It sure has been a while

Wow, I've been so busy making videos and stuff that I've kinda neglected this place. I haven't really written any new turtle scripts, so I don't have anything to publish on that front. But what I do have is a topic to talk about, and that topic is FTB Ultimate pack. There is talk of wanting to switch the server from Mindcrack to Ultimate, and I almost think we should. I'm not sure what will happen when/if we do though. If I can change the server over without having to restart the world, I might do it. If we have to start over though, there's no way.
Not every player on the server has weighed in, but I think most will be ok going along with whatever I decide. I know I'd love to get Mystcraft back, even though I barely touched it back in beta. I've looked at the mods we'd gain and lose and I'm not sure what to think. There's still no release date on Ultimate, but there's a beta version out people can try. I'd love to hear your opinions on it if you have any.

Flooring

Don't you just hate having to fill in floors one block at a time? Well I have the solution for you! Get a turtle to do that for you. Just give him fuel and blocks and set him free! Here you go:

-- Clearing Terminal
term.clear()
term.setCursorPos(1,1)

-- Setting up Variables
local tArgs = { ... }
local fuel = 1

if #tArgs ~= 1 then
    -- Missing Height Argument
    print("Usage: Floor <area>")
    print("Slot 1: Fuel")
    print("Slot 2-16: Blocks")
    error()
end

local area = tArgs[1]

-- Fuel Checking Function
function tFuel(f)
    if turtle.getFuelLevel() < 10 then
        turtle.select(f)
        if not turtle.refuel(1) then
            print("Need Fuel")
            while turtle.getItemCount(f) < 2 do sleep(0.5) end
        end
    end
end

function place()
    if not turtle.detectDown() then
        for s = 2, 16 do
            if turtle.getItemCount(s) ~= 0 then
                turtle.select(s)
                break
            end
        end
        turtle.placeDown()
    end
end

print("Starting floor of " .. area .. " square blocks")

for gone = 1, area do
    for gtwo = 1, area do
        tFuel(fuel)
        turtle.forward()
        place()
    end
    turtle.forward()
    if( gone % 2) == 0 then
        turtle.turnRight()
        turtle.forward()
        turtle.turnRight()
    else
        turtle.turnLeft()
        turtle.forward()
        turtle.turnLeft()
    end
end

Tunnelling Turtle

I've got a new program for you today. This one creates 3x3 tunnels as long as you want. Again, it's not perfect, but it's great for making pathways in the nether. It also automatically places torches for you. So, here is "tunnels":

-- Clearing Terminal
term.clear()
term.setCursorPos(1,1)

-- Setting up Variables
local tArgs = { ... }
local fuel = 1
local torch = 2
local block = 3
local gone = 0

if #tArgs ~= 1 then
    -- Missing Length Argument
    print("Usage: Branch <length>")
    print("Slot 1: Fuel")
    print("Slot 2: Torches")
    print("Slot 3: Blocks")
    error()
end

local length = tArgs[1]

--Missing Items Check
if (turtle.getItemCount(fuel) < 1 or turtle.getItemCount(torch) < 1 or turtle.getItemCount(block) < 1) then
    print("Missing Critical Item")
    error()
end

-- Fuel Checking Function
function tFuel(moved,f)
    if turtle.getFuelLevel() < (moved + 20) then
        turtle.select(f)
        if not turtle.refuel(1) then
            print("Need Fuel")
            finished(moved)
        end
    end
end

-- Drop Items Function
function dump()
    print("Dumping Goods")
    for i = 4, 16 do
        turtle.select(i)
        turtle.drop()
    end
end

--Checks for full inventory
function slotCheck(moved)
    local slots = 0
    for i = 4, 16 do
        turtle.select(i)
        if turtle.getItemCount(i) > 0 then slots = slots + 1 end
    end
    if slots == 12 then finished(moved) end
end

