Minecraft and Survivalcraft

[Scherrman]

I have known about Minecraft for a while and never really understood it. I never looked into it so it makes sense that I didn't understand it. While searching through the app store I saw a game called Survivalcraft and it sounded pretty cool especially since I'm into survival stuff. First I decided to watch some videos on YouTube about it and it looked pretty sweet.

I started playing it last night around 7 and next thing I know it's 12:30am. It was very frustrating at first trying to figure out what I was doing but once I got the hang of it I found it to be very enjoyable. I realize that what I've seen and done in the game is just the beginning and I'm looking forward to really diving into it.

I was curious if any of you have played these games before and what you thought of them.

 

[king3pj]

I've never tried either of them. I'm not the creative type so Minecraft has never appealed to me. That's the same reason I just play through the single player campaign of LittleBigPlanet games and move on. Some people spend hundreds of hours creating stuff in these games and that's great for them because they only have to buy one or two games per year. I usually prefer a more linear, story based game that I can finish and move to something else.

If you have a PC with decent integrated graphics, maybe and Intel i5 CPU or an AMD A6 APU there are lots of survival themed games you can play. You would be surprised how many Steam games you can play with a standard, store-bought PC with no discrete GPU. Don't Starve and State of Decay are two low priced, survival games I would recommended you try. They are completely different from each other and Minecraft but I think you might enjoy them.

 

[yourbeliefs]

I've played MC and while I can appreciate it and can understand why it's so wildly popular, I just get bored with it. I'm just not good with games that give you absolutely no guidance or no clear goals. Still, I don't think Notch is suffering as a result, as I think he has like 25+ million sales of MC across various platforms..

 

[Scherrman]

I've played MC and while I can appreciate it and can understand why it's so wildly popular, I just get bored with it. I'm just not good with games that give you absolutely no guidance or no clear goals. Still, I don't think Notch is suffering as a result, as I think he has like 25+ million sales of MC across various platforms..

That's kind of what I thought with Minecraft until I saw the survival one and it just made me think a little more. To me I felt like I could relate to it a little more and try to use some survival knowledge to survive in the game. Creating a shelter can actually feel pretty rewarding along with crafting weapons to hunt. It provides a surprising amount of fun and value for the $3.99 price tag. Also amazingly fun for how basic the graphics are and game play.

 

[yourbeliefs]

The other thing is that MC is HIGHLY moddable. People have made all sorts of insane stuff with it, so it's not like it's JUST building stuff/surviving if you wanted to do more.

 

[Derwin0]

My boys love MineCraft and will play it all day long.

It bored me though, for the same reason I don't like MMORG's, I like to work for a goal and get it donw.

 

[Zookster]

I looked into Minecraft, which I really knew nothing about before, when it was released for the PS3. I guess I can understand the appeal for people who don't have access to games like LittleBigPlanet. But the design and style just looked like crap to me, like that 1980s Dire Straits music video. Personally, if I wanted a create-share game, I would stick with LBP, though I'm not much of the creator type either. If I wanted a juvenile adventure game with blocky looking figures, I'd go with a LEGO game.

 

[yourbeliefs]

The art style was meant to make it accessible by not demanding heavy hardware. Hell I think you could run Minecraft on an Atom processor. Like I said before, MC is much more moddable and customizable than other build your own world games. No one is playing MC for the graphics, although there are plenty of mods out there to make it look much prettier if one desired (although not for the console versions.)

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

My 11 year old LOVES Mindcraft and has been playing for over a year now. its the only video game he hasn't got bored of.

I don't understand any of it to be honest with you.

 

[yourbeliefs]

My 11 year old LOVES Mindcraft and has been playing for over a year now. its the only video game he hasn't got bored of.

I don't understand any of it to be honest with you.

MC does have a big younger following. Hell my cousin lets his 5 year old son play and he has tons of fun. I think it's basically like legos/constructs for us when we were growing up, except without all the hidden pieces for mom and dad to step on with bare feet. Like I said, I"m a big supporter of MC even though I don't play it.

South Park did a great episode about MC this season that's worth checking out. It also pokes fun at the cable industry, and the message they have is all the more relevant nowadays with the possible Time Warner/Comcast merger. NSFW.

http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s17e02-informative-murder-porn

 

[Stargazer]

Will Minecraft work on a Pentium 4 2.5-2.8 GHZ computer at 1.5 GB of memory running Windows XP?

 

[yourbeliefs]

Will Minecraft work on a Pentium 4 2.5-2.8 GHZ computer at 1.5 GB of memory running Windows XP?

Not sure.. according to the specs on the website you'll need a little more Ram.
https://help.mojang.com/customer/portal/articles/325948-minecraft-system-requirements

You can always try the demo (available on their website) and see if that runs, so you don't make the investment and the game doesn't work.

 

[Scherrman]

My 11 year old LOVES Mindcraft and has been playing for over a year now. its the only video game he hasn't got bored of.

I don't understand any of it to be honest with you.

I never really got the point of it either at first. I think it's the fact that you can explore what seems to be an endless world and every time you start a new game it generates a new world for you.

I myself have enjoyed the survival aspect of the game. In my game there are predators like wolves and lions that you need to protect yourself from, especially at night because that's when they hunt. You feel the pressure to hurry and find shelter quick on the first night. The following days I start collecting resources like wood. Once I got the hang of how to built things it made it so much more fun. I played non-stop over the weekend and explored a lot of the map I'm playing on. I may spend a day mining for rare materials or I may spend the day hunting for food. Every time I journey away from the shelter I make sure to only bring the essentials and leave the rare or valuable materials I need back at my shelter. The reason for this is because if I get killed by an animal I lose all my gear and if I'm too far from my I won't be able to get back to it again.

