More Technics Pack

I’ve been struggling for quick answers to things in my new modded game, due to there being so many mods added all at once, and not being familiar with any of them to begin with.  Some things are easy to quickly look up.. for NPCs and villages: Millénaire, for creatures: Mo’ Creatures.

But green ore?

It turns out that the green ore in my little cave is uranium, and needs to be dug up with an iron pick.. but I had to ask a friend to find this one out.  Google searches for Minecraft tend to return lots of videos and installation guides.. and well, I just don’t have the time or inclination to wade through hours of video footage in the hopes of getting an answer to whatever question just came up.

I suppose most people come to the Technics pack after having played with various other mods, if not the specific mods included themselves.. whereas I’ve come to it through the pestering enthusiasm of a friend, and find it all a far cry from the comforts of vanilla Minecraft and the wiki..

My friend has now linked me to the Industrial Craft Wiki though, which should alleviate my frustration enough that I properly look at this side of the mod pack, instead of just hunting Ogres or watching the villagers build stuff.. though maybe I’ll watch a little more first, as I do want to see how much they’ll expand 😉

There was a death in the village today too!  A bear attacked a woman.. and after taking just a few hits, she disappeared in a little cloud of dust 😮

Minecraft Mods – Technic Pack

I’ve mostly ignored Minecraft’s various mods so far.. nothing really leapt out as a must-see, and I just didn’t have the enthusiasm to face the hassle of setting them up.

However.. a friend has been trying out the Technic pack, which adds a big pile of mods to the game.. building, industrial machinery, more creatures via Mo’ Creatures, and from Millénaire, NPC villages which grow as the villagers work in them.

Minecraft itself has to be downgraded to version 1.7.3 before the pack can be applied.  So that I can play on the multiplayer server still, I need to have a second install of Minecraft.. or a second copy of the game’s bin folder at least.  I looked into creating a batch file to switch between the modded version and vanilla version, but that would rely on naming the folders “bin” and “bin(1)” rather than something memorable.  As I want to keep a backup copy of the modded version anyway, it should be easy enough to just copy that over when I want to play the mod.

So, into the game..

I spawned right next to an Indian village, with a few small buildings, and NPCs going about their business.. collecting wood, making bricks, and if I headed into the town hall, one or more would come running to trade with me 🙂

I decided to avoid gathering resources directly within the village in case it turned them against me.. but I was lucky enough to come across loads of blocks of wood from trees which were despawning all around, and ended up with a full stack of wood without having had to strike a single tree!

I’m still only at “Stranger” status with the Village Chief, though as I bring more goods to trade, this reputation should improve and I’ll be able to get more interesting things, including housing which isn’t so easily destroyed..

My friend had warned me against building too close to the village, as they will expand onto you if it’s in their plans.  I moved to the next flat piece of land and made a small house, containing a workbench and chest, and a bed for passing the night in safety.. or so I thought!

The Mo’ Creatures part of the pack adds.. as you’d guess.. more creatures, including werewolves, big cats, and Ogres..

I awoke from the third night’s sleep to a smashing sound, grunting, and the realisation that my house was being destroyed around me by three large Ogres!  I ran away, not wanting to take them on with the wooden sword I had to hand.. and when I came back there wasn’t much left..

In case you don’t want to be surprised like this, Mo’ Creatures has a few adjustable settings.

I have reduced the number of Ogres.. for now.  They drop Obsidian, so when I have a bit more gear, I will be hunting them for it!

Werewolves were another threat I’d been warned against, with the recommendation of just running if I saw one.  It’s a different matter during the day, though.. and I was encouraged to attack the “hobos” wandering around for their loot.. as well as for the fact that they were the Werewolves’ daytime form.

As well as the hostile creatures, there is a nice variety to the wildlife.. rabbits, cats, fish, horses.. even pegasi and unicorns, which a friend has been busy trying to breed..

For my part, I still need to create a saddle, find food, and even tame a horse, before I can worry about breeding them 🙂

I came across some dolphins too.. and I even managed to get a ride on one by clicking him.  I couldn’t repeat it when I tried, though, as the other dolphins just threw me off!

The trees are another great thing about this mod.. more variation, with a few types of fruit trees too.. and some insanely large trees dotted about, which remind me of our attempt at a giant tree on our old multiplayer map!

I also found an Oil Slick, but I think I’m quite a way off building any of the industrial machines which I’d want it for.. so I’m leaving it alone for now.

Before I start ripping apart the countryside, I want to see quite how much my little village can expand.. they’ve already started! 🙂

Minecraft: The Adventure Update!

Minecraft has now been improved with The Adventure Update.. adding new biomes, ravines, NPC villages, more, and bigger, dungeons, and abandoned mines..

This last is maybe a bad thing where I’m concerned, because when I find a dungeon I want to explore the whole thing, and tend to get stuck down there for weeks.. but what I’ve seen so far has been rather interesting, and certainly an improvement to the game.

Another pair of additions are the food meter and the experience bar.  I wasn’t too sure about the food meter when I saw it at the weekend.. I don’t really want to have to eat in a game.. but I think it’s added an extra, minor challenge, as well as a use for all that food.  Food also has the unfortunate effect of making it look as though your character is vomiting, though not from your own point of view.  Experience hasn’t been added properly to the game yet, so while you can gather little glowing blobs of XP from mobs you kill, it doesn’t do anything.

I went exploring with a friend tonight, looking for an abandoned mine.   The abandoned mines also have small wooden structures and track, and I’ve been digging that up as I find it.. I plan to link up my latest base, ‘Wolvesholme’, with the rest of the explored world.

We found one of the many huge chasms first, and I was taught a slightly cheeky trick of using water for a fast descent to the bottom, rather than the slow staircase I’d have built.

There are now spiderwebs in the caves, which make it feel a bit more sinister.. especially when you hear the spiders scratching around above you..

I suffered at the hands of the mobs tonight, especially the creepers, and had to make several long runs back from ‘Silver Bay’ as that’s where I’d last used a bed.  Tomorrow’s job will be building some kind of outpost to save these long runs back!