Vanilla Minecraft News Discussion

[Padfoote]

They're programmers whose lack of creativity is depressing.

I wouldn't go this far. They've implemented what the community has been screaming for (the part of the community that isn't here with BTW), but that doesn't mean they lack creativity.

[Gormador]

They're programmers whose lack of creativity is depressing.

I wouldn't go this far. They've implemented what the community has been screaming for (the part of the community that isn't here with BTW), but that doesn't mean they lack creativity.

Wait. Are you saying that them preferring to implement other people's ideas doesn't show they lack some of their own? Hue.

[Shinxy]

Another biome related tweet by Jeb https://twitter.com/jeb_/status/365794828153389056

Sigh, this tweet is extra sad/hilarious for me. Why? I remember back in beta getting a world with cliffs exactly like that, all steep and what not, but better (it also had a glorious cave system too, but I digress).
At most I can say that the new biomes shown are okay, but honestly, dicking over peoples worlds for this new format thing he's doing is just silly.

[Jesar]

I can't wait for the tweet "someone asked if there will be raves in minecraft, so here's today's screenshot."

Things like these make it easier to forget that minecraft is still being developed past 1.5.2.

[destineternel]

Here's a new way to tell north from south, and west from east, in future Minecraft: http://i.imgur.com/wDbx92N.png

https://twitter.com/jeb_/status/368020870230728704

You can stop speculating now =) Grown sunflowers typically face east. Check wikipedia or ask @Dinnerbone (who pointed this out to me)

https://twitter.com/jeb_/status/368022076273479680

[Stormweaver]

Also coming in 1.7; a block with an arrow on it so you know which way is up.

You would think that 'the sun rises in the east' would be common knowledge in this day and age.

[SterlingRed]

Obviously necessary because figuring out cardinal directions wasn't already possible from the sun, moon, clouds, or textures. #wastingdevtime

[Battlecat]

Obviously necessary because figuring out cardinal directions wasn't already possible from the sun, moon, clouds, or textures. #wastingdevtime

It's not even that hard in vanilla. I believe there's a "facing direction" variable in the F3 debug menu.

[EtherealWrath]

Is it just me, or are there fewer threads/posts patting Jeb/D'Bone on the back/hailing him as god, and few more slightly critical things being said about each update? (looking at MCF and a few other places)

Is there a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel? -It kinda looks like people are starting to wake up.

[SterlingRed]

Is it just me, or are there fewer threads/posts patting Jeb/D'Bone on the back/hailing him as god, and few more slightly critical things being said about each update? (looking at MCF and a few other places)

Is there a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel? -It kinda looks like people are starting to wake up.

It's generally true that when someone doesn't like something, they're vocal about it. And the majority of people who do like something, don't say anything. People move along in their own world consuming whatever unless there's a problem. I've seen a lot of game devs who dismiss the "vocal complaining minority" as they call it. Considering the size of the minecraft fan base, even a few thousand complaints would still fall into the minority category and likely not get taken seriously.

[Padfoote]

There's a slight glimmer of hope for the terrain generation. Jeb recently tweeted this:

Was testing level generator stuff, when @notch asked me to keep this as an option: http://i.imgur.com/DtYeEDO.jpg Really resource heavy, though!

Source.

[Psion]

now THAT is terrain i can approve of.

[CreeperCannibal]

I'm not sure that what you're seeing is Jeb doing right for minecraft on his own. I mean, the fact that the guy mentioned the generation being resource heavy and that he was asked to leave it in the game means that by himself he would have ripped it entirely. This type of phenomenon, where interesting or good features are left in on Notch's behalf should be called a Glimmer Of Notch.

[BinoAl]

As cool as that terrain looks, I don't think it would be worth the eventual performance hit. I'd be all in favor of it being an option such as flat terrain on generation (I've always been fan of alternate terrain gen), but it would just feel unnatural and forced finding that in the game, currently

[FlowerChild]

As cool as that terrain looks, I don't think it would be worth the eventual performance hit. I'd be all in favor of it being an option such as flat terrain on generation (I've always been fan of alternate terrain gen), but it would just feel unnatural and forced finding that in the game, currently

Relax man. It sounds like it's a world gen option, not a biome.

