NewsPickaxe newsHi guys, and welcome to Issue 9!
This week, we have a Forums! They are still sort of in testing, but we need feedback on how it is by you critics out there. We are planning on using it to communicate better with you, our readers, and find out the kind of stuff you really like reading. It's absolutely free to sign up, and the whole staff is there constantly, so we will be talking with you as much as we can.
Also, we have hired ThinkForgetfull, he's a Brit who is going to do some writing with us. He's done good so far.
Finally, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube, we try to do a snapshot video every week as well as a few other things, and we could really use the support. Or, if you'd rather not go to the trouble, then follow us at @WeeklyPickaxe.
We hope that you like this weeks issue, and of you have any comments or suggestions, tell us in the forum, or hit us up on Twitter.
-The Pickaxe Staff-
Mojang newsNotch was checking out the new
Mojang office (which will be much bigger than the current one).
That's about it for Mojang news I'm afraid.
-TheOtherRetard
Minecraft Snapshot 12w06a
some changes with this snapshot:
- Cats have sounds now: They purr, meow and hiss according to the situation.
- Zombies have a new ability: they knock down doors now. This ability is only happening in Hard difficulty, but zombies will still try to do so (and failing) in Easy and Normal.
- Doorbreaking has a sound effect of its own
- Doors got fixed (check the Minecraft News section for more info)
- Villagers now seem to socialize (look at each other) with other villagers, you and random mobs.
- Villagers will go inside not only when it's dark, but also when it's raining. (I'm wondering if they do the same in a desert biome)
- Villagers will also flee from zombies. They can't defend themselves (yet) but there's been some talk on that...
- So now zombies, skeletons and zombie pigmen have the new AI and all three of them have a chance of dropping a rare item. Skeletons drop bows (which may be enchanted), zombies drop iron equipment, Zombie ManBearPigs drop gold equipment... These drops are RARE, so don't expect them to provide you with all the armor you need while killing them.
- When pressing F1 to hide the HUD you also disable the hitbox outline (those black lines that are around the thing you're looking at).
- Monster Spawners now show correct mobs in multiplayer.
- Snow Golems take damage from rain and water.
- Better movement for mobs in Water: Most Mobs move slower, cave spiders swim extremely fast with the water stream towards the player, but seem to be almost not moving against the water stream and zombie pigmen swim faster in water.
- When a player is targeted by a hostile mob, it will continue to track the player despite being attacked by other mobs.
And a few bugs creeped in:
- Zombies can break down iron doors while they're not supposed to do so.
- In the Canadian English Language file there are some items ", ay" after it. (Example: Diamond Boots, ay)
- Wolf AI can completely break, causing them to freeze. You can still tame them and make them sit, but they will not follow or teleport to you.
Phew, that's quite an extensive post...
Files are obtainable as always:
Client and
Server. Enjoy the changes.
-TheOtherRetard
Minecraft newsAnyone having the Minecraft pocket edition?
Well, if you have it you may have seen a late update recently. Problem was: it was planned to be out sooner, but there were some gamebreaking bugs in that really needed fixing before release, so it got delayed... It should be out now, so be sure to update it as soon as possible.
As you noticed, there's a bit of door changes coming up in the next (real) update. Jeb has already posted
a reddit thread explaining some difficulties on doors in Minecraft (the right hinged doors in a double door are actually lefthinged and opened when closed. This is why they react weird to redstone).
Meanwhile this got entirely updated in the last snapshot, so you may need to check your doors to see if they are updated correctly. All doors now react the same to redstone (signal: open, no signal: close).
Jon has responded on some speculations (Quests/shops from villagers) that they are being considered, but no actual confirmation has been given. there may be a way to
"keep the villagers happy". He also responded that advanced mob AI may be tied to the difficulty, so they will act dumber in Easy than when playing Hardcore. He was also experimenting with
"Zombie village sieges" and he said villagers will have a way of defending themselves.
Jeb has posted
a screenshot of a possible increased world height in one of the next updates. A world converter is being tested so maps won't break when this gets added in. Notch has approved of this...
Well, that's about it for this week. I'll be keeping an eye out for any future changes. See you back next week.
-TheOtherRetard
StoriesWhat are Blocks? 3: Water flow by MCMasta
Hello and welcome to the third “episode” of What are Blocks. Today we'll be discussing the block of water. Because water is such a complex block, I will not write everything I know about it, just the basics of how it spreads.
Water was one of the first blocks introduced, in Minecraft Classic 0.0.12a_01, May 20. It is one of the more interesting blocks, because it has some physics that other blocks don't have. Water can be found most commonly in large seas and lakes at “sea level”, level 64 above the void. It also randomly spawns in small lakes on every height-level in the Minecraft world. You can also create an infinite amount of water by making a 2 by 2 hole in the ground and placing water in the opposite corners, known as “infinite spring”. When you pick water up from any of the spots, it will regenerate.
Water can not be picked up with your bare hands. You got to craft a bucket first, by placing 3 iron in a V-shaped fashion in a crafting table. Then, with the bucket in your hand, right-click the source of the water. I will come back to water sources and streams later. The bucket will become a bucket of water. By holding the bucket of water in your hand and right-clicking on a block, you can place the water and convert the bucket of water back to a regular empty bucket.
