Postcards from Minecraft, Part 4

By Shamus Posted Monday Nov 8, 2010

Filed under: Pictures 184 comments

Fun continues to be had on the official Twenty Sided Server. I was away from the game for a few days, so it was a real shock when I came back and saw just how much stuff people have built.

Let’s take a look around and see what we can see.

minecraft_pearlytower.jpg

The Pearly Tower. I’m afraid the screenshot doesn’t really do it justice. The slice taken out of the walls IS the staircase. This is one of those places that you need to climb around in to appreciate.

minecraft_creeper.jpg

Hey, it’s a huge statue of a creeper. What’s cool about this is that it stands on the opposite side of the river from the Minecraft Guy statue I showed you in a previous entry. And you can see my suspension bridge in the background. You know, that’s a really cool bridge. I’m really proud that despite all the building that people have done, my bridge can still stand out-

minecraft_bridge2.jpg

Oh. Someone else built another bridge. Which is ten times more impressive than mine. Okay then.

I’m happy for you. Really. No I’m not bitter. I’m just… clenching my teeth for joy. No, I’m not upset that my bridge looks like the primitive efforts of a child in comparison. That’s really great for you. For all of us. No really. Good job.

Say, did you hear about that bug where sometimes big piles of TNT appear on things and blow them up? No? Well, it’s really rare. You probably don’t have anything to worry about.

minecraft_fenixhq.jpg

I know admins frequently bestow supplies on people: Diamond, coal, obsidian. Whatever your project needs. But there is no way around it: I don’t care what the admin gives you, hollowing out a cylinder 64 units in diameter and 59 units deep is a massive undertaking.

And speaking of massive undertakings:

minecraft_dome.jpg

A massive snowglobe. Wow.

minecraft_dome2.jpg

Even with admin-bestowed glass block, building something this immense and building it in a spherical shape…. I don’t even know what to think.

I’m not sure this one will close at the top, though. The dome isn’t complete and the top edge is already scraping the clouds. Might be close.

Some interesting links:

Warp list
Current isometric map
Current overview map (Google Maps style)
Current night overview map (also Google Maps style)
Downloadable world files – Good if you want to download the world and play with it in single-player.

We’re talking about getting a Ventrilo server so we can have voice chat. I’ve got a small 10-person server that we use for Spoiler Warning, but it’s already full most evenings. (That’s the way vent servers work. Your friends invite their friends, who in turn invite their friends, and pretty soon you don’t recognize most of the people on the server. I’m not complaining. I think we did the first few episodes of Spoiler Warning while squatting on a vent server for a Star Wars Galaxies guild.)

I’m still thinking this one over.

 


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184 thoughts on “Postcards from Minecraft, Part 4

  1. Stupidguy12 says:

    Oh me oh my, I wish my computer could run minecraft.
    This is amazing! This server is full of creative people.

    1. wowzers says:

      Your pc cant run minecraft? its like an 8bit game

      1. ruffyreborn says:

        It requires certain video cards to run. It isnt the power thats required, its the equipment. My ’06 Inspiron laptop cant run minecraft.

  2. X2-Eliah says:

    Damnit, I will not yield to these sugar coated lures!

    Seriously though, that lava trapped in the glass ball at the center of the hollowed cylinder was amazing.

    I’d love to see a rendition of an industrial complex, though – with nary a wood/grass/sand/glass in sight, pure stone and lava, in a non-castle facade.

    Edit – Also, someone totally needs to make a Golden Gate bridge that goes directly over Shamus’s bridge.

    1. Jarenth says:

      An ocean-based oil refinery is somewhere on my to-do list. Also check out Earthlance and Sunbeam if you’re ever on the server.

      1. Sigilis says:

        Although I construct industrial installations, SigiCorp supports the environment and endeavors to allow at least some of it inside or around its constructions.

      2. Rutskarn says:

        Jarenth, I am going to kidnap you and make you my chief engineer.

      3. Jarenth says:

        Just to clarify: I’m not in any way responsible for Earthlance and Sunbeam. That’s all Sigilis’ work.

        1. Rutskarn says:

          I know, but I like refineries.

      4. ashelz says:

        hey, i built an ocean based oil refinery with the technic pack, it was pretty cool but then the save was corrupted :/

    2. Zukhramm says:

      Been planning to make some constantly burning smoke-spewing factory, I just don’t know what it’d actually produce!

      1. X2-Eliah says:

        I suggest smoke as the product.

        1. Joe Cool says:

          Roger Ebert, in reviews of cheesy action movies, has been known to refer to the factories where the final showdowns inevitably take place as “flame and steam factories”, because those are their only notable products.

          1. Jarenth says:

            Future site of
            Jarenth Ltd
            Flame and Steam
            Factory

            Fits on a sign perfectly.

            1. Irridium says:

              Speaking of signs, I put a nice little one right at the snowglobe warp point. Behind your two signs.

              Everyone should read it.

  3. eri says:

    I wish I was cool enough to have random people bestow great things upon me. :( Jealous.

  4. Robyrt says:

    Thanks for the downloadable world files – I am more of a single player guy but I look forward to being a tourist anyhow :)

  5. Kell says:

    Looks awesome.

    Me and my GF popped in a few days ago just to have a look round. Nice work whoever made the rocket ship – we approached it just at sunset and it looked great lit up against the darkening sky.

    The stuff that’s been built since then? Wow o_o

    [pedant]

    Sorry, I just have to point this out, Shamus:

    What you have linked as the “isometric” view is actually an axonometric.
    What you have linked as the overhead views are isometric.

