How long does "night" last? And is there anything whatsoever to do during the night other that to wait for the sun to come up? At this point, when the sun goes down I just trash the world and start a new one.
Tactic is get 3 wool and 3 planks of wood and make a bed. You right click on the bed and your character goes to bed and it skips to day. It will depend how many people there are on the server and whether they all climb into bed to allow the skip.
That is absolutely the best new player comment I have ever read. That is pure gold. Everyone has their own perception of "how the world is". And each of us has to understand that just because we see the world as one way, someone else might have a different view... and allow for that.
I am with you, Don! When I first started, I knew I had to stay alive and night time was when the monsters came to kill us, if they didn't sneak up during the day...lol I tried to fight off the mobs, but didn't have any weapons to defend myself, so I was killed over and over. I heard the expression "hidey holes" from Beth S O'Connell and began digging holes in the ground, with my hands, so I could hide from the mobs...I would close the hole so they would not be able to get to me...but then it was pitch black in the hole...what to do? I needed some light, so I looked up how to make torches. Then I found it was quite boring to wait all night doing nothing...as you have discovered...so after I made torches, I made a crafting table and crafted items in my hole until morning arrived. Then I broke out and went about my day. Those were the "good, ole days" as Dakotah Redstone mentioned...it is fun now, but those days were the most fun!
Sometimes, esp. in the beginning, you can't find any sheep (or someone on the server is afk) ;). So skipping the difficult part is not an option. ( sorry, philosophy major here, short answers are just not my wheelhouse... "everything" looks like a soapbox to me ;) ). So this is where the tradition of the "first day/first night" story (and of course video) originated. You need to discover a way to make it through that night, so that you can have a world that can exist for more than one day. It is tough to create a worthwhile civilization... I mean Rome wasn't... ah, you get it. You could try being on the run all night. In open terrain like the desert, that can work, but sometimes mobs spawn in right in front of you, and if you are running at top speed in the dark... you can also run off cliffs/into ravines... so while exciting, not optimum for survival. You could try standing your ground and fighting... but I don't recommend that option the first day. Hiding can work, if you can find a "good spot", but it requires a special kind of patience and nerve that I for one don't possess (the night is long and dark... I believe the day and night are each 10 minutes long). So the tactic that most seem to settle on is building shelter. Gather materials and select a good location and get building while it is still light, so that by nightfall, you have a structure that you can enter that will protect you from mobs until light. It does not hurt to collect some food if you can as well. And if you have some materials left over from building your shelter you can spend the night crafting some tools/equipment/supplies for the next day.
In the best case scenario, if you are in a multiplayer situation, you all gather around the fire in your shelter and tell each other the great stories of your struggle for survival that day. For each will learn, both by the victories AND the defeats of the others. This is how it has been done... for thousands of generations.
(in my story at least) :) Dak
In my worldview, life IS struggle. If there is no challenge, if it is easy, what is the point? If I didn't have to work for it, what did I earn? If they bring me breakfast in bed, why would I get out of bed? (but I also understand that not everyone looks at it this way) So, when I keep trying to make things "more difficult" for everyone, try to remember, my motivation is not that I am not doing it to be mean, I am doing it because I want you to be "happy". :)
I love reading everyone's first day/night stories! I had a tragic incident on my second night: I lost a precious gift (due to a zombie attack at night) from Rose that was just given to my son the night before, his very first set of iron armor.
I remember you telling us about that, Jane Chien--I hope your son has forgiven you by now!
Night is also a good time for mining underground, but you have to make sure you have some torches, because mobs can spawn there too. If I'm out and about when night falls, I'll jump up on a stack of dirt or gravel blocks until I"m out of reach of skeletons. Often I'll creep out and make a little 3 x 4 block platform with a torch on it, then I can do some crafting there. I always make sure, first thing, to get some dirt and wood. Digging into the side of a hill is a good way to make a hidey-hole, too.
Part of my problem (besides really not understanding anything) is that I'm totally not into the "game" aspect. I'm rather just be and not have to do anything unless I want to.
From what I've seen MC fits the definition of "game" quite well. There are myriad things that you can and can't do. There are a few things you have to do. There are many things you have to do in certain ways. One thing I can't do, for example, is decide I'm not interested in "night mode." The aspect of "surviving" attacks is most definitely a game. Jeff compared MC to an infinite Lego set. But with Lego there's nothing you have to do and no monsters attacking you. ;)
I think Jeff was probably thinking of creative mode when he compared MC to an infinite Lego set. It's good to explore both creative and survival modes.
