Hello, folks.
Finally it's here, 1.14! Yay!
But already with the first invasion on a (fortified) village I got a moment.
The Illager simply open doors. Ok, it's also somehow logical because after all they are a kind of human being... even if grey and evil. But nevertheless there are only 2 possibilities of the fortification.
Normal doors: useless
Iron doors: Impenetrable
If you have built up a little bit, iron doors or even piston mechanisms are no problem and you can easily keep them outside. But then what's the point of an invasion?
And if you've started from scratch and you don't have iron yet, you're sitting there defenceless despite the walls.
Why no middle thing? Between the free hunts for the Illager and the impenetrable iron doors there should be a middle way. A siege that doesn't make it too easy for the Illagers, but still remains a challenge for the defender.
Lockable doors, or fortified doors, that they have to break through like zombies did before.
So here are some ideas from me on the subject: Defending villages and towns.
a kind of "Hold the Wall" update
Content:
1. doors
2. new weapons
3. fortifications
4. new threats
5. some numbers
First Doors:
As already mentioned, normal doors should also be an obstacle in some way.
I would suggest two ways.
(a) the key.
The key is an item made of stone or iron that blocks a door and makes it impassable. You take the key and use it by right-clicking on the desired door to unlock or lock it.
The locked door cannot be opened and must be smashed in to pass.
Iron keys lock faster than stone keys, but do not provide additional protection.
Stone Key
[cobblestone][empty..........][empty..........]
[cobblestone][cobblestone][cobblestone]
[cobblestone][empty..........][cobblestone]
Iron Key
[iron nugget][empty.........][empty........]
[iron nugget][iron nugget][iron nugget]
[iron nugget][empty.........][iron nugget]
(b) fortified doors
Reinforced doors in the crafting table. Works like normal doors, but can withstand more or cause damage to attackers.
I was only thinking of wooden doors, but maybe Illager could even break through iron doors? Even if they might have a lot more hitpoints.
fortitied door
[planks][empty][planks]
[planks][door...][planks]
[planks][empty][planks]
fortified doors with spikes
[empty][empty..........][iron ignot]
[empty][fortified door][iron ignot]
[empty][empty...........][iron ignot]
2. new weapons
With 1.14 already the crossbows were added. this leads me to think also of further medieval weapons. above all: pole weapons:
(a) Spear
The spear is a simple pole weapon made of wood, stone, iron, gold or diamond.
It has slightly more range than a sword or an axe, does bonus damage to mounted targets, and has two attacks.
Left click: stab
Right click: throw
(To throw it must be charged like the bow and according to the charge it gets range and damage. When also holding a shield in off hand, the spear throw gets priority)
[empty][empty][(peak)]
[empty][stick...][empty]
[stick...][empty][empty]
the (peak)can be a stick, cobblestone, iron ignot, gold ignot or diamond
(b) Halberd
The halberd is an advanced wooden pole weapon with a tip of iron, gold or diamond. It has slightly more range than a sword or an axe and does bonus damage against mounted targets. It also has two different attacks:
Left click: stab
Right click: swing
(Swings the halberd around the user and damages surrounding targets, but also makes the user vulnerable for a short time because the swing lowers any cover for the user and makes him slower for a second. When also holding a shield in off hand, the shield block has priority)
[empty][(peak)][(peak)]
[empty][stick...][(peak)]
[stick...][empty][empty]
the (peak) can be an iron ignot, gold ignot or diamond
(c) Round shield
Cheaper variant of the shield with fewer hit points.
[empty][plank][empty]
[plank][plank][plank]
[empty][plank][empty]
3. Fortifications
First of all: I know that most fortifications like walls, battlements, machicolations, murder holes, trenches and brattices can be built relatively easily by the player and I don't really mean them with fortifications here.
What I want to talk about are things like portcullis or drawbridges. Yes, they can also be built with redstone, but then we again have the problem that they are inpenetrable for the Illagers and a siege is pointless.
