E4R7H is a survival/adventure map set on an uncharted planet. Your spaceship has crash landed in hostile territory. The ship is in a state of ruin, but it is not beyond repair. You must gather resources from the treacherous land to slowly piece together your ship.
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Time is precious. As Captain aboard the S.S. Redemption, you must strategize and prioritize to escape as quickly as possible. Craft custom-made tools with rare resources, unlock special rewards from optional ship repairs, and time-manage a legion of crew members in order to expedite your escape.
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E4R7H is suitable for one to six players. Whether you decide to embark on a solo mission or to lead a crew of friends into space, there will always be something to do. If you so wish, crews of seven or more are also functional.
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The map features a self-calculating scoring system, so after you've finished the game you can compare your score with friends, or challenge yourself to set a new highscore. With multiple viable strategies, you'll find yourself coming back again and again.
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How long will it take you to escape Planet-E4R7H? Will you even escape at all?
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Note to all players: Whilst this map is in its early stages we would be appreciative if you joined our team of testers and provided feedback on your experiences in this early release experiment. This way you can access the map as early as possible and help to improve and balance the gameplay for yourselves and other players in the future. We intend to release several iterations of the map, slowly adding features each time, so keep a close eye on the alpha's Codename to see if the map has been updated since the last time you played.
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Feel free to check out Mental Block Gaming's other maps in the mean time:
The first character you will meet is Louise, the ship's artificial intelligence who will lead you through the game. She is chirpy and excitable, providing detailed information in a quirky and upbeat manner.
"Good morning, Captain. It’s about time you got up, sleepy head!"
She guides you through from the start...
"Welcome aboard the S.S. Retribution. Our first priority on every flight is safety, so before we depart I’ll be giving a brief safety presentation."
Right until the very end...
"Active mission failed. Searching for secondary objective. No secondary objective found. Commencing shutdown. Goodnight."
The machinery on board is yet to be finalised, but we have some great ideas involving oxygen tanks and night vision goggles. Really looking forward to being able to show off those systems soon!
This weekend has involved an enormous amount of work on E4R7H!
The systems for oxygen have been completely implemented. Leaving your ship without your spacesuit will have fatal consequences, as will running out of oxygen whilst exploring the planet. Make it back to the S. S. Redemption on time, or you might just suffocate!
In addition, we've implemented a charge system for each of the players. Whilst out and about you might want to use your Night Vision Goggles, particularly deep in the caverns of the world - but make sure to use them wisely, because their battery life is very short, and every second of vision is absolutely vital. When the charge on the goggles runs out, simply charge them back up again by putting them on any of the Charging Bays on your ship.
Swag.
Finally, the central teleport has been added to the ship, allowing Captains to ferry up and down their ship quickly, efficiently and in true sci-fi manner.
We expect the first release of E4R7H to be available some time before the end of October. Over half of the machines required for our first alpha release have already been created, and we'd love for you to get started as soon as possible! If you want to be one of the first to try out the map, subscribe to this thread or follow us on Facebook or Twitter to get the latest updates on the map's development.
BIG announcement! The first release of E4R7H is now available for download!
Since the last update, a few extra changes have been made:
L.O.U.I.S.E. has gone through a lot of development, and her purposes have now been more clearly defined. Her user interface is very friendly, although some of her textures are still to be designed. The first set of sound effects for the ship's basic functions have been put into the game, along with a provisional clip from L.O.U.I.S.E. to help players get acquainted with the rules. It's surprising how quickly you get used to them.
The basic oxygen supply in your space suits is not an ample amount for long voyages. As such, the space suits can be upgraded, allowing you to spend more time exploring the E4R7H's surface without fear of suffocation.
The rocket's thrusters are now ready to be filled. They have a very intuitive system which shows how much fuel still needs to be inserted into each thruster. Foolproof! The Lava Pump machine is also fully functional - as soon as you get it going, that is! The machine works rather slowly, however, so you'll have to make sure you plan your time out well. The primary objective of storing 50 cakes has been installed, along with L.O.U.I.S.E.'s messages of encouragement for each cake baked. For our first release, this objective will be temporarily deactivated while we designate where the ingredients will come from.
When you complete this alpha version of the game, you will be greeted with a congratulatory message and your score will be displayed to your crew. Please post your results here and let us know how well you did! This is great not only for bragging purposes, but also for future balancing. A screenshot of your score is the best way to prove to us how well you did, but failing that we're always happy to hear about it in text form as well.
