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maxaraxa posted a message on Iron Prot 1 vs DiamondReal men don't use armorPosted in: Survival Mode -
1
Rasah posted a message on Favorite thing to do in Survival MinecraftStart over..Posted in: Survival Mode
I just love the early stages of the game. I am not wildly creative or big into redstone so I tend to play a world for a couple weeks and than scrap it and start all over again. I am hoping to stick to one some day but I can't seem to find the motivation to do so. -
3
Excommunicatus posted a message on The Zax ChallengeNorthbound Zax AdventurePosted in: Survival Mode
Chapter 4:
When we left our intrepid Zax, I had passed another ocean, skipped over and under a frozen waste, learned a new trick or two, delved once again into the deeps and crossed the Ravine With No Floor, seizing upon a stockpile of the Black Glass for my troubles. What, then, would fate have in store next?
Chapter 4: Northbound Zax and the Fickleness of the Gods
It was time to leave that devastation in my wake. Too long now had I risked life exposed at the bottom of that fiery chasm; too long now had I risked sanity allowing those voices of conscience to debate there in the dark. Too long now had I tarried - North was still there for the getting-to, and I needed to get back to it.
I broke out a new stone pick and began to crack the north ravine wall, tunneling tall to expose any riches that may be hiding just overhead in the matrix. A light stonefall in the darkness behind reminded me that periodically blocking my passage had proved a very good idea, and I resumed the practice.
My trusty Special Issue Zax GPS Device blinked an alert, and reported that I was deep underneath a Stone Beach - which my previous experience warned that I would be advancing under another body of water. If the Gods favor me, it'll be a river and my path wouldn't lead me under yet another ocean. Intrepid Zax or not, there's just something about being trapped under that much water that's deeply and expressly unsettling.
At about the new tunnel's 50 meter mark, I broke through to empty space, at the height of my pick's reach.
Standing still and quiet, I strained my ears against the emptiness trying to detect any tell-tale sounds of danger. After a few moments, I decided it was safe enough to pillar up and have a look about.
A secondary ravine branched in from the West, but didn't extend its length to my position, just the opening of the upper reaches at its terminus where I now stood. I decided to descend my pillar, and continue on at my previous tunneling level of Y=11.
Just another 8 meters, and the S.I.Z.G.D. blinked again. Ocean.
The Gods hate me.
Well, there's nothing for it - I must press on. My pick lifted and fell in time with my pounding heartbeat.
I reminded myself that the last time I'd been in this position, imagining the sheer emptiness and vastness of an entire ocean a short distance above my head, fear drifting my thoughts to the terror of that vastness suddenly emptying in on me and snuffing out my young Zax life, that not only had I come out of it unscathed, but with a good fistful of riches to boot. Sure, Zax, that's it - oceans still don't go forever. They're just really big... really, really, really bi...
No way...
The Gods do like me!
'Ello, Beautiful!
I don't know what it is, but every time I seem to find myself in some desperate fix under oceans, scaring myself into a blue funk, I come across a vein of blue gems - diamonds! Now, let's just see if you have any sisters at home here with you... pull a rock off there, work around to the back, there's a few more, reveal the full surround... uh oh...
No no no - don't break that rock. Bad bad bad... we'll just put that one back now, shall we?
The rest of the reveal (save Mr. Evil Block back there on the left) proved safe enough, and the vein gave up a trove of 5 more diamonds! The amount of material that had to be removed left a lot of room around the vein, and the diamonds managed to bounce just the wrong way 4 out of 5 times, staying well out of reach. The ol' Zax-dad method once again proved true...
... and pushed the pretty-pretties right into my waiting hands. I quickly stashed them in my packs, deciding to hold them until a specific pressing need called for their use.
A few more meters into the tunnel, and the attempted culprit of my near-fiery-doom was revealed...
The pool, as you can see, was small, but that shadowy alcove to the left and behind looked an awful lot like a passage, and seemed to open up into a wider area ahead - directly into my path. I placed the cobblestones across the magma, plus an extra row for safety, and carefully made my way across, hoping that no enemies were within earshot of my pick as I began working into the stone shoulder of the pool room.
No sooner had I broken the first layer of rock that I heard the sounds of running water to my right. I had been correct - the shoulder yielded to a large cavern that lay just beyond that shadowy alcove, with the end of an unseen waterflow reaching a meter or two across my Northward path.
I put down a few pieces of cobblestone to stop the water from crossing my way. And then... through the gloom, I noticed something a little out of place in the upper arches of the cavern - wooden planks! I was deep, very deep, and under an ocean, but it seems that I was not the first to delve these reaches. I could just make out the pathway ends of the woodworks of an abandoned mine shaft!
Fresh off the discovery of more diamonds, my greed was now awakened with visions of minecart chests loaded with... well, who knows, but valuables, no doubt! Great piles of gold, and iron, and bread and cookies and more diamonds and horse saddles and ice cream and...
The noises immediately to my left shocked me out of my daydream - SPLAT! SPLAT! - I was under attack! The Gods hate me! Fear, Fire, FOES! To arms, Zax! They'll never take me ALIVE!!!
Oh. It's just you. Let's just squish you with this rock, you pest - you scared me!
My "battle" complete, I thought again about the abandoned mine. I dug through my packs, and flipped open the Zax Guide to the Deep, Deep Places (Revised), turning to the chapter about abandoned mineshafts.
"Another feature that may be found in the Deep, Deep Places are the occasional mining complexes that have been abandoned, often in such haste that many useful or valuable things have been left behind. Should a Zax come across one of these sites in their path, it is good to remember that there is a reason these facilities were abandoned; normally it is because they have become overrun by horrid and unnatural things, and too many of the mining staff were lost or slain in the deeps."
Hmm. Good point. And skeleton snipers with a long, straight shot at me through those wooden bridges could really make a good day turn bad in a hurry.
But then again... well, there are those who are reading the journal of this journey, and they'd never want me to miss out this kind of a chance at adventure. Intrepid Zax! Let's at least see how close that mine shaft comes to me, if I angle my path upwards a little, maybe I'll intersect a few sections of it.
Crossing the cavern, I started a stair upwards, noting also that from the first step I was now underneath Beach, which was also encouraging. Small "ocean" indeed, it turned out to be. Must have just skimmed under the edge of it. Phew!
And upward I mined. And upward. And found no opening to the mine shafts.
And upward. To Y=34, and underneath a River, and then...
Footsteps... close... too close, and too quiet. I stole a furtive glance behind and below me, looking for pursuers, but nothing moved in the cool gloom. After a moment, the sounds were gone. Blocking my passage again, I continued...
... finding yet more iron, and seeing Forest above. So, the Gods do like me... ? Diamonds, iron, tiny tiny ocean and now a nice pleasant Forest. Sounds serene, and like a pleasant way to get out of this dark hole again.
