I know how to find strongholds I think - I've never had a problem before. But for some reason, my current one is just not working. The ender pearls seem to lead me in circles. Eventually I get to point where I throw an eye and it shoots 20 spaces (or so) west. Then I run to where it fell, throw it again, and it shoots 20 spaces east, back to where I was. If I run to the middle and throw it, it goes 20 spaces east (or west) from there. But it's always telling me to go somewhere other than where I'm at - it never heads down to the ground like I'm used to. I've dug down and searched, but I can't find anything.
Do you ever get situations with two strongholds close together or something where it keeps jumping back and forth between which one it's leading you to? That's the only thing I can think of. Or does the eye not head down toward the ground when you're close anymore?
Created map on 1.0 release, and running that release btw.
Not really a funny story, but I did notice a couple things about hunting Endermen last night:
1) Hunting them in the woods is a stupid waste of time. Find yourself a desert and use a quickness potion and you'll find tons.
2) Fire Aspect enchant is really nice on Endermen. I used to think it was useless because you can kill monsters in a few hits anyway, but I got it on a diamond sword last night and realized that after you hit the Enderman the first time, he can port around all he wants, but he's still on fire! Which makes him a) die in about two hits, and :cool.gif: really easy to find after he ports.
I was under the impression that enchantment names were random, but fixed. So that, if you saw an enchantment that read "undead stale demon" or something, once translated into English, and it turned out to be "sharpness 1", then "undead stale demon" would always be sharpness 1, at least in that world.
I never bothered keeping track of them, but I thought I would start to. I enchanted three stone swords in a row (at level 1, just to learn the names). Three different level enchantments, with three totally different names, turned out to be sharpness 1 (and a fourth turned out to be knockback).
This makes me think I don't understand how it works. Are the names in fact TOTALLY random? That seems unlikely and a little pointless (why bother translating them if you can't learn anything from them?). I've read the wiki, but I could interpret it either way.
I deliberately didn't read any spoilers before doing it the first time, but it occurs to me that from now on I'm initially going in naked with a few stacks of cobblestone and gravel.
I'm not sure if this is normal or just random bad luck. I activated my first nether portal, equipped up with full enchanted diamond armor, two diamond swords, several stacks of arrows, lots of potions, and all the other various stuff I thought I might need.
Went into the portal, and appeared on about an 8x8 obsidian platform, hovering above the void. There was land about 6 blocks away in one direction, and down a bit, and maybe 10 blocks away in the other direction, but nothing below or above. Took a few seconds to orient myself, then I started trying to build a bridge over the void, but just as I was doing it the dragon hit me from above with no warning and knocked me into the void - instant death, lost everything - elapsed time about 15 seconds.
Is that how it always works? Or just really bad luck?
For me, as of 1.0 the sounds are badly screwed up. They were fine in the last prerelease, and I think the were even ok in RC2 although I only played it a day or so and maybe didn't notice. But in 1.0 suddenly a lot of sounds are missing, or when one sound starts (like rain) all the other sounds stop. In particular if it's raining, the rain tends to pop on and off a couple of times a minute. Sometimes it just clicks a lot, as if someone's turning an amplifier on and off but not really playing anything. Or I'll recognize sounds when they start to play, but they'll get immediately cut off after a fraction of a second. A lot of times there will just be no sounds at all for a while, then they'll start working again.
It makes me wonder if it's trying to use more simultaneous channels or something than my sound card has available.
1. If I build a pen of glass, and on top of sand, can I fit infinite animals inside without suffocation/starvation?
2. Is there any problem with mixing different kinds of animals in one pen?
In my experience, getting too many animals too close together makes them really hard to breed. Animals that have eaten wheat but not produced a baby yet will keep eating more wheat. What seems to end up happening is you'll click on the writhing mass of animals a bunch of times, go through a stack of 64 wheat, and get maybe 3 babies. I find it's easiest if you can get pairs of animals in separate pens.
