Promotion article for our Mindcrack server

[Sorontar]

I forgot Obsi's pics from http://www.theoldergamers.com/forum/...ew-worlds.html so we already have Myst world pics.

[DarkDuck]

it's just a very rough draft, but ya Obsi I want more about peoples stuff, and less about me, I want this to be about the div, but I needed something to give a feel to the story, so I used what I knew, my stuff...

[DarkDuck]

Version 2, changed some content, refreshed it all a little,

First there was Minecraft, with it’s pistons, lego like structures and style, but this was not enough.

Not content with the stealthy creepers, TOG Minecraft Division opened the door to the unknown and unleashed Feed the Beast, MindCrack edition.
Living upto it’s name Mindcrack takes Minecraft to a whole new level, with over 30 mod’s to the game this has truly a lot to offer, and has blown more than one of the regular’s minds with all thats on offer.

Whether your new to Minecraft, or a seasoned vetern of Creeper attacks and zombie raids, Mindcrack offers all thats in the original game, but offers so much more. Ranging from new forms of redstone, to allow even more complex creations, dozens of different animals (Panda’s, Elephant’s Horses and Sharks) more technology and automation methods, and of course real world styled trains, passenger cars and freight wagons. Mindcrack has something to offer absolutely everyone.

Initially, we as a division started a small humble project known as Spawn City, we all grabbed a plot, and built to our hearts content, in this small area (each lot is only 60 blocks square) you have the many variations on design, style and expression of peoples personalities, from Sorontar (our DC’s) simple Grass hill, with it’s enchanting rooms beneath the hill (very Hobbit like) to the Soaring structure of Skoville’s stone archs, the graceful and elegant lines of Daedalous’ humble home, to Obsi’s Farmstead (with Stables).

The beauty of minecraft, and Mindcrack is that you are not restricted, you are free, t build what you want, mine what you want.
From this humble beginning the Division streached out to the four corners of the world, and there set up new homes, having Spawn city as our city dwellings we have been busy, building and experimenting.
The Mindcrack pack is almost impossible to sum up as a whole, there is too much and while it all works seamlessly together, there are 4 distinct parts to it.
Technology:
The Technology is the main component, Oil, Trains, Machines, Electricity, multiple new alloys, and so much more. The purpose of these mods are to allow the automation of mining, through the use of Quarries, mining Drills, and Fillers. Pipes transport these to new chests (more capacity) or Barrels. You can create complex workshops that allow you to get every possible scrap out of an ore, block or whatever you desire.
With the Red Power 2 mod there is the “Frame’s and Frame Motor’s” this allows you to create gates, that are as big as you like, and add a really cool flavour to the game. These also introduce new tools (drill, chainsaw, rock cutter) that allow you to mine and chop without losing durability; you need to use electricity instead.

Magic
Next is the mystical Thaumcraft mod, this mod introduces some magic fun, think of it as enchanting, making wands for weapons, but also items for improving your resources, the infernal furnice has a chance of producing nuggets that you can turn into full bars. You can create Golums, the golums are small creatures which depending on their type help you out. All in all this mod adds a little feel of magic and alot of fun.

Nature
Mo’s Creatures, it does what Mo’s does best, adds creatures, from cats, to Horses, all the way to Elephants and mammoths. It adds pets, enemies, werewolves. The content is immence, and the uses could be pure asthetics, or you could have your very own pet.
Then there is Forestry, it adds a cross over of technology with nature, you can create farms to automate your tree chopping, wheat harvesting, mushroom farming and more. But it also brings Bee’s, you can make honey, and alcohol, MEAD!!!! (yes ythe game now has Alcohol)
But this is not all, the original forestry had 12 bee’s, the More Bee’s mod that is in Mindcrack extrends this to over 70 allowing you to breed bee’s which literally can fulfil any role and produce almost anything.

MystCraft - For anyone who played one of the myst games, these adds nice nostalgia to the game, for those who didn’t, this of being able to go to different worlds by using a book. With the introduction of Mystcraft we have 3 new worlds

Caverns – a dark place, loads of caves, and crevices, the giant tree’s above streach their roots down and the roots streach all through the cave systems, I recommend loads of torches if you venture in for some spelunking action.

