Easy to add in? Yes. The trouble is the enormous gameplay implications. At this point, Bottles of Enchanting can be obtained renewabley... but you're correct in saying it's not very intuitive. (Anything involving villagers doesn't seem to be very intuitive.) It could be interesting...
Maybe something involving skulk? At the moment, it seems like Skulk farms will be able to automatically store XP. However, while this allows EXP to be automatically stored, it still doesn't allow it to be easily transported without Silk Touch. (Admittedly, it's new enough that it's still very unclear how this mechanic will work.) Maybe Skulk can be used in a crafting recipe for Bottles o' Enchanting, or has some other interaction with them. (I've also always thought these ought to be an actual loot item, and not exclusively obtained from villagers.) Going off of your idea, maybe brewing a potion with Skulk can turn into a bottle o' enchanting when harvesting XP.
Also, kudos for your first post! (Anything that isn't either unintelligible, or 'add this thing' without any explanation is a good post in my book. Figuratively speaking.) I'd suggest elaborating a bit, but I've also just written three paragraphs in a reply... so do what you will.
...I think there's potential for more features like these, and just more biome specific detail in general. The key here though is that they shouldn't just be added for no reason, there have to be gameplay applications as well as atmospheric and aesthetic reasoning behind any new features. These could be cool ideas, but I guess I need more elaboration on them to be convinced. (In addition, I personally would rather see existing features enhanced than new features added, but there's a happy medium between new ideas that integrate well with old ones.)
I wholeheartedly agree- while newer structures like bastions, ocean ruins, villages the upcoming deep dark cities, (etc), all feel interesting and lived in, pretty much ever temple, outposts, and other overworld structures feel really cookie cutter. (Ruined villages exist, but they're pretty rare.) Seeing smallish ruins with an element of procedural generation around the world, (Or even just more variations of Jungle Temples, Desert Temples, Igloos, etc), would go a long way to add a bit more atmosphere and variation. (Though the details of how this might be implemented don't seem entirely clear.)
Alternatively, these ruins could be some extent of the deep dark cities- shattered buildings or outposts above ground made of crumbled deepslate, and since overgrown with skulk, indicating the presence of a deep dark city, (or at least a deep dark biome) below?
I'm (reasonably) sure archaeology is still in the works... but sort of in the same way that the combat update is still in the works. It might come... eventually, but there's no real set date. I'd also be interested in more ambient mobs in general- the trouble being that, firstly, there's performance concerns to worry about, and secondly, (and more importantly to me, I suppose), mobs that add atmosphere but don't really do much aren't particularly interesting. (Even if, ironically, parrots are a pretty good example. They make jungles feel really nice... even if they are sort of useless.)
'Alex's Mobs' is one of my favorite creature mods for this reason- not just because most of the mobs feel vanilla friendly, but because they all have unique interactions and uses that make them both atmospheric and useful.
Anyways, I'm also really looking forwards to this update- forests that actually look interesting? Yes please! Maybe more ambient noise for the overworld? I suppose we can hope. Not at all what I was expecting... but possibly even better, depending on how this goes.
And there we have it... 1.19 is going to be the WILD UPDATE, and ooh, what an update it's shaping up to be. I was almost certain the End was next on the list for an overhaul, but I was very wrong, and very pleasantly surprised. The Wild Update is shaping up to be the best update- or at the very least, the update with the most potential- yet. And not for the reasons you might be thinking.
Let me just take a step back and go over the major highlights from Minecraft Live:
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-The Swamp is being updated, following the update of the Mountains. (Presumably, the badlands will also eventually be updated?) This comes in the form of new Mangrove Trees, (Which I sincerely hope will have their color changed to ANYTHING OTHER THAN ORANGE before the full release), Mud and Mud Bricks, and Frogs, which have tadpoles, biome specific variants, and the ability to eat Fireflies- apparently a new ambient particle effect unique to swamps. (This also comes with the addition of the promised 'Chest Boat,' which will be even more useful thanks to the actually navigable rivers of 1.18), and, (In case you missed it, as it was mentioned very briefly), a renewable means of farming clay.
-The Deep Dark has been Delayed to 1.19- but I have never been so thrilled about a delay before, because it was also revealed that the Deep Dark will consist of MASSIVE ruined cities buried deep underground! I'm certain there'll be a tone of analysis of this footage in the coming year, but there's some extremely noteworthy things right off the bat: Firstly, that Skulk growth literally consists of the mutated remains of lost souls... a feature that makes this place all the more terrifying, and has huge implications regarding lore. (The Skulk can also be seen to emit soul fire when ignited.)
Also, I'm presuming that the Deep Dark will exist as a biome outside of the cities, though they definitely seem to be the main feature. (In addition, there's still plenty about this that hasn't been revealed. It's been hinted that there will be Unique Loot in the Cities, as well as a Unique Structure in the center of the city. This is just a theory... but I'm thinking it might have something to do with the strongholds. The City also offers a great oppurtunity to make new additions such as candles and deepslate building materials generate naturally.
These cities could possibly be the new largest structure in the game... and one of the most dangerous. In the footage, we see a player in full netherite armor easily annihilated by a single warden... and it is utterly terrifying. Between the thumping heartbeat, distorted moans, and creepy ambiance of this city of the dead, it's... a little surprising this is still a kid's game... but I am personally thrilled to explore this place. This is way more ambitious than I ever would have thought... which is becoming sort of a given with Mojang as of late.
