Alright, so there's this idea I've been working on for the past few weeks. You heard me, weeks. Basically, it's boats. Boats than you can make bigger, slap a name on, armor, choose what propulsion system it has, and carry stuff in.
Full idea in spoiler:
Okay guys. Just a slight disclaimer, the explanation for this idea is going to be *HUGE*. The idea itself may be simpler, but the description will take a long time to explain. In a nutshell, it's bigger boats that are also modular.
So we'll start with a slight modification of a game mechanic. Otherwise, the idea won't work very well. So just keep in mind that in this idea, you can't push a boat around by standing on top of it. At least just for the higher-level classes, which we'll get to in a minute.
Also, upon entering a boat, a GUI will appear somewhere around the bottom-right or so that displays the ships 'health', and speed.

Before we go overboard (no pun intended), let's begin with some basic principles that can be applied to the current boat. Let's call it the Dinghy. You can't do too terribly much with the Dinghy, but you CAN do some things.
Dinghies can be crafted just like they normally are. However to modify a boat, a new tool will have to be brought into the game. Let's say it's a Hammer. Right-clicking on a boat with a hammer, granted you're the one that built it will open up a GUI.

Like I said before the abilities with the Dinghy are limited, so you have limited things that pop up in the GUI. All that displays for now is the hull, propulsion system, and their respective health bars. You can also give your boat its own custom name that appears on its hull (But this probably won't be for the Dinghy). You will also notice two numbers at the top. On the left (12/12), is the boat's hitpoints. I doubled their damage resistance because I thought it was kind of silly to kill a boat with one arrow. To the right (1) is the ship's base speed attribute. That is to say, the speed capability of a boat, excluding the propulsion system. Boat stats will vary upon each construction. Therefore someone can be proud of themselves if they have made a fast/strong ship.
Normally, you have your standard, nonreinforced plank hull. However, you could change that. Let's start with a Reinforced Wood Hull. In the crafting table, put in 9 pieces of log together to form a piece of Reinforced Wood Plating. Dinghies will probably only need one plate to reinforce themselves. Plating will probably not be stackable for gameplay purposes.
Reinforced wood will provide a higher defense for the dinghy. Two more types of hull include Steel and Gold. Steel Plating requires 4 Iron blocks in the crafting table, and Gold likewise. With a steel-plated hull, the boat can take considerably more damage than Plank or Wood. Steel hulls can possibly withstand lava. Gold plating is only slightly stronger than Reinforced Wood and is not feasible as battle armor. However, just in case you were thinking these hulls are easy to reinforce, keep in mind higher levels will need more plating as they get bigger.

When a boat is damaged, simply right-click with the Hammer to open up the GUI. There should be a slot for extra plating to go in should the ship need repair. To ensure fair fights, the repair will be timed, like a furnace. Each repair uses up the Hammer some. It would also be nice to see some sort of visual cue for an almost-destroyed ship, like fire or a broken, damaged texture.
And now, the propulsion systems.
With the default dinghy, you have your Hands. Hands for a dinghy are basically neutral, however they will be slower than in previous versions of the game.
An alternative solution, is craftable Oars. Oars are very maneuverable and faster than hands, however they do not grant a steady speed and require you to hold down the forward button whenever you want to move. They may even 'tire' you out more (using up more Hunger).

The last one for the Dinghy, is the sail. Sails can provide very fast speeds, however they have low thrust and are not easy to slow down and speed up easily. A steady speed is required for traversing around land-covered areas. Sails can also possibly be made with different colored wool, to help a boat stand out. Sails grant a steady speed as you can leave them unattended with very little deceleration.

So now we move on to a bigger boat. Not too terribly big, but we're getting there.
To construct larger ships and propulsion systems, you're going to need an alternative to the crafting table. Let's just call it the Shipwright. This block ONLY crafts boats and takes up more blocks of space.

I think for a new level of boat, you're going to need some Blueprints. Blueprints can most likely be created by interacting with the Shipwright by combining a blueprint (Or in this case, a solid Dinghy) and investing your Experience Points to come up with a new 'idea' for a bigger boat. The 'studying' is timed, again, like a furnace, and with each clump of EP filled, the progress bar is filled some. You can also find Blueprints in dungeons, but only rarely.
After that will be done, the Blueprints can be put in a separate slot, with another slot under it. The slot under it is for the wood required to build the boat. Every time you put more wood into the slot under it, the progress bar for the ship increases. I'm not sure if this should be the way but it sounds pretty good.
I think that for each class of boat, a bigger mast will need to be crafted. That, or just have one single mast that, for bigger boats, you need to pack in more Sails. Kind of like how plating works.