[Sarudak]

I love that kind of surreal terrain gen. Why play with boring real life type terrain when you could have something like that. It's a video game after all! :P

[dawnraider]

That was what i loved about beta terrain gen, was that it had lots of variety, and had no basis on reality other than density of trees. It had a very surreal look to it, and you never knew what to expect. Now all we get is shit steep hills and flat everything else, except for the hills in jungles.

EDIT: spelling

[BinoAl]

Relax man. It sounds like it's a world gen option, not a biome.

Ah, I misread it. When he said "Keep it as an option", I thought Notch meant to keep it in mind for the game, not literally keep it as an option... Heh

[Xeo]

I don't know, a whole world looking like that would get old fairly fast. Don't get me wrong i'm a fan of the crazy generations in beta/alpha worlds that feel unique and special but what made them special was that they were a rare thing. If your whole world looks like it was made with an out of control noise generator then it becomes just that--noise--not the amazing (and rare) mountain range you traversed thousands of meters to find.

However I agree that it would look out of place randomly appearing in worlds, maybe if it's turned down a little bit...

[Chomamonka]

I'd like to see them add a beta and alpha world type. Just the good old terrain but with thing like mineshafts, pumpkins, and the same ore distribution. They even have the code already written and plenty of mods already do it. I guess the problem arises with the new biomes and blocks associated with them. Ah well, I'm having a blast with Bioms O Plenty for now so, ehh.

[EtherealWrath]

I've played around with a mod like that before (I think it was wedge or wenge or something), though a bit of fun the worlds are surprisingly hard to survive in.
There wasn't too much of a performance hit either, but it did quickly drop into a 'meh' after the novelty wore off.
Its awesome, but a bit too extreme for the overworld; the beta gen wins hands down with being sane enough for survival, but always the chance for something truly epic.

Also if their changing terrain- will the nether take advantage of double height? -that new terrain algorithm would be kinda epic with fire and brimstone.

[Yhetti]

I'm really glad they decided to add cherry blossom trees and lavender flowers. All the things I waste my time coding they're apparently gonna do too, since all they can seem to produce nowadays is aesthetic.

[FlowerChild]

I'm really glad they decided to add cherry blossom trees and lavender flowers. All the things I waste my time coding they're apparently gonna do too, since all they can seem to produce nowadays is aesthetic.

Well, on the bright side, yours is likely the only version that will be available for BTW ;)

[Yhetti]

-snip-

Actually that's way better, if you're never gonna go to 1.6 or above, that means the add-on community can be responsible for all of the extra side stuff we want to put into btw instead of mojang!

It also conveniently means that I don't have to ever use the godforsaken new minecraft launcher, or new mcp, and the list goes on.

[FlowerChild]

Actually that's way better, if you're never gonna go to 1.6 or above, that means the add-on community can be responsible for all of the extra side stuff we want to put into btw instead of mojang!

I haven't made any firm decisions on whether I'll be updating again, but yeah, the above has occurred to me as well. Staying with a set version would give people a fixed code base to work from once I am done, which is unlikely to be something we'd ever get with vanilla.

Like I said, no decisions yet (I likely won't be making one until BTW is finalized), but I will say that remaining with 1.5.2 is still definitely on the table for me. I think the determining factor will probably be how these terrain gen changes of Jeb's turn out. If they actually improve the game to an extent which justifies trashing existing worlds, I could see myself updating at least once more. If not, then I think I am likely done with it.

I've been pointing out the declining quality of vanilla additions for a very long time now, but still dutifully updating with each release. I think enough of a precedent has been set for me to say with a fair amount of certainty that we won't be getting any new quality content out of Mojang again. I think it is also safe to say that any features I may have been anticipating such as an actual mod API, extended blockIDs, or what have you, are just not going to happen (at least not in a time frame that will make them the least bit relevant).