Let me be clear on a few things before we get into this:
1) I'm not trying to insult Minecraft's creators or players
2) This thread's intention is to discuss either what makes Minecraft easy, or what makes Minecraft a challenge
So, earlier I created a thread in suggestions with a few mechanics that would make the game more difficult. People shot down the ideas because they thought they might be too "tedious", but isn't that mostly what minecraft is? I mean, I put way too many hours into this game since early alpha, and the only thing I've ever come across that actually surprised me with creepers. Which is perfectly fine, that's their purpose. Sneak up on players and blow up. They also added silverfish while mining, that makes for a nice surprise, but why stop there?
Minecraft gets boring. Anybody who has played as long as I had would agree with me. You just get bored. Aside from creative mode this game is just exploring things you've already seen a hundred times over, finding stuff you've already had hundreds of times, and killing things you've already killed hundreds of times. When you kill a monster there's little anticipation to see what it dropped and the whole purpose of experience is to just do all of this faster.
Where did all of this come from? I'm actually a bit frustrated with some of the patches and snapshots. I've played a lot of PC games and I have NEVER seen the community get all worked up over bug fixes and minor additions. In fact, I just watched a whole youtube video dedicate to purple half-slabs. Really? This isn't the sims guys. I'm sorry if you disagree with me but all of these small updates get on my nerves. Why? Because I cannot run a server for more than a few months because I need to wait for bukkit to update so people can have their purple half-slabs on my server. By that time my player-base is deserted.
So back on topic, I want to hear what actually challenges you guys about survival. For me it's trying to find an apple in leaves. I don't see people calling that tedious. By the way, if you were interested in what my suggestions were it was actual boss versions of monsters(giant skeletons?), crops withering, and food spoiling. Which would only exist in a master difficulty mode (between hard & hardcore).
TL;DR The game has gotten boring and these updates aren't helping it's case.
Let me be clear on a few things before we get into this:
So, earlier I created a thread in suggestions with a few mechanics that would make the game more difficult. People shot down the ideas because they thought they might be too "tedious", but isn't that mostly what minecraft is? While minecraft have a certain form of tediousness making it more rewarding, don't confuse it with challenge.For exemple, having food spoil is tedious. But having a bonus for a more varied nutrition or a malus for a unique food diet is a challenge. because having more type of food doesn't ask you for more time, only for a more varied gameplay.
I mean, I put way too many hours into this game since early alpha, and the only thing I've ever come across that actually surprised me with creepers. Which is perfectly fine, that's their purpose. Sneak up on players and blow up. They also added silverfish while mining, that makes for a nice surprise, but why stop there?
That is a part where i agree with you, most people sadly see new mob as useless. They see more surviving mechanic as boring and getting in the way. I had a long debate about this when the wolf came out.
Minecraft gets boring. Anybody who has played as long as I had would agree with me. You just get bored. Aside from creative mode this game is just exploring things you've already seen a hundred times over, finding stuff you've already had hundreds of times, and killing things you've already killed hundreds of times. When you kill a monster there's little anticipation to see what it dropped and the whole purpose of experience is to just do all of this faster.
Welcome to gaming. No game can stay fresh forever. I am also a player since early alpha, and the fact that minecraft could keep us that long is amazing. Most game have a lifespawn of week if not day. The one thing i don't understand is people being suprise to be bored of minecraft after a while.
Where did all of this come from? I'm actually a bit frustrated with some of the patches and snapshots. I've played a lot of PC games and I have NEVER seen the community get all worked up over bug fixes and minor additions. In fact, I just watched a whole youtube video dedicate to purple half-slabs. Really? This isn't the sims guys. I'm sorry if you disagree with me but all of these small updates get on my nerves. Why? Because I cannot run a server for more than a few months because I need to wait for bukkit to update so people can have their purple half-slabs on my server. By that time my player-base is deserted.
Minecraft can be the sim, im sure there is a mod for that. More seriously, a few month between update is actually a good gaps. Yes it is a pain to update all the mod and abandon the one that doesn't get updated but that what modding is all about. Doesn't love it ? Can't handle it, stay Vanilla. For a long time i followed that same advice. Atleast, until i was ready to mod all over again.
If your player base think your server isn't worthwile simply because it doesn't have the purple half slab, then im sorry to say but your server is not really good.
