Minecraft, Vintage Story, and similar survival sandbox games

[UltraFan123]

I originally got myself Minecraft because I wanted to play a cozy game that didn't require much brain power to enjoy, and before I knew it, I found myself creating a medieval kingdom of sorts where I go around finding and "colonizing" villages by improving their buildings and then adding roads connected with bridges that go back to my base.

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My base being a castle that I built with the materials closest to the badlands biome I spawned in.

Sandstone is the base material I used for my castle because right next to the aforementioned badlands there was a desert biome with lots of sand and pregenerated sandstone in abundance, so I used what I had to create myself a nice base before creating an iron farm which is the most useful farm to have when you are starting this game.

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Close to said farm I also made a cobblestone farm so that I could harvest two materials at once, now I have plenty of stone to build the bridges and roads to connect my kingdom with all the villages I have found and plan to find in the future.

This one here is the first simple and small bridge I made close to my base to see which style of bridge I liked, and for my first ever bridge I think this came out alright.

2025-06-06_17.06.16.png

However, while I am indeed enjoying Minecraft a lot right now as it is, I couldn't resist to dive into the myriads of mods that I have found which enhance the vanilla experience considerably.

The mods that are tempting me the most are the ones that create "mercenary villagers" that you can hire as soldiers for exploring and defeating mobs with, as well as mods that add more armor and weapon variety and even large battle ships to harry all your soldiers from one side of an ocean to another. Plenty of these mods would help me create a better "medieval kingdom from an RPG" feel.

But because I always want to enjoy the vanilla experience before modding a game, at the very least I want to reach the point when I defeat the Ender Dragon - this game's Story Boss - before adding any mods to it.

And yet another thing I found while looking for Minecraft mods was this other sandbox game that originally started as a mod called Vintage Story.

I haven't downloaded this one yet, but from what I have seen about the gameplay and mechanics, VS is everything MC is but even more.

"Realism" is pushed to the extreme with actual in-game seasons that limit what you can grow, animals are properly gendered so if you want to breed them you have to find a male and female of each. And even the villagers are their own unique NPC that you can't just kidnap and use to summon an endless supply of iron golems to smelt and harvest.

Because Vintage Story is its own game and no longer a mod, I wouldn't consider it modding to play it before I finish story Minecraft, but so far I prefer to just focus on my own "medieval kingdom" and expand it a bit more. Perhaps if I reach the point when I feel like MC is just too easy I will try VS, but so far I want to finish my roads and bridges first.

[TheCumGuzzler]

Vintage Story made me hate Minecraft, very well designed, the mechanics are incredibly deep and moving from age to age is very satisfying
You enter a sort of a zen mode when you're smithing or making pottery, incredible what you can do with a survival game when your target audience is not the entire planet

[Val the Moofia Boss]

For texturepacks I would recommend using Dokucraft (comes in three different flavors), or JohnSmith (is old, you might have to find a continuation pack for use with later versions of MC).

I would recommend getting that mod that improves the lighting of the game. IIRC it was called Optifine. Maybe they're using new and better graphics mods nowadays.

If you haven't checked out PlanetMinecraft already, you can browse the top rated projects there and quickly tour through those worlds, though appears that some of the projects from over a decade ago are no longer listed on there.

• In particular, I would recommend checking out Redtern Island. I had pretty nostalgic memories of that map, with the floating islands and an empire trying to use tugboats to push the islands into each other and build bridges between them to create a larger floating continent. The harbor village and the ravine street. The pirate ship where you flip a switch and all of the glass windows on the bridge are shielded by metal. Etc. Very cool.
  When I revisited Redtern Island a few years ago, I think I installed the Complementary Reimagined shader.
  
  
  
• There was another map called Oddworld's medieval town, but it required his custom texture pack which I think the download link for was lost. He was using different colored wool blocks for a lot of the buildings and his texturepack would change those wool blocks to like different kinds of stone. This was before more blocks were added in patches years later. There was also a neat dungeon you could accidentally find in the dense woods, and the density of the woods made it hard to maneuver around and evade any mobs that spawned so it was more tense (along with the road that went through a cave). There was also a cool multilayered sewer system beneath the city. Very cool to explore.
• Another classic NES/SNES Final Fantasy themed medieval castle town map.
• There was a guy who created several cool medieval castles. The castle in the swamp was pretty neat.
• Another grandiose castle/cathedral city called Halion.
• There were huge, highly detailed castles built by the WesterosCraft team, such as the Dreadfort. And many other locations. Sadly, I think a lot of the maps were pulled and now you have to visit their server (if it is still up?), maybe even install mods.

I would also suggest maybe checking out one of those Hunger Games free-for-all PvP servers (or are they called battle royales now?). There were some cool, good looking maps that made for a fun experience, like climbing up huge ruined skyscrapers and trees while dodging arrows and being chased with an enemy player climbing close behind. That was fun. Not sure if they still do that now, or if it would seem as fun in comparison to those new big budget battle royale games like Fortnite.



