[Early game spoilers] Spelunking in the early game

[Ceunon]

Hello, folks. It's been a long time since I've posted here or played BTW. Long story short, I'm back at it =)

Anyway, I've been having some difficulty with spelunking/mining for iron in the very early game, so some advice would be appreciated. My biggest issue is with the new (for me) crude torches - I don't know if I'm expected to be "juggling" them, removing the ones from areas behind me so I can illuminate what's ahead, or just making as many as I can and placing and forgetting them, or...something else? How do you manage your torches?

Another concern is smelting iron because, boy, is it a pain in the ass. I've got three brick ovens now and the little iron (about fifteen nuggets/ores total, counting the chisel I've already crafted) I've acquired so far has been taking sooo long to turn bear significant fruit. There's an intersection with the spelunking problem in that a single log in the oven is not enough to smelt a whole unit of ore, forcing me to routinely pause whatever I'm doing (such as delving down for more goodies) to tend to the fire or risk losing all the smelting progress.

Edit: Oh, and I forgot to mention - there's a ravine full of iron and coal right next to my current base. What's the best way for going down ravines, given that digging with a stone pickaxe is unpractical?

These hurdles aside, I'm having a bunch of fun. BTW has always been a good time, and coming back after a couple of years has been a great experience.

Edit: I went ahead and tagged the post title for spoilers, just in case.

[Whuppee]

You don't need to juggle torches. It makes sense to do it with your first few or if you're low on coal, but mostly just make as many as you need and abandon them, though maybe pick up barely spent ones before you leave or wall an area. Prefer not to cave deeper than you can mine the strata and mine every vein, and you should be quite coal positive.

I like to have a minimum of 9 ovens so I can do an ingot at a time. Also,

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if you remember how logs worked in stone furnaces,

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some burn longer than others,

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oak and birch will fully smelt

For ravines in the early game, I use a lot of logs. Where possible, try to conserve by digging stairs through the dirt layer or drop dirt onto exposed ledges to build a stairway up to you. Rarely I'll use vines and do other things while they grow.

[dawnraider]

The best way I've found to cave is to keep the first lit torch on your bar, and light all other torches using that torch. That way you have an always visible timer of exactly how long you have before your torches at the entrance to the cave start burning out and you can make sure you're out before then. I try not to go *too* deep into caves before the nether to avoid wasting torches on ground I've already tread, but sometimes that's unavoidable if you don't find many deep caves.

After getting iron tools I don't think it's necessary to avoid going deep because you want diamonds as soon as possible and you can't mine 3rd strata without finding them. It's also not always possible to avoid second strata before an iron pick but I would agree to avoid that if you can. If you do mine veins from a deeper strata, try to remember to come back when you can mine it and dig behind those ore patches to get the deeper ores.

Regarding ravines, yeah I do the same as Whuppee.

[Ceunon]

Thanks for the input, folks. It's already been helpful.

A different question: how do you go about building before having permanent light sources? I've been wanting to start building a small house (I tire of living in dirt holes), but the possibility of mobs spawning inside when I'm not nearby is very discouraging. Do you just build regardless and keep things lit with crude torches, or is there a more practical way of going about it?

[Whuppee]

As of 4.ABCFEFE, mobs can't spawn on wood or blocks primarily made of wood. Just try not to burn your house and all your storage down =p (also, slabs and most anything else don't suppress spawns anymore)

With the whole world being spawnable, spawns within your house are also pretty unlikely. I've lived in a bunch of technically-spawnable spaces, and I don't remember having come home to a mob yet.

[jakerman999]

I'm a big fan of using sky lighting for things. Often I won't even have a roof, just spider-proof the walls. There's a bolder approach to just let the spiders in and kill them for the string. In the unlikely event something does spawn in, it will either burn, or be easy to spot when you get back.

[Ceunon]

(...) Just try not to burn your house and all your storage down =p (...)

Hehe, yeah, this scares me. Any precautions that should be taken? From what I've noticed so far, it seems crude torches aren't really safe, but I don't know for what radius. And lightning is *very* meant to wood. While we're at it, are brick ovens safe?

I realize I could be experiencing this stuff for myself, but in this case I'd hate to build something elaborate only for it to literally go up in flames.

I'm a big fan of using sky lighting for things. (...)

I might try that out for a wider area around my base, but usually I like building pretty houses, hah.

Edit: Oh, and a question for everyone: has anyone succeeded at having an early game base in the jungle? I love the looks of the biome, but the spiders and vegetation are intimidating.

[Whuppee]

Please science/ wait for confirmation, but torches

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ignite the block above them and all blocks adjacent to that.

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Besides the head-level block I've left out so I can see/stand, the blocks left air will burn if flammable

and ovens

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ignite the block in front of them and all blocks adjacent to that.

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Besides the blocks I've left out so I can see/stand, the blocks left air will burn if flammable

While limited to crude torches, mostly just try to place them consistently in spots you know are safe, and maybe aim to have enough natural lighting at night that you can see to do this in all but gloom. You could take other precautions, like compartmentalizing with wood doors, non-flammable corridors and enough skylights to silhouette their unlikely mobs on all but gloom nights, but it's probably unnecessary and doesn't sound like the house you're wanting to build. Water is of some limited use, but probably prefer to use shovel-type blocks to smother flames.

Roughly, lightning

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picks a target, searches for a higher point nearby*, re-targets the higher point if there is one, and from the target, searches a chunk in all directions for a lightning rod.
You'll want unlikely but spawnable, non-flammable high points, and note that lightning rods are spawnable.

*I don't remember how nearby, but I want to say 4 or 8 blocks

[Ceunon]

Please science/ wait for confirmation, but torches

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ignite the block above them and all blocks adjacent to that.