Jolun (the Skyland Realm), This has no ground, so watch your step, loads of floating islands, a good place to have a zeplin or a fully charged jetpack.

Wastlands: This is a broad expance of world, not all of it’s a wasteland, but there is a secret or two here, but mind the lightning, it is rather shocking.

Minecraft Mindcrack can be as big a time sink, or as small a one as you want, you can accomplish community tasks, like that of the TOG Zoo.
Tourok and Obsi are the chief Designers of our Zoo, this will hold Tourok’s reptile collection, some Horses kindly donated by Obsi, My Elephant, Panda, Scorpion, and SHARK! In the end it is hoped we will have most of the available tamable mobs in Mindcrack in the zoo for all to see and enjoy.

But thats not where it ends, While there is a magic, and technology side, along with an animal side, there is also pets, fish in bowls, oh and did I mention there are over 72 species of bee for you to breed. That’s right you can do some bee keeping, getting honey to make ambrosia (a super effective potion) you can automate the process with red power or build craft pipes, you can use genetic splicer’s to create your own bee with the traits you desire (within reason, no refund given for mutant bee’s that attack you).

So if you have a copy of Minecraft, or you are looking at getting it, swing on by our forums, say hi, we are more than happy to welcome you to our community, you will be able to get tips, advice, help and give it too. We are all learning and thats the beauty of Mindcrack, there is so much to learn, so much to do, you will never be bored, or lonely (the server is never quiet).

[Deweyoxberg]

Anyone object to reviewing for grammar/spelling?

Sorry, usage of its and it's drives me crazy

That being said... 72 types of bees?!?! :O holy smokies!

[DarkDuck]

Grammer away and chek my spalling its appealing bad

[Sorontar]

Don't worry, the grammar, spelling, punctuation and formatting will all be jiggled a bit by the editting committee (well, me). I won't put up a webpage that I am not happy with.

Sorontar

[Obsi]

looking great - I don't think this paragraph is needed though as it's just talking more about bees and things already mentioned

But thats not where it ends, While there is a magic, and technology side, along with an animal side, there is also pets, fish in bowls, oh and did I mention there are over 72 species of bee for you to breed. That’s right you can do some bee keeping, getting honey to make ambrosia (a super effective potion) you can automate the process with red power or build craft pipes, you can use genetic splicer’s to create your own bee with the traits you desire (within reason, no refund given for mutant bee’s that attack you).

[Sorontar]

Okay, I think this to the editting stage now. If someone wants to point to pictures (like Obsi's) that they think are suitable, I would be grateful.

Sorontar

[DarkDuck]

I think cut out the rest of the paragraph that I struck through keep the two lines and thats that. any feedback is good.

[Sorontar]

Okay, I have had a shot at editting this. I have moved some sentences around a little, cleaned up the spelling and punctuation and made Worlds a fourth category. I also added a bit about the Twilight world, because it was feeling left out. A few other sentences were added to tidy it up and some phrases were editted. We also have to be careful that we don't claim that Mo's creatures is part of Mindcrack. It is part of the mods used for our Mindcrack server, but it isn't part of the Mindcrack modpack.

My version also contains less of the bits near the end on the bees. They don't really fit into the article as I see it. If you can see where it would fit in, please tell me.

But most of this is still Duck's work as he wrote it.

Any comments? Don't forget suggesting pics to use.

Sorontar


TOG Mindcrack - Mining, Machines, Magic and Mobs
by DarkDuck

First there was Minecraft, with its pistons, Lego-like structures and style, but this was not enough. Not content with the stealthy creepers, the TOG Minecraft Division opened the door to the unknown and unleashed Feed the Beast, MindCrack edition.

Living up to its name, Mindcrack takes Minecraft to a whole new level. With over 30 mods to the game, this has truly a lot to offer, and has blown more than one of the regulars’ minds with all that it supplies.

Whether you're new to Minecraft or a seasoned veteran of creeper attacks and zombie raids, TOG's Mindcrack servers offer all that's in the original game, but also offer so much more. New forms of redstone allow even more complex creations. Dozens of different animals are added, e.g. pandas, elephants, horses and sharks. More technology and automation methods are available with of course real world-styled trains, passenger cars and freight wagons. Mindcrack has something to offer absolutely everyone.