Another alternative Minecraft-esque game I would recommend considering would be Space Engineers, which was themed after building spaceships and spacestations. There were some cool builds there. IIRC they later added planets. Unfortunately, SE is even worse than Minecraft (already bad with the smallest blocks you can place being half the size of a person) with the humongous block sizes, which means you can't really do detailing. Apparently a sequel is being made that will allow you to place much smaller blocks and be able to do detailing.

[TheCumGuzzler]

I would recommend getting that mod that improves the lighting of the game. IIRC it was called Optifine. Maybe they're using new and better graphics mods nowadays.

They use Sodium for performance and Iris if you wanna use shaders, infinitely better than Optifine.
For shaders, I recommend Complementary Shaders

There are modpacks like Fabulously Optimized that are vanilla minecraft but with all the good optimization mods + Iris, you can even play on servers with it.

[Brother Michael]

Look into the Eureka ships mod, just a cool one all around and will make ocean exploration more exciting. If you want an actual colony system, Minecolonies provides that, but is designed around self-constructing buildings like Sim Settlements from Fallout 4. Create is another interesting one, essential a massive redstone/industry mod where you can create trains. All of this still requires the player to design the machines themselves.

[UltraFan123]

Among all the amazing mods I've found for this game, I have noticed a lack of sci-fi themed mods, in contrast with the endless seas of medieval and fantasy RPG mods.

Yes there are guns and firearms mods, but any type of "futuristic" mods that I've found so far are usually about recreating stuff from Star Wars or Warhammer 40k, and even these are quite underdeveloped.

Perhaps one day I may dabble in modding for the fun of it, since even Vintage Story began as a Minecraft mod.

[UltraFan123]

The mobile "Pocket" version of Minecraft is kinda terrible when compared to the Java version, but I guess I should've expected that.

I still have yet to defeat the Ender Dragon but I'm also wanting to try at least some of the awesome mods I've found for this game, so my plan was to transfer my vanilla world to the mobile version and try the mods on a brand new world in my PC version. But I'm having a hard time getting accustomed to the mobile version of this game.

Perhaps if I just keep playing the Pocket version I will naturally get used to it.

[UltraFan123]

After finally upgrading all the villages I have found so far, I decided to try and "settle" biomes where villages normally don't spawn by creating new village houses and structures so that I can transport the villagers there later on.

I already started in a desolate badlands biome, I think the temple and house look good so far.

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Transporting the villagers as well as all the animals to the future farms and stables I'm going to build here will be a headache considering how far away this spot is from my other villages, but I will cross that bridge when I get there.

[UltraFan123]

Also that list forgot to mention how Endermen's weakness is water and so they can't swim.

[Vergil]

Modern Minecraft is soulless enough as is you don't need texture packs to worsen the issue.

[Orvas Dren]

I feel a vintage story server would go pretty well on here

[Brother Michael]

I feel a vintage story server would go pretty well on here

I’ve been interested in trying it, but haven’t had the group for it. Will definitely join if this materializes.

[Orvas Dren]

[rusty_shackleford]

what's vintage story?

[swbgtoc]

what's vintage story?

a video game

[Jordy]

what's vintage story?

It was originally a minecraft mod but then they made their own separate game. I don't know how to explain it. I guess they're trying to make minecraft as realistic and survival as they can while still being a game.

I had considered picking it up but I think it would eat up your life with little in game progress. Might be good multiplayer though.

[UltraFan123]

what's vintage story?

It started as a Minecraft mod called "Vintagecraft" that eventually branched out as its own independent thing.

One thing I've noticed is that Vintage Story has less mods than Minecraft does, which isn't really surprising since Minecraft is a simpler game that has been around longer, and thus far more accessible to more people.

But seeing how Vintage Story is a fantasy setting inspired by eldritch horror, I think there's good potential for a modding scene since the only mods I've found so far for it are just quality-of-life stuff.

[Jordy]

Mincraft charcoal - Cook wood in a furnace
Vintage Story charcoal - Spend ages gathering wood. Stack them. Cover them. Light them. Wait ages. Hope nothing nearby catches fire.
---------------------------------------
Minecraft ore processing - Find ore. Mine it. Cook it in a furnace.
Vintage Story ore processing - Prospect for ores you've never heard of. Hope it's a good one. Mine it. It's a low concentration ****** ore vein.

I have no idea how you even turn the ores into metals in Vintage Story. Something like make clay vessels and then melt the ore and stuff.

[rusty_shackleford]

Mincraft charcoal - Cook wood in a furnace
Vintage Story charcoal - Spend ages gathering wood. Stack them. Cover them. Light them. Wait ages. Hope nothing nearby catches fire.
---------------------------------------
Minecraft ore processing - Find ore. Mine it. Cook it in a furnace.
Vintage Story ore processing - Prospect for ores you've never heard of. Hope it's a good one. Mine it. It's a low concentration ****** ore vein.

