New "Abyss" subworld. This is really a heavily customized version of the Nether mod.
New feature: melding. The melding are air-like purple blocks that appear in the world then slowly self-replicate. They are not directly lethal, but can become a serious issue if left alone for too long. For how to remove melding, see the FAQ tab.
Singleplayer (offline play) now starts with 27 candies (81HP worth of healing) in order to let players take the challenge of starting in less friendly areas.
I've added recipes for bush saplings in order to provide a semi-reliable source of sticks.
Clouds now move mainly according to the current season.
This release also tries to fix some mistakes I made with the mapgen. This won't affect the terrain that already has been generated, only new parts will benefit from it. Those who want to use this is release as a chance to start from fresh can use this seed: 123123123. You spawn in the middle of a snowy plain, but if you walk towards the sun (east), you'll find some green land.
You might be wondering which of the two Nether mods you should use. This one is more for hacking/customization.
It has the portals API that does the main part of the job, and the map/cave generator. It doesn't add much else and this is great because that's less things you have to remove in order to fit it into your game.
From this perspective, it may still add some things you don't want, and it may don't add enough stuff for straightforward use. But if you are looking for some way to use the vast space under the surface, this Nether mod is a good pick if you are used to modding.
This used to be a negative review, because of various concerns about what and how things are done. By the looks of the changelog, those issues have been fixed. I did not try the mod, though, but I cannot delete my review, so I'll give a thumb up for at least the responsiveness of the author.
This update continues to improve the game in the "help" departement. I have tried to provide in tooltips bits of useful information. Most of it can be found in the "Help" tab as well, but I know playesr are reluctant to read manuals and other big walls of text.
It also introduces hanggliders and windmills. Hanggliders cannot be crafted directly, players must place a windmill first. Then feed the windmill a string to obtain one hangglider.
Lastly, the game is now more forgiving to beginner mistakes. Beginners now "only" lose 5 RP if they die (but Singleplayer now starts with 30RP instead of 40). When the level up to regular player, they go back to the 10RP loss.
Hotfix: half of the text was missing in the Help tab.
Various "first play experience" improvements (new FAQ tab, singleplayer help rewritten, more explicit directions with regard to how to get a crafting table).
Apple's healing value nerfed to 2 HP.
Focus wand's Shadow HP buff (doubled).
Loot crates/boxes have a new texture distinct from "bones".
Hi. It may be that it is written somewhere that there should be one near the spawn indeed, but that's in the context of multiplayer, when someone has prepared a cosy spawning location.
In the context of singleplayer, that's different: you get crafting table from the loot boxes in ruins or dungeons. These loot boxes, that look like "bones" blocks, drop random things. However, the most frequent drop is the crafting table. Usually if you dig ten of them, you should get two or three (enough to also make a furnace and maybe a chest), a bunch of compass (for ore detection) and some bronze (use it in priority to make a pick, then a sword).
Digging those loot crates cost you 1 RP (you'll see warning messages), but you start with 40 of them (4 lives). As I said, digging around 10 will usually get you started, unless you are unlucky. In this case, just dig some more. It only hinder a little your progression (leveling up costs RP) - the "lives" thing I mentionned earlier doesn't result in a game over in singleplayer (it will only prevent you from digging more loot).
In the "HELP" tab of your inventory there's a section named "Starting (singleplayer)" that gives basic advice.
I would add that wheat seeds are dropped by giant bettles (biomes: aspen and not-snowy pine forests), and cotton seeds are dropped by manticores/scorpion-like things (biomes: jungle, dirt desert, savanna). Drops are random, you might have to kill a bunch of them. Like most mobs they also drop mese fragments, use the first nine ones to make a mese wand.
Also if you do use seed 12341234, you can basically ignore the whole thing a about the beacon ; just leave it alone.
A good flight model that allows to dive and rise. The mod also does not mess with the player's physics, which avoids problems with mods that change them, by using an entity instead. The drawback, though, is that players may experience "rubberbanding" sometimes, but that's an issue with the engine that might eventually get fixed.
No, I did not click the "recommended" button by mistake, this tutorial is indeed fine.
But... Are we really asking newbies to download a tutorial? Where is the tutorial for that?
Makers, let's not forget that most players don't want to make their own game. They want a good game out-of-the-box and maybe just customize it or extend it after a while.
Imagine for yourself, someone tells you that "you have Notepad and you can turn it into a half-decent IDE by installing two dozens of plugins; you can be up to speed in a week or so. If you have issues with plugins fighting each other, seek help on the forum"... Chances are that you'll say "No thanks, I'll use VSCode".
"You have MTG and then you can make your own game by downloading mods, checkout out our huge ecosystem" obviously won't fly with most newcomers. It used to be Ok when users had to install mods and "subgames" manually, but not anymore (those people are modders now). To be fair, this is thanks to the efforts of the MT team and contributors. Don't let one old apple that turned bad spoil the barrel.
This tutorial should be shipped instead of MTG. Add to it a couple of lines to tell the players what to do from there at the end (how to get an actual game), then we are good and done.
January 2023: "Seasons In The Abyss" release.
