[flagpole]

Originally Posted by Inspiration

Can someone help a total noob.. how do you find coal? I know how to make a torch but I can't find any coal. I've dug a few holes but I can't seem to find any.

if you can find some exposed stone in some sort of geological feature you'll probably see some exposed coal. if you just keep walking around you'll find cracks in the ground.

you can also make charcoal. if you put wood blocks, (bits of tree stumps,) in the top of your furnace and burn them with some other wooden fuel it makes charcoal. although the process is not very efficient.

http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Ch...em%29#Charcoal

[Speedloafer]

Originally Posted by Inspiration

Can someone help a total noob.. how do you find coal? I know how to make a torch but I can't find any coal. I've dug a few holes but I can't seem to find any.

If you are making a torch and cant find coal, go to your furnace, use wood as the fuel and wood as the ingredient and you will make charcoal, works just like coal for torches.

Bah already answered CURSE YOU PAGE 3!!!

[Super Bandit]

Seriously considering buying this today and was just wondering:
1. Is the game generally more fun to play solo or with a group of friends?
2. Do they regularly update the game?

Thanks

[flagpole]

Originally Posted by Super Bandit

Seriously considering buying this today and was just wondering:
1. Is the game generally more fun to play solo or with a group of friends?
2. Do they regularly update the game?

Thanks

2- yes all the time. the pc version gets updates every few weeks and they aren't just bug fixes. they are real functional upgrades. i don't know how often the xbox game will be updated but there is a lot more to come.

1- don't know. i like to play it by myself. i get precious about my world. but i guess it depends.

[chris redfield]

if I had an xbox I might try it ,but from what i've seen given the choice the pc version is vastly preferable.

[Inspiration]

Thanks folks! My error was trying to get charcoal from the ground! lol. Needed to burn wood to get it! So I made a little house, lit it up.. and night time arrived. And I must admit it was rather rewarding to fine tune my house. But it was also quite depressing too. Being in a huge world on my own, building little houses. It just felt a bit.. sad. The music didn't help. Granted I could build in a shared world I guess, but I wouldn't want some idiot to come and ruin my stuff. I can however see how people get hooked on this game.

[scorpionatthepc]

I've been on it for around 3 hours tonight. Got my own cave with its own larva pool in one room and a waterfall in another room. Also for some reason I got a free t shirt for my avatar.

[GeoBa92]

So far I have built:

A large house, a suspension bridge, a town square and an underground railway system.

I now want to build a port and a town hall. And some small houses and shops.

This game is insanely addictive!

[flagpole]

Originally Posted by chris redfield

if I had an xbox I might try it ,but from what i've seen given the choice the pc version is vastly preferable.

there is actually some value to playing the game when it is a bit light on features and being around when they add them.

[roguebrogue1]

Originally Posted by Inspiration

Thanks folks! My error was trying to get charcoal from the ground! lol. Needed to burn wood to get it! So I made a little house, lit it up.. and night time arrived. And I must admit it was rather rewarding to fine tune my house. But it was also quite depressing too. Being in a huge world on my own, building little houses. It just felt a bit.. sad. The music didn't help. Granted I could build in a shared world I guess, but I wouldn't want some idiot to come and ruin my stuff. I can however see how people get hooked on this game.

Avoid the depressing night time wait by building yourself a bed out of wood blocks and wool. That way you can sleep right through, and it also serves as a spawn point if you die.

I spent 2 hours on the Gargamel seed last night, it spawns you on the edge of a mountain surrounded by other mountains and it goes down into a valley. So many places to start caves and mines in. Loving it.

[flagpole]

the advantage of the night time is that all those mobs drop useful things when you kill them.

[chris redfield]

Originally Posted by flagpole

there is actually some value to playing the game when it is a bit light on features and being around when they add them.

go on.

[flagpole]

Originally Posted by chris redfield

go on.

there is so much you can make and do in minecraft it's a bit overwhelming.

look at all the crafting recipes.
http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Crafting
and that is really only half of it. there are things you can construct outside of crafting. there's enchanting. brewing. etc etc.

the pc version has been around since very early alpha as all these things were added and it's most intuitive to the people that were around from the beginning.

[chris redfield]

Originally Posted by flagpole

there is so much you can make and do in minecraft it's a bit overwhelming.

look at all the crafting recipes.
http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Crafting
and that is really only half of it. there are things you can construct outside of crafting. there's enchanting. brewing. etc etc.

the pc version has been around since very early alpha as all these things were added and it's most intuitive to the people that were around from the beginning.

no what I thought you meant was there was some benefit of having the xbox version over the pc version? I said the pc version would be vastly preferable to the xbox version and you replied in a manner that suggested there would be something better to having the xbox version??
I already have the pc version and I know about all the things you can do in the game , I've been registered since alpha.