At Y=46, another cavern revealed itself...
... which turned out only to be a shallow gravel-fall, and of no interest. Onwards, upwards, Northwards!
And then, as I reached Y=52, I heard the rattling sounds of burning bone above...
... but the burning suddenly stopped, and without the usual shattering noise I'd come to expect when a skeleton burns up in the sun. And I saw that I was no longer under a Forest, but a Roofed Forest.
Roofed Forest. One of the most dangerous places a Zax can be. The Gods hate me.
I have come to fear the Roofed Forest. I fear being trapped underneath oceans, but that's more of an indirect, intangible kind of fear that somehow all that water will break through and drown me, even though it's very unlikely. A Roofed Forest, on the other hand, presents a very direct and tangible danger - monsters can spawn in full light of day, and have plenty of opportunity to sneak around obstacles to surprise a Zax with a stealthy attack.
Nevertheless... onward. But do take care, ol' Zax; your life will depend on your senses being sharp.
A few more meters upward, and I broke through to the green of the surface...
... and already I could hear the zombies pacing above, and skeletons taking firing positions. Not good, ol' Zax... keep your head down. If they spot you, there'll be nowhere to run.
I decided to reach the surface, but to stay just below ground level, forming a trench open to the sky but hopefully allowing me to proceed stealthily, with no enemy marking my passing until I was already long gone.
I moved carefully, but quickly, digging through the dirt - ever-aware that I was behind enemy lines. The first zombie was joined by others, how many, I could not tell from my low trench. I was far more interested in getting out of this death trap as soon as possible, though now I regretted my decision to actually break the surface; had I known how many of them were in the vicinity, I could have stayed a few blocks underneath and moved through mostly undetected. Here, with open air above me and a chorus of groans and rattles, I felt terribly exposed, and in great danger.
After 25 or so meters, my trench came upon another low hill-rise, and I was not too proud to burrow straight into its protective side. After crossing that short distance exposed, I chanced a glance behind me, to check for pursuit or detection...
... but there was no evidence that I had been noticed. Maybe the Gods like me again? I quickly piled up dirt behind in an effort to replace the hillside as naturally as possible as to appear undisturbed. Yeah, right Zax - undisturbed, with a wartime trench dug in leading straight to the dirt with no grass on it. Brilliant. Well, it may fool zombies and skeletons, and that's all that matters right now.
My hillside lasted for only a short stretch, then left me exposed for another few meters before my path led to another low hill. I made the passage as quickly as possible, rising slightly with the terrain but staying in line with the next hill, and looked back again...
... just in time to see that night had fallen. In a Roofed Forest.
The Gods hate me.
The hill provided cover for another 20 meters, but then opened abruptly to descending terrain.
I quickly doused my lone torch, and waited in the darkness for what must have been hours, frozen in place and unsure what to do. If I stayed where I was, I'd be a sitting duck. If I advanced, I may not only lose the protection of the hillside and tunnel mouth at my back, but may stumble directly into an enemy camp in the black night. Rock and a hard place, ol' Zax. Another fine mess we've gotten ourselves into.
At length, the Call of the North began to work on my Zax legs again, and slowly, reluctantly, they carried me a step forward out of my tunnel. Listen for Approaching Death. Then another step. Listen. Step. Listen.
And Approaching Death... well, approached...
I'd heard the one before that Death Rides a Pale Horse. I hadn't heard the one about Death Comes At You With a Shovel. And here he was, comin' at me with a shovel. He groaned, and lifted it for a swing at my head.
I wasn't as worried about the shovel as I was about the probability of my attacker calling for reinforcements to helplessly outnumber me, or calling in the archers. I needed to silence the zombie for good, and I needed to do it fast.
I ducked the shovel swing just as it sang past my right ear - my iron sword answered with a slash across his belly, driving him back a step. On he came again, and again I slashed; and on the third advance drove the point of my blade deep, then let the twitching carcass slide to the ground. I snapped my head left, then right, scanning for the second wave of attackers, but none was to be seen.
A few moments of silence, and I realized that this zombie had been a lone patrol, and hadn't had time to raise the alarm. I slid silently forward into the night before my work could be discovered, managing to make it another 20 meters before being spotted by another patrol, but of another caliber, and with a very quick trigger on raising alarms...
I blocked the blast, but the echo from the explosion sang out into the night, and I hadn't made but a few more steps before I heard the groans of the zombie crossing the water to investigate the alarm.
I readied myself. The zombie threw himself at me, and I slashed to drive him back, and before I knew what had happened there was another zombie at his side! My fears were beginning to become realized - the alarm was raised, and now I would face an army of zombies!
A fist struck out towards me; I gave parry and riposte, only to see two more zombies in the dark appear behind in the second rank.
On they came, and my trusty blade sang back in answer, blazing a path first left, then right, then left again, trying to keep the distance between my foes. Still another zombie arrived to join the battle, and another - as I felled one, another rose to take his place. As I slashed right driving back two, a clawed hand lashed at me from the left and found purchase, opening a shallow wound in my shoulder. Another zombie fell, then another, and another claw slashed into my right thigh. Just as it was looking like I had thinned the battle to a winning position, their leader strode forth and through, a huge zombie bearing unholy armor, and sounded a savage battle cry...
Urr... URRRR!!!
I braced for his onslaught, and narrowly avoided a crushing blow aimed at my skull. Weary and wounded, I could not let him hit me - I waited for his next advance, and stepped back a block to draw him near, then with all the strength and speed I had remaining pressed forward in a frenzy of thrusts and slashes, coming on with a battle rage I did not know I possessed. Against my furious attack he could not defend, and he fell back and again, stunned by the ferocity of the Zax.
My strength now spent, I stood drawing heavy breaths, waiting for what would come. The huge zombie did not move - and looked on me with cold, dead eyes. And then... he wavered, knees buckled, and he crumpled to the ground. The great beast was no more. The Gods had shown me favor this night - okay, so maybe they do like me after all.
I devoured a steak, then another, trying to regain some strength in the event of another attack, but I was alone again, for the moment. Taking time to recover, I stepped forward three steps to take partial shelter from the nearest tree, when I saw...
The dawn rises! I had survived the night! And I'm leaving the accursed Roofed Forest!
Waitaminnit, ol' Zax - what's that out in the water? Another skeleton, protected from the flame by the river.
And if he just sits there, there'll be no crossing this river alive - he'll shoot you, knock you back, shoot again, and there won't be anything you can do about it but become a Zax Pincushion. Did I just destroy an Army of Darkness, single-handedly slaying their ranks and leader, to be stopped cold at the bank of this river, where advancing even a step would mean certain death? The Gods hate me.
And I wept.
But then... a miracle happened!
He just... vanished! The skeleton out in the water simply... vanished! It had to be the Gods smiling on me!