So how about a craftable 2x2 (or even 3x3) wooden portcullis with a winch to raise and drop it. More durable as doors and the same "target priority" for the illagers but even if hard to break, not inpenetrable.
Another option for defense and in the end one with great potential could be to train the villager themselves as guards.
And again, I know there are already iron golems to defend the villagers, but as I had to see they got overstrained really fast when the Illager storm the doors and cant do anything before the enemies break through. Maybe usefull against single creeps as we knew them before 1.14, but with the new invasions, the are a bit outdated.
My suggestion: training dummys and guard posts.
(a) Training Dummies
Here the player can ctrain the villagers. For that he pais emeralds for the training (maybe several levels with growing effectiveness but also higher prices) and equipes the future guard with a weapon and (optional) with armor and shield. The training then will take some time and after that the guard starts his watch at the neares guard post of its profession (melee or range)
(b) Guard Posts
Guard posts are simple plates like a carpet but with the funktion to show the guardian villagers where they have to stay on guard.
Settings are: range or melee, the facing of the standing guard and maybe some equipment preferences. (halberts on the gate, swords in the throne room for example)
Ranged guards will shoot at any monster or illager in range.
Melee guard will attack any monter or illager in its action radius (fixed at 10 blocks or also adjustable by the player with the guard post settings?)
(c) The Guards
A trained guard will stay on iths post but they also need some rest... or not?
Do they want payment (emeralds)? If not, is there a cap according to the villager count?
Guard shifts would be difficult, I think, so I wouldn't have any problem with it if they would stick on their post.
A payment system would be good, if you can add it, then there is no need for a cap, I think. Or even Villager taxation for emeralds?
But what they need is food! Even if they are no workers and need no beds or houses, they count for the food consumption of the village.
If a Guard dies or is dismissed, it drops its equipment. (Dismissed guards return to a random job in the village)
4. New Threats
Such a well defended village / town / castle / fortress needs threats that make a siege still a chelenge. For that the Illager raids should have some aditional equipment. According to the raid level and maybe to the population count of the village.
Therefor you just could add some new spells or potions for witches and mages.
Or you go the siege weapons way with battering ram, siege towers and catapult.
Maybe even vindicators get the ability to dig, to get through dirt walls or over dirt clifs and trenches.
(a) Battering Ram
The battering Ram is a slow but sturdy object that deals aditional damage to doors, but is weak agains stone blocks.
It could be a simple log, carried by 2 or 4 vindicators or a better ram with a frame and weels.
It is vulnerable against fire attacks. (burning arrows for example).
It drops wooden logs and planks if destroyed.
(b) Siege Tower
The siege tower is also slow but sturdy and vulnerable to fire. It is a tower on weels with integrated ladder and ramp to climb on walls.
It is effective if it reaches the wall and the illager can storm the fortifications, but it has one big weakness. It can only be used on plain survace.
otherwhise it can fall over and get destroyed.
It drops planks and ladders if destroyed.
(c) Catapult
The catapult is a leathal siege weapon that shoots stones or fire bombs over a long distance. It might be slow and vulnerable against fire, but thanks to it's range it is hard to reach for the defenders. The biggest weaknes is, that it is not verry precise.
Stones: The stones of a catapult deal heavy damage and kill nearly every creature with one shot (if they hit). They are good to bombard strucktures.
Logs that are damaged by a stone are debarked.
Fire Bombs: They deal less damage on impact as stones but leave a burning area and can light up wooden structures (or anything else that can burn) to burn down a village.
5. Some Numbers
For all that the doors and Blocks need hitpoints. Material with higher quality like stone bricks needs more hitpoints than lower material like coble or even wood. The following numbers are just an example how I would calculate that damaging stuff mentioned above.
