Seed: bicentenial

Special Achievements

• Rolling! Higher than 8 out of 10 in hills and mountains.

Rating

• Beginner
• ++ Intermediate ++
• Advanced
• Expert
• Suicidal Expert

Spawn and Version

Spawn: 102.65.37
Version: XBL 1.1.1 (equiv Beta 1.7.3)

Seed Score MH 8.8 DW 3.7 C 2.2 W 6.7 SP 4.4 VR 3.1 AF 5.2     34.1

Etymology

The word "bicentennial" means "two centuries". However, this seed name is deliberately misspelled. In case you were wondering, I dropped an "n" out of the name because the resultant seed from the traditional spelling wasn't anything special and I wanted a good one for my 200th seed. And I got it!

My Review

Number two hundred people! And they said it'd never last. This seed has some really tall peaks. I found no less than five spots where you can view the world from Y=115. But even though heights can be fun, the true draw of this level is the epic tree-packed valleys that are formed by these close-knit mountains. Ironically, the cramped geography makes for some interesting encounters with creepers and other day-walkers who can live under the protection of the trees. Keep your head on a swivel and don't get caught up in the beauty. Other things to keep in mind: there's a sizable chunk of frozen real estate that you should avoid because it's boring and this map is clearly a coastline, but I didn't swim out to see if there are any islands in the ocean. I'll leave that for you to discover.

Items of Interest

• [164.65.53] medium overhang with medium cascading waterfall
• [329.65.-47] iron and coal cave
• [108.78.-336] deep crater lake
• [46.72.-288] hidden lava pit
• [-104.71.370] small cute spire
• [-166.115.52] tallest point, monster valley and palisade

Images

At top, this is a fantastic sheer valley that stretches past the sphere of visibility. At right, this great horned overhang shelters a medium sized waterfall. This was right near my spawn.

Seed & Map: deadat27club

Rating

• Beginner
• Intermediate
• Advanced
• ++ Expert ++
• Suicidal Expert

Spawn and Version

Spawn: -118.76.-35
Version: XBL 1.1.1 (equiv Beta 1.7.3)

Seed Score MH 5.8 DW 7.8 C 2.5 W 2.1 SP 5.8 VR 3.9 AF 7.3     35.2

Etymology

Membership in the 27 Club is a dubious distinction. It is a list of celebrity musicians who have died at the age of 27. The three most notable names on the list are the three Js: Jimi Hendrix (prescription/wine asphyxiation), Janis Joplin (heroin overdose), and Jim Morrison (drug-related heart disease). The list began in 1969 with the death of Brian Jones (drowning, Rolling Stones) but didn't reach the popular zeitgeist until the death of Kurt Cobain (suicide, Nirvana) in 1994. Amy Winehouse is not included on the list as she wasn't a real musician.

My Review

Anyway... as far as the seed goes, freaking awesome! Your choices are overhang or land bridge as wherever you go, that's what you're going to find. I even spawned under a large overhang. What you're not going to find are any trees. This board is bald like your Uncle Harold. Plenty of wide open spaces, some nice flatland, and all the good stuff right in the middle so you don't have to travel too far. There's a lack of deep caves, which was a shame. I would never ask anyone other than a seasoned player to spawn underneath a large shady overhang, so this one is just for the experts.

Map

The good stuff is right in the middle of the map. You're going to find large patches of desert and very few trees.

SEED MAP PIXEL COUNTS Classification: Archipelago water 46.8% forest 10.9% plains 20.9% sand 12.5% ice/snow 0.0% * margin of error +/- 1.8%

Items of Interest

• [-120.75.-36] spawned under large overhang
• [3.73.-71] large overhang and amphitheater
• [-104.73.50] large overhang with dead drop
• [-271.73.8] gnarly butte
• [-354.86.-7] small palisade
• [-348.65.64] medium lake
• [-337.69.220] grassland
• [-289.65.278] two large lakes and canal
• [-296.71.313] huge open-air hidi-hole
• [-243.65.351] small flat beach
• [-202.66.270] small flat beach #2
• [121.68.256] small crater lake
• [176.65.268] isthmus
• [231.67.255] deep cave
• [250.65.300] sugar
• [349.68.291] lava pit
• [315.66.124] medium clay
• [371.69.-239] wolves
• [381.70.-298] small sinkhole
• [378.69.-331] small cove
• [296.66.-358] small alluvial gravel
• [123.65.-375] lone tree island, sugar
• [-265.66.-397] large clay on gravel island
• [-353.96.-231] large dune
• [-361.75.-175] tiny ravine
• [-150.67.-201] shortcut cave and medium clay
• [-112.72.-207] large beachfront butte with dead drop and coal
• [76.88.-120] large butte

Images

This was a fantastically scenic level and I got a lot of pictures. Narrowing them down to four was tough. The first image at the top of this post is of two neighboring mountains that both have large, shadowy overhangs.