Now, the guy that was on fire on the shore to my right made it under the shade of that mushroom, but I had an idea for how to get past him. As long as the one treading water directly in my path was now miracled out of my way, I now had a chance. And I took it.
I took a deep breath, and dove into the river, staying beneath the waterline and hopefully out of the line of sight of the sniper...
As I swam, I kept expecting to feel the bite of an arrow pierce my flesh, but fortunately it was not to be. I dragged myself from the waters on the far shore, and looked back to the bemused sniper...
...who, if a skeleton could have facial expressions, likely would have looked most displeased that I'd made it across right in front of him. I launched a short barrage of Zax-taunts at him, thought about mooning him (then thought better of it), and turned North with a certain spring to my step.
After being through all of that, the ensuing Forest-lands were amazingly uplifting to my weary spirit, and I had a newfound optimism that let me travel quickly again, something I had not been able to do for some time. The lands had a simple beauty, and this waterfall captivated me for a short time...
The waters were easily blocked off to the left, and I continued on.
Another quarter-kilometer ahead, a fairly steep hill rose...
...and again I asked the question, "Over or through? Over or through?". This time though, I could not bear the thought of leaving the green and the sunlight for the cold dark of the Underground again so soon, so I began to dig as shallow a stairway up the side as I could manage. When out of nowhere...
The current was strong, and shoved me off my path slightly, and I fought to regain my true position. I grabbed for my supply of loose dirt and began trying to block the flow, but the source was at a poor angle and just out of reach. Instead, I went for the next best thing - pillar up a good measure above the breach...
... and started bridging across above it. Once crossed, and safely against the hillside again, I moved to continue my stairway over the remaining hillside. No sooner did my shovel touch dirt, when...
... again!?! Okay, the Gods really do hate me...
... and this one threatened to push me clear over the side, a good way down, and very off-course. Not good!
Nevertheless, I persevered, and managed to get up above this new waterfall, and again back to the hillside. Which I stood and looked at for a good 5 minutes, sizing up, and almost daring it to try it again; I slowly lifted my shovel to dirt, backing up a baby step in the process. Y'know, just in case it took my dare seriously.
Seems that I'd made my point though, and the hillside did not again try to defeat me. I came upon the attempted culprit of my near-watery-doom...
... which seemed somehow too peaceful to have just put me through so much trouble. I muttered a Zax-taunt (under my breath), then finished my ascent and crossed over the hill.
A short while later, mooooo...
... and out came the wheat. Why hello there, Mr. Cow. I was wondering, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could I have your meat, and perhaps your skin? Now, that's a good lad, just a little closer, yes, that's it, that's good...
After collecting the goods that Mr. Cow had to offer, I turned again Northward. It was then that I ran into my first real trouble on this journey and adventure...
Stopped! Dead in my tracks! I've bumped, foot to foot, face to face, with a South-going Sheep, who will not budge!
Fortunately, back in North-going school, they prepared us well for such an emergency, and I readied my speech:
"Look here, now! I say!
You are blocking my path, you are right in my way!
I'm a North-Going Zax and I always go north.
Get out of my way, now, and let me go forth!"
And the South-Going sheep said:
"Baaaaa".
Hmm. That's not what they told us would happen in North-Going school. Let's try the next part.
I puffed up my chest with pride:
"I never take a step to one side.
And I'll prove to you that I won't change my ways
If I have to keep standing here fifty-nine days!"
And the South-Going sheep said:
"Baaaaa".
Curses! An impasse! Well, I'll not let this South-Going sheep get the better of me, I'll...
And that's when I realized I was still holding the wheat from the business with the cow. So I put it away, and the sheep tottered off somewhere, getting clear out of my way. Ha! I'd WON! To the North!
Another short way on...
Okay, the Gods really, really hate me. What's going to come out of this mountainside at me? An anvil dropped on me? A swarm of bees? A gaggle of zombies? Some moldy old cheese?
Well, dear readers, I'm glad to say that none of that happened. This mountainside had nothing against a Northbound Zax who was just passing through, and didn't mind having a small (but attractive) little staircase cut into its side for crossing.
As I descended the other side, the S.I.Z.G.D. started going crazy, beeping and buzzing and making a fuss. I was coming up on a milestone? So I was! I started to rush down the hill to reach the coordinates the Device had indicated. But perhaps I was a little too hasty, and made too much noise, because I attracted some unwanted attention that seemed to be guarding my target location, hell-bent on not letting me reach my milestone...
... who was coming at me with a proper sword instead of just a shovel, but as you can see, had the distinct combat disadvantage of, y'know, being on fire and all. I simply waited for his approach, and smacked what was left of his charred form back down the hillside.
My coordinates were marked with several lovely rose bushes, and I took the last few steps to reach them, and my milestone...
Yes, it is! My 10,000th block traveled on this journey! This is it, the very spot! Once again, I thought it warranted a small shrine be erected to mark the occasion. And a use for a good amount of that redstone I've been carrying!
And there it is, looking back a few paces to admire it.
I have come a long way, against fire and water, cold and dark, hunger and monsters, and even the fickle moods of the Gods themselves, yet here I stand just beyond 10,000 blocks from where I began. I may not be North yet, but I'm getting there every day, and if tomorrow's fortune smiles on me, I'll have new adventures and surprises yet untold. But that, dear readers, will have to wait for another day, where other adventures await!
And at the close of Chapter 4, our intrepid Zax has once again prevailed against adversity, and come through it smelling the roses (literally). As always, I hope you've enjoyed the adventure thusfar, and look forward to another chapter as together we try to get to the elusive North, and all that lies between!
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2
Excommunicatus posted a message on The Zax ChallengeNorthbound Zax AdventurePosted in: Survival Mode
Chapter 3:
When we left our intrepid Zax, I was looking out across the waves of a new ocean after coming through the terrors of the Long Dark and braving the blackness beneath the Crushing Depths on my quest to reach North. Fear and doubt had threatened my resolve, I must admit. Though surfacing alive (and a pack full of riches) not only rekindled my spirit, but left me with a newfound sense of experience. And did I mention a pack full of riches?
(Author's Note: Although I said that I would shorten chapters up for more digestable single-session reading, it seems that I am incapable of such a feat; my apologies if this offends. The story simply unfolds as it unfolds, and I'd like each chapter to end at a 'theatrically' appropriate moment, either a natural closing point, or following a climax of sorts, etc. This episode contains far more images than the previous one, though my sense is that the overall flow is about the same length. Again, I hope that you find it an entertaining, if long, read. Excom-.)
Chapter 3: Northbound Zax and the Black Glass
Speaking of packs, it had become brutally clear that said pack had become choked to the limit, so my first matter of business was to take inventory of what I'd brought out of the Long Dark, check food and other supply levels, and thin down anything I didn't think would be terribly important.
