I haven't done any projects in a while and I'm itching to start something big but I find myself in a dilemma of whether to do it in creative or survival modes. To help myself in decision making I decided to make a list of pros and cons for both modes but I'm curious to see how other people feel about it.
Creative Mode
Pros:
1: Any and all blocks in unlimited supply
2: Invincible (no deaths)
3: Unlimited flying
4: Build right away
5: Building is much faster than survival
6: Much less tedious and boring
7: No infrastructure needed (shelter/food/material storage)
Cons:
1: Build results don't feel earned
2: Creative mode feels like "cheating"
3: Builds seem less epic since little hardship was involved in construction
Survival:
Pros:
1: Feels more realistic (tangible)
2: Completed builds feel more rewarding
3: Completed builds feel like a more significant accomplishment
4: The process seems more meaningful
Cons:
1: Playing survival for the purpose of building seems much more tedious and boring
2: Setting up infrastructure takes a long time
3: Gathering resources (especially for a massive build) takes a very long time
4: #2 and #3 both detract from available time that could be used to build
5: Dying causes material loss, time loss and tool loss (potentially permanent loss if you can't recover them(i.e. lava))
6: Building is more tedious and boring
7: Building is more difficult and much slower due to limited resources and limited vantage points(i.e. no flying/hostile environments)
8: Certain materials exist in very limited quantities (iron/gold/quarts/etc...)
9: Material availability/ease of gathering sometimes severely limits design
I'm curious to hear what everyone else thinks on this subject. It's not like I'm actively competing against other people but I suppose I'm unconsciously comparing myself to what other people might think or build. I want the result to be meaningful but, at the same time, I need it to be a much more fluid process and not so daunting/boring that I give up in the middle and never complete it. I'm going to add a poll to see what mode people prefer to build in.
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Freedom is more important than health, more important than safety or security. A life's worth is not measured by its length but by the length it is lived with liberty. Freedom above all.
I want the result to be meaningful but, at the same time, I need it to be a much more fluid process and not so daunting/boring that I give up in the middle and never complete it.
What about a "half freeze"?
You can with mods "tune" the game to deliver "creative like features" yet at the same time you're still working towards obtaining these things. There are also mods that can help you gather larger volumes of resources which yet again you have to work to get the machines/gears and hook them all up.
In response to build results don't feel earned and creative mode is cheating, this is a SANDBOX game. The entire purpose is to do what you want. So, in reality, there is no way to cheat in this game.
In response to build results don't feel earned and creative mode is cheating, this is a SANDBOX game. The entire purpose is to do what you want. So, in reality, there is no way to cheat in this game.
A lot of players feel like they've cheated if they switch from survival to creative to avoid dying, losing items, or just getting items that are too hard to get.
But on topic. I think it all depends on how much time you've got. If you are planning on building something big and impressive, it's going to take a long time even in creative. Even more in survival when you factor in the gathering materials, avoiding and killing mobs, running around, eating, and whatever else.
I can see where you're coming from when you talk about it not feeling rewarding when you build something in creative, but you've got to understand the limits of what is realistic in survival, and what isn't. Yes you could build almost everything in survival as you could in creative, but the time you spend on gathering the materials and just surviving could have been used to build another structure in creative. If you've done survival in the past and know how to survive, you might as well just do it in creative.
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Need a friend to play Minecraft with? Click me! Lots of players are looking for someone to play with as well!
Need a way to make survival more fun? Click me!
Don't know what to build? Here is a "What should I build?" generator!
It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If I want to make a huge structure then I typically build in creative, but when I play on survival I am looking for functionality as well as aesthetics. Survival and creative are almost two different games which should be approached with different mindsets.
I personally would only consider using creative if I wanted to build something that was so extremely large that it would be very difficult to do in a reasonable time frame in survival or if I was building an adventure map of some sort. I enjoy the limitations/challenges that survival adds to the process and as you say the sense of accomplishment because of that is greater.
I do see RobertFrans points, but just building stuff continually would get tedious for me.
I like building stuff in survival because I like playing survival. I'm no prodigy when it comes to building and it's not the #1 thing I enjoy so I don't play creative much unless I'm testing out redstone contraptions I'm making or designing something to build in survival. If I wanted to build a castle or huge town or city or whatever I would definitely do it on a creative world, and I don't see how people feel like their cheating when they do this; creative mode is in the game for a reason.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If you're interested in an awesome, white-listed, pure vanilla server, consider applying!
