# Minecraft - multiplayer diggin' holes and buildin' things **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 12, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547 "2009-06-12T14:11:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/61 "2010-10-09T16:06:41Z")
Hmm, could I get some advice/suggestions about stuff to do? I’ve built some basic structures (I’m converting a cavern into the heart of my fortress), built a bank of forges to bake glass and refine metal, made a walled-in and illuminated paddy to grow wheat, planted lotsa trees within easy reach of my cave, and built a HUGE freaking castle around it all. And now I’m bored. :smack: I have a pit I’m digging ever-deeper to look for more new kinds of stone, and I’ll probably try to make one of those pig-harvesting machines later, but otherwise I’m about stuck for ideas. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/62 "2010-10-09T17:29:27Z")
> [@Omi\_no\_Kami](#): > > Hmm, could I get some advice/suggestions about stuff to do? Anything you want to do. > [@](#): > > I’ve built some basic structures (I’m converting a cavern into the heart of my fortress), built a bank of forges to bake glass and refine metal, made a walled-in and illuminated paddy to grow wheat, planted lotsa trees within easy reach of my cave, and built a HUGE freaking castle around it all. An excellent start, especially if you’re playing with monsters turned on. Remember to light your perimeter with torches (soon to be lanterns) to keep the mobs at bay. > [@](#): > > And now I’m bored. :smack: I have a pit I’m digging ever-deeper to look for more new kinds of stone, and I’ll probably try to make one of those pig-harvesting machines later, but otherwise I’m about stuck for ideas. Pig-harvesting machine? Try exploring the landscape – take whatever supplies you need, esp. tools to dig a shelter when the sun goes down, and just go wherever the landscape takes you. Bring torches to light your way back, especially redstone torches, if you have them. (Redstone torches make excellent beacons.) Find a monster cave. Did straight down and see if you can reach “The Void” (do NOT bring any valuable items if you do this!) Go exploring for cactus, papyrus & clay, all very rare. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/63 "2010-10-09T17:57:45Z")
> [@Palooka](#): > > It’s imported from a model. It took like 20 seconds to do. If it was imported why doesn’t his ship have engines? He also notes scaffolding that is still there from his building it. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/64 "2010-10-09T22:59:37Z")
He said he imported it in a follow-up. ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/65 "2010-10-10T01:11:50Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > Pig-harvesting machine? [Yes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9PUi9fm7Qk) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/66 "2010-10-10T10:29:01Z")
> [@Omi\_no\_Kami](#): > > > [@fuzzypickles](#): > > > > Pig-harvesting machine? > > [Yes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9PUi9fm7Qk) 😃 Ah, quite clever. 🆒 (The lava cooks the meat, I presume.) How on earth did you get those two spawners up there?? Did you use a cheat code? ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/67 "2010-10-10T15:29:23Z")
That one isn’t mine actually, so I’m not sure- I haven’t constructed it fully yet. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/68 "2010-10-12T05:07:12Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > Yeah, I figured we’ll have to start new games to take advantage of biomes and such, so now I’m just playing around. I don’t know, the game is generated in chunks the farther out you explore, if it’s possible with his code it could very easily generate the biome on chunk generation rather than world creation. This is going to be interesting though, it’s going to take some work to not make it awkward to suddenly run into a giant glacier ice lake every time you wander into a snow biome on boat. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/69 "2010-10-12T06:32:31Z")
On another note, I wonder if lanterns will be reclaimable. If so it may be worth it to make a lantern farm before the patch hits (just make hundreds of torches and place them on the ground so you have free hundreds of lanterns when Oct 31 hits). ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/70 "2010-10-12T06:48:32Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > On another note, I wonder if lanterns will be reclaimable. If so it may be worth it to make a lantern farm before the patch hits (just make hundreds of torches and place them on the ground so you have free hundreds of lanterns when Oct 31 hits). Yeah, I had that idea too, might be worth a try, seeing as torches are so easy to make. ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/71 "2010-10-12T06:52:26Z")