Breaking out the furnace, I smelted all remaining iron and gold ores into bars, and cooked what raw meats I still had to allow for stacked storage. Then, the inventory - what had I gained?
The Long Dark had provided me with:- Full iron armor
- Iron sword
- Iron pick
- Iron bucket
- An additional 56 iron ingots!
- 4 diamonds!
- 6 gold ingots, and
- Full stack of redstone, with much left behind
My current food supply held strong at 24 cooked chickens, 7 cooked porkchops and 6 cooked steaks, which left me confident that I would not starve any time soon. Seeds and wheat meant that I could also replace my stores as I travel.
Wood - plenty; a full stack of dark oak logs, a good half-stack of planks and most of a stack of sticks. Wood hasn't been difficult to obtain with all the forests and taigas I've encountered.
Stack each of cobblestone, dirt and gravel - sufficient. Full stacks of torches and coal - check. The gunpowder from the witch has to go. Still have the two bones, and the one string. Only one string. I need more string.
With inventory complete, I broke down the furnace, set up the crafting table, and fashioned another crude boat for the coming ocean crossing, but deciding to make camp on a ledge here on the hillside and set to sea at first light.
And onward North I sailed...
Day 38. Still no sight of land...
Okay, not really. It had only been a few hours, but I've always wanted to say that. Though the difficulty in keeping my skiff on course across the sea waves certainly made it feel like 38 days. In early afternoon, I did indeed spot land on the horizon...
... and it looked cold. Closer approach revealed that indeed, I was nearing an ice shelf at the edge of an Ice Plains biome.
Upon making landfall, the first thing I noticed was the eerie silence of the place. I had become accustomed to the regular sounds of wildlife aboveground, and groans, snorts and rattles of the beasties belowground. Here though - nothing moved. So I decided that I'd better.
The Ice Plains quickly gave way to Ice Mountains, low and jagged, frozen and forbidding. Crossing a short foothill...
... the depression didn't run deep, but I caught sight of the iron just off to my right, and decided to tunnel through on my path, hoping for even more resources and riches.
The gamble didn't pay off, however. Solid stone throughout. Eventually my tunnel broke out on a far hillside overlooking a frozen river, and movement across the opposite bank caught my attention...
Spider! Spiders mean string, and I need string! But he's too far off my path, and with the sun shining, he doesn't seem particularly interested in coming to me, blast it! Just wandering back and forth, over on his side! Think, Zax, think... how do you get a spider to come to you during the day?
Heeeeere, Spider Spider Spider. Heeeeere... not working.
Wheat? Seeds? Riiiight.
I have nothing to throw at him, certainly not that distance. Umm... Heeeeeere, Spi... blast it! Blasting blast blast, blastity BLAST IT! And he's really not interested in crossing that river on his own. Dare I wait for nightfall when he gets hungry? Not a good idea, Zax - the terrain is far too open to risk attack from skeleton archers. It is only with great reluctance, and a sense of missed opportunity, that I turn my shoulder to the Spider and continue on my Northward way.
A short distance ahead reveals another chance at resources and riches.
The cave to the right headed off into the darkness, but was otherwise quiet for the moment. I decided to move quickly to start my tunnel into the wall, lest I tempt fate.
After tunneling around 70 meters, my way had only yielded an iron ore or two and was otherwise uneventful. Sounds of boiling magma aroused my caution, but it turned out to be a pool two blocks below my feet, as floor coal revealed, so I moved on. Soon thereafter, my tunnel was threatened with sand collapses, and my trusty Special Issue Zax GPS Device warned that I was now under a Cold Beach. At only Y=55, and not any kind of ore-rich tunnel at that, the last thing I wanted was to get trapped under another ocean or drowned out for such measly pickings, so I decided I'd better punch my way up and out of this trench, but quick.
The edge of ice alerted me that I'd made my decision to ascend none-too-soon, but the inky blackness of that sky spelled peril in my book. I chose to risk a quick camp in the tight confines of my tunnel.
Dawn brought the new day without incident nor burning sounds above, so I packed up my camp and pillared up to the ice edge using some of the local sandstone to take stock of my surroundings...
Rolling green hills ahead were an encouraging sight after almost a kilometer of icy wastes. I hopped up out of the cold trench, and crossed the frozen beach to a brief edge of Plains that quickly turned to Forest Hills, where an inquisitive friend met my handful of seeds...
... and then met my fistful of sword...
... and of course, the yield was just out of my reach! Again! I've lost far too much food this way - must think of a way to stop this senseless waste. Think, Zax, think...
I remembered a silly old song my Zax-dad used to sing from time to time. I don't know why it came to me just then; I'd always just thought he'd sung it because he was getting on in years, and was probably crazy:
My feets are sore, by belly's thin,
The wool's without, the wool's within,
The cow's a'moo, but anywhoo,
I can't just let it lie agin'!
When things don't go as I had planned,
Use earth! Use stone! Use things at hand!
Crazy ol' Zax-dad wasn't so crazy after all, now, was he? Why hadn't I thought of it?
It's wooooor-king!
Got the meat...!
And the feathers! Zax-dad, you've done it again! My blocks are pushing things towards me! Have to remember this trick if any riches end up just out of reach, too!
Just over the hill, another inquisitive friend...
... who must've been tipped off about what happened to the chicken, and was having none of it, giving me a wide, wide berth...
Fine. Have it your way. It's not like I'm in danger of starving, piggy.
Dusk was rapidly approaching at that point, so I made camp, trusting that the pig would do me no mischief in the night. No hard feelings, right? Can't fault a Zax for trying now, can ya? All friends here? All friends here.
The morning march came to an abrupt halt after just 300 meters.
The usual question in such a situation came to mind: Over or through? Over or through? Well, the last two tunnels have been bust, but my food stores are solid enough to go underground at length, if it comes to that. Through it is!
The tunneling was rough, through solid stone with no yield for nearly 200 meters of pick-dulling drudgery. Until...
An opening! An opening! Where does it go?
It goes down.
Bolstered by my trove of riches the last time I'd found one of these, I proceeded to work my way down the cliff face, this time by working forward and back across two blocks alternately, dropping down one, picking the other down, move, pick down, etc., using both my 1-block allowable backtrack and dig-down-to-get-down-a-cliff rules. I reached bottom at Y=51, dreams of shiny diamonds already starting up in my Zax-head. Hey, it worked once, it could work again, right?
And what's this here on the opposite wall?
Well, out of reach of my path. Perfect chance to test out the Zax-dad method of wealth-retrieval!
But first...
Always look up.
Nope, no scary ledges or tunnel openings above to let enemies drop in on top of me. Playing with long-distance mining in the open leaves a lot of chances for mishap, danger or death, so being as sure as possible that being exposed that long won't end my Zax-journey seems sage advice.
