Perhaps there could be a way to balance it out by giving a carapace armor set some sort of alternative ability that makes it useful in the end and/or as a late game armor set similar to elytra, but filling a different niche.
To be fair, I do think there's a good reason we can't wear elytra with chestplates- it's a trade off, but to be clear Reaver said pretty bluntly that it should be difficult to equip elytra and a chestplate at the same time. ...I don't really think you should be able to wear armor with elytra- however, that doesn't mean that any new material or armor set would be completely useless. There are numerous other ways a new armor set could be utilized to serve some sort of new aspect of gameplay. ...That being said, I'm not entirely sure what that new aspect might be- it really depends on how hard carapace is to get once you're actually in the end, though, considering that it is the end, it's already going to be pretty rare.
-One idea is that carapace could be an additional upgrade to Netherite- offering some sort of special boon, like making it easier to enchant.
-Carapace armor could provide the player with a sort of hover feature that would act as significantly more controlled flight than elytra, but would not be at all as helpful for covering long distances. This could be themed after the insects themselves.
-Perhaps carapace has some other weird/helpful special abilities that help players navigate in the end- such as a helmet that prevents endermen from attacking, but doesn't obscure your view like a pumpkin.
Again, these are far less full fledged ideas than me trying to make a point that there's more than one way to implement more content- an entire idea shouldn't hit the shredder just because one aspect of it seems a bit unbalanced.
I really like this idea! I've always thought that the End ought to be next on Mojang's list of parts of the game to revamp; (1.18, perhaps?), and currently there isn't much available for modding it- (At least for forge.) This is definitely something I never would have thought of- and it seems like it would add some interesting and creative new mechanics, as well as a welcome new challenge for the outer isles. On a more aesthetic note, this sounds like it would certainly match the alien-wasteland vibe of the end.
...I'm not personally that concerned about the Elytra mechanics, and not all in favor of that idea- but the new biome itself sounds really creative! I can imagine an endermite and ant infested network of floating nests, interconnected by organic growths and filled with twisted tunnels... It could be an interesting mechanic if these new creatures could infest blocks in a way similar to silverfish. In my opinion, the infestation mechanic is way underrated- and could be used to force players to explore areas with valuable loot rather than simply drilling straight through them.
I definitely agree! I was a bit disappointing by the stalactite and stalagmite models- they fit well enough with the new dripstone biome... but nowhere else. I like how Quark approaches stalactites and stalagmites, (it never stops being fun to say these two words), by having one, two, and three block tall variants, which can generate on any stone type. They really make caves seem more dynamic and interesting, without going outside the realms of the Vanilla feel. Yes, as long as we're getting the caves and cliffs up date, I would certainly approve of more pointy rocks in caves. (I can only type stalactites and stalagmites so many times before my brain starts hurting from the effort of spelling them properly.)
I like the idea of more ambient mobs- the overworld, (and other dimensions for that matter) is currently much in the way of... any ambiance at all. It's almost eerily silent without modifications installed for ambient biome noise. While this could be interpreted as an intentional part of the game, I think we could certainly benefit from more smaller creatures. However, while I'd agree with insects of some sort, this does seem a little redundant in regards to bees already being a thing. (No pun intended.)
It's clear this is a pretty heated topic- on the one hand, I like the idea of more ambiance and environments that feel more alive- but on the other hand, anything new would have to fill some sort of gameplay niche, and furthermore, might take away from the existing feel of Minecraft's world.
...Of course, all this is sort of subjective in terms of how you feel about the game's environments. At least in my opinion, there aren't currently too many reasons to explore the actual terrain itself as opposed to structures- aside from hunting for animals, and more recently searching for berries, (Which aren't very effective anyways), the game is currently more centered around farming, mining, and otherwise being efficient. This seems like something as a loss, seeing as how much work has gone into the terrain and biomes. It would certainly be neat if there were some sort of insect mechanic that encouraged players to hunt down rare insects... I like a lot of the ideas for this- they seem like a creature that feels very much alive. However, they are pretty similar to bees, and don't seem to fill any new niche.
I don't think I'm alone when I say that beacons are a bit confusing and more than a bit broken as far as game design goes. Many people have suggested new buffs or uses for beacons... but I'm more of the opinion that a complete overhaul is in order for the beacon. Are beacons a good game mechanic as they are? Or do they need some changes? Once again, I'm curious for feedback, and would love to have more input. I've posted this as a poll largely because I want to see what other people think of my take on the issue of beacons. In particular, I really like Simplysarc's take on the beacon problem, which you can find here:
Adding new mechanics for beacons could be difficult and needlessly complicated. On the other hand, many people agree that the existing beacon mechanics are broken and not worth the effort.
CONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As with any older game mechanic, even if it doesn't necessarily make sense, people can get very upset when things they're used to are changed. A major update that changed how beacons work in a fundamental way would doubtlessly make many players angry, considering how hard it is to make a beacon to begin with. Replacing diamonds as the top of the equipment tiers was a great example of this- and if the developers were to attempt such a change- like any change- it would have to be very carefully thought through.
Beacons don't need to be updated, as they already offer a useful game mechanic. The beacon encourages players to collect a large amount of resources and complete a difficult boss fight in order to obtain a suitable reward- a reward that also encourages them to build a base in which to live. The buffs for beacons make sense, and are a decent reward for the considerable difficulty of building them. The rewards are useful, and worth the effort.
PROS ~
The Beacon is seriously broken. For a small, not particularly useful buff, players need to gather a great deal of resources- if you want more effects, the amount needed to upgrade the pyramid to the next tier increases exponentially. A fully upgraded beacon costs 1,476 iron bars to make the pyramid, encouraging players to build an iron golem farm- arguably an exploit. What's more, the beacon can be made from any mineral block... but none of these blocks actually change the effects or increase its power- meaning it's pointless to use anything other than iron. Furthermore, it's not worth fighting the wither- a ridiculously overpowered boss- to get a beacon that can't be activated without a bunch more resources, and even then only provides negligible benefits at best.
There is so much more that could be done with the beacon, and in this respect players are really missing out- the beacon is so expensive, and so lacking in actual benefits that the majority of players will never actually use one outside of creative mode.
POTENTIAL USES FOR BEACONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The ways in which beacons could be improved goes on and on. The simplest way would be to offer a wider selection of buffs, and different buffs for different mineral types, making it actually worthwhile to build a beacon. As mentioned above, I especially like Simplysarc's ideas regarding beacons- namely that each of the mineral types would provide a separate type of buff, and that multiple types of minerals could be used in a power pyramid in order to provide a combination of said buffs.
Some of the ideas for beacons I would consider in particular, summarized briefly:
-Mineral-Specific Buffs ~
Copper- (which I sincerely hope will be used with beacons) could be used for efficiency and productivity- offering some effects already present, (such as haste), as well as fortune and other industry- based benefits- like increasing the growth speed of crops. Since copper beacons are the cheapest and easiest to set up, this would make them ideal for mines or other areas in which productivity is useful.
Iron would have helpful defensive effects, giving mining fatigue to invaders, turning off mob griefing or spawning in a certain radius, and possibly providing a defensive shield at higher levels. This would be a really interesting mechanic for faction and anarchy games, in which building a beacon might offer new ways to more actively protect your base from enemy players.
Gold could offer unusual offensive effects- imagine a beacon that fires deadly lasers, generates lightning, summons magical defenders, or immobilizes enemies. A simpler way would just be for gold beacons to be able to harm or slow down mobs in a certain radius. Such a beacon could even be used as a weapon of mass destruction that would offer a new way of obliterating enemy bases- if at a considerable expense. The Gold beacon could act as a sort of boss fight of its own, requiring a considerably talented warrior to disable an enemy beacon.