Initially, the Division started a small humble project known as Spawn City, where we all grabbed a plot and built to our hearts content. In this small area (each lot is only 60 blocks square) you have variety of designs, styles and expressions of people's personalities, from Sorontar's simple grass hill with it’s enchanting rooms beneath the hill (very Hobbit-like) to the soaring structure of Skoville’s stone arches, the graceful and elegant lines of Daedalus Alpha’s humble home, to Obsi’s farmstead (with stables).

The beauty of Minecraft and Mindcrack is that you are not restricted, you are free to build what you want, mine what you want. From this humble beginning, the Division stretched out to the four corners of the world, and there set up new homes, having Spawn city as our city dwellings. We have been busy building and experimenting.

The Mindcrack pack is almost impossible to sum up as a whole, there is too much and while it all works seamlessly together, there are 4 distinct parts to it - Technology, Magic, Nature, Worlds.

Technology:

The new technology is a major component of Mindcrack with oil, trains, machines, electricity, multiple new alloys, and so much more. One purpose of these mods is to allow the automation of mining, through the use of quarries, mining drills, and fillers. Pipes transport these to new chests (more capacity) or barrels. You can create complex workshops that allow you to get every possible scrap out of an ore, block or whatever you desire.

With the Red Power 2 mod, there is the “Frames and Frame Motors” item set. This allows you to create movable gates, that are as big as you like and add a really cool flavour to the game. These also introduce new tools (drill, chainsaw, rock cutter) that allow you to mine and chop without losing durability; you need to use electricity instead.

Magic:

Next is the mystical Thaumcraft mod. This mod introduces some magic fun. Think of it as enchanting, making wands for weapons, but also items for improving your resources. The infernal furnace has a chance of producing nuggets that you can turn into full bars. You can create small golem creatures which depending on their type help you out. All in all this mod adds a little feel of magic and a lot of fun.

Nature:

Mo’s Creatures does what Mo’s does best, adds creatures. It adds pets and enemies, from cats, to horses, all the way to elephants, mammoths and werewolves. The content is immense and the uses could be pure aesthetics, or you could have your very own pet.

Then there is Forestry, which adds a crossover of technology with nature. You can create farms to automate your tree chopping, wheat harvesting, mushroom farming and more. But it also brings bees from which you can make honey, and alcohol, MEAD!!!! (yes, the game now has alcohol). But this is not all. The original forestry mod had 12 bees but the More Bees mod in Mindcrack extends this to over 70, allowing you to breed bees which can literally fulfil any role and produce almost anything.

Worlds:

For anyone who played one of the Myst games, the Mystcraft mod adds nice nostalgia to the game. For those who didn’t, this enables players to go to different worlds by using a book. With the introduction of Mystcraft we have 3 new Myst worlds.

Caverns – a dark place, loads of caves, and crevices. The giant trees above stretch their roots down and the roots stretch all through the cave systems. I recommend loads of torches if you venture in for some spelunking action.

Jolun (the Skyland Realm) - With loads of floating islands, this world has no ground, so watch your step. This is a good place to have a zeppelin or a fully charged jetpack.

Wastelands: This is a broad desolate expanse of a world. Not all of it’s a wasteland, but there is a secret or two here, but mind the lightning. It is rather shocking.

Twilight - A mystical land created by the Twilight mod, the Twilight is never day or night, but it contains its own creatures and challenges. Would you venture down into a labyrinth with the minotaurs or challenge a lich in his tower?


Minecraft Mindcrack can be a big time sink, or as small a one as you want. You can accomplish community tasks, like that of the TOG Zoo. Using the Myst books to help move animals, Tourok and Obsi, the chief designers of our zoo, have relocated Tourok’s reptile collection, some horses kindly donated by Obsi, and my elephant, panda, scorpion, and SHARK! In the end it is hoped we will have most of the available tameable mobs in the zoo for all to see and enjoy. This is only one of the Division's projects.

So if you have a copy of Minecraft, or you are looking at getting it, swing on by our forums and say hi. We are more than happy to welcome you to our community. You will be able to get tips, advice, help and give it too. We are all learning and that's the beauty of Mindcrack. There is so much to learn, so much to do that you will never be bored, or lonely (the server is never quiet).