Minecraft Forums

Quote from szthesquid

Something that's been bothering me about Minecraft recently is how it's gotten so rich and complex, but without the wiki, you'd never know half the game exists.

How would you get to the Nether if you didn't look up portals?

How would you learn that redstone can build electrical circuits without looking up its uses?

How would you know how to craft a bookshelf / potion rack / enchanting table / insert thing here without looking it up?

Or even at a very basic level: there's an achievement for making a pickaxe, but the achievement doesn't tell you HOW to make a pickaxe.

I'm worried that when I introduce people to Minecraft, one of two things will happen:

1. I'll end up explaining every single recipe and bit of information about the game
2. They'll never realize that there's more to the game than dirt and stone and a few minerals

My suggestion: add some form of in-game documentation.

One option: scrolls or books. You could find scrolls in chests or villages, and each scroll would contain a recipe or bit of information chosen at random from a list, with different ranks for different bits of information -- you wouldn't find instructions on how to build a portal until relatively late, for example.

Alternatively, the current achievement system could be expanded into a sort of tech tree. When you find a new block/item, you get one or two basic recipes using that item, and as you craft those recipes, you unlock more. For example:

• When you collect your first block of wood, you're told how to make planks.
• Once you've made planks, you're told how to make sticks, chests, and crafting benches.
• When you've made sticks, you're told how to make the basic tools.
• Once you make your first wooden pickaxe, you learn that you can also make a pickaxe out of stone, and then iron, and then diamond.

Importantly though, you wouldn't need to find a scroll or recipe to build something. If you already know the recipe, you can make it. We wouldn't want to artificially place limitations on when a player can build things.

What do you think? Should Minecraft provide more information so that new players aren't overwhelmed or bored? Or is reliance on the wiki okay?

Quote from szthesquid

I can't understand complaints about Minecraft updates. I just don't get it. Features are not being removed -- everything you liked about the 'old' Minecraft is still in Minecraft; it's just that now there are more things.

You don't have to brew potions.
You don't have to enchant weapons.
You don't have to explore the Nether or the Ender (when it comes out).

None of these things are being forced on you. You can explore and build all you want. What's the big deal? Really the only thing I can think of that sounds like a legit complaint to me is the new terrain generation code, where terrain is much more homogenenous within a biome, and certain features are extremely rare outside certain biomes. For example: big hills mostly only happen in mountain biomes, and they almost never have trees on them.

If you used to think building a castle was fun and rewarding, and now you don't, that's a change in your perspective. Mojang has not made it easier or less rewarding to build a castle. They've simply added more materials and options with which to do so.

If you are one of the people who prefers the "old" Minecraft, I honestly would like to know why, considering that none of these things (except terrain code) are forced on you if you've updated.


PS: sorry for the constant edits. I keep thinking of more things to say or bits to change.

Quote from Inde97

Perhaps it is actually Endermen picking up blocks. Might explain why the sounds are so rare; they have such a low chance of picking one up. Like I said earlier, I've only heard it a couple times, but it is defintely there and quite quiet sounding. Just simply the sound of a stone or dirt block when it breaks, but no sounds of it being mined.

Quote from devilquak

Nope, neither Notch nor Jeb touched the cave generator at all. They only added mineshafts and ravines. It may seem like they go on forever, but believe me, they don't. If you don't believe me, try getting an X-ray or something like that, starting a new world, and looking at the caves. They're big, but not never-ending.