Mod packs

The normal game of minecraft can get boring after a while and you begin to look for more once you finish the game. When most people get to this point, they open up a modpack server and start playing with their friends. Custom packs contain multitudes of mods that all mesh and work together to create a whole new experience for your game and is what we used to reach mars in our previous post. Modpacks add a whole bunch of mods using forge and a bunch of basic UI helpers. Not Enough Items to help with all the new crafting recipes, What am I Looking At to identify blocks from different mods, Inventory Tweaks to keep all the new items under control, and then the rest of the fancy mods that increase the limits of what you can do. Some mod packs include Tekkit, which is good for getting started because it doesn't go too in depth into either magic or technology. The Voltz pack is the most technologically advanced pack with Nuclear reactors and missiles. Hexxit is the most magically attuned with many new dungeons, biomes, boss fights, magic loot, and spells for you to cast. The yogscast complete pack go in depth through both trees, but is very demanding on your PC. The main snd most famous source of these mod packs is the Technic website, but the yogscast complete pack is only available through the ATLauncher.

Tycho and I did not have time or resources to record this week, but I can give you the links to both the ATLauncher and the Technic website.

ATL: http://www.atlauncher.com/

Technic: http://www.technicpack.net/

WE MADE IT MARS!!!

Minecraft is written in Java, so it allows for fans to easily create mods to add on to your game. Modding, or changing your game, is incredibly popular amongst the minecraft fan base. It is so popular that people have set up custom mod packs that put together a whole bunch of mods and then edit the code to make sure all the different components tie together well. Since Tycho was so new to mod packs, we started with the classic, Tekkit. Tekkit is one of the simplest mod packs to use, but still includes a whole bunch of mods that completely alter the way you play. The three big ones that we used in the server were Thermal Expansion, Galacticraft, and Nether Ores. Most of the other mods were peripherals and do not really require explanation because there were just too many of them or we didn't use them. The nether ores mod simply adds a use for the burning planes that is the nether. The new and improved nether includes all of the ores needed in the other mod packs and gives twice the output, but makes them twice as hard to aquire. Whenever you mine a nether ore you automatically anger the local population causing them to attack you, but of you can handle the pigmen the ores also have a chance of detonating and you sky high. If you manage to avoid the explosion and hold of the hordes of hostile mods, the output of the ores is tremendous when combined with some of the new machines added in Thermal Expansion. Thermal Expansion adds a whole bunch of new machines into the game that help speed up the process of minecraft. Thermal Expansion machines included a maccerator, a tesseract, an induction smelter, and a whole host of other machines that all helped us get to space even faster. Speaking of space, Galacticraft is a mod that adds rockets into the game. There are two tiers of rockets. The tier one rocket can get you to the moon and any space stations that are around. The tier two rocket is much harder to build because it required you to go the moon first and get some meteoric iron. 

Linkey links:

Tycho's Perspective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd3WfBz1S7w

My Perspective: Uploading.

Tycho, James, and I all become Diamond Defenders

This week Tycho and I play another mini game that I'm not so terrible at. The rules of the game are simple, you get a stick that knocks creepers that blow your diamonds off the stage. There are roughly two hundred diamonds that you have to try and keep on the field and can't be blown up like normal items. The new snapshot lets you spawn in item entities that don't expire and can't die. Normal entities in the game can be blown up by any kind for explosion and also expire after five minutes.

I didn't really find the game that challenging mainly because the creeper's explosion radius wasn't really big enough to blow too many of the diamonds off the map. You were supposed to start the first ten rounds with a stick that can knock creepers off the platform, but the map glitches and we didn't receive any sticks until after round 10. Even without the sticks we were still able to hold a bunch of the diamonds on the platform with no problem just by luring the creepers to the center and just letting them explode. The game also makes you invincible and basically makes it impossible to fail until the late game, when we got our sticks and went off the the edge and accidentally pushed some of the diamonds off. The game is fast paced and fun to play with your friends. A side effect of your invincibility also makes creepers launch you incredibly high in the air and that can be a lot of fun.

Tycho's point of view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3U1vxOZels&feature=youtu.be

BLITZ! Survival Games

The Blitz Survival Games are essentially just a version of the Hunger Games from the book and movie series of the same name. The Hunger Games are games in which 24 people have a fight to the death with only one victor. These contestants start out with nothing other than their hands and must find weapons and food that are in a central cornucopia and scattered around the map as well. They may also receive supply drops ,or in our case chest refills.

The blitz part of the survival games ensures that the game is fast paced and never lasts too long. Whenever another play is eliminated from play all other members receive a speed boost for a short period of time. Sudden death also occurs when there are three or fewer players still left alive and they are put on a platform that progressively gets smaller until there is only one man left standing. Also, all players start with some small equipment of their choice so that everyone can play some role in the game and to speed up gameplay.

The Blitz Star is also a very important item in the game and it appears about five minutes into the game. The Blitz Star is randomly placed in a chest and gives the lucky finder a one time use superpower. The owner of the start has a huge advantage over all the players, but his location is also displayed with fireworks that play over his head and is generally avoided until after the effect he has chosen wares off. The Blitz Survival Games are a very fast paced and fun game to play with your friends so you can team up on enemies.