Damage to Strucktures:
Pillager: 1 (only gates)
Vindicator: 2 (only gates)
Battering ram: 5 (10 to gates)
Catapult:
Stones: 20 direct hit / 10 blocks next to the block that is hit (above, below, left, right, but not behind)
Fire Bombs: 5 + normal burning damage from fire
Hit Points:
Gates:
Wooden Doors: 10
Fortified Doors: 30
Iron Doors: 90
Portcullis: 120
Walls (Blocks):
Planks:10
Logs: 20
Cobblestone: 30
Stone Bricks: 60
That's it. Thanks for reading and dont be to harsh with critics ;P
The highest obstacle to much of this is MS/Mj's repeatedly stated public stance that villagers are and will remain defenseless (barring iron golems).
Much of the rest I would have [pre-1.14] thought too FRPG to fit well with MC's resource gathering/building sandbox… (Apparently MS/Mj holds different opinions as to what will maximize profits )
Some of this would seem to require fairly high levels of AI (more detail is needed), but the gardpost blocks neatly solve at least part of the problem of stationing guards. [How much of this could be determined via structure/jigsaw blocks and algorithms remains to be seen, but at least some player intervention seems likely to be needed given the current state of AI.]
Providing doors only openable by specific villagers ought be doable (and would likely please the "No Exploitation Of Electronic Ghost Peasants" crowd as it would add at least a minor barrier for players as well). Assuming only the villagers who had claimed beds/workstations inside a structure could freely open doors would, however, reintroduce the difficulty of defining waht constitutes a structure. [A reef on which many a proposal has foundered…]
Given the limitations of the interface, the current trident occupies much the same space as the proposed spears,
Pole axes (of which a halberd is one type) and other two handed weapons are an interesting proposal, but may run into issues with the interface. (The described attack mode sounds like an amped up sweeping edge attack, with similar downsides.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Why does everything have to be so stoopid?" Harvey Pekar (from American Splendor)
WARNING: I have an extemely "grindy" playstyle; YMMV — if this doesn't seem fun to you, mine what you can from it & bin the rest.
If I had the skills I would program it myself as mod, but a bit HTML is everything I can XD
So... I just can wish and hope...
Edit:
And even if MS/MJ dont want to militarise the villagers would ANYTHING for a range-defense be cool... even if I have to equip these stupid golems with bows and trap them on the walls... XD
Or an aditional type of ranged Village-Defender... Hunter, Bowman, Windrunner, whatever...
Hello, folks.
Finally it's here, 1.14! Yay!
But already with the first invasion on a (fortified) village I got a moment.
The Illager simply open doors. Ok, it's also somehow logical because after all they are a kind of human being... even if grey and evil. But nevertheless there are only 2 possibilities of the fortification.
Normal doors: useless
Iron doors: Impenetrable
If you have built up a little bit, iron doors or even piston mechanisms are no problem and you can easily keep them outside. But then what's the point of an invasion?
And if you've started from scratch and you don't have iron yet, you're sitting there defenceless despite the walls.
Why no middle thing? Between the free hunts for the Illager and the impenetrable iron doors there should be a middle way. A siege that doesn't make it too easy for the Illagers, but still remains a challenge for the defender.
Lockable doors, or fortified doors, that they have to break through like zombies did before.
So here are some ideas from me on the subject: Defending villages and towns.
a kind of "Hold the Wall" update
Content:
1. doors
2. new weapons
3. fortifications
4. new threats
5. some numbers
First Doors:
As already mentioned, normal doors should also be an obstacle in some way.
I would suggest two ways.
(a) the key.
The key is an item made of stone or iron that blocks a door and makes it impassable. You take the key and use it by right-clicking on the desired door to unlock or lock it.
The locked door cannot be opened and must be smashed in to pass.
Iron keys lock faster than stone keys, but do not provide additional protection.
Stone Key
[cobblestone][empty..........][empty..........]
[cobblestone][cobblestone][cobblestone]
[cobblestone][empty..........][cobblestone]
Iron Key
[iron nugget][empty.........][empty........]
[iron nugget][iron nugget][iron nugget]
[iron nugget][empty.........][iron nugget]
(b) fortified doors
Reinforced doors in the crafting table. Works like normal doors, but can withstand more or cause damage to attackers.