I have no idea how you even turn the ores into metals in Vintage Story. Spmething like make clay vessels and then melt the ore and stuff.

does… does it have rpg skills?

[rusty_shackleford]

giphy.gif

[Jordy]

Mincraft charcoal - Cook wood in a furnace
Vintage Story charcoal - Spend ages gathering wood. Stack them. Cover them. Light them. Wait ages. Hope nothing nearby catches fire.
---------------------------------------
Minecraft ore processing - Find ore. Mine it. Cook it in a furnace.
Vintage Story ore processing - Prospect for ores you've never heard of. Hope it's a good one. Mine it. It's a low concentration ****** ore vein.

I have no idea how you even turn the ores into metals in Vintage Story. Spmething like make clay vessels and then melt the ore and stuff.

does… does it have rpg skills?

Sorry, I don't know

Maybe go back to RS for now.

[UltraFan123]

Mincraft charcoal - Cook wood in a furnace
Vintage Story charcoal - Spend ages gathering wood. Stack them. Cover them. Light them. Wait ages. Hope nothing nearby catches fire.
---------------------------------------
Minecraft ore processing - Find ore. Mine it. Cook it in a furnace.
Vintage Story ore processing - Prospect for ores you've never heard of. Hope it's a good one. Mine it. It's a low concentration ****** ore vein.

I have no idea how you even turn the ores into metals in Vintage Story. Spmething like make clay vessels and then melt the ore and stuff.

does… does it have rpg skills?

From what I know so far about it, no. Vintage Story only has stuff like hunger and sleep mechanics that carried on from its origin as a Minecraft mod.

Combat is the same as well; just craft some pointy weapon and click on an enemy to attack it until the enemy dies.

That's why I lamented the lack of mods for this game since Minecraft has a billion combat and RPG mods to its name, while Vintage Story is still relatively niche.

[asf]

i tried this vintage story and you have to have a special kind of extreme autism to enjoy this

maybe it can be used as a ****** test, if you dont quit the game immediately after you finish crafting your first pottery thing you are completely ********

[Tweed]

50 shades of Minecraft.

[Orvas Dren]

Mincraft charcoal - Cook wood in a furnace
Vintage Story charcoal - Spend ages gathering wood. Stack them. Cover them. Light them. Wait ages. Hope nothing nearby catches fire.
---------------------------------------
Minecraft ore processing - Find ore. Mine it. Cook it in a furnace.
Vintage Story ore processing - Prospect for ores you've never heard of. Hope it's a good one. Mine it. It's a low concentration ****** ore vein.

I have no idea how you even turn the ores into metals in Vintage Story. Spmething like make clay vessels and then melt the ore and stuff.

does… does it have rpg skills?

https://wiki.vintagestory.at/Classes#Classes_and_Traits

[Tweed]

I should dig up my Minecraft and play...it's been awhile.

[Orvas Dren]

Mincraft charcoal - Cook wood in a furnace
Vintage Story charcoal - Spend ages gathering wood. Stack them. Cover them. Light them. Wait ages. Hope nothing nearby catches fire.
---------------------------------------
Minecraft ore processing - Find ore. Mine it. Cook it in a furnace.
Vintage Story ore processing - Prospect for ores you've never heard of. Hope it's a good one. Mine it. It's a low concentration ****** ore vein.

I have no idea how you even turn the ores into metals in Vintage Story. Spmething like make clay vessels and then melt the ore and stuff.

does… does it have rpg skills?

From what I know so far about it, no. Vintage Story only has stuff like hunger and sleep mechanics that carried on from its origin as a Minecraft mod.

Combat is the same as well; just craft some pointy weapon and click on an enemy to attack it until the enemy dies.

That's why I lamented the lack of mods for this game since Minecraft has a billion combat and RPG mods to its name, while Vintage Story is still relatively niche.

There is a combat mod that overhauls the weapons and adds combos and directional attacks if you want more than the basic system. The survival mechanics become pretty easy once you figure out how things work and practice, its essentially just a skill curve. Despite the skill curve, the game is not very grindy, and with multiplayer people generally specialize which makes things even easier

As for melting ores, you just make a mold, melt the ore into the mold, and then forge the shape of the item you want with your smithing equipment

[Tweed]

Played for a bit, died and lost all my things, remembered why I don't play Minecraft.

[rusty_shackleford]

Anyone heard of/played Veloren?
https://veloren.net/

[UltraFan123]

Anyone heard of/played Veloren?
https://veloren.net/

Looks very interesting, and I will definitely give it a try once I manage to fix my computer or get a new one.

The reason why I was looking for a new job was because my old potato PC is finally giving up on me so I want to see if I can salvage it as a gaming hardware, or just get a new gaming PC and leave my old one for work-related stuff.