Emerald would provide various quality of life benefits, or things that didn't really fall into any specific category. Perhaps emerald could provide more specific boons, such as luck, healing, or looting. I'm not really sure what sort of specific category this would fall into, particularly considering that emeralds are more difficult to obtain than most other ores, even if you're a fairly proficient trader. Maybe emeralds increase your reach or hot bar size?
And finally, Diamond might be able to be used for any category. Whereas other minerals would add points towards a specific category of buffs, diamond would provide a fair bit of points towards any category, making them by far the most useful and versatile.
In addition, Quartz might be used in beacons. Of course, Quartz is considerably easier to obtain than any other ore, so long as you have access to the nether... and yes, you obviously need access to the nether to obtain a beacon. My idea is that quartz should count as a mineral block, but not provide points towards any category. This way, you can still activate the pillar of light... just not any other benefits. This would also ensure that if you wanted to add points to certain categories, but didn't have enough to complete an entire layer of the pyramid, you could use Quartz to fill in the missing materials.
Redstone & Lapiz ~ These might make interesting mineral blocks- though I'm not sure what sort of effects they'd give. Any ideas?
-Different Beacon Types-
Going off of the above idea, the crafting recipe for beacons could be slightly tweaked. Instead of three obsidian, five glass, and a nether star; they might consist of three obsidian, a nether star, four glass... and a mineral type- diamond, emerald, iron, etc. This would determine the base power of the beacon, and what type of beacon it was- (Industrial, Defensive, Offensive, QOL, or Multipurpose.)
-Better Buffs-
As I mentioned before, a considerably simpler solution would be to just provide better buffs depending on which mineral type is used, in order to make beacons made of anything other than iron actually useful for anything other than a trophy. This might consist of adding more buffs to chose from, upgraded versions of existing buffs, or new buffs that unlock at higher levels. Buffs might also be combined into different categories- such as a 'Mining' Buff that adds mining efficiency, haste, and fortune; a 'Bloodlust' buff that adds Strength, Smite, and Knockback.
-Redstone Applications for Beacons-
It would be neat, (Again, in my opinion), if beacons could be used with redstone machinery in some way- though finding an application that would both be useful for redstone builders and survival players would be a challenge. Some ideas I have regarding this would be having a redstone beacon that gets rid of redstone signals weakening in a certain radius. This would certainly mess up some inventions, but could also be used to mitigate the need for repeaters delaying signals over long distances. Another idea is that redstone dust could be used to transfer the powers of a beacon over a larger area. A new 'transmitter' block could be connected to a beacon via redstone signal, and would provide the same effects in a smaller radius. The transmitter could be something like a slightly cheaper, similarly themed block, possibly also made with glass, obsidian, and... redstone? Diamond?
-Better Beam Effect-
Beacon beams look really cool, and are, (ironically), one of the main factors that makes me want to build a beacon, just because it makes it really difficult to get lost, and makes interesting noises. However, It could certainly be improved, seeing as beacons have been around since 1.4 of 1.5, it seems fair that we get a slight upgrade. I'm not entirely sure if it's possible for the beam to extend past 256 blocks, but this would certainly look a lot nicer. It would also be helpful if you could see the beacon from further away. On a more aesthetic note, a new particle effect could be added that makes arcane runes or glowing shards of minerals encircle the base of the beam.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What are your ideas regarding beacons? Are there pros or cons that I neglected to include? I'd definitely appreciate feedback.
Unlike a lot of similar games, Minecraft doesn't have too much variety when it comes to the types of loot you can expect to find. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it means you more or less know what to expect from the various dungeons. With the upcoming archaeology features in the Caves and Cliffs update, it isn't entirely impossible that new artifacts or uncraftable items with useful properties might be added. This is my (somewhat subjective) list of pros and cons of adding more loot, and a couple of ideas for what could be added. Please keep in mind that this is my point of view, and not an all encompassing analysis- I'd appreciate feedback and arguments for/against.
TLDR (Summary) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Adding new artifacts and loot options would add more variety and incentive for exploration, but would be difficult to balance. In addition, there are already existing systems in the game such as enchanted gear and some rare objects that already fit this category to some extent.
As mentioned above, there isn't much variety in the sort of loot you find in each of the dungeons. One can expect occasional tools, possibly enchanted; enchanted books if you're lucky; and various other objects depending on what you're raiding. It seems the game could benefit by adding more incentive to explore and conquer its structures, some of which have disproportionately bad loot considering how challenging they are (Such as the woodland mansion), and others having really good loot despite being really easy, (Such as the Desert Pyramid.)
In addition, this could give archaeology some more reasons to exist. I'm just speculating, but I expect even with some of the fantastic rewards we saw in the livestream, it's likely most players simply won't be patient enough to carefully excavate gemstones when a simple mine is more efficent and rewarding. If, for example, new totems were added that could only be obtained through careful excavation, this would, (once again), add more incentive for exploration, and digging up these new sites.
Regarding existing loot, a lot of it doesn't always make sense- the Totem of Undying, for example, is incredibly difficult to get- but really, really not worth the effort. It saves you from death, (once), and has to be held in your hand to do so- meaning you'll have to go without your trusty shield. Chainmail armor, meanwhile, is less durable than iron, and doesn't really have much of a reason to exist besides looking interesting. There are, of course, potions and other rare items worth finding, but that's still not very much in the way of variety.
Lastly, (On a far more subjective note), I think some of these would be really cool! Not just from an aesthetic perspective, but also in how they might affect game play- (That is, hopefully not breaking it.) It would be interesting to see how such new items could be used in mini games or servers, and I at least like having new gadgets to mess around with.
The most obvious problem with this idea seems to be that loot already exists to some extent in Minecraft. There are already quite a few different enchantments, which make for a wide variety of unique items that are difficult to obtain simply through crafting. In addition, consider the Notch Apple, Bottles of Enchanting, Chainmail Armor, potions, and all the other existing things one can obtain as loot.
More importantly, adding items specifically designed to implement new and unusual properties would, (naturally), cause bugs, and could easily be unbalanced if it wasn't either carefully designed, or if such items were made very rare. The existing systems of brewing and enchanting are tried and true, and it isn't really necessary to try and introduce complicated new systems into the game.
Finally, (Once again on a more subjective note), it's unclear whether this would really go with Minecraft's style. While there are games that try to include an overwhelmingly enormous amount of content, Minecraft has always seemed to prefer quality over quantity, and the developers don't add things that don't fill some sort of gameplay niche. One of the points of the game is that, despite an infinite world, there is a finite amount of content and certain parameters- this is important, because, (as with any game), it means players can get used to the rules, learn how to exploit them, and know more or less to expect. Implementing a needlessly complicated bunch of new items would upset this, and quite possibly result in unforseen consequences.
And, last but not least, a couple of my personal ideas for artifacts that could be implemented without drastically unbalancing the game, and wouldn't be too odd for Minecraft. These are more just concepts, and I'd be interested to hear other ideas- I know there are a lot of mods that address this issue, and similar suggestions for new uncraftable artifacts have probably been suggested. A couple of my ideas include:
More Totems ~ New totems could offer permanent status effects when held in your hand, and would be very rare- however, unlike the existing totem of undying, such totems would be a bit more useful. (This would fill the niche of permanent status effects- there are, of course, beacons- but these have a limited range, and I think it's safe to say they're a lot of work for a small reward.) These totems might also be found in woodland mansions, (Or somewhere else. I dunno); and could be similarly themed- such as a Totem of Vision that offers night vision and gives glowing to other mobs, A handy Totem of Might that gives strength, knockback, and absorbtion; a Totem of Halcyonics, that offers respiration and aqua affinity- (possibly found in the currently disproportionately difficult ocean temple?); and a Totem of Dexterity that would give speed, jump boost, and possibly slow fall or simply something that negated fall damage.