As for the images at right, let's start at the top and work our way down. First up, this was a pretty decent overhang, though don't let the shadow fool you -- it doesn't go back very far. Next, this peninsular mountain guards the entrance to this cove.

Finally, this large butte marks the beginning (or end, depending on which direction you're headed) of the primary mountain ranges at the center of the map. It's a tough climb, but could be a great spot to hide from the bad guys at night.

Seed: Octagona

Special Achievements

• Spelunked! Higher than 8 out of 10 in caves.

Rating

• Beginner
• Intermediate
• ++ Advanced ++
• Expert
• Suicidal Expert

Spawn and Version

Spawn: -4.73.0
Version: XBL 1.1.1 (equiv Beta 1.7.3)

Seed Score MH 3.7 DW 2.9 C 8.7 W 3.7 SP 2.5 VR 3.5 AF 5.5     30.5

Etymology

So, I found this seed name on 552 gaming. Basically, the name of this seed is the word "Octagonal" spelled wrong. No word on who spelled it wrong first, but I'm pretty sure 552 needs an editor. "Octagonal!" is one of the random phrases on the Minecraft menu screen and means "eight-sided".

If you play this one, bear in mind the "O" in "Octogona" is capitalized.

My Review

So, I picked up this seed because I was planning on refuting it. The list it is traveling around on is posted on 552 gaming and then got wrapped into a bigger list that someone else ripped off on se7ensins. It talks about cacti and sand and a pretty grassy land bridge by your spawn and I was like, "this thing has got to suck". Well, it's just your average, ordinary Minecraft level -- unless, of course, you happen to find the super terrific mega cave complex. Then, it's something quite spectacular. The only reasons to play this level are to 1) visit the nether, and 2) attempt to conquer the labyrinthine train-wreck cave system I found. Without either of those, the rating on this level would be in the teens.

And I say, "I found", by the way, because not a single review of this seed mentioned an awesome cave. Not one. So suck it. The top-side could be a great seed for beginners, but this cave is suicidal. So I averaged the two and decided this level is for advanced players.

Can't Miss

There are no less than eight entrances to the massive cave complex located in the north by northwest quadrant of the center of the map. My entrance of choice because it was almost a straight drop down to the good stuff was at -167.19.-226. I set up base camp at the top and then built stairs down the dead drop until I reached platform #1 (there are three platforms before the lava).

The caverns are full of waterfalls that help facilitate your descent, but there are also cross-paths and circular passages that cause confusion. I used 64 torches before even making it to platform #3 and as I write this, I have used a total of 200 torches and there are still black side paths and alternate caverns that I haven't even touched yet. I focused only on getting down to lava, finding diamonds, and then digging up obsidian so I could see what the nether looked like.

For the love of James Lipton, people, label your cave!!! Attempting to remember where you are and how to get back out will leave you a raging headache.

The Nether

The nether on this level is quite spectacular, however navigating around is a huge pain. Firstly, I spawned on a shelf in the middle of the sky full of soul sand. So I'm already wondering around at 1 mph jumping up and down to pick up speed (like that works). Secondly, this thing is completely floating in mid air, so getting down to have a look around was an epic feat of engineering.

The nether itself is full of shelves and is wide open and full of interesting things to see. There are plenty of glow stone formations, towering lava falls that pour from ceiling to floor, and I also found a quadruple lava fall on the far side of the nether from where I spawned. But getting to it is going to require you to build bridges... big time bridges.

Video: This Old Seed, Ep5

This seed appears in episode five of my rockin' Xbox Minecraft seed tourism series, "This Old Seed". In this video, I hunt down diamonds and lapis lazuli in the depths of this crazy cave.

From the Cave Complex

• [-100.21.-208] x7 gold
• [-129.14.-216] x2 lapis lazuli, x6 red stone, x12 coal
• [-155.13.-214] x4 diamonds
• [-179.12.-208] x4 diamonds, x12 gold, lots of red stone
• [-181.19.-217] x5 diamonds
• [-198.15.-223] x4 diamonds
• [-197.12.-210] x4 diamonds
• [-214.15.-253] x3 lapis lazuli, x2 lava lakes
• [-199.12.-256] x2 diamonds
• [-241.14.-234] x3 diamonds, x5 gold
• [-166.24.-235] x2 lapis lazuli

Items of Interest

• [-167.19.-226] my entrance to the epic cave complex
• [-90.69.-48] a flat desert valley with a small waterfall
• [-271.73.-69] a low-hanging large land bridge
• [-261.75.148] a huge collapsible sand formation
• [-279.69.238] large land bridge and small floater on the south end of the palisade

Images

So, since the cave is all that matters on this level, the cave is what you'll get. This is a view from the first platform looking down at the second platform after I lit the whole thing up. When you first get here, it's just blackness full of drops to serious injury. At right, I did find this nice super-flat valley up top while I was looking around. If you were in the mood to plunk down a town here, this would be the place to do it.

The shot in the nether is a view of the terraces hanging over the lava sea.