Highlights:
New "Abyss" subworld. This is really a heavily customized version of the Nether mod.
New feature: melding. The melding are air-like purple blocks that appear in the world then slowly self-replicate. They are not directly lethal, but can become a serious issue if left alone for too long. For how to remove melding, see the FAQ tab.
Singleplayer (offline play) now starts with 27 candies (81HP worth of healing) in order to let players take the challenge of starting in less friendly areas.
I've added recipes for bush saplings in order to provide a semi-reliable source of sticks.
Clouds now move mainly according to the current season.
This release also tries to fix some mistakes I made with the mapgen. This won't affect the terrain that already has been generated, only new parts will benefit from it. Those who want to use this is release as a chance to start from fresh can use this seed: 123123123. You spawn in the middle of a snowy plain, but if you walk towards the sun (east), you'll find some green land.
You might be wondering which of the two Nether mods you should use. This one is more for hacking/customization.
It has the portals API that does the main part of the job, and the map/cave generator. It doesn't add much else and this is great because that's less things you have to remove in order to fit it into your game.
From this perspective, it may still add some things you don't want, and it may don't add enough stuff for straightforward use. But if you are looking for some way to use the vast space under the surface, this Nether mod is a good pick if you are used to modding.
Yes, I was watching for updates, as I didn't want to leave an outdated negative review.
This used to be a negative review, because of various concerns about what and how things are done. By the looks of the changelog, those issues have been fixed. I did not try the mod, though, but I cannot delete my review, so I'll give a thumb up for at least the responsiveness of the author.
November 2022: "Screaming From The Sky" release.
This update continues to improve the game in the "help" departement. I have tried to provide in tooltips bits of useful information. Most of it can be found in the "Help" tab as well, but I know playesr are reluctant to read manuals and other big walls of text.
It also introduces hanggliders and windmills. Hanggliders cannot be crafted directly, players must place a windmill first. Then feed the windmill a string to obtain one hangglider.
Lastly, the game is now more forgiving to beginner mistakes. Beginners now "only" lose 5 RP if they die (but Singleplayer now starts with 30RP instead of 40). When the level up to regular player, they go back to the 10RP loss.
Hotfix: half of the text was missing in the Help tab.
Various "first play experience" improvements (new FAQ tab, singleplayer help rewritten, more explicit directions with regard to how to get a crafting table).
Apple's healing value nerfed to 2 HP.
Focus wand's Shadow HP buff (doubled).
Loot crates/boxes have a new texture distinct from "bones".
Hi. It may be that it is written somewhere that there should be one near the spawn indeed, but that's in the context of multiplayer, when someone has prepared a cosy spawning location.
In the context of singleplayer, that's different: you get crafting table from the loot boxes in ruins or dungeons. These loot boxes, that look like "bones" blocks, drop random things. However, the most frequent drop is the crafting table. Usually if you dig ten of them, you should get two or three (enough to also make a furnace and maybe a chest), a bunch of compass (for ore detection) and some bronze (use it in priority to make a pick, then a sword).
Digging those loot crates cost you 1 RP (you'll see warning messages), but you start with 40 of them (4 lives). As I said, digging around 10 will usually get you started, unless you are unlucky. In this case, just dig some more. It only hinder a little your progression (leveling up costs RP) - the "lives" thing I mentionned earlier doesn't result in a game over in singleplayer (it will only prevent you from digging more loot).
In the "HELP" tab of your inventory there's a section named "Starting (singleplayer)" that gives basic advice.
I would add that wheat seeds are dropped by giant bettles (biomes: aspen and not-snowy pine forests), and cotton seeds are dropped by manticores/scorpion-like things (biomes: jungle, dirt desert, savanna). Drops are random, you might have to kill a bunch of them. Like most mobs they also drop mese fragments, use the first nine ones to make a mese wand. Also if you do use seed 12341234, you can basically ignore the whole thing a about the beacon ; just leave it alone.
A good flight model that allows to dive and rise. The mod also does not mess with the player's physics, which avoids problems with mods that change them, by using an entity instead. The drawback, though, is that players may experience "rubberbanding" sometimes, but that's an issue with the engine that might eventually get fixed.
No, I did not click the "recommended" button by mistake, this tutorial is indeed fine.
But... Are we really asking newbies to download a tutorial? Where is the tutorial for that?
Makers, let's not forget that most players don't want to make their own game. They want a good game out-of-the-box and maybe just customize it or extend it after a while.
Imagine for yourself, someone tells you that "you have Notepad and you can turn it into a half-decent IDE by installing two dozens of plugins; you can be up to speed in a week or so. If you have issues with plugins fighting each other, seek help on the forum"... Chances are that you'll say "No thanks, I'll use VSCode".
"You have MTG and then you can make your own game by downloading mods, checkout out our huge ecosystem" obviously won't fly with most newcomers. It used to be Ok when users had to install mods and "subgames" manually, but not anymore (those people are modders now). To be fair, this is thanks to the efforts of the MT team and contributors. Don't let one old apple that turned bad spoil the barrel.
This tutorial should be shipped instead of MTG. Add to it a couple of lines to tell the players what to do from there at the end (how to get an actual game), then we are good and done.