room
I love this world, despite the world
Materialist locked inside of a room
What's history, but a name in the dust
Food for thought, so many years starving at us
This pyramid, this limping sphinx, this mosque
This man got flogged in Notre Dam but couldn't break his arms
The makers of napalm chant "we are the world"
Who am I now? A renegade gnome
European immigrant in a demilitarized zone
Lost my mind a couple of times, always get it back before I'm permanently gone
The highway tried to eat me and spit me out
The river around the mouth of the Mississippi, where Napoleon's forces wanting to buy me
Abraham keeps on saying "Don't sell, anywhere you turn, you're sure to burn."
"Sit in the chamber and wait for fire."
They'll remember, more than ember
But no one will save you from the jaws of the monster, and watch you suffer
Then grin like sand is flying over the ghetto
You've done your country well, here's a fifteen dollars and a bus ride home
A ticket to France, three cheers for the status quo
No foreign aid for the baddest poet
Watch the world decay, in 15 parts, the beast needs molotovs not disposable art...
The deluge is coming (all aboard Noah's Ark)
A hundred light years and running, the universe is shrinking
How do you feel when your meteor is crashing?
A hundred light years and running, everyone you know is on a tiny blue dot
Disappearing off into darkness... I'm still here
I'm might sell my soul, it's not even there
If I die young, I was never here
Got a message from god, he said no more messages
No end of the world, the end of suburbia, that's a guarantee
I got the logic to prove it
There's no coincidence only cruel randomness
In your dreams you're a newscaster on Fox
Or you're with Al Sadr saving hostages in Iraq
Or you're on the Hoover when the bomb goes off
Or you're gunned down and come back to life
All of the scenarios make you think "you've got empire guilt"
But you ain't Ramses, and when you return, they won't shower you with pansies
All they see is a skeleton poisoned by years of disappointment
Poisoned by books about revolution
And if you want signs, listen to your heart
About to explode inside your chest plate
Cuz you ain't seen life, in all of it's promises
All aboard the pale white tractor
Is that your voice, or is it an echo?
Never heard of Sole before. Very interesting. In Minecraft news, the new 1.3 snapshot is insane. Some very interesting possibilities for future maps:
A brand new ore -Emerald - which can be used as currency to trade with villagers. This is pretty awesome and could really add to the whole adventure map feel.
The Ender Chest - the ability to finally teleport items between different chests. This will really help save on travel times when looting CTM dungeons. Finally. The only downside is that once you get a few in your inventory (though they're not cheap to make) it could really decrease the risk of trying to transport the disks/wool back to the monument. Pros for the player, but potential cons for the map-maker.
Dispensers can now dispense flowing water and lava at the push of a button/plate. I see new trap applications already forming without the need for clunky pistons.
VF3 will have some very interesting new features available to it. You know, once you're ready to release it in 2 weeks.
As I write this, I have just placed the CAT record.
I pretty much bailed on the starting Island after getting a bed and a wooden pick, a decision which was in retrospect very good. The swamp was... less satisfying. I appreciated the ample arrows I was able to find (skeletons in water are hell without the ability to engage them at range) but the limited leather, food, and coal/torches... less so. Of course, well-lit grass technically solves all three of those problems, but I found myself waiting for wheat to grow so I could breed more cows, and that's more tedious then difficult. (Note: grass plus bone meal gives you tall grass and then wheat seeds. And passive animals *do* spawn on lit grass in 1.2.5, I think, just not very often.)
Also, if there's a record in the swamp area I haven't found it yet. It's certainly on my list of places to check if I come up short at the end, along with those damn floating pillars.
Speaking of which, falling to my death with all my good stuff turned out to be a blessing, in the sky pillars area. Found a patch of gravel in the waterfall that gave me access to the lower rail tracks. Sweet. But perhaps too many ghast spawners to encourage exploration. The castle afterward, though, that I explored. Saw some diamond up on the face. And since I played your previous map and am not an idiot, I got >50 TNT, some redstone, 2 pistons, and 4 diamonds instead of dead.
