# Share your Minecraft experiences **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 2, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869 "2010-10-02T21:46:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/121 "2010-11-04T05:17:35Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > I was making a scale model of the Washington Monument, but I hit the ceiling about halfway up. I could’ve sworn I read it was way higher. Try digging a giant pit to bedrock level first…like [this guy did](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTjyhggH2Pk). 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/122 "2010-11-05T16:51:44Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > Try digging a giant pit to bedrock level first…like [this guy did](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTjyhggH2Pk). 🆒 That’s only another 62 blocks, right? I’d have to scale down the design still. Also, too much work. Although the base is smaller, changing all that cobblestone into the smooth stone is a pain. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/123 "2010-11-05T17:02:31Z")
On a related note, I really hope that \*\*Notch \*\*increases the world height by at least an order of magnitude. The world itself is supposedly 8 times the surface area of the Earth… but the mountains are just really small hills. I want to spend \*days \*climbing a mountain. Right now, it’s possible to climb to the world ceiling in less than a minute. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/124 "2010-11-05T20:14:53Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > On a related note, I really hope that \*\*Notch \*\*increases the world height by at least an order of magnitude. The world itself is supposedly 8 times the surface area of the Earth… but the mountains are just really small hills. > > I want to spend \*days \*climbing a mountain. Right now, it’s possible to climb to the world ceiling in less than a minute. I’ve seen his save file structure, and while I haven’t seen his chunk generation tools, I can’t imagine that it would be that complicated to generate a chunk when you hit the skybox. (For that matter, it wouldn’t be hard to expand past the lower bound, but I can understand why that would be more hesitance inducing with how minerals are spawned). ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/125 "2010-11-05T20:48:22Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I’ve seen his save file structure, and while I haven’t seen his chunk generation tools, I can’t imagine that it would be that complicated to generate a chunk when you hit the skybox. (For that matter, it wouldn’t be hard to expand past the lower bound, but I can understand why that would be more hesitance inducing with how minerals are spawned). I suspect it’s a problem of visibility. It’s easier to get away with not drawing something on the horizon, but if you’re a mile or so up on a mountain, you’ll want to see the plains below you. He’d have to rely on the fog to hide the ground, which might be a bit weird. You’d also want to see the mountain peaks when you’re at the base of the mountain. That said, I still want this to happen. My favorite map has a two-story house up so high on a mountain that I had to build it shorter than I wanted to because I hit the cap… but even that mountain is tiny- I can still clearly see creepers running around at the base. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/126 "2010-11-06T08:18:32Z")
Ah! Notch, [calling the new spawning rules “far too annoying”](http://notch.tumblr.com/) has reverted to the old rules for now. That should make people happy. > [@Smeghead](#): > > Honest question from someone who’s only vaguely aware of this game and how it works. I picked on this post because it was handy, but there are plenty more examples of what I’m talking about in this thread. > > My question is this: Is this kind of thing not incredibly tedious and boring? A lot of the things I’ve read about how great this game is seem to involve (presumably) hours and hours and hours of the sort of mindnumbing grinding that people hate so passionately in other games. What am I missing here? I get that the game is huge, and there’s tons to do, and no limit to creativity - so far so good. But does this sort of thing not detract from the fun at all? On top of what the others have said, it isn’t quite as dull and repetitive. When you mine there’s always a chance of surprises; rare ore or finding a cavern or dungeon or lava or water. It isn’t like killing Monster X over and over and over. You are exploring, not just repetitively killing things you’ve already seen. You are also creating at the same time; whether it’s a mine or something larger. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/127 "2010-11-06T11:02:21Z")
Thought you guys might get a kick out of this: [Minecraft Makes Children Sex Slaves And Destroys Our Economy!](http://www.landoverbaptist.net/showthread.php?t=51266) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/128 "2010-11-16T04:51:02Z")
Here comes a bump to an aging post, but I need to post it. I’ve finally started to get the hang of this game. I have an initial outpost (rock, mined into the wall of a mountain. Dug until I reached a really neat underground river/waterfall.) Spoiler is for what I still want to do: I have a “first home”. A nice wood structure, two stories at this point, built on the peak of a nearby island. I built a nice grove - a 64x64 grass island, in the middle of the ocean. Trees planted and fully grown. I still need to: 1. Fill in the island where my cabin “first home” is built. It’s probably 16-20 blocks above sea level, I fill in the dirt when I can and am trying to build a square stone step pyramid down to sea level. 2. Build a farm. I expect this will be sea level +1 or +2. 3. Build a properly deep mine. I have an idea for my own “Kola Superdeep Borehole” but I need to find a proper area near my cabin to begin construction 4. Find more iron. I’ve been wussy about exploring surface level caverns. More coal wouldn’t hurt either 5. Find more clay. I still have a fancy for an all brick house. 6. Get a system of minecart tracks going. It takes probably 1/4 of daylight to walk from my cabin to my initial spawn and initial dig. 7. Find and exploit some lava 8. Build a portal to the nether Why I need to post - have you heard of the [Tetris Effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris_effect)? That is to say, you play a game intensely enough and it begins to dominate your thoughts and dreams? Well, I’m experiencing the Minecraft Effect. Two nights in a row now, I’ve dreamt of Minecraft. Both nights the dreams have taken the form of: “Ok, I’m digging. Still digging. Wait! My goodness! A diamond cluster! Mine it quick and get out!” …this game truly is a sickness. A wonderful, creative sickness. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/129 "2010-11-16T07:09:42Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > Why I need to post - have you heard of the [Tetris Effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris_effect)? That is to say, you play a game intensely enough and it begins to dominate your thoughts and dreams? Well, I’m experiencing the Minecraft Effect. > > Two nights in a row now, I’ve dreamt of Minecraft. Both nights the dreams have taken the form of: “Ok, I’m digging. Still digging. Wait! My goodness! A diamond cluster! Mine it quick and get out!” Yep…been there, done that. 🆒 Not so much anymore, but occasionally I still dream of walking into my living room and seeing it’s made completely out of very large blocks. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/130 "2010-11-16T18:39:41Z")
