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Your problem is that in forge version 2523 they changed how throwables are coded bricking the mod until RWTema releases an update using the new code so if you want to use this mod you would have to use version 2522 of forge for now. More information can be found at Bug 1736
[EDIT/UPDATE] RWTema has fixed this with an update, you need to have forge version 2529+ for it to work though.
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Climate control allows you control climate zones, ocean sizes, biome frequencies, and continent sizes. Make Minecraft worlds into Yourcraft worlds!
New and Important Update!
CC 0.8.2
Synchronized to Geographicraft 0.8.2 with increased land and landmass sizes, and a number of bugfixes.
Mountain chains! Mountains can now be set to appear mostly in mountain chains. A great option to add interest to large land areas.
Configs to choose starting position of the spawn search. So if you find a great spot off in the wild blue yonder, you can just start there.
Frozen Ocean option for snowy zones in latitudinal climates
Climate band offset so you can set any band you want for 0,0.
Bugfixes for climate bands - were not working properly for islands.
Reduction in continental growth.
Not recommended for pre-beta39 worlds.
Detailed info on this page
Geographicraft, the 1.8 version of Climate Control, is now available. It requires the supporting mod ZenoTechnology to run. It has its own discussion thread here.
Set climate zones to smaller, more manageable sizes so you can find a variety of biomes more easily.
Change the frequencies of common biomes and climate zones to occur as often or as rarely as you want.
Prevent hot biome-cold biome transitions, or mix all the biomes together.
Restore true oceans to 1.7, or keep a universal continent with large lakes.
Create a variety of land sizes, from giant continents tens of thousands of blocks across to islands that fit on a single map.
NEW! Move biomes from one climate zone to another. Turn the oceans into giant deserts, endless jungle, frozen ice plains, or vast mountain ranges, if you want. Fill the oceans with islands of your choosing. Rearrange temperate zones to make warm and cool zones distinctive. Put mountains or forests into hot zones as oases.
Review by TeronRedoran
Also removes the tiny islands out in the ocean. 0.2 has a config setting to restore them; not currently working in 0.4
Note for biome mods (BoP, Highlands, and EBXL) and Thaumcraft users: When you first run these mods with CC CC creates a sub-config for the mod bioems. There is a flag to use the mod biomes and the default is OFF so it will not change existing worlds automatically. You need to change this flag to TRUE to get the mod biomes to appear in new worlds. Any existing world which you do not want to have the biomes added to should be opened *before* you make the change so they get a config with the mod biomes off.
Patreon Link
Version info and changelog:
0.4 Beta
Added so far: Server side only, separate configs for each dimension, Support for Highlands and BoP, including sub-biomes, vanilla land/climate option for converting existing vanilla worlds to biome mods, choice of CC-style or vanilla-style coastlines, climate smoothing to minimize bad climate junction when changing world, medium islands, and some bugfixes.
The defaults are set up to produce a brand new world, using the Climate Control world setting. If you want to import a vanilla world, you need to change the general configs so you can import the world, then change to world-specific config after you run the world once in CC. Detailed instructions with the alpha instructions. You may want to set vanillaLandAndClimate=true; that means the world will be generated with 1.7 land and climate rather than the CC settings.
If you want to import an existing CC 0.2 world, you need to run it under CC 0.3 once first for it to convert the config files and record existing generation.
Chunk Wall prevention
Map showing multiple islands and a variety of climates in a 8Kx10K area around start. The land in the upper right and lower left are part of giant continents. The mod "rescues" the start location to one of the nearby islands but the map utility doesn't show that.
View showing mix of hot and cold biomes with the random biomes option on.
ForgeAMIDST mapping program to display CC worlds (and most other biome layout mods as well)
Effects of config settings on world (long)
The defaults create a world with a wide variety of land structures, from oceans scattered with islands to massive continents. Climate zones still exist, but are smaller than in 1.7, roughly the size of snowy zones in 1.6 and before.
Mod Pack Policy: You may include this mod in a modpack provided: 1) You provide attribution; 2) You provide a link to this thread, the Planet Minecraft post, or the Curse download page; and 3) You do not use the modpack for any financial gain, including AdFly links and the like.
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My survival world is available for download, MediaFire link provided both here and at post bottom, where it is accompanied by explanatory narrative. This edition is dated 2016-08-31 and requires MC1.94 or higher. It includes early work on my for-now abandoned Autarch Neglect Village project and Oct 2015 - Aug 2016 renovations and new construction at the Hill Fort. Its most recent alterations of note are the Keep's upper floors and roofing, Beetroot Hill, the Vine Farm, improvements to the Lower Terrace east side, and lighting tweaks throughout the fortress.
This image gives a fair representation of what the eastern portion of our complex looked like the morning of 24 Sep 2016. Many Upper Plateau and Lower Terrace structures and crop fields are on display. About the only things of any significance not visible are a fortress annex housing our Nether Portal and a shrine to the goddess, a few upper plateau auxiliary crop fields, a number of upper plateau livestock pens concealed by Keep and trees. The lower terrace north-side wool pens are visible but not its southwest timber farm complex. The eastern portion of the lower terrace remained relatively untouched since its early 2012 initial sculpting, until its entrance passage was renovated and small horse & mule stables with attached corrals were added during the second half on 2015.
The upper plateau and lower terrace are quite secure. Hostile mobs do not spawn there. Nor can they reach them from below so long as ramp access doors remain closed.
For exhaustive images and text relating to the Hill Fort, open the spoiler below:
Lower terrace south-side ascending ramp gate to the Upper Plateau, a 2016-10-01 image:
This is a typical fortress protective wall; a mix of cobblestone with red brick. For added blast resistance walls are two blocks deep from one block below ground level to several blocks above groundlevel. Their tops are lipped to prevent spider infiltration. Note that the merlons of my battlements point outward rather than upward, a decidedly Minecraftian concept that can look odd until you get use to it. The advantage of outward merlons is, in my opinion, that one can walk out on them for an enhanced view of enemies abutting the wall below. A disadvantage . . . one well aimed skeleton arrow can send you plummeting to join your foe(s).
Double doors open to an enclosed ramp that ascends to the upper plateau. I affectionately refer to this as my "hell gate", it being surrounded by Nether Brick. Andesite frames the entrance. Andesite and Glowstone lighting were added June 2015. Further cosmetic alterations surrounding the gate and more sophisticated lighting atop the Upper Plateau defense wall were installed 6-7 Jul 2015. The crossed-swords-under-shield seen above the doorway is from my paintings file modification. Chocopic13 Shaders.
Fence protected south-side entrance ramp to the lower terrace, a 2016-08-25 image:
Portions of the Upper Plateau are surrounded by fortified lower terraces which acts as a buffer zone, deterring mobs from reaching the plateau's protective walls. These terraces were not utilized for quite some time. Much of their northeast section now houses an extensive sheep ranch, the southwest section a tree farm with support facilities. More recently an acacia farm and horse/mule stables were install to the east and southeast.
Doorless, this lower entrance is safe from spider infiltration due to its one block width. Fencing keeps all else at bay. Two fire-wells were added above the entrance late June 2015. The fortress keep rises high above the Plateau. SEUS shaders v10.2 preview 1.
Fortress east-side gate ascending to the Upper Plateau. A 2015-09-21 image:
This is my "Red Gate", sporting brick surrounds at the doorway. This image was captured soon after completion of a two-stall horse stable on the Lower Terrace. Also seen are 2015 lighting improves atop the Plateau.
Gateway to east-side ascending ramp to the Lower Terrace, a 2015-09-20 image:
This mid Sep 2015 capture is the first visual representation of the fortress east-side lower entrance. At that time the gateway was transformed from its original primitive state to that seen above. Also seen is small horse stable erected at that time. (This image pre-dates the mule stable.) Sildur's Vibrant Shaders.