The castle itself... very difficult, and made worse because I was way too impatient to get a bunch of trees cooking for torches, so I was always low. Coal would be really nice, at this point, is what I'm saying. Those damn skele spawners in the walls at the start also really pissed me off until I figured out where they were. The gold in the final room was a nice touch, and blazes in moderation are always useful (For a potion stand. At this point I'm only able to enhance existing potions, but turning 3 potions of 30s regeneration into splash potions of 1:30s regeneration is still amazing, and I was able to enhance a total of 6 potions I had found in chests so far). Gold is generally regarded as useless, but butter armor is better then no armor, and considering the amount of leather I have at this point that might be my only option if I don't find Iron soon. Of course, free gold might be a bit more of a problem once 1.3 comes out, since 9 gold blocks and an apple give you 5 minutes of near-invulnerability. (Not that I have any apple-bearing sapplings, but I do have some apples...)
Death counter: 5
(Ambushed by 3 skeletons in the swamp before I had a bow+arrows.)
(Pushed off a bridge to my death by a surprise ghast spawn.)
(Suicide run on a series of ghast spawners that were particularly annoying me.)
(Skele spawners hidden in wall caused an ambush from behind while retreating from a room with too many mobs.)
(Creeper blew me off a spiral staircase that I stupidly assumed was safe.)
Welp, in my haste to fix the JBM and re-upload the save last night I forgot to update the version number of the map. Instead of version 1.1 it is still reads 1.0 in the save file. The mysteriously missing redstone dust has been replaced along with a few embarrassing missperlingz on signs and maps.
In other news: I'm updating an old SkyBlock style survival map I made about 5 or 6 months ago. I mostly just want to see how many 12 year-olds think I got the idea from SethBling's SkyGrid filter. Should be available in 2 weeks. I'm also trying to come up with PVP version.
I've had an idea for another mini-map brewing since I started constructing VFII. Think I've mentioned it before but, it will be a suburban alien invasion map. I'm thinking "Backyard Blues" for a title. Probably available in about 2 weeks.
I'm also experimenting with the idea of a "No Magic" mini-map where all the geeky/nerdy stuff they've added since 1.8 is unavailable. Be ready in 2 weeks.
I haven't even begun to conceptualize VFIII but, as soon as I do, it'll be out in 2 weeks.
Never heard of Sole before. Very interesting. In Minecraft news, the new 1.3 snapshot is insane. Some very interesting possibilities for future maps:
A brand new ore -Emerald - which can be used as currency to trade with villagers. This is pretty awesome and could really add to the whole adventure map feel.
The Ender Chest - the ability to finally teleport items between different chests. This will really help save on travel times when looting CTM dungeons. Finally. The only downside is that once you get a few in your inventory (though they're not cheap to make) it could really decrease the risk of trying to transport the disks/wool back to the monument. Pros for the player, but potential cons for the map-maker.
Dispensers can now dispense flowing water and lava at the push of a button/plate. I see new trap applications already forming without the need for clunky pistons.
VF3 will have some very interesting new features available to it. You know, once you're ready to release it in 2 weeks.
Enderp chests are the worst. CTM mappers will either have to create a rule against using them or omit either diamonds or Blazes from maps all together. I'll be busy updating all my maps when 1.3 comes out. All the new additions just f*** over hundreds of hours of my work and ensure that many more hours will be spent working around Cocoa Jebs and the Fukkit crew's new additions. For me, 1.3 is gonna be 1.2 all over again: a bloody nightmare. Probably have to tack on another two weeks to all those maps I was talking about.
