People love exploring Minecraft. Discovering amazing mountains, caves, and valleys procedurally generated by the infinite world generator.
What if there was another world, also procedurally generated, but with randomly created buildings, corridors, streets, bridges, towers, stairways, and canals? A world of man made structures rather than natural terrain. But one where the random generator can create all kinds of mind boggling things that no human would have the time to create.
What would Mazeworld (just a placeholder name, don't stress if you dislike it) look like?
Take 1 parts Jim Henson's Labyrinth.
Add 1 parts MC Escher sketch.
Add 1 part Mines of Moria.
Add 1 parts .
Imagine an infinite labyrinth of high stone and cobblestone walls. Passages fork, twist, and rejoin endlessly. Sometimes terrain is flat, sometimes mountainous. Passages can rise up the side of hills, or become tunnels and go straight into a mountain.
Massive towers and castles rise from plazas here and there, themselves honeycombed with stairs and hallways, and connected to other towers by massive bridges and sky-highways. The height can vary, ranging from small buildings to structures that reach the highest altitude.
The underground is porous. Stairways lead down into a infinite world of neatly chiseled tunnels, great halls, and bridged chasms.
Mazeworld would also be dangerous, for those of us who enjoy a thrill. The map would not come with any torches...meaning that all those buildings, those underground tunnels, are in perpetual darkness. Spawning monsters until you light the place up. Would these be the same creatures as you find on Earth? Maybe, but perhaps Mazeworld could have its own unique mobs instead.
Who built Mazeworld? And why? That's not really important. Perhaps the dead gods of a forgotten people. Perhaps it was always there and nobody built it, a dimension representing both order and chaos.
How would you get to Mazeworld? A portal of some kind probably. I don't think I need to randomly pick some material to make it out of since that's not really crucial to the core of this suggestion. It should probably be a little challenging to make though.
Why would you go to Mazeworld? What's in it for the player? Mostly the thrill of exploration. Finding amazing random structures no human could design. Battling hordes of creatures and turning their magnificent lairs into your safehouses. Modifying these random structures with your own edits and additions. But perhaps there could also be treasure chests here and there, waiting to be found, for people that can't be motivated to do anything without a straightforward prize.
Basically, I like this idea because it would take the splendor of the random generator in minecraft and extend it to artificial structures.
I think this is an awesome idea. And if there were a generator for an entire maze world, they could certainly use that system to generate smaller, more interesting dungeons in the home world. I was excited for dungeons, but a small room does not a dungeon make.
Maybe the maze dimension would have a size limit depending on how much "power" you put into it, and randomly generates a new world when you leave, unless you had some kind of placeholder. So I could spawn and explore many small mazes, or large maze worlds. Would make the replay of the maze world more enjoyable.
And there could be mobs to fit the theme, like minataurs, chimera, or undead soldiers.
I would love to see this, even with just a map gen or mod. Kudos to you on your idea.
*Added: I was thinking of Diablo when you started a new game each level was randomly created. I thought this would make up for the current "Dungeons" being so basic. Honestly, with a completely generated world that would be different with each new world created, I think that would be great and in no need of improvement.
As someone who is developing a maze-like dungeon generator for minecraft, the thought of an infinite-sized dungeon/maze combo would be terrifying to me.
My test maps take up a maze grid of about 20x20 by 9 levels (or a 240x240x108 minecraft block area), and not only is it easy to get lost in them, I have never actually completed a walk-through of one of my generated dungeons -- that would probably take hours and hours of walking around, even with me following an ascii "map" of the dungeon.
As someone who is developing a maze-like dungeon generator for minecraft, the thought of an infinite-sized dungeon/maze combo would be terrifying to me.
My test maps take up a maze grid of about 20x20 by 9 levels (or a 240x240x108 minecraft block area), and not only is it easy to get lost in them, I have never actually completed a walk-through of one of my generated dungeons -- that would probably take hours and hours of walking around, even with me following an ascii "map" of the dungeon.
Yeah, it could be very dangerous if you just go off wandering randomly. Of course, if you expand cautiously, lighting rooms and hallways as you go, sealing off dangerous areas, marking the way back to your portal so you don't get lost, you can mitigate as much of the danger as you want.
