11/28/2011

Maps:
Last week I went through the effort of generating the weekly map, and then promptly forgot to attach the thing.  This week I have tried to rectify that problem.  As I am posting it, I notice however that I cropped too much off of the left.  You will have to use your imagination to picture where Troy and Dave have their settlements.  Troy's is difficult to read on a map because it's sand on sand, while Dave has spent most of his time digging into a mountain.



New Challengers Appear:
'Tis the season for families to get together and share their past year's experiences.  I am told that this usually takes the form of "quality time" and choral pieces.  However, for at least two families, 'tis the season to ambush relatives and force them into becoming cobblestone slaves.

In my previous post, I mentioned that these two additional members joined the server.  Because of this (and because it appears that they both really like Minecraft), this post runs very long.  You may want to grab a cup of coffee and settle down for a while.

Metro Extension: Cyan Cat
As far as I am aware, the D.C. metro system does not have a cyan line, but this does not seem to have stopped Mike from extending the network.  Putting the aqua tunnel behind him, he created a sky railroad to his base across the desert.  The ramp conveniently flies over top of where Daniel decided to place his base as well.  I am not really sure what this sign about some "Ego trip" is about though...

Yup, that's a Portal up there... Continental Rail starts here

This captures the essence of the rail.

What could this possibly mean??

Narcissism, Ho!
I may have been a bit over excited about completing the structure for the aquatic tunnel (now, if I could just empty out the water from it).  I certainly can't think of a better way to use a roughly a thousand pumpkins.  I only regret that I did not make it larger (there is always next time). Creepers only exploded on me once while building my monument to myself.

See?  It definitely DOESN'T say Matt. Looks like _|__|_ V W to me.

Hey, look!  An NPC village.  Just on the other side of the desert.

Other than working on the tunnel, and creating my new base, I ran around looking through the new content. It was inevitable: I found an NPC village. Unfortunately, the houses are occupied or I would consider moving in myself. While I contemplated this, skeletons snuck up on me and shot me once.. or twice... or...

Mike's Magical Monsters: Chicken Edition:
As far as I am aware, Mike holds the record for the number of residences. First, there was the technicolor house, then he moved on to his castle-island (which is still in the process of being detailed), then there was the hidden lair 'neath a nearby island, and finally there is his new Chicken Coop. From what I can tell, the purpose of this domicile is to collect eggs. These eggs are used to collect chickens, and also to egg peoples' houses.

Do you know how many puns start with egg? A lot.

Where does THIS rail lead?

Daniel's Diabolical Den of Doom:
Marian, Pierre and I visited my parents for Thanksgiving. My younger brother Daniel (I am not sure that 22 counts as young anymore though) was also in attendance, so I turned on this laptop; booted up minecraft; and placed it in his lap. While he was resistant at first, his interest seemed piqued after a few minutes of playing. When I woke up the following morning, I found out that Daniel had stayed up until 4:30am playing. Conclusion: Great Success.

Water and lava.  Not a bad combination.

What is this thing's purpose?  Spleef arena?

It always amazes me how differently each person's architectural style is. What would appeal to me does not always appeal to Mike, or even Marian. My brother-in-law always places his torches on the right side of his caves, so that he can tell whether he is entering or leaving; I would never have thought to do that. Daniel's structures have thus far been mostly underground and symmetric. While he has not developed his full style yet, it's clear that he enjoys working with glass products.

The most interesting part of Daniel's base (to me) is the lava moats he put up. I cannot figure out whether they have a function or not (I am inclined to believe not).

Inside entrance to his base: alternating chests and torches.

Everyone needs a wheat farm.

Lava and obsidian farm

Dave's Mines of Moria:
The most prolific builder of the weekend was our newcomer Dave. Mike graciously built a railway from my "Ego Trip" to his base. I am guessing from the floating arrow in the sky, Dave may have had trouble locating his base once or twice from that location. Then again, if you look at the picture you'll notice that his actual base entrance is less than obvious, especially if you're walking on the ground (which I was not). The arrow was also undoubtedly useful while Dave was extending the Cyan line to his base. Then again, having seen the, uhh, less than optimal path, perhaps it wasn't.