**Gamehat** - instead of making minecart tracks from your spawn to your home, you could do what I did: make a nether portal transport network. In my house’s portal room, that portal connects to an underground network of tunnels in the nether. At the end of each tunnel is a portal to a useful spot. I’ve got my “home sweet home” portal, my “silk factory” portal, my “spawn location” portal, and way down a long hallway is my “outpost ranch” portal. If I die and respawn, I can pop into a portal ten steps away, walk fifteen squares in the nether, and pop right into my house. Saves a lot of walking or minecart riding. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/131 "2010-11-17T03:20:05Z")
> [@Randy\_Seltzer](#): > > **Gamehat** - instead of making minecart tracks from your spawn to your home, you could do what I did: make a nether portal transport network. Yeah, that’s a good idea. But I’ve got no Obsidian. Maybe once my “superdeep borehole” is complete I can find some. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/132 "2010-11-17T03:44:55Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > Yeah, that’s a good idea. But I’ve got no Obsidian. Maybe once my “superdeep borehole” is complete I can find some. Can’t you manufacture some by having access to water, lava and buckets? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/133 "2010-11-17T07:43:02Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Can’t you manufacture some by having access to water, lava and buckets? I honestly don’t see the point of obsidian farms. You have two options for obsidian: A. Make an infinite spring in a cave (or near lava of some sort) and pour water source blocks near the lava for a ton of obsidian with little travel. OR B. Waste iron on buckets transporting god knows how much lava to the surface to fill a trough. Obsidian only comes from source blocks, and there’s a finite amount of lava in the world, you can’t make a spring like you can with water. Making an “Obsidian Farm” only serves to transport you across the world 8 times to get a stack of something that takes long enough to mine already. The only reason I could see to do this is if your mines are really unsafe and you’re worried about creeperplosion, and MAYBE better access to storage/tools, but I think the justifications are flimsy. ETA: I should mention that yes, if you simply mine the lava in the cave you’ll lose some to lava, but as someone who has mined out entire lakes, I can say that the loss is maybe 4 or 5 blocks per stack, pretty negligable, especially since a stack of obsidian will last you a while. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/134 "2010-11-17T07:46:43Z")
Well once you farm enough to go the the Nether, can’t you use it’s abundent lava for more obsidian? I’ve never been there so I’m not sure what it exactly is like. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/135 "2010-11-17T07:49:59Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > Well once you farm enough to go the the Nether, can’t you use it’s abundent lava for more obsidian? I’ve never been there so I’m not sure what it exactly is like. I guess making an obsidian farm out of nether lava could work, but that’s mostly because there’s tons of the stuff. It is true that water does not exist in the nether, it will disappear on placement, so a farm is the only way to get obsidian out of the nether. Still would take a lot of buckets though… ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/136 "2010-12-14T18:03:10Z")
I just paid for and downloaded the game and started my first game. I’m mining and attempting to build a cave and not have to bother with the mobs quite yet, so I’m trying to mine around this cavern I found until a creeper got me. Ah, yes, I also accidentally created a waterfall in my main cavern as well. Stupid sand. I managed to not suffocate myself, but my main problem is mining ADD. Yes, I’ll start digging like a mofo in one direction, hop back up my stairs find some other nook, and start mining in that direction. Also, this game is like Tetris where it invades your dreams. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/137 "2010-12-14T19:46:30Z")
I picked up Minecraft the other night when I heard it was going to be more expensive once it got into Beta, and…wow. Just wow. It really is an incredible game, isn’t it? I started on Peaceful so I could take my time exploring the mechanics of the game, and the lack of immediate threat doesn’t detract from the fact that you have your very own personal world to explore and create things in. It’s just as captivating and engaging without enemies as with. I found a beautiful plain by a pond situated between two impressive mountain ranges, and I’m currently laying down the infrastructure to build myself a [giant hollow tree](http://picasaweb.google.com/bosstone/Minecraft#5550413611741706482) for my home. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/138 "2010-12-14T20:19:54Z")
If there is no winning ,how do you know when to quit? ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/139 "2010-12-14T20:49:12Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > If there is no winning ,how do you know when to quit? You just decide for yourself. You also get to choose your own goals. It could be to build something big, to see how fast you can find diamonds and gold, try to level out a huge plain, anything. Also, there will be a lot of changes when it’s updated next week. He may introduce some kind of goals or scoring. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869/140 "2011-02-05T04:12:14Z")
Hope nobody minds me bumping this thread. I finally finished my skyscraper 🙂 … Here it is before I put the glass in at the top - [notails.com - photography - Isle of Man](http://notails.com/minecrafttower.jpg) Here is a video of the finished tower - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EKYKUf6ZV4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EKYKUf6ZV4) And I recently found out how to make pictures - [notails.com - photography - Isle of Man](http://notails.com/minecraftpictures.jpg) Still love playing this game! Final thought: I’d love to be able to patch the game to use high res textures (the highest possible) but what I find by googling looks quite complicated. Anyone here done it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-minecraft-experiences/555869.md?page=8)