Cores ~ Some sort of powerful, (And incredibly expensive craftable, perhaps?) That would offer a brief burst of power similar to a notch apple (but not edible- more of an ambient totem type thing), but with a more specific set of boosts depending on the material they're made from. Similar to a beacon, a Core could be fed its respective ore type in order to remain functioning, and would break if not regularly fed said ore. An Iron Core would be the cheapest, and might offer a temporary boost in haste, reach, and efficency/looting ideal for carving our a large area or quarry; a Gold Core that would boost other positive magical effects; and other mineral themed artifacts.
Medallions ~ A single use, more common type of artifact that might be found in all types of dungeons, and offer varying effects depending on its inscription and level- (Iron, Gold, and Quartz) Medallions could possibly be crafted, (Offering quartz another use besides redstone wannabe and aesthetic building material), and could provide more unusual instant abilities- such as a 'Fire-Rune' Medallion that summons a powerful fire charge; a 'Sky-Rune' Medallion that summons lighting, damaging all hostiles in a decent radius; an 'Earth-Rune' Medallion that speeds up plant growth and acts like an extra-large radius bone meal; and so on and so forth. These could be something of a Minecraft equivalent of powerups, offering instant effects- unlike potions/splash potions, which tend to involve more status effects. Medallions would offer players the ability to access some special abilities earlier in the game, and would provide a wide range of new options for PVP and singleplayer combat alike. Alternatively, these could be a long requested, enchantable means of enhancing your pets.
Themed Equipment Sets? ~ This has been done by mods before, and I'm somewhat neutral to it- but it would be an interesting way to implement new equipment: that is, by making a variety of themed sets of armor and tools. This could include more turtle armor, armor and tool sets made from purpur, blaze rods, quartz, obsidian, and so on and so forth. If these were made uncraftable, it would encourage players to explore more areas of the game in order to obtain the unique equipment found there. Of course, this would be a whole new can of worms when it comes to balancing abilities and rarity.
To conclude, should new artifacts be added? Are they necessary? What should or should not be added? (I've also included concept art for artifacts. Because I wanted to make concept art. I'm evidently still working on the whole bit about formatting said art to a reasonable size.)
Four retextures of the classic Steve skin, each themed off of one of the four seasons- and partly inspired by the Serene Seasons modification. If you like these, you can check them out on my Skindex page, or use the texture files below.
This isn't exactly how I'd want to implement a new system- but I definitely agree that the temples/dungeons need some rethinking. They made sense back when they were introduced years ago- but with so many areas of the game being updated, they've sort of been left behind. Jungle pyramids have an interesting puzzle that's easily circumnavigated; desert pyramids have disproportionately good loot, (not to mention the TNT), considering how easy they are to complete; and ocean monuments have the opposite problem, requiring you to fight your way through a disproportionately difficult challenge for a bit of gold, and prismarine- which can now be obtained in ruins elsewhere.
So yes, these dungeons definitely need an update- but it should still be something that works well with the existing game. More procedural generation such as randomized room layouts and challenges to keep players on their toes... and possibly new mobs and more balanced loot tables.
Yeah- I've played with a rotten flesh to leather mod before, and considering how many zombies you end up killing, and the fact that t here's literally no other use for rotten flesh, it starts to pile up. On the other hand, I'm certainly not complaining, considering how irritating it can be to set up a bookshelf farm otherwise.
-Rusted tools/equipment- not a good idea as a gameplay mechanic, maybe just an aesthetic thing where your tools look that way when durability is low. I didn't intend to suggest some sort of additional means of tools degrading.
-I'm kind of confused about how intense people are getting about iron blocks rusting. Obviously, there would be some means of preventing or configuring this, and I doubt it would be some unstoppable process that you couldn't control in creative mode. Furthermore, what are you making in survival mode that uses a lot of iron blocks? It isn't as if they're cheap.
-I stand by what I said about stone bricks. They're not the most practical building material to begin with, (Though I like building with them anyways), considering how convoluted the crafting process is- and I at least think it would be interesting if they became mossier or cracked over time. There would most certainly be some way to prevent this, and it wouldn't be as if the entire structure would eventually be covered in moss or cracks. While it seems that copper currently becomes all green over time, blocks could have a random chance of becoming rusted/cracked/mossy, meaning that rust and moss would occur in patches, rather than covering an entire structure.
...All this being said, I'm kind of thrilled and also a bit startled people feel so strongly about this.
I agree with the consensus that this might make it too easy to get leather- on the other hand, considering how irritatingly hard leather is to get if you can't find any cows nearby, and only makes low class materials, I don't think it would be a bad idea. Maybe require a bit more rotten flesh to make one leather, using a crafting recipe or something as opposed to the furnace? I think the furnace makes more sense logically, but a crafting recipe might make more sense game play wise.
I've played using season modifications before, and I kind of like the extra level of depth it adds. Not sure how I feel about temperatures, but on the other hand this would really be more of an aesthetic thing without a major change like that. ...I wouldn't see temperature as a strictly necessary thing to implement, but it might be neat for hardcore mode, or as an optional feature to give players more of an incentive to worry about their surroundings and the progression of seasons. Overall though, I like this suggestion, particularly as it doesn't seem too hard to change the biome-flora colors on a regular basis, and add snow and ice in winter.
I was kind of surprised by the fact that copper blocks will, when introduced, rust over time. However, upon reflection, I kind of like the idea of a way to watch your worlds age over time. I also think some other similar changes could add a further sense of antiquity to older worlds.
Iron Blocks rust over time ~ If copper is going to rust, I think it seems obvious that iron should do the same, at least in survival- if perhaps over a longer period of time, and, (Of course), with an orange instead of green residue.
Iron Equipment rusts over time ~ Iron tools and armor will (very slowly) rust over time. Rusted variants might actually be stronger, but would break far more easily. This could also just be an aesthetic thing that is based on durability.
Stone Bricks turn cracked or mossy over long periods of time. This would occur randomly, so that patches of moss would slowly grow on stone brick surfaces. ...Perhaps the same could be true of cobblestone, with small patches of cobblestone becoming mossy over long periods of time? The same could be true of cobblestone and stone brick fences.
Anyone else have similar ideas? (In regards to using aging mechanics to give structures a better sense of history?)
Many updates add bugs to the game- but these bugs are so frequently taken out by the determined developers! It would be neat, (In my opinion), if there was an update devoted to adding bugs... if only because the opportunities for puns would be endless. The environments of the Overworld are, in my opinion, somewhat static- and the addition of colorful beetles that would also serve a practical purpose would be a welcome one. (I go into this in more detail in This Thread)
Insects would not have to be complicated- these would be small creatures about the quarter the size of a block, that would fly away a short distance when players get too near. If determined, you can use a glass bottle to catch and release insects- which can be bred, and frequently drop dye when killed. Different colors of beetles would spawn in different biomes, and, like sheep, breeding different colors together might result in secondary colored variants. Some beetles might have flowers or mushrooms growing from them which could be removed with shears, and would then regrow- making these otherwise irritatingly elusive items farmable. Finally, this would, (Of course, add some new enchantments & potions involving beetles. Bottles of beetles could be used as brewing ingredients for things such as a levitation potion that would cause the player to levitate briefly before the end of a fall that would cause damage to them, or a Potion of the Beetle Master that would turn all nearby beetles into helpful allies that would attack hostile mobs. A Lord of Arthropods enchantment would make spiders, beetles, and silverfish friendly- and, in higher levels, might result in turning these creatures to fight for you.
Other ideas: a new armor/tool set that required 'Phase Plating,' a resource made with eight phantom membrane and a beetle shard that could be used to craft elytra, and make a special, end-game armor set comparable to netherite that would offer special abilities, and possibly require ender world materials to craft.