-The Allay won the mob vote... and while I was personally rooting for the copper golem, if only for more uses for copper... I think the Allay is definitely the most interesting. Mojang has (more or less) confirmed that the Allay can be given an item, and will collect similar items in the nearby area that are on the ground. There will also be some sort of system to assign Allays to drop things off at I'm a little concerned that this could render old sorting systems useless... but I think it offers a lot of new opportunities.
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But what is the big thing we're missing? It was mentioned in only a couple of minutes, but I think we have good reason to be extremely excited about it. 1.19 could very well be a major biome update.
Consider the 1.18 update- the Mountains won the biome vote... and in response, Mojang completely overhauled terrain generation in the entire overworld, not to mention also completely overhauling caves. So what else remains in the Overworld to update? ...(Ahem) The biomes, maybe?
Agnes revealed, sort of in passing, that in addition to upgrading swamps, Mojang wanted to improve some of the existing biomes to be more atmospheric and interesting... which kind of makes sense. Now that the terrain has been dramatically improved, the logical next step is to improve the biomes themselves- many of which haven't seen much of a change since they were first introduced. Biomes like the Birch Forest, Oak Forest, plains, etc.
And the concept art provided for this was truely stunning- making more common biomes like oak and birch forests more living and atmospheric would be fantastic, and the potential here is enormous. I can easily imagine better trees, undergrowth, even new plants or mobs to make these biomes more distinct. Admittedly, since they currently consist exclusively of grass and trees, pretty much any improvement would be welcome.
...So while I'm excited for a cool new mob, swamps that are a bit more worth exploring, and the amazing (and terrifying) subterranean cities of the Deep Dark... I think a potential overhaul to the Overworld's biomes could be by far the most ambitious part of the upcomming 1.19 update, and one that could have the biggest impact on the game. It's kind of weird to think just how much the game has changed over the years, to the point that not much remains of the earlier versions... but I don't see this so much as a loss as a growth into a new, more intricate and polished product.
What are your thoughts about the Wild Update? Expectations? Aspirations? Disappointing bits? Exciting Bits? (There's certainly a lot to think about!)
No, it's not a rip off- the trouble is that Minecraft sort of created the genre of block based sandbox games. While Terraria certainly takes some inspiration from Minecraft, it's a game in its own right. (I'm partial to Starbound, incidentally. It's fairly similar.)
In the interest of improving forests, I've taken some inspiration from terrain generation mods, (Namely Terraforge and William Wyther's, which, admittedly, is a datapack), and made some vague concept art, as well as some more specific ideas regarding the three main forests in the game. (I'm considering Taigas/spruce forests to be a bit more complete, compared to the others. Also keep in mind that, as there are multiple variations of each forest type, these are just general idea. I'm not doing concept art for, say, the Tall birch forest as well as the ordinary birch forest.
I'm here using the Stay True resource pack and BSL shaders. (As well as far more time and effort than was really nessasary for this. ...Who am I kidding, it was a fun project.)
The idea here, (vaguely), is that forests should be more atmospheric, more distinguishable and unique from other forests, and generally more interesting, without sacrificing functionality or changing gameplay too drastically. (By making oak trees thicker and shorter, and birch trees taller and slimmer, the forests become more interesting, while each is still relatively easy to chop down- albeit requiring different methods.)
Oak Forests
Oak forests are somewhat dense, with thicker, lower lying trees. They're one of the more diverse and interesting forests to explore, with occasional birch trees, patches of mushrooms and flowers, and pumpkins; with a forest floor of podzol, coarse dirt, and grass. Patches of cobble provide a handy early game source of stone, and occasional clearings offer some respite from a biome that's moderately difficult to travel through.
Birch Forests
Birch forests are grassier, and substantially easier to travel through, with a higher canopy, taller trees, and less undergrowth. The resource pack I'm using gives birch trees an orange hue in birch forests, (And a pink hue elsewhere), which isn't for everyone... even if I sort of like it. Mushrooms don't grow here, but some varieties of flowers are more common, as are beehives. Clearings are also more common here, offering plenty of scenic places to rest.
Dark Oak Forests
Menacing and brooding, the darkness has an annoying tendency to breed a variety of hostile creatures. Dark Oak trees are big and thick, and making your way through this place can be challenging, even on foot. Spiderwebs, mushrooms, vines, and mycelium fill this place, along with enormous fungi intermingled with the dense canopy. Clearings cannot be found here, offering little respite from the dangers lurking herein.
Pretty much every new biome that has been introduced has been given some sort of unique mechanics that make it both an interesting place to visit, and a place that's worthwhile to visit. Just consider the new nether biomes: Not only are all of them interesting aestheticly, but they all have unique resources, mobs, and mechanics that make them worth exploring.
The same can be said of the new cave biomes- but this cannot be said of older, existing Overworld biomes. (Or the End, which is, frankly, another matter entirely.) While terrain generation is getting a fantastic, much needed overhaul, biome generation seems to be much in need of improvement.(And Mojang has made it clear this is quite likely, given the recent biome votes.) Seeing as most people will spend more time in the Overworld than, say, the Nether, it feels like the Overworld biomes should be just as detailed and unique as their netherworld counterparts.
In this thread, I wanted to analyze which biomes could actually use improvements, and what some possible overhauls could look like. What do you think could be cool (and useful) additions to existing biomes? Thoughts on any of this?
Also, I haven't included underground, Nether, or Ocean biomes, firstly because they've been added recently enough that I don't think any overhauls are likely in the near future, and secondly, because I personally don't think any overhauls are necessary. Seriously, it continues to amaze me how well these last few updates have done.)
