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The suggestion box doubles as a request box. If you want insight on a certain aspect of the game or how to do a certain task, feel free to request it in the suggestion box.

Skin and Texture Modification

Notch, the lead developer of Minecraft, is open to people modding his game. Some types of modding require painful coding and rebuilding of the game. But the two things fully supported are skin and texture modification. Skin being the way the in-game avatar looks, and texture being the way each block and texture looks.
Skin Modification
http://minecraft.decx.org/
The above link is a Minecraft skin generator. Deck it out, choose from face, outfit, accessories, hair etc. Once you're ready, hit generate new skin file and save it to your desktop. Now go to minecraft.net and hit the profile button. Once there, find the file and upload it. You're finished product should be there, hopping around looking a tad too joyful.


Texture Packs
http://www.minecraftforum.net/viewforum.php?f=1021
http://www.worldofminecraft.com/Texture_Packs?page=1
Both of the above links are sites that offer texture packs. Be careful, there is a chance they may contain a virus. But once you have the file, load up the game menu. Now click the "Mods and Textures Pack" button. Upload the file there, and be filled with wonder at the awesome that is your new texture.

How To: Avalanche Mechanics

Avalanche mechanics is the term used to describe the physics of sand and gravel. Both can be supported by stable objects such as dirt, stone etc, but objects like torches and ladders work as well. Normally it is used as a gate, or a part of a trap, due to the fact it "closes" that area after the stable object is destroyed. Below is a basic example, and a basic setup.
Before

Note the dirt, used to quickly block off access.

Before

After

If you would like to deviate from an avalanche being used to only block off access to an area, put some kind of danger in the middle of the gate. So either lava, landmines or cacti. As soon as the mob nears, block off the entrance and they'll fall prey to your trap.

There is one thing that may be difficult, the range factor. You have to be within several blocks of the trap for it to be effective, which may be a huge problem when dealing with skeletons. With the below variation, though, you can do it from range.

So torches have two unique properties. 1.) They can hold up sand and gravel. And 2.) They break when touched by water. So simply have a torch holding up several blocks of sand, an aisle where the water can be poured(note, it has to go from a higher elevation to a lower one to achieve max range) then an outlet so that the torch will break and the way close.
Gate: Open

Waterway: Filled and beginning to flow

Gate: Closed and secure

So, use the above methods to fortify your base and protect your pixelated goodness.

How To: TNT Traps

Traps can aid the player in combat without the player putting him or herself in danger, sometimes not even having to be there at all. Today I will be going over some more basic trap types, TNT to be precise. The formula for TNT is below. The sulfur can be found as a drop from creepers(or use INVedit...).

The first trap is the most basic trap. Nicknamed "The Landmine" it uses a pressure plate and a TNT to detect when someone walks over it and detonate.
They don't just have to be used this way. A second way in which it can be used is combined with another basic trap. Here I combine it with a pit filled with lava. Still, one of many options to bring down the mob.

Then I closed it up...

Look! Zombies and creepers! Whatever shall I do?

Explosives and lava generally do the trick..

Another way to use TNT is to rig it with redstone wire. Acquire redstone and make a lever(the formula is a stick on top and a stone on bottom for a lever) then once the target is in proximity to the mine, pull the lever, detonating the TNT.

Before.

After.

Be creative. Combine old traps with these, combining is what broadens our spectrum.

Inventory Editor

Inventory Editors are programs that put items directly on your person in Minecraft, giving the player unlimited ores, building blocks, tools, weapons, food, water, and lava as you would ever need. It also allows stacking of items normally not stack-able, such as porkchops. One other ability is the ability to put up to 240 of an item on one square. I will show you the basics and how to do these things in the tutorial.

1)
Download the editor here:
http://www.moddb.com/games/minecraft/downloads/invedit-v3-halloween-update-fixed-glitches
Click the red "download" button,
Now select "Save File" and ok.
Go to your downloads folder, open the folder containing the file, then unzip it using WINrar or 7zip, the file name should look something along the lines of "2010_11_20_INVedit_v3_by_bloc97(2)"
Open the extracted folder, then launch the INVedit program.
2)
Hit the "New" button to load up a fresh inventory.
Load up your world.

Go to the program and select "Open World X", with X being the world you'll be using. In my case World 5. Your inventory will copy itself from the game to the program.


Your inventory will now be copied, just use the sidebar to get the items you want. Now save it back to the world you'll be using. Once again, in my case World 5
Now open up your world, and you'll find the items waiting in your inventory for you.

3)
Profit.

Enjoy the loot :D