North-side entrance gate, a 2016-09-04 image:
This was the last major gateway to assume its present enclosed form. Protective fencing was added as recently as June 2015. This image reflects extensive modifications to livestock pens and an expansion of the northeastern lower terrace made that same month. Also seen are a Netherwart field and, just above it, our chicken pen.
Fence protected west-side entrance gate, protecting an enclosed ramp ascending to the upper plateau, a 2016-05-15 image:
The West Gate and its surroundings have undergone relatively little alteration since their construction early 2012. Indeed, I never bothered to update its original 2012 image until performing insignificant cosmetic changes to the area mid May 2016. The terrace between ground level and upper plateau is currently unutilized. The Upper Plateau itself in this quadrant remains in a somewhat primitive state, aside from 2015 lighting improvements and construction of Beetroot Hill mid 2016.
The Autarch's favorite fishing hole is little more that a stone's throw west of the fortress, reached via this gate and a connecting road discussed elsewhere. The gate also marks the official beginning of our Road to the West, longest and most elaborate of Decrepia's highways, stretching nearly 1.5k blocks as the crow flies. Details concerning the Road to the West can be found near post end.
Upper plateau fortress Keep, a 2016-08-25 image:
The Keep consists of two sections. The north (near) section houses the Autarch's spartan living quarters on its upper floor. Its bottom floor is basically a thick slab of cobblestone with stairway leading upward. An interim floor continues the upward passageway and houses several double-chests for bow-and-arrow storage.
The far larger south (far) section consists of numerous floors. The ground-level floor contains a mud room with two single-chests holding frequently needed items, as well as entrances to the outside, my living quarters and a vast underground cavern / abandoned mine complex. The second floor contains storage, oven banks, and a workbench. On 14 June 2012 the Keep tower was extended upward, adding a third floor devoted to bulk storage. On 20-21 June another storage floor was added. Late Nov 2012 a fifth floor dedicated to alchemy was installed. Late Jun 2015 an open-air map-room floor was erected. A small basement houses yet more storage. A proper roof, along with two additional floors, was installed mid Jan 2016.
Seen screen right is the Enchantment Tower following its Jun 2015 cosmetic makeover. A sliver of the even more recently redone Annex surface can be glimpsed to Tower right.
To see the Keep in its earliest recorded stages of completion open the spoiler below:
Day-One view of the site that would house my keep:
Unbeknownst to me at the time, my keep began life as the sun set that first day in Minecraftia. Having fallen victim to the dreaded Why can't I chop this darn tree? syndrome and waiting far too long before googling it, I was ill prepared to survive the night. What I did was throw a column of dirt beneath me, as recommended on YouTube. Only, in my ignorance I didn't pillar high enough. A skeleton arrow sent me plummeting to earth and a speedy demise.
I stayed in a safer haven night two, and planned to make it my temporary base of operations. Alas. A creeper got me next morning. I would not chance upon that haven again for weeks.
Back at my spawn point, I enhanced my column, widening its base and adding a platform at top...all dirt. I never left. That dirt column eventually morphed into the fortress keep as it is today.
Fortress Keep mid Mar 2012:
The Keep in this form came into existence some three weeks into the game. Its living quarters section, with wood superstructure, was erected first. Only later did I add the rear section, to house additional storage and provide safe passage to the entrance to my mining operations. Basic and utilitarian, it got the job done, serving me well for months.
Keep Living Quarters Interior, image updated 2015-06-30:
A simple, spartan affair. I rather like it. Note the nicely patterned wool ceiling, part of the old FancyCraft textures I used as an overwrite.
Keep basement, image added 2012-10-29:
This was originally a natural passage open to the surface just outside my Keep, back when it consisted of only its living quarters section. I built the tower section atop that passage to guaranty safe entry and exit to my exploratory / mining operations. I shored up the ceiling and eventually converted the passage into a proper basement. It currently serves as storage for heavy-construction materials; chests of dirt, cobblestone, gravel, sand, and so on.
The double doors seen ahead open to the passageway that leads to extensive branch mining operations, abandoned mines and underground ravines. I still occasionally chance upon areas not yet explored down there.
Should we turn around we would see a passageway extending some way just beneath the surface. It leads to a set of doors outside the fortress. This passageway served me well as an alternate escape route early on, when the upper plateau was still a dangerous place and mobs often made using the main doors a risky proposition. Nowadays this escape route is never used, the upper plateau being totally secure both day and night.
Keep second floor storage facility and crafting station, image updated 2016-09-03:
This room was for some time my primary storage facility. Nowadays it mostly houses coal, diamonds, iron, gold, obsidian, red-bricks, odd over-world stone blocks, and various Nether blocks. It also contains my daily-use oven banks as well as a crafting table. As is readily apparent the room hails from a time when most everything I built except roofing was solid cobblestone. It is unlikely to undergo modernization.
Keep third floor storage facility, image updated 2012-12-08:
On 14 Jun 2012 the Keep tower was extended upward, adding a third floor dedicated to bulk storage. Kept here are logs, planks, wood stairs and slabs, rails, fencing, misc wood produces, redstone, Lapis, emeralds, leather, odds and ends. Ugly cobble flooring is the Keeps original roof.
Keep fourth floor storage facility, image updated 2012-12-07:
On 20-21 Jun 2012 the Keep tower was extended yet again by an additional floor devoted to bulk storage. The floor is only partially utilized at present. It holds various mob droppings (i.e. zombie flesh, gunpowder, slime balls).
Keep fifth floor alchemy lab, a 2012-12-22 image:
Late Nov 2012 my Fortress keep extended upward yet another floor, a floor devoted to brewing. I have next to no interest in alchemy so was shooting in the dark here, basing my design on what the wiki says is essential. Empty glass bottles, Nether Wart, Glowstone Dust, Redstone Dust, Fermented Spider Eyes, and Gunpowder each have their own individual dispensers. All else will be contained in conventional chests. Hard to see in the capture, there is an infinite water source mid-wall. I prefer that to constantly refilling cauldrons. As of late Jun 2015 this roof saw little use and is far from complete.
Keep sixth floor open-air map room, a 2015-06-29 image:
A 'fluff' floor, erected 27 Jun 2015. I had a difficult time piecing together maps, not realizing that some if not all individual segments were not properly orientated for my purpose. Once I caught on to that finishing up was a breeze.
Keep sixth floor map room, a 2015-06-27 image:
A glimpse at the north and east wall, with a sliver of map wall at extreme right. Paintings seen here are my creation, derived from screen captures from my ongoing play-through of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. The lovely young lass seen gracing two walls is Oblivion's version of Companion Vilja.
Keep eighth floor 'guest' room, a 16 Jan 2016 image:
This room, part of the roof complex, saw the light of day Jan 2016. It consists of four more or less identical 'cells', each containing bed, table & chair, chest, and painting. The further away painting seen above is of my long-ago primary Everquest II character. The nearer painting if my TES Oblivion avatar along with his companion, Vilja. From this floor a ladder ascends to the roof itself.
Upper Plateau Keep Roof, a 17 Jan 2016 image:
The Keep roof soon after completion, captured from outside the Oven Bank Facility. Only a few currently posted images show the roof in place.
Overview of Upper Plateau Farmland, captured atop the Keep, a 2015-09-24 image:
Much of my farmland is situated on the upper plateau southeastern quadrant. Melon, potato, carrot and cactus patches are out of frame to the left. Though individual fields are small, they more than satisfy my needs, so long as I harvest them with any regularity. Of all the images that saw updates during mid 2015 this one needed it least, having undergone only minor cosmetic changes since its years old predecessor. Jack-o-lantern and glowstone lighting has been added, though a number of semi spammy torches remain. Stone slabs replace cobble around several wheat fields. Cobble steps replaced a few cobble blocks at the southern ramp protective enclosure. SEUS shaders.
Upper plateau with crop fields, a 2015-09-23 image:
The same fields seen above, captured from my farm storage shed. Part of the Keep can be seen. The small wood structure with double doors opens to a stairway that leads down to the South Gate. This image reflects additions and alterations made mid 2015. SEUS shaders.