Plains are big, empty swathes of grass- on some level, they don't need to be 'improved' because that emptiness is sort of the point. Forests, on the other hand, sort of imply a certain sense of... things, I suppose? That is, more than just trees and grass. The forest vibe is done really well with the new and improved taigas- between the diverse range of trees, berry bushes, local foxes, cobblestone boulders, and a mixture of grass, podzol, and coarse dirt on the forest floor, the entire biome feels atmospheric, and worth exploring. Dark Oak Forests? Not nearly as much. Oak and Birch Forests? Definitely pretty boring, especially considering how often you're going to be wandering through one. Some Ideas for forests include:
- More diverse undergrowth. As it is right now, forests just have grass and occasional patches of flowers. adding in some small patches of coarse dirt, or podzol for denser forests like the Dark Oak forest would go a long ways towards differentiating forests from other biomes, and adding just a bit more atmosphere. (Consider warped forests- which have a unique tree type, a unique grass-type block, and a sprout, vine, and root plant all unique to the biome; along with a special background color, ambiance, and enderman gimmick. Now compare that to, say, a birch forest.)
-Parity with bedrock- bedrock forests can have fallen logs, tree stumps, and spiderwebs/vines in forests with bigger trees. I'm not sure why this isn't a thing in Java, but it would certainly be a decent, if minor improvement.
-One cool idea I've seen in some biome mods is a unique 'clearing' sub biome that generates small, open, flowery areas in forests. It's not a big change, but again, a nice atmospheric tweak to add a bit more life to the woods.
-Something to differentiate Oak and Birch forests from other forest types. (Taking a leaf out of the Taiga's book... no pun intended.) Dark Oak forests have mushroom trees, Taigas have all sorts of stuff, Flower forests have flowers... but Oak and Birch forests don't really have anything to their name other than a unique wood type, and could use some sort of other biome specific thing to make them just a bit more interesting.
-Alternatively, birch or oak wood could be given some specific use. As it is, a lot of utility blocks appear to be made of a specific type of wood, (Spruce wood for barrels, birch wood for fletching tables, dark oak for the cartography table, oak for regular crafting tables, etc; but in actuality they can be crafted using any wood type. It could be made so that specific wood types are required, or so that there are multiple variations of these blocks based on the wood types used. Both methods would be a bit irritating, but I think well worth it in the long run.)
Let's be brutally honest: As they are, swamps are more of an inconvenience than anything. They have enough water to make them tricky to travel across by land, they have enough land to make traveling by boat a bad idea, and the color pallete isn't exactly the most agreeable ever. That being said, there's a lot of potential- and Mojang's announced changes for the swamp, as well as better generation, (with swamps generating mostly at low altitudes around rivers in 1.18), bodes well for improvements.
-Swamps could be given a unique wood type in addition to the teased 'Mangrove trees.' I've usually seen this done as a wood type with a greenish cast, and all the things you'd expect of a new wood type. (Admittedly, I feel like at some point you have to draw the line of too many wood types. More variation is nice... but I feel like it will get a bit redundant eventually.)
-Frogs could be a cool addition. They should have some sort of unique mechanic though- possibly something to do with brewing, or a unique drop that makes them worth finding. (Any ideas regarding frogs?)
-Slimes ought to generate more frequently in swamps at night. Maybe this is just me, but slimes seem like their kind of stupidly difficult to find. (They either generate specifically in random caves with no indication of what caves generate slimes, or in swamps, but exclusively during a new moon.) Considering how useful slime is, this is one of those few cases where I think more hostile mobs would definitely be a good thing.
-And once again, more details for the terrain generation in the same vein as forests. How about patches of a 'mud' block that behaves sort of like powdered snow, but mostly just impedes movement? It could be gathered in a bucket the same way, and could be hardened into sod, which could in turn be used to make sod bricks. (Maybe you can also make sod using dirt and clay?) Sod and sod bricks could also have some unique properties, such as being pretty tough and blast resistant for something made out of dirt; but collapsing if unsupported.
-And how about cattails, or some sort of plant life unique to swamps? (Besides the flowers, which are pretty, but not the most interesting thing ever, and Lilypads, which are admittedly more interesting.) Maybe cattails can only be crown in shallow water, and can be used as a source of fuel.
It doesn't seem like there should be much to say about deserts, seeing as the whole point is an empty, open expanse of sand without much of anything in it. However, I'm sure there's room for more variation in the types of barren, lifeless wastes we could encounter...
-New Subbiomes for deserts- how about a desert edge biome that has patches of grass and Acacia shrubs? Generally, whenever I see deserts generate, the border between them and whatever happens to be nearby tends to be pretty abrupt. There could also be a rocky desert variant with jutting, jagged sandstone boulders.
-Maybe a paler sky background for the desert? Purely for atmosphere.
-Otherwise... I can't really think of anything to add to deserts. Aside from a little bit more variation, and better biome borders, there isn't much to add to a place specifically designed to be devoid of stuff.
Badlands, on the other hand, are already extremely cool. Between mineshafts, terracotta, gold, and the cool eroded badlands variant, they're objectively one of the cooler biomes in the game. I did find it a bit odd that this was one of the biomes chosen to be updated, given that it already seems pretty complete, but there's still some potential for new stuff.
-Acacia wood for badlands, instead of Oak trees that look a whole lot like acacia trees? Guess it's more of a personal preference. Conversely, Savannahs should also have a layer of terracotta there; it makes them more unique, and also means you don't have to obliterate one of the game's nicest looking biomes for terracotta.