I was only thinking of wooden doors, but maybe Illager could even break through iron doors? Even if they might have a lot more hitpoints.
fortitied door
[planks][empty][planks]
[planks][door...][planks]
[planks][empty][planks]
fortified doors with spikes
[empty][empty..........][iron ignot]
[empty][fortified door][iron ignot]
[empty][empty...........][iron ignot]
2. new weapons
With 1.14 already the crossbows were added. this leads me to think also of further medieval weapons. above all: pole weapons:
(a) Spear
The spear is a simple pole weapon made of wood, stone, iron, gold or diamond.
It has slightly more range than a sword or an axe, does bonus damage to mounted targets, and has two attacks.
Left click: stab
Right click: throw
(To throw it must be charged like the bow and according to the charge it gets range and damage. When also holding a shield in off hand, the spear throw gets priority)
[empty][empty][(peak)]
[empty][stick...][empty]
[stick...][empty][empty]
the (peak)can be a stick, cobblestone, iron ignot, gold ignot or diamond
(b) Halberd
The halberd is an advanced wooden pole weapon with a tip of iron, gold or diamond. It has slightly more range than a sword or an axe and does bonus damage against mounted targets. It also has two different attacks:
Left click: stab
Right click: swing
(Swings the halberd around the user and damages surrounding targets, but also makes the user vulnerable for a short time because the swing lowers any cover for the user and makes him slower for a second. When also holding a shield in off hand, the shield block has priority)
[empty][(peak)][(peak)]
[empty][stick...][(peak)]
[stick...][empty][empty]
the (peak) can be an iron ignot, gold ignot or diamond
(c) Round shield
Cheaper variant of the shield with fewer hit points.
[empty][plank][empty]
[plank][plank][plank]
[empty][plank][empty]
3. Fortifications
First of all: I know that most fortifications like walls, battlements, machicolations, murder holes, trenches and brattices can be built relatively easily by the player and I don't really mean them with fortifications here.
What I want to talk about are things like portcullis or drawbridges. Yes, they can also be built with redstone, but then we again have the problem that they are inpenetrable for the Illagers and a siege is pointless.
So how about a craftable 2x2 (or even 3x3) wooden portcullis with a winch to raise and drop it. More durable as doors and the same "target priority" for the illagers but even if hard to break, not inpenetrable.
Another option for defense and in the end one with great potential could be to train the villager themselves as guards.
And again, I know there are already iron golems to defend the villagers, but as I had to see they got overstrained really fast when the Illager storm the doors and cant do anything before the enemies break through. Maybe usefull against single creeps as we knew them before 1.14, but with the new invasions, the are a bit outdated.
My suggestion: training dummys and guard posts.
(a) Training Dummies
Here the player can ctrain the villagers. For that he pais emeralds for the training (maybe several levels with growing effectiveness but also higher prices) and equipes the future guard with a weapon and (optional) with armor and shield. The training then will take some time and after that the guard starts his watch at the neares guard post of its profession (melee or range)
(b) Guard Posts
Guard posts are simple plates like a carpet but with the funktion to show the guardian villagers where they have to stay on guard.
Settings are: range or melee, the facing of the standing guard and maybe some equipment preferences. (halberts on the gate, swords in the throne room for example)
Ranged guards will shoot at any monster or illager in range.
Melee guard will attack any monter or illager in its action radius (fixed at 10 blocks or also adjustable by the player with the guard post settings?)
(c) The Guards
A trained guard will stay on iths post but they also need some rest... or not?
Do they want payment (emeralds)? If not, is there a cap according to the villager count?
Guard shifts would be difficult, I think, so I wouldn't have any problem with it if they would stick on their post.
A payment system would be good, if you can add it, then there is no need for a cap, I think. Or even Villager taxation for emeralds?
But what they need is food! Even if they are no workers and need no beds or houses, they count for the food consumption of the village.
If a Guard dies or is dismissed, it drops its equipment. (Dismissed guards return to a random job in the village)
4. New Threats
Such a well defended village / town / castle / fortress needs threats that make a siege still a chelenge. For that the Illager raids should have some aditional equipment. According to the raid level and maybe to the population count of the village.