Well, on a positive note... The dispensers are kind of handy, little more compact than using pistons to do the same thing. I hear they vacuum liquids now too? Might make for some interesting BUD switch contraptions
Enderp chests are the worst. CTM mappers will either have to create a rule against using them or omit either diamonds or Blazes from maps all together. I'll be busy updating all my maps when 1.3 comes out. All the new additions just f*** over hundreds of hours of my work and ensure that many more hours will be spent working around Cocoa Jebs and the Fukkit crew's new additions. For me, 1.3 is gonna be 1.2 all over again: a bloody nightmare. Probably have to tack on another two weeks to all those maps I was talking about.
Well, on a positive note... The dispensers are kind of handy, little more compact than using pistons to do the same thing. I hear they vacuum liquids now too? Might make for some interesting BUD switch contraptions
Why Diamonds (Blazes are a perfectly fine ommission!)? The chests don't seem all that horribly nasty, to be honest, and could be relatively easily avoided in a CTM map in the long run anyway. Plus, you only get one chest. Doesn't seem like much in the long run.
Why Diamonds (Blazes are a perfectly fine ommission!)? The chests don't seem all that horribly nasty, to be honest, and could be relatively easily avoided in a CTM map in the long run anyway. Plus, you only get one chest. Doesn't seem like much in the long run.
Omitting diamonds would just be another way of disabling the creation of Enderp chests. Blazes (blaze powder for ender eyes) would probably be the more popular choice.
Those chests man, way too OP for a CTM map. Put one chest at the monument and take one with you, collect loot, wool, records and what have you then, put them in a Enderp chest. Now die all you want, the goods are waiting safe and sound back at the monument. Super cheaty. I certainly wouldn't play a map that way but, it could be done.
Idk, I haven't really looked at the new snapshot stuff yet. I'm usually pretty turned off by what Mojang is doing lately. I just ignore it until they start fixing all the major issues with lighting, smp etc. Build a good foundation then build on top of it nah mean?
Omitting diamonds would just be another way of disabling the creation of Enderp chests. Blazes (blaze powder for ender eyes) would probably be the more popular choice.
Those chests man, way too OP for a CTM map. Put one chest at the monument and take one with you, collect loot, wool, records and what have you then, put them in a Enderp chest. Now die all you want, the goods are waiting safe and sound back at the monument. Super cheaty. I certainly wouldn't play a map that way but, it could be done.
Idk, I haven't really looked at the new snapshot stuff yet. I'm usually pretty turned off by what Mojang is doing lately. I just ignore it until they start fixing all the major issues with lighting, smp etc. Build a good foundation then build on top of it nah mean?
I'd like to see what they do to it first... They might totally change it.
Omitting diamonds would just be another way of disabling the creation of Enderp chests. Blazes (blaze powder for ender eyes) would probably be the more popular choice.
Those chests man, way too OP for a CTM map. Put one chest at the monument and take one with you, collect loot, wool, records and what have you then, put them in a Enderp chest. Now die all you want, the goods are waiting safe and sound back at the monument. Super cheaty. I certainly wouldn't play a map that way but, it could be done.
Idk, I haven't really looked at the new snapshot stuff yet. I'm usually pretty turned off by what Mojang is doing lately. I just ignore it until they start fixing all the major issues with lighting, smp etc. Build a good foundation then build on top of it nah mean?
I didn't even think about not using blazes. That's definitely one way. Leaving out diamonds just so players can't harvest obsidian is a little harsh. Of course, leaving out blaze rods and powder also penalizes brewing so that's tricky as well. I think the best option may just be to put in a new rule for players not to use them; sure they can break the rule but if they want to cheat they may as well break the other rules also, such as using records from mob drops. Cheaters gonna cheat. Like I said, ender chests are great for players but they suck for map-makers.