-Could have a unique village type- or maybe, rather, a unique type of ruined village that generates exclusively in the badlands. It would look really cool to see a village type made from terracotta and oak, (I mean acacia), wood. Possibly with some sort of unique hazards. (How about some sort of mine trap involving dynamite?)
-On that note, what about a terracotta shingle block? terracotta is already a pretty useful block, but shingles could be a nice addition, and would go well with a new village, or even existing village types.
-Finally, there could be some new mob. I recall that vultures have been suggested- what about something like coyotes? They could be sort of like more hostile, or maybe more thieving versions of wolves, or something.
Much in the same vein as the badlands, I don't really see much that needs improvement for the jungle. They've got unique plants like melons, bamboo, and cocoa beans, there's cool subbiomes like modified jungles, bamboo forests, and jungle edges; unique mobs like pandas and parrots, and the biome itself just looks and feels fantastic to discover and explore. Most of the things I could think of are pretty superficial, but I'll try and come up with some stuff anyways.
-More uses for Cocoa beans! They're interesting to farm, and they're really underappreciated. As it is, they're literally just used to make brown dye, (does anyone ever use brown dye?), and to make cookies, which are far from the greatest food source ever. Even just some sort of chocolate item made from sugar and cocoa beans would be cool. (Maybe it restores a lot of hunger, but no saturation.)
-Patches of moss could be found in the jungle too. There's a decent argument for keeping it unique to Lush caves, and there's admittedly already a ton of useful stuff you can find in jungles, (Melons, Cocoa, bamboo, etc), but it could be a nice addition, assuming it isn't too unbalanced.
-How about yet another jungle biome variant- a sort of jungle plateau with tons of lakes and waterfalls? 'Cascade Plateaus?' just throwing it out there, it could be interesting, if a bit far fetched.
Similar to deserts, biomes like the tundra aren't exactly known for being the most interesting biomes ever. However, there's a lot more variation, (Especially with the new mountain biomes), that makes these places more interesting. I guess besides maybe having some patches of powdered snow in tundras, or maybe some spruce shrubs or something, I can't think of much room for improvement. (Or it's possible I'm just running low on ideas.)
Thoughts? Any other biomes that could use a facelift, or cool tweaks for biomes mentioned above? There's no such thing as a bad idea! (Unless it involves vertical slabs.)
I think it's important to keep in mind that Minecraft is a game, not a, uh, realistic simulation of how the real world works. It's its own Universe with its own rules, which, however absurd they may seem to us, make sense within the context of the game. That being said, it does make sense that deepslate should have a higher blast resistance- not necessarily because this makes logical sense, (or even thematic sense); but more to offer it a bit of differentiation from stone. (I honestly thought deepslate was already more blast resistant, but they both have a blast resistance of about 6.) Considering how irritating the stuff can be to get, not to mention how objectively fantastic it looks, it would certainly be nice if it was a little more durable.
I gotta agree with tow4rzysz; Mojang has made it very clear they don't intend to add guns to the game. However, that doesn't discount other possibilities for new projectile weapons. Boomerangs, new additions to bows, throwing weapons, spears... personally, I've always thought chakrams would be cool, if a bit obscure.
Also, bows and crossbows already have a fair bit of modification based on enchantments alone. (I initially thought crossbows to be a bit redundant, but it actually makes for a really interesting strategic choice.)
Personally, I've really been liking the new terrain- yes it isn't always balanced, but it's certainly looking nicer, (In my totally objective opinion), and on some level, a greater sense of randomness; (That is, occasionally finding situations that don't have as much of a balanced risk/reward ratio), is part of what exploration is lacking right now- when everything is more or less predictable, there's no incentive to look around, and this seems to be one of the main focuses of this update. (Think about the giant ore veins, geodes, cave biomes, and other additions that necessitate and encourage more exploration.)
And in terms of aesthetics, for me the terrain generation is looking astonishingly good. Mojang has somehow managed to toe a very narrow line between vastly improving old terrain, without changing the vanilla feel of it. I still think there's some minor improvements that could be made, (such as better undergrowth for forests, or, say, different sorts of trees based on elevation could be cool); but by and large I don't have much to complain about.
I've really been finding it interesting how Mojang does game development... if only because Minecraft has become much more of a universe unto itself, or a simulation rather than a 'game' in the traditional sense- and they seem to be well aware of this, making design choices that, for the most part, offering new opportunities and cool stuff for players to try, rather than preset goals or overly complex systems. It's almost more worldbuilding than game design, in a very literal sense.
I like the idea of smaller ruined outpost structures in the Nether, built in a similar style to the fortresses, and scattered in the vicinity of nether fortresses. (It certainly seems like it would be a bit easier than trying to add in a means of mapping the Nether properly, and could be an interesting find anyways.)
...Given that horse armor is already not especially useful, (As compared to, say, wolf armor), ...I'm thinking we probably don't need an even higher level of horse armor. Unless you really need a fire resistant horse for some reason.
I've recently been looking at the new 1.18 generation in the experimental snapshots, and I have to say, I'm thoroughly impressed. I think it's safe to say that I'm probably reading too much into this- this is by far one of the most impressive updates I've seen to date, and at the beginning of this I suppose I was under the impression that the update would consist of minor tweaks to improvements to world generation... not, say, a stunning, complete overhaul of the entire Overworld.
...So, I suppose while a Holiday release is more convenient, it makes sense for such an enormous update, especially given the development issues of dealing with the pandemic and more or less rewriting the entire world generation system to boot. ...I'm honestly beginning to think Mojang can do no wrong.