    [/pedant]

    1. Factoid says:

      The rocketship was mine. Pop back in and you’ll see the flying saucer UFO I added right next to it, firing lasers at it.

    2. Arkady says:

      [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaAxzIFgNso]

      I have only just met you and I LOVE you.

      I really need to get Minecraft.

      Also, a computer that runs it smoothly.

    3. Clint Olson says:

      With regards to isometric versus overhead:

      Yeah. For some reason the program I’m using to do “isometric” wouldn’t work right until I tinkered with the settings quite a bit. It doesn’t surprise me that what’s outputted is technically no longer isometric.

      Also, you misread on the second set of links — it’s not “overhead”, it’s “overview”. The Google Maps-style maps are done with a Python scripted called Minecraft Overviewer.

  6. Rob Conley says:

    Wow that snowglobe puts my castle next door to shame.

    1. MichaelG says:

      No kidding! I’m amazed. I was just building a big pit with trees all over the place and having fun. Kind of like playing with sand castles. Warp to goodfeldig.

      But mine is pathetic and random compared to these buildings. How do you guys keep oriented when you are building at that scale? Are you just counting pixels on some enlarged image you have on your desktop? Or is there some way to move in a perfect circle and not get lost?

      1. Jarenth says:

        Personally, I just drew a pixelated circle in Paint and zoomed in to 800%, and used that as the starting blueprint. Beyond that it’s just careful counting and bookkeeping.

        Also insanity might help.

        1. MichaelG says:

          OCD is definitely required.

          Oh, and sorry about the tree I planted in your snowglobe. I couldn’t resist.

          1. Jarenth says:

            It’s appreciated, though I can’t ensure it’ll survive the eventual filling process.

            Progress waits for no man, or tree.

        2. modus0 says:

          Perfect Sphere (on the Minecraft forums, or a link in the Minepedia Programs section) is wonderful for making circular towers, hemispheres, or full spheres.

          I’ve done a 24-cube diameter sphere and a circular tower using the jpeg blueprints from the thread.

        3. Cyanide says:

          I’ll second that. I haven’t built anything nearly the size of the snowglobe, but if you’re no good at circles, using the circle-drawing tool in paint can be an immense help for round shapes, or at least it gives you an idea of how to make them properly.

        4. Vipermagi says:

          Insanity? I’m not insane! Not at all!
          Creating half a dozen large chests of glass is just everyday business.

          On that note; Did we even get admin-donated glass, or has the supply not run out still?

          EDIT: I guess reading all (150+) comments would’ve answered that one already.
          Strana and I laid the floor as well; I’ve mostly done the top layer, and Strana has made a lot of progress on the lower layer already.

          1. Jarenth says:

            “The lower layer”, for those of you playing at home, is the ceiling for Future Project UnderGlobe, which, yes, is probably going to be pretty much what you’re thinking of right now.

        5. MrWhales says:

          When i build domes i grab multiple sheets of graph paper and tape them together to my wall. I guess i’m old fashioned

  7. Fenyx4 says:

    My friends and I recently made the switch to Mumble from Ventrilo and have been really happy with it. And not just because it allowed me to run it from my personal server for free without the artificial cap of 8 people. The sound quality is noticeably superior and and it auto-adjusts everyone’s volume. Which my mac using friends were happy about since they couldn’t adjust people’s volumes at all in Ventrilo.

    1. FatPope says:

      But what does Mumbles think of Mumble? :)

      1. Scott says:

        The question of the century.

  8. Felblood says:

    Is that an giant, firebreathing dragon, that I can see from orbit, facing the southwest shore? It looks like it’s scratching chasms into the earth with it’s claws, and it was colored green by growing grass on it.

    That is at least as awesome as the giant obsidian skull my brother and I made, even though our skull drools a river of lava between the elongated teeth of it’s lower jaw.

    Maybe if we give it giant horns, so it is a demon skull, we can take the lead. What’ a good material for horns..?

    1. Ben Orchard says:

      Probably obsidian. It’s too bad ‘ivory’ isn’t an option, but for demon horns, obsidian is likely best.

      1. Sumanai - a grouchy ball of bile and cynicism says:

        Iron blocks might work too.

    2. StranaMente says:

      Actually it’s a crocodile, but it has a lava tongue and it breaths fire (quite literally), and has the huge clock of Hook in his belly (complete with hours, minutes and seconds) and its fearsome teeth and claws are made of 100% pure wool.
      I did it during few days, on and off. The problem is that I don’t have tnt to clear a cliff and make the right pawn.
      An admin gave some to me, but the server thought well to clear up my inventory just after I got it.
      Now I’m working with my shovel again.
      Anyway a small Offler shrine is protecting me. :-)

      Remember, wool is 100% more fearsome than obsidian.

      1. Jarenth says:

        Also more flammable.

        1. Sumanai - a grouchy ball of bile and cynicism says:

          But only slightly.

          1. Felblood says:

            I’ll pitch wool and iron and demon horn materials.

            I think iron is the way to go, if we go through with it.

            Nobody is intimidated by a castle decorated with wool, not matter how large your lava-drooling, obsidian skull is.

            1. Sumanai - a grouchy ball of bile and cynicism says:

              And now I can’t help but imagine a giant sheep made out of wool blocks and obsidian.

              1. Jarenth says:

                I’ll leave that one for you to build.

    3. Greg says:

      I think that’s project crocodile.
      It uses wool for its claws so that’d probably do for horns if you wanted a horns based project.

  9. Factoid says:

    There is massively cool stuff all over this server. Make sure you check out the Crocodile.