As someone who is developing a maze-like dungeon generator for minecraft, the thought of an infinite-sized dungeon/maze combo would be terrifying to me.
My test maps take up a maze grid of about 20x20 by 9 levels (or a 240x240x108 minecraft block area), and not only is it easy to get lost in them, I have never actually completed a walk-through of one of my generated dungeons -- that would probably take hours and hours of walking around, even with me following an ascii "map" of the dungeon.
Protip: Always put torches on the right and always take the right path when you come to a fork. You can get through any normal "safe" maze by putting one hand on the wall and never taking it off, no matter where it takes you.
Oh yeah the topic... Awesome idea. Definitely would be it's own game mode but would still be cool. Some questions.
What's the end goal?
Are there safe rooms that allow you to respawn without having to trek back through all the tunnels you have been through?
How do you get torches in the first place if it is a huge maze?
Are there randomly placed goodies too?
Want some advice on how to thrive in the Suggestions section? Check this handy list of guidelines and tips for posting your ideas and responding to the ideas of others!
Protip: Always put torches on the right and always take the right path when you come to a fork. You can get through any normal "safe" maze by putting one hand on the wall and never taking it off, no matter where it takes you.
Oh yeah the topic... Awesome idea. Definitely would be it's own game mode but would still be cool. Some questions.
What's the end goal?
Are there safe rooms that allow you to respawn without having to trek back through all the tunnels you have been through?
How do you get torches in the first place if it is a huge maze?
Are there randomly placed goodies too?
Good tip. Also keep in mind that you have the ability to edit the maze. You can choose to navigate it "fairly" and actually search for a naturally occurring route, but you're also free to make a door or a bridge or whatever else you want. It's up to each player how they want to treat Mazeworld. A navigation puzzle to be solved, an engineering puzzle to be improved upon.
I don't think it needs to be another game mode. Just putting it in a separate dimension is enough to keep it away from people that choose not to interact with it.
There is no end goal, any more than there is an end goal to exploring in normal Minecraft. The maze can't be solved since it is infinite, just explored. As you explore you'd find cool things, including treasure chests, but mostly just awesome structures.
There would not be spawn points in Mazeworld. If you die you'd respawn on Earth. However you could build more portals in order to access different locations in Mazeworld with greater ease.
Torches you'd have to bring with you from Earth and place yourself.
Yeah, it could be very dangerous if you just go off wandering randomly. Of course, if you expand cautiously, lighting rooms and hallways as you go, sealing off dangerous areas, marking the way back to your portal so you don't get lost, you can mitigate as much of the danger as you want.
Well, it isn't the monsters or lighting that is the issue, it is the sheer amount of maze. The example I gave (20x20x9 maze grid taking 240x240x108 minecraft blocks) usually generates about 30 kilometers worth of hallway length, and that isn't even figuring in the 150 or so rooms generated.
Well, it isn't the monsters or lighting that is the issue, it is the sheer amount of maze. The example I gave (20x20x9 maze grid taking 240x240x108 minecraft blocks) usually generates about 30 kilometers worth of hallway length, and that isn't even figuring in the 150 or so rooms generated.
True. It'd be big. Infinite even. But there's no time constraints. Since there's no "solution" there's no rush to solve anything. Obviously you'd never explore it all, any more than you'd explore all of the normal Minecraft world. It's just an endless world of cool stuff to find and claim for your own, at whatever pace you like.
I think this is an awesome idea. And if there were a generator for an entire maze world, they could certainly use that system to generate smaller, more interesting dungeons in the home world. I was excited for dungeons, but a small room does not a dungeon make.
Maybe the maze dimension would have a size limit depending on how much "power" you put into it, and randomly generates a new world when you leave, unless you had some kind of placeholder. So I could spawn and explore many small mazes, or large maze worlds. Would make the replay of the maze world more enjoyable.
And there could be mobs to fit the theme, like minataurs, chimera, or undead soldiers.
I would love to see this, even with just a map gen or mod. Kudos to you on your idea.
I like the idea of special mobs for Mazeworld (minotaurs especially). But they aren't necessary if Notch is too busy. Or they could be added in at a later point when he has more time, with zombies and skeletons as placeholders for now.
