Jonah and Tyler’s Reflection on the 365

Hello everyone! Today we decided that it might be interesting to reflect upon the last year of blogging, write about some interesting points, and really just write about how, and more importantly, why we decided to write a blog about Minecraft and do a post every single day.

Tyler:

When Jonah and I first debated writing a blog about Minecraft, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had been following his original blog, (that was originally aimed at his last year of high school but turned into his adventures in Minecraft) for quite a while and it was something I had been looking forward to reading. I had also been an avid fan of the Yogscast and had been playing Minecraft for some time then, and really wanted a way to express what I had learned, and to show others about the game that I cared about so much. Originally I had thought about doing videos, in like of others like the Yogscast or Capt. Sparklez, but quickly learned that you really need a strong computer for that. I was stuck about what to do, and when Jonah asked if I would like to help write about Minecraft, I jumped on the opportunity.

This past year has been a challenge to say the least. Although in the very beginning, over winter break I might add, making and brainstorming posts was an easy thing, over time it became more difficult to think of ideas. Where had all those ideas I had before I started this gone? Once school resumed, and Calculus as well, time became a scarce resource for both Jonah and I. If it wasn’t applying for scholarships, homework, or some other crap, it was a challenge dedicating the time to our blog. However, looking back on it now, I am glad that both Jonah and I continued this, as we have gained a following of fans and we are incredibly thankful of you guys. I would also like to take the time to thank Jonah, as if it wasn’t for him, none of this would have been possible. He is the real mastermind behind this blog. Nearly every change, whether the themes or polls, or even our fb page, he has been working much harder than I ever did on this blog. Thank you Jonah, for being so awesome, and writing posts when I really couldn’t.

I would have to say that although this was a difficult experience, it was also incredibly fun and rewarding. I had a great time taking the ideas of my own, and writing them for others to see. Having an excuse to play my favorite game was also nice as well. I became a much better writer as a result of this blog, and I will definitely bring my experience with me in my future.

Jonah:

I’ve  been blogging for about 2 years now. It has always been a rewarding experience, but this was different. This time it wasn’t for homework, it was about something that I was genuinely interested in, and it was interesting (I hope).

It is true that Tyler and I probably wouldn’t have become friends without Minecraft. It became a regular topic in our discussions, and eventually we talked about making this blog.

When I mentioned trying a 365 project, neither of us truly understood how much work it would entail. We pushed on though, determined to complete such a difficult task. Completing this project is something that I have looked forward to for months. I had always wanted to try something like this, but I never had the ambition, or the ability to do so on my own.

I cannot begin to explain how relieved I am that this project is over. I also can’t explain how sad I am, or how proud I am of Tyler and myself. This truly is something that many people can’t do, and we did it.

I wish we could get a trophy from WordPress for this, but I suppose not. But in a way, this blog is a permanent trophy for all the world to see. We set a goal, a difficult one, and we succeeded.

Thank you to Tyler, for helping out with the posts and being an awesome friend.

Thank you to Riley, for letting us use your server for a while and for also being awesome.

Thank you to my parents, for dealing with the fact that I am always on my computer playing Minecraft so that I can do posts.

Thank you to my boss, for not scheduling me for 20-30 hours a week.

Thank you to my professors, for not giving me so much homework to keep me from doing posts.

Thank you to Mojang for making a truly amazing (and horribly addicting) game.

And finally, thank you to our readers, for checking us out, commenting, following us, liking our posts, and being awesome people.

THE FUTURE:

So, the 365 is over. Now what?

We will still write posts, but not every day. We plan on writing about 2-4 times per week, this will give us time to write really great posts. We haven’t developed a new schedule yet, but we are working on it.

To celebrate the completion of this project, and to give our brains a little break, we will be taking a week off from the blog. There will be no posts until January 8th, at the earliest.

We hope that you’ve enjoyed what you’ve seen from this blog. If you wish, you can follow us via e-mail or like us on Facebook.

This is Jonah and Tyler saying good night, thanks for reading, happy new year, and, of course…

Happy Mining.

It is done.

Minecraft News 12/10-12/16 (351/365)

Hello everybody, and welcome to the news! As you know, Sunday is the day that we dedicate to summarizing the week before us, going into detail about our blog, Minecraft, and Mojang. Sadly, there isn’t a whole lot of news today, but we did get a new snapshot. So, I’ll go into some detail about that. For this post, I highlighted the major things of the snapshot, but there are still some small things and bug fixes that I left out purposely. Enjoy!

Snapshot 12w50a + 12w50b released:

So yeah, Mojang released a new snapshot. There aren’t a whole lot of new features, but they did iron out the fireworks, and add a nice new perk for those who  play on fancy graphics. This snapshot had mostly minor changes, but still, a satisfying snapshot as well.

• Fireworks Sounds and Effects Tweaked:

Easy enough to explain, they changed the explosion of fireworks a bit,(Don’t worry, they are still customizable) and added sounds to fireworks. Now you can have a true fireworks show! Why you would waste materials on them is strange to me, but hey, it’s your game.

• Item Entities Rendered 3D on Fancy:

This one is kinda difficult to explain without an image, but when you drop an item, say a diamond or something, that item will be rendered 3D and spin around, albeit on a miniature scale. This image will explain it better:

• Enchanted Books and Villager Trading:

This is actually a cool change. You may remember hearing about enchantable books, and now they can be found in chests found in villages and dungeons as well, not to mention you can trade a villager for them. If you don’t remember, books can be enchanted with enchantments such as protection # or something like that. This is really a good addition if you ask me. Not only do you not have to worry about wasting Bane of Arthropods on a diamond sword, you can also buy some using emeralds. It’s a good deal if you ask me.

• Tool Enchantments:

All tools, whether a pickaxe or a fishing rod can be enchanted with unbreaking to make them last longer. Finally, I can get an truly infinite Flint and Steel. My dream come true. Additionally, you can add silk touch to shears to collect cobwebs. You can only get the enchantment for silk touch on the shears by using an enchanted book.

• “Thorn” Enchantment:

Mojang added a new enchantment that can be applied to armor. This enchantment, “Thorns,” occasionally causes damages to the attacking mob. If you have some armor with that enchantment, rarely an attacking mob will have some of their damage reflected at them. Kind of a cool enchantment. Could be the difference between death and life I suppose. Sadly, it’s not strong enough to truly kill a mob, because you will most likely die before they do. Still, a nice addition to survival.

• Christmas Textures:

Hidden in the depths of the snapshot are some textures that will change the look of single and double chests to represent a red and green gift respectively. These textures will only be active on December 25th however, but still, it might be worth tuning in on Christmas to check it out! There is also a hidden ski.png file that represents skis. How this will be used is unknown at the moment, but maybe we’ll get some skis? Who knows?

Thanks for reading, I hope that you enjoyed the news today! Until next time, Happy Mining!

-Sun

Happy Thanksgiving! (327/365)

Hello world! Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s been an interesting day. I came home from school yesterday, had dinner tonight, and we already watched a Christmas movie. Kind of strange, but it was snowing here so I guess that kind of put us in the mood for some Charlie Brown Christmas.

We are in the pre-Christmas stage now, which means that we are very close to the end. We have just over a month until we finish our 365 project.

We’ve come so far…and we’re almost there.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and that you had a nice meal…

…with some lovely Turkey, Fish, Bread, and some delicious Pumpkin Pie. Yes, I know, that’s Chicken not Turkey…just use your imagination.

Thanks for reading, Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Mining!