And, last but not least, a Better Beetle Bottle that is even more difficult to pronounce than the first one. By combining nine beetle bottles in a crafting grid, you get eight empty bottles and one better beetle bottle that would release nine beetles when used- a powerful tool when used in combination with Lord of Arthropods.
...It's an idea. I think adding these small creatures would both serve to give more life to otherwise static environments, and could also serve a practical purpose towards game play.
There are certainly mods that add a great deal of mobs to the game to make environments more interesting- however, (In my opinion), many of these mods are over ambitious, don't go well with vanilla content, or are simply for older versions. This is a general idea for a mod that would add a new type of creature to the game that is both useful and adds life to the otherwise largely static environments of the Overworld. These Beetles would be about a quarter of a block in size, and would offer a means of farming otherwise unobtainable resources such as flowers and mushrooms, an easier means of obtaining dyes, new possibilities for brewing... and possible a new set of tools and armor. As always, I'd be more than happy to do graphic design for this mod, or for similar ones, and, quite frankly, have too much free time on my hands.
Common Beetles
These relatively common creatures would be the regular sort of beetle you encounter- a small, skittish passive creature that can cling to the sides and undersides of blocks, and flies away a short distance if a player gets too near. They correspond to the sixteen dye colors, and, when killed, drop 0-2 of their dye color, and 0-1 Shell Fragments of their color. Like sheep, breeding colors together can result in a secondary color of beetle. (They can be bred with... rotten flesh? Maybe?) Anything with Bane of Arthropods would scare away any nearby beetles. Beetles could be hunted by foxes, bees, and possibly... cats? Maybe cats just play with them, because cats are adorable? They are as follows: Light Green Beetles are found in jungles and prairies. They're fairly common. Green Beetles are found in Covered forests and Taigas. They're somewhat slower. Yellow Beetles are found in jungles and prairies, especially around sunflowers. Orange Beetles are unique to Mesa plateaus. Red Beetles are found in flower forests, covered forests, and jungles. Blue Beetles are rather difficult to find, as they only spawn in flower forests, and occasionally in jungles. Light Blue Beetles are found in cold biomes. Cyan Beetles are only found near coasts. Brown Beetles are found in forests. They're more skittish than most beetles. Black Beetles are only found at night. White Beetles are unique to cold biomes, and are rather hard to find, partly thanks to their natural camoflauge. Light Grey Beetles are found in mountains. Grey Beetles are found in mountains. Purple Beetles are unique to swamps, and can go underwater to avoid players. Pink Beetles are unique to flower forests and jungles. Magenta Beetles are only found in jungles.
Sneaky Beetles
These variants of ordinary beetles look more or less identical to other beetles, save in that they have a flower or mushroom of some sort growing from them. When a player gets close, they burrow into the ground if on a soil block, and then only fly away if the player gets very close. They can be sheared for their flower and mushroom, which eventually grows back, allowing players to farm these otherwise irritatingly elusive resources. (Technically, I believe warped and crimson fungi can be farmed, for the record.) Flowery Yellow Beetles have a dandelion growing from them. Flowery Red Beetles have a poppy growing from them. Flowery Cyan Beetles have a cornflower growing from them. Flowery White Beetles have a daisy growing from them. Spotted Red Beetles have a red mushroom growing from them, and are found primarily in mushroom isles, as well as (rarely) in covered forests. Spotted Brown Beetles are similar to spotted red beetles. Spotted Crimson Beetles are a netherworld beetle that grows a crimson fungus on it. They're possibly hostile, dealing a light poison effect if startled? Spotted Warped Beetles are a netherworld beetle that grows a warped fungus on it. They maybe inflict a nausea effect if startled?
Rare Beetles
These rare beetles would be quite difficult to obtain- possibly, bottles with these beetles in them can (rarely) be found in woodland mansions or witch huts. Alternatively, a shiny Shell Fragment could be crafted by surrounding a shell fragment with eight ingots/gemstones. Shiny Grey Beetles are made of iron, and drop 0-3 ingots on death....Possibly iron golem themed? Shiny Gold Beetles are made of god, and drop 0-3 ingots on death. Possibly also found in Bastion Remnants? Glittering Diamond/Emerald Beetles are an ultra-rare type that drops 0-1 of its corresponding gemstone on death. Blue Glow Beetles are found in caves deep underground and in soul sand valleys- they only light up when clinging to a surface, casting caves in eerie blue light that vanishes as the player gets too close. Yellow Glow Beetles are found in the Netherworld. They drop glow stone dust on death.
Water Beetles ~ Coral themed beetles found underwater. They would drop coral.
Other Potential Additions
Some other things such a mod might include could be: Shell Fragments ~ Occasionally dropped by a beetle on death- applying a shell fragment to another beetle changes that beetle to the color of the fragment. Phase Shards/Phase Equipment ~ A shell fragment could be surrounded by eight Phantom Membrane to create a phase shard.These shards could be used to make an unusual armor set that would be slightly below iron in terms of durability. The Phase Armor would give a significant speed and jump boost, and would 'fracture' when it broke, dealing a large amount of damage to any nearby mobs. Craftable Elytra ~ Phase Shards could be used to craft elytra. Maybe. This might be really unbalanced, unless perhaps an eye of ender was necessary. Or something. Beetle Bottles ~ Try saying that five times fast! Glass bottles can be used to capture beetles, resulting in a 'Bottle of [Beetle Type]' These can then be released, ideal to start farming beetles for dye or other useful resources. Beetle Bottles can also be used in brewing. (I'm not entirely sure how, but it might be interesting.) Better Beetle Bottle ~ Combine nine beetle bottles to create a single Better Beetle Bottle, (And you thought the last one was hard to say.) You would get the other eight empty bottles back, but the resulting better beetle bottle would release nine beetles at once- ideal for distracting enemies. Potion of the Beetle Master ~ This potion would convert any nearby beetles into friendly entities that attack any hostiles near you in an incredibly distracting swarm. It would, of course, require beetles to brew. Potion of Levitation ~ While a levitation effect is already induced by shulkers, this potion could be made from certain beetles, and would cause you to levitate shortly before sustaining significant fall damage. Lord of Arthropods I-V ~ An enchantment applicable to equipment, and an opposite of Bane of Arthropods that would convert spiders, silverfish, endermite, and beetles into neutral entities. Wearing enough equipment with Lord of Arthropods would actually cause nearby spiders and beetles to attack other hostiles. Arthrokineticy I-V ~ A powerful enchantment, (And one that would probably be very difficult to program), that would allow you to control insects.While Lord of Arthropods would be applied to armor, this would be applied to tools and weapons. A weapon enchanted with Arthrokineticy would cause any nearby arthropods to attack whatever you're attacking- whereas a pickaxe would cause them to mine things for you, a scythe to harvest things for you, and so on and so forth. This would allow you to conserve durability... and better control your epic swarm of insectoid minions.
TLDR (Summary) ~ A (relatively) simple mod that adds a new mob to the game that both allows the farming of otherwise difficult to obtain ingredients, and adds more life and vibrance to otherwise drab areas of the Overworld; along with various new potions, equipment, and other stuff related to these insects.
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Perhaps there could be a way to balance it out by giving a carapace armor set some sort of alternative ability that makes it useful in the end and/or as a late game armor set similar to elytra, but filling a different niche.
To be fair, I do think there's a good reason we can't wear elytra with chestplates- it's a trade off, but to be clear Reaver said pretty bluntly that it should be difficult to equip elytra and a chestplate at the same time. ...I don't really think you should be able to wear armor with elytra- however, that doesn't mean that any new material or armor set would be completely useless. There are numerous other ways a new armor set could be utilized to serve some sort of new aspect of gameplay. ...That being said, I'm not entirely sure what that new aspect might be- it really depends on how hard carapace is to get once you're actually in the end, though, considering that it is the end, it's already going to be pretty rare.