Upper Plateau Cactus Farm, a 2015-09-23 image:
This mound originally housed a two-tree spruce timber farm, made redundant following creation of a dedicated tree complex on the lower terrace June 2015. At that point it was converted into a cactus farm, and the mound itself made more formal. To the left is seen a portion of my melon patch. A small carrot/potato patch is located just out of frame to the right.
Upper Plateau Melon Patch, a 2015-09-24 image:
My small melon patch is situated at the Upper Plateau northeast corner. The slightly raised mound to its immediate left once housed a two-tree spruce tree farm, now converted into a cactus field. The melon patch itself was for some time a simple affair of no more than plants and torches. Upon creating the cactus field mid June 2015 I found my melons too blase in comparison. To rectify that I added two trees, stone ground cover and fancy lighting.
Upper Plateau Carrot and Potato Patches, a 2015-12-17 image:
These minuscule crop fields were established during the month of November 2012, with starter plants acquired at a nearby primitive zombie-spawner XP farm. They have been augmented by auxiliary fields located elsewhere on the Plateau. The dirt for these patches sits directly atop the underground wool storage facility's obsidian roof. Note the plaque designating the spruce tree at screen left an identical replacement for a day-one spruce located one block to the east (right).
Auxiliary Potato patch , a 2015-09-22 image:
This small field was installed mid Sep 2015 in preparation for MC1.9. It was intended as a beetroot patch. However, beetroots ended up being planted in a larger dedicated field located elsewhere on the Plateau. It currently houses potatoes. Plaques denoting two preserved day-one spruce trees are clearly seen. This section of the Upper Plateau underwent lighting improvement mid 2015, several months prior to this image's capture. SEUS shaders.
Underground Crop Storage, image updated 2012-12-03:
This storage room is reached via a passage beneath the Farm Storage Shed and lies directly beneath the cactus patch. Its chief distinction is an obsidian ceiling, it being below the sand surface.
Upper Plateau Livestock Pens, a 2015-10-20 image:
We are once again atop the roof of my Keep living quarters, this time staring down at upper plateau livestock pens. These pens are the bane of my Minecraftian existence. Livestock is forever disappearing from them. I pretty much squelched that with the old pens, though it meant adding an unsightly second row of fencing and consequently reducing pen interiors. I had hoped this new design would alleviate the problem. Alas, it returned with a vengeance. An interior row of fencing was again added. It helps.
A rabbit pen is obscured by foliage just right of center screen top. A portion of my obsidian generator is glimpsed at screen bottom. Made obsolete by the will of the Minecraftian gods, it remains as a nostalgic keepsake and will not be demolished.
Upper Plateau livestock open-air storage shed, a 2015-09-25 image:
The facility was erected soon after livestock pen renovation, but before I was forced to add an interior lining of wood and or stone fencing within individual pens to reduce animal loss. I might or might not add smoke (cobwebs) to the shed chimney. The tiny carrot patch seen just north of the shed is dedicated to rabbit and pig breeding.
Upper Plateau rabbit pen, a 2016-06-01 image:
Until late 2015 this area housed a secondary chicken coop, retaining its primitive wood fencing with torch lighting after all other livestock cages had been 'modernized'. To the left is seen a bit of my mutton pen, colored sheep being kept in a 'wool ranch' on the lower terrace. This image reflects late May - early Jun 2016 modifications to the hill behind the pen made to accommodate a beetroot field and storage facility. Also on display atop the hill, an oven-bank facility.
Upper Plateau Oven-Bank Facility exterior view, a 2016-06-01 image:
Though this structure has existed in its current form since Sep 2015, I was unable to display an acceptable image of its front until now due to the primitive state of the hill on which it rest, and a clutter of day-one spruce trees blocking the view. Between 31 May and 1 Jun 2016 the hill was modified to house a beetroot field and dedicated open-air storage facility. At that time all remaining spruce trees were removed and a few decorative birches added.
Upper Plateau Oven-Bank Facility interior view, a 2015-09-27 image:
This structure houses four ovens tied to chests via hoppers so that I can cook / smelt great quantities of material in one fell swoop unattended. I have no pressing need for so elaborate a setup, but it's there should the need arise. In the cubbyhole between brick columns at screen right is a snow golem to provide snowballs as needed, a service not needed before climate change ended snowfall on the taiga.
Upper Plateau Beetroot Field and Dedicated Storage Facility, a 2016-06-01 image:
Late May 2016, almost immediately upon updating from Minecraft 189 to 194, the Autarch undertook a grand exploratory expedition, journeying a great many Minecraftian days from the fortress in search of, among other things, beetroot. He eventually succeeded, returning home with enough seeds to establish a field. His original plan was to locate the field on the lower terrace. Several false starts later this idea was abandoned. The field was instead situated atop the upper plateau hill that houses our oven-bank facility. That hill was until then largely untouched, remaining much as it was late Feb 2012. Between 31 May and 1 Jun 2016 it underwent extensive modification, losing all day-one spruce trees in the process. Results are seen above, with field and storage facility in place, and decorative birch trees added. A sliver of the oven-bank facility is seen screen left. I suspect this area to undergo further fine-tuning before we are happy with it.
Upper Plateau Vine Farm, a 2016-08-30 image:
This small "farm" was installed not long after completion of Beetroot Hill. Need for readily available vine became important with the jump to MCv1.9x, when the Autarch settled on a shield design which requires vine. Beetroot Hill's retaining walls are seen behind and to the left of the vine tree. The upper opening to the west-side ascension ramp is seen screen right. Only one day-one spruce tree remains in view, immediately atop the ramp. All others were removed while creation the "Hill" or establishing the vine farm.
Cocoa Farm and crop fields, image updated 2015-10-08:
My cocoa farm was established 09 Nov 2012 on a previously undeveloped section of the upper plateau northwest quadrant, near the Enchanters Tower. It was originally one third larger, but shrunk in an attempt to reduce lag. No great loss. The farm in at its present size easily meets my almost non existent need for cocoa.
This area contains a number of auxiliary crop fields supplementing pre existent fields elsewhere on the plateau. The capture reflects lighting improvements installed Oct 2015 that are subject to modification.
Mushroom farm entrance, image updated 2016-09-03:
This insignificant structure, built late April 2013, rests atop a small multi-floor mushroom farm. The farm is a converted day-one sinkhole, long ago capped with layers of cobble to prevent accidental falling deaths. The West-side entrance ramp's protected upper gateway is seen to the immediate left. The vine-farm is as extreme left, a bit of Beetroot Hill peeking out behind it.
As to the farm interior, there's little to it. Three small smoothstone rooms with recessed lighting and a ladder in one corner. (The bottom floor is somewhat larger.) Each room can hold only a limited number of mushrooms. For what it's worth, here's a glimpse at the second, middle, floor, housing five red shrooms:
Enchanters Tower, a 2016-09-02 image:
My enchantment table and associated bookshelves are located in the second story of this tower, situated in the upper plateau northwest quadrant. This image captures it as cosmetically renovated late Jun 2015. This is the tower's second renovation. The first occurred mid Jun 2012. At that time much of its original exterior was subtly reshaped and an upper observation deck with canopy and cupola added. A lower observation deck was made redundant and stood empty until MC v1.42. It now houses a basic repair facility. The tower provides access to the fortress annex, seen screen right behind the Tower, following its early Jul 2015 total makeover. The Annex houses my Nether Portal and, as of mid 2015, a Shrine to the Goddess. This image reflects lighting improves atop the Upper Plateau surrounding the Tower make 2015-16.
Enchantment Room, image updated 2016-05-10:
Housed in the second floor of the tower seen above, below its observation deck. Originally established early 2012, this image reflects alterations made mid May 2016. At that time bookshelves were reduced from the once required 30 to the now standard 15. A few other insignificant changes were made, such as a crafting table embedded into the floor directly in front of the table.
