Maybe I'm not alone in simply having no interest in Vanilla Minecraft.

minus Googolplex? Yea, that sounds about right.

But vanilla Minecraft isn't what it used to be. We now have horses, loads of new redstone, multiple types of stone and wood (with matching constructs), KILLER RABBITS, more ocean mobs (and boss, and an underwater structure)... and tons more.

But it depends what you're looking to get out of the game I guess, if you approach it as if it were a FPS, then yeah, you just hack three or four different types of mobs. But building, man, I haven't started to build some things I have vaguely pictured in my mind.

Not enough more, I'm afraid. Once you've played a pack like Feed The Beast, with all the options it gives you, Vanilla Minecraft just seems... simple. There's not enough interesting stuff to do.
I definitely don't approach it like an FPS. Combat in Minecraft never interested me all that much. You talk about building, and I'm with you on that, but I don't just want to build physical structures, I want to build machines. I want to build factories, nuclear reactors, automated farms, advanced redstone circuits, etc. If I just wanted to build an impressive physical structure, I'd probably do it in creative mode. I might do it on a survival server as well, but it wouldn't be what I spent the majority of my time on.

But then, that's the great thing about Minecraft. It lets you play the game the way you want it. What I get out of the game is totally different from what you get out of the game, but we both agree it's a great game.

Oh, one more thing in favor of mods: some of them I don't want to be without ever again, because they make up for things that are lacking in Vanilla. I don't want to play Minecraft without NEI (Not Enough Items) and some sort of mini-map with waypoints, because being lost, and having to switch out of the game every 5 minutes to look up a crafting recipe on a wiki just isn't fun.

Yup. Couldn't agree with you more :D

Saying that this is a vanilla server is a bit misleading. The server is actually running every single mod available for 1.8, all 0 of them ;p I will definitely be constructing a custom mod pack for the server, bit by bit as they become available.

I explain on the server's subreddit that I prefer waiting for the mods to come to 1.8 (instead of going to where the mods are at 1.6/1.7) because it guarantees the server will be running 1.8 and creates a natural bottleneck in the modification of the server. This limitation affords us ample time to test the inter-compatibility of plug-ins and mods, how they impact server performance and stability as well as offering a greater chance to explore the nuances of the additional content they provide. Lastly, it places us in a much better position to receive the upcoming Workbench API than a server running earlier versions of Minecraft. I have unique ideas for a mod and I have been waiting (patiently) for the new API to begin work on them.

I have a truly original and challenging experience planned for the server, consider what I am offering now early access to that. It's not feature complete but, it is an opportunity to get yourself established early and take a large role in shaping the future of the server as a founding member. I have the broad outline of my vision for the server stickied at the server's subreddit, I would love for you to check it out and share your feedback. I will be adding a more detailed feature list once I have a moment to wring it out of my brain and into text so, expect to see that soon™.

I prefer to say temporarily un-modded due to circumstance...

Of course! This isn't my first rodeo, cowboy ;D Any server owner who says that they are never going to do a world reset has doomed themselves to failure. World resets are a natural part of Minecraft, plan for them and familiarize yourself with the tools to minimize their negative impacts while embracing the positive ones (fresh world to build on and explore)

The last few updates have incrementally rewritten Minecraft to allow for a proper plug-in API to be introduced. 1.8 has radically altered the core of Minecraft more than any other update by magnitudes and it is set to be officially released on Tuesday (9/2).

… or not modded, yet!


soooon ;)

No, there is only one type of fun, something is fun or it isn't. I know how to distinguish the difficulty that adds challenge (AKA fun) from the difficulty that is simply tedium. I agree that what I am offering is not for everyone, I would much rather give a handful of people exactly what they want instead of giving everyone only a bit of what they want. Thanks for taking the time to provide feedback, I earnestly appreciate it.


My thoughts on fun.

I have a hard time playing without a map mod, but other than that, I think I prefer it vanilla... I loaded up one or two of the tech mods, but it didn't really interest me as much. I don't have all THAT much time to play, so I'd rather go in with a relatively firm grasp of all of the blocks and put them together in new and interesting ways I haven't tried yet. When you add a complex mod system like BuildCraft or Forestry or whatever, I stop trying to build interesting environments and fuss over learning all of the machines they've added in.

Oh, 1.8 is officially out now!

Updated server to 1.8 -- Bountiful Update!

For those of you just tuning in, you can find a comprehensive guide and list of changes here

Yeah, maps and NEI are a must, I also personally like the WAILA (What Am I Looking At?) mod and the bspkrs HUD suite. The great thing about most mods is that while they add a lot to the game, they don't take anything away from the core gameplay so, they are completely optional if you chose to ignore them. I find that this opens up an economic aspect of the game where players barter resources that they are not interested in for ones that they are. This is something that only happens when all resources are not universally desirable like they are in vanilla Minecraft.

Starting the server with 1.8 is a great way to (re)introduce new (and returning) players to Minecraft. As they become (re)acclimated, we will slowly be adding mods as they gradually become available. There will plenty of opportunity to explore all of the nuaces of the additional modded content without the learning cliff of a massive mod pack. The overarching goal is to keep it fun while creating a fresh, unique experience, one that evolves with the community :)

I can understand the practical need for maps (GPS or paper) to find your way in reality. But when I play a game, I want to immerse myself as much as possible in the world. So I really don't like the abstraction from the games reality that a map offer. I can se that maps are practical, but they are also the least interesting method of finding your way. I have spend a lot of time in Minecraft creating large towers with torchlight on top, so I have a landmarks that can be seen from afar. And I make sure that I know which cardinal direction I am heading at. Sometimes I get lost, and has to quickly build an earth-column to get a better overview. And it happens that I become completely lost, and have to make do with whatever place I end up at. Sometimes when I later explores the area, my earlier home suddenly shows up. To me, the risk of getting lost is part of the gameplay.

amen, that is one of the early ways that I have played and it was very cathartic. That is very much the way things are now on the server and we have quite a few earthen monuments to help navigate the topography. It''s a very UnReal Worldly experience :)

I was taking a handful of screenshots today to whip up some material to help spread the good word of the server and I thought you guys might enjoy the raw images. I created an album for them on imgur and I will be adding more as I progress in my endeavors. Check out what I've got so far and let me know what you think :)

Have a bump.

Happy Friday!

ENR here to drop a little update

It seems the server has become a victim of it's own unexpected success! We just upgraded to beefier hardware so, if you had trouble getting a free slot before, you shouldn't now. At this rate, it won't be long before another upgrade is needed :P Over the past month our little community has more than doubled in size with great people joining us from here on GOG, the Bay 12 (Dwarf Fortress) forums and Reddit. Drop by sometime this weekend and come say, "Hi!".

Anyone from Bay 12 is friend of mine! That's great news!