Therefor you just could add some new spells or potions for witches and mages.
Or you go the siege weapons way with battering ram, siege towers and catapult.
Maybe even vindicators get the ability to dig, to get through dirt walls or over dirt clifs and trenches.
(a) Battering Ram
The battering Ram is a slow but sturdy object that deals aditional damage to doors, but is weak agains stone blocks.
It could be a simple log, carried by 2 or 4 vindicators or a better ram with a frame and weels.
It is vulnerable against fire attacks. (burning arrows for example).
It drops wooden logs and planks if destroyed.
(b) Siege Tower
The siege tower is also slow but sturdy and vulnerable to fire. It is a tower on weels with integrated ladder and ramp to climb on walls.
It is effective if it reaches the wall and the illager can storm the fortifications, but it has one big weakness. It can only be used on plain survace.
otherwhise it can fall over and get destroyed.
It drops planks and ladders if destroyed.
(c) Catapult
The catapult is a leathal siege weapon that shoots stones or fire bombs over a long distance. It might be slow and vulnerable against fire, but thanks to it's range it is hard to reach for the defenders. The biggest weaknes is, that it is not verry precise.
Stones: The stones of a catapult deal heavy damage and kill nearly every creature with one shot (if they hit). They are good to bombard strucktures.
Logs that are damaged by a stone are debarked.
Fire Bombs: They deal less damage on impact as stones but leave a burning area and can light up wooden structures (or anything else that can burn) to burn down a village.
5. Some Numbers
For all that the doors and Blocks need hitpoints. Material with higher quality like stone bricks needs more hitpoints than lower material like coble or even wood. The following numbers are just an example how I would calculate that damaging stuff mentioned above.
Damage to Strucktures:
Pillager: 1 (only gates)
Vindicator: 2 (only gates)
Battering ram: 5 (10 to gates)
Catapult:
Stones: 20 direct hit / 10 blocks next to the block that is hit (above, below, left, right, but not behind)
Fire Bombs: 5 + normal burning damage from fire
Hit Points:
Gates:
Wooden Doors: 10
Fortified Doors: 30
Iron Doors: 90
Portcullis: 120
Walls (Blocks):
Planks:10
Logs: 20
Cobblestone: 30
Stone Bricks: 60
That's it. Thanks for reading and dont be to harsh with critics ;P
The highest obstacle to much of this is MS/Mj's repeatedly stated public stance that villagers are and will remain defenseless (barring iron golems).
Much of the rest I would have [pre-1.14] thought too FRPG to fit well with MC's resource gathering/building sandbox… (Apparently MS/Mj holds different opinions as to what will maximize profits )
Some of this would seem to require fairly high levels of AI (more detail is needed), but the gardpost blocks neatly solve at least part of the problem of stationing guards. [How much of this could be determined via structure/jigsaw blocks and algorithms remains to be seen, but at least some player intervention seems likely to be needed given the current state of AI.]
Providing doors only openable by specific villagers ought be doable (and would likely please the "No Exploitation Of Electronic Ghost Peasants" crowd as it would add at least a minor barrier for players as well). Assuming only the villagers who had claimed beds/workstations inside a structure could freely open doors would, however, reintroduce the difficulty of defining waht constitutes a structure. [A reef on which many a proposal has foundered…]
Given the limitations of the interface, the current trident occupies much the same space as the proposed spears,
Pole axes (of which a halberd is one type) and other two handed weapons are an interesting proposal, but may run into issues with the interface. (The described attack mode sounds like an amped up sweeping edge attack, with similar downsides.)
If I had the skills I would program it myself as mod, but a bit HTML is everything I can XD
So... I just can wish and hope...
Edit:
And even if MS/MJ dont want to militarise the villagers would ANYTHING for a range-defense be cool... even if I have to equip these stupid golems with bows and trap them on the walls... XD
Or an aditional type of ranged Village-Defender... Hunter, Bowman, Windrunner, whatever...