Fortress Annex with Shrine to the Goddess and ramp descending to Nether portal, a 2015-07-01 image:
The fortress annex received no attention beyond initial terrain sculpting when the world was new, and the installation of Nether Portal within its innards sometime later. That changed on 1 Jul 2015 when its outer dimensions were subtly enlarged and a shrine added atop the mound. Almost nothing atop the annex escaped modification. Even the two trees at the shrine, while near their predecessors, are no longer original growth. As with other mid 2015 renovations, I made a conscience effort to avoid torch spamming and instead rely on more polished lighting. This project was particularly successful in that regard. Other than two intentionally placed torches seen in the foreground, and two on the Enchantment Tower wall behind camera position, there are no torches atop the annex. Yet everything is, so far as I can tell, adequate lighted to prevent mob spawn.
My Portal is housed in a tiny underground chamber dug into the annex, reached via a descending ramp the opening of which is seen near camera position. My original plan was to site the Portal in a not-yet-existent upper floor of my fortress Keep. The more I pondered that the less I liked it. In the end I decided to locate the Portal outside the fortress-proper. The question then became how much effort and resources to allocate to the task. Should it be grandiose and elaborate or small and simple? After much flip-flopping I settled on relatively small and simple.
Annex Shrine detail, a 2016-09-04 image:
Here we see EmKai Versta, Goddess of Godiva. I was at first reluctant to situate the goddess shrine above a Nether portal. Yet it is entirely fitting in that EmKai is champion and protector of the porcine. Indeed several pigmen visited the site during its construction prior to heading out to explore their new home.
Annex Portal Chamber facing portal, 2015-07-01 image:
This chamber received two renovations since its original creation as a plain cobblestone and nature stone room. Decorative brickwork and extra obsidian were added 17-18 Jul 2012. On 1 Jul 2015 the chamber was widened one block on each side of the portal, and its ceiling raised that same amount.
There is an open space behind the Portal. It contains two chests. One holds personal gear I will not carry into the Nether (such as my enchanted diamond armor and sword). The other is for temporarily storage of items acquired in the Nether. I have intentionally not yet decorated that behind-the-Portal space.
Portal Chamber facing entrance ramp, a 2015-07-01 image:
This is the ramp leading up to the Annex surface. The Jul 2015 enlarging of this chamber was minor but much needed as the room seemed far too cramped before.
Overview of Lower Terrace Wool Ranch, a 2016-09-04 image:
Initial construction of these enclosures consumed the bulk of my free time between 03 Jun and mid-morning 05 Jun 2012. They marked my first significant usage of the hill fort lower terrace. I originally created eleven pens in the space available, each containing three like-colored sheep. Due to crowding I later combined a number of adjacent pens, now containing similar-colored sheep. Remaining colors were penned on the upper plateau.
Fast forward to early June 2015. Tired of wool pens divided between terrace and plateau I began a major renovation of the area, expanding it significantly northward and a smidgen to the west. Pens were totally redone. As originally conceived, there were eight pens comfortably holding eight sheep divided between two like colors. (One pen of necessity was confined to a single color.) Alas, these new pens were subject to significant animal loss. In the process of rectifying that I reluctantly added a second layer of interior fencing abutting the original fence, and reduced pen number to four larger pens housing four colors each. Oak trees were added within pens to reduce unwanted structural sterility.
The ranch also houses an underground wool storage facility, infinite water well and minuscule dedicated wheat field. The upper plateau sheep pen remains as a mutton farm.
Sheep Ranch Gated Interior Walkway, a 2016-08-30 image:
The entrance to the underground wool storage facility is seen bored into the plateau defensive wall at distances. Beyond that the Keep rises atop the Upper Plateau. The Ranch contains four separate pens, each housing three sheep for each of four like colors, except for one pen holding three colors. Sheep in these pens are never killed for mutton. That function is satisfied by a small sheep pen atop the Plateau.
Sheep Ranch Well, a 2015-09-27 image:
This infinite water source an early surviving attempt at creating something cosmetically pleasing as well as functional. I don't know that I would choose this same combination of materials today, but it is good enough to have stood in place unaltered while almost all else in the vicinity received total renovation. The Underground Wool Storage Facility is out of frame screen left.
Underground Wool Storage Facility, image updated 2016-05-10:
This narrow room is located beneath the Upper Plateau of my hill fort. Access is via door that opens unto the Lower Terrace. I would have ideally made the facility two blocks wider, but could do so only by weakening Upper Plateau walls. I am unwilling to do so. The facility sports an obsidian roof above its wool ceiling. This image reflects mid May 2016 alterations to accommodate six additional chests, switch from wall torches to ceiling lighting, and made the rear wall seem less cluttered.
Underground Wool Storage Facility, a 2016-05-10 image:
As above, this image reflects mid May 2016 alterations to accommodate additional chests, change lighting, and un-clutter the rear wall. One rear-wall chest holds dyes, the other odds-and-ends such as shears and facility repair material. All side-wall chests house wool, one color per chest, except for one that hold carpets of all colors.
Lower Terrace Horse Stable, a 2015-10-20 image:
This stable was erected Sep 2015. Its attached corral was added Oct 2015.. It was the first utilization of this section of Terrace. A barely glimpsed one-stall mule/donkey stable also debuted in Oct.
Lower Terrace one-stall Mule Stable with attached corral, a 2015-10-20 image:
A complement to the horse stables, captured the day of creation. At that time the structure stood empty, no donkeys having been found that could safely be brought home.
Lower Terrance Acacia Tree Farm, a 2016-05-10 image:
Located at the Lower Terrace southeast corner, This small (4 tree) timber farm was established following the discovery of Acacia trees some time after the main tree farm came into being. A row was reserved for Acacia at the main farm. I ultimately decided that, due to its haphazard growth, Acacia needed its own space so as not to interfere with other harvestable trees. A wheat patch seen between the Acacia row and horse stables was established either 9 or 10 May 2016. I do not consider this area finalized.
Lower Terrace Tree Farm Complex, a 2015-12-17 image:
Established early June 2015, the complex consists of a wood storage facility, seen left of screen center, and to its right the tree farm. The farm contains rows for all wood varieties save Acacia, which has its own small dedicated farm elsewhere on the Terrace. It sports an oak constraining device above the middle tree-row. Also seen, cosmetic wheat fields and support structures. A sliver of the Upper Plateau protective wall is glimpsed extreme right.
Lower Terrace tree farm support facilities, a 2015-12-17 image:
Here we see various tree farm support structures; wood storage facility, infinite water well, outdoor oven. More cosmetic crop and flower fields are on display. I will likely never come close to utilizing all the chest cubbyholes within the storage facility. Better safe than sorry is my motto in this instance.
Lower Terrace tree farm complex facing toward the upper plateau, a 2016-09-02 image:
A dramatic view of the tree farm complex. Clearly visible is the as yet underutilized middle terrace and, atop the Plateau mid screen, an oven-bank facility that also houses a snow farm. The Keep is seen screen right. SEUS v10.2 preview 1 shaders.
The Autocracy of Decrepia includes three roadways of significance. Designated by their Hill Fort gate of origin, they are the roads East, West and South. The northern road is a mere path covering the short distance between fortress and mine entrance. It plays no further part in this discussion. Images and narrative documenting the three noteworthy Decrepian roadways follows.
The earliest of my significant roads, and until December 2012 the longest. Unlike other major roadways, it lacks cobble flanks and underpinnings for the bulk of its duration. It begins life as a gravel path atop the fortress lower terrace, just outside the upper plateau eastern gate. It passes out the eastern lower terrace entrance ramp, becomes sand, turns north soon afterward, meanders through lush forest (seen above), turns east again, and almost immediately brings us to our destination....
Road to the East: The Bridge at Skelspawn Creek
A small canopied bridge spans the water. Across the way is the first substantial safe haven I built away from base. The forefathers and foremothers of most animals currently inhabiting my livestock pens roamed this plain.