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Easy to add in? Yes. The trouble is the enormous gameplay implications. At this point, Bottles of Enchanting can be obtained renewabley... but you're correct in saying it's not very intuitive. (Anything involving villagers doesn't seem to be very intuitive.) It could be interesting...
Maybe something involving skulk? At the moment, it seems like Skulk farms will be able to automatically store XP. However, while this allows EXP to be automatically stored, it still doesn't allow it to be easily transported without Silk Touch. (Admittedly, it's new enough that it's still very unclear how this mechanic will work.) Maybe Skulk can be used in a crafting recipe for Bottles o' Enchanting, or has some other interaction with them. (I've also always thought these ought to be an actual loot item, and not exclusively obtained from villagers.) Going off of your idea, maybe brewing a potion with Skulk can turn into a bottle o' enchanting when harvesting XP.
Also, kudos for your first post! (Anything that isn't either unintelligible, or 'add this thing' without any explanation is a good post in my book. Figuratively speaking.) I'd suggest elaborating a bit, but I've also just written three paragraphs in a reply... so do what you will.
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...I think there's potential for more features like these, and just more biome specific detail in general. The key here though is that they shouldn't just be added for no reason, there have to be gameplay applications as well as atmospheric and aesthetic reasoning behind any new features. These could be cool ideas, but I guess I need more elaboration on them to be convinced. (In addition, I personally would rather see existing features enhanced than new features added, but there's a happy medium between new ideas that integrate well with old ones.)
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I wholeheartedly agree- while newer structures like bastions, ocean ruins, villages the upcoming deep dark cities, (etc), all feel interesting and lived in, pretty much ever temple, outposts, and other overworld structures feel really cookie cutter. (Ruined villages exist, but they're pretty rare.) Seeing smallish ruins with an element of procedural generation around the world, (Or even just more variations of Jungle Temples, Desert Temples, Igloos, etc), would go a long way to add a bit more atmosphere and variation. (Though the details of how this might be implemented don't seem entirely clear.)
Alternatively, these ruins could be some extent of the deep dark cities- shattered buildings or outposts above ground made of crumbled deepslate, and since overgrown with skulk, indicating the presence of a deep dark city, (or at least a deep dark biome) below?
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I'm (reasonably) sure archaeology is still in the works... but sort of in the same way that the combat update is still in the works. It might come... eventually, but there's no real set date. I'd also be interested in more ambient mobs in general- the trouble being that, firstly, there's performance concerns to worry about, and secondly, (and more importantly to me, I suppose), mobs that add atmosphere but don't really do much aren't particularly interesting. (Even if, ironically, parrots are a pretty good example. They make jungles feel really nice... even if they are sort of useless.)
'Alex's Mobs' is one of my favorite creature mods for this reason- not just because most of the mobs feel vanilla friendly, but because they all have unique interactions and uses that make them both atmospheric and useful.
Anyways, I'm also really looking forwards to this update- forests that actually look interesting? Yes please! Maybe more ambient noise for the overworld? I suppose we can hope. Not at all what I was expecting... but possibly even better, depending on how this goes.
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And there we have it... 1.19 is going to be the WILD UPDATE, and ooh, what an update it's shaping up to be. I was almost certain the End was next on the list for an overhaul, but I was very wrong, and very pleasantly surprised. The Wild Update is shaping up to be the best update- or at the very least, the update with the most potential- yet. And not for the reasons you might be thinking.
Let me just take a step back and go over the major highlights from Minecraft Live:
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-The Swamp is being updated, following the update of the Mountains. (Presumably, the badlands will also eventually be updated?) This comes in the form of new Mangrove Trees, (Which I sincerely hope will have their color changed to ANYTHING OTHER THAN ORANGE before the full release), Mud and Mud Bricks, and Frogs, which have tadpoles, biome specific variants, and the ability to eat Fireflies- apparently a new ambient particle effect unique to swamps. (This also comes with the addition of the promised 'Chest Boat,' which will be even more useful thanks to the actually navigable rivers of 1.18), and, (In case you missed it, as it was mentioned very briefly), a renewable means of farming clay.
-The Deep Dark has been Delayed to 1.19- but I have never been so thrilled about a delay before, because it was also revealed that the Deep Dark will consist of MASSIVE ruined cities buried deep underground! I'm certain there'll be a tone of analysis of this footage in the coming year, but there's some extremely noteworthy things right off the bat: Firstly, that Skulk growth literally consists of the mutated remains of lost souls... a feature that makes this place all the more terrifying, and has huge implications regarding lore. (The Skulk can also be seen to emit soul fire when ignited.)
Also, I'm presuming that the Deep Dark will exist as a biome outside of the cities, though they definitely seem to be the main feature. (In addition, there's still plenty about this that hasn't been revealed. It's been hinted that there will be Unique Loot in the Cities, as well as a Unique Structure in the center of the city. This is just a theory... but I'm thinking it might have something to do with the strongholds. The City also offers a great oppurtunity to make new additions such as candles and deepslate building materials generate naturally.
These cities could possibly be the new largest structure in the game... and one of the most dangerous. In the footage, we see a player in full netherite armor easily annihilated by a single warden... and it is utterly terrifying. Between the thumping heartbeat, distorted moans, and creepy ambiance of this city of the dead, it's... a little surprising this is still a kid's game... but I am personally thrilled to explore this place. This is way more ambitious than I ever would have thought... which is becoming sort of a given with Mojang as of late.
-The Allay won the mob vote... and while I was personally rooting for the copper golem, if only for more uses for copper... I think the Allay is definitely the most interesting. Mojang has (more or less) confirmed that the Allay can be given an item, and will collect similar items in the nearby area that are on the ground. There will also be some sort of system to assign Allays to drop things off at I'm a little concerned that this could render old sorting systems useless... but I think it offers a lot of new opportunities.
