Does anybody else play this game? There has been a lot of hype about it in the last few months and that put me off the game as it seemed like just another artistic indie game that would inevitably let me down, so I ignored all the praise it was getting. But then I saw a video on Kotaku titled something like "How to survive your first night in Minecraft" and I was intrigued; I thought it was a level-building game like Little Big Planet, I didn't realise there was survival, resource gathering, and base building. So I took a gamble and bought the Alpha for €10, and I've been hooked ever since.
What's so appealing to me is that it's a pure sandbox game; there's no goals beyond those that you set yourself. Want to build a giant castle? Mine some stone and away you go. Want to explore that island you see in the distance? Build a boat and try not to get lost (the game's map is randomly generated and theoretically 8 times the surface area of the Earth). Want to blow up a mountain? Kill a thousand creepers, use their gunpowder to make TNT, and set the charge. Want to build a rollercoaster? Mine some iron and try to make the best rollercoaster you can. My current longterm goal is to build a rail-line between my main base and a cottage I built on the other side of my island. It takes about 7 minutes to get there by boat, so I'd like to have a more relaxing way to traverse the distance where I can just view the scenery.
What's more, the game is surprisingly scary. When you get lost in a cave and are struggling to find your way back out, it can be quite intense, especially if you're after finding valuable resources and you're trying to get them back to the surface. Just tonight I was exploring a new section of cave when I suddenly heard the twang of a skeleton shooting an arrow at me. I jumped in my seat, accidentally hit the throw button, and threw my sword down into a pitch-black cave underneath me. I ended up having to slide down a waterfall into darkness in order to get my sword back.
Anyway, here's some pictures of my world.
This is Godfrey Keep, which is the hub of my underground tunnel network. Yeah, it looks small and boring on the outside, but it's connected to a natural cave underneath, which is where I have my underground farm.
(In case you're wondering, the sand towers are to keep the giant spiders away, I can't stand the sound of them slurping outside my house all night.)
A minute's walk away from Godfrey Keep is Impossible Falls Cottage, built next to a waterfall I created that isn't physically possible.
This one is kind of hard to see, but that's Atlantis Station, my glass-walled underwater base. It took 3 hours to build and I nearly drowned twice, but it's an amazing sight to see when you sail past it at night.
And that's the door into Hades Station, my underground base built within a massive cavern complex. It's from here that I've based my search for diamonds. So far, I've found 2.
As for the game, it's currently in Alpha so it's half-price, but it will go to full price once it reaches Beta. You'll receive all the updates until the game is finally "finnished", just remember that it's not finished yet and there is some bugs. Not that that should put you off, this game has more than enough playability as-is to make it worth the price.
What's so appealing to me is that it's a pure sandbox game; there's no goals beyond those that you set yourself. Want to build a giant castle? Mine some stone and away you go. Want to explore that island you see in the distance? Build a boat and try not to get lost (the game's map is randomly generated and theoretically 8 times the surface area of the Earth). Want to blow up a mountain? Kill a thousand creepers, use their gunpowder to make TNT, and set the charge. Want to build a rollercoaster? Mine some iron and try to make the best rollercoaster you can. My current longterm goal is to build a rail-line between my main base and a cottage I built on the other side of my island. It takes about 7 minutes to get there by boat, so I'd like to have a more relaxing way to traverse the distance where I can just view the scenery.
What's more, the game is surprisingly scary. When you get lost in a cave and are struggling to find your way back out, it can be quite intense, especially if you're after finding valuable resources and you're trying to get them back to the surface. Just tonight I was exploring a new section of cave when I suddenly heard the twang of a skeleton shooting an arrow at me. I jumped in my seat, accidentally hit the throw button, and threw my sword down into a pitch-black cave underneath me. I ended up having to slide down a waterfall into darkness in order to get my sword back.
Anyway, here's some pictures of my world.
This is Godfrey Keep, which is the hub of my underground tunnel network. Yeah, it looks small and boring on the outside, but it's connected to a natural cave underneath, which is where I have my underground farm.
(In case you're wondering, the sand towers are to keep the giant spiders away, I can't stand the sound of them slurping outside my house all night.)
A minute's walk away from Godfrey Keep is Impossible Falls Cottage, built next to a waterfall I created that isn't physically possible.
This one is kind of hard to see, but that's Atlantis Station, my glass-walled underwater base. It took 3 hours to build and I nearly drowned twice, but it's an amazing sight to see when you sail past it at night.
And that's the door into Hades Station, my underground base built within a massive cavern complex. It's from here that I've based my search for diamonds. So far, I've found 2.
That series starts out a little slow, but if you keep watching you'll be amazed at the base he ends up with, it's an incredible piece of work.
As for the game, it's currently in Alpha so it's half-price, but it will go to full price once it reaches Beta. You'll receive all the updates until the game is finally "finnished", just remember that it's not finished yet and there is some bugs. Not that that should put you off, this game has more than enough playability as-is to make it worth the price.
), and I built a base there last week. Since then I've searched the cavern on and off looking for all the resources I can find, but I've only found 1 more diamond. 
I see videos online of guys like X finding diamond veins with 4 or 5 diamonds in a single area and I get jealous. I want a diamond pickaxe to mine obsidian, but I'm one diamond short. 
I think I'll start over. My castle kinda sucked anyway.