Were we to continue onward, the path narrows to single block width and, before terribly long, enters a desert biome, becoming dirt. From there we would follow it to the coast and its terminus at my early attempt at creating a small naval facility. That abomination is an architectural horror. It is so bad I can do nothing to improve it without first stripping it down to its foundation.
The pictured nighttime safe haven is another matter. Plain as it is, it suites its purpose admirably. I continued to make similar structures during exploratory expeditions for quite some time. Nowadays I normally find suitable hillsides to bore in to, or simply tough it out.
As to the creek name, should my avatar turn right he would stare point-blank, as the signpost indicates, at doors guarding the entrance ramp to my rudimentary Skeleton Spawner experience / arrow farm.
From its humble beginnings as a pathway connecting my fortress with a favorite fishing hole some short distance away, this road grew into the longest and most elaborate of my highways. Open the spoiler below for exhaustive images and narrative describing points of interest along the route westward.
The road west begins, Hill Fort seen at distance. A 2012-12-31 image.
The
above capture replaces a much earlier image, one which contained unsightly HUD elements. Though its replacement is recent, the road and its immediate surroundings are absolutely unaltered from what appeared in my original capture, which visually documented an insignificant construction project begun and completed 05-29-2012. That project marked the beginnings of my West Road. Open the spoiler for more narrative (only) details, written upon project completion:
I needed something to do, but had no pressing tasks on the agenda. Nothing new was needed atop the upper plateau of my hill-fort. I was not up for any major building projects in any case. Nor was I in the mood for branch mining or experience farming. Then I recalled that I had been half seriously thinking to construct a road connecting my fortress West Gate (obscured by trees) with the river-spanning bridge at my favorite fishing spot. That was the ticket! The distance was not great. There were no major obstacles between Gate and bridge. It was not going to be a major thoroughfare so would not eat many precious resources.
I decided to keep it simple, a one-block-wide path following standard practice: dig a trench two blocks deep, place a layer of cobblestone at bottom for extra blast resistance, and top it with my surface material of choice, in this case gravel. Cobblestone steps would be placed where needed.
That was the plan anyway. Only, things did not turn out quite as expected. My simple project turned into a (Minecraftian) days-long affair. The issue, you see, was that I soon discovered (or more likely had forgotten) that a goodly portion of the land the road would traverse was a mere two, and often one, layers of dirt deep. Beneath that dirt was part of a cave complex. As someone morbidly afraid of heights (a fear transferred to games like Minecraft) I immediately became paranoid of creeper detonations sending my avatar plummeting into those caves.
Then and there I revised my plan. The road would now be three blocks wide, the original cobblestone\gravel middle section, flanked on both sides by cobblestone two blocks deep. That would of course consume far more resources, but truth to tell I had cobblestone coming out my ears.
Before all was said and done I not only completed the road proper but also went down into the caves and shored up portions of the ceiling underneath the road. Ironically, the finished road got its baptism in fire almost immediately. After placing the final blocks I paused to contemplate what sort of lighting I wanted at roadside. I stood there no more than thirty seconds when...hssssssssssssss. I quickly turned toward the sound, saw green for a fraction of a second, then BLAM!
Once the smoke cleared I assessed the situation. Being in diamond armor, including one piece with
Blast Protection III, I was OK as expected. To my delight, while there was a good size crater just off the road where the creeper had stood, the road itself took no damage whatsoever. (I was of course amazingly lucky. Had the creeper been on the road itself...)
As can be seen, I ended up going with Jack-O-Lanterns on fence posts. At first I was not sure I liked it. It
looked acceptable in the capture, but when viewed from the upper plateau of my fortress it seemed sort of hokey. I have since grown accustomed to it.
Start to finish this project took me five or six Minecraft days during several of which I worked the night through. I had originally thought tobe done with it in one day, two max.
Road to the West: Dawn breaks over Fisherman's Repose
Here I do the bulk of my fishing, hence its name. It is an ideal location. Very picturesque and relaxing. Close enough to base that come dusk I caneasily scurry home without much fear of being ambushed en route...so long as I do not dawdle as the sun sets.
The bridge at screen-right is connected to my fortress by roadway. Its fencing/wool superstructure was added 24 Jul 2012. The trail at screen-left is not a continuation of the West Road, but rather an offshoot that leads to the door-protected entrance of a cave complex. Within those caverns are my rudimentary spider and zombie experience farms, converted dungeon spawners.
The branch road was constructed 22-23 Jul 2012. It hugs the creek bank for most of its duration.
My avatar stands atop the opening to another of my self-created tunnels, this one bored through hills beneath a forest biome. That tunnel leads to the marsh where I harvest clay, and is the true continuation of my West Road.
Road to the West: "Small Bridge" at sunset, Long Bridge seen at distance
Standing at the terminus of my original West Road, this tiny bridge represents the actual unification of old and new roads. It was not, however, the last stretch of road completed, that dubious honor going to the path between Small Bridge and Frustration Tower.
I had trouble erecting this simple bridge, not having built on so small a scale in some time. Took three tries to get it right, and I'm not wholly satisfied. I would have ideally preferred a wood bridge at this location, but the area is far too mob infested for that. I fully expect the bridge to succumb to creeper detonation from time to time. It thus needs to be blast resistant and easy to repair.
We cross the bridge, follow a stone patch south, and soon arrive at....
Road to the West: Frustration Tower (Long Bridge East Tower)
Guarding the eastern end of "Long Bridge", this was the final major bridge construction of my West Road unification project. Its name derives from the number of tries it took me before I got the tower spiral stairwell right, and the high number of mobs infesting the immediate area, all bent on interfering with my work.
Road to the West: Phony Forest Tower and the Long Bridge at sunrise, Frustration Tower seen at distance, a 2012-12-31 image
I surprised myself in erecting the Long Bridge in record time, the more so since I did not rely on vast pre-existing stockpiles of lumber and logs stored at the Hill Fort but instead harvested needed wood from an artificial forest established between Phony Forest and Holiday towers expressly for the purpose. The tower derives its name from that forest.
Most bridge towers contain dedicatory plaques, this one being no exception:
Their interiors house basic crafting centers and a few chests, one containing bridge repair materials:
Note that the lower end of the spiral stairwell can be seen screen right.
Passing through Phony Forest we come to...
Road to the West: Holiday Bridge East Tower, a 2012-12-25 image:
This bridge, named due to it having been erected 24-25 Dec, is typical of several such structures we will encounter en route. Its eastern tower serves a number of purposes. First and foremost its interior contains a spiral stairwell bringing us up to ground level on the opposite bank of the river. Secondly, it serves as a safe haven. As mentioned above, its
interior holds basic crafting facilities as well as several chests, one containing bridge repair material. Its small exterior fence-protected garden will satisfy a famished traveler's hunger.
Note that the above image was captured before the west entrance protective superstructure was installed. Nor had the stone path connection Holiday Bridge and Long Bridge been laid.
Road to the West: Holiday Bridge protected west entrance at moonrise, Long Bridge West Tower seen at distance, a 2012-12-31 image:
As the Holiday Bridge east-side ascending tower represents all such towers scattered along the West Road, so does its west-side entrance typify protected access at ground level. Here I keep things fairly simply, the entryway being subject to occasional creep detonations. Its superstructure provides a fairly clear field of view, so that I can pick off potential threats by bow from relative safety.
Between Holiday Bridge and Long Bridge West Tower can be seen Phony Forest, from whence wood for both Long Bridge and Holiday bridge was obtained. Note that each tree is planted on a raised dirt block. This is my way of distinguishing natural trees, which I prefer to keep in place when at all possible, from those planted specifically for timber farming.
Exiting Holiday Bridge westward, we follow the West Road across green plains until hitting the outskirts of Extreme Hills. At that point the road enters a fence-protected self-bored tunnel. The tunnel soon erupts into another fence-enclosed enclave, this one marking our entrance into...