I think this maze already has infinite replayability because there would always be more to explore. It's infinite.
This is a great idea. I personally think it should be a separate game mode, and not someplace you can get to from the normal world.
I suppose that would make sense, if Minecraft did have a number of different game modes you could choose from. Notch has mentioned stuff like an adventure mode, so if there were a number of different modes I guess Mazeworld could be one of them.
Of course, then you would have to actually be able to find resources in Mazeworld as opposed to bringing what you need with you.
I think it could work either as a separate game mode or as a new dimension, but I think its simpler to add as a new dimension since there's no game mode selection screen yet.
Personally, I think this is a great idea. I would really like to see it implemented into Beta though. AnomieDog said it right... Dungeons are too simple. Here's my little twist on the suggestion.
Change the map generation code for dungeons so that each dungeon has a maze wrapped around it. I'm not sure about the exact size, maybe a "radius" of 10 blocks around the dungeon. The most important part though... construct the entire maze out of Bedrock. That way, it's actually a challenge to get to the center. You can't simply dig your way through.
I do see two problems with this idea. Firstly, a dungeon suddenly takes up a very large area... some 30x30x30 blocks. I know those numbers aren't exactly right. The point is there though. Secondly, a bedrock structure around the dungeon makes it VERY difficult to farm after you've beaten it. Many people like that you can farm dungeons, myself included. Anybody have ideas for solving this? What do you guys think?
Personally, I think this is a great idea. I would really like to see it implemented into Beta though. AnomieDog said it right... Dungeons are too simple. Here's my little twist on the suggestion.
Change the map generation code for dungeons so that each dungeon has a maze wrapped around it. I'm not sure about the exact size, maybe a "radius" of 10 blocks around the dungeon. The most important part though... construct the entire maze out of Bedrock. That way, it's actually a challenge to get to the center. You can't simply dig your way through.
I do see two problems with this idea. Firstly, a dungeon suddenly takes up a very large area... some 30x30x30 blocks. I know those numbers aren't exactly right. The point is there though. Secondly, a bedrock structure around the dungeon makes it VERY difficult to farm after you've beaten it. Many people like that you can farm dungeons, myself included. Anybody have ideas for solving this? What do you guys think?
Lodra
I do like the idea of having pre-designed dungeons randomly inserted in the procedurally generated world. You could have people submit challenge maps, and the random mazeworld generator would occasionally include the good ones that pass some sort of review process. So while exploring the random world, you might occasionally find intricate and dangerous structures designed by humans.
I don't think it's necessary to have bedrock walls though. Since the world is random, there isn't a clear right or wrong path to pick from. If there's no end it's impossible to cheat and make a shortcut to the end. Digging a new door in the wall isn't cheating really, since it doesn't lead to the solution. It just leads to more maze.
Oh, I'm also looking for any good fantasy art that might illustrate Mazeworld. I know I've seen pictures that are kind of similar to what I had in mind, but I can't seem to find any.
Obviously it's pretty easy to find drawings of labyrinths, but not ones with towers and buildings and branching sky highways like I had in mind. If you know of a picture that you think works I'd love to be able to link to it.
What if there was another world, also procedurally generated, but with randomly created buildings, corridors, streets, bridges, towers, stairways, and canals? A world of man made structures rather than natural terrain. But one where the random generator can create all kinds of mind boggling things that no human would have the time to create.
What would Mazeworld (just a placeholder name, don't stress if you dislike it) look like?
Take 1 parts Jim Henson's Labyrinth.
Add 1 parts MC Escher sketch.
Add 1 part Mines of Moria.
Add 1 parts .
Imagine an infinite labyrinth of high stone and cobblestone walls. Passages fork, twist, and rejoin endlessly. Sometimes terrain is flat, sometimes mountainous. Passages can rise up the side of hills, or become tunnels and go straight into a mountain.
Massive towers and castles rise from plazas here and there, themselves honeycombed with stairs and hallways, and connected to other towers by massive bridges and sky-highways. The height can vary, ranging from small buildings to structures that reach the highest altitude.
The underground is porous. Stairways lead down into a infinite world of neatly chiseled tunnels, great halls, and bridged chasms.
