Becoming an effective Nomad

[Foxy Boxes]

When I used to run my plugin which let trees spawn saplings and those saplings plant themselves, forest biomes became no-go regions. They were dark enough to allow spawns through the day, twisted and difficult to navigate in because you had no hope of maintaining a constant heading. Plenty of trees would make steps up to the canopy and the trees would push right up against any walls you had, which meant the creepers could walk right over your walls!

That sounds obnoxious... Kill it with fire?

Finally a reason for perimeter Hibachi! On that note, is that plugin public?

[Mud]

I'm two days into my first nomadic experience on Large Biomes and I dig it. I started in a swamp.

:edit: Looks like the swamp borders a taiga biome. I may have an extended nomadic experience. Woot.

::edit:: Got caught in the ocean when the son went down. I neglected to make a rod before I set out, otherwise I could spend the night fishing from my boat.

:::edit::: turns out fishing is bugged when you're on a boat. :\

::::edit:::: Man, I am digging the nomatic stage! Traveling light is hard, but I'm accumulating a nice stockpile of materials for when I do settle down (feathers, pumpkins, iron ore, etc)

:::::edit::::: Crossing oceans in large biomes is a much heartier undertaking.

:final edit: I've been heading straight west for 3 days on this ocean and I've still not maid landfall. Guh.

[Shengji]

! On that note, is that plugin public?

No, it's not I'm afraid, I make it the lazy way so I can't distribute it. If it helps, making your own version, there is an old abandoned mod with publicly available code which you can virtually copy and paste to get the functionality.

[Ulfengaard]

! On that note, is that plugin public?

No, it's not I'm afraid, I make it the lazy way so I can't distribute it. If it helps, making your own version, there is an old abandoned mod with publicly available code which you can virtually copy and paste to get the functionality.

I don't suppose there is anything similar to the Shengji Structural Decay utility, is there?

The build-up to settling is not just about acquisition, so don't go feral. Conserve as much as possible. This means food of course, but it also means tools, weapons, and armor. Your nomadic "tech tree" is roughly equivalent to the amount of your supplies and condition of your kit. Any activity which reduces either of these will slow down your progression, so think carefully about what you are doing. Plan your activities like you plan your buildings: what do I need to do next, and what options will that open up for me? In that vein, never get drawn into a fight just because you are bored at night or think there might be ore just beyond the range of your torch. One creeper hug can kill you. If you wouldn't toss your hibachis into a pool of lava out of boredom, then you wouldn't get in an unnecessary fight while nomad'ing. They're both detriments to progression.

Speaking of progression, avoid falling in love with a piece of terrain before you have adequate settlement supplies. You need to avoid the temptation to linger. Being a BTW nomad is a mindset. You're a water balloon on the move in a pile of cactus, so don't get stuck. Never get cornered. And when necessary, run with everything you've got.

[Shengji]

I don't suppose there is anything similar to the Shengji Structural Decay utility, is there?

I plan on - well not releasing but distributing mine to people who ask for it but at the moment it has one or two issues and I wouldn't feel comfortable sending it out in that state - when it's ready, and I make no promises as to when that may be - too many great games out at the moment taking up my free time! I'll make a post when it's ready and send it out to anyone who asks.

In the meantime, there are a ton of editors out there, one must have the ability to replace air blocks with a scatter brush, which will get reasonable results manually.

Anyway, lets keep this thread on topic

[Mud]

:: This thread still has enough relevance to justify bumping, and I'd like to open the discussion of when to move and when to settle. ::

Given the changes that have been introduced since the creation of this thread, the nomadic phase has changed, most notably, it is no longer simply the "starting" phase of BTW. With the addition of abandoned villages, changes to village crops, the expanded variety of low-tier foods, HC Lactation, and the changes to iron and coal, early game is now spent shifting in and out of nomadic phases and phases of settlement.

My personal thoughts are that the first settlement phase comes once the player has acquired a bit of iron and can domesticate both cows & chickens. Settling earlier is certainly possible, but this feels like a natural point from my personal experience. Assuming one also has gathered a fair amount of wood, some coal, and some hemp seeds, the first settlement would contain, but is not limited to:

• A small hemp field
• A milling stone
• At least one cow in a covered pen
• A covered chicken coop with enough room for a half-dozen chickens.

With the above, you have access to renewable multi-ingredient foods and are able to get a jump on collecting hemp fibers for the "perma-settlement" phase.

Where I'm stumped is figuring out when the second nomadic stage should begin. Anyone have any thoughts?

[FlowerChild]

Where I'm stumped is figuring out when the second nomadic stage should begin. Anyone have any thoughts?

My personal theory on it: when you feel like it.

My changes to the early game to provide sustainable food sources were largely intended so that the player will feel a low-level pressure to go out and explore eventually in order to gain access to better food sources, but will not feel obliged to do so.

So, you can work on the tech-tree, building up spawn, or what have you, and if you feel like exploring at a certain point, you can do so in bits and pieces with the feeling that there's a tangible reward (better food) for doing so somewhere over the horizon.

