Beginner to BTW: Hardcore Buckets?

[SageEthereal]

Hello everyone, I have been playing Minecraft for a while now and also playing with other Minecraft mods; mostly technical / industrial type mods. Recently I decided I wanted to give Better Than Wolves a try, mostly because of the large tight-knit community it has around it (that hopefully some day I might become a productive member of). I am also a new YouTuber considering starting a BTW Lets Play.

My experience with Better Than Wolves has been very minimal so far; I have played a bit on a test world, getting as far as building a Windmill. I am thinking about chronicling my experiences and progress learning the mod in a LP though, so have abandoned that world. I have a question I would like to ask the more experienced members of the community, and that is: would you suggest a player new to BTW play with Hardcore Buckets enabled their first time through, or would you recommend they take the easier route with it disabled?

As far as I know it is a somewhat recent addition in that many of the tutorials and guides I have read about BTW seem to indicate vanilla behavior of buckets. Do you think the learning process would be better by having to adjust to hardcore buckets from the start, or would it be better to get the basics of the mod down in an easier environment before trying to add that factor in?

Thanks for taking the time to read this post (I hope it is in the right section and not breaking any rules), I am just really curious as to how you all would recommend a beginner approach the mod with the new hardcore mode options.

[FlowerChild]

Personally, I think you're better off just taking the plunge. HCB really isn't much harder, it just makes construction of devices more interesting.

Also, if you're the kind of person that likes to stick with a single world for a prolonged period, HCB from the start is the way to go. The two modes really don't mesh well in the same world as they lead to very different building styles, so if you want to switch later, everything is always going to feel slightly off.

Anyways, I'm obviously biased, so I'll let other people answer, but I'd just say go for it :)

[Wafflewaffle]

Go full on hardcore. You cant have fun in the pool if you dont jump on it!

When i first started playing BTW one of my very first experiences was an aqueduct and it felt soooo good. Not to mention it makes pumps so much more important.

[kaos78414]

HCB isn't that complicated, man. It sounds like you're over thinking it. It's default to on, so if you're going to do an LP, I would suggest leaving it on. It leads to more interesting and aesthetically pleasing construction anyway.

Start learning to dig channels until you get to screw pumps, and even then you'll still be digging lots of channels. Directing water flow leads to much cooler and more natural looking contraptions. And ultimately your LP will be more interesting as a result. In fact, turn hardcore spawn on, too. The hardcore modes expand game play in a way that I can't really describe - you're just going to have to experience it. I mean, Minecraft is a design-oriented game; if your creativity isn't being challenged, what's the point?

EDIT: Ninja'd :P

[Azdoine]

I'd say HCB makes construction and contraptions much more expensive, but also, more satisfying and engaging to build. I say you should try it.

It can also be disabled at any time, if you decide it's not for you.

[Locke]

One problem I have found was lava buckets, once obtained without HCB are placeable, but impossible to pick up. I suggest that if you decide to change to HCB you should try to get rid of all your lava to avoid problems and/or confusion.
Although to be frank, if you like playing casually then you should not have HCB, but if you want the game to be tougher (maybe even hardcore) then use HCB. Either way, once you get an anvil, screw pumps will make moving water to your floating base (or my floating base) trivial and a great design challenge that usually ends in beautiful aquaducts.

[mneMoose]

I started a new world a few weeks ago and have been having a blast with hardcore buckets. I built my first base near an ocean to have a source of water near for early wheat, and have dug channels from it to my machines for some early automation. I find it fun to be building around the environment for resources. It makes it feel a little more organic for me, like settlements in the world sprouting from water.

Anyway, all that to say I've been enjoying HCB, and would recommend it heavily.

[SageEthereal]

Thanks for all the replies (and so fast too)!

I guess my trepidation regarding Hardcore Buckets might be because deep down I am a bit of an obsessive control-freak, and not being able to have full control over the functioning of liquids in the game is a little scary. But then again, maybe that could be what makes it fun; sometimes being pushed out of our comfort zones can be exciting. I am thinking I will probably go for it whole-hog, which was what I was initially planning; I just wanted to see if anyone tried to dissuade me (and give me an excuse!).

Have to say I am really liking what little I have seen of the mod, and even more what I have seen from the community behind it. I have played many different games with many different mods, but this is the first place I have seen such a quick and polite response to a beginner's questions; with even the mod author chiming in!

Well then, guess I am off to a test world to study vanilla water physics, because to be honest, I have basically no experience with the way water flows and whatnot; I have been spoiled by other mods that have made things too easy it would seem (one reason I have come to try BTW). :) I do like the picture of aqueducts and flowing water throughout my settlement, since I sometimes lean toward the aesthetic side of building anyways.

Thanks again for your input!

[Stormweaver]

I'm a bit late to the party, but I'll throw in my two cents. First-time players definitely should use HCB. It's an experience in itself, even for designing basic vanilla farms let alone BTW's advance automation.

Then, once you're used to it, if you can muster enough self-control you can disable it but continue to use it in spirit, like I do. That way you can still build in snowy biomes or create purely aesthetic water features without robbing yourself of gameplay.