So back on topic, I want to hear what actually challenges you guys about survival. For me it's trying to find an apple in leaves. I don't see people calling that tedious. By the way, if you were interested in what my suggestions were it was actual boss versions of monsters(giant skeletons?), crops withering, and food spoiling. Which would only exist in a master difficulty mode (between hard & hardcore).
I make the game more challenging with the use of Mo'creature. Back when the hunger bar didn't exist i had a mod for that too. While i avoid most mod that add tediousness i add alot of other who give interesting challenge and/or gameplay.
I don't play normal minecraft to be challenged, I play super hostile maps if I want to have a chellange, normal minecraft is in my opinion not supposed to be uber hard, it is a sandbox game. I often play it to relax and to get my head free, I cannot do that with a harder game, well the head gets free but it is not relexing.
Not long ago, I removed all the challenge from the game. I just sealed myself underground, started mining, made underground farms, and voila - no challenge at all.
After that got boring - and it didn't take long - I went back to my beginner style, living above ground in a little house, with a mine not very far away. Now I actually fight mobs occasionally, which puts so much of the fun back in the game. Needless to say, I still don't go sprinting across the midnight landscape and wearing out a stack of swords.
Not long ago, I removed all the challenge from the game. I just sealed myself underground, started mining, made underground farms, and voila - no challenge at all.
After that got boring - and it didn't take long - I went back to my beginner style, living above ground in a little house, with a mine not very far away. Now I actually fight mobs occasionally, which puts so much of the fun back in the game. Needless to say, I still don't go sprinting across the midnight landscape and wearing out a stack of swords.
Lol I can see how that would remove the fear. But seriously the first time I played minecraft, I was scaredsooo bad!
For me, my biggest challenges are the ones that I make for myself. Wiring with redstone, for instance, is a challenge you place upon yourself, not one that is built-in.
The baseline challenge in the game is pretty much self determined, meaning that it's only a challenge if you go looking for it. Which generally speaking is ok, but I do wish that on hard there were events that were more of a forced challenge from time to time. I guess that I would like some naturally occurring mini bosses that were worth the risk of going up against would be a nice change.
A problem that I run into, is that I never die, yet I never see a need to go after the Ender Dragon or Wither because there really isn't a "need to" so why risk it. I guess that is sort of the problem I see, there isn't enough reward for the risk. Sure I could go take on the Ender Dragon, but if I die, puff there goes my diamond armor and enchanted weapons. If I win I get unusable egg and can feel good that I beat him, whoopie!
I never viewed Minecraft as a game that is supposed to challenge me. I enjoy just relaxing and playing some menial minecraft some nights. Its a nice game to just do whatever you would like whether it be redstone mechanisms, exploring, building, or anything else. I have actually never been bored and I have played since the alpha days. Install some mods maybe? That has helped me in the past.
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If you mean challenged to stay alive then no (with the possible exception of when you are establishing yourself at the beginning). If you mean do I find a challenge in any aspect of the game then the answer is certainly yes. I can challenge myself to build new and better, farms, houses, and redstone devices all the time (in survival, its much less of a challenge in creative). I can challenge myself to do something interesting with the new additions to the game which come out regularly (also great imho, but I can definitely see why it would not be for a server admin). Even when you are rather secure with your enchanted diamond armor and weapons exploring new caves, mine shafts, and dungeons are still delightfully tense and compelling experiences despite not being challenged for survival. Having a creeper surprise you and destroy that diamond block you finally found is certainly something to avoid even if it doesnt result in death. Even so you still have to choose to risk going into an unsecured location to do your mining instead of making a enclosed branch mine so its still all about the challenge and atmosphere you make.
If you aren't willing to make your own challenge anymore then I'd have to say minecraft simply isn't the game for you anymore. I don't think that it was ever designed to be challenging in the sense you seem to want (at least not if you don't seek it out one way or another) nor do I think it should it be. Almost every game out there challenges you to keep your player alive constantly. I also enjoy that type of game but the fact that minecraft is truly a sandbox game which accommodates many more play styles then just keeping your character alive in the face of enemy hordes is what sets it apart and is something that shouldn't be lost imho.
Minecraft challenges me twice. The first time is before I have a reliable food supply, and the second time is when I first go to the Nether without fire resistance potions yet. Apart from that? No, not really! Armor and cake and cookies break the Overworld, fire resistance breaks the Nether, and a nice Infinity bow breaks the End!