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But what is the big thing we're missing? It was mentioned in only a couple of minutes, but I think we have good reason to be extremely excited about it. 1.19 could very well be a major biome update.
Consider the 1.18 update- the Mountains won the biome vote... and in response, Mojang completely overhauled terrain generation in the entire overworld, not to mention also completely overhauling caves. So what else remains in the Overworld to update? ...(Ahem) The biomes, maybe?
Agnes revealed, sort of in passing, that in addition to upgrading swamps, Mojang wanted to improve some of the existing biomes to be more atmospheric and interesting... which kind of makes sense. Now that the terrain has been dramatically improved, the logical next step is to improve the biomes themselves- many of which haven't seen much of a change since they were first introduced. Biomes like the Birch Forest, Oak Forest, plains, etc.
And the concept art provided for this was truely stunning- making more common biomes like oak and birch forests more living and atmospheric would be fantastic, and the potential here is enormous. I can easily imagine better trees, undergrowth, even new plants or mobs to make these biomes more distinct. Admittedly, since they currently consist exclusively of grass and trees, pretty much any improvement would be welcome.
...So while I'm excited for a cool new mob, swamps that are a bit more worth exploring, and the amazing (and terrifying) subterranean cities of the Deep Dark... I think a potential overhaul to the Overworld's biomes could be by far the most ambitious part of the upcomming 1.19 update, and one that could have the biggest impact on the game. It's kind of weird to think just how much the game has changed over the years, to the point that not much remains of the earlier versions... but I don't see this so much as a loss as a growth into a new, more intricate and polished product.
What are your thoughts about the Wild Update? Expectations? Aspirations? Disappointing bits? Exciting Bits? (There's certainly a lot to think about!)
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No, it's not a rip off- the trouble is that Minecraft sort of created the genre of block based sandbox games. While Terraria certainly takes some inspiration from Minecraft, it's a game in its own right. (I'm partial to Starbound, incidentally. It's fairly similar.)
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In the interest of improving forests, I've taken some inspiration from terrain generation mods, (Namely Terraforge and William Wyther's, which, admittedly, is a datapack), and made some vague concept art, as well as some more specific ideas regarding the three main forests in the game. (I'm considering Taigas/spruce forests to be a bit more complete, compared to the others. Also keep in mind that, as there are multiple variations of each forest type, these are just general idea. I'm not doing concept art for, say, the Tall birch forest as well as the ordinary birch forest.
I'm here using the Stay True resource pack and BSL shaders. (As well as far more time and effort than was really nessasary for this. ...Who am I kidding, it was a fun project.)
The idea here, (vaguely), is that forests should be more atmospheric, more distinguishable and unique from other forests, and generally more interesting, without sacrificing functionality or changing gameplay too drastically. (By making oak trees thicker and shorter, and birch trees taller and slimmer, the forests become more interesting, while each is still relatively easy to chop down- albeit requiring different methods.)
Oak Forests
Oak forests are somewhat dense, with thicker, lower lying trees. They're one of the more diverse and interesting forests to explore, with occasional birch trees, patches of mushrooms and flowers, and pumpkins; with a forest floor of podzol, coarse dirt, and grass. Patches of cobble provide a handy early game source of stone, and occasional clearings offer some respite from a biome that's moderately difficult to travel through.
Birch Forests
Birch forests are grassier, and substantially easier to travel through, with a higher canopy, taller trees, and less undergrowth. The resource pack I'm using gives birch trees an orange hue in birch forests, (And a pink hue elsewhere), which isn't for everyone... even if I sort of like it. Mushrooms don't grow here, but some varieties of flowers are more common, as are beehives. Clearings are also more common here, offering plenty of scenic places to rest.
Dark Oak Forests
Menacing and brooding, the darkness has an annoying tendency to breed a variety of hostile creatures. Dark Oak trees are big and thick, and making your way through this place can be challenging, even on foot. Spiderwebs, mushrooms, vines, and mycelium fill this place, along with enormous fungi intermingled with the dense canopy. Clearings cannot be found here, offering little respite from the dangers lurking herein.
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Pretty much every new biome that has been introduced has been given some sort of unique mechanics that make it both an interesting place to visit, and a place that's worthwhile to visit. Just consider the new nether biomes: Not only are all of them interesting aestheticly, but they all have unique resources, mobs, and mechanics that make them worth exploring.
The same can be said of the new cave biomes- but this cannot be said of older, existing Overworld biomes. (Or the End, which is, frankly, another matter entirely.) While terrain generation is getting a fantastic, much needed overhaul, biome generation seems to be much in need of improvement.(And Mojang has made it clear this is quite likely, given the recent biome votes.) Seeing as most people will spend more time in the Overworld than, say, the Nether, it feels like the Overworld biomes should be just as detailed and unique as their netherworld counterparts.
In this thread, I wanted to analyze which biomes could actually use improvements, and what some possible overhauls could look like. What do you think could be cool (and useful) additions to existing biomes? Thoughts on any of this?
Also, I haven't included underground, Nether, or Ocean biomes, firstly because they've been added recently enough that I don't think any overhauls are likely in the near future, and secondly, because I personally don't think any overhauls are necessary. Seriously, it continues to amaze me how well these last few updates have done.)
