Flower's Dev Diary (Week Of March 18th)

[FlowerChild]

Another week, another round of feature development!

As always, rules for this thread:

-DO NOT post suggestions.
-DO NOT critique unreleased features. Wait until you've had a chance to try them before passing judgement.

With that out of the way, let's open with an in-game screenshot:

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Which for some reason has this song stuck in my head while I build it:

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Which is bad, because I really fucking hate Whitesnake :)

That aside, I just realized it's been over a month since the last dev diary (yikes!), so I figured now would be a good time for one!

The above image represents the new nether rail line I am building out in my usual manner, taking me to a totally unexplored area so I can "start fresh" and play through the early game experience in my usual manner.

In this case, it's to do an early game playthrough of Hardcore Hunger. I did a middle game play-through yesterday on the official server, but given the server is on hard difficulty (I like to test these things on default), and given other players have explored out to a sufficient radius that starting entirely fresh is a bit of a difficult proposition, I decided to do this part in SSP.

Obviously, Hardcore Hunger is the big thing right now, with it having radically changed the overall gameplay experience. There's still tweaking to be done to be sure, but I think it's gone a long way towards bringing back the "game" to Minecraft, so I'm extremely pleased with the initial results.

Over the next little while, I basically plan to play an awful lot of BTW to really nail the balance down, and continue working on polish items moving towards my goal of considering BTW a complete gameplay experience.

My big concerns at present that I wish to address, is that currently there's way too much of HC Hunger's progression jammed into finding a single village, which basically gives you every crop in the game. I had a bit of a brainstorm earlier though, so I suspect that one shall be resolved shortly.

Otherwise, I just keep on trucking. I think everyone is pretty aware of the things I'm working on these days from the various discussions going on, so I don't think I have much to add to what has already been said.

Oh, but to address the elephant in the room: 1.5. Yeah, there it is...that plump bastard.

Well, last week I wasn't particularly motivated to update given that 1.5.1 was announced pretty much immediately after the release of 1.5. Now, there's all this talk of major performance issues with 1.5, so I'm even less inclined to waste my time inflicting that on BTW players.

So yeah, to reiterate my stance on 1.5 from last week: "whatever", except it's an even more emphatic one.

It'll happen when it happens. Right now, some extremely interesting changes are happening with the mod, and if anything, given more casual players tend not to update the mod during times like this, it just gives me more of a chance to refine and balance Hardcore Hunger before the kiddies really start bitching about it ;)

Guess that's about it for now :)

[BlackCat]

Exciting stuff, and I totally agree on your point with 1.5

[Mud]

HCH added a nomadic experience to the early game. I'm curious to see how your planned changes to villages effect this if at all. Exciting.

[JakeZKAM]

Polish away oh lord and master FlowerChild, I trust anything you do with the mechanics will be fantastic :-). Hardcore hunger has probably given me more enjoyment from mine craft than I ever have and while getting towards automation and mega structures is nice, I do really love this early game survival feel. It really helps making it feel like you need to earn your way into the higher tech levels. Plus I'm such a scatterbrain when planning out what to do next, this really helps prioritize what I need to do first ;)

[FlowerChild]

Polish away oh lord and master FlowerChild, I trust anything you do with the mechanics will be fantastic :-). Hardcore hunger has probably given me more enjoyment from mine craft than I ever have and while getting towards automation and mega structures is nice, I do really love this early game survival feel. It really helps making it feel like you need to earn your way into the higher tech levels. Plus I'm such a scatterbrain when planning out what to do next, this really helps prioritize what I need to do first ;)

Thanks man! I also have my fingers crossed that it might help a tad with the whole world restart syndrome thing that a lot of people go through. Getting established is a much more significant time investment now, so it will hopefully lead to a greater sense of attachment to one's world, to go along with the greater sense of accomplishment in reaching the higher tech tiers.

[Locke]

Sounds good.

Also Mojang, Didn't you say something about fixing lighting glitches? And how there's supposed to be a new lighting engine? Yeah...

Anyway, Nether rail lines are fun. Just adding that in.

[JakeZKAM]

Polish away oh lord and master FlowerChild, I trust anything you do with the mechanics will be fantastic :-). Hardcore hunger has probably given me more enjoyment from mine craft than I ever have and while getting towards automation and mega structures is nice, I do really love this early game survival feel. It really helps making it feel like you need to earn your way into the higher tech levels. Plus I'm such a scatterbrain when planning out what to do next, this really helps prioritize what I need to do first ;)

Thanks man! I also have my fingers crossed that it might help a tad with the whole world restart syndrome thing that a lot of people go through. Getting established is a much more significant time investment now, so it will hopefully lead to a greater sense of attachment to one's world, to go along with the greater sense of accomplishment in reaching the higher tech tiers.

