FTB Infinity Evolved Skyblock

[Feed the Beast]

FTB Infinity Evolved Skyblock


First announced 6 weeks ago, this pack has been in intensive testing by the streamers on FTB One and our internal beta testing team. We’re getting closer to release, but there are still a few things left to do. While we don’t have a hard release date, we wanted to give you an update on it’s progress.

• The current tech tree is now complete
  
  
• The current Magic tree is nearly complete and going through final testing
  
  
• A custom mod is being developed to handle island spawning
  
  
• New achievements are being added via Simple Achievements
  
  
• New custom trophies are being added which can be gained by completing certain achievements along the way. We thought about building a monument, but settled on just the trophies
  
  
• A new guide to reflect the changes that Skyblock introduces.
  

Beyond that the pack is pretty much there, all the major balancing and continuity testing is complete.


We also wanted to address the debate surrounding our testing cycle. For this pack, we wanted to have a decent number of quality testers who were able to spend large amounts of time playing. But we felt that releasing an alpha version to the public would expose too large a number of players to buggy content. By utilizing the streamers in the FTB One server community, we guaranteed dedicated testers who could play long hours and give specific feedback while also keeping the pack updated to minimize repeated bug reports.


We’re still confident in being able to release a content complete pack within the next few weeks and hope you’ll agree it’s been worth the wait.

 

[JohnnyMayHymn]

looking forward to this, some news is good news : )

 

[Kane Hart]

Thanks for the update. I'm really looking into the mod that does island spawning. I hope not just all bin coded for Infinity but can be used for many other packs overtime. Right now I been using Garden of Glass but would of enjoyed more customization in the starting.

I sort of wish some the features were coming to Infinity Evolved. I love the idea of achievements and trophies

 

[Ditlev]

Thanks for the update! (I've been spamming f5)
Really looking forward to the release!
Or maybe.. With technical stuff ready you could just release it - thats all I'll be doing for the first weeks anyway - I promise i wont go near magic before you're done with it! And a single block of dirt + a sapling is fine with me for spawn
I'm just so excited.. cannot.. wait.. any.. longer xD

 

[BlacKHeaDSg1]

How about the news from Twitter ? Like "We are locking Unstable 1.8 and will promptly start development of Unstable 1.9". Are moders already updating mods to 1.9 if they are just releasing mods for 1.8 ?

 

[Hollandera]

Way not releas the pack for sigleplayer zo we can test it to and comment on it ?

 

[Hollandera]

i can't wait for the releas LOL hurri up hahahah

 

[GrimJahk]

Hopefully you can edit in any schedule updates to the OP,

That will help us F5 spammers!

 

[Baconus_Yum]

SKYBLOCK! GET READY FOR THIS! THIS WILL BE THE BIGGEST ITEM IN MODDED MINECRAFT SINCE INFINITY EVOLVED!

 

[Azzanine]

I just hope they finnish up the Skyblock so they can work on 1.9...
Even with the advent of the compressed hammer I don't relish hammering cobble for an hour and a half so I'm gonna pass on this one.
They also need to control the acquisition of metals gained by sifting. You can get things you shouldn't rather quickly like cobalt and ardite. Should only be siftable from netherack. But you get pretty much everything you need from dust.
It makes the skyblock actually easier then regular Infinity expert.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[DostarrSO]

"about 3 weeks eta" --- "ugh this is why we hate ETAs, about 2-3 more weeks" --- "So, it'll be a few more weeks"

Seriously? Infinity/Infinity Evolved was one of your most polished packs ever, arguments could be made it is THE most polished pack FTB has ever put out. Expert Mode had already been developed. As the team who put that out, necessary tweaks to adapt to a skyblock should have been fairly straightforward. (e.g. it's not like you had to delve into everything to figure out what changes were made from standard-->expert, you already knew)
All of the blaringly obvious tweaks that were necessary to convert it to a skyblock had probably been addressed in the first week, being generous here, from what I can gather from all the streams/let's plays on this I have watched. Even in the state it was a WEEK after the streamers started posting let's play and live streams the condition was already better than the majority of the packs on the FTB launcher due to the polished nature of Infinity.

