mirror said:
DasDestroyer said:
To get home I use a compass and usually build a 1 block tower all the way into the clouds near my home, just so that I can see it from further away.
Under the ground I follow the torches, and if I have a cave branch that leads to a dead end, I take some cobblestone and cover the entrance to it, leaving a few gaps so that I know not to dig there.
And if you've hopelessly lost your summer home, I suggest getting the cartographer program, and finding it there.
I would build a similar tower, but I have to turn the draw distance way down. And what is this cartography??
Basically, Cartographer is a program which you can use to make a .png image of your map from above or isometrically. You can also use it for finding certain types of blocks on the map (eg. Diamond Ore) or for mapping your caves, but that's beside the point.
http://www.minecraftforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=13134
Once it renders it, you have an eagle's eye view of your map, and unless you made your summer house blend in perfectly with the surroundings or underground, you should find it fairly quickly.
mirror said:
Thanks for the good tips so far, and I'm realizing that I'm getting lost because my inclination to see every biome is greater than wanting to stay in my nice little tower. I just HAVE to see the nether.
The easiest way to get to the nether is to get a bucket, fill it with lava, wall off a single empty block from all sides except the top, fill it with lava, fill the bucket with water, and pour the water over the lava to make obsidian. Repeat this 10 times, in the shape of a portal, and voila.
Brotip: bring lots of cobblestone to the nether, otherwise the ghasts will rape you and anything you try to make out of the blocks you can find there.