It does help indeed but I've restarted several times now after finding villages because I'm having so much fun restricting myself xD. I feel like ritual suicide in game might solve that problem as well :p, but the satisfaction I got from establishing a base, getting to iron without starving and then trekking back to spawn was awesome! I really can't say this enough but thank you for the most fun I've had in a game for quite some time :-)

[Sarudak]

Major props on hardcore hunger man it's awesome. If you can solve the jarring progression jump on finding a village that would make it even more awesome. I would really like to see the nomad stage extended a bit and maybe less dependent on luck of when you find a village if it's possible. Not sure if that can be totally mitigated though.

I'm curious what other hardcore modes you have planned. I know you mentioned something about iron armor. Every time you release a new hardcore mode I want to go back and play from the beginning but I've been trying to hold off on starting in earnest until I know I can stick with a game and won't regret not experiencing that hardcore mode from the beginning.

[Sarudak]

Thanks man! I also have my fingers crossed that it might help a tad with the whole world restart syndrome thing that a lot of people go through. Getting established is a much more significant time investment now, so it will hopefully lead to a greater sense of attachment to one's world, to go along with the greater sense of accomplishment in reaching the higher tech tiers.

I think you underestimate how much some of us enjoy the struggle that you only get with a new world. For me hardcore hunger has the opposite effect. It makes me want to start over more to experience the pain and the brutal fight to wrest something from nothing.

[FlowerChild]

Major props on hardcore hunger man it's awesome. If you can solve the jarring progression jump on finding a village that would make it even more awesome. I would really like to see the nomad stage extended a bit and maybe less dependent on luck of when you find a village if it's possible. Not sure if that can be totally mitigated though.

Thank you sir :)

With regards to finding villages, I don't really consider it luck. To me, it's more a question of whether the player can survive the scavenging stage long enough to find one, and that's largely a question of skill/planning. Yes, luck is a factor in how long it can take for that to occur, but I don't consider it to be any more so than with any other in-game factor affected by world gen (which is almost everything).

I will however likely be mitigating how much of a factor *good* luck can be on say spawning right next to a village and having that whole portion chopped out of player progression ;)

That was a big part of the brain storm I had earlier, so if that's what concern you, don't worry...got it covered.

I'm curious what other hardcore modes you have planned. I know you mentioned something about iron armor. Every time you release a new hardcore mode I want to go back and play from the beginning but I've been trying to hold off on starting in earnest until I know I can stick with a game and won't regret not experiencing that hardcore mode from the beginning.

I don't think I have any other full modes planned, although I do have a number of subtle refinements planned for existing modes. The thing I mentioned about iron armor on MCF is one such refinement.

I think you underestimate how much some of us enjoy the struggle that you only get with a new world. For me hardcore hunger has the opposite effect. It makes me want to start over more to experience the pain and the brutal fight to wrest something from nothing.

Damn it then :)

Ah well, hopefully that will start to wear down with the novelty of Hardcore Hunger.

[Sarudak]

Well yes my primary concern is having the nomad stage cut short too soon not being unlucky and having to be a nomad for a long time.

[FlowerChild]

Well yes my primary concern is having the nomad stage cut short too soon not being unlucky and having to be a nomad for a long time.

Then yes, got it covered. I'll likely be extending the nomad stage significantly, and greatly reducing (or potentially eliminating) the beneficial effects of spawning next to a village.

[Sarudak]

Then yes, got it covered. I'll likely be extending the nomad stage significantly, and greatly reducing (or potentially eliminating) the beneficial effects of spawning next to a village.

Have I ever told you I love you?

[FlowerChild]

Have I ever told you I love you?

Perhaps, but it's always nice to hear :)

[sky_demon]

Stone age is good! heh. Love it man.

A lot of people enjoy getting stuff fast, and easy, but they don't understand how actualy fun it is to take time on all the things, plan simpliest details, and expirience simply survival mode which went out of minecraft long time ago, and which FC managed to drag back, as before i think no mod ever did that.
In my oppinion - easy=fast to complete, simple/not challenging=boring. I really like where you're heading with all that HC stuff.

I know i'm wrong but, it just can't get better then this.

[JakeZKAM]

Well yes my primary concern is having the nomad stage cut short too soon not being unlucky and having to be a nomad for a long time.

Then yes, got it covered. I'll likely be extending the nomad stage significantly, and greatly reducing (or potentially eliminating) the beneficial effects of spawning next to a village.