-One idea is that carapace could be an additional upgrade to Netherite- offering some sort of special boon, like making it easier to enchant.
-Carapace armor could provide the player with a sort of hover feature that would act as significantly more controlled flight than elytra, but would not be at all as helpful for covering long distances. This could be themed after the insects themselves.
-Perhaps carapace has some other weird/helpful special abilities that help players navigate in the end- such as a helmet that prevents endermen from attacking, but doesn't obscure your view like a pumpkin.
Again, these are far less full fledged ideas than me trying to make a point that there's more than one way to implement more content- an entire idea shouldn't hit the shredder just because one aspect of it seems a bit unbalanced.
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I really like this idea! I've always thought that the End ought to be next on Mojang's list of parts of the game to revamp; (1.18, perhaps?), and currently there isn't much available for modding it- (At least for forge.) This is definitely something I never would have thought of- and it seems like it would add some interesting and creative new mechanics, as well as a welcome new challenge for the outer isles. On a more aesthetic note, this sounds like it would certainly match the alien-wasteland vibe of the end.
...I'm not personally that concerned about the Elytra mechanics, and not all in favor of that idea- but the new biome itself sounds really creative! I can imagine an endermite and ant infested network of floating nests, interconnected by organic growths and filled with twisted tunnels... It could be an interesting mechanic if these new creatures could infest blocks in a way similar to silverfish. In my opinion, the infestation mechanic is way underrated- and could be used to force players to explore areas with valuable loot rather than simply drilling straight through them.
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I definitely agree! I was a bit disappointing by the stalactite and stalagmite models- they fit well enough with the new dripstone biome... but nowhere else. I like how Quark approaches stalactites and stalagmites, (it never stops being fun to say these two words), by having one, two, and three block tall variants, which can generate on any stone type. They really make caves seem more dynamic and interesting, without going outside the realms of the Vanilla feel. Yes, as long as we're getting the caves and cliffs up date, I would certainly approve of more pointy rocks in caves. (I can only type stalactites and stalagmites so many times before my brain starts hurting from the effort of spelling them properly.)
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I like the idea of more ambient mobs- the overworld, (and other dimensions for that matter) is currently much in the way of... any ambiance at all. It's almost eerily silent without modifications installed for ambient biome noise. While this could be interpreted as an intentional part of the game, I think we could certainly benefit from more smaller creatures. However, while I'd agree with insects of some sort, this does seem a little redundant in regards to bees already being a thing. (No pun intended.)
It's clear this is a pretty heated topic- on the one hand, I like the idea of more ambiance and environments that feel more alive- but on the other hand, anything new would have to fill some sort of gameplay niche, and furthermore, might take away from the existing feel of Minecraft's world.
...Of course, all this is sort of subjective in terms of how you feel about the game's environments. At least in my opinion, there aren't currently too many reasons to explore the actual terrain itself as opposed to structures- aside from hunting for animals, and more recently searching for berries, (Which aren't very effective anyways), the game is currently more centered around farming, mining, and otherwise being efficient. This seems like something as a loss, seeing as how much work has gone into the terrain and biomes. It would certainly be neat if there were some sort of insect mechanic that encouraged players to hunt down rare insects... I like a lot of the ideas for this- they seem like a creature that feels very much alive. However, they are pretty similar to bees, and don't seem to fill any new niche.
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I don't think I'm alone when I say that beacons are a bit confusing and more than a bit broken as far as game design goes. Many people have suggested new buffs or uses for beacons... but I'm more of the opinion that a complete overhaul is in order for the beacon. Are beacons a good game mechanic as they are? Or do they need some changes? Once again, I'm curious for feedback, and would love to have more input. I've posted this as a poll largely because I want to see what other people think of my take on the issue of beacons. In particular, I really like Simplysarc's take on the beacon problem, which you can find here:
TLDR (Summary) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adding new mechanics for beacons could be difficult and needlessly complicated. On the other hand, many people agree that the existing beacon mechanics are broken and not worth the effort.
CONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As with any older game mechanic, even if it doesn't necessarily make sense, people can get very upset when things they're used to are changed. A major update that changed how beacons work in a fundamental way would doubtlessly make many players angry, considering how hard it is to make a beacon to begin with. Replacing diamonds as the top of the equipment tiers was a great example of this- and if the developers were to attempt such a change- like any change- it would have to be very carefully thought through.
Beacons don't need to be updated, as they already offer a useful game mechanic. The beacon encourages players to collect a large amount of resources and complete a difficult boss fight in order to obtain a suitable reward- a reward that also encourages them to build a base in which to live. The buffs for beacons make sense, and are a decent reward for the considerable difficulty of building them. The rewards are useful, and worth the effort.
PROS ~
The Beacon is seriously broken. For a small, not particularly useful buff, players need to gather a great deal of resources- if you want more effects, the amount needed to upgrade the pyramid to the next tier increases exponentially. A fully upgraded beacon costs 1,476 iron bars to make the pyramid, encouraging players to build an iron golem farm- arguably an exploit. What's more, the beacon can be made from any mineral block... but none of these blocks actually change the effects or increase its power- meaning it's pointless to use anything other than iron. Furthermore, it's not worth fighting the wither- a ridiculously overpowered boss- to get a beacon that can't be activated without a bunch more resources, and even then only provides negligible benefits at best.
There is so much more that could be done with the beacon, and in this respect players are really missing out- the beacon is so expensive, and so lacking in actual benefits that the majority of players will never actually use one outside of creative mode.
POTENTIAL USES FOR BEACONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The ways in which beacons could be improved goes on and on. The simplest way would be to offer a wider selection of buffs, and different buffs for different mineral types, making it actually worthwhile to build a beacon. As mentioned above, I especially like Simplysarc's ideas regarding beacons- namely that each of the mineral types would provide a separate type of buff, and that multiple types of minerals could be used in a power pyramid in order to provide a combination of said buffs.
Some of the ideas for beacons I would consider in particular, summarized briefly:
-Mineral-Specific Buffs ~
Copper- (which I sincerely hope will be used with beacons) could be used for efficiency and productivity- offering some effects already present, (such as haste), as well as fortune and other industry- based benefits- like increasing the growth speed of crops. Since copper beacons are the cheapest and easiest to set up, this would make them ideal for mines or other areas in which productivity is useful.
Iron would have helpful defensive effects, giving mining fatigue to invaders, turning off mob griefing or spawning in a certain radius, and possibly providing a defensive shield at higher levels. This would be a really interesting mechanic for faction and anarchy games, in which building a beacon might offer new ways to more actively protect your base from enemy players.
Gold could offer unusual offensive effects- imagine a beacon that fires deadly lasers, generates lightning, summons magical defenders, or immobilizes enemies. A simpler way would just be for gold beacons to be able to harm or slow down mobs in a certain radius. Such a beacon could even be used as a weapon of mass destruction that would offer a new way of obliterating enemy bases- if at a considerable expense. The Gold beacon could act as a sort of boss fight of its own, requiring a considerably talented warrior to disable an enemy beacon.
Emerald would provide various quality of life benefits, or things that didn't really fall into any specific category. Perhaps emerald could provide more specific boons, such as luck, healing, or looting. I'm not really sure what sort of specific category this would fall into, particularly considering that emeralds are more difficult to obtain than most other ores, even if you're a fairly proficient trader. Maybe emeralds increase your reach or hot bar size?
And finally, Diamond might be able to be used for any category. Whereas other minerals would add points towards a specific category of buffs, diamond would provide a fair bit of points towards any category, making them by far the most useful and versatile.