From my perspective, variety in gameplay is a good thing. If you're in the mood to explore, then do it. If you're in the mood to build up a location, then focus on that. The important part to me is that whatever you choose to do should provide tangible rewards unique to that particular style of gameplay, as opposed to the generic rewards of vanilla where you get the exact same thing no matter what you do, and thus wind up with no motivation to perform another activity, once you've gotten the exact same rewards out of something else.

[JakeZKAM]

At the moment I feel like I'm pretty set in the hole in the ground I've carved out back at my spawn. Spending a couple weeks travelling got me eager to settle down, and I'm not venturing forth until I truly need something new. While I loved the nomad era very much, and finding my original hobbit hole was a joy, I am certainly hanging on to what I've got :) As well as holding onto this world. I think this release finally broke me of my world restart syndrome XD.

However the nomadic phase is still there, lurking in the corners, waiting for me to either die or have a vital need of something outside of spawn to progress ;)

[FlowerChild]

At the moment I feel like I'm pretty set in the hole in the ground I've carved out back at my spawn. Spending a couple weeks travelling got me eager to settle down, and I'm not venturing forth until I truly need something new. While I loved the nomad era very much, and finding my original hobbit hole was a joy, I am certainly hanging on to what I've got :) As well as holding onto this world. I think this release finally broke me of my world restart syndrome XD.

However the nomadic phase is still there, lurking in the corners, waiting for me to either die or have a vital need of something outside of spawn to progress ;)

Woot! I'm sincerely hoping the above represents the worm starting to turn in terms of people realizing that settling down is an entirely viable option. I'm admittedly getting a little sick of the whole "I need to find wheat to progress!" epidemic :)

[JakeZKAM]

Woot! I'm sincerely hoping the above represents the worm starting to turn in terms of people realizing that settling down is an entirely viable option. I'm admittedly getting a little sick of the whole "I need to find wheat to progress!" epidemic :)

Well while I did find wheat before I settled down I don't have chickens, yet when I spawned I was hoping to just find some chickens/pumpkins yet to no avail. Searching the desert nearby on the way back I found a temple, so getting a hoe from the loot inside wasn't too hard, but yes I can attest its entirely feasible to settle down without everything :P

[Ulfengaard]

Woot! I'm sincerely hoping the above represents the worm starting to turn in terms of people realizing that settling down is an entirely viable option. I'm admittedly getting a little sick of the whole "I need to find wheat to progress!" epidemic :)

I think people will come around. It's just a shift in direction, really. In fact, your post just gave me an idea for another food source which I hadn't even considered (it'll probably show up in Episode 3). It's a whole new way of thinking about the game, and if one doesn't take on a fresh perspective and keeps trying to do the same old thing… well, yeah. Refusal to adapt is the progenitor of frustration.

It'll catch on. Just wish people would keep comments to themselves for a little while after release. It takes time to adjust.

[Yhetti]

Yes, when you are a nomad, do not Return to Home because you have no home. Eventually as you progress into the tech tree you are able to Return to Home

[FlowerChild]

Actually, I will share what I viewed to be the right time to go nomad during development of these features: after you reach the nether.

You're welcome :)

I think people will come around. It's just a shift in direction, really. In fact, your post just gave me an idea for another food source which I hadn't even considered (it'll probably show up in Episode 3). It's a whole new way of thinking about the game, and if one doesn't take on a fresh perspective and keeps trying to do the same old thing… well, yeah. Refusal to adapt is the progenitor of frustration.

It'll catch on. Just wish people would keep comments to themselves for a little while after release. It takes time to adjust.

Oh yeah man, I agree. It just becomes a drag when the same point comes up over and over in multiple threads when I personally know it's based entirely on player perception.

So yeah, I also agree that it would be nice if people spent some time actually playing and trying to come up with in-game solutions before going on about it representing some kind of imbalance.

[damianthedamned]

I would like a good seed for large biomes that starts me in the middle of an ocean with a lone tree for maximum challenge. :D

-3259657989972083620 If I've entered this in properly it should be exactly what your looking for. it's not easy. i had large biome on as well. let me know if it works for you!

[savagelung]

A year ago, I read this thread on the Minecraft subreddit which showed off houses carved right out of trees.

This evening, I made it my goal to go out in search of wheat. I decided to try the treehouse idea. Obviously the beds were worthless, but I did travel with a good supply of wood, cobble, bricks, maps and iron.

6 villages, three desert temples and two desert wells later, I finally found a populated village! I stashed away some villagers, collected some seeds and set off on my adventure home.

I always walked rather than sprint, both to save food and assure that the distance between tree-houses were consistent. Whenever dusk came, I put together a tree house and hid inside until day came. I left some supplies at every one in case my future self is unprepared. Between each tree, I left brick trail markers with signs on them pointing to the next trail marker, so that I could retrace my steps.

Until I'm equipped enough to create a rail-line, I will have my trail of tree-houses. If you're struggling with the tediousness of village exploration, I recommend trying out something like what I did -- it made my adventures much more bearable. I was never much of a nomadic player, but this experiment changed my mind. One day, I might even create a walking path just for the fun of it.

[johnt]

*reads hardcore chicken*
*realizes you can get eggs from hemp seeds*
*smacks forehead*

Okay, off to start a new world with a spawn settlement.