Dammit, don't play just the tip with us >.<. Plus full support here for completely eliminating those benefits.

[Shengji]

Well yes my primary concern is having the nomad stage cut short too soon not being unlucky and having to be a nomad for a long time.

Then yes, got it covered. I'll likely be extending the nomad stage significantly, and greatly reducing (or potentially eliminating) the beneficial effects of spawning next to a village.

Music to my ears! This last update was legendary, you've made me fall in love with my new world! Given that I had just lost my old world, HCH has for me personally taken away every last shred of pain from the loss!

[Gunnerman21]

Personally, I like to have a permanent home in mc, something that i can look around and know where I am, something that I wont have to wander off too far. I have a really terrible sense of direction.. One time I left my base riding a pig just for a stroll, about 2 hours later and frantically looking for my house, I ran out of carrots for the pig and promptly died from a swarm of mobs... there's always a 100% chance I will get lost when exploring. Becoming a nomad will be really difficult for me, but I think after a few tries I may get the hang of it.

Looks like your nether base is going great FC
Keep up the good work :)

[Kazuya Mishima]

I don't think I have any other full modes planned, although I do have a number of subtle refinements planned for existing modes. The thing I mentioned about iron armor on MCF is one such refinement.

Thanks for taking a look at iron armor. It always felt tremendously imba particularly early game. I think in my entire MC career spanning years i have never felt a need to make diamond armor. I may have made it once. Perhaps SFS armor has something to do with that though.

[Mud]

Well yes my primary concern is having the nomad stage cut short too soon not being unlucky and having to be a nomad for a long time.

Then yes, got it covered. I'll likely be extending the nomad stage significantly, and greatly reducing (or potentially eliminating) the beneficial effects of spawning next to a village.

This has me very interested. Also the mention of Leather Armor becoming viable again on the MCF makes for a full nomadic experience.

[Rianaru]

It's amazing how tweaking one little system can add hours and hours of gameplay or completely change the way that a game plays...This is why I'm such a big fan of yours FC. You know just how relatively small changes in the code can make massive differences in the game, and what's more is you know how to apply that :)

[FlowerChild]

It's amazing how tweaking one little system can add hours and hours of gameplay or completely change the way that a game plays...This is why I'm such a big fan of yours FC. You know just how relatively small changes in the code can make massive differences in the game, and what's more is you know how to apply that :)

Thank you sir, and indeed, that's what I try to be all about ;)

You can go absolutely ape-shit hacking in (and I say hacking, because at a certain point that's exactly what it becomes) uber impressive technical features, or you can sit back and try to think about where you can exert the least amount of force for the greatest impact.

Obviously, I prefer the latter approach :)

It's still an awful lot of work to do right mind you, as that level of subtlety is a real juggling act, as demonstrated by the week and a half I spent on Hardcore Hunger to get it in a state where I felt it was ready for release.

[FlowerChild]

A brief update on my play through.

I actually decided to start a new world (gasp!) for this one, as there are a few variables I want to start tweaking that are specific to that state. As most of you know, this is an exceedingly rare thing for me to do :)

Anyways, spawned in a jungle. Killed some pigs. Found some melons. Found some mushrooms. Dug down. Found some caves. Explored. Got enough iron for a full set of tools and armor. Dug down to bedrock. Surfaced a few times over the course of this to find some more pigs, take a look around, and convert a tall jungle tree into a landmark by climbing it, defoliating it, and placing torches around the top, in case I ever get lost.

So far, I suspect I've gone a couple of in-game weeks without any issue, dying, or even feeling close to death. Honestly, I also don't feel the pressure to run off and find a village either, as I seem to be doing fine just the way I am.

I've certainly taken a few notes along the way about subtle tweaks I want to make, but it's definitely not feeling overly challenging at the moment. Far from really. I feel a stronger sense of purpose, somewhat of urgency, and have been more nervous with mobs, but those are the main things.

So yeah..."pffft" to anyone complaining about the difficulty ;)

Oh yeah, and pro-tip: use the cobble you dig out as you dig down to bedrock to make stairs back up. Big energy saver there.

[johnt]

I'm wondering if HHC is going to lead to some specialization on multiplayer servers -- where a small group of players makes food for everyone else. Seems like it would be a lot more efficient that way, where you have some players mining and building and others focusing just on growing food and cooking.

[JakeZKAM]

So yeah..."pffft" to anyone complaining about the difficulty ;)

It's not really all that hard constantly moving around either. HCH has mad survival relevant but it's not really that hard to keep surviving. Breaking that gap though of working all day to feed yourself for the next, to building yourself a permanent base can be a bit tricky without a village.