So get downloading! Just a gentle reminder that this is the first alpha release, so some features are disabled or not yet implemented. Keep checking back for updates!
This sounds very ambitious and very promising. I'll definitely be downloading it and giving it a test!
Edit : Okay, so in it's current state I don't get it.. It may be due to bugs, or lack of content, but I've yet to figure anything out other than how to die randomly from withering.
-The night vision goggles don't work.
-The oxygen system is unexplained, so kind of confusing. Is there a way for me to figure out how long my oxygen last? Is it intended for you to not to be able to swap sets while outside?
-Unexplained mission, I don't know what I'm even supposed to be doing in it's current state. I found 3 iron I can't use for anything and randomly stumbled across a lava area to get a bucket of lava I also can't use for anything.
-Is my name in the on the side supposed to do anything? Score I assume?
Everything seems very promising, but as of now I just can't figure out what I'm even supposed to be testing since it just kind of plops you in.
I realised a few minutes after releasing and having uploaded everything that the systems haven't quite been explained yet.
The night vision goggles run on charge. Each player has 0 charge to start the game. You can charge your goggles using the Charging Bays in the Cockpit. When the goggles are placed on the stand, your charge transfers to the stand. The charge then begins to fill up, up to a maximum of 50. If you pick the goggles up off the stand again, you will have 50 charge. Whilst wearing the goggles your charge will rapidly deplete, so make sure to only use them in times of dire need.
As for the oxygen system, if you want to leave the ship you have to wear your space suit, otherwise you will suffocate (wither). If you run out of oxygen whilst out on your journey, you will also start to wither. Your oxygen tank will fill up when you are wearing your space suit on the ship. You can see your current oxygen levels by pressing "tab" and displaying the list of players in the game. (The number next to the bars that show your connection is how much oxygen you have remaining.) Oxygen should also be visible to all players in multiplayer, underneath the player's username.
The current missions require you to:
1) find the navigation system buried somewhere nearby. It fell off the ship when you descended towards the surface of the planet - it can't be far from the impact site.
2) Refill the thrusters on the side of the ship by finding a source of fuel (lava). It's too dangerous to simply pick lava up with your bear hands, so try to find a machine that can do the job for you. (IIRC, there aren't even ladders on the side of the thrusters so it's currently impossible to load them with lava - feel free to add ladders to them.)
Thanks a lot for your feedback so far! If you have any more questions let me know. This is the exact sort of thing we are testing for.
Now that I understand I'll get back to testing those things out. Definitely looking forward to more development as well, even though it's rather barebones in its current alpha state it shows a ton of promise.
Edit : Missions done! (Sorta)
-The Lava Pump : The path to and from it is pretty much perfect with the base level of oxygen. If you screw around you wont make it back, but if you make decent time it's plenty.
It's reeeeaally slow though. So much so I ended up just going creative and cheating to make sure to fill system worked fine. I sat around doing nothing for a reasonable amount of time and it didn't refill a single time. Although once there's more to do than it I don't think that'll be a problem.
-Find the navigation system : Not much to say here, I dug around furiously looking for something near to ship until I wandered off far enough in the right direction and saw the rather obvious location. It was a bit of a scavenger hunt but no complaints or issues with it.
Also I'll add now that I understand the nightvision and oxygen system :
-Night vision : Didn't use it once with the current missions, although I realize its use will probably come in later. With it essentially lasting a second I'm curious as to what purpose it'll server though.
-Oxygen : It's a really interesting system, and seems to be very well thought out. I like it a lot. The base time and the distance of the closest areas seems to have been planned really well. It gives you a feeling of stress (in a good way) to hurry because times against you, and I like that there will be an upgrade system so that you aren't permanently so limited in movement.
Thanks for your feedback so far! It is indeed the barebones phase of development, but getting crucial feedback this early on prevents us from having to rebuild entire systems when the whole game is already in place.
In response:
Night vision should last for 30 seconds at its max charge, and can be used all at once or in small doses. The goggles will also become upgradeable in a later version when night vision is more important. Did you find you needed to use the goggles on the path to the lava pump, or did you manage alright without them?
The pump is slow but, as you said, you will be able to do work on other tasks whilst the machine loads.