    There’s some super impressive stuff going up all the time. I feel like I peaked too early and all my best creations are behind me. Or maybe I just need to let inspiration strike me again.

    All my pieces up to this point have been mostly “installation art”. The helix, a wooden ship, a rocketship, a UFO, a sea monster. I think it’s time to expand my horizons and build something new and unique. The sad part is that I’m more or less out of building room around my current area, and I’ve really enjoyed building all my stuff within draw distance of all my other stuff.

    1. StranaMente says:

      The bad thing with the isometric map is that it’s that the ufo is not clearly visible, and if I didn’t see it from the helix I wouldn’t know how impressive they look like, especially at night.

  10. Ben Orchard says:

    Can I just say that i’m extremely jealous. I keep looking for a decent server, and while the one I’m on is decent, it just isn’t what I’m after. If only I had friends that were willing to play the game.

    Oh well…

    (HINT: If user Epharian could get build rights, I’d be on there regular like…but I just can’t dedicate much time to a server i can’t build on….)

    1. Clint Olson says:

      To get build rights, just ask a mod or admin when we’re on. We give them out pretty easily, but our policy is to wait until people actually ask. Our line of reasoning is that a) If people want to just tour, let ’em and b) It’s easier for us this way ;)

      Clint

      1. Rosseloh says:

        Heh, the ONE time I was actually able to get into the server, was last Tuesday when Shamus “suspended” build rights (and no admins were on in the first place).

        Hope I’ll be able to get on sometime. I’m no epic constructor, but I have enough delusions of grandeur to do my part. (For an example, my ship on the MCFTW server, if anyone is a member there. It’s off the coast of Northhart).

      2. Slothful says:

        I’ve visited a couple times to look around, and it is kinda fun to walk around without build rights messing with stuff that instantly respawns. Only thing is, signs don’t respawn with their text on them, so I blanked someone’s sign on accident. I can only imagine what horrors would occur if I broke a chest.

        1. Alan De Smet says:

          If I understand correctly, you didn’t break anything. Your client sent the server the “Break the sign command.” It simultaneously removed the sign from the world. (‘Cuz, why wait? Keep things responsive!) The mod (hey0 in this case) decided, “Wait, Slothful isn’t allowed to build” and threw the command away. At this point you see the sign destroyed, but everyone else still sees the sign. A moment later the server sends you and update, including, “Oh, hey, there is a sign here.” This causes it to re-appear on your side. End result: You have a glitched sign until you log out and back in. No-one else is ever aware of what you’ve done.

          1. Jarenth says:

            Except now you’ve told everyone.

            Now we all know.

            1. Slothful says:

              Did I say that I broke it? I mean I saw someone else break it, and I just wanted to inform everyone. You’d better go catch him, it was a one-armed miner!

  11. StranaMente says:

    How do we use the files to play it single player? (I know that the answer may be somewhere deep in minepedia, but I hope someone can come up with something easy, earlier)

    1. Clint Olson says:

      To find your Minecraft saves on Windows, click the Start button, hit Run, and type the following:

      %appdata%\.minecraft\saves

      That should take you to your saves directory. From there, overwrite one of the three save slots (World1, World2, or World3) with the contents of the zip file.

      Clint

  12. swimon says:

    Just looking at the maps I have to say that I’m very impressed by the USB that was a really cool idea and it really looks like a USB ^^.

    Also one of the maps is upside down (dunno which since I can’t see the clouds movement)

  13. WILL says:

    Here I was thinking my colosseum would be in any way impressive.

    Also, an’t wait to see Underdome.

  14. Jarenth says:

    I would like to point out that none of the glass involved in the construction of Project Snowglobe was admin-made in any way. All of it was made the old-fashioned way, pretty much all by Vipermagi.

    Also, I measured the height from sea-level before beginning construction and the top of the dome should just scrape the top of the sky.

    Be sure to visit (at the obvious warp point name) and bask in its emptiness.

    This message made and sponsored by Jarenth Ltd.

    1. Shamus says:

      Wow. You mined all the sand and coal required to build that?

      Amazing!

      Respect.

      1. SolkaTruesilver says:

        Back off.

        I will carry on his children. Find another genius.

      2. Sumanai - a grouchy ball of bile and cynicism says:

        He said “pretty much all by Vipermagi”. Also I got sick of his whining when his furnaces ate (temporarily this time) all his glass again and tossed a couple of stacks on him. And it still didn’t shut him up.

        Seriously though Jarenth, have you considered testing if a different location would help with glitching?

        1. Jarenth says:

          Working on it.

          And yes, Viper gets most/all of the respect for the mining and burning. So approach him for any child-related matters.

          I’m much too busy placing glass blocks, anyway.

          1. Greg says:

            Viper gave me a bunch of resources as well, I suspect we’re going to start digging somewhere one day and find he’s carved his name in 30 block high letters one level under the map someplace.

            1. Vipermagi says:

              Fun fact for those who happen upon this message: I wrote my name in thirty-block tall letters underground the day I read this. :D

      3. Thom says:

        He had some help indeed… I think there’s still a few hundred sand blocks in a chest for him, he used the glass already. Remember that big desert-like area in front of my treehouse, right behind the TWENTY mark? Well, it’s gone now… I like trees better anyway ;)

        1. Jarenth says:

          Those are gone now as well, and thanks again.

          Jarenth Ltd. Because progress waits for no-one.

      4. MrWhales says:

        Hm, coal is such a futile smelting material shamus, buckets of lava work better.

        I’m not sure if it is just the sevrer I use(The Escapist Server) or all servers, but smelting is easy once you fill one(1 bucket works for 100 smelts)

    2. mad_wolf says:

      so…. any idea as of yet what to fill the globe with?