-- Return Function
function finished(m)
    print("Returning after " .. m + 1 .. " blocks")
    turtle.turnRight()
    turtle.turnRight()
    for i = 1, m do
        turtle.forward()
    end
    dump()
    error()
end

print("Starting tunnel " .. length .. " blocks long")

for g = 1, length do
    tFuel(g, fuel)
    while turtle.detect() do
        turtle.dig()
        sleep(0.5)
    end
    turtle.forward()
    if not turtle.detectDown() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.placeDown()
    end
    while turtle.detectUp() do
        turtle.digUp()
        sleep(0.5)
    end
    turtle.turnRight()
    while turtle.detect() do
        turtle.dig()
        sleep(0.5)
    end
    turtle.forward()
    if not turtle.detect() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.place()
    end
    if not turtle.detectDown() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.placeDown()
    end
    while turtle.detectUp() do
        turtle.digUp()
        sleep(0.5)
    end
    turtle.up()
    if g%5 == 0 then
        turtle.select(torch)
        turtle.placeDown()
    end
    if not turtle.detect() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.place()
    end
    while turtle.detectUp() do
        turtle.digUp()
        sleep(0.5)
    end
    turtle.up()
    if not turtle.detect() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.place()
    end
    if not turtle.detectUp() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.placeUp()
    end
    turtle.turnRight()
    turtle.turnRight()
    while turtle.detect() do
        turtle.dig()
        sleep(0.5)
    end
    turtle.forward()
    if not turtle.detectUp() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.placeUp()
    end
    while turtle.detect() do
        turtle.dig()
        sleep(0.5)
    end
    turtle.forward()
    if not turtle.detectUp() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.placeUp()
    end
    if not turtle.detect() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.place()
    end
    turtle.digDown()
    turtle.down()
    if not turtle.detect() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.place()
    end
    turtle.digDown()
    turtle.down()
    if not turtle.detect() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.place()
    end
    if not turtle.detectDown() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.placeDown()
    end
    turtle.turnRight()
    turtle.turnRight()
    turtle.forward()
    turtle.turnLeft()
    gone = g
    slotCheck(gone)
end

finished(gone)

New Turtle Script

So I've been doing some work with turtles since the update of Feed The Beast and I have what appears to be a fairly decent script worked out. It has many possible uses. I originally intended to use it to do branches for my mine, but it also works as a tunnel maker or bridge builder. It digs a 2 tall tunnel and makes sure there's walls, floors, and ceilings. You feed it with fuel, torches and blocks and it will go as far as it can. If it runs out of blocks it could have some issues. Below is the code.

-- Clearing Terminal
term.clear()
term.setCursorPos(1,1)

-- Setting up Variables
local tArgs = { ... }
local fuel = 1
local torch = 2
local block = 3
local gone = 0

if #tArgs ~= 1 then
    -- Missing Length Argument
    print("Usage: Branch <length>")
    print("Slot 1: Fuel")
    print("Slot 2: Torches")
    print("Slot 3: Blocks")
    error()
end

local length = tArgs[1]

--Missing Items Check
if (turtle.getItemCount(fuel) < 1 or turtle.getItemCount(torch) < 1 or turtle.getItemCount(block) < 1) then
    print("Missing Critical Item")
    error()
end

-- Fuel Checking Function
function tFuel(moved,f)
    if turtle.getFuelLevel() < (moved + 10) then
        turtle.select(f)
        if not turtle.refuel(1) then
            print("Need Fuel")
            finished(moved)
        end
    end
end

-- Drop Items Function
function dump()
    print("Dumping Goods")
    for i = 4, 16 do
        turtle.select(i)
        turtle.drop()
    end
end

--Checks for full inventory
function slotCheck(moved)
    local slots = 0
    for i = 4, 16 do
        turtle.select(i)
        if turtle.getItemCount(i) > 0 then slots = slots + 1 end
    end
    if slots == 12 then finished(moved) end
end

-- Return Function
function finished(m)
    print("Returning after " .. m + 1 .. " blocks")
    turtle.up()
    turtle.turnRight()
    turtle.turnRight()
    for i = 0, m do
        turtle.forward()
    end
    turtle.down()
    dump()
    error()
end