When the cameras turn on Tycho turns into some mad pro, while I'm left behind looking incredibly stupid and somehow when the cameras are off I'm the one that's pulling off massive three against one fights and making the plays. You know what they say about people witnessing changing the outcome though.

I have won dozens of games, none of which can be proven by video. This is an example: youtube.com/watch?feature=c4-feed-u&v=qrgqpXq_6UI

The Survival Server

The survival server was the most fun I had in Minecraft. Originally Tycho was opposed to the idea of making a multiplayer survival server, but eventually Sam, a friend from school, my brother, and I all convinced him to set up the server. On the first day it was just the two of us because The other members were busy. I had to take away administrative command from everyone on the server so no one would cheat and the server would remain legitimate. I am not very good at fighting off mobs until the late game, when I am the most skilled with the sword. The first night was spent like all first nights, mining, deep within the caves. When first dawn approached, Tycho scouted out the server until he came across a rock shaped like the rock from Radiator Springs from the movie Cars. That rock then became the central location of the server with all buildings built within a close range of it. We spent the next few weeks under that rock and gathered resources to build proper houses. We started out using wood and built two small houses on top of a mountain. Realizing that there was little room for expansion we dreamed bigger and thought about castles and villages. It was at this point that Sam built a enormous cobble T shaped structure on a small hill. Unimpressed, we made larger castles with flying buttresses, flaming guard towers, and secret rooms that would protect and arm us us in the event of war. Realizing the space between the castles we had to construct a faster way of getting around, so we built a nether hub that could transport us to wherever we needed to go. After the castles and nether hub were complete we built small towns to support our large castle and act as defensive structures and barricades during war between the two castles. In the next blog post I guess we'll be talking about those wars between and against Tycho and me.

I would put up a world download, but I have no website to host it on. I guess if you really wanted a copy you could ask Tycho about it.

Video touring the server that took way longer than it had to: http://youtu.be/NAiBPdfpldU

Biomes

Biomes in Minecraft are a big deal, they decide how any of the natural elements in your surroundings look. Biomes control the grass, leaves, trees, animals, and terrain that naturally appears in the area. Each biome has a different feel about the place. 

The taiga is my favorite kind of biome and is usually cold and is mostly covered with snow and pine trees, everything there has a very blue-ish green tint and is a very wintery kind of place. Mountains are my second favorite kind of biome and are have very interesting landscapes that let you have very high vantage points and the color scheme is very close to that of the taiga. 

Forests make everything a very beautiful dark green and are filled with many oaks and flowers. Plains are flat and and filled with flowers and horses and rivers that cut through the landscape. 

The jungle has the brightest green of all the other biomes and has rare temple that might spawn inside it, while the desert gives everything an brown and dead feel. There are 61 different biomes in Minecraft and some of them are variants of each other, but these are the major ones you will find in your travels.

For a more in depth look I left some links.

The wiki: http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Mega_Taiga#Mega_Taiga

Minecraft Custom Maps intro bit

Minecraft custom maps are a very popular thing to do in Minecraft. There are many different kinds of map and they are split into different genres. The main genres are adventure, puzzle, parkour, simulations or any combination of them. There are many different maps, but there are only a handful of very popular and successful ones.

Adventure maps are the most like modern video games. This type of maps that tell a story. The most popular one are made by Hypixel. Hypixel is famous for making complex and beautiful maps with challenging enemies and a deep story line. With the new updates people can add custom sound files into Minecraft and it allows custom map makers to record them talking and let them communicate directly with the player.

Puzzle maps have you solve many difficult challenges that require lots of thinking. The most popular ones require you to have a friend to play with. Great examples would be 241 or it's better together. The multiplayer maps require a lot of teamwork and a deep understanding of the mechanics of Minecraft. As the puzzles get more frustrating the puzzles take longer and longer, but you get a rewarding feeling when you finish the game.

Parkour maps require a lot of skill and timing. They seem simple on the surface because your only objective is to get from point A to point B. The most infamous of them are TPC and T3C parkour, each of them having a hundred frustrating stages for you to jump, duck, and dive through. You need to time your jumps and aim your landing with precision. The harder ones usually have moving elements and special powers that you normally don't get while playing the game. These maps are more fun to play with friends, so when you fall off a platform your friend is there to save you.

The simulation maps are different from the previous ones, but may have some of their qualities. Some of the stranger ones let you play Minecraft in Minecraft by building redstone computers, but they can also be as simple as putting connect four in Minecraft. There are also custom maps that imitate other games, like League of Legends. Race for wool maps are maps that let you compete against your friends with two teams that compete on two mirrored strips of land.

Many YouTubers play these games and have gotten famous and rich off doing playthroughs of these maps. Yogscast and Captain Sparkles have a full time job playing games just posting them on Youtube. I'll link some of the maps I mentioned above.

When you're finding custom maps from minecraft download at your own risk
The more reputable site is the Minecraft Forums otherwise you risk getting viruses.
These all require you to own minecraft to play. You can always look up playthroughs on YouTube.

The most revered map maker Hypixel's website: hypixel.net
Infamous T3C map: http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/344309-142parkour-t3c-tetrix1993s-3rd-obstacle-course-ver-311/

I just realized how lengthy this was. I might have to shorten it.