We had similar results when testing just how long far you can get with the oxygen. Glad that you managed to find the navigation system without too much difficulty. too.
If you find any floating islands whilst exploring or if you come across a cavern in the ground that is inescapable, do let us know. It's hard to tame such a large piece of land when it's been procedurally generated, and we do sometimes miss hidden caves or specks of flying stone and dirt.
I found it fine to do without the goggles; the only part that got a little tough was reading a few of the signs. It was still readable though and after going there and back it's simple enough to remember that you wouldn't need to keep reusing goggles for them if you choose to.
and I actually checked for that a bit. I didn't notice any areas where you could get stuck or anything like that. Both the lava pump path and the mines are passable and don't seem to have any weird floating bits or accidental caves.
Thanks for bearing with us through the rocky alpha stage of the game. Now that most of the fundamentals of the ship are down, we can start adding some strategic options for players.
L.O.U.I.S.E.'s Mainframe has been added to the ship. Now it's much easier to interact with her when required, and she provides you with a lot of useful information and items throughout the course of the game. In addition, L.O.U.I.S.E.'s speech is nearing completion. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of her!
The Currency Converter is a straightforward machine that converts sand into iron, iron into gold, and gold into diamond. This makes it much easier to craft bigger, more expensive items that would cost the equivalent of 800 iron (diamond chestplate, I'm looking at you!).
The 3D Printer is your one-stop-shop for all crafting purposes. Insert the appropriate materials in one side of the machine, press the button, wait for the machine to process the request and hey presto! It's as simple as that. The Safety Information Card given to you at the beginning of the game lists all recipes of craftable items.
As you can see from the previous screenshots, we've been really busy overhauling the general look of Minecraft to give off a spacey, sci-fi vibe. This even includes animated computer monitors! The pictures don't do it justice - you have to download it to get the real feel for them. The GUI has also had a makeover. Here's what the new inventory space looks like:
Stay tuned for Codename: Block, hopefully coming this weekend!
E4R7H is to be played on 1,8. There is a resource pack, which you will easily find when you get to the download section of the website. It really adds so much and the game makes more sense if you do. Plus, you'll be missing out on all the sounds if not! So the pack is integral to gameplay.
If you're looking to do a Let's Play of this map, I would probably wait until we have released a few more versions. The game's objectives are only about 1/4 implemented so far, so although there are certain things to do, it's not the same as the full experience. Of course, you could also do Let's Plays of the game during various stages of development, but it depends how much time you're willing to commit to the map. ^^
It's update time. CODENAME: BLOCK now available for download!
As promised, we've been working hard throughout the week to get the game in working order as quickly as possible. A few bugs in the Codename meant that the game was impossible to legitimately finish, but now we've cleaned up all those bugs and got more new features than you can shake a stick at!
In particular, we'd like testers to play with the 3D printer using the recipes described in the Safety Information Card. If there are any discrepencies, let us know. Also, the iron minecart system is set up, although there is currently little indication that it is working. Just be patient and keep checking back!
@minecrafted12: Alright, we look forward to seeing it! Don't be afraid to post a link to your channel when you are done.
PharmyB has been working on the promotional side of the game, updating the website and designing graphics. You can see the E4R7H section here: http://mentalblockgaming.webflow.com/downloads#e4r7h
The first character you will meet is Louise, the ship's artificial intelligence who will lead you through the game. She is chirpy and excitable, providing detailed information in a quirky and upbeat manner.
"Good morning, Captain. It’s about time you got up, sleepy head!"
She guides you through from the start...
"Welcome aboard the S.S. Retribution. Our first priority on every flight is safety, so before we depart I’ll be giving a brief safety presentation."
Right until the very end...
"Active mission failed. Searching for secondary objective. No secondary objective found. Commencing shutdown. Goodnight."
The machinery on board is yet to be finalised, but we have some great ideas involving oxygen tanks and night vision goggles. Really looking forward to being able to show off those systems soon!
The systems for oxygen have been completely implemented. Leaving your ship without your spacesuit will have fatal consequences, as will running out of oxygen whilst exploring the planet. Make it back to the S. S. Redemption on time, or you might just suffocate!