In addition, Quartz might be used in beacons. Of course, Quartz is considerably easier to obtain than any other ore, so long as you have access to the nether... and yes, you obviously need access to the nether to obtain a beacon. My idea is that quartz should count as a mineral block, but not provide points towards any category. This way, you can still activate the pillar of light... just not any other benefits. This would also ensure that if you wanted to add points to certain categories, but didn't have enough to complete an entire layer of the pyramid, you could use Quartz to fill in the missing materials.
Redstone & Lapiz ~ These might make interesting mineral blocks- though I'm not sure what sort of effects they'd give. Any ideas?
-Different Beacon Types-
Going off of the above idea, the crafting recipe for beacons could be slightly tweaked. Instead of three obsidian, five glass, and a nether star; they might consist of three obsidian, a nether star, four glass... and a mineral type- diamond, emerald, iron, etc. This would determine the base power of the beacon, and what type of beacon it was- (Industrial, Defensive, Offensive, QOL, or Multipurpose.)
-Better Buffs-
As I mentioned before, a considerably simpler solution would be to just provide better buffs depending on which mineral type is used, in order to make beacons made of anything other than iron actually useful for anything other than a trophy. This might consist of adding more buffs to chose from, upgraded versions of existing buffs, or new buffs that unlock at higher levels. Buffs might also be combined into different categories- such as a 'Mining' Buff that adds mining efficiency, haste, and fortune; a 'Bloodlust' buff that adds Strength, Smite, and Knockback.
-Redstone Applications for Beacons-
It would be neat, (Again, in my opinion), if beacons could be used with redstone machinery in some way- though finding an application that would both be useful for redstone builders and survival players would be a challenge. Some ideas I have regarding this would be having a redstone beacon that gets rid of redstone signals weakening in a certain radius. This would certainly mess up some inventions, but could also be used to mitigate the need for repeaters delaying signals over long distances. Another idea is that redstone dust could be used to transfer the powers of a beacon over a larger area. A new 'transmitter' block could be connected to a beacon via redstone signal, and would provide the same effects in a smaller radius. The transmitter could be something like a slightly cheaper, similarly themed block, possibly also made with glass, obsidian, and... redstone? Diamond?
-Better Beam Effect-
Beacon beams look really cool, and are, (ironically), one of the main factors that makes me want to build a beacon, just because it makes it really difficult to get lost, and makes interesting noises. However, It could certainly be improved, seeing as beacons have been around since 1.4 of 1.5, it seems fair that we get a slight upgrade. I'm not entirely sure if it's possible for the beam to extend past 256 blocks, but this would certainly look a lot nicer. It would also be helpful if you could see the beacon from further away. On a more aesthetic note, a new particle effect could be added that makes arcane runes or glowing shards of minerals encircle the base of the beam.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What are your ideas regarding beacons? Are there pros or cons that I neglected to include? I'd definitely appreciate feedback.
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Unlike a lot of similar games, Minecraft doesn't have too much variety when it comes to the types of loot you can expect to find. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it means you more or less know what to expect from the various dungeons. With the upcoming archaeology features in the Caves and Cliffs update, it isn't entirely impossible that new artifacts or uncraftable items with useful properties might be added. This is my (somewhat subjective) list of pros and cons of adding more loot, and a couple of ideas for what could be added. Please keep in mind that this is my point of view, and not an all encompassing analysis- I'd appreciate feedback and arguments for/against.
TLDR (Summary) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adding new artifacts and loot options would add more variety and incentive for exploration, but would be difficult to balance. In addition, there are already existing systems in the game such as enchanted gear and some rare objects that already fit this category to some extent.
Pros ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As mentioned above, there isn't much variety in the sort of loot you find in each of the dungeons. One can expect occasional tools, possibly enchanted; enchanted books if you're lucky; and various other objects depending on what you're raiding. It seems the game could benefit by adding more incentive to explore and conquer its structures, some of which have disproportionately bad loot considering how challenging they are (Such as the woodland mansion), and others having really good loot despite being really easy, (Such as the Desert Pyramid.)
In addition, this could give archaeology some more reasons to exist. I'm just speculating, but I expect even with some of the fantastic rewards we saw in the livestream, it's likely most players simply won't be patient enough to carefully excavate gemstones when a simple mine is more efficent and rewarding. If, for example, new totems were added that could only be obtained through careful excavation, this would, (once again), add more incentive for exploration, and digging up these new sites.
Regarding existing loot, a lot of it doesn't always make sense- the Totem of Undying, for example, is incredibly difficult to get- but really, really not worth the effort. It saves you from death, (once), and has to be held in your hand to do so- meaning you'll have to go without your trusty shield. Chainmail armor, meanwhile, is less durable than iron, and doesn't really have much of a reason to exist besides looking interesting. There are, of course, potions and other rare items worth finding, but that's still not very much in the way of variety.
Lastly, (On a far more subjective note), I think some of these would be really cool! Not just from an aesthetic perspective, but also in how they might affect game play- (That is, hopefully not breaking it.) It would be interesting to see how such new items could be used in mini games or servers, and I at least like having new gadgets to mess around with.
CONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The most obvious problem with this idea seems to be that loot already exists to some extent in Minecraft. There are already quite a few different enchantments, which make for a wide variety of unique items that are difficult to obtain simply through crafting. In addition, consider the Notch Apple, Bottles of Enchanting, Chainmail Armor, potions, and all the other existing things one can obtain as loot.
More importantly, adding items specifically designed to implement new and unusual properties would, (naturally), cause bugs, and could easily be unbalanced if it wasn't either carefully designed, or if such items were made very rare. The existing systems of brewing and enchanting are tried and true, and it isn't really necessary to try and introduce complicated new systems into the game.
Finally, (Once again on a more subjective note), it's unclear whether this would really go with Minecraft's style. While there are games that try to include an overwhelmingly enormous amount of content, Minecraft has always seemed to prefer quality over quantity, and the developers don't add things that don't fill some sort of gameplay niche. One of the points of the game is that, despite an infinite world, there is a finite amount of content and certain parameters- this is important, because, (as with any game), it means players can get used to the rules, learn how to exploit them, and know more or less to expect. Implementing a needlessly complicated bunch of new items would upset this, and quite possibly result in unforseen consequences.
Ideas ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And, last but not least, a couple of my personal ideas for artifacts that could be implemented without drastically unbalancing the game, and wouldn't be too odd for Minecraft. These are more just concepts, and I'd be interested to hear other ideas- I know there are a lot of mods that address this issue, and similar suggestions for new uncraftable artifacts have probably been suggested. A couple of my ideas include:
More Totems ~ New totems could offer permanent status effects when held in your hand, and would be very rare- however, unlike the existing totem of undying, such totems would be a bit more useful. (This would fill the niche of permanent status effects- there are, of course, beacons- but these have a limited range, and I think it's safe to say they're a lot of work for a small reward.) These totems might also be found in woodland mansions, (Or somewhere else. I dunno); and could be similarly themed- such as a Totem of Vision that offers night vision and gives glowing to other mobs, A handy Totem of Might that gives strength, knockback, and absorbtion; a Totem of Halcyonics, that offers respiration and aqua affinity- (possibly found in the currently disproportionately difficult ocean temple?); and a Totem of Dexterity that would give speed, jump boost, and possibly slow fall or simply something that negated fall damage.
Cores ~ Some sort of powerful, (And incredibly expensive craftable, perhaps?) That would offer a brief burst of power similar to a notch apple (but not edible- more of an ambient totem type thing), but with a more specific set of boosts depending on the material they're made from. Similar to a beacon, a Core could be fed its respective ore type in order to remain functioning, and would break if not regularly fed said ore. An Iron Core would be the cheapest, and might offer a temporary boost in haste, reach, and efficency/looting ideal for carving our a large area or quarry; a Gold Core that would boost other positive magical effects; and other mineral themed artifacts.
