Simply praising the good parts of Minecraft is not an excuse to neglect the glaring flaws. Mojang seems hesitant to change the fabric of the game outright, but is still doing it though the small cosmetic updates that make Minecraft feel less and less like the game it used to be. I rarely play singleplayer, but when I do, I still play on 1.7.10, because it's the last version I felt like I knew what the game was. Mojang is building a skyscraper off of a foundation riddled with worms. They need to improve the fundamental gameplay loops and base content before they continue piling more stuff on the players.
1: it took Mojang over a year to add concrete and parrots
2: cosmetic building is only one part of one facet of the game—you can’t neglect the rest of it. What about functional building? No revolutionary blocks have been added since maybe observers.
I think they also need mechanics that incentivize building. As Whitelight said, “what good is a castle with no men to defend it? No people for it to guard? No enemies to attack it?”
But I’m not sure if any of the new updates added more progression. Oceans gave us a bunch of blocks, some mechanics, and a stronger weapon. I guess pillager raids are okay, but they’re easy to avoid if a cow exists. Then we got bees, which are a joke. Now we have what are essentially retextured pigmen and nether fortresses, and like 2 mobs. Your tools being like 10% faster and not burning in lava doesn’t change anything substantial.
I don’t think that Minecraft necessarily has to be a sandbox, and imposing that on other players who see it as a game is not an option. I think two game modes would work, with the current mode serving as a middle ground between creative and the full RPG experience I’m suggesting.
I don’t believe that any of this addresses the fundamental problem I brought up—in fact, this is what I was arguing against. Adding new blocks that are either slightly streamlined versions of preexisting features or conveniences, or just cosmetics, is not good or sustainable. Mojang needs to either stop with the new expansions and double down on perfecting the current gameplay loops or commit to an rpg and start adding smarter mob AI, more bosses, lore, and stronger mobs. Maybe this could even be a different game mode to the current misnamed “survival”. I see no other good way to satisfy both the people who see Minecraft as a game and those who see it as a sandbox.
If you're going for a more rugged look and don't have any structures nearby to worry about, you can put a tnt or two in the cliff and then smooth the rough areas a little bit manually.
Any game advances with time; that's how it should naturally change. What I don't like is where Mojang is taking the game. Instead of creating substantial changes that make the game more enjoyable to play, they're just adding random new stuff, without a clear reason why. A nether update is cool, and a cave update would be too, but that's not really a good or sustainable way to update a game. If they want to keep Minecraft simple, then they shouldn't just be adding more and more blocks and items. If they want to turn Minecraft into more of an RPG, then they should be adding new gameplay loops and systems along with the new biomes.
It feels like Mojang is only adding novelties and meaningless cosmetic items instead of actually updating the game. The new updates are nice for the players who just like to build stuff for the sake of it, but add very little in terms of progression, and even less in terms of challenge. We're getting more and more items, becoming stronger and stronger, without any harder enemies. They're adding new mobs, but they don't have significantly different AI, and they're not stronger, making them essentially retextured versions of preexisting mobs.
Whitelight made a fantastic video suggesting some changes, and one of them was dynamic systems in the game, including dynamic villages. I think this is a good idea if Mojang does want to take Minecraft down the path of being a more complex game. If they don't, then that's fine, but they need to then stop adding all of these new almost purely cosmetic biomes, mobs, and items.
0
Simply praising the good parts of Minecraft is not an excuse to neglect the glaring flaws. Mojang seems hesitant to change the fabric of the game outright, but is still doing it though the small cosmetic updates that make Minecraft feel less and less like the game it used to be. I rarely play singleplayer, but when I do, I still play on 1.7.10, because it's the last version I felt like I knew what the game was. Mojang is building a skyscraper off of a foundation riddled with worms. They need to improve the fundamental gameplay loops and base content before they continue piling more stuff on the players.
2
1: it took Mojang over a year to add concrete and parrots
2: cosmetic building is only one part of one facet of the game—you can’t neglect the rest of it. What about functional building? No revolutionary blocks have been added since maybe observers.
3
I think they also need mechanics that incentivize building. As Whitelight said, “what good is a castle with no men to defend it? No people for it to guard? No enemies to attack it?”
0
But I’m not sure if any of the new updates added more progression. Oceans gave us a bunch of blocks, some mechanics, and a stronger weapon. I guess pillager raids are okay, but they’re easy to avoid if a cow exists. Then we got bees, which are a joke. Now we have what are essentially retextured pigmen and nether fortresses, and like 2 mobs. Your tools being like 10% faster and not burning in lava doesn’t change anything substantial.
2
I don’t think that Minecraft necessarily has to be a sandbox, and imposing that on other players who see it as a game is not an option. I think two game modes would work, with the current mode serving as a middle ground between creative and the full RPG experience I’m suggesting.
2
I don’t believe that any of this addresses the fundamental problem I brought up—in fact, this is what I was arguing against. Adding new blocks that are either slightly streamlined versions of preexisting features or conveniences, or just cosmetics, is not good or sustainable. Mojang needs to either stop with the new expansions and double down on perfecting the current gameplay loops or commit to an rpg and start adding smarter mob AI, more bosses, lore, and stronger mobs. Maybe this could even be a different game mode to the current misnamed “survival”. I see no other good way to satisfy both the people who see Minecraft as a game and those who see it as a sandbox.
1
If you're going for a more rugged look and don't have any structures nearby to worry about, you can put a tnt or two in the cliff and then smooth the rough areas a little bit manually.
5
Any game advances with time; that's how it should naturally change. What I don't like is where Mojang is taking the game. Instead of creating substantial changes that make the game more enjoyable to play, they're just adding random new stuff, without a clear reason why. A nether update is cool, and a cave update would be too, but that's not really a good or sustainable way to update a game. If they want to keep Minecraft simple, then they shouldn't just be adding more and more blocks and items. If they want to turn Minecraft into more of an RPG, then they should be adding new gameplay loops and systems along with the new biomes.
It feels like Mojang is only adding novelties and meaningless cosmetic items instead of actually updating the game. The new updates are nice for the players who just like to build stuff for the sake of it, but add very little in terms of progression, and even less in terms of challenge. We're getting more and more items, becoming stronger and stronger, without any harder enemies. They're adding new mobs, but they don't have significantly different AI, and they're not stronger, making them essentially retextured versions of preexisting mobs.
Whitelight made a fantastic video suggesting some changes, and one of them was dynamic systems in the game, including dynamic villages. I think this is a good idea if Mojang does want to take Minecraft down the path of being a more complex game. If they don't, then that's fine, but they need to then stop adding all of these new almost purely cosmetic biomes, mobs, and items.