      1. KremlinLaptop says:

        Bees.

        1. acronix says:

          Frozen bees.

          1. Mari says:

            In frozen trees. Because no snowglobe is complete without random evergreen trees.

      2. X2-Eliah says:

        Trap a horde of creepers in there.

      3. Irridium says:

        He should fill it all with TNT. Then explode it.

  15. Sarah says:

    eeeeeee….my tower made the front page? I feel more famous than I probably am. The only thing that bugs me is that that’s an old screenshot, before I added the next few spirals, and the cap. And the dragon.

    Re: snowglobe, I’m sure Jarenth will just pave it flat glass across the top, if he hits the ceiling before the curvature terminates. You should come back tonight– the next part of the Fenixhq project is a massive mining operation.

  16. KremlinLaptop says:

    After touring for a bit: you guys are awesome, period. Nothing else to say.

    Alright, one thing. Missile silo? Awesome missile silo. Someone should build a big huge mushroom cloud somewhere to go with it.

    1. Zukhramm says:

      Great idea! But of what? Sand maybe, but it falls. Sand and dirt combo?

      1. KremlinLaptop says:

        I was thinking cloth, snow and clay for cloud itself(admin has to give those blocks, iirc) for the upper part and then a sand and dirt circular shockwave to look like the overpressure tearing up the land.

        Of course the condensation rings tend to be just white, so perhaps using darker blocks for the actual mushroom cloud.

        To be honest I’ve been trying to think of how to build a convincing mushroom cloud in SP for awhile now and the biggest problem I run into is the fact that I want to use lava and fire in it too — which doesn’t play too well with cloth — plus the small scale ones I’ve made… never quite look right.

        Obviously a full scale one should be so big it’s touching the ceiling.

        1. Sumanai - a grouchy ball of bile and cynicism says:

          You could leave the snow blocks for the condensation ring. Cloth is slightly darker after all.
          And you can get clay blocks. Just put clay lumps in a 2×2 shape and you’ll get one block. To get enough is a whole different thing.

          Have you considere lightstone or gold block for “fire”?

          1. KremlinLaptop says:

            Hadn’t thought of using netherblocks! I already toyed with the idea of hiding torches all over the explosion itself to light it up at night, lightblocks would work perfectly in that vein and could be used for the fireball parts in some manner.

            Building something as freeform and ‘natural’ as an explosion is pretty tough.

            1. Dys says:

              There exist many photographs of mushroom clouds.
              Pick one that looks nice, and copy.

              1. KremlinLaptop says:

                It’s what I’ve been doing, sort of — but I suspect my skills of recreation are a bit insufficient for the task.

                Practice makes… er, actually it makes for someone frustrated with non-geometric shapes, really.

      2. swimon says:

        does hell exist in multiplayer? if so a combination of sand, that glowing rock thing and lava could work.

        1. Sumanai - a grouchy ball of bile and cynicism says:

          Unfortunately Nether doesn’t work in multiplayer, so lightstone has to be spawned by admins and mods. But Notch has mentioned that SMP is now the focus, and has mentioned looking into making it so that when you go to Nether you’ll be transported to another server. So maybe in the future we can earn Nether blocks.

  17. Clint Olson says:

    Oh, and Shamus, check out the top corner of the overview night map. My brother cleared a cliff face there and did a serviceable D20 in glass and obsidian.

    Clint

    1. KremlinLaptop says:

      Challenge: Make a three dimensional D20 next!

      1. Zukhramm says:

        I made a three dimensional D6 once!

        1. Shamus says:

          I did the same thing… using only one block!

          Muahahahaha!

          1. Sumanai - a grouchy ball of bile and cynicism says:

            Madness! Madness and lies!

      2. MarkHawk says:

        CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

        1. MarkHawk says:

          Working on the design. I found a way to convert a 3d model into blueprints for building it. the hardest part is finding a 3d model of an icosahedron that has is oriented correctly, or rotating one that isn’t.

          1. Jarenth says:

            I love this server.

            1. Dys says:

              I tend to find building geometric shapes in minecraft, given the automatic… coordinate system… is a lot easier than crafting something which looks natural.

              Perhaps someone should build a nice suspended collection of the platonic solids, also known as ‘dice’ :P

              1. Aldowyn says:

                some dice would be hard to make, simply because EVERY angle is 90 degrees. Just sayin’… d6 isn’t remotely hard though. Doesn’t even have to be that big to make it realistic. 10x10x10 would work, I think… Now making one that’s standing on a corner, that’s harder.

          2. MarkHawk says:

            Update: Blueprints generated, and building started. currently 3 completed layers out of 50. ETA Unknown.

  18. Galad says:

    How does this “bestowing supplies” thing work? Can the admin(s) bestow themselves a whopping pile of supplies of all kind so they don’t have to worry about digging for the next year or something?

    1. Sigilis says:

      They can, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the game and sort of cheapens the resulting structure, its hard to be impressed by something that takes little effort to build.

      1. KremlinLaptop says:

        Little effort to build? Unlimited supplies does not give you the magical ability to make things look good, plausible, like they’re supposed to… or for that matter clear out huge pits or build domes that touch the clouds.

        After all I could have an unlimited supply of paint and I would never paint something of worth, it still takes skill and vision to put these things together.

        1. Sumanai - a grouchy ball of bile and cynicism says:

          Nevermind the extra effort with obsidian. ~15 seconds to remove a misplaced block? Dear god.

