Currently Mushrooms are growing exponentially making it far too easy to harvest large amounts of mushrooms. I have a both flavorful and more balanced solution to the problem:
Mushroom Circles! (Otherwise known as fairy rings)
Wikipedia: A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, elf circle, elf ring [1] or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms. The rings may grow to over 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter, and they become stable over time as the fungus grows and seeks food underground. They are found mainly in forested areas, but also appear in grasslands or rangelands. Fairy rings are detectable by sporocarps in rings or arcs, as well as by a necrotic zone (dead grass), or a ring of dark green grass. If these manifestations are visible a fairy fungus mycelium is likely present in the ring or arc underneath.
How this would work in game is a mushroom would check for nearby mushrooms and/or obstacles:
If there are none present the mushroom can expand by doing such (the one in the middle dies and 4 new ones pop up):
Now since the mushrooms are in a circle they wont grow again unless some are removed and/or replanted. This keeps mushroom growing in check while adding a huge amount of flavor.
There was actually a "cell division" algorithm that kept things in line very nicely. The idea was that if the space around the cell is open, the cell expands, and if the space is crowded, the cell dies.
Well, mushrooms expand exponentially in real life, right?
All living things grow exponentially when unchecked in real life. Unfortunately Minecraft does not have a functioning ecosystem to keep everyone in check. From a game balance perspective it is far too easy to start a massive mushroom farm, all you need is 5 minutes of building and 1 mushroom of each. Go away and do whatever for a while and when you come back you have all the mushrooms you could possibly need.
There was actually a "cell division" algorithm that kept things in line very nicely. The idea was that if the space around the cell is open, the cell expands, and if the space is crowded, the cell dies.
Kind of like the "Game of Life" algorithm (3 adjacent -> grow, 2 or 3 adjacent -> stay alive, 1 or 4+ adjacent -> dead), except only using the "4+ adjacent -> dead" part?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Urist McWackoMcGoose cancels Mod Minecraft: Discovered Dwarf Fortress"
Ancient sig archive:
Paper Minecraft: Legend of the Music Discs... is on hiatus until I get a new high-end gaming laptop! Episode 2-4: watch?v=Lk4TjTnUJYU
Kind of like the "Game of Life" algorithm (3 adjacent -> grow, 2 or 3 adjacent -> stay alive, 1 or 4+ adjacent -> dead), except only using the "4+ adjacent -> dead" part?
Mushroom Circles! (Otherwise known as fairy rings)
How this would work in game is a mushroom would check for nearby mushrooms and/or obstacles:
If there are none present the mushroom can expand by doing such (the one in the middle dies and 4 new ones pop up):
Now since the mushrooms are in a circle they wont grow again unless some are removed and/or replanted. This keeps mushroom growing in check while adding a huge amount of flavor.
Well, mushrooms expand exponentially in real life, right?
All living things grow exponentially when unchecked in real life. Unfortunately Minecraft does not have a functioning ecosystem to keep everyone in check. From a game balance perspective it is far too easy to start a massive mushroom farm, all you need is 5 minutes of building and 1 mushroom of each. Go away and do whatever for a while and when you come back you have all the mushrooms you could possibly need.
Kind of like the "Game of Life" algorithm (3 adjacent -> grow, 2 or 3 adjacent -> stay alive, 1 or 4+ adjacent -> dead), except only using the "4+ adjacent -> dead" part?
"Urist McWackoMcGoose cancels Mod Minecraft: Discovered Dwarf Fortress"
Ancient sig archive:
Paper Minecraft: Legend of the Music Discs... is on hiatus until I get a new high-end gaming laptop! Episode 2-4: watch?v=Lk4TjTnUJYU

Yes, something quite like that.
My wheat farms are obsoleted because its so easy to just grab some mushrooms and make soup.
Easy mushroom farm:
Just dig it in a straight tunnel. It won't spawn mobs and it keeps your mushrooms seperated. Seed it with a couple of mushrooms and voila.
For balance reasons mushrooms should really be harder to cultivate then wheat.
They flood caverns as of 1.6.
Ah. Well, I'm not starting the game up again until 1.7, so guess it's not a big deal on my end. This solution sounds fine though.
...Yeah. Definite support to this thread. Tweet that to Notch or something, I'm sure he'd toss a quick fix into 1.7.