In another thread I mentioned how we managed security at our base. It never occurred to me that the way we do it isn't the way that everyone goes about it. I just assumed it to be the most logical method. For instance, here is an aerial view of our current base:
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As you can probably see, there is a perimeter fence that goes around the entire base, and a main entrance to the right where the bridges lead out of the base. Every single nook and cranny inside the perimeter fence is lit up so that nothing can spawn anywhere (except in the mob trap of course :) )
The exit goes far enough that no mobs would be able to make it the entire length without getting spotted. Any other mini exits are managed with two stacked blocks with a ladder on either side of the top one, this ensures that we can get in and out but that mobs can't. Obviously this does not protect us against spiders or enderman, skellies can still shoot over the fence and hats can still be a problem. It's not perfect but it's a great deal safer without all these measures. If we want to expand, we extend the fence, light up the entire area and check it with ender specs.
So my question is, is this how everyone else does it or do people have a completely different method entirely? I guess it can also largely depend on the biome you're in.
Last edited by Daisjun on Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
I go for the time consuming but completely secure method: I build walls. 5-block high dirt walls with crenelations, battlements, an exterior lip to block spiders, and a few windows placed for observation.
And then I curse loudly every time an Enderman teleports into my compound and nearly kills me. >.>
"In the near future, the apocalypse has had an apocalypse."
Caves. I always, always build inside repurposed caverns. Pre-hardcore spawn, this meant wandering around until I found something that would work. Post, it means churning through seeds until I find something close to spawn that will work (typically by trawling through "best of" seed threads on Reddit, or videos on youtube to get a start). Then, I build down into the ground or a hillside rather than on top of it. Something that always amazed me is how many people here build little villages with wooden buildings out in a field somewhere; I've never done this. All of my major bases have always been hollowed out mountains. This has become extremely onerous since the early game rebalance and so I don't play as much as I used to, but I still never build a village.
This means, however, that I control all entry points to my base. I light it like you would any other cave, and will slowly pare away at the tunnels until I've produced a network of rooms. My mob traps are actually built above base usually, as by the time I'm ready for one I've lit most of the caverns in the area by default. I'll have a fenced in area outside for early game hemp and animal storage, but otherwise everything else is encased in stone.
Stormweaver wrote:Then you can just use the day/night cycle to separate out the adults, and put the kids in storage till you're ready to murder them.
I tend to stick to my old habits and build mostly underground. Easier to light up for a lot less coal. It's easy enough to pop-up above ground during the day when it's safe and then retreat back underground for safety and dwarf work at night.
The spice must flow...
[03:28] <Detritus_> Weird, I'm still logged in her
I build an ever growing structure with courtyards ect. When I go to build something new I add another module or level. It turns into this awesome looking iterative structure. The outside always has a window, wall or 3 high stone fence separation from the interior.
Before the early game changes I would build in a variety of manners, I remember one of my worlds spawned me on a jungle temple so I repurposed the thing, expanded outward over a small lagoon, and eventually I hollowed out the mountain opposite the temple and Added elevators and a all types of stuff until it turned into a very unique style based around visible small scale practicality and hidden practicality on larger scales behind a beautiful jungle canopy and mountain. In terms of defense, it really depends. Back then jungles didn't need much defenses, but in most of my worlds large walls at least 4.5 tall were a must. Nowadays though I tunnel a single main room with branches to several distinct rooms for previously apparent purposes, easy to light up and no space is wasted
Two feet standing on a principle
Two hands longing for each others warmth
Cold smoke seeping out of colder throats
Darkness falling, leaves nowhere to go
Pre- HC torches i would light up a sufficiently large area around my base that i don't even need fences. (not so big that it's insane, but enough blocks of lit-up area that mobs don't bother me)
I'm a big stickler for realism and aesthetics so I build walls and villages (which I will populate once FC has them go through the grinder). The walls are in constructions as you can see, but they should be ten blocks high when done, with overhangs, battlements, and the occasional Keg-Cannon. There's a big 20x20 hole to the left, a quarry where all the needed stone is coming out from, while the pockmarked area to the horizon is the result of a few dozen powder keg bombardments to flatten out the area (it was actually a mountain previously). I plan to slab all building roofs and build half a dozen iron golem guards around the area, but it's all on paper for now.
I tend to build mostly on the surface, and I could never imagine settling into an area without a proper spidey-proof wall. Recently however, after a few hardcore spawns, I tried a few new, less resource intensive approaches.
My previous base was set up on a small hill, which I fortified by putting blocks at the top until the top is flat (like a small plateau) and the slopes are vertical. I liked it, but I died, so that base waits for rediscovery.
In my current one, I followed DaveYanakov's suggestion to use a ha-ha, but instead of digging it all out, I started by digging a 1-deep trench and using the dirt to make a 1-high wall next to it, so that the difference is 2 blocks. This stops creepers and zombies, partially stops skeletons (from coming over to the party, not from shooting you), and is not effective against spiders. Still, it's a nice beginner's fortification, as the net sum of materials is zero so you don't have to bring any, and it's quicker to build than a deep trench/moat, especially in the beginning when all you have is a stone shovel. It's also easy to convert into a proper wall.
PS: Another thing I remembered, before you have proper spider defences, it's useful to have your (properly spider-proof) chicken coop out in the open, so spideys who make it over your walls gather around it and leave you alone. It's not 100% effective, but works most of the time.