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Show

Besides the head-level block I've left out so I can see/stand, the blocks left air will burn if flammable

and ovens

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Show

ignite the block in front of them and all blocks adjacent to that.

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Show

Besides the blocks I've left out so I can see/stand, the blocks left air will burn if flammable

While limited to crude torches, mostly just try to place them consistently in spots you know are safe, and maybe aim to have enough natural lighting at night that you can see to do this in all but gloom. You could take other precautions, like compartmentalizing with wood doors, non-flammable corridors and enough skylights to silhouette their unlikely mobs on all but gloom nights, but it's probably unnecessary and doesn't sound like the house you're wanting to build. Water is of some limited use, but probably prefer to use shovel-type blocks to smother flames.

Roughly, lightning

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picks a target, searches for a higher point nearby*, re-targets the higher point if there is one, and from the target, searches a chunk in all directions for a lightning rod.
You'll want unlikely but spawnable, non-flammable high points, and note that lightning rods are spawnable.

*I don't remember how nearby, but I want to say 4 or 8 blocks

Alright, thanks a bunch =)

While we're on the topic of lightning, a funny anecdote that just happened to me: I was minding my business in my dirt hole during a thunderstorm and got hit by lightning...that struck the ground ~3 blocks above my head. It was...less than pleasant (and terrifying)

[dawnraider]

Lightning is actually really only a huge issue for logs. It is possible to light other blocks on fire but the rain will usually put that out. Only logs will stay on fire even in rain. I don't usually put lightning rods unless there is a threat of logs being hit.

[Ceunon]

Changing the subject a bit: is there any way you can keep livestock (I'm looking at cows and sheep) pre-nethercoal? I can't see how I'd ensure they'd survive the night if I can't prevent zombies from spawning and eating them.

[dawnraider]

Not really. I believe FC has said that that's intended.

[FlowerChild]

Not really. I believe FC has said that that's intended.

Yup. That's roughly intended as a technological progression from hunter/gatherer to domestication.

[Ceunon]

Since this has turned into a general questions thread...I've burned through 5+ flint and steels trying to light a nether portal; am I doing something wrong? Did anything change?

[Whuppee]

A flint and steel won't light any blocks on fire anymore

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I think you can spread fire to the portal frame in other ways, but for the most direct, place a campfire inside

[Ceunon]

A flint and steel won't light any blocks on fire anymore

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I think you can spread fire to the portal frame in other ways, but for the most direct, place a campfire inside

Well, that explains it, haha. But, wait, how do you light a fire under a cauldron, now? Do you have to maintain a campfire lit under it?

[dawnraider]

That is how to do it before the nether, but lighting a campfire on netherrack will light the block on fire.

[Ceunon]

Aaand I was just reminded why I shouldn't make a nether portal in the middle of an open field. My house nearly went up in flames, and I'm pretty sure there are still some ghasts flying in the distance.

On the topic of ghasts...any tips for traversing the nether safely (other than tunnelling through netherrack)? There are just so many ghasts in that place, I can't take a step out of cover without being pelted by fireballs.

[Mason11987]

Aaand I was just reminded why I shouldn't make a nether portal in the middle of an open field. My house nearly went up in flames, and I'm pretty sure there are still some ghasts flying in the distance.

On the topic of ghasts...any tips for traversing the nether safely (other than tunnelling through netherrack)? There are just so many ghasts in that place, I can't take a step out of cover without being pelted by fireballs.

Blood Wood Saplings are your best bet to create more cover.

[dawnraider]

It's definitely later game, but invisibility potions are amazing for that. It does require a jungle spider farm though, hence later game. In the mean time, blood wood is definitely good for making cover, although IMO an uncontained blood wood is ugly and very difficult to remove, that's why I don't do that. Groth too will entirely stop ghasts from spawning on it, but of course that ostensibly makes the nether even more dangerous before steel armor because walking on mature groth will kill you pretty quickly.

[Ceunon]

Welp, my humble abode went up in flames due to a misplaced block of wood. I lost most of my items. Unfortunately, I don't think I can muster the energy to keep playing...

...on that world, at least - I've also been playing on a multiplayer world with a friend (she's dubbed BTW "caveman simulator" because of the start of the game). We're a bit earlier in tech (we're just getting our first set of iron tools), but, hey, at least our things haven't been devoured by fire...yet.

[Ceunon]

Alright, so we've had some very profitable forays into a dungeon that was intersected by a mine - we have a surplus of iron, enough diamonds to mine obsidian, several regular torches, melon seeds...and are working toward our windmill.

Now, because of the melon seeds and the torches, we're considering finding some chickens and cows to pen. I've done some reading on the wiki, and apparently chickens are fed with chicken feed now? Or is that only for breeding them? What about grass - do chickens require it, even if they're being fed with seeds? Many questions! Some general advice on how to keep animals alive would be appreciated.

[dawnraider]

Chicken feed is for breeding them, they can also be fed with grass or seeds. It is possible to keep them fed without grass just using seeds but that is only feasible with automated setups later game. Realistically for the first while, you need grass to keep them fed reliably unless you manually want to keep feeding them several times a day.

[Ceunon]

Chicken feed is for breeding them, they can also be fed with grass or seeds. It is possible to keep them fed without grass just using seeds but that is only feasible with automated setups later game. Realistically for the first while, you need grass to keep them fed reliably unless you manually want to keep feeding them several times a day.

Sorry if I sound dumb, but what I'm understanding is that chicken feed is now necessary for them to lay eggs at all?

[dawnraider]

Correct. Aka all full automation of breeding animals is impossible because all breeding items must be crafted (which IMO is really annoying)