I agree that the mojang team's priorities seem. . . . . skewed. Putting aside the fact that they're gunning ahead with new features before cleaning up existing key code, the features themselves also seem a tad random. Some make sense as added utility to the core gameplay such as writing books, the new dispenser features, improved AI, and new desert structures. These additions enhance existing mechanics and gameplay. On the other hand, adding a brand new ore, while neat, is the sort of thing that should have been hashed out prior to 1.0 being released as it adds a completely new dimension to the maps and can cause all sorts of hassle. If they want to implement a currency and trade mechanic as an enhanced feature they could choose a preexisting ore for the job, maybe, oh I dunno, gold perhaps. It's not like it was ever used as an actual monetary standard or anything. This way, the trade system could enhance two existing objects - villagers and gold, the latter of which needs something else to make it more useful. Instead, we now have two ores that have limited utility instead of one with an increased range of functionality.
Apologies for the tangent. On topic, I finally got the first record (I see what you did there - I strongly suspected you would be basing your themes around the record names). Just started exploring Area 2 and all I have to say is. . . WOW.
The archipelago is quite lovely but as I sailed beyond to the crater, my jaw literally dropped. I just stared with my mouth open for at least a minute I figure. Just wow. Well done. I can't wait to get inside that mother ship. But first, I'm off to explore the monument to Mr. Foot's former friend.
Ohh man! I was thinking to myself "what more do you want?" Then I thought "did he really finish?" .....and then I thought "did my finale work?" Turns out it didn't even though I tested it a hundred times :/ You got robbed man. One F******* missing piece of redstone dust Argghhh!
Here's the ending for Fangride only
Oh, I've finished. However, the screenshots and stuff are on my school laptop and I have no time to have a writeup.
I didn't actually start playing that, better do that soon...
I noclipped afterwards and fixed it
Small review:
holycrapend!
Went to Transparency first. More of a puzzle than anything. I went to the top of the middle chamber, launched tnt off and jumped down with feather falling, sprinted out and easy.
Enemy Mine was fun. Nice tools in there.
FIL was hard. Bombs everywhere and falling down to other platforms...
Architect Of The Universe was epic. I loved how it summed it up and just felt like a true good peaceful final dungeon.
No deaths, and finished within an hour between of Fangride or anything. Fun map, wasn't too hard though
No picturemobile, I have a headache.
In other news: I'm updating an old SkyBlock style survival map I made about 5 or 6 months ago. I mostly just want to see how many 12 year-olds think I got the idea from SethBling's SkyGrid filter. Should be available in 2 weeks. I'm also trying to come up with PVP version.
I've had an idea for another mini-map brewing since I started constructing VFII. Think I've mentioned it before but, it will be a suburban alien invasion map. I'm thinking "Backyard Blues" for a title. Probably available in about 2 weeks.
I'm also experimenting with the idea of a "No Magic" mini-map where all the geeky/nerdy stuff they've added since 1.8 is unavailable. Be ready in 2 weeks.
I haven't even begun to conceptualize VFIII but, as soon as I do, it'll be out in 2 weeks.
Honestly, I wasn't even trying to speed-run it The goal is mostly just to not die, so I run around as quickly as possible to avoid getting hit in the first place. It just means I zip through areas and largely leave them uncleared in the process!
So exactly like Mini Hostile
I'm now trying to re-beat the darkness by killing every single one of those Ghasts. I fixed the redstone and then made myself a little bunker, through which I'm rampaging through Ghasts with my Infinity 1 Power 3 bow.
I expect to play all of those in 2 weeks. Don't let me down.
You and I both. I'm all about lighting places up and doing the full exploration thing. Granted, it sometimes takes me forever to complete a map but I don't mind.
I'm looking forward to all of these just to see what you cook up. No rush, obviously, as I figure it will probably take me "2 weeks" to finish VF2 anyway.
Oh well, then blame on me^^ English is not my first language so I don't know any english poems and I can't remeber a german one that is called any similar to that.
Well crap, I mis-titled it. it's actually 100 light years and running. In my defense I am slightly dyslexic, especially with numbers (thus three_two instead of 32)
Check it:
Day by day, the planet slips
Foils over my humanlike heart
On the alter of a couch, pig like skin
Food for the butchers and the auctioneers
Trade my fur, my balding top
How long must I block the medieval clock?