I thought I'd get bored with it by now but it seems when I feel bored I just go out and explore and find some new, awesome area that I'll set up a shelter at and explore that area some more. The fact that there are so many items to find and to make that it makes you want to keep playing. I've been digging forever just trying to find diamonds. The world is so large that I've gotten lost numerous times and was never able to find my shelter back. I wish I had a map.

 

[Zookster]

MC does have a big younger following. Hell my cousin lets his 5 year old son play and he has tons of fun. I think it's basically like legos/constructs for us when we were growing up, except without all the hidden pieces for mom and dad to step on with bare feet. Like I said, I"m a big supporter of MC even though I don't play it.

South Park did a great episode about MC this season that's worth checking out. It also pokes fun at the cable industry, and the message they have is all the more relevant nowadays with the possible Time Warner/Comcast merger. NSFW.

http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s17e02-informative-murder-porn

Thanks for the link. I haven't watched South Park in a while, but I've always enjoyed their video game-related episodes. Should be good, especially now that their new game is coming out.

I never really got the point of it either at first. I think it's the fact that you can explore what seems to be an endless world and every time you start a new game it generates a new world for you.

I myself have enjoyed the survival aspect of the game. In my game there are predators like wolves and lions that you need to protect yourself from, especially at night because that's when they hunt. You feel the pressure to hurry and find shelter quick on the first night. The following days I start collecting resources like wood. Once I got the hang of how to built things it made it so much more fun. I played non-stop over the weekend and explored a lot of the map I'm playing on. I may spend a day mining for rare materials or I may spend the day hunting for food. Every time I journey away from the shelter I make sure to only bring the essentials and leave the rare or valuable materials I need back at my shelter. The reason for this is because if I get killed by an animal I lose all my gear and if I'm too far from my I won't be able to get back to it again.

I thought I'd get bored with it by now but it seems when I feel bored I just go out and explore and find some new, awesome area that I'll set up a shelter at and explore that area some more. The fact that there are so many items to find and to make that it makes you want to keep playing. I've been digging forever just trying to find diamonds. The world is so large that I've gotten lost numerous times and was never able to find my shelter back. I wish I had a map.

OK, you've officially made this game sound interesting for me. It almost sounds RPGish. I don't think I've really bothered to fully understand what MC gameplay is all about as the style/design always put me off.

 

[Scherrman]

Thanks for the link. I haven't watched South Park in a while, but I've always enjoyed their video game-related episodes. Should be good, especially now that their new game is coming out.



OK, you've officially made this game sound interesting for me. It almost sounds RPGish. I don't think I've really bothered to fully understand what MC gameplay is all about as the style/design always put me off.

It can have the feel of an RPG but there are no points or leveling up, it's just trying to survive. There are different modes of play as well. Challenging, the normal survival mode where there is danger but you can respawn at your last sleep position. Cruel, the same as challenging but you can't respawn so if you die it's over. Creative mode where you have an infinite supply of all items, you are immortal and you can fly. Harmless mode where animals only attack you when provoked, health regenerates faster, digging is faster and larges falls cause less damage.

So far I've only played Harmless and Challenging. I think it would be interesting to see how many days I could last on Cruel mode. Sometimes it's hard to make it past the first day.

 

[Scherrman]

It's amazing how well the game works for a portable device. I have it on my iPad and iPhone. It surprisingly fun on my iPhone even though it's a much smaller screen. I find myself playing on my phone at home instead of my iPad just because I like game I have going even better on it. I find myself playing it at work when ever I get a moment which is easy to do because it just saves where you left off.

 

[yourbeliefs]

I realize this isn't really video game relevant, but "Notch," the creator of Minecraft, outbid Beyonce and Jay-Z for a house in Beverly Hills. He put down $70 million in CASH. Notch is the MAN. Makes an awesome game, sells his company for a huge profit, and now can live comfortably for the rest of his life, still making whatever games he wants.

I suggest looking at the photos of this place. It's immaculate.

http://www.tmz.com/2014/12/18/beyonce-jay-z-lose-bidding-house-minecraft-microsoft-beverly-hills/

 

[king3pj]

I realize this isn't really video game relevant, but "Notch," the creator of Minecraft, outbid Beyonce and Jay-Z for a house in Beverly Hills. He put down $70 million in CASH. Notch is the MAN. Makes an awesome game, sells his company for a huge profit, and now can live comfortably for the rest of his life, still making whatever games he wants.

I suggest looking at the photos of this place. It's immaculate.

http://www.tmz.com/2014/12/18/beyonce-jay-z-lose-bidding-house-minecraft-microsoft-beverly-hills/

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2014/12/19/minecrafts-creator-buys-expensive-house-beverly-hills

Kataku UK has a video tour of the house, complete with full address, up on their website right now. I'm guessing it was from the real estate listing. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the video. It's pretty damn impressive. I know he's not hurting for cash but the property taxes each year will probably cost him more than the full price of my house that I had to mortgage over 30 years.

 

[yourbeliefs]

Here's the direct video link for those of you who (like myself) have Kotaku blocked at work.

 

[yourbeliefs]

Minecraft has sold more than 70 million copies. That makes it basically the second best selling game of all time, only behind mobile Tetris. Okay technically it's 3rd, but Wii Sports is #2 and that was a pack-in game, which I don't think should count.

http://www.polygon.com/2015/6/30/8872503/minecraft-sales-pc-mac-20-million-copies