--Check for Walls
function wallCheck(b)
    turtle.turnRight()
    if not turtle.detect() then
        turtle.select(b)
        turtle.place()
    end
    turtle.turnLeft()
    turtle.turnLeft()
    if not turtle.detect() then
        turtle.select(b)
        turtle.place()
    end
    turtle.turnRight()
end

print("Starting tunnel " .. length .. " blocks long")

for g = 1, length, 2 do
    tFuel(g, fuel)
    while turtle.detect() do
        turtle.dig()
        sleep(0.5)
    end
    turtle.forward()
    if not turtle.detectDown() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.placeDown()
    end
    wallCheck(block)
    while turtle.detectUp() do
        turtle.digUp()
        sleep(0.5)
    end
    turtle.up()
    wallCheck(block)
    if g%5 == 0 then
        turtle.select(torch)
        turtle.placeDown()
    end
    while turtle.detectUp() do
        turtle.digUp()
        sleep(0.5)
    end
    turtle.up()
    wallCheck(block)
    if not turtle.detectUp() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.placeUp()
    end
    while turtle.detect() do
        turtle.dig()
        sleep(0.5)
    end
    turtle.forward()
    wallCheck(block)
    if not turtle.detectUp() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.placeUp()
    end
    turtle.digDown()
    turtle.down()
    wallCheck(block)
    turtle.digDown()
    turtle.down()
    wallCheck(block)
    if not turtle.detectDown() then
        turtle.select(block)
        turtle.placeDown()
    end
    gone = g
    slotCheck(gone)
end

finished(gone)

Of the UHCS and SMP

So, as you may know, some things have happened with the UHCS that I'm not completely sure about. I know that the original admin just kinda stopped coming around. Long ago he stopped hosting UHC games, but recently he's been just MIA when it comes to the UHCS. Many people didn't like this. Honestly it didn't bother me.
Part of the reason I liked the UHCS is because of the people, but a lot of them left, I'm sure they all had their reasons. They still played the games, but I think the idea of a survival server with the UHC mod on, although unique, was a pain. I even felt it, but kept playing there, trying to build on what I was doing.
Originally the server was hosted somewhere that sucked balls. horrible lag, all the time. A group of us chipped in money to get hosted by a new company that was supposed to fix the problems, but it didn't seem to help. I threw in like $25, and I think in total we got like 150-200 to host the server for many months.
I blame the plugins, I think a lot of the grief protection cause blocks to re-appear and threw out more lag than it should have and would just cause the game to stutter all the time, every few minutes you'd be stopped on the track for 15 seconds while in a railcart, or the last 5 blocks you broke would re-appear. It made doing anything a pain.
Not long before 1.4 hit, there were periods when the server was down for DAYS with no one around to fix it. And then of course 1.4 hit and because the server was running bukkit it wouldn't be updated until bukkit did.
With the update to 1.4 there was talk of people who wanted to keep playing together, the community is still there, just not on that server. A new vanilla snapshot server popped up. The Minecore server. This server is much more restrictive on who gets in, and only someone who is suggested by an active player can even apply to be added to the whitelist.
There were a lot of complaints about the UHCS this addressed, some people hated how easily new people were added to the whitelist. Personally, I didn't care as long as they were cool folks. What I missed was the continuity of the server.
The Minecore server is great, I've had some really good times with the folks on there, but I don't plan on recording anything on there, just going to be there for fun. I might throw out some footage occasionally or appear in other people's videos, but it won't be a regular thing.
After Minecore popped up, the people who were new and active on the old UHCS started talk of clearing the place out, starting over fresh. Not sure exactly what came of that beside that the last time I tried logging into the UHCS, I was denied (not whitelisted anymore) on the server I helped fund, even though it's going by another name, Mumblecraft, in the MotD. Honestly, I don't mind. It seems that the old world that was there (which I assume has been erased from that specific server), was moved off to another one, under a different admin.
I was contacted by that admin before the move, asked if I wanted to join and I gladly said yes. Seems the server is up, but I'm not on the whitelist. I'm sure it's just something that was overlooked, I haven't bothered bringing it up to the admin because I'm not too worried. I put a lot of work into my builds on the server, but I really wasn't too attached to them.
Again, it's more about the community. There's a lot of crossover between the two, the New UHCS and The Minecore Server. Most of the people I really got on with are on the Minecore server. There are other things outside of normal survival play we do together. So in the end, to me, it isn't a big deal. I'm just glad I can share my minecraft experiences with you guys.
All of this is one of the main reason I've picked back up with Mining with Munchmo. That server I control, I don't have to worry about some admin closing it down, wiping the world, griefers, etc. Sure, I'm mostly alone there, which sucks, but I have community in many other places, so I'm happy.