Tested hands beat me to a pulp
Wake up to insult, pat yourself on the back if it ain't broken
Symbiosis is noxious fumes from the womb to the tomb to the emergency room
I love this world, despite the world
Materialist locked inside of a room
What's history, but a name in the dust
Food for thought, so many years starving at us
This pyramid, this limping sphinx, this mosque
This man got flogged in Notre Dam but couldn't break his arms
The makers of napalm chant "we are the world"
Who am I now? A renegade gnome
European immigrant in a demilitarized zone
Lost my mind a couple of times, always get it back before I'm permanently gone
The highway tried to eat me and spit me out
The river around the mouth of the Mississippi, where Napoleon's forces wanting to buy me
Abraham keeps on saying "Don't sell, anywhere you turn, you're sure to burn."
"Sit in the chamber and wait for fire."
They'll remember, more than ember
But no one will save you from the jaws of the monster, and watch you suffer
Then grin like sand is flying over the ghetto
You've done your country well, here's a fifteen dollars and a bus ride home
A ticket to France, three cheers for the status quo
No foreign aid for the baddest poet
Watch the world decay, in 15 parts, the beast needs molotovs not disposable art...
The deluge is coming (all aboard Noah's Ark)
A hundred light years and running, the universe is shrinking
How do you feel when your meteor is crashing?
A hundred light years and running, everyone you know is on a tiny blue dot
Disappearing off into darkness... I'm still here
I'm might sell my soul, it's not even there
If I die young, I was never here
Got a message from god, he said no more messages
No end of the world, the end of suburbia, that's a guarantee
I got the logic to prove it
There's no coincidence only cruel randomness
In your dreams you're a newscaster on Fox
Or you're with Al Sadr saving hostages in Iraq
Or you're on the Hoover when the bomb goes off
Or you're gunned down and come back to life
All of the scenarios make you think "you've got empire guilt"
But you ain't Ramses, and when you return, they won't shower you with pansies
All they see is a skeleton poisoned by years of disappointment
Poisoned by books about revolution
And if you want signs, listen to your heart
About to explode inside your chest plate
Cuz you ain't seen life, in all of it's promises
All aboard the pale white tractor
Is that your voice, or is it an echo?
I pretty much bailed on the starting Island after getting a bed and a wooden pick, a decision which was in retrospect very good. The swamp was... less satisfying. I appreciated the ample arrows I was able to find (skeletons in water are hell without the ability to engage them at range) but the limited leather, food, and coal/torches... less so. Of course, well-lit grass technically solves all three of those problems, but I found myself waiting for wheat to grow so I could breed more cows, and that's more tedious then difficult. (Note: grass plus bone meal gives you tall grass and then wheat seeds. And passive animals *do* spawn on lit grass in 1.2.5, I think, just not very often.)
Speaking of which, falling to my death with all my good stuff turned out to be a blessing, in the sky pillars area. Found a patch of gravel in the waterfall that gave me access to the lower rail tracks. Sweet. But perhaps too many ghast spawners to encourage exploration. The castle afterward, though, that I explored. Saw some diamond up on the face. And since I played your previous map and am not an idiot, I got >50 TNT, some redstone, 2 pistons, and 4 diamonds instead of dead.
The castle itself... very difficult, and made worse because I was way too impatient to get a bunch of trees cooking for torches, so I was always low. Coal would be really nice, at this point, is what I'm saying. Those damn skele spawners in the walls at the start also really pissed me off until I figured out where they were. The gold in the final room was a nice touch, and blazes in moderation are always useful (For a potion stand. At this point I'm only able to enhance existing potions, but turning 3 potions of 30s regeneration into splash potions of 1:30s regeneration is still amazing, and I was able to enhance a total of 6 potions I had found in chests so far). Gold is generally regarded as useless, but butter armor is better then no armor, and considering the amount of leather I have at this point that might be my only option if I don't find Iron soon. Of course, free gold might be a bit more of a problem once 1.3 comes out, since 9 gold blocks and an apple give you 5 minutes of near-invulnerability. (Not that I have any apple-bearing sapplings, but I do have some apples...)