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"Sometimes, I just wanna give up, say 'I'm done with this mess' and go to bed. But you know what; you can't shrug off your responsibilities. You got to pull yourself up and meet the challenges head on. That's the only way you're gonna get ahead in life."
For me, starting a new world is the only real challenge. Its difficult because you have issues with mobs, finding decent resources, getting your base how you want it, food etc. in contrast by other world that ive had since around alpha is fully set up with automatic farms, mob xp grinders, zombie villager purifier, all these things create small challenges yes but starting a new world is a true challenge.
Not so much, but it depends on how I play. I still cannot get disks very easily. At all. Cave Spiders and webs still challenge, but basic mobs are a lot easier now. I can take most of them with relative ease. But sometimes it still challenges me, so i voted sometimes.
1) I'm not trying to insult Minecraft's creators or players
2) This thread's intention is to discuss either what makes Minecraft easy, or what makes Minecraft a challenge
So, earlier I created a thread in suggestions with a few mechanics that would make the game more difficult. People shot down the ideas because they thought they might be too "tedious", but isn't that mostly what minecraft is? I mean, I put way too many hours into this game since early alpha, and the only thing I've ever come across that actually surprised me with creepers. Which is perfectly fine, that's their purpose. Sneak up on players and blow up. They also added silverfish while mining, that makes for a nice surprise, but why stop there?
Minecraft gets boring. Anybody who has played as long as I had would agree with me. You just get bored. Aside from creative mode this game is just exploring things you've already seen a hundred times over, finding stuff you've already had hundreds of times, and killing things you've already killed hundreds of times. When you kill a monster there's little anticipation to see what it dropped and the whole purpose of experience is to just do all of this faster.
Where did all of this come from? I'm actually a bit frustrated with some of the patches and snapshots. I've played a lot of PC games and I have NEVER seen the community get all worked up over bug fixes and minor additions. In fact, I just watched a whole youtube video dedicate to purple half-slabs. Really? This isn't the sims guys. I'm sorry if you disagree with me but all of these small updates get on my nerves. Why? Because I cannot run a server for more than a few months because I need to wait for bukkit to update so people can have their purple half-slabs on my server. By that time my player-base is deserted.
So back on topic, I want to hear what actually challenges you guys about survival. For me it's trying to find an apple in leaves. I don't see people calling that tedious. By the way, if you were interested in what my suggestions were it was actual boss versions of monsters(giant skeletons?), crops withering, and food spoiling. Which would only exist in a master difficulty mode (between hard & hardcore).
TL;DR The game has gotten boring and these updates aren't helping it's case.
haha my girlfriend used to be the same way, it's a girl thing
I Solve practical problems
After that got boring - and it didn't take long - I went back to my beginner style, living above ground in a little house, with a mine not very far away. Now I actually fight mobs occasionally, which puts so much of the fun back in the game. Needless to say, I still don't go sprinting across the midnight landscape and wearing out a stack of swords.
Lol I can see how that would remove the fear. But seriously the first time I played minecraft, I was scaredsooo bad!
Then Terrafirmacraft stopped challenging me... so I took a break and started playing Dwarf Fortress. Losing is Fun™!
But it could use some more additions to make it a little tougher.
"Do we want to be the mediocre brimstone boy, or do we want to be the more-than-enough brimstone man?" - Northernlion
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My little sister is like that, buy my girlfriend has always been running outside in the darkness.
A problem that I run into, is that I never die, yet I never see a need to go after the Ender Dragon or Wither because there really isn't a "need to" so why risk it. I guess that is sort of the problem I see, there isn't enough reward for the risk. Sure I could go take on the Ender Dragon, but if I die, puff there goes my diamond armor and enchanted weapons. If I win I get unusable egg and can feel good that I beat him, whoopie!
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If you aren't willing to make your own challenge anymore then I'd have to say minecraft simply isn't the game for you anymore. I don't think that it was ever designed to be challenging in the sense you seem to want (at least not if you don't seek it out one way or another) nor do I think it should it be. Almost every game out there challenges you to keep your player alive constantly. I also enjoy that type of game but the fact that minecraft is truly a sandbox game which accommodates many more play styles then just keeping your character alive in the face of enemy hordes is what sets it apart and is something that shouldn't be lost imho.