          1. KremlinLaptop says:

            Indeed! The foundation for my arena was made of Obsidian, a solid circle of Obsidian… and then I took a step back to realize I’d gotten the dimensions wrong, it wasn’t a perfect circle.

            Cue so much cursing as I spent what felt like eternity removing block after block to make it right.

            1. Sigilis says:

              And yet imagine how impressive it would have been if all the materials used were hand crafted. Having someone create blocks for you out of thin air always makes things less impressive than what they could have been. Of course when you get to things like FenixHQ, you start to realize that there is a certain cap for awesome that cannot be exceeded :P

              1. MarkHawk says:

                We discussed this on the server, and concluded that FenixHQ would be impossible with natural Obsidian. There simply isnt enough on the map.

              2. Khizan says:

                Spending X amount of time mining out Y blocks in no way shape or form makes the creation superior to one of admin-gifted blocks.

                To me, one of the worst things about gaming is the “Well, I ground out X for longer than you did, so that makes my Y better” attitude so many players have, when what it REALLY means is “Well, I have more time to spend searching for X blocks than you do.”

                1. Dys says:

                  A mined structure represents the time and effort of obtaining the materials, as well as the artistic and construction skills of the builder.

                  It in no way alters the beauty of the resulting construction, but may perhaps add depth to the awe inspired.

                  That said, it rather depends on how awesome you find the idea of insane quantities of very boring time. Mining obsidian is nothing but a serious exercise in tedium.

                2. acronix says:

                  I wonder what´s more tedious: mining the obsidian manually or making a mold with lava to pour water over it later. In one you spend 15 seconds/block, while on the other you have to essentially make recurring trips to various lava pools somewhere.

                3. Sumanai - a grouchy ball of bile and cynicism says:

                  acronix:
                  In single player I end up making railway so I can visit my mines faster, so using molds ends up faster. Last map I made it, it took me 40 seconds there and back, with 6 buckets means less than ten seconds per block.

                  But even if it wasn’t faster, and since there’s still need to make the mold itself that might be true, it’s much more satisfying. Staring at a bunch of dark blocks for minutes is way more boring than running between two places. Although it depends on the distance, method of travel and the amount of buckets you have. Also there’s something pleasant about using molds.

            2. Greg says:

              Is it okay to play games in your arena?
              I bet we could fill a level about halfway up with dirt and do some spleefing. Obviously the loser would have to clear it up afterwards ;)

    2. Mad Flavius says:

      If they are using Hey0, the admins can place supplies by typing “/item [item id] [item amount] [playername]”. However, in response to Sigilis below, this does not in any way cheapen the final product. Certainly if Michelangelo had personally quarried the marble for “David” there would be accolades, but they would be relegated to a footnote in the history books. It’s about what is being created, as KremlinLaptop said below.

      Also, it allows you to use blocks that do not exist in the typical SMP maps–the new Nether blocks, for instance. Personally, I love the iron block, and I even modded it to look more like marble so I could build temples and fora and all sorts of Roman buildings. Could I have mined 9 iron ores for each block? Yes. Does my education/job/life give me enough time to trek for hours in Minecraftian caves to find it? No. What it comes down to is that I want to be able to build beautiful things with my friends, and I don’t have the time to spend spelunking.

      However, this is all irrelevant once true SMP comes out–in other words, health. Then there will be true survival mode sans block-spawning, and it will be beautiful.

      1. Dys says:

        Surely David was a single marble block? It’s not exactly epic in size.

        The example which springs to mind is the great pyramids. Simple geometric figures, yet awe inspiring for the sheer time and effort which went into their construction.

        1. Khizan says:

          Awe inspiring when you figure the resources they had to build them with.

          If they were all built by one dude sitting behind a screen drinking Coke, they’d be much less impressive.

  19. Samkathran says:

    Man, I have no idea how you guys come up with these amazing construction projects, and the dedication to see them through to completion!

    UFOs firing lasers at spaceships, giant lava breathing crocodiles, a lavasphere, and even a pirate ship… I feel so boring and uncreative by comparison now.

    I did have a good laugh when I saw somebody built the sign from Novac though, and it’s even half-lit at night, haha.

    1. Jarenth says:

      Think less dedication and more megalomania.

      1. Dys says:

        Megalomania and OCD

  20. Mad Flavius says:

    @Shamus – I don’t mean to be annoying, so if this is an obnoxious plug feel free to remove. This is just the perfect audience to advertise too. ;)

    If anyone is interested in a Roman/Greek/Medieval amalgamation themed build, I now have a dedicated server for it! While there are some epic structures here (Colossus of Rhodes, Pharos Lighthouse, exactly-proportioned Sphinx), we are building a whole civilization, from the streets to the slums to the city walls of the capital, to the surrounding barbarian villages. Jarenth visited a couple of days ago, but since then we have been workin’ our tails off, and this new server should make things lag-free (relatively). The server will go up again officially (after I run some more scripts like the Overviewer) at about 6 PM PST, and when it does, the IP is: 74.63.229.11

    Hope to see some of you there!

    1. Jarenth says:

      Yeah, sorry I haven’t shown up more. The Twenty Sided server suddenly went up, and then I went on to build a thing, and another thing, and another…

      I can vouch for the fact that Flavius’ server looks really cool, and a lot more… let’s say coherent than ours.

      1. Aldowyn says:

        I’d really like to make a city… I saw this one video, and I totally want to make an entire Medieval castle town in Minecraft now.

        1. SolkaTruesilver says:

          recreate the whole of the Acropolis!!

          1. Aldowyn says:

            as in the one in Athens? That would be cool!