[scorpionatthepc]

How come wooden signs arnt in the crafting menu? I want to make a few but they dont seem to be there.

[MemphisJaxx]

They are there but you have to use the crafting table.

[2Dshmuplover]

Some news for Minecraft XBLA players on what to expect in the near future:

Originally Posted by XBLAFans

Minecraft players have been anxiously awaiting the 1.7.3 update that will drop later this month, but the newly announced Skin Pack DLC will make the update even sweeter. The pack will include 40 skins, including both original skins and skins inspired by other games. Five skins have been announced so far: Creeper, Covenant Grunt, King, Splosion Man, and Trials Man.

Although the 1.7.3 update will be free, the Skin Pack will come with a price tag. Fortunately, there will be a free trial of the DLC, so you can view all the skins and take some out for a spin before deciding on a purchase. Once the DLC drops the 8 default Steve skins can also be worn whenever you like. Skins will no longer be changed by default when joining multiplayer, so you be whoever you want, even if somebody else is already using that skin. There is currently no release date or price, but the DLC will drop around the time of the update. pictures

With regards to the 1.7.3 update:

Originally Posted by XBLAFans

A more robust update (1.7.3) will then follow at an undetermined date in July. Designed as the first in a series of post-release downloads to bring the port up to speed with the PC version, 1.7.3 will not include any additional Achievements due to it being free. (Those players who feel the itch to bump up their Gamerscore need not necessarily worry: traditional Xbox Live DLC with extra Achievements is being considered for sometime down the line.)

Unfortunately the size of the maps (1024 by 1024 blocks) is not set to be bumped up yet. The reason, says Carpenter, is that the game’s creators want to make sure they have sufficient room to expand the game as it grows. Any PC bugs that were not fixed until later updates will not be taken care of with 1.7.3, but, as mentioned, the plan is to eventually update Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition enough so that it matches up with the PC version.

According to Carpenter, Minecraft creator Marcuss “Notch” Persson desires to have the Xbox 360 release get a life of its own, and so Microsoft and 4J Studios are looking into possibly delivering exclusive content to 360 players. And although the parties involved aren’t ready to make any promises at this time, they are also looking into the possibility of bringing a certain PC staple to the console version: mods. Locked doors and chests were mentioned as two examples.

It's only a matter of time until we see Minecraft XBLA up to date with some of the better features of the PC game, but I wish they would release these updates a little bit quicker.

[MemphisJaxx]

Cheers 2Dshmuplover, i'm looking forward to the update as it should include the hunger bar amongst other things.

That news sounds very promising that they will be constantly updating.

[sibbo]

Originally Posted by MemphisJaxx

Cheers 2Dshmuplover, i'm looking forward to the update as it should include the hunger bar amongst other things.

The hunger bar didn't come in till 1.8 (i think) so wont be in the this update.

[He4rt]

Apparently we're getting an update tomorrow.

http://playxbla.com/you-can-haz-it-m...pens-tomorrow/

[2Dshmuplover]

Yep 1.7.3 goes live tomorrow, it says it will be up at 2AM tonight with the additional skin pack priced at 160 MSP.

Originally Posted by XBLAFans

Among the new features and fixes are the inclusion of Pistons, a character skin selector, and precautions to keep unwanted players out of your game. Also detailed recently were a number of new skins for the upcoming Skin Pack 1 downloadable content. Banjo is joined by additional characters from the Banjo/Kazooie universe, and more variants of the Trials riders have been revealed. These skins join a growing list of characters including Master Chief, ‘Splosion Man, and Jack of Blades. Priced at a cool 160 MSP the pack will include 40 skins for players to choose from.

Click here for the full list of features and fixes for 1.7.3

Also, very cool to see the Banjo Kaoozie skins.

[TheToonArmy]

anybody else getting frame rate stuttering after applying update

[flagpole]

the mojang blog is a good source of information about the udates:
http://www.mojang.com/2012/07/minecr...update-is-out/

[2Dshmuplover]

No probs with the update for myself, everything running as it should. The first thing I noticed was the lighting. It's a bit embarrassing really but I was waiting for a patch because I thought there was an issue with my gold pickaxe as it wasn't mining any redstone and would break really quickly. Nothing changed with this patch so I looked it up and low an behold iron is better than gold when it comes to tools as gold is allegedly a soft metal. Right...

[Mark A]

Originally Posted by 2Dshmuplover

gold is allegedly a soft metal. Right...

Gold is in fact the softest solid metal on the planet with one gram being able to be beaten into a one square metre sheet. It's much softer than lead, for example.

Regards

Mark