I use chicken breeding pens like this. They stand on half slabs, with glass blocks in front of them and glass panes every other other block going from the back wall to the glass block front. There are two chickens in every pen. It's easy to run past - collect eggs, feed wheat, slaughter and collect feathers and meat, as well as to throw eggs into a pen to populate it, or replace a chicken you accidentally killed. If you start with a few pairs the eggs will allow you to quickly populate the remaining pens.
Each pair of chickens has a space one full block wide, plus the half block to the pane on each side. The space between the half slab and the glass bock one block above and in front of it gives all the opening you need.
I only have 14 pairs (7 on each side), and I've got far more eggs, feathers and meat than I could ever use.
My cavern uses an overhead ledge and some fences to prevent anything except spiders from getting through the main entrance (netherbrick fences and lots of obsidian, as it's pretty much impossible to stop creeper explosions in the long run). For whatever reason this also seems to stop endermen teleporting away when they get close to me. A side entrance lets me in to collect loot as need be.
I'm not sure if I understood exactly, but what I did was take one of my big caverns that had a large ravine in it. I made protected tunnels (with some windows just to look nice) along the bottom to the places I really needed to get to - my slime farm, and a mob spawner for experience. Then I made a wide balcony along one or both edges of the ravine, 15 or so blocks above the floor, with a fence around it and some bumpouts to look down to the floor, making sure it was always at least 3 high. Then I got rid of most of the torches down below, so I could run along the balcony looking down at whatever endermen appeared and getting them to port up to me.
I got a half dozen pearls in what felt like not too much time. I'm not sure if it was really faster, but it was at least a lot more fun, which made it feel faster.
So I'd like go get to the End. I've got zillions of resources, crops, animal herds, houses, potions, tons of enchantmented stuff - everything I could want. I've found and pretty much completely explored a stronghold with an Ender portal. The only thing I don't have is the pearls to activate it - I've got something like 4.
I can usually find around one Enderman a night - going to the top of a mountain, running around to all the sides, looking down and staring at one until he ports nearby. Usually I kill him, unless it's too close to dawn and he disappears. Maybe 50% of the time I seem to get a pearl, which means it's going to take me something like 24 or so nights to get 12 pearls. I wish there was a bed that would let me sleep through the day so I could go out and look for pearls at night. It's gotten so tedious that I don't play that much anymore, which makes it take even longer.
I've looked in caves, and I find a few, but it seems like even less than outdoors. Am I doing it wrong?
1,000 blocks in the real world isn't quite far enough. You need to get at least I think 128*8 = 1024 blocks away to not link back to your old nether portal. Might be double that; I can't remember - should be able to google it.
I have a 1x1 tunnel straight down from the surface to around level 20 or so, filled with water (poured in from the top, so in 1.9 they'e all source blocks) with a sign at the bottom holding it in - it's got signs inside every 20 blocks or so for breathing spaces. I just wanted a quick and dirty way to swim up to the surface - I know I could use boats or there's some kludgy way to get water ladders to still work, but I really just wanted something really simple and quick. Actually, it might be that ladders are just as fast. I'm sure there are a dozen ways to do it better.
But what puzzles me is if I do swim up it, my speed varies tremendously. It always starts off pretty fast, then at certain points it slows down hugely for 2-3 blocks, then speeds up again. If I put F3 on, I can see the Y numbers clicking by quite fast, then it will take a whole second or two per Y-coordinate, then speed up again. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the material on the edges (stone, cobble, glowstone, dirt, etc) - I've dug out the slow areas and replaced the materials, and it doesn't change anything. It doesn't seem to depend on what corner (NW, SW, etc) I'm in, or if I'm in the middle or against a side. It doesn't seem particularly related to the air pockets. It also doesn't seem to do it on creative, only survival. Anyone have an explanation?
0
Do you ever get situations with two strongholds close together or something where it keeps jumping back and forth between which one it's leading you to? That's the only thing I can think of. Or does the eye not head down toward the ground when you're close anymore?
Created map on 1.0 release, and running that release btw.