Death counter: 5
(Ambushed by 3 skeletons in the swamp before I had a bow+arrows.)
(Pushed off a bridge to my death by a surprise ghast spawn.)
(Suicide run on a series of ghast spawners that were particularly annoying me.)
(Skele spawners hidden in wall caused an ambush from behind while retreating from a room with too many mobs.)
(Creeper blew me off a spiral staircase that I stupidly assumed was safe.)
This post will be ready...
...in 2 weeks.
Enderp chests are the worst. CTM mappers will either have to create a rule against using them or omit either diamonds or Blazes from maps all together. I'll be busy updating all my maps when 1.3 comes out. All the new additions just f*** over hundreds of hours of my work and ensure that many more hours will be spent working around Cocoa Jebs and the Fukkit crew's new additions. For me, 1.3 is gonna be 1.2 all over again: a bloody nightmare. Probably have to tack on another two weeks to all those maps I was talking about.
Well, on a positive note... The dispensers are kind of handy, little more compact than using pistons to do the same thing. I hear they vacuum liquids now too? Might make for some interesting BUD switch contraptions
Why Diamonds (Blazes are a perfectly fine ommission!)? The chests don't seem all that horribly nasty, to be honest, and could be relatively easily avoided in a CTM map in the long run anyway. Plus, you only get one chest. Doesn't seem like much in the long run.
Omitting diamonds would just be another way of disabling the creation of Enderp chests. Blazes (blaze powder for ender eyes) would probably be the more popular choice.
Those chests man, way too OP for a CTM map. Put one chest at the monument and take one with you, collect loot, wool, records and what have you then, put them in a Enderp chest. Now die all you want, the goods are waiting safe and sound back at the monument. Super cheaty. I certainly wouldn't play a map that way but, it could be done.
Idk, I haven't really looked at the new snapshot stuff yet. I'm usually pretty turned off by what Mojang is doing lately. I just ignore it until they start fixing all the major issues with lighting, smp etc. Build a good foundation then build on top of it nah mean?
I'd like to see what they do to it first... They might totally change it.
I didn't even think about not using blazes. That's definitely one way. Leaving out diamonds just so players can't harvest obsidian is a little harsh. Of course, leaving out blaze rods and powder also penalizes brewing so that's tricky as well. I think the best option may just be to put in a new rule for players not to use them; sure they can break the rule but if they want to cheat they may as well break the other rules also, such as using records from mob drops. Cheaters gonna cheat. Like I said, ender chests are great for players but they suck for map-makers.
I agree that the mojang team's priorities seem. . . . . skewed. Putting aside the fact that they're gunning ahead with new features before cleaning up existing key code, the features themselves also seem a tad random. Some make sense as added utility to the core gameplay such as writing books, the new dispenser features, improved AI, and new desert structures. These additions enhance existing mechanics and gameplay. On the other hand, adding a brand new ore, while neat, is the sort of thing that should have been hashed out prior to 1.0 being released as it adds a completely new dimension to the maps and can cause all sorts of hassle. If they want to implement a currency and trade mechanic as an enhanced feature they could choose a preexisting ore for the job, maybe, oh I dunno, gold perhaps. It's not like it was ever used as an actual monetary standard or anything. This way, the trade system could enhance two existing objects - villagers and gold, the latter of which needs something else to make it more useful. Instead, we now have two ores that have limited utility instead of one with an increased range of functionality.
Apologies for the tangent. On topic, I finally got the first record (I see what you did there - I strongly suspected you would be basing your themes around the record names). Just started exploring Area 2 and all I have to say is. . . WOW.
6 People, 2 Asians, 6 Hours, 1 Minecraft Lan Party.
And Vinyl Fantasy II is conquered.