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Forests
Plains are big, empty swathes of grass- on some level, they don't need to be 'improved' because that emptiness is sort of the point. Forests, on the other hand, sort of imply a certain sense of... things, I suppose? That is, more than just trees and grass. The forest vibe is done really well with the new and improved taigas- between the diverse range of trees, berry bushes, local foxes, cobblestone boulders, and a mixture of grass, podzol, and coarse dirt on the forest floor, the entire biome feels atmospheric, and worth exploring. Dark Oak Forests? Not nearly as much. Oak and Birch Forests? Definitely pretty boring, especially considering how often you're going to be wandering through one. Some Ideas for forests include:
- More diverse undergrowth. As it is right now, forests just have grass and occasional patches of flowers. adding in some small patches of coarse dirt, or podzol for denser forests like the Dark Oak forest would go a long ways towards differentiating forests from other biomes, and adding just a bit more atmosphere. (Consider warped forests- which have a unique tree type, a unique grass-type block, and a sprout, vine, and root plant all unique to the biome; along with a special background color, ambiance, and enderman gimmick. Now compare that to, say, a birch forest.)
-Parity with bedrock- bedrock forests can have fallen logs, tree stumps, and spiderwebs/vines in forests with bigger trees. I'm not sure why this isn't a thing in Java, but it would certainly be a decent, if minor improvement.
-One cool idea I've seen in some biome mods is a unique 'clearing' sub biome that generates small, open, flowery areas in forests. It's not a big change, but again, a nice atmospheric tweak to add a bit more life to the woods.
-Something to differentiate Oak and Birch forests from other forest types. (Taking a leaf out of the Taiga's book... no pun intended.) Dark Oak forests have mushroom trees, Taigas have all sorts of stuff, Flower forests have flowers... but Oak and Birch forests don't really have anything to their name other than a unique wood type, and could use some sort of other biome specific thing to make them just a bit more interesting.
-Alternatively, birch or oak wood could be given some specific use. As it is, a lot of utility blocks appear to be made of a specific type of wood, (Spruce wood for barrels, birch wood for fletching tables, dark oak for the cartography table, oak for regular crafting tables, etc; but in actuality they can be crafted using any wood type. It could be made so that specific wood types are required, or so that there are multiple variations of these blocks based on the wood types used. Both methods would be a bit irritating, but I think well worth it in the long run.)
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Swamps
Let's be brutally honest: As they are, swamps are more of an inconvenience than anything. They have enough water to make them tricky to travel across by land, they have enough land to make traveling by boat a bad idea, and the color pallete isn't exactly the most agreeable ever. That being said, there's a lot of potential- and Mojang's announced changes for the swamp, as well as better generation, (with swamps generating mostly at low altitudes around rivers in 1.18), bodes well for improvements.
-Swamps could be given a unique wood type in addition to the teased 'Mangrove trees.' I've usually seen this done as a wood type with a greenish cast, and all the things you'd expect of a new wood type. (Admittedly, I feel like at some point you have to draw the line of too many wood types. More variation is nice... but I feel like it will get a bit redundant eventually.)
-Frogs could be a cool addition. They should have some sort of unique mechanic though- possibly something to do with brewing, or a unique drop that makes them worth finding. (Any ideas regarding frogs?)
-Slimes ought to generate more frequently in swamps at night. Maybe this is just me, but slimes seem like their kind of stupidly difficult to find. (They either generate specifically in random caves with no indication of what caves generate slimes, or in swamps, but exclusively during a new moon.) Considering how useful slime is, this is one of those few cases where I think more hostile mobs would definitely be a good thing.
-And once again, more details for the terrain generation in the same vein as forests. How about patches of a 'mud' block that behaves sort of like powdered snow, but mostly just impedes movement? It could be gathered in a bucket the same way, and could be hardened into sod, which could in turn be used to make sod bricks. (Maybe you can also make sod using dirt and clay?) Sod and sod bricks could also have some unique properties, such as being pretty tough and blast resistant for something made out of dirt; but collapsing if unsupported.
-And how about cattails, or some sort of plant life unique to swamps? (Besides the flowers, which are pretty, but not the most interesting thing ever, and Lilypads, which are admittedly more interesting.) Maybe cattails can only be crown in shallow water, and can be used as a source of fuel.
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Deserts
It doesn't seem like there should be much to say about deserts, seeing as the whole point is an empty, open expanse of sand without much of anything in it. However, I'm sure there's room for more variation in the types of barren, lifeless wastes we could encounter...
-New Subbiomes for deserts- how about a desert edge biome that has patches of grass and Acacia shrubs? Generally, whenever I see deserts generate, the border between them and whatever happens to be nearby tends to be pretty abrupt. There could also be a rocky desert variant with jutting, jagged sandstone boulders.
-Maybe a paler sky background for the desert? Purely for atmosphere.
-Otherwise... I can't really think of anything to add to deserts. Aside from a little bit more variation, and better biome borders, there isn't much to add to a place specifically designed to be devoid of stuff.
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Badlands
Badlands, on the other hand, are already extremely cool. Between mineshafts, terracotta, gold, and the cool eroded badlands variant, they're objectively one of the cooler biomes in the game. I did find it a bit odd that this was one of the biomes chosen to be updated, given that it already seems pretty complete, but there's still some potential for new stuff.
-Acacia wood for badlands, instead of Oak trees that look a whole lot like acacia trees? Guess it's more of a personal preference. Conversely, Savannahs should also have a layer of terracotta there; it makes them more unique, and also means you don't have to obliterate one of the game's nicest looking biomes for terracotta.