Road to the West: Remnants of a Forgotten Past, campsite at "Slimeball Pass". A mid Dec 2012 image:
For good or ill, my world contains landscape generation anomalies, severe transitions that mar an otherwise visually idyllic environment. This is one such, and a particularly bad one at that. By utter happenstance my West Road tunnel came out smack in the middle of it.
Searching for an in-game justification for such sheer stone mountainsides, I decided them to be the work of some long vanished civilization, possibly the peoples who created the many abandoned desert temples scattered throughout the land. (This swamp is near the beginnings of a desert.)
The sandstone facade seen at cliff bottom is "their work". How much, if any, further I take this concept is anyone's guess. I have some vague idea about taking the facade higher with some sort of line-drawing, but admittedly have no skill whatsoever in that direction. In any case this is a project of the lowest priority, one I'll tackle only if nothing else is on the agenda and I happen to have an excess of sand on hand.
As to the name, the swampland between this tunnel opening and Slimeball Pass Bridge is a piston-lover's paradise. Slimes abound! One can easily amass stacks of their leavings in no time at all.
Slimeball Pass: The importance of solid road construction. A 2012-12-18 image:
Unbeknownst to me until this incident occurred, a lengthy segment of Slime Pass roadway rests atop a substantial underground cavern extending upward to very near the surface. As is obvious, a creeper caught me unawares just
after having completed this stretch of roadway. Talk about a rude awakening! Acrophobe that I am, it scared the heck out of me!
Thankfully, solid road-laying practices once more saved the day. Notice the depth at which my highway is paved at the point of impact. (Three layers deep, as seen here, is a rarity for me, two being the norm.) The creeper detonated just off-road. As you see, it sustained no damage, which is more than can be said of the surrounding countryside!
I later pillared my way down to cavern bottom and shored up part of the cavern ceiling with cobblestone. I did not, alas, have nearly enough on me at the time to finish the project.
Despite the danger, we trudge ever westward, soon arriving at...
Road to the West: The Bridge at Slimeball Pass. A 2012-12-20 image:
This was the first of my ascending-tower bridges. It lacks the fence-protected enclave found outside all other ascending west road towers, but is otherwise their equal. Note that at the time this image was captured the west-side bridge entrance lacked its protective superstruction, added some days later.
Slimeball Pass Bridge Ascending Tower interior. A Dec 2012 image:
Similar to already seen tower interiors, this is included for completeness. I particularly like the look of Jungle Wood planking there. All ascending stairwells, save my latest, wrap around Jungle Wood tree trunks. Planking is most often birch, but I also use jungle wold and oak. Spruce seems a bit too dark for general-purpose flooring, at least with my
texture pack.
Leaving the protection of Slimeball Bridge we continue on. The road almost peters out. Enough remains to guide our way. An abandoned temple looms ahead. Just prior to reaching the temple the road forks. The west fork is the one we want, leading directly to Wilderness Roadway, the most elaborate of my road segments. Ignoring that for the moment, we instead follow the right fork, skirt the temple, and come upon...
Road to the West: Remnants of a Forgotten Past, ruined bridge at Desert Temple Complex:
Only remnants of this ancient bridge remain, most at or below the water line. Constructed of oak and cobble, I suspect Bridge and Temple (the latter situated just out of frame to the left) were erected by different peoples at different times.
We can swim the pond, follow the dilapidated path seen across the water, and soon connect with Wilderness Roadway. Instead, we backtrack to the above mentioned fork, take its west branching, enter a small protuberance of jungle, and come upon...
Road to the West: Wilderness Roadway, a protected thoroughfare cut through harsh desert:
This is my most elaborate roadway, lined by oak trees and hedges, lit by jack-o-lantern lamps, protected from all save spiders and skeleton arrows by stone fencing. It is also the first section of "new" West Road I completed. From here I worked my way eastward until new and old road meet at the "Small Bridge".
The dilapidated unprotected path branching south leads to still active branch mines at diamond level. Indeed, connecting these mines to my main base was my original incentive for construction the "new" West Road. Note that when this image was captured Wilderness Roadway ended just past the mine branch. It now goes some distance further, as shall be seen.
Wilderness Roadway detail: Ruined Bridge Road junction protective gate:
All Wilderness Road side exits are protected by fencing, this being the most elaborate. (Several are nothing more than a simple wood gate.). Also seen is the interior layout of the protected roadway. Stone fencing. Jungle shrubs. Grass. Cobble flanking. Gravel center pathway.
As is my standard practice, the the road itself (cobble and gravel) is undercoated by another layer of cobble, added for better blast resistance. I "seeded" the dirt via grass blocks dug with a silk-touch shovel. Oak trees originate from saplings collected at my branch mine timber farm. (Two trees at the roadway east end had to be constructed by hand.) Fencing and pumpkins also came from branch mine support farms.
While the road is indeed protected, it is far from safe. Spiders ignore the stone fence, as do skeleton arrows. Worse, spiders and arrows can push you off road center, into creeper detonation range. Still, if you keep your wits about you a night on the roadway is easily survivable, even in so mob infested an environment.
The gate bears a dedicatory plague, though it is hard to read in this image.
Wilderness Roadway detail: roadside repair station:
This small roadside facility contains both crafting bench and a chest holding enough supplies to patch several creeper detonations. It is thus far the only such station along the roadway. I plan to add more as/if the road expands westward. I quite like the design...simple, effective, pleasing on the eye.
An aside. I have needed to use the facility.Whilst traveling the roadway, a skeleton arrow knocked me against the
opposite hedge. There a creeper patiently waited, abutting the fence. Its blast took out a number of stone fence sections. Surprisingly, the hedge itself remained intact.
Wilderness Roadway detail: western extension from Branch mine exit gate to Arachnids Revenge Bridge. A 2012-12-30 image:
We now near the end of our journey. This small section of roadway, paved between 30 and 31 Dec and ending at Arachnids Revenge, marks the end of my West Road expansion for the year 2012. When captured only the bridge
east entrance had been erected. Its jack-o-lantern cupola can be seen at distance. It was later renovated to better prevent spider infiltration.
We continue on, and in no time at all at least come to the end of our travels...
Road to the West: The Bridge at Arachnids Revenge. A 2012-12-31 image:
Here it is. My finally creation of 2012, and the tempory terminus of my Road to the West. As can be seen it follows my now standard formula. Ascending Tower on one bank (west). Protected ground-level entrance on the other (east). The immediate area simply teams with spiders come nightfall. They plagued me to no end throughout construction. Hence the name.
To be fair, all common overworld mobs were present in abundance. But only spiders have the ability to scale otherwise
perfectly secure enclosures.
Even discounting spiders and other varmints, this bridge proved something of a self-inflected hassle. I misremembered the amount of building supplies stashed at the nearby branch mine. These proved inadequate for the task at hand. In the end my only real stumbling block was lack of readily available birch for use as planking. Not caring to run home for it, I made do with oak. Not ideal, but it got the job done.
Arachnids Bridge detail: Ascending Tower interior, dedicatory plague. A 2012-12-31 image:
Arachnids Bridge detail: Ascending Tower observation deck dedicatory plaque,
officially heralding the temporary terminus of the road, and the year as well:
Seen well-lit at distance is the abandoned desert temple destined to be the ultimate terminus of my West Road as a major semi-protected highway.
End of the line: Terminus of my West Road at desert temple. Arachnids Revenge Bridge seen at distance. Image added 2013-04-22:
This image documents what I consider the West Road's official terminus as a major highway. Dedication plaques at road's end date 05 April 2013. The temple itself has been turned into a fence-protected supply dump surrounded by small crop fields and livestock pens. Two "totems of empire" atop the temple bear the image of the Supreme Autarch on their northern fronts.
My South Road was intended to extend further than it currently does. As originally conceived, it would have connected my fortress with a jungle biome far to the south. With that goal in mind I laid roadway all the way to the river south of my Hill Fort, spanned that body of water with the first of my "fancy" bridges, and bored a passageway through extreme hills across the river. I then learned that a future game update would introduce jungle temples and cocoa beans...neither of which could be found within my destination. I lost interest in the project.