> [@Omi\_no\_Kami](#): > > That one isn’t mine actually, so I’m not sure- I haven’t constructed it fully yet. I belive you can no longer get pig spawners. You used to get them when you destroyed a monster spawner, but that has been changed. Or so I’ve read, I haven’t tried it myself. ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/72 "2010-10-12T07:43:01Z")
> [@VanillaGorilla](#): > > > [@Omi\_no\_Kami](#): > > > > That one isn’t mine actually, so I’m not sure- I haven’t constructed it fully yet. > > I belive you can no longer get pig spawners. You used to get them when you destroyed a monster spawner, but that has been changed. Or so I’ve read, I haven’t tried it myself. That’s what I have heard too, but I haven’t even discovered a dungeon yet! ☹ It’s caves, which I love, but no dungeons to be found. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/73 "2010-10-13T13:16:50Z")
I think I’ve been cured of my interest in this game. I’ve tried the creative, survival and multiplayer modes and each can be summed up with a single word: tedium, swarms and griefers. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/74 "2010-10-13T22:14:42Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > I think I’ve been cured of my interest in this game. I’ve tried the creative, survival and multiplayer modes and each can be summed up with a single word: tedium, swarms and griefers. That’s four words. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/75 "2010-10-13T22:28:59Z")
It’s refreshing to see a game developer create a game and not leech off the success and popularity of an existing game. [/cynicism] Wonder why they didn’t just call it “World of Minecraft.” As far as game-play: Pay for this? Not a chance. I wouldn’t even play for free. Too many other, better, distractions available. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/76 "2010-10-13T23:21:49Z")
> [@Todderbob](#): > > > [@Grumman](#): > > > > I think I’ve been cured of my interest in this game. I’ve tried the creative, survival and multiplayer modes and each can be summed up with a single word: tedium, swarms and griefers. > > That’s four words. Only if you got the syntax wrong. It is a list of three, single words (“tedium,” “swarms” and “griefers”), not a string of three words (“tedium, swarms and griefers”). ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/77 "2010-10-13T23:37:12Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > > [@Todderbob](#): > > > > That’s four words. > > Only if you got the syntax wrong. It is a list of three, single words (“tedium,” “swarms” and “griefers”), not a string of three words (“tedium, swarms and griefers”). In that case, you should have claimed you could sum it up with single words, not a single word. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/78 "2010-10-13T23:49:59Z")
> [@Mince](#): > > In that case, you should have claimed you could sum it up with single words, not a single word. _sigh_ _This_ is what you people are focusing on? I said “each [of my experiences with the Creative, Survival and Multiplayer modes] can be summed up with a single word”. Creative: tedious. Survival: swarms. Multiplayer: griefers. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/79 "2010-10-14T00:11:30Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > _sigh_ _This_ is what you people are focusing on? Of course; it’s more exciting than the game. And, for the record, you focused on it before I did. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547/80 "2010-10-14T00:17:24Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Creative: tedious. > Survival: swarms. > Multiplayer: griefers. I’ve only played alpha in survival mode, so I can’t really speak to the other two. Though looking at various videos of creative and multiplayer, I imagine your complaints on those modes are warranted. But I’m curious about your “swarms” complaint regarding survival mode. Can you elaborate on this? Are you saying there are too many monsters outside? Because if so, I couldn’t disagree more. My first couple of nights in the game, I had that slight rush of danger, but once I’d established a beachhead, I felt almost TOO safe. I wished there was the occasional monster that would actually put my defenses to good use. And if you’re saying that you get swarmed with monsters too quickly when exploring caves, I also disagree: first, there are rarely more than two monsters in one place at a time, and second, that element of danger is what makes it fun for me. But maybe I’m misinterpreting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-multiplayer-diggin-holes-and-buildin-things/499547.md?page=5)