I'm sure there's a lot that I've missed or not covered here. You might even have some questions, and if you do, please feel free to leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer 'em.

And we're back!

So Mining with Munchmo is back with a vengeance! And boy do I have some plans . . .
I'm finally going to get to work on my spawn house, and it's going to be epic! Or will it? I really don't know. I'm not a great builder, but it was suggested of me to build a Japanese style pagoda, so that's what I'm going to do. I figure a lot of people out there have made them, and there are pictures all over the internet that I can use for inspiration and guidance that I might actually be able to make one that looks decent.
Not only that, but the Nether has gotten a bit of an overhaul that I'll share with you guys soon, but I'm thinking of completely redoing the whole thing in the hopes of making it better, although it would be a lot of work. We'll just have to see how it goes.
Also, you remember my lair? Yeah, I'm done with that. I need to find a new home, and we'll be doing that together. I have an idea for what I want to make and where, but I haven't finalized anything yet so you can look forward to the adventure.

And so it ends . . . sorta

So, I have uploaded my very last episode of Meandering with Munchmo to youtube. The show has finished and I will not upload another, but that doesn't mean it's over. From now on, every Friday I will livestream the show on my Twitch.TV channel! So make sure you're following me there so you'll know when I go live. That's http://www.twitch.tv/munchmo
I haven't decided yet what time it will be, but I will be announcing it on youtube with a short commercial. I think I'll go for an hour each night, we'll see though, depends on how the audience is.
Also, I will be trying to focus more on Hardcore, see if I can bring that show to a close. I feel like my videos are a little too across the board, and I need to narrow down my focus to bring better content to you guys.
Along with these changes, Mining with Munchmo is coming back! The show will change a little, but I'll wait till the first episode is up to discuss with you guys more about that. With 1.4 out now, I've turned that world from bukkit server to a vanilla server.
Also with 1.4 out, I won't be spending much time on the UHCS until it is updated.

Tekkit: Equivalent Exchange

Here's a list of stuff to get started with Equivalent Exchange

• Philosopher's Stone
• Diamond
• Redstone (4)
• Glowstone (4)
• Transmutation Tablet
•  Philosopher's Stone
• Obsidian (4)
• Energy Condenser
• Diamond (4)
• Obsidian (4)
• Alchemical Chest
• Diamond
• 1 Each Dust
• Diamond
• Redstone
• Klein Star (Not necessary)
• Philosopher's Stone
• Mobius Fuel (8)
• Alchemical Coal (4)
• Coal (128 Total)

Things in the works

So wow, my subscriber count has been shooting up, I'm so happy to have you guys around and I love hearing from you. So, as I write this, I have almost 400 subs, and my estimation shows it's only going to be two weeks before I hit 500. This is amazing!
Before 500 hits, I need to get an idea of what I'm going to do to celebrate with you guys. I'm thinking a livestream of some sort. Maybe just a general livestream, playing Minecraft, Binding of Isaac, Tribes, whatever? Most of you guys come for the Minecraft, I know that for a fact, so maybe just livestream that, but for how long?
Of course, I've also thought of livestreaming for Tribes for Charity when I reach my goal, so I don't want to overdo it, or make that seem less special. Maybe I can find some other way to celebrate? But what else is there?
I thought about doing a contest, like give away a game on steam, maybe give away a copy of Minecraft? I do have some gifts in Steam still from the summer sale, would you guys be interested in that?
I would love to hear from you guys as to what I can do to thank you all for joining me in this youtube adventure!

