[SPOILERS] Hardcore Sinkholes

[TheGreatIntelligence]

No, really, its nothing to worry about at all.
FC hinted that is has something to do with the nether. Anyone found anything?

[Syruse]

Try playing around with some of that magical floating gravel. :)

[Yhetti]

I figured that had something to do with it. I'm guessing that he made falling blocks update when you walk on them. (Finally some one fixed that)

[RalphKastro]

wouldn't that make deserts even more dangerous?
if so, awesome

[Gunnerman21]

It wouldn't really make deserts more dangerous unless you're running from monsters and happen to step on the edge of a non-updated pond. Even then it wont cause a fall long enough to hurt. It's gotta be for the gravel fingernails jutting out of the netherrack :)

[RalphKastro]

It wouldn't really make deserts more dangerous unless you're running from monsters and happen to step on the edge of a non-updated pond. Even then it wont cause a fall long enough to hurt. It's gotta be for the gravel fingernails jutting out of the netherrack :)

many times I've fallen into subsurface lava pools in the deserts when digging the ground. Imagine if it updates when you happen to walk through it

[Battlecat]

Well that didn't take long. One session exploring a desert and I got a total heart attack from this new feature. Fantastically terrifying!

[Dorugami]

I do believe when he mentioned the nether, that soul-sand now behaves like a floating death-trap. This is purely conjecture though. I'll wait until someone confirms this.

[Sinornithosaurus]

many times I've fallen into subsurface lava pools in the deserts when digging the ground. Imagine if it updates when you happen to walk through it

I doubt FC would do that, though. He's specified several times that if a player dies, it has to be through their own fault (wither directly or indirectly), whereas this would be a case of poor luck.

[FlowerChild]

I doubt FC would do that, though. He's specified several times that if a player dies, it has to be through their own fault (wither directly or indirectly), whereas this would be a case of poor luck.

You're the one that chose to walk through the desert man. That's not something the game requires you to do to progress like say caving (and having creepers drop on you).

Don't want to plummet to your death? Avoid potentially unstable ground. Really want to get somewhere fast and the desert is the only convenient path there? Roll them bones.

A couple of things also worth noting: the vast majority of times it won't kill you. It may scare the shit out of you as the ground gives way and put you in a precarious situation scrambling to get out, but actual death is a rarity. Usually it just gives you a good smack and tells you "the desert is dangerous".

Also, there is obviously a heavy random factor in MC and BTW. The question is whether the player can reasonably avoid death from it. In the case of whether deserts can be avoided, in the vast majority of cases, the answer is yes (short of spawning in them). Think of them as low density minefields. It's actually rather similar to jungles that way cause if you walk through one and happen to get swarmed by spiders...you're toast.

[Dorugami]

Just fell into the second layer of strata from a rather unfortunate trip out to get cacti. Brilliant.

[the_fodder]

Love this change. I set one of them off on a pre-existing trail and and got the crap scared out of me. I did get stuck in the sand and had to dig out, but that is part of the game. Single player btw.

[FlowerChild]

Love this change. I set one of them off on a pre-existing trail and and got the crap scared out of me. I did get stuck in the sand and had to dig out, but that is part of the game. Single player btw.

Hehe...awesome.

I rarely spend time in deserts myself, but in my main save the village I found is in one, so I was spending a lot of time there while developing HC villagers. The fact that I was just waltzing around the desert without any real hazard started to bug me more and more (in some ways the desert actually felt safer than other biomes as there aren't as many visual obstructions, like trees, as elsewhere), and finally when I was walking along the edge of a pond with some suspended sand and was reminded of how much that bugs me, the whole thing kinda came together.

Wasn't really intending to add any new HC features but was such an easy change that I decided to at least give it a try to see how it played, and after playing with it like that for awhile decided that yeah, it really made things more interesting.

It was only afterwards that it occurred to me that it also made the nether more hellish, especially given the way some people run around dodging ghast fireballs, and might not notice what kind of ground they're walking on as a result :)

It's actually far more deadly in the nether (if gravel gives way there, there's a much bigger chance of getting dropped in a deep lava pool), but it's also much easier to avoid if you're paying attention to where you're walking, and that added element of danger definitely suits the vibe of the nether.

[gaga654]

One of the best things about this change was how it resulted from what was before just a glitch. Before, floating sand was just an oddity of the world generation that didn't really have a purpose. Since this change, I've begun seeing it as just a natural configuration of sand - one which no doubt was formed over years of erosion, and thus impossible to recreate by hand - and a configuration which is highly unstable, collapsing at a mere touch. It really adds to the immersion. It amazes me how a small fix like this completely changes the way I see a feature.

[EmptyNight]

I just hardcore spawned close to a desert and decided to walk through it to see what this feature was about.
I fell in lava. It was pretty obvious what happened and I had a good chuckle out of it.
Guess I'll be avoiding deserts from now on, that'll make things interesting.

[Sinornithosaurus]

You're the one that chose to walk through the desert man.

I can't believe I did not think of that ._.

[Yhetti]

So I think I finally encountered this for the first time in an abandoned mineshaft. I landed right next to a creeper, who blew up. Sadly though, I didn't die because I had lots of armor on.

[Sinornithosaurus]

Encountered my second sinkhole today. Went down, but not without a fight :)

Sadly though, I didn't die because I had lots of armor on.

Sadly?

[TheGreatIntelligence]

Encountered my second sinkhole today. Went down, but not without a fight :)

Sadly though, I didn't die because I had lots of armor on.

Sadly?

*plays sad violin music*
We are gathered here today to honor those who did not die to Hardcore Sinkholes and Creepers...

[FlowerChild]

I think he was just being considerate of how happy it makes me to kill players :)

[Yhetti]

I think he was just being considerate of how happy it makes me to kill players :)

I freaking love this feature. I fell a whole lot when I was walking through a desert.

[RobinHood3]

I have to say, this is my favorite addition lately to the game! It's so simple, yet so fitting to the theme of this mod and to the overall atmosphere of the game as a whole... Started a new game recently and I've been searching for a desert biome to put my first windmill in/build a home near that's in the spawn area. This has definitely made me rethink the desert windmill plans - I'll have to be a lot more careful in setting up paths and things before I start to randomly run around.
Simple changes like this that drastically affect gameplay are just one of the reasons I love this mod.

Thank you so much for everything that you've done, FC - I don't post much, but I'm an active lurker and I know you're "moving on" to RTH now. I know this is not the appreciation thread, but thanks for everything :) Making this game enjoyable to me for the last 2 years when all other mods and vanilla games have failed is no easy task.

[Sinornithosaurus]

I think he was just being considerate of how happy it makes me to kill players :)

Those souls have to go somewhere ;)