Mazeworld would also be dangerous, for those of us who enjoy a thrill. The map would not come with any torches...meaning that all those buildings, those underground tunnels, are in perpetual darkness. Spawning monsters until you light the place up. Would these be the same creatures as you find on Earth? Maybe, but perhaps Mazeworld could have its own unique mobs instead.
Who built Mazeworld? And why? That's not really important. Perhaps the dead gods of a forgotten people. Perhaps it was always there and nobody built it, a dimension representing both order and chaos.
How would you get to Mazeworld? A portal of some kind probably. I don't think I need to randomly pick some material to make it out of since that's not really crucial to the core of this suggestion. It should probably be a little challenging to make though.
Why would you go to Mazeworld? What's in it for the player? Mostly the thrill of exploration. Finding amazing random structures no human could design. Battling hordes of creatures and turning their magnificent lairs into your safehouses. Modifying these random structures with your own edits and additions. But perhaps there could also be treasure chests here and there, waiting to be found, for people that can't be motivated to do anything without a straightforward prize.
Basically, I like this idea because it would take the splendor of the random generator in minecraft and extend it to artificial structures.
UPDATES
12/4/12 - Mazeworld is becoming a reality thanks to EyeOfTheDaev's mod. Check out his WIP thread here: http://www.minecraft...mazeworld-wip/
Check it out to follow the latest progress, or to volunteer your own coding skill to help make Mazeworld come to life.
Also, GTG3000 made some awesome banners you can use to show your support for Mazeworld:
Frequently Suggested/Popular Ideas
*Focus on golem/construct/animated object mobs, few or no living creatures
*Perhaps some ghosts/intangible undead
*Different biomes containing different architecture and city functions. Library biome, castle biome, garden biome, market biome, etc.
*Aqueduct/canal system to allow boat travel.
*Occasional redstone machinery generates with the world.
*New blocks players could collect as building materials.
*Sound activated portal (if technically practical)
*Statue mobs that only move when player isn't looking
*Mobs that are neutral but attack when they witness the player damaging Mazeworld (breaking blocks)
*Minotaur (perhaps clockwork?)
*Shadow creatures that won't leave darkness
*Stationary turret like enemies
Incompetence is a plague. I am the cure.
For all your wolf suggestion needs, I present the WOLF MEGATHREAD!
Stories: A Miner's Chronicle, The Lost Chronicle [Entries 32-2, 33-1, and 33-2 out!]
I think this is an awesome idea. And if there were a generator for an entire maze world, they could certainly use that system to generate smaller, more interesting dungeons in the home world. I was excited for dungeons, but a small room does not a dungeon make.
Maybe the maze dimension would have a size limit depending on how much "power" you put into it, and randomly generates a new world when you leave, unless you had some kind of placeholder. So I could spawn and explore many small mazes, or large maze worlds. Would make the replay of the maze world more enjoyable.
And there could be mobs to fit the theme, like minataurs, chimera, or undead soldiers.
I would love to see this, even with just a map gen or mod. Kudos to you on your idea.
*Added: I was thinking of Diablo when you started a new game each level was randomly created. I thought this would make up for the current "Dungeons" being so basic. Honestly, with a completely generated world that would be different with each new world created, I think that would be great and in no need of improvement.
My test maps take up a maze grid of about 20x20 by 9 levels (or a 240x240x108 minecraft block area), and not only is it easy to get lost in them, I have never actually completed a walk-through of one of my generated dungeons -- that would probably take hours and hours of walking around, even with me following an ascii "map" of the dungeon.
- sunperp
Yeah, it could be very dangerous if you just go off wandering randomly. Of course, if you expand cautiously, lighting rooms and hallways as you go, sealing off dangerous areas, marking the way back to your portal so you don't get lost, you can mitigate as much of the danger as you want.
Protip: Always put torches on the right and always take the right path when you come to a fork. You can get through any normal "safe" maze by putting one hand on the wall and never taking it off, no matter where it takes you.
Oh yeah the topic... Awesome idea. Definitely would be it's own game mode but would still be cool. Some questions.
What's the end goal?
Are there safe rooms that allow you to respawn without having to trek back through all the tunnels you have been through?
How do you get torches in the first place if it is a huge maze?
Are there randomly placed goodies too?