All looks clear though. Let's give this a try...
Brilliant. Thanks, Zax-dad!
I began the new tunnel in the opposite wall, as usual, and proceeded forward and Northward. The going was long and arduous, but relented a steady supply of iron, though this mountain would not prove to be so accomodating with the drop-chambers as my last venture. Still, every so often a spot of coal or vein of iron in the floor allowed me a slow but steady descent, so that I had made it to Y=35 after 350 meters or so.
At nearly 400 meters, I heard the not-so-faint sound of running water just overhead. And then... barely detectable... I thought I heard something else. A slight... rustling? No, my imagina... there it is again!
Footsteps? Water?
Yes, I said it out loud.
The water sounds were clear, but the other... waitaminnit. I'm not hearing any urrr-URRR! No rattling bones. Just a plodding, rustling... there's a damned Creeper just overhead near this water, probably hoping a hapless Zax breaks exactly the wrong block. Proceed with the utmost caution, Zax.
Not 20 blocks forward, and we're breached.
This was the trickiest water-breach I've yet run into. My tunnel was on the direct path to the river basin, so every upper-block removed let more water in, and there weren't enough upper or side blocks in the breach to place blocks of my own to shore it up. And still that shuffling, rustling padding going on just above and to one side - I could imagine the green face up there, licking his lips and getting his fuse ready... no, Zax, think. It's like a puzzle, just get the order of the blocks right...
And puzzle it was, but it turned out to be solvable. I looked back briefly at my handiwork and relished the thought of the disappointment in those rustling footsteps as I heard them shuffle off somewhere out of earshot.
The next few hundred meters of tunneling passed without incident, but also without much excuse in my floor to allow me further descent, only able to drop to Y=33 courtesy of a shallow coal-hole. I was beginning to wonder if this was it for this journey, when I started hearing distant zombie groans, and then...
Looks big from here... where does it go?
Down. And how, it goes down.
Once when I was a lad, back at North-going school, the Instructor-General asked me what I thought would make for the least-inviting floor a Zax could think of. Looking off this ledge now, I think I'd have a new answer for him.
Carefully, cautiously, I crept out to the edge and looked back and forth along the ravine walls for any skeleton sniping positions, as I was sure that one well-placed shot could easily knock me from any descent attempt into fiery death below. The magma glow lit the ravine walls remarkably well, and surprisingly high, and rather than the usual catwalk-like ledges along the edges I've come to expect from ravines, this one looked to have nothing but receeding overhangs along both sides, and in both directions as high as could be seen.
Deciding to proceed, I opted to carefully mine down my 2x1 pattern as before, block by block, until I found the last bit of overhang before the drop to the floor level. Looking straight down after an 11 meter descent, I located the source of the aforementioned groaning...
... and continued downward until I was a mere two blocks above him. Somehow, this zombie had found the lone dry stone block at the edge of the magma pool along a sheer cliff, and simply had nowhere else to go. As he turned to me, trying to clamber up the sheer rock face, the knockback from my iron sword hilt gave him the other option of places to go...
The screams lasted but a moment, then I was alone with my thoughts and the song of bubbling magma and running water.
I dropped down one more block, but still couldn't see where the zombie had been standing, so I placed a cobblestone below me on my path in the edge of the magma pool. I did not step off yet, however, as I was still concerned about possible skeleton snipers. Just because I hadn't seen them earlier, or places for them, didn't mean they weren't there.
The close-up view of the ravine bed, if one could call it that, showed the mixing of the water and magma. There was no exposed stone of any kind to be seen, save my lone cobble block. Yet, on the water side, in the dim gloom, I thought I could just make out...
Obsidian. Black Glass.
At that moment, a dangerous, terrible idea occurred to me. And I looked up at the ravine walls, back at the roiling 'floor', looked at my feet, but still I couldn't get the idea to go away. At the bottom of an exposed ravine, with no solid floor, I am going to try to get obsidian.
Then the sensible part of my Zax-head spoke:
No, at the bottom of an exposed ravine, with no solid floor, I am most likely going to die trying to get obsidian.
But we wants the obsidian!
Your funeral, mate.
And so on, for a good 5 minutes. Nevertheless, I thought to check the ravine walls again...
Unbelievably, even from this improved vantage point, I still saw nothing remotely like a ledge, tunnel mouth, not even a single protruding block that could be stood on by a skeleton. Both sides of the water flow totally filled with magma to prevent an enemy floor approach. Total lack of mob sounds, save the squeaks of bats as they flew into magma. It truly and honestly, if unbelievably, looked safe.
Except for the fact that there's water trying to push you into a pool of molten rock, ol' Zax.
We can block that while gettin' the obsidian!
Shut up, you two. I'm trying to think.
It's been said before: Zax aren't known for their smarts. We're known for... walking. I decide to try for the obsidian.
We can use it for good things!
We're going to get shot, smashed and boiled like a dust speck!
Shush!
Alright, with mind made up (for the most part), I decide to proceed. First thing's first...
There. Basic floor. Now...
Oh, I am under Extreme Hills, aren't I?
Emerald in the distance. Both far, far too far away, and not very useful to me since I'm unlikely to ever see a village on my journey. Never mind that, back to the work at hand...
Safety wall in place, in case the water gets out of hand. Or a clever sniper arrives to my right.
Then the hardware...
Three diamonds out of four used. Now I just need a plan.
The Zax Guide to Taking Obsidian Off the Top of a Boiling Magma Pool (2nd ed.) says that to get the Black Glass without it burning up right after mining, a Zax must first be sure there's no magma behind the block, nor under the block. It must be shored up. To get something under the block, you usually need an edge of the pool with a lower solid block, and then an angle to slip your support block against said lower solid block under the obsidian edge once a shallow pit exposes the underlying magma.
Find an edge, Zax. Try this block. Is it hot?
It's hot.
But, as you can just see, there was a lower solid block allowing me to get my gravel underneath one.
But it soon becomes clear that the edges won't be my real problem here - it's the angle. Since I'm locked to my x= -245 path, getting angles on forward blocks will be nearly impossible. Couple that with the fact that I must not retrace my steps more than 1 block means that if I advance forward too much, I'd be unable to go back to pick up any mined blocks behind me, Zax-dad trick or no.
We wants the obsidian! Use the waterfall!
Shhh! I was just going to say that!
If I just... carefully cut away blocks to direct the water flow down (for more flow distance)... then place new higher blocks... to correct the flow angle to head directly... underneath a newly exposed under-block, the timing should just work out... where cobble forms, but still...
... pushes the mined obsidian out before the magma can scorch it... then place blocks like Zax-dad sung to push towards me... remove placed flow-control blocks, replace for new flow angle... keep working it...
I'm shocked we haven't been shot at yet.
Quiet! This is tricky work! I need to concentrate!