Beth S O'Connell is on point, as always! It is a world.
But yeah, the creative mode is more the Lego set. But once we dive into server commands Don Carroll you'll see how pesky things like night and monsters can be eliminated. The player can control so much of Minecraft that it is more of a toy than a game.
I've posted this somewhere before but here goes again :)
Games always have four characteristics: they are voluntary, have rules, provide feedback, and have a quantifiable win state. Monopoly, Basketball, Tic-Tac-Toe - all games. Minecraft isn't really a game. It's a toy. It has more in common with a rubber ball than it does Monopoly or Basketball.
When I play with a rubber ball I get to decide what I do with it: bounce it, throw it, roll it around. Same with Minecraft. And once you start messing with modified versions of Minecraft you start to see the what it means to do anything you want with it.
Jane Chien , that "story" of you playing a "game" with your son, spending time with him in an activity that means something to both of you, that creates emotions that strong , that reach out and have impact in the so-called "real" world... has a special place in my heart. If I remember right, it turned out all right in the end, and for me it represents a shining example, of the right kind of learning through story. I am looking forward to spending time with you and your family in-world. Dak
The analogy with the rubber ball is good. Several years ago I was involved with a experiment with using the LEGO robotics Mindstorm sets to foster EFL. This was at a technical high school and the students were enrolled in the robotics-programming track. Most of the students were Japanese but there were also a few international students, for example, from Peru and Indonesia. For these sessions they were to work as a group to decide what they wanted their robot to do, to build the robot, then to program it using the Mindstorm programming blocks, then troubleshoot their creation. I also bought one of these sets for my own kids but the really only wanted to play with the LEGO pieces and didn't get into the programming side. The Mindstorm kits really took off and many people totally geeked out on them creating mods that allow outside programming with serious programming languages. Engineering departments were using it with their students. My part of this investigation (beyond helping the students in class) was analyzing the spoken and embodied interaction in the video recorded group work.
Tactic is get 3 wool and 3 planks of wood and make a bed. You right click on the bed and your character goes to bed and it skips to day. It will depend how many people there are on the server and whether they all climb into bed to allow the skip.
ReplyDeleteThat is absolutely the best new player comment I have ever read. That is pure gold. Everyone has their own perception of "how the world is". And each of us has to understand that just because we see the world as one way, someone else might have a different view... and allow for that.
ReplyDeletethank you Don
I am with you, Don! When I first started, I knew I had to stay alive and night time was when the monsters came to kill us, if they didn't sneak up during the day...lol I tried to fight off the mobs, but didn't have any weapons to defend myself, so I was killed over and over. I heard the expression "hidey holes" from Beth S O'Connell and began digging holes in the ground, with my hands, so I could hide from the mobs...I would close the hole so they would not be able to get to me...but then it was pitch black in the hole...what to do? I needed some light, so I looked up how to make torches. Then I found it was quite boring to wait all night doing nothing...as you have discovered...so after I made torches, I made a crafting table and crafted items in my hole until morning arrived. Then I broke out and went about my day. Those were the "good, ole days" as Dakotah Redstone mentioned...it is fun now, but those days were the most fun!
ReplyDeleteSometimes, esp. in the beginning, you can't find any sheep (or someone on the server is afk) ;). So skipping the difficult part is not an option. ( sorry, philosophy major here, short answers are just not my wheelhouse... "everything" looks like a soapbox to me ;) ). So this is where the tradition of the "first day/first night" story (and of course video) originated. You need to discover a way to make it through that night, so that you can have a world that can exist for more than one day. It is tough to create a worthwhile civilization... I mean Rome wasn't... ah, you get it. You could try being on the run all night. In open terrain like the desert, that can work, but sometimes mobs spawn in right in front of you, and if you are running at top speed in the dark... you can also run off cliffs/into ravines... so while exciting, not optimum for survival. You could try standing your ground and fighting... but I don't recommend that option the first day. Hiding can work, if you can find a "good spot", but it requires a special kind of patience and nerve that I for one don't possess (the night is long and dark... I believe the day and night are each 10 minutes long). So the tactic that most seem to settle on is building shelter. Gather materials and select a good location and get building while it is still light, so that by nightfall, you have a structure that you can enter that will protect you from mobs until light. It does not hurt to collect some food if you can as well. And if you have some materials left over from building your shelter you can spend the night crafting some tools/equipment/supplies for the next day.