Some real-life months later yet another game update increased the usefulness of leather. I extended the road slightly further, creating a cattle ranch between tunnel mouth and a stream to the south. That stream was again spanned via bridge, its south tower now marking the terminus of the road.
Open the below spoiler to view images and narrative related to my South Road.
This edifice is reached by a path branching eastward off the South Road, just beyond the Hill Fort lower southern entrance ramp. Shrine, catacombs, and pathway were constructed 11-14 Jan 2013. The shrine takes its inspiration from ancient Greece and Rome, though I did not attempt historical accuracy. The poled "emblem of empire" is the happy result of my dissatisfaction with conventional flags and banners. (I intended the two jack-o-lanterns as placeholders for glowstone, but find I quite like the totem as it is.) The structure's main purpose is to protect the entrance to the catacombs, bored into the base of the mountain directly behind the shrine.
Images of the Autarch seen atop the pole are my own creation, taken from a self-portrait drawn in 1975 when I was twenty-four.
For a peek inside the catacombs, open the spoiler below:
The catacombs house the burial chamber of the Supreme Autarch of Decrepia:
Individual deaths get their own caskets. In addition, several caskets contain mass burials. Each casket gets its own nook with headboard and flowers. Caskets contain items representing those the Autarch carried, wielded or wore at the time of his unfortunate demise. The catacombs has nooks for approximately thirty caskets. Only nine are currently in use.
Individual casket nook:
This particular casket documents the Autarch's second remembered death. He had spent day-two mining a stone grotto somewhat near his initial spawn point, amassing a decent quantity of cobble and coal, maybe even a bit iron. He survived the evening safe in a small torch-lit chamber bored into the grotto walls.
Come morning three he stowed his diggings and wood within a chest at the grotto and ventured out to search for food. Hunter became hunted. A creeper got him. Now back at his spawn point, he was unable to find the grotto and his goods. It would be over two real-life weeks before he chanced upon it.
Note that the headboard seen above was later reworded to read "Here lies Decrepit. Creeper got him. Morning three."
In memory of Kevin Bacon:
In addition to caskets for the Autarch, the catacombs house one "tributary" casket, an homage to Kevin Bacon. While I had contemplated constructing catacombs for a good many months, it was MKtheWorst's YouTube Kevin Bacon episodes that finally spurred me to get off my duff and build the darn thing!
Kevin Bacon casket interior:
All caskets will contain similar representative displays. Other than two pieces of pork, my interior differs significantly from MK's.
Catacomb entrance passageway with cubbyholes:
Visitors are encouraged to place messages for the dearly (or not so dearly) departed on these small shelves.
Dedicatory wall:
Three plaques, across from Kevin Bacon's tribute, document the structure's creation.
In addition to the above, the catacomb features a small combination crematorium (three ovens) supply closet (workbench and eventually two chests).
(NOTE that as of mid 2015 images and text relating to Autarch Neglect are in need of major revision and expansion.)
The autarch spent the preceding day harvesting clay in vast swampland northwest of his fortress. Far from home when the sun set, he established camp on a small island surrounded by water and darkness. There he passed the night. Come dawn, a faint glow of sunlight peeking above the horizon to the east, he noticed what looked to be the outline of structures along the western shoreline off in the distance.
This was indeed the case. He stayed on the island long enough to let me capture the above image for posterity, then crossed the water to investigate what to this day remains the sole decent size village found in my Minecraftian world.
Alas! In those early innocent days he did not comprehend the ways of villagers and their enemies. By the time the necessity to protect them from harm dawned on him it was too late. All but one had vanished. Disheartened, he sealed the sole remaining resident inside his home and shunned the village for months.
One day, by sheer happenstance, he found himself near the village at sunset. It being convenient, he set up camp atop one of its homes. Next morning he was amazed to see a second villager out and about! Two Minecraftian days later a third materialized! These too were sealed inside their abodes.
There matters stood until the latter half of Jun 2013...
Work has begun on the village. A new structure has been added. An outer protective wall is under construction. Continue on for further details.
Cobble / smooth-stone foundation was laid Monday, 17 Jun 2013. The exterior assumed its final shape one week later, 24 Jun. Remaining interior walls were in place a day later. The interior is still being accessorized. Landscape in the immediate vicinity has not yet been altered.
1st floor exterior side and rear walls were kept deliberately bland, this seeming realistic. Additionally, being a survival world blast resistance at creeper level is desirable. No mobs should spawn atop the roof (crosses fingers), as all walkable blocks are either steps or slabs in the "correct" lower position.
Open the spoiler for views and text relating to the Inn interior:
NOTE: this section is a WIP. While I am happy with the overall look, any and everything seen here is subject to alteration.
First floor dining room, facing toward the street exit:
Dedicatory plaques can be seen above the doorway.
Dining Room facing the kitchen area:
A look out the window shows that that section of village perimeter wall had not yet been constructed.
The kitchen, showing oven bank and staff rear exit:
Kitchen, showing sink with faucet, food prep area, restroom entrance door, and stairway to upper floors:
Restroom Interior:
It's cramped, too small to get a decent shot of. Not much to it really, but I think it came out reasonably well considering the space I had to work with.
2d floor hallway shot, now showing a ladder leading to the "loft":
At one time potted flowers graced the far corner of the left-hand hall, as well as the corner at camera position. I found them distracting clutter rather than an improvement. I did leave one potted flower at the end of the "guest room" hallway (seen below).
2d floor "guest room" hallway:
The second floor houses five guest rooms, four with windows. Each room contains a bed (one with double-bed), table and chair, and storage chest.
2nd floor corner guest room:
Fairly representative of all guest rooms.
3d floor loft:
The loft houses three guest rooms (one large with two beds) and a crafting station. The crafting station will likely be replaced by a small library / lounge area before all is said and done. My original though was to install a bathing room with tub, but the space is too small to do that justice.
Loft "large" guest room:
Each room half mirrors the other, except paintings and flower coloration. Each of the two chests hold, at the moment, two melon slices, a loaf of bread, baked potato, carrot and a cooked beefsteak. (All eight guest rooms contain these basic complementary foods. A drink of some sort will be added once alchemical facilities are established.)
On or about 27 Jun 2013 work began on what will a protective perimeter wall surrounding the village. It is slow going, consuming a wealth of various resources. I build a bit, then break to fell trees, mine stone, shear sheep and so on. This rotation between building, harvesting and spelunking makes it a nearly ideal project for me. This image shows the south wall little more than half built. It has since been completed. The east wall remains much as you see it, while I concentrate on the one-third built west wall.
Open the spoiler for more images of the perimeter wall under construction:
South wall exterior closeup:
This section represents what the entire wall exterior will look like. stone three blocks thick (rarely two) at creeper level. Wood upper section with battlements. My trademark pumpkin cupolas at corners and above entrances. Spider resistant overhangs.
An interior view, showing battlement walkway and access ladder:
Odd clumps of dirt sticking above ground level are designated birch-tree planting spots. (I harvested them just prior to capturing the image.) Battlement walkways will eventually receive more sophisticated lighting. The rectangle of dirt between gravel roads and wall will hold two or three smallish shops.
Closing Comment(s)
There you have it. My world remain very much a work-in-progress. Significant sections of the Upper Plateau and Lower Terrance remain underutilized. As for Autarch Neglect, only the surface has been scratched. I am in no hurry to rectify that. When something needs built, or the mood hits me, I will find an appropriate site and build it. Otherwise you will find me out-and-about branch mining, spelunking, harvesting surface resources, laying roadway, or just exploring.
ADDENDUM: Download(s)
My Survival World, "Hill Fort Renovation" edition
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So I have been toying around with a few ideas (because thinking about TC is about all I have time for most days).
One of these has been a complete rewrite of TC from the ground up. I'm not just talking Thaumcraft 6.0 here. More accurately it would be Thaumcraft II.