In addition, we've implemented a charge system for each of the players. Whilst out and about you might want to use your Night Vision Goggles, particularly deep in the caverns of the world - but make sure to use them wisely, because their battery life is very short, and every second of vision is absolutely vital. When the charge on the goggles runs out, simply charge them back up again by putting them on any of the Charging Bays on your ship.
Swag.
Finally, the central teleport has been added to the ship, allowing Captains to ferry up and down their ship quickly, efficiently and in true sci-fi manner.
We expect the first release of E4R7H to be available some time before the end of October. Over half of the machines required for our first alpha release have already been created, and we'd love for you to get started as soon as possible! If you want to be one of the first to try out the map, subscribe to this thread or follow us on Facebook or Twitter to get the latest updates on the map's development.
Since the last update, a few extra changes have been made:
L.O.U.I.S.E. has gone through a lot of development, and her purposes have now been more clearly defined. Her user interface is very friendly, although some of her textures are still to be designed. The first set of sound effects for the ship's basic functions have been put into the game, along with a provisional clip from L.O.U.I.S.E. to help players get acquainted with the rules. It's surprising how quickly you get used to them.
The basic oxygen supply in your space suits is not an ample amount for long voyages. As such, the space suits can be upgraded, allowing you to spend more time exploring the E4R7H's surface without fear of suffocation.
The rocket's thrusters are now ready to be filled. They have a very intuitive system which shows how much fuel still needs to be inserted into each thruster. Foolproof! The Lava Pump machine is also fully functional - as soon as you get it going, that is! The machine works rather slowly, however, so you'll have to make sure you plan your time out well. The primary objective of storing 50 cakes has been installed, along with L.O.U.I.S.E.'s messages of encouragement for each cake baked. For our first release, this objective will be temporarily deactivated while we designate where the ingredients will come from.
When you complete this alpha version of the game, you will be greeted with a congratulatory message and your score will be displayed to your crew. Please post your results here and let us know how well you did! This is great not only for bragging purposes, but also for future balancing. A screenshot of your score is the best way to prove to us how well you did, but failing that we're always happy to hear about it in text form as well.
So get downloading! Just a gentle reminder that this is the first alpha release, so some features are disabled or not yet implemented. Keep checking back for updates!
Edit : Okay, so in it's current state I don't get it.. It may be due to bugs, or lack of content, but I've yet to figure anything out other than how to die randomly from withering.
-The night vision goggles don't work.
-The oxygen system is unexplained, so kind of confusing. Is there a way for me to figure out how long my oxygen last? Is it intended for you to not to be able to swap sets while outside?
-Unexplained mission, I don't know what I'm even supposed to be doing in it's current state. I found 3 iron I can't use for anything and randomly stumbled across a lava area to get a bucket of lava I also can't use for anything.
-Is my name in the on the side supposed to do anything? Score I assume?
Everything seems very promising, but as of now I just can't figure out what I'm even supposed to be testing since it just kind of plops you in.
The night vision goggles run on charge. Each player has 0 charge to start the game. You can charge your goggles using the Charging Bays in the Cockpit. When the goggles are placed on the stand, your charge transfers to the stand. The charge then begins to fill up, up to a maximum of 50. If you pick the goggles up off the stand again, you will have 50 charge. Whilst wearing the goggles your charge will rapidly deplete, so make sure to only use them in times of dire need.
As for the oxygen system, if you want to leave the ship you have to wear your space suit, otherwise you will suffocate (wither). If you run out of oxygen whilst out on your journey, you will also start to wither. Your oxygen tank will fill up when you are wearing your space suit on the ship. You can see your current oxygen levels by pressing "tab" and displaying the list of players in the game. (The number next to the bars that show your connection is how much oxygen you have remaining.) Oxygen should also be visible to all players in multiplayer, underneath the player's username.
The current missions require you to:
1) find the navigation system buried somewhere nearby. It fell off the ship when you descended towards the surface of the planet - it can't be far from the impact site.
2) Refill the thrusters on the side of the ship by finding a source of fuel (lava). It's too dangerous to simply pick lava up with your bear hands, so try to find a machine that can do the job for you. (IIRC, there aren't even ladders on the side of the thrusters so it's currently impossible to load them with lava - feel free to add ladders to them.)
Thanks a lot for your feedback so far! If you have any more questions let me know. This is the exact sort of thing we are testing for.
Now that I understand I'll get back to testing those things out. Definitely looking forward to more development as well, even though it's rather barebones in its current alpha state it shows a ton of promise.