So now, the next level: the Skiff.
The skiff is *about* 2 1/2 times the length of the Dinghy. However, with the next level comes new features. First off is a second slot, a passenger seat if you will. But besides that, there are two more features.

Here, there will be special lots to place blocks at. These could be something decorative like gold blocks, or practical, like chests.

To place a block in there, logically you would right click on that one place with the block. It's possible the block lot will be highlighted by the Hammer to show you where you can place things. To get it out, leftclick with the Hammer and it will appear in your inventory. If blocks aren't your fancy, perhaps animals are. Here is where the extra space in the GUI comes in. There would be a list of all the entities in the boat. If they are NPCs, you can choose to move them to another slot, or evict them. You can also evict players,

With the Skiff, you have an additional propulsion system. I'm not sure about this one so I'm going to need you guys' approval. Essentially, it is a steam-powered paddlewheel. The steam engine will need to be powered by coal, which will either have a furnace-like GUI or not. It is also be slightly less maneuverable than the Sail. The steam engine, like Sails, grant a steady speed and can be left unattended. They have perfect acceleration, however they are much slower than Sails.

For armoring, the Skiff will need more plates to sufficiently armor the boat. Possibly two or three.
The skiff will most likely be the largest boat to successfully navigate shallow marshlands and the like.

Now, for the adventurous sailor, we're going to go one step up. Meet the Cog. The Cog is a fair-sized boat, but it is hardly big. What is does have though is a top deck large enough to walk upon. Now, we're going to introduce another feature. This time, the Cog will have a lower deck. You could be able to place a few blocks in that bottom deck, such as beds and chests. This will be good for long adventures. If you aren't spoiled, you would be happy with a Cog for your adventuring needs. Hands are now unusable.
For gameplay, an invisible, penetrable box will be in the interiors of the ship that hides water and its effects when water blocks go near it, but as soon as they leave the water blocks return to normal.

Now here, starting with the Cog, is the boat's main means of offense and defense. You guessed it, the Cannon. I believe the cannon could be made with a crafting table. To fire (And right now I'm making most of this up as I go along), you must first craft a Cannonball (Maximum of 16 allowed in hand), and right click on the cannon. The cannon will fizz for about 2.5 seconds or more before firing the cannonball. You must wait an additional second to fire again. To adjust the angle of a cannon, rightclick it (without a cannonball) to point the cannon up or down.

Now with ships and other entities, contact with the cannonball will just equal damage being dealt. But with blocks, there is a chance (Depending on their blast resistance) that the block being hit, and/or the blocks around it will be pushed forward and respond to gravity. And in rare cases, break upon falling.
That, or it would just be a weak form of TNT. But I like the former better. Mostly because it's my idea. Good gosh I think I'm vain or something.

So like I said, if you aren't spoiled, you would be happy with a Cog for your adventuring needs.

But sometimes, you ARE spoiled. Or, just requiring a bit more power. That's where the fourth level comes in, behold: the Carrack. Significantly larger than the other boats, this one can actually be called a ship. It has 3 decks. The first being the top deck (Which comprises of the main deck, quarter and poop, naturally), the second the gun deck, which to the back holds the captain's quarters, and the bottom deck is mainly for cargo. If the Carrack is steampowered the boiler room will be in there.


Oars are now unusable for the Carrack, as are Hands for Cogs. (The Oars for the Cogs would be weaker than on the Skiff and Dinghy, as would hands with the Skiff. However with the Steam engine and Sail, they just get faster with each level, with exceptions [amended])
Another neat thing you get to do with the Carrack is you get to live up to the naval definiton of a ship. On the Carrack, you can place another boat inside it for scouting/lifeboats. But it can only be a Skiff or Dinghy.

Okay, next one. Here we go.

