I ran a search and didn’t find a thread for this, much to my surprise.
Minecraft. You can play the classic (older version) for free or purchase the development version in that payment model that’s become surprisingly common lately (pay a little now for alpha, or more when the full thing comes out).
The game’s very charming visually, being made solely of pixelly blocks. You start out with nothing but your punching fists, with which you can dig up dirt or chop down trees. Every material you make a tool out of lets you get resources from one material higher in quality (wood pickaxe lets you get stone, stone pickaxe lets you get iron, etc, more or less), and there are “recipes” in the game that actually resemble the tools you end up making.
I haven’t delved very deeply into it yet, but I did get killed by a skeleton archer at night, so I am suspecting that building some sort of defenses will be vital at some point. I already have a small cave dug out, with a door preventing entry, a work bench and a furnace.
Anyway, I posted this to ask a question of those playing - how do you use a furnace? I built it, I stuck some coal in the smelty bit and some ore (or at least I think it’s ore, a little hard to say, but it certainly has flecks in it of some sort) in the top part, and nothing happens, it just sits there. When I used a stick earlier I got it to light but I’m not sure what I did and I can’t get it to happen again …
I love Minecraft but haven’t played it in a few months. Looks like a lot has changed since last I played (the developer pushes updates like crazy) but this link describes how to use a furnace. Basically you put fuel (wood or coal) in the bottom slot and an object you want to smelt or cook. I used it to turn sand into windows for my little house.
Assuming you built it?, you approach it and left-click to use it. That will give you a 3x3 block to play with, which you fill in according to the recipes (linked in OP). Oh, you “deploy” it by left clicking on an empty patch of land as well.
Furnace works the same way, except when I fill in the things I think should work (coal + ore), nothing happens.
I’ve built it and I can either wield it like anything else and use it to hit things with a left click, or I can right click and place it somewhere. Approaching and left clicking just causes me to hit it.
You know, fluid dynamics are much more … surprising … when viewed in first person. I’ve flooded many a fortress, but it is certainly different when the deluge happens right in your face.
You just put fuel (coal or wood) in the lower box, and whatever you want to smelt in the upper box. Your problem was probably that the ‘ore’ wasn’t really ore. Maybe it was gravel? That kind of looks like flecked up rock to me. Also, check that your coal is really coal. Flint looks a lot like coal.
On Fridays (for the past few weeks), Notch releases an update with some of the features being undocumented. Last week it was buttons, pressure plates, red ore that could be used to transmit electricity, etc. This week it’s a chance for a new world to generate as a snow world.
Wow! Cool idea. And, new problem - I have in my inventory a bunch of sticks that have are all together (x6). How can I separate them so I can craft with them?
Yeah, this was it. It must be gravel and not ore - I tested out sand and got glass as expected. Hmm, that means I haven’t seen iron yet. I guess I have to dig deeper, heh.
I actually got a snow world as my first one ever - very nice looking, the falling effect really is that of a thick, slow snowfall. I like that you can punch off a layer of it from the ground and a bit later it’ll be covered again.
As to draining water, I’m not sure but I did see somewhere that a square of flowing water can cover the entire world right now, so I’m guessing that’s a no(t yet).
I don’t get it. I played the freebie version in the browser in the link. Crappy graphics with which I can lay down or destroy various multi colored blocks. I don’t understand the point. Where’s the game?
I can’t get the classic version to load for me, but gather that the alpha has a lot more stuff in it. Basically, the game is a big sandbox that has a lot of the same building appeal that Dwarf Fortress has.
The classic version used to be called Creative Mode, and yeah, all you do is build things with blocks. It’s only really interesting in multiplayer, I find. The real game that’s in development is the Alpha version.
As mentioned in the OP, the Alpha mode is where the “survival” portion is. Like Skorin said, the unlimited “build” mode is only entertaining in multiplayer.
Yeah I played the browser ‘free’ version too and it seemed interesting yet dead and boring overall. I had no idea there was a DF-type of game being built here.
