Around The Minecraft World, Pt 1, At Water's Edge Los Angeles

What madness would ensue if you were the only soul on the planet? Where would you go? What would you do? Would you build a great civilization? Would you flood an entire continent with lava? How would you handle the unbearable solitude? This is a guide not only to the world of Minecraft Survival, but to life itself.

This Minecraft Adventure takes place on the Earth World Map Minecraft World Save File, a world save generated based off the world itself. In this map, every square Minecraft block is equal to one mile on Earth. If you have any desire at all to see realistic terrain generated in Minecraft, I strongly suggest you download this file and play it at your earliest convenience.

In accordance with the Read Me file, I spawned somewhere near Los Angeles. I then immediately began to head West, following the setting sun. Because this is a journey of discovery, not a journey of survival against the long and boring odds, I used the Minecraft mod 'Too Many Items' to spawn whatever I wanted. At this point you are free to make a sound of disgust and return to mining 1073741824 tonnes of cobblestone blocks with naught but the power of your index finger, but I will continue undaunted none the less.

The most notable aspect of this adventure / survival map is the fact that it feels no need to toss new biomes around every few miles. The Minecraft Earth map is unforgiving in this regard. A desert is a desert and you won't be stumbling across a random patch of forest biome any time soon, so forget about finding water or seeds or anything besides cacti and the undead. It's actually rather refreshing to be able to travel across large swathes of land without the terrain changing every few steps. Unlike the real world however, the Minecraft world spawns far more hostile mobs than can be considered strictly necessary. When art imitates life, it does so cruelly.

I built my first shelter a couple of days travel away from the spawn point and named it Edgewater, because I built it on the non rainy side of a rain shower. As you may be aware, Minecraft's biome system means that it will be raining in one set of blocks and not another. I figured that building it on the desert side of the rain line would protect it from the lightening strikes that have often decimated the homes and livelihoods of less wary Minecrafters. Edgewater is a two story base with a bedroom, crafting room and a small wheat farm. It consists of a great deal of glass and wooden planks and sandstone and is rather modern considering that it is the first structure built on my pristine planet. By placing a bed and sleeping in it, I have made a cosy base to come home to whenever ill fortune befalls me, or I accidentally hurl myself into a watery trench and feel disinclined to climb out. (That's foreshadowing, right there.)

Once I'd built Edgewater, it occurred to me that it would make a great deal of sense to lay rails as I went, so I could travel the world's distances in style and comfort once my exploring days were done. The thought of a minecraft rail system that spanned the globe was a tempting one that appealed to my megalomania. Edgewater therefore became the origin of a railway system which eventually took me straight to the Pacific Ocean.