(This level is optional. You guys tell me if it should be ingame.)
Now sometimes, your lust for power is so great no measly Carrack can hold it; not even when it is steel-hulled and armed to the teeth. No, you wish for the very seas to obey your will. Well, you psychopath, here's the fix for you: Feast your eyes sir, on the Galleon. Over twice the size of a Carrack, four long decks and plenty of guns, you would not want to war with this vessel. It is essentially a Carrack on steroids; bigger, stronger (but not faster [amended]), and scarier. But, slightly slower. Should you decide to armor it, keep in mind it will need 8 Platings to armor (Maybe more). And considering each plating requires 4 blocks to fill, you're going to need a LOT of iron.

When a ship finally loses all of it's 'health', it will sink to the bottom of the sea. Here, it is subject to despawn, but will stay there as long as there is a player near it. Although dangerous, it would then be available for looting, if you haven't plundered the ship while it was afloat already. < --- This entire paragraph is subject to discussion and alternative options. It's also been proposed that the ship turn into it's block counterpart, only leave chests, or like in the Amendment Posts, leaves a Ship's Bell that can serve as a savegame for your ship.
Now, I understand that such a feature is going to be *HUGE*, possibly requiring its own update, and would be just a massive undertaking. But I for one believe it will be an undertaking worth the effort. It would heighten the spirit of Minecraft adventure and exploration, people could trade vast amounts of resources over long distances, and plunder other ships for their booty. So I'm not 100% expecting this to be accepted entirely (But if it is, thankyouthankyouthankyou!), but in the future if any modders were curious about how to go about doing their ship mod, this could be a good example. But I really hope this would at least be seen by Mojang. Just two-thirds into completing this idea, I read an old tweet of Notch saying that he might add something like this in the future. So, if you are, this could be one of the ways to go about it.
Any questions?
Amendment Post 1:
- In the Shipwright GUI, the product slot of the boatbuilding section is now a button. I've updated the image.
- Craftable ship components should have been expanded. In addition to a Galley, an Anchor component (probably most vital) is also one of them. Also proposed by the community are tables, crows' nests (That basket thing on the top of masts), icebreakers, and if the NPC crew idea is implemented, a sea captain's desk to chart courses for the helmsman.
- I actually think you should be able to move players. I mean, if they actually decided to choose to lock themselves in a mob slot rather than move around freely I think the captain should be free to move them wherever.
Amendment Post 2:
- Galleons really shouldn't be the fastest ships out there, it would be unfair. Instead, their base speed capability should be a tiny bit slower than a Carrack, probably. Updated.
- Right clicking on a cannon without a cannonball could point the cannon up/down. Updated.
- Different types of ships that do not follow the linear 5-level path of upgrades. Instead, 'extra' ship blueprints could be found in dungeons in strongholds, but they would be rare. Could be a way to get Caravels and viking ships or whatnot.
- I'm not sure about the decay process of sunken ships. Perhaps after someone leaves the ship's general area, a timer starts and eventually the ship will despawn. Or maybe it just stays there forever but can be 'mined' away to recollect valuable materials.
Amendment Post 3 (Note: These are not as important as the first 2) :
- Flags. Although I'm sure colored sails can do a good job of faction identification, custom-made flags would be really great to have. They could be used outside of boats, too.
- Extra ammo types. The standard cannonball would be made of stone and gunpowder, but others could be made out of iron and other materials. The new usable fireball coming 1.2 would also make a neat incendiary addition. Other types can inclde grapeshot and chainshot.
- Sea monsters. Pretty straightforward, I'd like to see some minor sea bosses when roaming the sea. But in my opinion, they should be restricted to certain sizes of ships (Dinghies have no bosses). For example the ship the size of a Skiff would probably only get a shark or something, whereas something Cog-sized would get sharks and sea serpents, medium-sized ships like the Carrack would get sea serpents and maybe giant octopus (Will wrap tentacles around the ship and begin to tug down unless tentacles are damaged), etc...They are, however, uncommon.
- A ship's bell. Yes, they can be used as a normal bell, but there's something that makes them special. Once placed on a ship, it bears the ship's name and can ONLY be placed on that ship (e.g Bell of the S.S Whatchamacallit). Then, if a sunken ship despawns, that bell is turned into a block at the bottom of the ocean and contains all of the ship's data. Then, it can be used to recreate the ship.