I haven't done any projects in a while and I'm itching to start something big but I find myself in a dilemma of whether to do it in creative or survival modes. To help myself in decision making I decided to make a list of pros and cons for both modes but I'm curious to see how other people feel about it.
Creative Mode
Pros:
1: Any and all blocks in unlimited supply
2: Invincible (no deaths)
3: Unlimited flying
4: Build right away
5: Building is much faster than survival
6: Much less tedious and boring
7: No infrastructure needed (shelter/food/material storage)
Cons:
1: Build results don't feel earned
2: Creative mode feels like "cheating"
3: Builds seem less epic since little hardship was involved in construction
Survival:
Pros:
1: Feels more realistic (tangible)
2: Completed builds feel more rewarding
3: Completed builds feel like a more significant accomplishment
4: The process seems more meaningful
Cons:
1: Playing survival for the purpose of building seems much more tedious and boring
2: Setting up infrastructure takes a long time
3: Gathering resources (especially for a massive build) takes a very long time
4: #2 and #3 both detract from available time that could be used to build
5: Dying causes material loss, time loss and tool loss (potentially permanent loss if you can't recover them(i.e. lava))
6: Building is more tedious and boring
7: Building is more difficult and much slower due to limited resources and limited vantage points(i.e. no flying/hostile environments)
8: Certain materials exist in very limited quantities (iron/gold/quarts/etc...)
9: Material availability/ease of gathering sometimes severely limits design
I'm curious to hear what everyone else thinks on this subject. It's not like I'm actively competing against other people but I suppose I'm unconsciously comparing myself to what other people might think or build. I want the result to be meaningful but, at the same time, I need it to be a much more fluid process and not so daunting/boring that I give up in the middle and never complete it. I'm going to add a poll to see what mode people prefer to build in.
What about a "half freeze"?
You can with mods "tune" the game to deliver "creative like features" yet at the same time you're still working towards obtaining these things. There are also mods that can help you gather larger volumes of resources which yet again you have to work to get the machines/gears and hook them all up.
I like messing with creative mode as I can get cooler-looking builds with commands, but I like to build in survival occasionally to get a challenge.
Want to see my suggestions? Here they are!
I am also known as GameWyrm or GameWyrm97. You can also find me at snapshotmc.com
In response to build results don't feel earned and creative mode is cheating, this is a SANDBOX game. The entire purpose is to do what you want. So, in reality, there is no way to cheat in this game.
-FunVod
A lot of players feel like they've cheated if they switch from survival to creative to avoid dying, losing items, or just getting items that are too hard to get.
But on topic. I think it all depends on how much time you've got. If you are planning on building something big and impressive, it's going to take a long time even in creative. Even more in survival when you factor in the gathering materials, avoiding and killing mobs, running around, eating, and whatever else.
I can see where you're coming from when you talk about it not feeling rewarding when you build something in creative, but you've got to understand the limits of what is realistic in survival, and what isn't. Yes you could build almost everything in survival as you could in creative, but the time you spend on gathering the materials and just surviving could have been used to build another structure in creative. If you've done survival in the past and know how to survive, you might as well just do it in creative.
Need a friend to play Minecraft with? Click me! Lots of players are looking for someone to play with as well!
Need a way to make survival more fun? Click me!
Don't know what to build? Here is a "What should I build?" generator!
It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If I want to make a huge structure then I typically build in creative, but when I play on survival I am looking for functionality as well as aesthetics. Survival and creative are almost two different games which should be approached with different mindsets.
Here is my YouTube:(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0tZu_k1IYZpjcXGVB_T0IQ)
I build cool stuff.
I personally would only consider using creative if I wanted to build something that was so extremely large that it would be very difficult to do in a reasonable time frame in survival or if I was building an adventure map of some sort. I enjoy the limitations/challenges that survival adds to the process and as you say the sense of accomplishment because of that is greater.
I do see RobertFrans points, but just building stuff continually would get tedious for me.
by c0yote
I tried it with terrible results. I gave my wife my glasses for a second, a creeper showed up and now my wife is pregnant.
Stupid 3D..
I like building stuff in survival because I like playing survival. I'm no prodigy when it comes to building and it's not the #1 thing I enjoy so I don't play creative much unless I'm testing out redstone contraptions I'm making or designing something to build in survival. If I wanted to build a castle or huge town or city or whatever I would definitely do it on a creative world, and I don't see how people feel like their cheating when they do this; creative mode is in the game for a reason.
If you're interested in an awesome, white-listed, pure vanilla server, consider applying!
http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/servers/pc-servers/2811770-axiba-smp-community-focused-vanilla-survival#c4