I bet Mr. Clippy would love to help us find this base.

Yup.  Totally NOT a hidden base behind that door.

Going on a hunch, I decided to head down Dave's tunnel toward Not-Hidden-Base. After I trekked down a set of stairs, I was greeted by a landing with a set of double iron-doors to my right. After consulting notes, and noticing that he already had a substantial farm of them, I uttered "mellon" and was granted free passage. Thankfully, I slipped by unaccosted by the Watcher.

Welcome to the Great Halls.

Hey look, melons! Wait, "mellon" means "friend" in elvish...

Within the halls, I was met with a number of options on how to proceed. Using the Right-Hand-Rule, I ended up passing through Dave's memorials. The most touching of these is his ode to the 100 Iron Pickaxes broken to make his chambers. Beyond that (not pictured) are a number of flower gardens that peek through in an underwater chamber.

Putting the past behind me, I backtracked and found myself within Dave's library. While the chamber still appeared to be in a functional, yet transitional period, I spotted a dais with a Nether Portal. Walking toward it I realized that the platform is made entirely out of gold! I guess that's one way to store your precious metals.

A touching ode.  Good luck in your next life, friend.

I found this room enchanting...

Just what everyone needs, a gold-plated Nether Portal.

Having traveled through the rest of his black abyss, I finally stumbled upon Dave's storage cellars. Everything's been categorized in a fashion that would please even Marian's labeling standards. Many of these bins' functions are mundane (dirt, air, etc.), but there are a few hidden gems too (see, "Exactly one egg"). The label that caught my interest the most was "Creeper".

A neatly organized storage room with labeled contents.

Everyone needs an egg.

sssssssssssss

Marian's Mansion:

Well, at least there's one nice looking house on the server.

Last week, Marian laid the foundation of her house. After collecting a substantial amount of clay, she was able to place her two story house across the lake.  However, her foundation was laid over top of the original cobblestone house she had built.  Marian decided to rectify that this week by removing the prior structure, and relocating her storage bins.  She has also finished laying the base boards for her second floor, and included a walk-out porch.  Perhaps most significantly, Marian topped off her house with a functional roof and attic.

Her future projects include cultivating a garden, constructing a boat house, and furnishing the interior.  Rumor has it that she is in the process of bidding on a number of rare and expensive paintings. for a gallery.

Either "Endermen" have been there, or Kenny's building a grinder.

Kenny's Creeper Killing Contraptions:
Kenny decided to expand his contraptions list by constructing a Mob Grinder.  The grinder he built worked using a water collection and drowning method.  However, as of when this picture was taken, Kenny was still tweaking with the exact water dynamics required to collect enemies most effectively.  He has hired me as a consultant to help streamline this process (get it? stream?) .

Tim's Tiny Tunnel:
Tim continued work within the microcosm on the server known as his lands.  Much of his time appears to be spent exploring and venturing, but he has recently taken to building noticeable structures.  However, I have noticed recently that a number of these structures seem to emulate certain other structures on the server.  A prime example of this is his underwater tunnel.  The major difference between his tunnel and the transcontinental tunnel is that he was sensible and dug beneath the water, rather than straight through it.

*I don't actually have a problem with people replicating other people's things.  I have stolen as many ideas as the next person.  Tim is just easy to make fun of.

Great new idea! I'll build an underwater tunnel! Yeah!

Whoops, missed one.  #OccupyALLthelands

When tunneling with glass, ravines suck.

Troy's Zig Zag Ziggurat:
What good is building in the desert if you don't build yourself a pyramid? In Troy's case, he appears to have chosen a ziggurat design instead (building up in levels, rather than sloping). It is theorized that the original tower of babel would have likely been a ziggurat, if it existed. He better be careful not to build it too tall or God might smite him with unholy tongues, or something.

Temple of doom?  Observatory?  We might want to call Bruce Willis, just in case.

Congratulations for making it through this update!  Sincerely hope you enjoyed your coffee; I commend you if you still have any left after reading this update.  Next week I will make sure to include both a cropped and uncropped version of our server map.  Also, if you have project you would like to display, do not hesitate to email me pictures.