1
1) Hunting them in the woods is a stupid waste of time. Find yourself a desert and use a quickness potion and you'll find tons.
2) Fire Aspect enchant is really nice on Endermen. I used to think it was useless because you can kill monsters in a few hits anyway, but I got it on a diamond sword last night and realized that after you hit the Enderman the first time, he can port around all he wants, but he's still on fire! Which makes him a) die in about two hits, and :cool.gif: really easy to find after he ports.
0
I never bothered keeping track of them, but I thought I would start to. I enchanted three stone swords in a row (at level 1, just to learn the names). Three different level enchantments, with three totally different names, turned out to be sharpness 1 (and a fourth turned out to be knockback).
This makes me think I don't understand how it works. Are the names in fact TOTALLY random? That seems unlikely and a little pointless (why bother translating them if you can't learn anything from them?). I've read the wiki, but I could interpret it either way.
0
Sorry I mistyped. Ender portal, not nether portal.
0
0
0
Went into the portal, and appeared on about an 8x8 obsidian platform, hovering above the void. There was land about 6 blocks away in one direction, and down a bit, and maybe 10 blocks away in the other direction, but nothing below or above. Took a few seconds to orient myself, then I started trying to build a bridge over the void, but just as I was doing it the dragon hit me from above with no warning and knocked me into the void - instant death, lost everything - elapsed time about 15 seconds.
Is that how it always works? Or just really bad luck?
0
It makes me wonder if it's trying to use more simultaneous channels or something than my sound card has available.
0
In my experience, getting too many animals too close together makes them really hard to breed. Animals that have eaten wheat but not produced a baby yet will keep eating more wheat. What seems to end up happening is you'll click on the writhing mass of animals a bunch of times, go through a stack of 64 wheat, and get maybe 3 babies. I find it's easiest if you can get pairs of animals in separate pens.
2
Each pair of chickens has a space one full block wide, plus the half block to the pane on each side. The space between the half slab and the glass bock one block above and in front of it gives all the opening you need.
I only have 14 pairs (7 on each side), and I've got far more eggs, feathers and meat than I could ever use.
0
I actually tried this one:
I'm not sure if I understood exactly, but what I did was take one of my big caverns that had a large ravine in it. I made protected tunnels (with some windows just to look nice) along the bottom to the places I really needed to get to - my slime farm, and a mob spawner for experience. Then I made a wide balcony along one or both edges of the ravine, 15 or so blocks above the floor, with a fence around it and some bumpouts to look down to the floor, making sure it was always at least 3 high. Then I got rid of most of the torches down below, so I could run along the balcony looking down at whatever endermen appeared and getting them to port up to me.
I got a half dozen pearls in what felt like not too much time. I'm not sure if it was really faster, but it was at least a lot more fun, which made it feel faster.
0
I can usually find around one Enderman a night - going to the top of a mountain, running around to all the sides, looking down and staring at one until he ports nearby. Usually I kill him, unless it's too close to dawn and he disappears. Maybe 50% of the time I seem to get a pearl, which means it's going to take me something like 24 or so nights to get 12 pearls. I wish there was a bed that would let me sleep through the day so I could go out and look for pearls at night. It's gotten so tedious that I don't play that much anymore, which makes it take even longer.
I've looked in caves, and I find a few, but it seems like even less than outdoors. Am I doing it wrong?
0
1
0
But what puzzles me is if I do swim up it, my speed varies tremendously. It always starts off pretty fast, then at certain points it slows down hugely for 2-3 blocks, then speeds up again. If I put F3 on, I can see the Y numbers clicking by quite fast, then it will take a whole second or two per Y-coordinate, then speed up again. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the material on the edges (stone, cobble, glowstone, dirt, etc) - I've dug out the slow areas and replaced the materials, and it doesn't change anything. It doesn't seem to depend on what corner (NW, SW, etc) I'm in, or if I'm in the middle or against a side. It doesn't seem particularly related to the air pockets. It also doesn't seem to do it on creative, only survival. Anyone have an explanation?