Fighting creepers just got a lot harder in the 12w19a snapshot. I usually try my get up to extreme sword range attack and retreat pattern which isn't working so well now. They seem to explode more often now whenever I get too close, even if I get out of range again.
It means creeper fights just got a lot more interesting, but I'm wondering if there are problems with the local server having to process the player's attacks and then send the results back, creating combat lag that means the creeper's fuse detonates more often?
I always thought creepers were too easy, but is this an intentional change or are they yet to get around to revamping the mob AI and fight code to be more like 12w17a gameplay?
It's due to server - client conflicts. You see that the creeper is out of range, but the server initiated the fuse before your client did. Thus it exploded anyways as the server is in charge of mobs.
I forget which minecraft release version I suddenly noticed that creepers inflated like a balloon before they explode, when I had not noticed that earlier, and also noticed that they are more likely to explode on a server. That is something to be aware of, so after lunging at them, fall back far enough that they deflate before lunging at them again. And it is best if you are on higher ground than the creeper(s).
Recently I had been playing a Hard mode survival only world on a 1.2.5 server. So I didn't really notice a creeper difference from that in 12w19a. I did have quite a few creepers blow up while cave exploring running a separate 12W19a SMP server in Normal difficulty on the same PC. But only one got me so far, when I thought I could run out into the night and plant some sugar cane at the sea shore close by and was suddenly confronted with a couple of spiders, 1 or 2 skeletons, and heard the hiss too late to get out of the way. Fortunately I had just made a bed and slept in it the MC night before, so I was able to run right back out and get my stuff as the sun came up.
It means creeper fights just got a lot more interesting, but I'm wondering if there are problems with the local server having to process the player's attacks and then send the results back, creating combat lag that means the creeper's fuse detonates more often?
I always thought creepers were too easy, but is this an intentional change or are they yet to get around to revamping the mob AI and fight code to be more like 12w17a gameplay?
Cheers ...
BrickVoid
Praise be to Spode.
Recently I had been playing a Hard mode survival only world on a 1.2.5 server. So I didn't really notice a creeper difference from that in 12w19a. I did have quite a few creepers blow up while cave exploring running a separate 12W19a SMP server in Normal difficulty on the same PC. But only one got me so far, when I thought I could run out into the night and plant some sugar cane at the sea shore close by and was suddenly confronted with a couple of spiders, 1 or 2 skeletons, and heard the hiss too late to get out of the way. Fortunately I had just made a bed and slept in it the MC night before, so I was able to run right back out and get my stuff as the sun came up.