Completely new to Minecraft

[Shadowmeld]

Hi guys,

So, I've never played minecraft and I have a few questions. Sorry if there is already a good thread with these type of answers please direct me there! Minecraft looks like it could be loads of fun, but not by my self. I've watched a ton of Yogcast videos, mostly Simon and Lewis. They are so funny and looks like tons of fun, but they're always multiple people playing.

I may be able to get a friend or 2 to play with me, but what I'm wondering is if there are fun maps or servers or something to play on if I'm by myself. Are there competition cames (like The Walls) that can be played with others easily if I don't know them irl? Also, what are servers exactly? From what I understand, there are public servers... but what happens on these? Also I have heard some about pvp, how does this work?

Again sorry if there's already a good thread on this, but thanks for the help!
Shadowmeld

[Jeffyjimbob]

Hmm. That's all quite a bit to get into before you've even tried it, but...

1. There are public servers, they're usually very laggy and prone to greifers though, but not all of them. There's all kinds of lists all over the internet.

2. A server is just a separate file that constantly runs minecraft, but instead of loading the actual game it just gives you a command/status type window, so you can do things to the server/players without being in game. It's pretty easy to set up (if you know how to port forward).

3. PvP is either enabled or disabled, and all it does is allow you to damage other players. I do believe there are mods that add "teams" so that you can join say, blue team, and you wont harm any other blue dudes. But without such a mod, it's pretty much a free for all, anyone can hit anyone, even if it's an accident.

4. There usually aren't any "maps" to play on, unless you're playing in "adventure mode", which means you can't build/break blocks. Otherwise servers are just "go build/destroy" stuff. Most maps are also usually randomly generated, unless they were making it specifically for something (like, a legend of zelda adventure mode remake, or something).

5. There's a lot of community made PvP games, I think spleef was the name of one, some people host "Hunger Games", all kinds of stuff. By the way, spleef was this weird game where you try and break blocks under your enemies, so they fall into lava. It's actually pretty fun.

Really, the most important thing to remember about minecraft is that it's nothing but a sandbox. It's only as fun as your imagination is creative. You can build some amazing things, or come up with some amazing games within the game itself.

[Bokkman]

I find that it's best to look for multi-player servers in your country/region/area so you can get the best performance.
Find a few and give them a go. It took a handful for me to settle on one.

[Tekniqe]

If you like PvP, you could give "Hunger Games" a try. It's basically 100+ people all competing to be the last one alive. It's a ton of fun, but the games can take a while if you don't die right away.

[Howard Moon]

Quick question if I may hijack the thread for a moment.

If I just want to play survival mode by myself, do I need to connect to some server, or does the game just run in my machine in single-player?

[BrokenHearthstone]

MuttsWorld Mine is an amazing server.
I recommend 10000%

[Fuzzzie]

Quick question if I may hijack the thread for a moment.

If I just want to play survival mode by myself, do I need to connect to some server, or does the game just run in my machine in single-player?

yeah, you can certainly play single player survival mode by yourself. creative mode too.