And... there! That's enough - don't press your luck here, Zax. Take the goods and run, as it were.
Looking back at the devastation of my passing, I note that I've now got a stash of 30 obsidian!
We wanted it, and we got it!
We got lucky.
We gots the obsidian!
We should be dead.
And with obsidian in hand, a brand new terrible idea crept into my Zax-head, but that, dear readers, will have to wait for another day, where other adventures await!
And at the close of Chapter 3, my journey has now crossed 9072 blocks, from the heights to the depths, and leading from some very good ideas, to some decidedly bad ideas that seem to keep getting worse, though much is yet to be revealed. And remember, one must not step off of x = -245, under any circumstances. I hope you've enjoyed the journey thusfar.
-
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Excommunicatus posted a message on The Zax ChallengeNorthbound Zax AdventurePosted in: Survival Mode
Chapter 2:
When we left our intrepid Zax, I was loitering at my improvised wheat garden hoping to get a little food and some cow bait. I decided to set a limit of 3 minecraft days to let the wheat grow before continuing North.
Sadly, only 5 plants reached maturity by dawn of the fourth day. Not enough to be worth making bread, but it'll do for the cows. I ripped up the immature seeds, and heeded the Call of the North. Onward!
A half-day's travel brought me to a small herd of cows roaming off to either side of my line. The wheat does its job well, and I now have 3 raw beef and 1 leather! Food supply continues to improve.
I later came across a small pile of bones and a single arrow lying on the ground on the block next to the small river I was wading through - seems Mr. Skeleton didn't quite make it to the safety of the water in the morning. Sucks to be him, but I'll take those bones in the hopes that I can make a very useful friend the next time I come across wolves in the forest.
Cresting the very next rise reveals what I'd hoped I'd run in to at some point - a ravine. A shallow one, but a ravine nontheless - a way to descend my Y value with my no-dig-down rule, and hopefully come across some iron in my path.
Hoping that the ravine might yield up an interesting story, I started screenshotting my progress, which I'll conveniently stash in a spoiler below.
It turned out to be a (very) long read, but hopefully a fun and entertaining one. Enjoy.
Northbound Zax's Ravine Adventure
The view you see in the image above is from a 1-block ledge about 5 blocks down from the ravine lip, where I'd drop-mined trying to find a good access to the floor. Not seeing an obvious route, and with dusk rapidly approaching, I decided to wait out the night high on the wall there. What you can't see is the hapless cow who had fallen into the ravine, and was wandering back and forth below me. With any luck, I'll lure him close in the morning and get more food and leather.
The block space on the left gave a convenient spot for my crafting table, as I'd decided that it'd be worth using some wood making a few ladder sections for my morning descent, and just as I was placing it I heard the unmistakable chittering of a spider directly above me! One-block ledges are not good places to be locked in mortal combat, so I hurriedly jammed a block of cobblestone over my head to prevent any paratrooping arachnid attacks.
The spider sounds were soon joined by the groaning of a zombie who apparently wanted to know what the spider found so interesting. Then the darndest thing happened; the spider started screaming in pain, with the zombie hissing and growling, and then I hear the spider die. I have no idea what set those two on each other, but in my precarious position... better them than me. Eventually, dawn broke and the sound of a distant burning zombie meant I was ready to move on. Curiosity got the better of me, and I broke the overhead block I'd placed - and was rewarded with a piece of string from the spider dropping into my hands! One piece of string - but it's a start!
The ladder works like a charm, and I find myself at Y=50 on the ravine floor. A few patient moments with wheat in hand yields good things, another raw beef and two more leather. Now to see what the opposite wall of the ravine has in store.
I don't have to wait long - three blocks in, the wall opens to this...
... but with rattling bones and a baby zombie screaming from the darkness above. Great.
Sure enough, it doesn't take long for the pair to drop down into my sight range. The skeleton lands on the gravel stack in the upper right of the above image, and starts firing a barrage of arrows at my doorway, but he can only get the firing angle to bury a score of arrows in the block at my feet. The baby zombie didn't have such luck - one misstep in his haste sent him washed down the waterfall and into the depths. Which brings up a good lesson for aspiring Zaxes out there, once told to me by my dear ol' Zax-dad:
Haste makes waste,
And waste makes paste
Of careless Zax who think it's a race!
The sand I've been carrying proves useful in neutralizing my skeleton problem...
Seems that skeletons do indeed need to breathe somehow (which is odd in itself), and with this one properly suffocated it's time to decide how to best descend - since I'm going North, and this fall is in my way!
I have to be careful here. Not only is there a baby zombie loose somewhere washed into the bottom of the fall, but the likelihood of the water carrying me far off-course seems extremely high. After a moment of contemplation, the Call of the North takes hold again, and I decide there's nothing for it but to leap in, press forward and hope for a ledge below, but on my line.
My faith is rewarded, and sure enough I pass through the falls and onto a single block in the wall opposite, at Y=36 - which I consider a lucky accomplishment not being able to dig down at will. Now we're talking iron depth! I just hope to find a supply along my way, and in my path.
And that faith is also rewarded, as 20 or so blocks in, I come across my first iron deposits. Screenie of that find is sadly missing. Another 15 blocks or so breaks through to an open cavern, with some residents...
... who were just being held back by the water flow. The zombie would not be deterred, however, and managed to slip around and get to the foot of my doorway. Since I had a two-block rise on him, he was easily dispatched, and I turned my attention fully to the creeper ahead.
After watching him for a solid two minutes to be reasonably sure he wasn't ever going to make it past the water flow to get at me (clearly his single-minded devotion), I decided it was safe to collect the iron at my doorway, but to do so I had to drop off my two-block ledge into potential danger. Now, how to deal with Mr. Creeps.
I note that the waterflow is directly on my path, and heading towards the creeper - which will make fighting him tricky, to say the least. I generally like to shove creepers away from me when they explode, not be carried closer to them by water. And I know that as a Zax, I must not leave my path - water or no!
I stare at him. He stares at me. I stare at him. And he wins - I give in and decide to smelt all 13 of my iron on the spot, and make some armor to protect against this inevitable showdown.
With iron chestplate and helmet, I'm feeling a bit more secure in this, though I didn't like having to use all of my precious iron. But then, if I don't survive this, what good would surplus iron do? I knock my furnace back down and turn back to face my adversary - just in time to see him bounce from his spot, but get washed away!?! Lucky break, or is there some kind of black magic at work here?
I inch forward towards the water, keeping my eyes peeled for a sudden creeper rush. A couple of carefully placed dirt blocks help me bridge the water flow, while not interrupting it, and then I see what's happened to my mortal foe...