Medallions ~ A single use, more common type of artifact that might be found in all types of dungeons, and offer varying effects depending on its inscription and level- (Iron, Gold, and Quartz) Medallions could possibly be crafted, (Offering quartz another use besides redstone wannabe and aesthetic building material), and could provide more unusual instant abilities- such as a 'Fire-Rune' Medallion that summons a powerful fire charge; a 'Sky-Rune' Medallion that summons lighting, damaging all hostiles in a decent radius; an 'Earth-Rune' Medallion that speeds up plant growth and acts like an extra-large radius bone meal; and so on and so forth. These could be something of a Minecraft equivalent of powerups, offering instant effects- unlike potions/splash potions, which tend to involve more status effects. Medallions would offer players the ability to access some special abilities earlier in the game, and would provide a wide range of new options for PVP and singleplayer combat alike. Alternatively, these could be a long requested, enchantable means of enhancing your pets.
Themed Equipment Sets? ~ This has been done by mods before, and I'm somewhat neutral to it- but it would be an interesting way to implement new equipment: that is, by making a variety of themed sets of armor and tools. This could include more turtle armor, armor and tool sets made from purpur, blaze rods, quartz, obsidian, and so on and so forth. If these were made uncraftable, it would encourage players to explore more areas of the game in order to obtain the unique equipment found there. Of course, this would be a whole new can of worms when it comes to balancing abilities and rarity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To conclude, should new artifacts be added? Are they necessary? What should or should not be added? (I've also included concept art for artifacts. Because I wanted to make concept art. I'm evidently still working on the whole bit about formatting said art to a reasonable size.)
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Four retextures of the classic Steve skin, each themed off of one of the four seasons- and partly inspired by the Serene Seasons modification. If you like these, you can check them out on my Skindex page, or use the texture files below.
Summer Texture: file:///home/chronos/u-e72f3cd908a8c72c07b2c1618e33d05bcc8c7adb/MyFiles/Downloads/Summersteve.png
Winter Texture: file:///home/chronos/u-e72f3cd908a8c72c07b2c1618e33d05bcc8c7adb/MyFiles/Downloads/Wintersteve.png
Autumn Texture: file:///home/chronos/u-e72f3cd908a8c72c07b2c1618e33d05bcc8c7adb/MyFiles/Downloads/Autumnsteve.png
Spring Texture: file:///home/chronos/u-e72f3cd908a8c72c07b2c1618e33d05bcc8c7adb/MyFiles/Downloads/Springsteve.png
My Skindex Page: https://www.minecraftskins.com/profile/4703406/pierconic
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This isn't exactly how I'd want to implement a new system- but I definitely agree that the temples/dungeons need some rethinking. They made sense back when they were introduced years ago- but with so many areas of the game being updated, they've sort of been left behind. Jungle pyramids have an interesting puzzle that's easily circumnavigated; desert pyramids have disproportionately good loot, (not to mention the TNT), considering how easy they are to complete; and ocean monuments have the opposite problem, requiring you to fight your way through a disproportionately difficult challenge for a bit of gold, and prismarine- which can now be obtained in ruins elsewhere.
So yes, these dungeons definitely need an update- but it should still be something that works well with the existing game. More procedural generation such as randomized room layouts and challenges to keep players on their toes... and possibly new mobs and more balanced loot tables.
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Yeah- I've played with a rotten flesh to leather mod before, and considering how many zombies you end up killing, and the fact that t here's literally no other use for rotten flesh, it starts to pile up. On the other hand, I'm certainly not complaining, considering how irritating it can be to set up a bookshelf farm otherwise.
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Just to clarify:
-Rusted tools/equipment- not a good idea as a gameplay mechanic, maybe just an aesthetic thing where your tools look that way when durability is low. I didn't intend to suggest some sort of additional means of tools degrading.
-I'm kind of confused about how intense people are getting about iron blocks rusting. Obviously, there would be some means of preventing or configuring this, and I doubt it would be some unstoppable process that you couldn't control in creative mode. Furthermore, what are you making in survival mode that uses a lot of iron blocks? It isn't as if they're cheap.
-I stand by what I said about stone bricks. They're not the most practical building material to begin with, (Though I like building with them anyways), considering how convoluted the crafting process is- and I at least think it would be interesting if they became mossier or cracked over time. There would most certainly be some way to prevent this, and it wouldn't be as if the entire structure would eventually be covered in moss or cracks. While it seems that copper currently becomes all green over time, blocks could have a random chance of becoming rusted/cracked/mossy, meaning that rust and moss would occur in patches, rather than covering an entire structure.
...All this being said, I'm kind of thrilled and also a bit startled people feel so strongly about this.
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I agree with the consensus that this might make it too easy to get leather- on the other hand, considering how irritatingly hard leather is to get if you can't find any cows nearby, and only makes low class materials, I don't think it would be a bad idea. Maybe require a bit more rotten flesh to make one leather, using a crafting recipe or something as opposed to the furnace? I think the furnace makes more sense logically, but a crafting recipe might make more sense game play wise.
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I've played using season modifications before, and I kind of like the extra level of depth it adds. Not sure how I feel about temperatures, but on the other hand this would really be more of an aesthetic thing without a major change like that. ...I wouldn't see temperature as a strictly necessary thing to implement, but it might be neat for hardcore mode, or as an optional feature to give players more of an incentive to worry about their surroundings and the progression of seasons. Overall though, I like this suggestion, particularly as it doesn't seem too hard to change the biome-flora colors on a regular basis, and add snow and ice in winter.
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I was kind of surprised by the fact that copper blocks will, when introduced, rust over time. However, upon reflection, I kind of like the idea of a way to watch your worlds age over time. I also think some other similar changes could add a further sense of antiquity to older worlds.
Iron Blocks rust over time ~ If copper is going to rust, I think it seems obvious that iron should do the same, at least in survival- if perhaps over a longer period of time, and, (Of course), with an orange instead of green residue.
Iron Equipment rusts over time ~ Iron tools and armor will (very slowly) rust over time. Rusted variants might actually be stronger, but would break far more easily. This could also just be an aesthetic thing that is based on durability.
Stone Bricks turn cracked or mossy over long periods of time. This would occur randomly, so that patches of moss would slowly grow on stone brick surfaces. ...Perhaps the same could be true of cobblestone, with small patches of cobblestone becoming mossy over long periods of time? The same could be true of cobblestone and stone brick fences.
Anyone else have similar ideas? (In regards to using aging mechanics to give structures a better sense of history?)
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Many updates add bugs to the game- but these bugs are so frequently taken out by the determined developers! It would be neat, (In my opinion), if there was an update devoted to adding bugs... if only because the opportunities for puns would be endless. The environments of the Overworld are, in my opinion, somewhat static- and the addition of colorful beetles that would also serve a practical purpose would be a welcome one. (I go into this in more detail in This Thread)
Insects would not have to be complicated- these would be small creatures about the quarter the size of a block, that would fly away a short distance when players get too near. If determined, you can use a glass bottle to catch and release insects- which can be bred, and frequently drop dye when killed. Different colors of beetles would spawn in different biomes, and, like sheep, breeding different colors together might result in secondary colored variants. Some beetles might have flowers or mushrooms growing from them which could be removed with shears, and would then regrow- making these otherwise irritatingly elusive items farmable. Finally, this would, (Of course, add some new enchantments & potions involving beetles. Bottles of beetles could be used as brewing ingredients for things such as a levitation potion that would cause the player to levitate briefly before the end of a fall that would cause damage to them, or a Potion of the Beetle Master that would turn all nearby beetles into helpful allies that would attack hostile mobs. A Lord of Arthropods enchantment would make spiders, beetles, and silverfish friendly- and, in higher levels, might result in turning these creatures to fight for you.