Quit the facetious marketing campaign and deliver. Normally I wouldn't be so peeved, but there were players already putting a pack together like this whose idea you took, with their permission it should be noted. I like most appreciate you putting a pack like this together, but it's fairly obvious you are simply attempting to build up more and more hype and 'testing the pack' is clearly not the priority, as the let's plays and stream clearly indicate the quality is already exceeding the majority of your packs. Don't get me wrong, it's obvious you ARE testing the pack; however I'd argue that is not the reason, but the pretext. I would be perfectly fine with all the shenanigans afoot if this were any old pack, but by your actions you stopped other individuals from creating a skyblock version of this.

Inb4, 'but we said they should go ahead and continue their pack if they wanted to.' Right, on one of Direwolf20s more recent mod spotlights there was a comment along the lines of, "I was just about to do a mod spotlight, but now that Direwolf20 has done one there is no point." I'm paraphrasing. Point is, even if you say 'it's fine, go on and do it' it was reasonably foreseeable that they would stop and not make the conversion.

 

[Pyure]

"about 3 weeks eta" --- "ugh this is why we hate ETAs, about 2-3 more weeks" --- "So, it'll be a few more weeks"

Seriously? Infinity/Infinity Evolved was one of your most polished packs ever, arguments could be made it is THE most polished pack FTB has ever put out. Expert Mode had already been developed. As the team who put that out, necessary tweaks to adapt to a skyblock should have been fairly straightforward. (e.g. it's not like you had to delve into everything to figure out what changes were made from standard-->expert, you already knew)
All of the blaringly obvious tweaks that were necessary to convert it to a skyblock had probably been addressed in the first week, being generous here, from what I can gather from all the streams/let's plays on this I have watched. Even in the state it was a WEEK after the streamers started posting let's play and live streams the condition was already better than the majority of the packs on the FTB launcher due to the polished nature of Infinity.

Quit the facetious marketing campaign and deliver. Normally I wouldn't be so peeved, but there were players already putting a pack together like this whose idea you took, with their permission it should be noted. I like most appreciate you putting a pack like this together, but it's fairly obvious you are simply attempting to build up more and more hype and 'testing the pack' is clearly not the priority, as the let's plays and stream clearly indicate the quality is already exceeding the majority of your packs. Don't get me wrong, it's obvious you ARE testing the pack; however I'd argue that is not the reason, but the pretext. I would be perfectly fine with all the shenanigans afoot if this were any old pack, but by your actions you stopped other individuals from creating a skyblock version of this.

Inb4, 'but we said they should go ahead and continue their pack if they wanted to.' Right, on one of Direwolf20s more recent mod spotlights there was a comment along the lines of, "I was just about to do a mod spotlight, but now that Direwolf20 has done one there is no point." I'm paraphrasing. Point is, even if you say 'it's fine, go on and do it' it was reasonably foreseeable that they would stop and not make the conversion.

So, quit FTB forever and go do something else then.

 

[Watchful11]

And hence why we don't do ETA's. While in development, we have no idea how much longer we'll need to work on a pack for it to be complete. We also don't want to continually put out excuses or blame people for why it's taking longer than expected.

The pack has taken this long to be developed. We're close, but it will still take a bit longer. For the reasons above, we still won't release a date.

 

[sgbros1]

"about 3 weeks eta" --- "ugh this is why we hate ETAs, about 2-3 more weeks" --- "So, it'll be a few more weeks"

Seriously? Infinity/Infinity Evolved was one of your most polished packs ever, arguments could be made it is THE most polished pack FTB has ever put out. Expert Mode had already been developed. As the team who put that out, necessary tweaks to adapt to a skyblock should have been fairly straightforward. (e.g. it's not like you had to delve into everything to figure out what changes were made from standard-->expert, you already knew)
All of the blaringly obvious tweaks that were necessary to convert it to a skyblock had probably been addressed in the first week, being generous here, from what I can gather from all the streams/let's plays on this I have watched. Even in the state it was a WEEK after the streamers started posting let's play and live streams the condition was already better than the majority of the packs on the FTB launcher due to the polished nature of Infinity.

Quit the facetious marketing campaign and deliver. Normally I wouldn't be so peeved, but there were players already putting a pack together like this whose idea you took, with their permission it should be noted. I like most appreciate you putting a pack like this together, but it's fairly obvious you are simply attempting to build up more and more hype and 'testing the pack' is clearly not the priority, as the let's plays and stream clearly indicate the quality is already exceeding the majority of your packs. Don't get me wrong, it's obvious you ARE testing the pack; however I'd argue that is not the reason, but the pretext. I would be perfectly fine with all the shenanigans afoot if this were any old pack, but by your actions you stopped other individuals from creating a skyblock version of this.

