Happy Birthday to Us
Sweet 16! Can you believe we have done 16 of these? After you read this week’s News, be sure to check out some of our past News volumes.
Epic Tale of Fire
In the crimson depths of the Nether, where the air is thick with ash and the sound of crackling fire, a masterpiece of industry stands tall. The Friendly Zoologist (TFZ) had erected a glorious, bespoke Blaze farm. A masterclass in color and a symphony of efficiency. Built as a gift for all Humbugs, it was a total sanctuary, complete with brewing stations, a chorus fruit farm for end rods, and safe killing grounds for Wither Skeletons.
A lone traveler, LC Stout, ventured to the farm to collect its spoils. But greed took hold; she farmed stacks upon stacks until the server itself could no longer sustain her ambition. With a sharp click, her screen went black.
“Not to worry,” she thought, “I will just wait a minute, repent for my greed, and log back on.” But the Nether is not so easily appeased. When she respawned, the world had shifted. No longer the master of the harvest, Stout was now a prisoner within the very walls she had come to raid.
Terrified to damage the intricate machinery, Stout spun in circles, desperate to understand how she had been teleported into the belly of the farm with Blazes swarming above her. With a trembling hand, she broke a single block to escape.
Disaster. She had broken the seal.
The Blazes surged into the wall, setting her alight. With no way to defend herself and her health plummeting to three hearts, she logged out in a blind panic. To save the farm and her own life. But mostly the glorious farm from being burnt to a crisp.
Knowing that Humbugs are as resourceful as they are kind, Stout lit the beacons of the Discord group chat and called for aid. Xrogg and Cosmic Dragon answered the call. They raced through the Nether and into the heart of the farm, swords drawn, waiting for the flicker of Stout’s gamertag to reappear.
When she knew they were in place, Stout took a deep breath and hit “Join Server.”
In a flash, the rescue was underway. Xrogg moved with surgical speed, blocking the Blaze chamber to halt the fiery barrage. Spotting Stout instantly, he shattered the warped wood shelf that had pinned her in. With a single strike, he pulled her from the jaws of the machine.
The result: Stout was unburnt. Her gear was safe. The Great Blaze Sanctum remained unscarred.
Every epic saga requires an epilogue. As the fires were quelled and the adrenaline faded, The Friendly Zoologist awoke on the other side of the globe. Scanning the frantic messages on Discord, she sent word back to the weary travelers:
“The Blaze farm is fireproof.”
The terror that had gripped Stout’s heart, the vision of the blaze farm crumbling to ash, had been for naught. The farm was as eternal as the Nether itself, built by a creator who had, indeed, thought of everything.
Chaos Invades Soon
Minecraft Live has been announced! Hopefully this means that the new drop will be available soon; and we should get some details about the next drop.
Around the World with Gizario
What’s happening in HumbleCraft? A lot… always a lot. But today, we talking about Gizario, a humble humbug, that just launched a video about the Bone Mill and the Carousel. The question is… what does Giz think? We asked him a few questions below…
Between these two, do you have a favorite?
Honestly, that’s tougher than I expected. My gut answer is probably the carousel because I had a blast building it and I feel like it’s already is gonna be an iconic build for the server. I put a lot of effort into the music, the redstone clock, and the beacon beam color changes. But at the end of the day, it is still based on someone else’s design that I tweaked into my own version. The Bone Mill feels more like my personal design expression. There’s less redstone involved, but I packed it with a ton of little details, especially on the interior. If I had to pick, I probably like the Bone Mill more personally, but I think the carousel is the cooler overall build. Feels like choosing between two kids.
About how long did it take you to get these finished?
The Bone Mill probably took around 2–3 hours across two sessions. The carousel was closer to 4–5 hours over several sessions. The music alone took a while. It wasn’t super complicated, just really tedious making sure every note block and repeater was set correctly.
What’s your favorite thing to do while you’re building these? Music? Podcasts?
Honestly, most of the time I don’t even have anything on, which is weird because normally I always need background noise. I’ve tried audiobooks, but I constantly end up rewinding because I can’t split my focus well enough. If I do have something on, it’s usually another Minecraft let’s play, most likely HermitCraft.
Did you try anything new with these builds that you’ve never done before?
The Bone Mill was my first time building a windmill. For the carousel, it was my first real time messing with note blocks outside of just sticking a creeper head on one. I have zero musical background, so I had to look up quite a bit to figure it out. It was interesting, but also really tedious. I’m not sure how much I’ll mess with note blocks moving forward.
Now that these are done, what’s the next big project on your list?
For builds, my next big project is another Shattered Tower in the base area. I’m picturing this one being thinner but much taller, with the “shattered” section happening more toward the middle. Before that though, I’m jumping back onto my mini-game, which is becoming less and less “mini” by the day. I hit a bit of a mental block with it, but I’m working through it. Outside of building, I also want to start making showcase videos for other people’s builds on the server. I haven’t done one yet, but Friendly Zoologist’s base will probably be the first one I cover.
Thank you for reading our Sweet 16 edition of the news. We’re grateful for our fellow humbugs in ways big and small — rescue missions, builds we all get to enjoy, and the casual interactions — as we all escape the real world for a bit.