- Sea obstacles. The ocean would be made that much better if occasionally you stumbled upon a mini-biome within an ocean. These could be mysterious sea rocks, or icebergs made of pack ice where a tundra or arctic biome would usually be.
And the Reddit post is here:
http://www.reddit.co..._modular_boats/ (Archived)
*EDIT*
Due to popular demand, I give you this:
Add this to your signature if you like it!
<a href="../../../topic/699830-boats-evolved-bigger-modular-boats/"><img src="http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss136/elitemandalorian48/besig-1.jpg" alt=""></a>
Important Things to Know for the Unfortunate Few Without Common Sense (aka posts I've gotten a million and one times and wish to halt):
- This is NOT A MOD. The illustrations may look convincing (for a bunch of photoshopped models made in Sketchup :p) but I have repeatedly, in this suggestion, mentioned it as an idea and rarely even mentioned the word 'mod'. Please stop asking how to install this. Plus, we're in the Suggestions forum. That tell you anything?
- Yes, I have SEEN the Zeppelin Mod. You're just about the 508th person to show me this. Yes, I've seen it. YES, I think it's a great mod, but in my opinion it's best to leave it at that, and this idea is about the vanilla Minecraft ships made of predefined modules, not blocks, as that seems to be more congruent with the current game mechanics. Saying "There's a mod for that" is a warnable offense, in any case.
- You see that little link up there? Yeah, the idea is in the link (or the spoiler). I've explained rather thoroughly how the boats work. While I would really like it for you to give me your two cents, this thread is not for people to make up entirely their own ideas on how the boats work. That part's already here, mostly
- "This would be great, but the oceans need to be bigger!" <-- Say this and you're gonna get a smack. >=(
Download link to the original SketchUp models: http://www.mediafire...55l1cnm1npgkbgl
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I've taken numerous screenshots and saved them in organized separate forms I've dubbed "Generations" (i.e. generations throughout the ages).
I've decided to post a few of them to show the community; if all goes well I'll upload the different generations.
Please note that all the names (if displayed) in the pictures are copy written by me - as they are being used in other official publications.
So, without further delay here is the preview picture, it is a lighthouse on a colony island of the kingdom.
Here is the lighthouse itself from the outside
A view to the bottom! Hope you're not afraid of heights
Viewing the City
A view as you approach the island at night (thus the structure's purpose)
Here is the interior of the lighthouse
This is the "Seating", which is the main deliberation council chamber, where the island's politics discuss.
Climbing the Tower
The tower thins as you approach the top
For all those who would like to see; here is the construction
Don't mind the stairs now, I changed them later to fit the fountain (plus I am trying not to be OCD with symmetry)
Now here's a frustrated me trying to get rid of the bland cobblestone walls
There - looks better now
Capping the roof (I fell and died a couple times... Damn faulty shift key)
Voila!!
Has another sneak peak, here is the front of the castle I built in front of the main city:
And finally, here is the overview map of my kingdom:
You can see the castle overlooking the major city, as well as the lighthouse over the southern island, and other settlements all over the place.
DISCLAIMER:
- Yes, I'm still on Beta 1.8.1 because upgrading messed up the map generation, so I am waiting until a way to prevent it can be found.
- If it's not "WOW EPIC" or something magnificent and amazing; remember I'm doing this legit (except sheep wool :tongue.gif:), but I think it's pretty good under those parameters.
- Any comments on ideas are helpful
- The names and titles in my maps are copy written by me - being used in official documents in real life, so do not reproduce any of them, thank you.
- The reason I edit in sheep to make wool is to produce beds, which I use to declare what the population of the kingdom is by using Cartographer to count the beds on the map (currently there are 222 exactly, so 222 people live in my kingdom)
- ALSO!! A big help from anyone who contributes to this request: I am currently using Flickr to upload my photos, but it's very difficult to extract the HTML code, as I have to do it manually and it's just not very ergonomic, I've tried Mediafire but I don't really like their upload limit, if anyone can recommend a way (free of course) to upload and sort mass amounts of pictures I would really appreciate it (maybe I'll name a town after them :smile.gif: )
Thanks for viewing my pictures - and tell me what you think!!
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Seriously? This goes to you personally because people with no-shirt-on pictures who think they're so cool are the first on my list of unintelligence. For all those who believe to "move on" or "this is a joke", it would only have been funny if only you were in the planes/towers everyone else called in sick), because we'd be looking back on a day the stupid population dropped. You are all an example of the lack of respect and altruism in this world.