-Could have a unique village type- or maybe, rather, a unique type of ruined village that generates exclusively in the badlands. It would look really cool to see a village type made from terracotta and oak, (I mean acacia), wood. Possibly with some sort of unique hazards. (How about some sort of mine trap involving dynamite?)
-On that note, what about a terracotta shingle block? terracotta is already a pretty useful block, but shingles could be a nice addition, and would go well with a new village, or even existing village types.
-Finally, there could be some new mob. I recall that vultures have been suggested- what about something like coyotes? They could be sort of like more hostile, or maybe more thieving versions of wolves, or something.
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Jungles
Much in the same vein as the badlands, I don't really see much that needs improvement for the jungle. They've got unique plants like melons, bamboo, and cocoa beans, there's cool subbiomes like modified jungles, bamboo forests, and jungle edges; unique mobs like pandas and parrots, and the biome itself just looks and feels fantastic to discover and explore. Most of the things I could think of are pretty superficial, but I'll try and come up with some stuff anyways.
-More uses for Cocoa beans! They're interesting to farm, and they're really underappreciated. As it is, they're literally just used to make brown dye, (does anyone ever use brown dye?), and to make cookies, which are far from the greatest food source ever. Even just some sort of chocolate item made from sugar and cocoa beans would be cool. (Maybe it restores a lot of hunger, but no saturation.)
-Patches of moss could be found in the jungle too. There's a decent argument for keeping it unique to Lush caves, and there's admittedly already a ton of useful stuff you can find in jungles, (Melons, Cocoa, bamboo, etc), but it could be a nice addition, assuming it isn't too unbalanced.
-How about yet another jungle biome variant- a sort of jungle plateau with tons of lakes and waterfalls? 'Cascade Plateaus?' just throwing it out there, it could be interesting, if a bit far fetched.
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Cold Biomes
Similar to deserts, biomes like the tundra aren't exactly known for being the most interesting biomes ever. However, there's a lot more variation, (Especially with the new mountain biomes), that makes these places more interesting. I guess besides maybe having some patches of powdered snow in tundras, or maybe some spruce shrubs or something, I can't think of much room for improvement. (Or it's possible I'm just running low on ideas.)
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Thoughts? Any other biomes that could use a facelift, or cool tweaks for biomes mentioned above? There's no such thing as a bad idea! (Unless it involves vertical slabs.)
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I think it's important to keep in mind that Minecraft is a game, not a, uh, realistic simulation of how the real world works. It's its own Universe with its own rules, which, however absurd they may seem to us, make sense within the context of the game. That being said, it does make sense that deepslate should have a higher blast resistance- not necessarily because this makes logical sense, (or even thematic sense); but more to offer it a bit of differentiation from stone. (I honestly thought deepslate was already more blast resistant, but they both have a blast resistance of about 6.) Considering how irritating the stuff can be to get, not to mention how objectively fantastic it looks, it would certainly be nice if it was a little more durable.
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I gotta agree with tow4rzysz; Mojang has made it very clear they don't intend to add guns to the game. However, that doesn't discount other possibilities for new projectile weapons. Boomerangs, new additions to bows, throwing weapons, spears... personally, I've always thought chakrams would be cool, if a bit obscure.
Also, bows and crossbows already have a fair bit of modification based on enchantments alone. (I initially thought crossbows to be a bit redundant, but it actually makes for a really interesting strategic choice.)
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Spelunky. But in Minecraft.
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Personally, I've really been liking the new terrain- yes it isn't always balanced, but it's certainly looking nicer, (In my totally objective opinion), and on some level, a greater sense of randomness; (That is, occasionally finding situations that don't have as much of a balanced risk/reward ratio), is part of what exploration is lacking right now- when everything is more or less predictable, there's no incentive to look around, and this seems to be one of the main focuses of this update. (Think about the giant ore veins, geodes, cave biomes, and other additions that necessitate and encourage more exploration.)
And in terms of aesthetics, for me the terrain generation is looking astonishingly good. Mojang has somehow managed to toe a very narrow line between vastly improving old terrain, without changing the vanilla feel of it. I still think there's some minor improvements that could be made, (such as better undergrowth for forests, or, say, different sorts of trees based on elevation could be cool); but by and large I don't have much to complain about.
I've really been finding it interesting how Mojang does game development... if only because Minecraft has become much more of a universe unto itself, or a simulation rather than a 'game' in the traditional sense- and they seem to be well aware of this, making design choices that, for the most part, offering new opportunities and cool stuff for players to try, rather than preset goals or overly complex systems. It's almost more worldbuilding than game design, in a very literal sense.
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I like the idea of smaller ruined outpost structures in the Nether, built in a similar style to the fortresses, and scattered in the vicinity of nether fortresses. (It certainly seems like it would be a bit easier than trying to add in a means of mapping the Nether properly, and could be an interesting find anyways.)
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...Given that horse armor is already not especially useful, (As compared to, say, wolf armor), ...I'm thinking we probably don't need an even higher level of horse armor. Unless you really need a fire resistant horse for some reason.
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I've recently been looking at the new 1.18 generation in the experimental snapshots, and I have to say, I'm thoroughly impressed. I think it's safe to say that I'm probably reading too much into this- this is by far one of the most impressive updates I've seen to date, and at the beginning of this I suppose I was under the impression that the update would consist of minor tweaks to improvements to world generation... not, say, a stunning, complete overhaul of the entire Overworld.
...So, I suppose while a Holiday release is more convenient, it makes sense for such an enormous update, especially given the development issues of dealing with the pandemic and more or less rewriting the entire world generation system to boot. ...I'm honestly beginning to think Mojang can do no wrong.