ReplyDeleteIn the best case scenario, if you are in a multiplayer situation, you all gather around the fire in your shelter and tell each other the great stories of your struggle for survival that day. For each will learn, both by the victories AND the defeats of the others. This is how it has been done... for thousands of generations.
(in my story at least)
:) Dak
In my worldview, life IS struggle. If there is no challenge, if it is easy, what is the point? If I didn't have to work for it, what did I earn? If they bring me breakfast in bed, why would I get out of bed? (but I also understand that not everyone looks at it this way) So, when I keep trying to make things "more difficult" for everyone, try to remember, my motivation is not that I am not doing it to be mean, I am doing it because I want you to be "happy". :)
I love reading everyone's first day/night stories! I had a tragic incident on my second night: I lost a precious gift (due to a zombie attack at night) from Rose that was just given to my son the night before, his very first set of iron armor.
ReplyDeleteI remember you telling us about that, Jane Chien--I hope your son has forgiven you by now!
ReplyDeleteNight is also a good time for mining underground, but you have to make sure you have some torches, because mobs can spawn there too. If I'm out and about when night falls, I'll jump up on a stack of dirt or gravel blocks until I"m out of reach of skeletons. Often I'll creep out and make a little 3 x 4 block platform with a torch on it, then I can do some crafting there. I always make sure, first thing, to get some dirt and wood. Digging into the side of a hill is a good way to make a hidey-hole, too.
Part of my problem (besides really not understanding anything) is that I'm totally not into the "game" aspect. I'm rather just be and not have to do anything unless I want to.
ReplyDeleteDon Carroll Minecraft is totally not a game; it's a world. You can do whatever you want to, and nothing that you don't want to :)
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've seen MC fits the definition of "game" quite well. There are myriad things that you can and can't do. There are a few things you have to do. There are many things you have to do in certain ways. One thing I can't do, for example, is decide I'm not interested in "night mode." The aspect of "surviving" attacks is most definitely a game. Jeff compared MC to an infinite Lego set. But with Lego there's nothing you have to do and no monsters attacking you. ;)
ReplyDeleteI think Jeff was probably thinking of creative mode when he compared MC to an infinite Lego set. It's good to explore both creative and survival modes.
ReplyDeleteBeth S O'Connell is on point, as always! It is a world.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, the creative mode is more the Lego set. But once we dive into server commands Don Carroll you'll see how pesky things like night and monsters can be eliminated. The player can control so much of Minecraft that it is more of a toy than a game.
I've posted this somewhere before but here goes again :)
Games always have four characteristics: they are voluntary, have rules, provide feedback, and have a quantifiable win state. Monopoly, Basketball, Tic-Tac-Toe - all games. Minecraft isn't really a game. It's a toy. It has more in common with a rubber ball than it does Monopoly or Basketball.
When I play with a rubber ball I get to decide what I do with it: bounce it, throw it, roll it around. Same with Minecraft. And once you start messing with modified versions of Minecraft you start to see the what it means to do anything you want with it.
Jane Chien , that "story" of you playing a "game" with your son, spending time with him in an activity that means something to both of you, that creates emotions that strong , that reach out and have impact in the so-called "real" world... has a special place in my heart. If I remember right, it turned out all right in the end, and for me it represents a shining example, of the right kind of learning through story. I am looking forward to spending time with you and your family in-world.
ReplyDeleteDak
The analogy with the rubber ball is good. Several years ago I was involved with a experiment with using the LEGO robotics Mindstorm sets to foster EFL. This was at a technical high school and the students were enrolled in the robotics-programming track. Most of the students were Japanese but there were also a few international students, for example, from Peru and Indonesia. For these sessions they were to work as a group to decide what they wanted their robot to do, to build the robot, then to program it using the Mindstorm programming blocks, then troubleshoot their creation. I also bought one of these sets for my own kids but the really only wanted to play with the LEGO pieces and didn't get into the programming side. The Mindstorm kits really took off and many people totally geeked out on them creating mods that allow outside programming with serious programming languages. Engineering departments were using it with their students. My part of this investigation (beyond helping the students in class) was analyzing the spoken and embodied interaction in the video recorded group work.
ReplyDeleteI suppose that's the link to my curiosity about MC.
ReplyDelete