Grow up. It's tragic and forever will be.
R.I.P to those who died, and by the way, the towers are a very nice build
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- Heavily tested by me and a friend before release onto this site
- Long gameplay, so you get what you play (avg 1 to 2 hours)!
- Ability to choose your adventure and paths!
- Intertwining challenges and puzzles
- Different levels of challenges
- Challenging aspect, it will make you think
- Very good checkpoint system to avoid repetition
- Elegant scenery
- Originality in design
- No extra mods/texturepacks needed!
- There are some parts where you are "supposed" to die. So don't worry if you know you did something right and it happens
Download Here: CLICK HERE
Would love to see some Let's Plays! Any LP's or comments/questions, PM me
You may also PM if you are stuck or have inquiries
And feel free to post how many diamonds you found by the end of the game!
Words of Advice:
- Make sure to read every sign to avoid confusion
- Check rooms thuroughly
- Some challenges may require use of memorizing, use a blank notepad document or pen and paper to help you.
Leave a comment, tell me what you think!
EDIT FOR 1.8.1 AND UP:
I am going to change some of the blocks to make it more appealing. I doubt I can change all of it.
Also, due to 1.8's new SPRINT feature, most jump-challenges are cheatable, instead of changing them, I advise that SPRINTING IS CHEATING, while playing the jump challenges
Preview Pictures
UPDATED VERSIONS:
Current: 1.4
Updated: 08/25/2011
UPDATES
1.0 Initial release
1.2 Fixed starting bug
1.3 Fixed cosmetics a bit
1.4 Added secret collectables hidden throughout
Accepting input on further updates!
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There is severe controversy towards these new TESTIFICANTS that have invaded our worlds. However I have a solveable idea.
Personally I like NPCs (just not this one, but luckily a few skins can be made to make them look less... Squidward-like).
I think the NPCs should have come out of a spawner-like object (maybe a replica of a bed?). This way if you don't like NPCs, just kill them and destroy spawners.
Secondly; some of us build incredible, and saddly, empty cities. It would be nice to place these spawners about so that our player-made dwellings may be more lively.
Tell me what you think!
EDIT:
If someone can make a mod of this, that would be greatly AMAZING and APPRECIATED
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2 years ago if you search "redstone" you will find that company... now on google you will just see 30 pages of minecraft reference... ha.. minecraft has trolled that company
edit:
funny.. there is Redstone public school in a nearby city
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Do you remember digging your deepest hole, then going onto YouTube to actually figure out what is at the bottom?
Do you remember the day indev became infdev? You wondered just how far the world would go?
Do you remember before the days the Far Lands were known, wondering what the edge would look like?
Were you pioneers who were part of the first few to struggle with the use of redstone?
Maybe you're an even older generation:
Who was part of the transition from single-breaking blocks to the use of tools and ores? To many of you, that is normal gameplay; but to some, it was a major transition that stirred up controversy like the transitions into 1.8/1.9
The point is:
Some of us are like the old fathers, who sit at the table talking about days of old, when there was no Nether to explore and squid had not existed, days when it was unknown how far the world goes. Long before Redstone Repeaters allowed for better electronics, one had to manually make it stretch farther.
Than some are the grandfathers who sit back on their rocking chairs, and tell of days before redstone conveniences the "young people".
Conclusion
This idea occurred to me recently as I was exploring. Off in the distance I saw a torchlight that I had not recalled placing. When I curiously investigated I saw an old settlement I had built with archaic (stone/wood) tools and resources intact in the chests. I remember losing them a long time ago, and was upset but had moved on, and now forgotten all about it, as well as surpassed the need for those tools.
What I did however was build a small museum-like-exhibit to preserve the stone-age tools. It was then that I realized this chunk was even before Birch trees!!!!
Than it came to me... Much like evolution of humans throughout many generations, it seemed this old settlement had an ancestral meaning to it... It was like studying archaeology in MineCraft!
MineCraft is looking like the advancement of the human race. Things that were researched on YouTube and the Wiki are now common knowledge for new players, and many of the "unknowns" have been answered.
So answer me, post what you remember, how far back you started