I was trying different random seeds in 19. pre release to try to find interesting ones and I stumbled upon one that had about 80%+ covered in ocean biome when I mapped out a maps worth from the center of it.
I actually liked this as it sort of reminded me a bit of the classic survival island map and I always thought of making some kind of isolated house/ fortress on an island in the middle of a vast ocean would be cool.
I think there could be a few improvements to make these islands feel more distinct and would make finding one / living on one more interesting.
1) Currently, (from what I have seen) passive mobs do not spawn at all in ocean biomes. I don't know if this is intentional or an oversight, but I feel it would be fair to a player that spawns there if they could. Sheep provide access to useful/ potentially colourful building material and other animals provide early game food sources/armour/weapons. Right now if you spawn in one unless there is wheat grass available you will likely starve or move on. Moving on can be difficult if you have no wood and therefore no boat.
2) Add some biome specific elements so finding an island in the ocean is a rewarding experience or some goal you might want to achieve. Maybe add a new kind of tree, like a palm tree, coconut, or maybe cocoa beans (cocoa is likely reserved for a new jungle biome I would think). Make the islands consist of more sand blocks in the form of beaches. Doing this would make them more like a stereotypical tropical/desert island and therefore make it more interesting to build there.
I have lived on multiple islands in my short existance, but, I agree with the trees, cocoa beans, and passive mobs spawning, in 1.8 I was on an ocean map, but I had to stay up all night, so I either dug, or killed whatever happened to spawn that day, actually, now that I think about it, it did give me a nogastalic felling of when I first join in Alpha 1.1, but that is beside the point, yes we need this to happen.
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E = MineCraft²
what about a crab or three? Or a turtle. These would all be unique to island biomes.
I hadn't considered a unique mob as I was primarly focusing on the aesthetics and survivability of the isolated desert islands in the oceans. Although, having unique mobs in a biome is possible judging by the mushroom biome, so I wouldn't be opposed to it at all (Delicious crab meats...)
I have lived on multiple islands in my short existance, but, I agree with the trees, cocoa beans, and passive mobs spawning, in 1.8 I was on an ocean map, but I had to stay up all night, so I either dug, or killed whatever happened to spawn that day, actually, now that I think about it, it did give me a nogastalic felling of when I first join in Alpha 1.1, but that is beside the point, yes we need this to happen.
I'm guessing you had to stay up all night due to the lack of sheep and therefore the lack of bed, right? I've thought about it a bit and I think palm/coconut trees would be better for the few islands that exist in the ocean biome. Historically cocoa trees were originally found in Central and South America so I think that would be better reserved for the jungle biome which has not been yet re-implemented to the game.
Edit: To give an illustration here's the real world equivalent to what I think ocean islands should be like. (maybe with a bit of grass in the middle of the island, though)
I actually liked this as it sort of reminded me a bit of the classic survival island map and I always thought of making some kind of isolated house/ fortress on an island in the middle of a vast ocean would be cool.
I think there could be a few improvements to make these islands feel more distinct and would make finding one / living on one more interesting.
1) Currently, (from what I have seen) passive mobs do not spawn at all in ocean biomes. I don't know if this is intentional or an oversight, but I feel it would be fair to a player that spawns there if they could. Sheep provide access to useful/ potentially colourful building material and other animals provide early game food sources/armour/weapons. Right now if you spawn in one unless there is wheat grass available you will likely starve or move on. Moving on can be difficult if you have no wood and therefore no boat.
2) Add some biome specific elements so finding an island in the ocean is a rewarding experience or some goal you might want to achieve. Maybe add a new kind of tree, like a palm tree, coconut, or maybe cocoa beans (cocoa is likely reserved for a new jungle biome I would think). Make the islands consist of more sand blocks in the form of beaches. Doing this would make them more like a stereotypical tropical/desert island and therefore make it more interesting to build there.
Any other opinions ideas related to this.
They took 40 blocks. That’s as many as four tens. And that’s horrible.
I'm also always in favor of more ocean content.
what about a crab or three? Or a turtle. These would all be unique to island biomes.
E = MineCraft²
I hadn't considered a unique mob as I was primarly focusing on the aesthetics and survivability of the isolated desert islands in the oceans. Although, having unique mobs in a biome is possible judging by the mushroom biome, so I wouldn't be opposed to it at all (Delicious crab meats...)
I'm guessing you had to stay up all night due to the lack of sheep and therefore the lack of bed, right? I've thought about it a bit and I think palm/coconut trees would be better for the few islands that exist in the ocean biome. Historically cocoa trees were originally found in Central and South America so I think that would be better reserved for the jungle biome which has not been yet re-implemented to the game.
Edit: To give an illustration here's the real world equivalent to what I think ocean islands should be like. (maybe with a bit of grass in the middle of the island, though)
They took 40 blocks. That’s as many as four tens. And that’s horrible.