Want some advice on how to thrive in the Suggestions section? Check this handy list of guidelines and tips for posting your ideas and responding to the ideas of others!
http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/minecraft-discussion/suggestions/2775557-guidelines-for-the-suggestions-forum
Good tip. Also keep in mind that you have the ability to edit the maze. You can choose to navigate it "fairly" and actually search for a naturally occurring route, but you're also free to make a door or a bridge or whatever else you want. It's up to each player how they want to treat Mazeworld. A navigation puzzle to be solved, an engineering puzzle to be improved upon.
I don't think it needs to be another game mode. Just putting it in a separate dimension is enough to keep it away from people that choose not to interact with it.
There is no end goal, any more than there is an end goal to exploring in normal Minecraft. The maze can't be solved since it is infinite, just explored. As you explore you'd find cool things, including treasure chests, but mostly just awesome structures.
There would not be spawn points in Mazeworld. If you die you'd respawn on Earth. However you could build more portals in order to access different locations in Mazeworld with greater ease.
Torches you'd have to bring with you from Earth and place yourself.
Well, it isn't the monsters or lighting that is the issue, it is the sheer amount of maze. The example I gave (20x20x9 maze grid taking 240x240x108 minecraft blocks) usually generates about 30 kilometers worth of hallway length, and that isn't even figuring in the 150 or so rooms generated.
- sunperp
True. It'd be big. Infinite even. But there's no time constraints. Since there's no "solution" there's no rush to solve anything. Obviously you'd never explore it all, any more than you'd explore all of the normal Minecraft world. It's just an endless world of cool stuff to find and claim for your own, at whatever pace you like.
I like the idea of special mobs for Mazeworld (minotaurs especially). But they aren't necessary if Notch is too busy. Or they could be added in at a later point when he has more time, with zombies and skeletons as placeholders for now.
I think this maze already has infinite replayability because there would always be more to explore. It's infinite.
I suppose that would make sense, if Minecraft did have a number of different game modes you could choose from. Notch has mentioned stuff like an adventure mode, so if there were a number of different modes I guess Mazeworld could be one of them.
Of course, then you would have to actually be able to find resources in Mazeworld as opposed to bringing what you need with you.
I think it could work either as a separate game mode or as a new dimension, but I think its simpler to add as a new dimension since there's no game mode selection screen yet.
Change the map generation code for dungeons so that each dungeon has a maze wrapped around it. I'm not sure about the exact size, maybe a "radius" of 10 blocks around the dungeon. The most important part though... construct the entire maze out of Bedrock. That way, it's actually a challenge to get to the center. You can't simply dig your way through.
I do see two problems with this idea. Firstly, a dungeon suddenly takes up a very large area... some 30x30x30 blocks. I know those numbers aren't exactly right. The point is there though. Secondly, a bedrock structure around the dungeon makes it VERY difficult to farm after you've beaten it. Many people like that you can farm dungeons, myself included. Anybody have ideas for solving this? What do you guys think?
Lodra
I do like the idea of having pre-designed dungeons randomly inserted in the procedurally generated world. You could have people submit challenge maps, and the random mazeworld generator would occasionally include the good ones that pass some sort of review process. So while exploring the random world, you might occasionally find intricate and dangerous structures designed by humans.
I don't think it's necessary to have bedrock walls though. Since the world is random, there isn't a clear right or wrong path to pick from. If there's no end it's impossible to cheat and make a shortcut to the end. Digging a new door in the wall isn't cheating really, since it doesn't lead to the solution. It just leads to more maze.
Best. Idea. Ever.
Obviously it's pretty easy to find drawings of labyrinths, but not ones with towers and buildings and branching sky highways like I had in mind. If you know of a picture that you think works I'd love to be able to link to it.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eM284g0vo5w/TEMFi1iAUWI/AAAAAAAAB34/c4EkaThmcTI/s1600/labyrinth-final-post.jpg
http://www.movieforum.com/movies/titles/labyrinth/castle.shtml
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/my-fantasy-city-ii-callie-fink.html
http://allsizewallpapers.blogspot.com/2009/05/futuristic-city-scapes-fantasy.html
http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/5661/015apocalypce.jpg
I imagine it not just a strict traditional labyrinth of walls, but more like a really complex and surreal city.