... and seemingly his friend, who was hiding around the corner, trapped in the same stream! They glared, and hopped, but nothing they could do could free them from this trap, so I took the tension-breaking moment to point, laugh at and taunt them - "Hello, Mr. Creeperses! Betcha'd like to blow up my face, huh! How's it feel to want and not get!?! Ha ha ha, stupids!", and other time-honored Zax taunts and insults. Which reminds me of another bit of wisdom my Zax-dad once told:
If on my way, I come to see
An old-time hated enemy
I'd mock, I'd taunt, I'd point at he
I'd laugh and call him names for free!
I'd throw at him some shells from sea!
I'd hop, I'd spin, I'd lick a bee!
But only if I'm sure he'll be
Completely stuck, and can't get me!
Dear ol' Dad - now there was a Zax for the ages.
But enough revelry, the Call of the North is too strong, and I must continue!
The few steps down in that chamber bring me to Y=33, and I begin tunneling ahead past the creeper trap. Onward and Northward, through the Long Dark! I'm deep enough now that I start worrying a little about magma pools, so I start using what I call my 'defensive tunneling' technique that places stops in front of me that catch any liquids that break through from my digging. Eventually I come across yet another chamber below:
which gravel-vatoring down into gets me to Y=27. Progress!
A groan behind my right shoulder had me snap around to confront another imminent threat...
... you can just make out the zombie in leather armor just to the right of the waterfall. He was hopping mad as well, or at least I thought he was. Turns out that his mad hopping was his attempt to get past the water holding him back as well - to no avail! So far, water has been this Zax's best friend - it's dropped me to lower levels, and held back my foes twice! A few more Zax-taunts for good measure, and then it's off to the North again.
The few steps down shown above gets me to Y=24, and after some laborious and slow tunneling progress, the floor reveals...
... which reminds me that I'd used all of my iron on armor pieces for use against my "imminent" creeper battle, and not on a pick! The thought does enter my mind - what if, odds against hope, I should come across some diamond and not have the iron pick to mine it!?! I immediately decide to start mining a much taller tunnel as I go, to reveal more blocks and hopefully come across more iron. Nevertheless - gold in the floor means I can dig it out to drop a bit deeper yet (again, following my dig-down rule), even If I can't get the actual ore out of the block. Means to an end, says I. And I take it.
The gold gets me two blocks deeper, to Y=22 - closer and closer to the diamond level. I try to remind myself about how scarce diamond really is, and what the odds must be of actually stumbling across some at the correct level I happen to be at, and within reach of my true North-path of x= -245... yeah, don't get your hopes up, Zax. I could increase the chances of seeing some, should I manage to get deep enough, by widening my tunnel to three or even five blocks by reaching with my pick, but I decide that removing so much material on a fool's hope would slow my forward progress far too much, and the Call of the North would drive me to madness and compel me forward again. So I continue on a single-block width tunnel, and a mere 15 blocks ahead, another cavern drop...
... getting me to Y=17. Only one block higher than the diamo... stop thinking about that. Think NORTH!
I continue, my tunnel breaking through into two small caverns in turn at my current level. Neither were occupied while I passed through, but I didn't like the look of the passages leading off into the dark, so I decided to start sealing my passage up behind me periodically as I progress, as a precaution. I won't need these tunnels ever again; they lie to the South, after all. This precaution turned out to be precognitive; just as I was turning to seal my passage behind past the second small chamber, a witch charged to the mouth of my tunnel behind me and started hurling bottles. I thought to rush her to do her good harm, but... I can't retrace more than 1 block! Helpless! Block the tunnel, Zax, and FAST!
Safely alone again, I stood motionless waiting for the effects of the poison to wear off. Though it sickened me badly, it did not kill - but that stuff does an evil to a Zax's appetite. Took two porkchops to fill my belly after that encounter, but I am still alive, and I have a North to get to. Onward, brave Zax!
My higher-tunneling pays off, and I find a few more iron, and promptly fashion a pickaxe from it. I decide to save it for special uses as-needed, and stick with the plentiful stone tools for the bulk of the grunt-work. As I move along, I come across plenty more iron, some redstone, a few gold, and eventually Lapis. I decide to make room in my already overcrowded packs for the finds. I'm not sure what I may do with them, but really, I don't know when my next opportunity to get this deep may be, so better safe than sorry.
A tiny chamber emerges at the left of my tunnel, and a nasty warning in the ceiling has me quickly dropping my tunnel-height back down to two blocks:
Funny how a few red drips in the ceiling suddenly remind you of the peril you could easily be in with one misstep, eh?
Just a few blocks further on, and another lucky break...
... and I can get deeper still. I am now down to Y=13, and absolutely amazed that I've been able to get this deep without digging down. Amazed that almost every chamber I find is either level with me, or leads me deeper. Well, no sense in overthinking it - there's a North to get to, and I'm not gettin' there if I'm standing here amazed.
About 20 blocks on, and coal in the floor reveals iron, which lets me go deeper still:
I take the iron, which goes one block deeper as well, which gets me to Y=10. Decisions, decisions.
Since I'm not allowed to just dig down, all this time I've been seizing any presented opportunity to go deeper. But now... think, Zax, think...
Nope. I decide to go back up one level, to Y=11, and proceed as safely as possible. Which turns out to be a wise decision in just 20 more blocks.
Much better to have this just under a Zax's feet than pouring into the middle of a Zax's tunnel. With the potential disaster averted, and a few cobblestone blocks to shore up my path across the hazard, we're happily tunneling North into the Long Dark again, unsinged and in generally good spirits... until I notice one small detail in my Special Issue Zax GPS Device (F3). With all this drive North in the depths, I seem to have tunneled out underneath the sea floor - I'm under the Ocean!
Even though I've worked hard (and been lucky enough) to be able to reach these depths in search of valuables, at some point, of course, this Zax will need to get back to the surface, but breaking through to the bottom of the sea wasn't exactly my idea of an ideal way to do that. Hrrm... don't let it get you down. You're not trapped in a dark, dirty tunnel covered by a gazillion cubic meters of saltwater forever. I mean, oceans aren't as big as they were even a few months ago, right? Has to end sometime - you'll see the sun again, Zax. You won't die... alone... in the Long Dark under the Crushing Depths...
I notice that along the way, my iron supply has grown to a quite reputable amount, so I decide to try to cheer myself up a bit with some new gear. I make the leggings and boots to complete my armor set, add an iron sword, and last but not least a trusty bucket. Now this Zax is feeling a bit sturdier! Sturdier, but still a long, long way from North.
So, with that in mind, tunneling into the Long Dark again, still unsinged but with spirits dampened thinking about somehow having gotten myself under Davy Jones' Locker, I press on North. And North. And North.
And then I see it:
'Ello, Beautiful!
Dead-center on my path. And you can bet dollars to pesos she's not alone...
Four comin' to the party! And a celebration shot!