Other ideas: a new armor/tool set that required 'Phase Plating,' a resource made with eight phantom membrane and a beetle shard that could be used to craft elytra, and make a special, end-game armor set comparable to netherite that would offer special abilities, and possibly require ender world materials to craft.
And, last but not least, a Better Beetle Bottle that is even more difficult to pronounce than the first one. By combining nine beetle bottles in a crafting grid, you get eight empty bottles and one better beetle bottle that would release nine beetles when used- a powerful tool when used in combination with Lord of Arthropods.
...It's an idea. I think adding these small creatures would both serve to give more life to otherwise static environments, and could also serve a practical purpose towards game play.
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There are certainly mods that add a great deal of mobs to the game to make environments more interesting- however, (In my opinion), many of these mods are over ambitious, don't go well with vanilla content, or are simply for older versions. This is a general idea for a mod that would add a new type of creature to the game that is both useful and adds life to the otherwise largely static environments of the Overworld. These Beetles would be about a quarter of a block in size, and would offer a means of farming otherwise unobtainable resources such as flowers and mushrooms, an easier means of obtaining dyes, new possibilities for brewing... and possible a new set of tools and armor. As always, I'd be more than happy to do graphic design for this mod, or for similar ones, and, quite frankly, have too much free time on my hands.
Common Beetles
These relatively common creatures would be the regular sort of beetle you encounter- a small, skittish passive creature that can cling to the sides and undersides of blocks, and flies away a short distance if a player gets too near. They correspond to the sixteen dye colors, and, when killed, drop 0-2 of their dye color, and 0-1 Shell Fragments of their color. Like sheep, breeding colors together can result in a secondary color of beetle. (They can be bred with... rotten flesh? Maybe?) Anything with Bane of Arthropods would scare away any nearby beetles. Beetles could be hunted by foxes, bees, and possibly... cats? Maybe cats just play with them, because cats are adorable? They are as follows:
Light Green Beetles are found in jungles and prairies. They're fairly common.
Green Beetles are found in Covered forests and Taigas. They're somewhat slower.
Yellow Beetles are found in jungles and prairies, especially around sunflowers.
Orange Beetles are unique to Mesa plateaus.
Red Beetles are found in flower forests, covered forests, and jungles.
Blue Beetles are rather difficult to find, as they only spawn in flower forests, and occasionally in jungles.
Light Blue Beetles are found in cold biomes.
Cyan Beetles are only found near coasts.
Brown Beetles are found in forests. They're more skittish than most beetles.
Black Beetles are only found at night.
White Beetles are unique to cold biomes, and are rather hard to find, partly thanks to their natural camoflauge.
Light Grey Beetles are found in mountains.
Grey Beetles are found in mountains.
Purple Beetles are unique to swamps, and can go underwater to avoid players.
Pink Beetles are unique to flower forests and jungles.
Magenta Beetles are only found in jungles.
Sneaky Beetles
These variants of ordinary beetles look more or less identical to other beetles, save in that they have a flower or mushroom of some sort growing from them. When a player gets close, they burrow into the ground if on a soil block, and then only fly away if the player gets very close. They can be sheared for their flower and mushroom, which eventually grows back, allowing players to farm these otherwise irritatingly elusive resources. (Technically, I believe warped and crimson fungi can be farmed, for the record.)
Flowery Yellow Beetles have a dandelion growing from them.
Flowery Red Beetles have a poppy growing from them.
Flowery Cyan Beetles have a cornflower growing from them.
Flowery White Beetles have a daisy growing from them.
Spotted Red Beetles have a red mushroom growing from them, and are found primarily in mushroom isles, as well as (rarely) in covered forests.
Spotted Brown Beetles are similar to spotted red beetles.
Spotted Crimson Beetles are a netherworld beetle that grows a crimson fungus on it. They're possibly hostile, dealing a light poison effect if startled?
Spotted Warped Beetles are a netherworld beetle that grows a warped fungus on it. They maybe inflict a nausea effect if startled?
Rare Beetles
These rare beetles would be quite difficult to obtain- possibly, bottles with these beetles in them can (rarely) be found in woodland mansions or witch huts. Alternatively, a shiny Shell Fragment could be crafted by surrounding a shell fragment with eight ingots/gemstones.
Shiny Grey Beetles are made of iron, and drop 0-3 ingots on death....Possibly iron golem themed?
Shiny Gold Beetles are made of god, and drop 0-3 ingots on death. Possibly also found in Bastion Remnants?
Glittering Diamond/Emerald Beetles are an ultra-rare type that drops 0-1 of its corresponding gemstone on death.
Blue Glow Beetles are found in caves deep underground and in soul sand valleys- they only light up when clinging to a surface, casting caves in eerie blue light that vanishes as the player gets too close.
Yellow Glow Beetles are found in the Netherworld. They drop glow stone dust on death.
Water Beetles ~ Coral themed beetles found underwater. They would drop coral.
Other Potential Additions
Some other things such a mod might include could be:
Shell Fragments ~ Occasionally dropped by a beetle on death- applying a shell fragment to another beetle changes that beetle to the color of the fragment.
Phase Shards/Phase Equipment ~ A shell fragment could be surrounded by eight Phantom Membrane to create a phase shard.These shards could be used to make an unusual armor set that would be slightly below iron in terms of durability. The Phase Armor would give a significant speed and jump boost, and would 'fracture' when it broke, dealing a large amount of damage to any nearby mobs.
Craftable Elytra ~ Phase Shards could be used to craft elytra. Maybe. This might be really unbalanced, unless perhaps an eye of ender was necessary. Or something.
Beetle Bottles ~ Try saying that five times fast! Glass bottles can be used to capture beetles, resulting in a 'Bottle of [Beetle Type]' These can then be released, ideal to start farming beetles for dye or other useful resources. Beetle Bottles can also be used in brewing. (I'm not entirely sure how, but it might be interesting.)
Better Beetle Bottle ~ Combine nine beetle bottles to create a single Better Beetle Bottle, (And you thought the last one was hard to say.) You would get the other eight empty bottles back, but the resulting better beetle bottle would release nine beetles at once- ideal for distracting enemies.
Potion of the Beetle Master ~ This potion would convert any nearby beetles into friendly entities that attack any hostiles near you in an incredibly distracting swarm. It would, of course, require beetles to brew.
Potion of Levitation ~ While a levitation effect is already induced by shulkers, this potion could be made from certain beetles, and would cause you to levitate shortly before sustaining significant fall damage.
Lord of Arthropods I-V ~ An enchantment applicable to equipment, and an opposite of Bane of Arthropods that would convert spiders, silverfish, endermite, and beetles into neutral entities. Wearing enough equipment with Lord of Arthropods would actually cause nearby spiders and beetles to attack other hostiles.
Arthrokineticy I-V ~ A powerful enchantment, (And one that would probably be very difficult to program), that would allow you to control insects.While Lord of Arthropods would be applied to armor, this would be applied to tools and weapons. A weapon enchanted with Arthrokineticy would cause any nearby arthropods to attack whatever you're attacking- whereas a pickaxe would cause them to mine things for you, a scythe to harvest things for you, and so on and so forth. This would allow you to conserve durability... and better control your epic swarm of insectoid minions.
TLDR (Summary) ~ A (relatively) simple mod that adds a new mob to the game that both allows the farming of otherwise difficult to obtain ingredients, and adds more life and vibrance to otherwise drab areas of the Overworld; along with various new potions, equipment, and other stuff related to these insects.