Minecraft needs Mark/Recall

[Pebkio]

Or something.

Even after all of it's updates, I still tire very quickly of Minecraft... because after I get done mining out the rare ores of an epic cave, or finishing off a dual-spawner dungeon, I just do NOT want to find my way back to the surface again.

30 minutes or more of traipsing back through tunnels that cross themselves, looking for any clues I might've left myself while trying to deal with BS blue spiders and creepers. That... or busting out six pick-axes and just digging my way up... hoping that there isn't a lava pit in the way or an ocean at the top.

Other games figured this out already: Players do NOT want to navigate a dungeon backwards when they're done. The Legend of Zelda teleported you to the entrance; Skyrim constantly presents you a secret door that leads quickly back outside; Assassin's Creed had that "end of the session" thing.

I know those wouldn't work so well for Minecraft, but there must be something... ooh! I know: One of the chests have a one-use drill cart that heads straight up in a 1X1XNeeded tunnel until you reach the surface.

 

[Lilani]

Other games figured this out already: Players do NOT want to navigate a dungeon backwards when they're done.

That's quite an assumption about the gaming community you're making there, hun. Personally I do also think it's a bit frustrating, but I've discovered a few fascinating things while tunneling back through my...well, tunnels. Things I would have missed out on had I just teleported out. For example, I had a mine that I started up under an island in the middle of a lake. If I tunneled upward enough in the tunnel, I'd strike water. I'd then be able to swim up the water, pop up in the lake, and go right back to my base (which usually wasn't too far from wherever I was in the tunnel). It also worked in reverse, as well--I always marked where I popped up so I could pop back down there anytime I wanted.

I think it'd be good if the Ender Pearls had that function. You'd still have something that can take you back to your spawn point, but it's not common enough that you can stock up on them right from the get-go and never have to face the challenge of trying to remember how the hell to get back.

 

[Pebkio]

That's quite an assumption about the gaming community...

I wouldn't say it's a very "left-field" assumption. Sure, Minecraft is slightly different than most other games, but it really does break game-flow. Hold on, I'll explain why when I can think of a way...

To be fair, I actually enjoyed coming back out of a few of the smaller caves, but after figuring out how to come out of my 25th epic-sized underground city, I just got... sick of leaving behind certain 3-torch patterns everywhere.

Actually, I've thought of a good way to describe this. In a good narrative, er... story... thing, there is a mountainous flow of direction:
---
The set-up: A slow(er) period where you learn of the conflict (in this case, finding an epic cave while mining).

Overcoming the conflict: A high-paced period in which risks are taken (In a game with almost no plot, this is just finding a safe way to get to a chest, or diamonds)

Climax: When everything comes to a head, and it's coming down to a do-or-die moment (you're getting mobbed but getting closer to that damned monster spawner, but you're also dangerously close to the lava pit).

The Wind down: The risks pay off (you destroy the monster spawner and open the chest) or they don't (you die and go back to your bed) but things calm down anyway. This is where Minecraft fails, because finding the way is a part of the conflict, and that conflict is still there even after the climax).
---

And that's why I'm sick of it, and am assuming others are as well. If Minecraft was an interactive story, then it's constantly putting the climax in the middle of the conflict and not the end... just by it's design.

 

[JesterRaiin]

Or something.

Or something.

I'm sure there are other addons like this.

Other games figured this out already: Players do NOT want to navigate a dungeon backwards when they're done.

I'm sorry, but suddenly it came to me... Is it possible that there are some players that think otherwise and actually enjoy spelunking ? I know it's rather extreme, but... ;>

 

[Pebkio]

Ooh, a portal gun, which I would only use as a mark/recall thing... unless the range isn't more than a chunk, then I'd be sad. Glad to see Lapis being used for more than just dye.

Side-note: Checked out that poll about what's the worst game-lengthening scheme. Tiresome Backtracking is winning

 

[Azure-Supernova]

This is why I take couple of stacks of cobble in with me and mark a path back through my cave systems, sometimes signs as well to point me in the right direction. To be honest diving into a cave only to teleport out would feel like cheating...