My Minecraft 128-Block Challenge in 1.8

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A long time ago (ok, so it’s only been like five months), I wrote up an article I called the Minecraft 256-Bock Challenge, in which I locked myself in a world with a 256 block radius limit. To say it didn’t go well would be an understatement. Back then I had to use a Bukkit server and a plugin to achieve this. Now, with Minecraft’s 1.8 patch out with integrated world borders, it’s time to try again, but with a twist.

The rules are the same. I’m playing on Normal difficulty with one life. The first change I made is that this time I am only giving myself a 128-block radius limit, to make things even more challenging. Secondly, I installed this gold pressure plate at spawn in creative mode before starting. Its purpose is to trigger a command block under the surface.

The command block sets me to the new spectator mode when I die. I tried doing this with a clock but it was annoying as hell when I died as it spammed me with game mode changing messages. There are better ways to do it, but redstone and I really aren’t BFFs, so I opted for this. With that in place, it’s time to get this underway. Start the challenge!

Day One

One huge upgrade over my first attempt is that there is a village right near spawn, so I immediately head over there and start looking for a blacksmith’s hut with a loot chest inside. I luck out and find one right off the bat. Now, what’s in the chest?

Score! Some iron armor, iron tools and a saddle that I’ll likely never use? Man I’m doing so much better than last time already! I kit myself out with my new toys and head out looking for wood. I saw some trees to the west so I head that direction.

No…

Please don’t tell me…

NOOOOOOO!! Not again! I am now two for two on these challenges with zero trees! Last time I was in a mushroom biome, and this time I have trees that are just outside my reach. They’re taunting me, I swear. Pondering my options, I head back to the only source of wood I know of.

Sorry villagers, but your houses are coming down – your roofs and walls are now to become my new tools. I designate two in particular for destruction, spare the blacksmith’s place and name one as my house. I tear down just what I need and go to my new house to set up shop.

Here’s my house. I’ve manages to collect some nice supplies during this, my first day. I make some stone tools to spare my iron ones the wear and tear, make some bread and settle in for the long, long night to come.

I lock myself and my new roommate in with a block of dirt so my roomie won’t get us both killed running in and out of the door in a blind panic. It’s a long night and I think we lose something like 80% of the villager population, but roomie here and I survive just fine.

Day Two

The sun rises on day two and I head out to inspect the damage. Apparently some zombies got in this house and infected the villager inside. Sorry man, but you’re one of them now, and you have to die.

I found this little guy chasing one of the survivors around. I saved him from his diminutive tormentor before starting on looking for my most pressing need: coal. Normally I would just make charcoal if I couldn’t find any easy coal my first day or so, but with wood logs so scarce I’m hesitant to do that, so I find a low point near my house and start digging.

I don’t dig long before I encounter this small chamber with three creepers in it. One blows up near me, taking out a chunk of the room and one of the other creepers but none of my health. I toss a torch down to see what’s down there in the gloom.

Another creeper, plus iron. Sweet, sweet iron. I deal with the creeper (he was hurt by the earlier blast and died easily) only to find that that iron block was the only one. Also, there was no coal in this room and I was out of torches. I opt to get creative and build a light shaft to the surface to save on torches since I wasn’t that deep. I would need glass to cap the top, but for now I just tunneled up to the surface from the middle of this room to carve out the shaft.

Night was falling as I surfaced so I built this little structure to mark the hole and prevent most things from falling in it. I zip back to my home and prepare for another night of zombie invasions. As the undead ate up the remaining villagers (including my ex-roommate), I built a rudimentary pen in my house for housing chickens. I had a couple eggs, so I tossed one at the wall in hopes of getting a chicken.

Bam, first time lucky. I name hit Cluckers and finish off his pen with higher walls and a roof. I have slowly started pulling up my floorboards for more wood and replacing it with cobblestone, but Cluckers got dirt flooring. He’s a chicken for God’s sake, he doesn’t need anything fancy.

It started raining overnight, meaning I won’t be rid of the zombie masses come morning. Worse still are the creepers, skeletons, and witches they brought along tonight. As morning dawned, this zombie horde started to move en masse. I watched in horror as they went from the neighboring houses’ door to mine. I must be the only living thing left in town.

Day Three

I tried to pop out and kill a few by luring them to my door way, but this one was armed and dangerous. I tried to eat a steak to heal up but accidentally opened the door instead, letting him and a few of his buddies in. Fortunately I killed them with little fuss. Come morning I decided my home needed something to prevent this from happening again.

My solution was simple and elegant: I dug small pits in front of all of my doors that put my door two blocks above the ground. The size of the hole meant that I could jump over it and into the door but zombies and their ilk couldn’t walk in anymore. With the zombie menace dealt with I was finally able to go dig up some sand to make the glass for my light shaft. I was burning through my log stacks pretty quickly making charcoal for smelting but it would pay off I told myself.

Behold, the finished light shaft. I would love to put some torches around it, but again, coal/charcoal is scarce and valuable, and can’t be wasted on aesthetics. Night falls again, but with everyone else dead, the zombie hordes don’t come around anymore, making for a quiet night. A creeper lurks around my house in the earlier morning hours though, so I decide to put my valuables a little more out of the way and not pressed up against the wall where he can blow them up.

Day Four

With steps above the chest (allowing me to still open it), I deem my valuables safe. I head out into my mine to try and make my fortune.

Light shaft works like a charm you guys. I was able to cut down on the torches in the main chamber thanks to this and move on to an adjoining cavern with the safety of light. The first thing my torches lit up was – surprise, surprise – a creeper. He blew up (again doing no noticeable damage to me) but unearthing a small nook with ore in it.

Iron ore, 13 blocks of it in fact. I mine it up in a hurry before heading deeper into the ground, before finally striking my goal.

Coal at last! I dig up 22 pieces in this vein – finding lapis lazuli in the process – and head back to the surface to consolidate my wares.

Not a bad haul, and that’s where we’ll leave this today. My goal was to see if I could survive and thrive in a limited area, and despite my lack of trees (again…), I think I did quite well. Thanks for reading everyone. If you enjoy this, share it with your friends, and I’ll write up a follow up if there’s a demand for it.

Time lived: Four days-plus

Builds: Made a tiny chicken pen, reworked villager houses

Kills: Numerous zombies, creepers, and skeletons, plus a spider

Died: Not yet

Final Notes: Thank God for villages

Seed: -5941243360023619221

Score: B+

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