Some impressions of the new build...

[callisto8413 19]

 

I was lucky to find a pheasant at the start and also found a lot of immature maize and oats, so I collected them and planted them while leaving a lot of the maize alone as it looks to be in one of the finally stages.  I also found a exploding pig and was able to cook the meat and carry it home and store it.  It helps that I have played earlier builds - stone tool making, for example, is now automatic.   So within a hour I went from wandering homeless....

 

To this first hme (can you tell I am a Minecraft player who likes to make hobbit holes?)

 

 

Not as impressive as most but for the first game with this build, I am happy I am not starving.   And, yes, set on Peaceful but I find zombies and giant spiders weird in a survival game.

 

Also, I have to say my first fear was not finding fresh water.  In fact my blue was on the last sixth of the bar before I found some fresh water.

 

I did feel like the hunger bar seemed to move down a tad too fast but by the second day, with a ton of cooked pork, I felt more comfortable.  Also I keep forgetting that days in MC move quickly.  So eating three or four times a day and drinking about twice a day is really not that bad.  Also found a ton of clay and surface copper, so feeling good.  

 

Over all I feel the decay factor adds some problems to solve but is not a glass ceiling forcing a player to search for food all the time.  Of course, we will see how much food I have in winter.  

[Damjancd 12]

How do you mean stone tool making is automatic? No knapping? 

[callisto8413 19]

I mean I can do it without thinking.  

[callisto8413 19]

After some exploring and using the torch methods of navigation - putting a torch on a pillar pointing in the direction of home - I found some fruit trees and, in fact, a whole forest of what looks like fruit trees.  Maybe I am confused by the leaf pattern - they make a solid wall of overlapping leaves.   Before that found a few individual trees and got a apple tree sapling.  I panted it near by house for easy access to fruit when it starts to produce them.  

 

I still got lost once.  But I did not panic (at first) and just treated it like a run-about.  Collected so many grains, seeds, and veggies that I had to expand my larder when I got home.  And planted a few more seeds.

(I found my way home by circling in bigger and bigger circles till I found a torch-pillar).

 

Found a lot of surface ores - so have some copper tools and made a quern.  Baked my first few loafs of bread - wheat bread.  Had a breakfast of water, bread, and cooked pork right before taking this photo.   It is now Summer.  Due to the sugarcane and fruit trees I assume I am in a warm area which will allow me to plant and harvest much of the year without having to worry about snow or the cold.  But once again, I may be wrong.

 

Now if I can find some sheep.  Or a cow to try to balance my diet - but with grain, veggies, protein, and the future promise of fruit, cheese may not be a issue.

[Kittychanley 1,002]

Just a note from looking at your screenshots. If your computer can handle turning on fancy graphics I would highly recommend it. That way all those rocks on the ground will actually look like they are laying flat, instead of just floating there.

[callisto8413 19]

Thanks.  I think it can unless I am recording.   ^-^

 

 

 

Edit: Fancy does not seem to slow it down much.  Now, I took a photo of the jungle.  Are those fruit trees or just generic jungle trees?

I have to be careful when scouting out a thick forest or jungle.  Being able to travel through leaves makes holes very dangerous.  In this case I tried to follow the river I found, going in the same general direction.  It worked, I broke out to the other side and also found some potatoes and returned home without an issue.

 

Early man used rivers for travel and, of course, growing food!

To be honest I cross the rivers more than follow them, so I should make some bridges and worry about boats when I need to really explore.

 

Most players seem to race to find metals.  I have always worried about running out of food, even in vanilla or Millenaire or Lord of the Rings.  So my first interests are not making metal bar after metal bar.  It is just making a small house and storing lots of food.  My first tools are selected for their ability to help me start food processing.  I should start making meals - I assume there are advantages to making meals over just chewing on a potato.  

 

[Kittychanley 1,002]

Are those fruit trees or just generic jungle trees?

 

I should start making meals - I assume there are advantages to making meals over just chewing on a potato.  

 

Those are just normal jungle Kapok trees. Vanilla Minecraft has the exact same style of small shrubbery trees in jungles like this. The quickest way to tell if it is a fruit tree or not is to look at the log in the middle. If the log takes up the whole block, it's a normal tree. If the log is skinny, it's a fruit tree.

 

http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Jungle_tree#Bush_trees

 

Meals will give you a saturation boost once you find a non-terrible combination. So you don't have to eat as often. Meals are also a way to easily get a balanced diet because they contain more than one food category, which will result in a higher possible Max HP.

[callisto8413 19]

Tried the meal thing.  Made three terrible meals and one poor one.  The poor one was a potato and barley bread.  Which makes sense because potatoes are, of course, amazing and barley is also awesome.  As we all know, if you played King of Dragon's Pass, barley makes the best beer.  

 

(Now that I think of it, why hasn't anybody make a Minecraft mod of King of  Dragon's Pass?!?!?!)

 

I have so much food I am thinking of slowing down a tad and seeing if I can make a proper house, maybe make some glass blocks to make a greenhouse also.  Start moving on up!

[Kittychanley 1,002]

maybe make some glass blocks to make a greenhouse also.  Start moving on up!

 

Crops require line of sight directly to the sky in order to be planted. Even transparent blocks such as glass or leaf blocks will block the line of sight, and the crops will refuse to plant.

[Jiro_89 17]

Crops require line of sight directly to the sky in order to be planted. Even transparent blocks such as glass or leaf blocks will block the line of sight, and the crops will refuse to plant.

 

This is true.  A workaround I have found is to utilize any sort of chisel function on the block between the crop and the sky.  Stair, slab, microblock all function to allow the crop to gain access to the sky without halving to have an open hole.  I've noticed chiseling blocks in this manner can help with lighting areas without clogging up the space with torches as well.  For example you can dig a 2 block down hole, place a jack-o'-lantern, and then place your desired floor block above it.  After chiseling the block it will illuminate the area as if the block above the light source didn't exist.  It has many useful applications.