Falling while placing blocks

[magikeh]

To start off, I was going to post this under bug reports but felt it warranted more of a discussion rather than an assumption to its true nature, from only myself.

With work being done and starting myself back into school I've found a wee bit more time than usual on my hands.
And of course, I jump back into BTW. I was playing along happily deforesting a jungle when I realized it was possible to place blocks while falling through vines. This, of course, triggered my curiosity and I set out to abuse it in all ways possible to gain a better understanding of the underlying mechanic. It was when I realized that blocks like vines and ladders, you were able to place blocks while climbing and descending from that it sorta clicked. Of course, the only major difference between vines and ladders being that ladders are nearly indestructible and vines have a tendency to move out of the way of competing blocks.
So bringing back the abusive nature of my curiosity it came to a realization that vines also have a weird slow down effect when you jump through them and that must have been the climbing nature of them. Further testing showed that it is possible to jump stack but only while the player is within the block occupied by the vine block itself. Whether partially (at least 1/2 of the way in) or fully in the block, it doesn't matter.

Later in the day, I'm down caving in some abandoned mine shafts when I'm greeted by a skelly and a spider. This, of course, sets the panic mode to a maximum and as I jump around I just happen to land in a spider web while the skeleton approaches for the kill shot. First instinct is to place down a barrier between myself and the skeleton to prevent the shot from coming through, however much to my dismay. It was soon realized that since I am falling (albeit very slowly) I am still technically falling and am hence unable to place any blocks. Thus sealing my fate and generating nearly enough salt to compact into a single cattle lick.

Both these events happening in one day has got me going on the 'No placing blocks while falling' idea and what.. maybe a more refined definition of what falling might be, due to these two fringe cases. At what point do we call it a bug or intended functionality or am I just grasping at straws because of the salt getting everywhere like sand at the beach. That is what I'd like to discuss here.

Points to note:
-Falling through vines with no backing will not slow you down in the slightest, but do however still work for jump stacking
-Falling through vines with a backing will slow you down (negate fall damage) and work to jump stack.
-Spider webs slow you down (negate all fall damage) however while 'falling' through them the player is unable to place blocks.
-Ladders are weird in that you cannot jump a full block while 'inside' one, thus not allowing the player to jump stack 'in' ladders. (They slow the player and negate all fall damage however)
-Water you cannot jump stack due to the same reason as ladders (players are unable to actually jump a full block in water) and it as well slows the player (negating all fall damage)

[Taleric]

If I remember the jump changes were to stop pillaring to safety.

If vines and ladders were all over I would say maybe consider remove jump building there too.

For the web it is an attack feature so disallowing blocks just makes it that much more effective and kind of reasons; your arms being pinned till you wiggle out.

Even in non combat the removal of pillaring forces some scaffolding immersion wether it be by vine or ladders.

Just my thoughts. FC had that whirlwind year hammering everything that felt exploitative of mechanics without some risk/reward.

[FlowerChild]

Yeah, what Taleric said. The initial description sounds a lot like you just got upset being killed in a web and then worked backwards from there.

In an ideal world I could work to make vines and ladders more consistent in their behavior, but that would serve very little purpose other than to ease your angst :)

[Gilberreke]

ease your angst :)

Please don't, we get oh so much pleasure out of Magik's angst :)

[magikeh]

your arms being pinned till you wiggle out. -snippy-.

Yeah, this lore aspect came across my mind but I pushed it away when I thought of how in the hell Steve would be able to chop away at the web with a sword if he was stuck enough to not even be able to place blocks, but that's opening the realism can of worms so fuck that. (although thinking about it more, it's sort of like when our favorite heroes get their wrists bound in rope and they squeak a knife or sharp object out of god knows where and manage to cut themselves free)

The initial description sounds a lot like you just got upset being killed in a web and then worked backwards from there.-snip-

Exactly that, I wouldn't have thought to bring up the strangeness of the vines and jump stacking if I hadn't been brutally murdered and gotten to thinking of what it was that could be the actual definition of falling and for what exceptions to block placing while falling there might be.

ease your angst :)

Please don't, we get oh so much pleasure out of Magik's angst :)

:P That just serves to light a bigger fire under my ass and keep conquering the land. Mind you, I haven't been that salty in a looong time.