In the past most of my updates have built upon previous versions and in general mechanics between versions had been evolutions instead of complete redesigns. This time around I am thinking about fundamental changes with only some of the core concepts and the flavor of the mod remaining the same.
The question is: should I? I usually get a itch to shake things up during a big update push, but this will probably be one of the biggest departures yet. Would you guys be cool with something like this?
You are probably wondering what I want to change. Honestly, I am not 100% sure yet.
One of the basic changes I am toying with is turning the whole burn-items-for-aspects thing on its head. I have floated the idea in the past with mixed opinions.
In short: Instead of breaking complex aspects down into simple ones it will work the other way around. You will start out with primals and combine them till you get the aspects you want. Burning items for aspects might not even survive this change - raw primal essentia will probably be gathered for worldgen crystals initially and later using some aura related mechanic. See what I mean with big changes?
What is your opinion on all of this?
If your RL stuff is still keeping you too busy to code, it won't matter much but... From a player perspective, the first response is: how much longer would this take vs finishing the 1.9 port? If a 1.9 port isn't too far away, it'd be a shame to waste the effort you already made on it. Then you could maybe do the rewrite for 1.10 or 1.11 since those are already coming and AFAIK you haven't already started updating anything old for them yet.
Those changes themselves seem fairly neutral from the perspective of fun. I've always wondered why there was no way to combine aspects into more complex ones so you could go in both directions in aspect complexity (if you can break, why not combine? If you can combine, why not break?) But since there are cheap renewable items to burn with extremely complex aspects (crafting tables), it's never really made the mod difficult to work with. Keeping things one directional, but reversing the direction would be neutral there. I'd be curious how you'd balance the difficulty in collecting the primal aspects since some (especially aqua) are much more difficult to get directly than the others.
Thanks for keeping everyone updated. We're very interested to see what you decide!
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Yeah that. Dunno if it is intentional or not. I expect there is no way to farm mushrooms either.
So I know this works (cause I did it in another game not so long ago), but for the life of me can't remember how the hell do I get "Opening the eye" to unlock? Scanned a guardian, do you just need to wait for a warp event after that? Those last 3 Eldritch down that branch, primal pearl, and the Warp Thaumatorium are all the research I have left.
To the guy above, I'm sure Azanor will drop whatever he's doing and upgrade TC5 to 1.9.4 just for you and your friend. So everyone a big round of applause!
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I could be wrong, but I think it's only a crafting component. You need to make a mirror in the infuser.
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Be warned. You'll be stuck in 1.8.9 it's THAT good.
Loved TC 1 & 2...3 & 4 not so much. 5 is just so much fun, I even removed most of the techmods from my current pack to be more TC focused.
I know a lot of it is just little refinements to 4, but some of it is make or break.
Research is the same with 1 tiny change...you don't need to make yourself batshit crazy trying to scan everything.
Aspects are more or less the same, except there are far fewer (still too many for my taste, but it's a big improvement). Little tweak here, little tweak there.
I got a couple item suggestions : Like I said I removed MOST of my techmods my current play. Not that there are a ton of 1.8.9 options, I kept EnderIO for really 1 thing only (not saying EnderIO isn't awesome too, just that the techmods tend to overpower the magic mods when used together...trying to keep it magic man). The ability to store XP. Minecrafts crappy level system is what it is. With the current heavy use of XP in TC (and I think it is very well done btw) it does exacerbate the madness of "I need to spend X levels NOW!!!" (OpenBlocks where are you!!!)
A golden lasso replacement would be really handy too (****ing hate extrautils anymore...yeah...I need yet another ****ing power system like a ****ing hole in my head...).
Really other than that and the usual info/mapping/utility mods, I could play happily with pretty much only TC5.
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Nice mod. Good to have a techmod for 1.9 and it's nice to see a fresh take on it.
So how do you get steel to make a centrifuge without a centrifuge to clean up your dirty iron or am I missing something?NM, figured it out. Put ron ingots in the crucible.
Also the pumps are not working for me. Tried various combos in creative. Pump 1/2 blocks above water/lava, various tanks attached directly and by interface pipes at various angles, solarpanels attached on top, creative RF storages attached wherever. Pipe drops like in the video, but nothing ever pumps. This is with latest (12.16.0.1813) forge.
The logger is nice, but if there are any issues it surrounds itself with trees. Would work better with frontal instead of centered area of operations (ala MFR). I hope farmer and livestock are planned; those are the 2 most annoying activities in vanilla MC.
Some thoughts on recipe balance: Too heavy iron use and not enough of the mods metals. Especially when you are spawning overly generous amounts of them. Even tripling your gains, it doesn't make a lot of sense when still ALL your iron and then some is going towards it. I know this isn't a TE copy, but don't hesitate to blatantly rip-off whatever they did right. The tiering and materials balance in TE went through a **** ton of testing and feedback, don't reinvent the wheel.
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That'll be huge, since those are very popular, especially BoP. I've actually used Highlands quite a bit myself in 1.6.4 but I have yet to check out the 1.7.2 (alpha just came out yesterday I think). More compatibility is always good. Always nice to have options.
Generally I would agree about the dimension providers, since most if not all are customized. Multiworld is the one I'm not real sure about (kinda part of Toomanybiomes but released as a seperate mod) exactly how it works, but I'm using it and I will get around to checking it out soon. Will be pretty easy to tell. It would be awesome if they could be made to work together, but each dimension have it's own config. Multiworld is a bit like Mystcraft lite. You can pre-define additional dimensions by command line or config file. It's somewhat basic (which I like), but seems to have a lot of flexibility and potential.
Exactly. The search distances are still a bit large even with your mod, I'm about to try quartersize climate zones with doubled hot and snowy as suggested. I'm torn between the convenience of random biomes vs hating seeing desert next to ice plains and swamps lol.
Getting rid of the oceans is a good move for vanilla, since the boats are awful and there's not much to see or do. Their timing sucks of course since there are more than a few ship mods that are becoming more and more mature, with no oceans to sail on anymore.
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1.7.4 introduces worse bugs of it's own, that is probably why almost no one is updating their mods to it (that and there's no forge for it, but that's probably why there's no forge). I suspect if 1.8 comes out anytime soon that 1.7.4 will get skipped.
When the snapshots get short on features and start to be all bugfixes usually means a release is near.
The OP is just another whining child on a forum chock full of them.
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LOL, no worries. Not emotional, I can't be taken completely seriously, even when I am serious.
There's stuff I still don't use and probably never will either, at the same time sometimes without looking under the hood you don't realize the things you do use.
And hey, if you're sure there was nothing good for you in that update, who am I to tell you different.
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Image removed. Hint, it's in the center, where the recipe output should be.I don't know if this is a bug or a new feature.This is with 14w05a.
So it was a bug. It's been fixed. Amazingly in between the usual angry responses some of us did have a rational discussion on the impact and merits of said change if it was not a bug.
Snapshots. Don't Panic! And don't forget your towel!
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Yeah, if the anvils lasted forever (or even much longer) then I wouldn't mind having to use 1 to do all repairs either, would actually add some "flavor".
Great idea!
We got enough angry posts as it was.
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Still use a lot of your mods that other people picked up the torch on. Thank you for opensourcing and making that possible.
Cool tool.
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Challenge??? Pffft! Makes them an annoyance, not a challenge.
Same thing for the rapidfire + knockback skeletons (someone's been watching too much LoTR...are these all Legolas skeletons?). It makes them more of a challenge early game. Really too much of a challenge for a new player with no armor. Once you have iron armor it just makes them an annoyance. By the time you have diamond armor with protect IV the only thing that can kill you is your own stupidity.
The zombie changes, again not more challenge, more annoyance (someone is also watching too much of The Walking Dead)
So pretty much all the hostile mob changes made to provide more challenge I see as just providing more annoyance but not more of a challenge. I would honestly like to see changes that make the mobs more challenging without cranking up the annoyance factor.
And yes, this is of course just my opinion.