All of this is of course relevant to the early game. When I have the resources, my walls will look like the Black Gate of Mordor :P
I generally like to make a fence first, then build a wall - 3 thick/5+ high with a gangway in the middle - So that I am always at least slightly protected. It also helps to have a portion of your base underground or in a tower so that exposed movement is limited.
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One of my preferred early walls - A log post with fences in between.
Another wall with an anti-spider log trimming across it. - done in survival and not quite finished, intend to add a roof and half slabs for added cover
Tick tock, goes the clock.
Tick tock, hold that thought.
Tick tock, out of time.
Tick tock, end the rhyme.
I generally start by digging out a ha-ha style ditch around my initial base area. This is followed up by adding a wall that gets fleshed out and developed whenever I need a building project while waiting on something else, Eventually I wind up with a walled town that has a gate protected by my patented mob disintegrating force fields.
I'm a big stickler for realism and aesthetics so I build walls and villages (which I will populate once FC has them go through the grinder). The walls are in constructions as you can see, but they should be ten blocks high when done, with overhangs, battlements, and the occasional Keg-Cannon. There's a big 20x20 hole to the left, a quarry where all the needed stone is coming out from, while the pockmarked area to the horizon is the result of a few dozen powder keg bombardments to flatten out the area (it was actually a mountain previously). I plan to slab all building roofs and build half a dozen iron golem guards around the area, but it's all on paper for now.
How did you go about determining the size of the area you wanted to wall in? Have you planned out the entire area within the walls or was it more arbitrary?
Well, my defenses vary a lot, since they'll depend both on my tech level and environment. For my first base, I usually follow four "phases":
Shithole - usually a cave, the defense is just a wooden door and a dirt slab - mob-proof, but annoying. At the morning, I remove the slab, check for the occasional creeper and go.
Shantytown - after I got enough torches to light the surroundings, I use the natural landscape to my advantage: trencher around cliffs, trees become ad hoc walls, and the occasional "weak spot" gets a buried chicken to neutralize spiders.
Village - after I got a kiln, I'll measure the area I want to cover with my base and start lighting it outside the ad hoc defenses. Usually a short phase.
Fortress/burg - I usually build a true wall as soon as I get a crucible. In this phase, I care both for looks and mob-proofing, so I usually go for something like this:
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It's usually square in open terrain, or following the beaches if I'm in an island.
Mud wrote:How did you go about determining the size of the area you wanted to wall in? Have you planned out the entire area within the walls or was it more arbitrary?
The entire walled of area is actually just a level one map with the walls making up the very edges. I figured it had the detailed block by block representation of my village and I went for it. It has the added plus of having "you are here" sign-maps at key areas. The only structure I didn't include in the map is my Nether Temple, big black imposing underground crypt that has my portal in it...I had to place it a few hundred blocks outside the walls for anti-corruption purposes.
As for having planned the village, I have yes. It's a bit invisible, but on the places I've leveled out are stringed stakes with labeled signs saying what building goes where.
In stages:
1. just a hut or hole in the ground.
2. dig out trenches on either side of exit and block top to avoid falling creeper surprises
3. wall off (with fence or cobble wall or whatever is convenient) immediate area, light, expand, repeat until no longer needing space for new things.
4. second wall 64 blocks (at least) away from whatever closest likely approach of common base use, light entirely.
End up with probably 150-200x150-200 blocks of fully lit surface so no mobs spawn areas other than unlit caves and the mob trap.
FlowerChild wrote:
Ribky wrote:What did you do with bonemeal? And can I mix it with clay and smear it on myself for instant growth?
You'll be receiving an email soon with instructions on how to order my patented instant growth formula.
Generally I use this layout. It's anti-spiders and anti skeletons. A fence or another block is needed in the junctions to avoid the spiders climbing bad habit.
I usually just build an unwalled village, and light to a ludicrous distance out (a couple hundred meters usually) so that any mobs that wander inside the boundary never get near the village. Until I have at least a decent perimeter size, though, I generally stay inside at night mining/caving.
After lighting a small area around my house- I usually only light the top after I've cleared the caves under it. More monsters on top means fewer under it right?
Also fully lighting the area may not play well in your favour- cutting off the supply of much needed monster parts before you can build that all important grinder.
My current place has a fenced in unlit area above my chicken coop- each morning I'm awoken by the sound of burning undead.
--On a side note having a few chicken 'honeypots' outside can protect you quite well. It'll keep the zombies away from the door and the spiders off the roof
Phantom screams echo through the ruined facility
A horrible silence builds an eerie tranquility
The souls of many innocent fill the air
The hope they all died with scattered down there
Well when i want monster drops, i just go on hunting trips out from my safe zone for the night then come back at sunrise. That way i can get drops if i want prior to a trap, but they don't bother me otherwise. As i expand my border, i just enter and light any caves that are exposed to the surface, or any that are audible.
I love building into mountains. I have a preference for smaller formations, and I have an excellent single mesa in the middle of a desert I'm turning into a fun little castle. Once you clean up the sides, and claim the top you're exceedingly safe from monsters, plus I like having reason to build pulley systems, and a mesa gives my apple opportunity to build one to get live stock up top. Plus it's fun building rooms into cliffs natural lighting in the day, and get that cool vibe of a secure mountain village.
Even for early hole-in-the-wall bases, there are tips and tricks that really reduce the tension of the first few nights. In particular, grates, crafted with 4 sticks, make fantastic early-game windows by letting in the moonlight without letting arrows or wolves in, which really helps before you have torches.
