Minecraft Forums

Quote from R1ch4rd_N1x0n»

I think you're overexaggerating the spread, it isn't THAT fast. The spread isn't meant to override entire biomes within a short time, it would take quite some time to do that. The spread is for the simple purpose of making the biome spookier.

Shorter time or longer time, it would inevitably destroy all surrounding dirt-based biomes if not actively cordoned off, and would likely give massive trolling potential. Spreading time doesn't really matter, the player doesn't spend most of the time trying to prevent some sick biomes from destroying everything else but at mining, building and killing.

Quote from Upset_Man»

It destroys your base because if you ever happen to be living near one of these biomes and it spreads to your doorstep, it will make living in said base next to impossible because villagers and animals don't even work anymore, and mobs will always spawn. I don't mean "destroy" in the literal sense just that you would have to abandon your base or spend a ridiculous amount of time and danger trying to contain the biome and cleanse the neighborhood. Which also doesn't work, because in the time that you have to fight off mobs, farm soul torches or bonemeal or whatever, you may be able to reclaim your house but the entirety of the surrounding biome around you will be overrun and you will have to run away hundreds of blocks just to avoid loading the chunks and risk the biome spreading even further. Then you realize that another spooky biome generated near your house, and you have to move away AGAIN.

You would have a much easier time containing the biome later on in the game, but in the beginning all you might have is iron or unenchanted diamond tools at best, nowhere near enough to dig 5 block wide trenches for hundreds of blocks or lay down wide roads of half slabs to stop the spread. Again with my Terraria comparison. Later in the game you have these god-like tools to stop this corruption or crimson from destroying your world, and even then it takes several hours of grinding just to stop a natural part of the game from ruining your life. At least that game balances it out by only making the corruption or hallow whatever become a real threat to you when you get to the later part of the game, after you initiate hard mode.

Also, and I have said this already, but there are several ways that you could unknowingly have this spread over to your base without you knowing or just take over your world. For example, spawn chunks are an area of space in the game surrounding 0,0 that are always loaded during the game. If even 1 of these spooky blocks are within this, there isn't any hope for your world if you accidentally load in the biome for the first time, it will just keep spreading forever and take over the spawn chunks to the point where you wouldn't even be able to stop it with god tools. If you made your base in this region, now you have to deal with low light levels everywhere and creepers around every corner, oh yeah also animals and villagers don't work anymore. Too bad! If you go mining for a few hours and a spooky grass block is loaded, world is destroyed when you get back up. Greifer puts a single block in your base, base is destroyed when you log back in.

Again, I use "destroyed" because having to deal with permanent low light levels, mob spawning, and dysfunctional animals is pretty much just as bad as having your base/world burned to the ground. If the biome can't function without all of it's game breaking aspects then it shouldn't even be in the game.

I'm on your side, I agree.
Also, if I recall correctly, in Terraria the world is two-dimensional more or less, making containing spread of something along the surface much simpler than 3D Minecraft.