  21. mumakil says:

    hmn been playing on the escapist usergroup server and my coolest thing so far
    is a double pyramid(like one normal pyramid then 1 pyramid upside down on top of that with the sand held up by glass :D) and while it looks epic its nothing compared to the sweet stuff u guys have. Need to go check what else i can find :D

  22. derpderp2 says:

    Just joined up yesterday. Amazing stuff guys! I’m still contemplating what to build first. Hmm…

  23. KremlinLaptop says:

    Since this is a Minecraft post…

    What are some things/features you’ve been wanting in minecraft? On my personal wishlist are a total of three things:

    1. When you have a placeable block out it should show a ghost of where the block is going to end up.

    2. This would in turn facilitate that ability to rotate blocks. I want horizontal logs! Also placing stairs and having them point in the right direction instead of some direction dictated by voodoo would be nice.

    3. And speaking of stairs: corner stair pieces. I tend to use wooden stairs to make nicer roofs for example — corner pieces would look nice.

    1. Mad Flavius says:

      Notch fixed the stair bugs in the Halloween update. They now face opposite to the direct you are facing (aka towards you) 100% upon placing, and they don’t magically rearrange themselves. I, too, have had a building spree of joy now that I can actually put stairs on things without placing blocks on either side to “guide” the stair to face the right way.

      I think one of the coolest additions would be the ability to make shapes–half steps, stairs–out of a number of different materials. Currently, of course, we can build stairs out of cobblestone and wood, but imagine the possibilities of half wooden steps for roofs, iron block stairs (I modded iron to look like marble since I build many Romanesque structures). It would be beautiful.

      1. KremlinLaptop says:

        …I just went and checked this out. Oh my. STAIRS WORK. Holy zombie jesus this is fantastic.

        And that would be nice. I for one really want pure stone stairs for example.

      2. Spatticus says:

        Err… what? I’ve tried placing stairs and they still snap to a random direction about a second or two after I place them. Is there something I’m missing?

        1. Mad Flavius says:

          1) Ensure that you’ve updated your client.
          2) Face in the direction you want the stair to begin from. In other words, once you place it, you can walk directly up it.
          3) Place it. Ever since his update, there haven’t been any shenanigans with magically shifting stairs.

          If there still are…I don’t know what to say. Perhaps Herobrine is getting his poltergeist on in your server. ;)

          1. Thom (talzaroff) says:

            Placing stairs is fixed, and it works like a charm. Only problem now is removing them. That seems to be pretty bugged, up to the point that you can only destroy them from below or from the back side (the two sides that ususlly are connected to other blocks, yes). If you try it from another angle, 90% chance that it will snap back after you destroyed it. So be careful when placing them, since they’re hard to remove.

            1. Mad Flavius says:

              I figured out that if you stand on the stairs as you break the stair block, most of the time it vanishes, I think because your character takes up the physical space and tricks the server. At least, it seems to work for me.

            2. Miral says:

              I’ve had quite a few issues with trying to destroy stairs and somehow having it destroy the block behind or below the stairs (directly behind: the invisible one) instead. Madness. (It’s also annoying that you only get one wood/stone block back when you break them, when they take 6 to build. Of course, lightstone is worse in that respect.)

            3. MadTinkerer says:

              If you are having trouble with the stairs snapping back into place, the trick I found is to whack them with a pick and the INSTANT they disappear: walk right into the space where they were. If you do it quickly enough a plain block of cobble or planks will pop out like in SP and the stairs will be gone. Too slow and you’ll just end up on top of the magically reappearing stairs.

      3. Zukhramm says:

        That’s not so much fixing the bug as removing the bugged feature (auto-arranging stairs).

    2. Kdansky says:

      I would like a few tiny features:

      – Obsidian should not take 15 seconds to mine. It’s just awefully boring, and same goes for redstone.

      – Mining state should be saved for a few seconds, so if you accidentally move the mouse, you can still continue within a short window.

      – Give me shift+click in my inventory to move stuff between chests and inventory fast.

    3. purf/someguy(50) says:

      hmmm…

      – be able to build on half-blocks
      – trapdoors
      – dyeing of wool/cloth with for instance flowers

      1. Alan De Smet says:

        “be able to build on half-blocks” Not likely. Any given block holds one and only one thing. (Monsters and players excepted, of course.) This is why ladders displace water, and similar wonkiness. Being able to put something halfway between two blocks would be a serious change to the assumptions the game is built on.

        “trapdoors” There is some hope here. notch has indicated that he likes the “bridge” mod, and that he may take the idea. It mod allows blocks to appear and disappear based on redstone power. All sorts of bridges, large doors and, of course, trapdoors, become possible!

  24. Nick says:

    Gaah stop tempting me to get Minecraft and never leave the house again!

    Seriously though, these are some pretty sweet construction jobs – well done guys!

  25. SolkaTruesilver says:

    Now somebody needs to do a 3d-replicate of the Enterprise.

    1. MarkHawk says:

      It’s been done, just not on twentymine. I’m now seriously considering making that D20 though…

      1. Dys says:

        Don’t know if you’ll see this, I really should try to avoid spamming one thread with dozens of comments…

        As far as I can tell, an icosohedron is basically formed from a cap and base of five triangles, arranged as a 5 sided pyramid, that is five triangles with their bases along the sides of a pentagon, and their apices joined. The cap and base are then joined by a ten triangles running from edge to vertex between the two pentagons.

        That was a terrible explanation, right? Sorry >.<

        1. Dys says:

          Ok, just done some calculations and the problem I see is that the points of a pentagon do not lie conveniently on a grid coordinate, meaning that any attempt to make one in minecraft would be an exercise in imprecision and probably end up looking wonky.

