The Spawn Chunks 103: Move The Player Not The World

Aug 24, 2020

Jonny and Joel discuss speed runs, dinosaurs and the new Minecraft combat snapshot before chiming in on new world envy and interesting mob fights.

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  • Jonny
    • Updated the Survival Guide world to 1.16.2, with Optifine pre-release. Keeping Skyblock on 1.16.1 to keep using Replay Mod.
    • Went out in search of Piglin Brutes and immediately trapped them all in boats.
      • Accidentally got in a boat with one of them!
    • Taking advantage of weeping vines for vertical travel in the Nether.
  • Joel
    • Still running 1.16.1. Fabric came out for 1.16.2 but only just before the weekend. I think I may hold out and update the server first.
    • Switched projects this weekend and sped up the Enderman farm.
      • Higher platform to make it a one-hit-kill farm.
      • More shallow chamber so you can reach all enderman with one sweeping edge sword.
      • Eye rolls to every comment about making a “more efficient” lower platform like the Ender Mini from Gnembon.
        • I wanted a faster farm.
  •  

Minecraft News

Chunk Mail

FROM: BigRex12
SUBJECT: End Game Custom Recipes

Hi Joel and Pix!

On the last episode, SoCool2025 wrote in and commented on how the nether star has a pretty limited use in game. I realize they were talking about adding new blocks into the vanilla game in the form of lighting, and while I think that’s an excellent idea, I wanted to share how I use them on my small server. 

I use custom recipes that utilize nether stars to create spawn eggs. The recipes are intentionally endgame because the ability to summon mobs just kind of feels unnatural. The spawn eggs go hand in hand with the custom recipe for spawners so you can create them and use them in farms. When making the recipes I tried to utilize more rare and tougher to get items such as ghast tears, and netherite scraps. 

I have a full time job and three kids, so my available time is limited. I think these custom recipes allow me, my wife and my kids to progress through the game just a tad faster.

How do you feel about custom recipes for things that don’t currently have recipes?

Sincerely,

BigRex12

FROM: Nicky
SUBJECT: Note Blocks

Hi Jonny n’ Joel,

I’ve been following the Survival Guide for a little while and found this podcast a few weeks ago. This and The Citadel Cafe are stellar things to listen to while on a walk, doing housework, or building things in Minecraft.

Anyway, I wanted to write in about the current state of note blocks as I feel they’re quite a few steps away from what they could be. Although they have some use in redstone circuits, they don’t really serve much purpose in the actual realm of sound. You’ve discussed frequently on the show that villages and other generated structures are intentionally kind of “ugly” to encourage the player to try their own hand at improving it. However, I feel the music is amorphous enough and well-made enough to discourage the player from trying to augment it with note blocks.

The most interesting use I could come up with for these sonic cubes was as a way to simulate environmental sounds. Is there a wild wolf that you don’t want to kill but is attacking your sheep? Try simulating a skeleton sound to catch the wolf’s interest, and maybe draw it away to tame it. Are your villagers being stubborn and sitting in a corner? Try simulating a zombie sound to make them move around and help you get them where they need to go (ignoring any real world implications, of course). Obviously, these are both somewhat on-the-fly uses that might require you to have them on hand, but perhaps with these it might be more worth it to keep them in an ender chest.

I’m eager to hear what you guys have to say. 

Cheers!

Nicky

August Round Table Discussion 

  • Joel’s Topic
    • What is your favourite thing about a new Minecraft world?

FROM: Maya
SUBJECT: New Something Smell

Hello Jonny and Joel (and Xisuma)

I’ve recently been enjoying a lot of new. New/first home, new Minecraft update, and a new Minecraft world. I’ve recently started my second “forever” world, a-la-Fwhip. Since I bought my own house and moved out of my parent’s place, I’ve started a new Minecraft world of my own. My little sister helped me with a lot of design/survival choices on what I deemed my first forever world, so I’ve decided to leave that old world we “shared” to only be worked on with her when she visits.

I’ve been enjoying the fresh palette to build on and the fresh world to explore. I wanted to ask what some of your favourite things are about a new Minecraft world. Is it the exploration? A fresh place to build? New redstone, quality of life changes, or even exploits? I’m curious to hear your thoughts. 

Thank you for making such a fun and informative podcast!

(And Xisuma for running such an innovative and fun-to-watch server!)

Maya (SnowRose77)

  • Jonny’s Topic
    • How do we make mobs more interesting to fight in Minecraft?
      • What is the most interesting mob to fight in terms of strategy?
        • Endermen
        • Guardians
        • Shulkers
      • Movement is often key to making a mob interesting to fight.