IRL Update, etc

So, I just want to apologize if my videos come through a little late or rushed, I'm trying my best to keep putting out a video every day, but I've had a lot of stuff going on in the real world lately so I may end up having to skip a day or even worse, put out sub-par quality videos to make up for that.
Hopefully there hasn't been any real issues yet, and I'm going to try my best to make sure there are none, but who knows what might happen in the future. I'm currently in the process of buying a house (as you may have seen from the IRL video I posted yesterday) which may take my focus away from Minecraft at times. It has been putting me under a bit of stress, which is making me a little scatterbrained.
I'll also have a bit of an issue with videos once I've bought the house, because I'll have to move and I'll certainly be without an internet connection at home for a little while. I'm going to try to make sure I have a small backlog of videos to upload at that point so I can keep uploading them for you guys, but with things are working now, that may be easier said than done.

Voting closing soon

It's Wednesday again and time to get your votes in for this week's episode is almost over. I've got another video uploading now, hardcore is going well so far. Keeping one video a day isn't as hard as I thought it would be.
Tomorrow I'll get the newest Meandering up, and will keep filling in the week with Hardcore. Saturday you should get a new Mo' Angels 'n Creepers, and Monday should be another Mining with Munchmo. I might even get a special up on Friday if they release the new version of Minecraft tomorrow.
Until then, keep playing!

Well, that's ok then

So, the Youtube uploader is being dumb. It won't upload a video at all in Firefox, but in Chrome it is uploading, but not showing any progress at all. Because of this, I was at least able to get the two videos I had out there. So you can be happy to have a new Mining with Munchmo and a new Mo' Angels 'n Creepers.
I've also got a new episode of Hardcore uploading now which should be available to you guys a little later today, and I am going to see if I can get a new video up every day for the next week or two.
On a side note, Bukkit still hasn't got a Recommended build for their server yet, so I'm still in 1.1 in Mining with Munchmo, but I'm keeping with 1.2.3 for Meandering and Hardcore. I haven't found a reason to update Mo' Angels 'n Creepers yet, so that's still at 1.0.
Also of note, we might have a new version of Minecraft this week per Jeb's tweet. This can be a good or bad thing, might mean it will take even longer for Bukkit to get an RB out for the server, but it'll also hopefully fix some of the glaring bugs in 1.2.3.

1.2? 1.2.2? 1.2.3!

So the newest version of Minecraft has been released! First thing I did was install the Minecraft Profile Manager. This tool is a great way to keep multiple versions of Minecraft installed and running. I used to use many different users on my computer, one for each of the versions of Minecraft I was running. But now I can just have a single icon I click and choose whether I want to play my modded version of 1.0, or 1.1 for my Bukkit server, or 1.2.3 for my vanilla server.
And just like I said I would, I started my new Hardcore season. Boy, if the season keeps going the way it has, it will be a short one. I think I'm going to record my hardcore more than once per week, maybe fill in the gaps between the other shows, so 2 or 3 episodes every week. If this season does end soon, I plan on starting up another one right away, but I think the newest patch to 1.2 is going to really help me survive a bit longer.
I'm nearly done with the spider farm, it has been a huge project and I'm glad it's finally almost over.

1.2 Preview Release

So they've done it! There's a preview release of 1.2 available now. As it turns out they're planning on releasing it tomorrow! I'm so excited for this to happen because I get to start my new hardcore series!
So, let's go over what you can expect to see in 1.2:
Jungles!
Cats!
Villager Breeding!
Iron Golems!
Smart Mobs!
Smart Villagers!
Zombie Invasions!
Flaming Balls!
Upside-Down Stairs!
Top Half Slabs!
Higher Worlds!
Redstone Lamp!
Rare Random Mob Drops!
DOORS WORK RIGHT!
A whole new world format!