          There are some sizes that are close, and I do wonder if rotating it would bring things closer into line. Unfortunately I don’t have the faintest idea how to figure that out.

          1. MarkHawk says:

            I spent 3 hours trudging through 15 year old websites looking for VRML models of icosahedrons to feed into binvox (a program that “reads a 3D model file, rasterizes it into a binary 3D voxel grid, and writes the resulting voxel file.”)

            The problem is, I didnt want a pentagonal pyramid on top or bottom. I roll TWENTIES. So I needed to get a model which would sit naturally on a flat surface, as if rolled there.

            The first model I found was in VRML 1.0, which binvox can’t read.

            So I googled for a converted.
            Found one.
            It prints a load of crap to the command line and doesnt do anything with the files.
            Turns out it needs a frontend/wrapper to actually write to a file.
            Found it.
            By some miracle it actually works.
            Binvox takes about 75 seconds to voxelize the model.
            Great, the model’s orientation is rotated by a few degrees so that there are no true straight lines in it. It sits the right side up, but the rotation has made it heavily distorted, more spherical than icosahedral.

            The second, third and fourth fifth sat on an edge instead of a face. Binvox’s rotation options work in increments of 90 degrees, and therefore didn’t help. Every combination of rotations either left it edge-down or wouldn’t render any voxels.

            Just as I was starting to consider giving up, or drawing it by hand, I found one that rendered with a point at the bottom. A quick rotation and it was sitting flat. THANK GOOGLE FOR THAT.

            1. Dys says:

              Very nice.
              I saw a few things here and there which might accomplish something similar, but had no clue how to get them to work.

              Tried doing some basic trig to get dimensions which lay vaguely on grid points, but while I managed to end up with a rough pentagon, making any headway after that was beyond me.

              You realise that after the d20 is done, you’ll have to do the d4, 6, 8 and 12 as well? :P

              Did find something called Qubicle which purports to be a cubic graphic design package, but it’s not obviously available from the site. http://www.minddesk.com

    2. modus0 says:

      As MarkHawk said, there’s a guy doing a 1:1 scale Enterprise-D.

      He’s got a video on YouTube that really shows just how big a Galaxy-class starship really is. 0.o

      1. Aldowyn says:

        it’s not even the only example of an Enterprise, just the most well-known, most impressive, most accurate, etc. etc.

        The Classic server I was playing on also has a world devoted to an Enterprise. Sprite heaven as well… I’m not even kidding, there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of incredibly awesome sprites on it. (Team 9000 server)

    3. KillTyrant says:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn2-d5a3r94&feature=related

      His voice is kind of annoying but he is a cool guy.

  26. The_Unforgiven says:

    Aww :( Undergroundia didn’t make it on the list. Well, I suppose it’s not even close to being finished, so I suppose it’s understandable. Still, I was looking forward to seeing it here :P

  27. Entropy says:

    Man my half finished aqueduct is basically a blight on the landscape. =(

    1. Jarenth says:

      Your only recourse is to convert in into a large particle accelerator now.

    2. Sigilis says:

      Is this the structure next to Project Sunbeam? If so, please consider turning it into a bridge instead. The view is spectacular, and the arches are spiffy.

  28. acronix says:

    And here I was so proud of my tiny castles in my SP world.

    /hides in shame.

  29. Spatticus says:

    I don’t have half the patience to actually make a true megastructure like fenixhq or the snowglobe. But, in the end, I’d rather make something that looks nice on a scale I’m comfortable with than try to reach beyond my grasp. My Swigin’ Treetop Bachelor Pad is Exhibit Everything on that. Even my greatest scaled creation, the Bombthedral(I REVEAL MY INMOST SELF UNTO MY GOD) is but piddling play compared to everyone elses’. But it’ll look nice, and that’s what’s important to me. Eventually I’ll go make a comprehensive screenshot tour through my creations. With creator’s commentary.

    -Spammy

    1. Cybron says:

      If it’s any consolation, I raid your treefarm multiple times a day.

      1. Spatticus says:

        That’s not only a consolation, that’s exactly why I made the tree farm in the first place, and why I’m currently digging out another layer of farm!

  30. Double A says:

    Shamus, you really need to try Dwarf Fortress. It’s like Minecraft, but you get to order your dwarves around to build everything for you. The only drawback is the graphics are ASCII and in 2D, but this actually adds to the flavor of the game.

    Oh, and if you ever get the hang of it, you can taunt Rutskarn to death with it.

    1. Dys says:

      No, incorrect, the graphics are not a drawback, the impenetrably hostile interface is.

  31. 4th_Dimension says:

    Anyone has any intention to build a nice train tourist route, so that lazy visitors don’t need to slog trough server on foot?

    1. Clint Olson says:

      Unfortunately, minecarts don’t work on multiplayer, so we don’t really have any “train” available. We do, however, have the “scenicwalk” warp, which I recommend to all tourists — drmastermind built a glass walkway that meanders over most of the map, with signs pointing out the main attractions.

    2. Slothful says:

      Minecarts don’t work yet in multiplayer, though if they did, I’d totally want to try making a transportation system. I’m not too great at mega-structures, but I could help everyone else show off theirs.

      1. Tomulus says:

        When I got bored building my house, I started building roads. It’s useful and easy and now my creation is connected to mumbles’s cantina AND pearlyunicorn’s tower. Infrastructure FTW!

  32. Irridium says:

    Wow, all these buildings put my quaint little cabin to shame.

    Also, I can totally see the crater we created. If only it wasn’t covered with trees though. Still, it makes me feel special.

