First Post, The Back Story

Hi I am Sidrat and I've been a gamer since probably before you were born.  I was drawn to Minecraft after seeing all the wonderful things people were doing via Youtube and various gaming sites so I thought I'd have a go and delve in to the game and software itself.

The first few days was playing the game as casual as I can, the creepers really are and the sound effects are disturbing - I now play the game at a very low volume and never with the music on - as that tended to fade in and out for some reason, as long as I can hear water and or lava I'm fine, the creepers aren't so much when they're not blasting out of my headphones, they're more of a gentle susurration on the ears and a good early warning indicator.  There's a reason horror movies are best enjoyed at a high volume.

After wondering around a bit in a few great looking maps I thought it would be a good idea to look at what to do with the pile of Redstone I was accumulating across my various game plays. So I hit up a new seed and after ten minutes in Creative wondering how I was supposed to use Redstone I hit the tutorials.

After a few days of looking around and being silently critical of some of the Lets Play Youtube presenters and video tutorial specialists my mission was clear.  Find a tutorial covering pistons that didn't spin around 257° in various directions while placing blocks for variously unexplained reasons and then move quickly on to the next stage.

Eventually I completed that mission and found exactly what I was looking for. Austin from http://minecraft.wonderhowto.com/ explained a great extendible method of achieving three pistons can move up and down.  Not only what was needed and where and also, more importantly the why.  Redstone circuits are not named that way for show it is an electrical circuit that is being built and the current acts in a very similar fashion.  The example tutorial I followed can be found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXE6evwKdxc. It also uses colour coded pathways which makes everything very easy to follow and because he uses a long pathway there's limited camera movement. A great tutorial which leads to a design that can be easily followed and therefore understood and adapted to ones own needs.

Maps, examples and screenshots

I'll be making my worlds available intermittently when I have something I really want to share. I have a few projects on the go, the first of which is a functioning example of a modified (but easily recognizable) triple vertical pistons - this is already available from the aptly named page, featuring screenshots and the important download link.

The second is a theme park I'm working on in a World Edited (minimally) island, currently featuring three water slides, with other attractions to follow, but certainly not in a releasable state. Check the pages for updates and the download link when it arrives though.

Seeds

I've kept a record of the seeds I've used and in some cases the co-ords I've visited and turned in to small abodes.  I'll update the page with screenshots of interesting seeds that I come across and also the background to the word, date or phrase I've used.

Polite Request To Video Tutorial Authors

Please follow these few, very easy to follow requests so everyone can follow your tutorial.

• Please enter window mode and feel free to switch programmes to aid in mouse cursor highlighting without the very annoying and off putting camera movement. (I'm sure a keybind can be modded to allow this)
• Explain what you're doing and why.  Yup it's second nature to you the why's and wherefores of your actions, but in the case of a tutorial for a specific result, assume it's a standalone tutorial being followed by an absolute beginner unless you state otherwise.  So tell us about the ABBA and a Falling Edge Trigger if that's what is being used.
• Why not use a script?  I don't mean you should read verbatim a 10 minute discourse on your project, downright let it flow and always be yourself.  Best tutorials are planned tutorials, and if something unexpected happens - keep it in if it's relevant, interesting or a short detour.  An hour long tutorial on making a light go on and off that consists of fifty seven minutes of feeding your dogs is not interesting or relevant.  Occasionally silence is best.  The medium you are using is visual with built in sound, so allow the game to tell the story for you.

Closing

Thank you for reading this blog and I hope this informs, incites, helps, hinders, tickles and above all inspires your creative juices to flow.