That's right! ACHIEVEMENT GET for the Zax who can't dig down! For the moment, I completely forget about Crushing Depths (even though my Special Issue Zax GPS Device now reports that I'm under a Deep Ocean, which is an even worse predicament), and focus on getting these pretty baubles out of the rock without stepping off my path.
With that deed done, I now have another decision to make. Do I let greed take me, and push on to pursue MORE diamonds, or do I say that the odds of coming across a second deposit smack on my path anywhere near here is so remote as to make a fool's errand even more foolish?
With the Call of the North ever tugging, I decide that it has been far too long since this Zax has seen the sun, and the open sky. My food and wood supplies are ample; I could stay down a considerably longer time, but... I do long for the open air again. I make the decision to start upwards, just as soon as the Special Issue Zax GPS Device reveals something other than open sea above.
50 more blocks... Deep Ocean. 100... Deep Ocean. 150, 200... and Houston, we have a problem...
This can't be the sea, can it? Sea floor doesn't reach this deep, does it?
And then I hear zombie groans just above me, and decide that I'm probably dealing with a deep underground lake. No problem - my "defensive tunneling" method has successfully caught the water flow before it can flood me out, so it's just a matter of getting the gravel drops out of the way and plugging the holes above. It's slow going, but I eventually make it past the hazard.
Even with the lake to contend with, there is a silver lining: I'm now under simple Ocean, which means I must be nearing a shore. Right?
A mere 20 blocks later, and the Special Issue Zax GPS Device reports...
... Beach above! It's well-time to begin the ascent. To see the sun again after... who knows how long in the Long Dark? I start the slow stair-step up, up, up. Only to break through to...
... the end of the bottom of a deep, underground ravine. I don't see or hear any enemies nearby, so quickly proceed past it, blocking my improvised stair behind to deter any potential pursuit.
Onward, upward, carefully removing ceiling material as far forward as I can reach in case of any surprises lurking above. Progress is agonizingly slow. I begin to wonder again if I'll ever see the sun. Eventually raw stone gives way to dirt, and then dirt with grass at the edges - and I break through to the surface just as I hear the complaints of the local zombie population above that the new dawn has risen!
New dawn! The sun! Safe to emerge from the Long Dark!
Oh, what fools we are when we reach what we think is the end of an adventure...
Y'know, it's funny. Sometimes when you emerge from the blackest depths after a long underground journey, and the next thing you see after planting your feet on morning grass is a creeper charging you from no more than 6 meters away, you forget to grab your camera out of your packs. Here, then, is simple after-the-fact photographic evidence of his presence:
A brief pause to take in the sunshine and reflect on the excellent adventure I've just had inspires me to build a modest shrine at the point where this Zax emerged, against hope, from the Long Dark. Besides, a modest shrine gives me something to use this Lapis for! So, I built what I could to commemorate the journey thusfar, limited by what I could reach from my path of -245. Here's the view looking back towards the tunnel-stair mouth:
And then it was time to move on.
I'm not fully sure where I emerged, but I came across a small inlet from the sea after only the next rise. Feeling fortunate that my tunnel opened to dry land (albeit a creeper-occupied one), I took the opportunity to fill my bucket with water.
Crossing the inlet, and just past the trees seen above, the hillside dropped sharply off, but did have a cow in range to smell the wheat I've been carrying. One less cow in the world, one more leather and future steak for me. And at the bottom of the sandy hillside...
... once again, the open sea. At least this ocean I intend to cross on top of, rather than under, thankyaverymuch. But that, dear readers, is for next time, where other adventures await!
So, the adventure to date has taken me 6075 blocks from my start location, through much trial and tribulation - well rewarded, mind you - and still going strong.
Let me know if there's any interest in a Chapter 3 of this adventure - if so, I'll shorten up chapters to be a bit more digestable in a single reading. This is the first time I've tried my hand at doing a photojournal for a game, and I had no idea at the time that this session would be so eventful, nor just how bloody long a writeup can get.
-
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TucsonJeff posted a message on The Zax ChallengeYour quest has got me interested.Posted in: Survival Mode
I think it should be battle-tested.
I wonder which direction's best?
I believe that I will venture West.
Westward westward westward ho.
Towards what end I do not know.
But westerly I shall go forth.
Not east or south and no, not north.
Westward towards the setting sun.
Sometimes I'll walk, sometimes I'll run.
And hope I see some food real fast.
Cause how much longer can I last.
Without some tasty pig or cow.
And a way to cook them up somehow.
It would be nice I must admit.
If I could cook them on a spit.
Or in a pot or in a pan.
Or in an oven, that's the plan!
I'll rustle up some cobblestone.
And make an oven of my own.
Hopefully I'll find a tree.
One that is in reach of me.
So I can punch it til' it breaks.
Then I'll whip up some tasty steaks.
Wait a sec what sound is that?
Ssssssssssss splat!
Sorry, I guess I got carried away channeling my inner Seuss. -
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Kekilrocks123 posted a message on What type of player is the worst in Minecraft?Sky fans.Posted in: Discussion
"So, guys, would anyone like to help me build?"
"DUR BUDDAR"
"DYE SQUID DI"
"SKY ARMEH 5EVA"
"It's gold."
"OMZG UR GEY U ARNT SKY FAN DJKAFJEJAEJAKJF"
Repeat for 6 hours. -
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SamurottX posted a message on What type of player is the worst in Minecraft?People with unoriginal skins, like:Posted in: Discussion
-Superhero/TV character
-A YouTubers
-Emo skins
-Girl skins with the creepy 2x2 eyes
-Mob in a suit
-Troll skins
-Recolors
-Solid colors with a black border
-Anything from a website. -
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BloodyPhoenix posted a message on What type of player is the worst in Minecraft?Those who think they're better than you because they have more / been there longer.Posted in: Discussion -
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Bjossi posted a message on No armor too hard, Iron armor too easy, and solutionThere is no such thing as a perfect player. No matter how much you have played the game or how well you know its feature set, there is always room for brain farts and unexpected events that are not even in the player's control at all.Posted in: Survival Mode - To post a comment, please login.
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See, i had just updated minecraft to 1.5 (achievement update i believe) and i decided to get the "acquire hardware" achievement, which doesn't seem too hard, does it really? Well, i was wandering around, and saw a cave with a little bit of iron! i immediately ran over to it and realised i had no pickaxe. "Meh," i thought."i'll just make one quickly." BIG MISTAKE. I hear twang and see 2 hearts leave my health bar and turn around to see an angry skeleton shooting at me. i attempted to run but i was too slow and i died. When i respawned i forgot about the iron achievement, killed the skeleton and walked off. Now whenever i see iron and a skeleton together it reminds me of my bad first experience with achievements. So i guess i try to forget.
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but in a business-like manner, add some zombies...they would just make the whole thing better. plus they are alto singers! :smile.gif: (VERY alto...)