  33. Dys says:

    Incidentally, is there a slow time on the server? I’d really love to log on, but ideally whenever demand for time is lowest.

    1. Vipermagi says:

      If you want a mostly empty server, hop on between 11:00 and 14:00 GMT, maybe a little earlier and/or later as well.

      1. Dys says:

        Tx Viper, good call. Only a couple of people around, had a good long wander. :)

  34. BeardedDork says:

    When I saw the first server I was inspired and went back to my single player game to map and plan so I could build. When I first saw the new server I was awed and knew there was nothing within my capacity to add. My creations would be akin to hanging a crayon drawing from the fridge amongst the masters in the Louvre.

    Also I spawned in the water which made me laugh because my little dude is skinned to look like Aquaman.

  35. smileyninja says:

    Are these screenshots from you Shamus? Funny, I keep my tools and torches exactly opposite from you- tools on right and torch first slot on left. Also, this is my first post.

    The index/worldmaps keeps giving me CRC errors when I try to extract them. I’ve tried the 2 most recent ones.

  36. Jep jep says:

    Any chance to get somesort of video tour of the place?

  37. Ralph says:

    Sorry for overshadowing your bridge Shamus, it just seemed like the right thing to put there. I based it on the Sydney Harbour Bridge by measuring the gap then scaling a side view photo. You may blow it up with TNT if you want.

    Your castle is still way better than my house 8-) (I am planning to add to it though…)

  38. Nekokirin says:

    Man, so much has been built since I was on the server yesterday even! I was wondering what the massive circle was going to be but i had no idea it was going to be a snowglobe lol. My gf and I are building the ULTRACOTTAGE on there. In an attempt to keep my sanity we’re going for (relatively) quaint. Jumping into the giant pit that is fenixhq from the top-of-the-world skybridge walkway is one of the neater experiences on the server. Overall I think this is the best minecraft server I’ve been on and I’m glad I can build on it with so much awesome stuff happening around me :D

  39. Aldowyn says:

    A: I’ve seen quite a bit more impressive stuff (Giant Pokeball, Death star, etc.), but these were made in Classic with not only unlimited materials, but probably a hack client known as World of Minecraft that allows you to fly, super speed, and noclip. (It’s allowed on the server, and almost everyone uses it.)

    B: … I need $15. Black Ops is admittedly higher on my list, but I think I can manage to get something this awesome that cheap. That will become more awesome, no less. This server looks awesome, especially with it being the 20-sided community

    C: And speaking of 20-sided … that 3D d20 should be at the entrance with a sign above it saying “Welcome to 20-sided.”

    BTW, if someone wants to see what I’ve made (my favorite creation is a master sword shrine, consisting of a pyramid with Tri-forces for sides and, obviously, a master sword.), come visit me at http://aldowynsmusings.tk! (Sorry for the self-promotion…) My Minecraft post is currently the 2nd one down, despite being several weeks old.

  40. Cybron says:

    Man the snowglobe dome puts my domes in Atlantis to shame.

    At least I can take solace in the fact that the snowglobe is a multiperson project whereas Atlantis is just me.

    Also, re: Mining your materials – judging someone for not spending a billion hours mining materials seem rather foolish to me. Not everyone has the time to dedicate for such activities.

  41. HeroOfHyla says:

    Someone put torches along my spiraling half-tower? Neat! Was planning to eventually make it a full tower (the spiral was a staircase so i could get up to work on the top), but it looks cooler like this.

  42. X2-Eliah says:

    A special Edition of Spoiler warning where Josh runs around this world sightseeing and the rest commentate?

    1. Peter Olson says:

      I second this, it would be a great way to show off what has been built on the server. Also another path to ensnare more workers… I mean creative people.

  43. MadTinkerer says:

    I’m hoping to finally complete the Skycastle this weekend, or at least get it in a near-finished state. All of the floors, balconies, and most of the stairs are done. The pillars and skylights are in place. The garden on the top is started. I still need to make final decisions on the parapets, towers, fountains, internal walls and rooms, decide exactly what I’m doing with the valley floor (my tree experiment seems promising, but we’ll see), decide whether I’m adding an additional sub-basement, figure out how to integrate redstone gadgets (like those neat automatically closing doors in Atlantis), decide where and how to expand into the mountainside, placing LOTS of signs, fences, etc.

  44. StranaMente says:

    Are there problem with the server? Can’t connect…

    1. Jarenth says:

      Likewise here.

      Guess I’ll be spending my time productively then.

      1. Nick says:

        Do people actually sstill go on the Server?>

    2. Sigilis says:

      Unless I miss my guess, the downtime is the result of the server upgrade that was ordered last night. Hopefully it will be brief, and the server will be back better than ever.

      1. Cybron says:

        This is correct, there’s an announcement for it on the forums.

        Which is a shame because I was in the middle of starting up a redstone circuit, hopefully I won’t forget what I was doing…

        1. StranaMente says:

          What was the url of the forum?
          Shamus should have posted it along with the other links…

          1. Sigilis says:

            Forums.twentymine.com, your source for everything forum and twentymine related.

            1. Jarenth says:

              Also com.

  45. Minecraft is pro says:

    cool dude!

  46. Gemini says:

    can I drop a nuke on someone server or do I start blank

  47. Superb blog! Do you have any tips for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own site soon but I’m
    a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid
    option? There are so many choices out there that I’m completely
    confused .. Any suggestions? Thank you!

  48. Blue_Pie_Ninja says:

    That bridge appears to be the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

    Also it sucks to see your server is down. damn. :(

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