Edit : Missions done! (Sorta)
-The Lava Pump : The path to and from it is pretty much perfect with the base level of oxygen. If you screw around you wont make it back, but if you make decent time it's plenty.
It's reeeeaally slow though. So much so I ended up just going creative and cheating to make sure to fill system worked fine. I sat around doing nothing for a reasonable amount of time and it didn't refill a single time. Although once there's more to do than it I don't think that'll be a problem.
-Find the navigation system : Not much to say here, I dug around furiously looking for something near to ship until I wandered off far enough in the right direction and saw the rather obvious location. It was a bit of a scavenger hunt but no complaints or issues with it.
Also I'll add now that I understand the nightvision and oxygen system :
-Night vision : Didn't use it once with the current missions, although I realize its use will probably come in later. With it essentially lasting a second I'm curious as to what purpose it'll server though.
-Oxygen : It's a really interesting system, and seems to be very well thought out. I like it a lot. The base time and the distance of the closest areas seems to have been planned really well. It gives you a feeling of stress (in a good way) to hurry because times against you, and I like that there will be an upgrade system so that you aren't permanently so limited in movement.
In response:
Night vision should last for 30 seconds at its max charge, and can be used all at once or in small doses. The goggles will also become upgradeable in a later version when night vision is more important. Did you find you needed to use the goggles on the path to the lava pump, or did you manage alright without them?
The pump is slow but, as you said, you will be able to do work on other tasks whilst the machine loads.
We had similar results when testing just how long far you can get with the oxygen. Glad that you managed to find the navigation system without too much difficulty. too.
If you find any floating islands whilst exploring or if you come across a cavern in the ground that is inescapable, do let us know. It's hard to tame such a large piece of land when it's been procedurally generated, and we do sometimes miss hidden caves or specks of flying stone and dirt.
I found it fine to do without the goggles; the only part that got a little tough was reading a few of the signs. It was still readable though and after going there and back it's simple enough to remember that you wouldn't need to keep reusing goggles for them if you choose to.
and I actually checked for that a bit. I didn't notice any areas where you could get stuck or anything like that. Both the lava pump path and the mines are passable and don't seem to have any weird floating bits or accidental caves.
Thanks for bearing with us through the rocky alpha stage of the game. Now that most of the fundamentals of the ship are down, we can start adding some strategic options for players.
L.O.U.I.S.E.'s Mainframe has been added to the ship. Now it's much easier to interact with her when required, and she provides you with a lot of useful information and items throughout the course of the game. In addition, L.O.U.I.S.E.'s speech is nearing completion. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of her!
The Currency Converter is a straightforward machine that converts sand into iron, iron into gold, and gold into diamond. This makes it much easier to craft bigger, more expensive items that would cost the equivalent of 800 iron (diamond chestplate, I'm looking at you!).
The 3D Printer is your one-stop-shop for all crafting purposes. Insert the appropriate materials in one side of the machine, press the button, wait for the machine to process the request and hey presto! It's as simple as that. The Safety Information Card given to you at the beginning of the game lists all recipes of craftable items.
As you can see from the previous screenshots, we've been really busy overhauling the general look of Minecraft to give off a spacey, sci-fi vibe. This even includes animated computer monitors! The pictures don't do it justice - you have to download it to get the real feel for them. The GUI has also had a makeover. Here's what the new inventory space looks like:
Stay tuned for Codename: Block, hopefully coming this weekend!
If you're looking to do a Let's Play of this map, I would probably wait until we have released a few more versions. The game's objectives are only about 1/4 implemented so far, so although there are certain things to do, it's not the same as the full experience. Of course, you could also do Let's Plays of the game during various stages of development, but it depends how much time you're willing to commit to the map. ^^
As promised, we've been working hard throughout the week to get the game in working order as quickly as possible. A few bugs in the Codename meant that the game was impossible to legitimately finish, but now we've cleaned up all those bugs and got more new features than you can shake a stick at!
In particular, we'd like testers to play with the 3D printer using the recipes described in the Safety Information Card. If there are any discrepencies, let us know. Also, the iron minecart system is set up, although there is currently little indication that it is working. Just be patient and keep checking back!
@minecrafted12: Alright, we look forward to seeing it! Don't be afraid to post a link to your channel when you are done.