Question: Minecraft Features

[Teddy Roosevelt]

I am thinking of downloading Minecraft, but I was wondering a few things and figured I'd ask those people who have already played the Beta.

Basically, can there be NPC's, like AI other than monsters roaming the world, or is it just me? Also, along similar lines, can those people be recruited to help me in my work?

Actually, I see a lot of stuff about other players interacting with your creations on multiplayer. Can anyone tell me about how the Beta works in general?

 

[xXGeckoXx]

Just you and your pickaxe.

edit: and infinite possibilities. I forgot about that part.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Well it's been a while since I've played last, so some of this may have changed in more recent updates:

Basically, you begin the game with absolutely nothing on a VAST procedurally generated world. There is no overall goal, no way to "beat" the game. Instead, it leaves it all up to the player to decide what to do. After some trial and error, you learn it's possible to take the raw resources of the world and create various things, such as tools and weapons. The more you experiment and dig, the more you realize what's possible.

Unless you change the difficulty mode to "Peaceful," you will have to contend with enemies. They only spawn at night or in dark caves, so it pays to be prepared to fight if you go out under these conditions. There are no friendly NPCs as of yet, though you can play with other folks online (at least I think you can, haven't tried it myself). I'd recommend only playing with friends though, unless you want to risk random assholes destroying your work.

 

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Actually, the peaceful mode thing seems like a good plan. I can use that to build an epic fortress, then play the game normally from my fortified lair.