[Six]

Remember that you will need to adjust your play style a bit when playing with hardcore buckets. The main problem I see with people having when playing with HCB (and other BTW features too), is trying to play how they used to with vanilla. The placement of your first base is far more dictated by good water placement, and having a desert nearby for your windmill doesn't hurt either.

[DemonButter]

I've been playing HCB since it was put as default. At first it made some projects messy and clunky because I couldn't guide the water smoothly but that was that and I've improved quickly when it comes to dealing with water flows. All in all, when you advance and can build the screw pump, your problems will all be solved.

[william711]

Just jump right in. I recently made the switch to hardcore and it really isn't all that bad. you'll definitely find yourself altering how you play. I'm only in the beginning of the tech tree but one example is that I generally build things underground now since I can't get screw pumps and need water flow for some of my farms. I still have no idea what to do when I get to building a mob farm though.

[TaterBoy]

I still have no idea what to do when I get to building a mob farm though.

It depends on your layout, but I will build mine on a body of water, this way you can just knock holes in the wall to create water flows. My floorplan is a "Plus" symbol, four 3x8 canals that empty into a 3x3 hole in the center which leads to a saw, with a spawning platform as each corner, and you can raise it to as many levels as you want to increase output. I've only built it once with HCB, so it is definitely possible, just takes more time.

As for me and HCB, I balked at it when I first discovered the mod, back then it was off by default and I saw it as one of those challenges where a person purposefully makes things harder without any real need or reward...Boy was I mistaken.

Now that I've been playing with HCB, just like all the others who use it, I can't see playing with buckets ever again. (The thing I've come to love the most is that I don't have to either run back to a water source with my bucket, or just create new ones in every room of my base when I need to make a new flow, I can just drop my channel down a level and presto, more water.)

It took me a while to come around, I'll admit it actually took the implementation of the screw pump and the default to on status of HCB before I embraced it, and I do really regret depriving myself of the fun all this time.

So much like everyone else, I highly recommend starting with it and never looking back.

[abzu93]

It depends on your layout, but I will build mine on a body of water, this way you can just knock holes in the wall to create water flows.

Holy cool ideas, Batman! Thank you!

It took me a while to come around, I'll admit it actually took the implementation of the screw pump and the default to on status of HCB before I embraced it, and I do really regret depriving myself of the fun all this time.

So much like everyone else, I highly recommend starting with it and never looking back.

This echos my experience precisely.

[dawnraider]

I love HCB, and used it on and off when it wasn't default, due to being unable to lift water, but now I'll never turn it off because of how much fun it is. I'd say go for it.

[Thalarctia]

I still have no idea what to do when I get to building a mob farm though.

It depends on your layout, but I will build mine on a body of water, this way you can just knock holes in the wall to create water flows.

This is also the way I have done it in my Let's Play series, works beautifully. Check out episodes 16 and 17 of High Stakes if you want to see how :)

[Blazara]

If I have one bit of advice it's this: All BTW hardcore settings, Hardcore world, Large biomes. Perhaps a little too intense as a starting point, but once you're nicely accustomed the aforementioned is wonderfully challenging and BAGS of fun.

I would recommend HCB at the start; I think it gives a more complete experience of the mod and allows you to enjoy it to it's fullest extent. Good luck and have fun whatever path you choose ;).

[haphazardnuke]

Why a Hardcore world? Just do Hard difficulty and enable hardcore spawn. I, at least, don't want to put days of effort into a world only to have to do save editing or archive digging if my shift key fails me. That just feels hacky, instead of "bags of fun".
I agree with enabling all the BTW 'challenge modes', though.

[Blazara]

That's why you don't edit your save files or dig through archives. When you're dead you're dead.

[chai]

I guess my trepidation regarding Hardcore Buckets might be because deep down I am a bit of an obsessive control-freak, and not being able to have full control over the functioning of liquids in the game is a little scary. But then again, maybe that could be what makes it fun

This was my experience, actually. It does set certain constraints on how you build, but in the end (as others have mentioned) you're left with aesthetically pleasing and functional aqueducts, waterfalls and so forth that make it a pleasure to walk around your world. It will make your builds more complex, for sure, but in a way that requires you to use your design sense---it's not just complexity for complexity's sake. It also means you have to think out the placement of anything that involves water; you can't just slap two builds with disparate needs right next to each other and let magic buckets take care of the problem supplying the water.

Oh, and once you put together your first tower o' screw pumps, you'll know you *earned* that water way up in the sky!

Well then, guess I am off to a test world to study vanilla water physics, because to be honest, I have basically no experience with the way water flows and whatnot

Have fun! This is definitely one of the major selling points of hardcore buckets, I'd say--in vanilla, you basically have no reason whatsoever to use water mechanics once you get three pieces of iron. It's yet another case of BTW giving value to something cool but essentially deprecated in the vanilla game.

tl;dr: Hardcore buckets: Learn 'em, love 'em, pump 'em.