What are these water sources I've been talking about then? The water sources are the source of water streams (oddly enough). When you place water from a bucket, you place a water source. Let's assume that the ground is flat where the water is. This block will check the four surrounding blocks for empty spaces or blocks that can be destroyed by water. It will then create a water stream block there, with the value 7. The water source have the value 8. The water stream will then check the surrounding blocks for empty spaces or blocks that can be destroyed by water. If it finds one, it will create a water stream with the value 6 there. The lower the value is, the smaller is the graphical block will be. The water streams will continue to check and create more streams with one lower value each time.
If you place water and there is a drop within the range of water spread, it will flow there only. Before it spreads to the sides, however, it checks below itself. If there is an empty block there, or a water block, it will not check to the sides. Then it will create a “semi-source”, as I like to call it. It behaves just like the normal water sources, except for that it can't be picked up with a bucket.
The Nether, the hellish second dimension of Minecraft, don't like water. If you try to place water from a bucket in the Nether, it will simply evaporate to no use. However, if you place ice or hacked in water blocks in the Nether, it behaves like in the real world.
Continuation on the more advanced parts of water may or may not come in the future.
Written by MCMasta
Symbols of Minecraft by MCMasta
Minecraft has some very well-known symbols within the community. Take the pickaxe, the symbol the name of this web-magazine is based on. I have started to associate pickaxes in general with Minecraft. Other symbols are the diamond sword, the diamond armor and the porkchops. And who doesn't know about the creeper.
These symbols give some flavor to puns and makes fun stuff to create in real life, like a pixelated diamond pickaxe to wave at people in town. If you aren't the kind of person that wave diamond pickaxes at people in town, you could just brag about what a dedicated Minecraft fan you are.
Most games have iconic characters or items. The Heavy from TF2. Gordon Freeman from Half-Life. The Worms from, uh, Worms. The list goes on. Some games haven't really got character in that way, like the Call of Duty series, and that makes the games less fun to talk about.
Written by MCMasta
Blocks are the new polygons by Thinkforgetfull
The art direction Minecraft took has always been a source of discussion amongst the community – I mean, the block are all right, but shouldn’t they have updated the graphics by now? WRONG. The graphics are where a great deal of the charm of minecraft lies. The simple graphics give this now iconic game it’s unique look, and if you don’t like the default textures – you can always make your own, or download one of the greats – dokucraft, SphaxcraftBD, the painterly pack… how many games let you completely change the graphics of the game whenever you want? Not many, if any.
This just goes to show that for all the fancy mo-cap technology, or facial mapping you use (LA NOIRE!) what really matters is the gameplay – a game can be the digital equivalent of the Mona Lisa, but can be impossible to enjoy, due to it simply just not being fun.
Minecraft gives players absolute freedom as to the goal of the game, and the ability to change the appearance of the game is just another way that this freedom is shown.
Heck, if I want my creeper to be a floating Ice cream sundae with chocolate sprinkles for eyes, I can. Actually, that gives me an idea…
Thinkforgetfull
New Mobs by Conkius
In the newest snapshot, mobs now drop various "Rare Items", like armor. However, one flaw with the zombies dropping iron armor is that they don't actually wear it themselves! When people started to complain about the inconsistency, it was pointed out that back in Infdev, Zombies and other mobs accually did wear armor, but it was taken out. For some people, this just solves a question but for me, it opens a new door. I think that Mojang may be thinking about bringing back mobs with different speciality, like Boss Mobs.
For example, a Juggernaut Zombie. Upon further analysis, realized that they have really already done that. Supercharged creepers, spider jockeys. Rare, but not unknown. I believe that Mojang will continue in the direction it's going, adding more detail and diversity into the game. For example, adding new mobs and changing their AI really changes the game.
Something I would like to see, is an above ground stronghold, with one type of mob that defends it, and a boss at the end. It could have a bunch if treasure in it, and with the way that Jon has done this AI, it gets less and less far fetched every week.
- Conkius
Where Would We Be? by Conkius
Where would you be if you had never played Minecraft?
Most of us would just be playing other games, but for some, their whole life would be changed.
Think of all of the people who would never have come together? All of the people who didn't know they were so creative? If there was no Minecraft, then Notch would be a Valve worker, Simon and Lewis would still be posting World of Warcraft Videos, Bashur would be working on a movie set somewhere in the arctic, Captain Sparkles would be doing voiceovers, hundreds of charities wouldn't have all that money from live streams, and the rest of us, living about our lives, separate.
But it didn't happen that way, instead, one man, and a team of amazing people we call Mojang created the game called Minecraft. No, not just a game, another world. A world where trees can fly, electricity is red, and peculiar shaped green things kamikaze you until you cry, but you keep playing anyway, because you love it. Because without Minecraft, you wouldn't be reading this, and 18,000,000 people wouldn't have become a close family.
So, I ask again, where would we be without Minecraft?
- Conkius
Videos:L4D Minecraft by Bebopvox
Filfy Animals: Valentine Special by Haatfilms
Kids React to Minecraft by the Fine Brothers...
Map of the WeekVenice by gosyboy
This scenic map is more than a recreation – it is a master piece. With its own dedicated texture pack, the map looks stunning with the water-shader mod, unfortunately, due to my system running an incompatible graphics card, I was unable to see the full effect myself.
If this map, whilst being a recreation of samples of venetian architecture, there is obviously slightly more than a dash of assassins creed thrown in there. Highlights of the map include the recreated waterways, the churches, and of course, the market place with its ever-so-cheery hangman’s gallows! The best part? Every single block of the map was hand placed – no world edit used. Now THAT is cool.
Written by thinkforgetfull
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Subject: Issue 9 
Fri Feb 17, 2012 7:25 am