Daunting Project

So the newest episode of Mining with Munchmo is up now, and I've begun building a cave spider exp farm from some spawners a friend of mine found. Now, in the end, this is gonna be a good thing, the zombie spawner was great for exp, but getting it at three times the rate will be even better.
Now, the video is going to end up being 3 parts. Originally it was planned to only be 2, but I got so much footage for the first half that I ended up dividing that in two. I'll still be releasing the videos at the normal times, just means I'll be ahead a week or two.
I must say that I was procrastinating a bit on this project because I felt a bit overwhelmed with everything involved. I still feel that way a bit actually, even though all I have left is the drop-tower. Of course, I do plan on clearing the whole area around the spawners out and making it prettier too, but that's mostly just gonna be digging rocks. After the work I've done, I still may need to modify the design slightly, but so far it appears to be working ok.

Creeper Madness

So, I have another episode of Mo' Angels 'n Creepers encoding now, and I'll be uploading it soon. In this episode we go back down into the cave system and explore some more. Turns out there is a nice ravine that leads down to lava level, so hopefully I'll be in the diamonds next episode.
I didn't expect when I installed Elemental Creepers that I would end up with so many creepers in my world. I think in this episode I fought off more creepers than I ever have before. Unfortunately, I had a little problem with one. I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but I think my fingers slipped off the WASD keys and wreaked havoc.

National Margarita Day Fail

Boy, that was a mistake. I Just can't believe how it went from bad to worse! I guess I just got a bit cocky and it totally bottomed me out. I lost all the stuff I had, diamonds, iron, bookcases, obsidian, everything! Even if I was able to get back to where I died, there was no way I'd have made it in time. So, look forward to next episode where I go cave diving in the hopes of replacing even a fraction of what I lost.
This has taught me a valuable lesson though. I think from now on, I will place a chest at each place I sleep so that if I do die, I will at least have something to start over with. Put one of each tool, the best I can currently afford to lose.

Another Mo' Angels 'n Creepers is in the can!

So, I got another episode of Mo' Angels 'n Creepers recorded, edited and ready to upload. Should be going up in the next couple of hours, so look forward to that. In this episode we go cave diving and run into a lot of the new creepers added to the game. I sure have a lot to learn about them!
I had an issue Somnia, but after I finished recording I figured out the problem. For some reason, while recording with Fraps, Somnia goes REALLY slow, but if I'm not actively recording, time just FLIES! At least I know this for next time, so I don't have to worry about it.
I'm really happy about all the iron I found, so I can make some better tools. Next episode I'm thinking about moving my little hovel out of the hillside and into the cave I'm exploring. It appears as if there's a lot there, so I might spend a decent amount of time down there.
I've found another mod that looks like it might add some more challenge to the game, but it will change the world in a way that will require me to travel outside the areas I've been to find the new content. What do you guys think? Should I install Better Dungeons?

Meandering forward!

So the votes were in and forward was the choice! This week we fight off creepers in the night as we continue walking around my vanilla server. I am beset upon by all sorts of monsters and bugs, but the lag was kept at bay!
I think restarting the server just before recording helps, although I still got hit with the weird bug where I get stuck in a spot and the one where the blocks around me change (or even disappear completely!) as I light them up.
With that video up, it's time to begin work on my next Mining with Munchmo! This time we're going to clear out the old chicken room to make way for a new farm! Silk touch is going to be even more important than ever, unless I want to try to run grass down 30 blocks, which I don't.
Wish me luck!

Another weekly snapshot

So, there have already been two snapshots released today, the second being a huge bugfix from the first. This one adds things like waves of zombies sieging villages, villagers reproducing to make up for the deaths overnight, increased world height, and light sources that can be turned on and off with redstone!
I don't have a video yet, but I should have one up in just a few hours showing off some of this cool stuff. Have you found anything interesting in the snapshot I missed?
More information and the official download can be found here