Inb4, 'but we said they should go ahead and continue their pack if they wanted to.' Right, on one of Direwolf20s more recent mod spotlights there was a comment along the lines of, "I was just about to do a mod spotlight, but now that Direwolf20 has done one there is no point." I'm paraphrasing. Point is, even if you say 'it's fine, go on and do it' it was reasonably foreseeable that they would stop and not make the conversion.

So you want more bugs in your packs? I mean have you seen the recipe bugs in IE:E? There's even a thread collecting them all I think.

 

[Pyure]

And hence why we don't do ETA's. While in development, we have no idea how much longer we'll need to work on a pack for it to be complete. We also don't want to continually put out excuses or blame people for why it's taking longer than expected.

The pack has taken this long to be developed. We're close, but it will still take a bit longer. For the reasons above, we still won't release a date.

Its my hope...and its probably a bit of a stretch...that the team will still hopefully maintain an open line of communication with the community about the status of packs (such as this thread) and try to ignore the various trolls and conspiracy theorists who would prefer to ruin it for everyone else.

After all, the vast majority of comments here are all along the lines of "Thanks for letting us know what's up guys."

 

[GrimJahk]

Quit the facetious marketing campaign and deliver.

A marketing campaign is done for the purpose of selling something. The people that are putting their efforts into this project are doing this for free... The only things they get for their time is pride at the accomplishment, and headaches from whiny little Veruca's that have no self-control.

It is also worth pointing out that if they rush out an unfinished product, it will not be nearly as good as anyone wants it to be. Open Beta projects (or in this case Alpha when it started appearing) rarely do the project any justice. I played Regrowth VERY early access and it was a shadow of the polished version I played a couple months ago. Not to mention that early access is before balancing, like the guy before you was already complaining about drop rates of materials based on very early Alpha footage...

TL/DR Option 1) Be patient and get a good product. Option 2) whine about it and look silly since your tantrum will not affect schedule in the slightest. Option 3) Find another pack to entertain yourself with while doing Option 1.

 

[DostarrSO]

Marketing campaigns are about present profits AND future. FTB has constantly been growing, you think having people check their website every day for a pack release is not a part of the development of an entity? Word of mouth from hype, throughput on a website, etc. are ALL parts of developing an entity. You're ignoring everything that goes on behind the scenes.

I am fine with not having ETA's or having ETA's I couldn't care less either way and I see the benefits of both. My argument was never that the FTB team sucks, or that their packs are crap, or that they should keep their ETAs. My argument was a fairly straightforward one:

The pack is clearly at a point where it could have been released and I believe they are simply drawing that out for marketing, which would be fine if they hadn't denied us the other packs that were going to be made in deference to their pack. In other words, I feel they assumed a moral responsibility to do so.

Packs are always a WIP, this is a fact of life. The parts changes, they get tune-ups by authors, and as such the effect ripples outwards. This pack is already of a quality higher than most packs on FTB because of the polished nature of the original product.

I really do get it, marketing is a huge part of any corporation....but holding out for the sake of marketing after assuming that responsibility in a sense leaves me feeling betrayed a bit. If there is in fact something going on behind the scenes that legitimately is leaving you not wanting to release the pack yet (cause let's face it a lot goes on behind the scenes) then I am sorry. However, given the limited information available I do believe my assessment was at least reasonable even if it turns out wrong.

 

[Quetzi]

The pack is clearly at a point where it could have been released and I believe they are simply drawing that out for marketing

Few things DostarrSO, Slowpoke is not a Curse employee (and never has been). Also, as stated in the first post, there are key elements that we want in place for the release that are not yet ready. It is for those reasons that the pack hasn't been released yet. I understand you (and many others) are very keen to get your hands on and start playing the pack but you need to be patient a little while longer. When things are finished it'll get a release, trying to misdirect 'blame' onto some marketing excuse is just flat out wrong. Please re-read the first post, it answers a lot of your questions.

 

[GrimJahk]

Two issues here

The pack is clearly at a point where it could have been released and I believe they are simply drawing that out for marketing, which would be fine if they hadn't denied us the other packs that were going to be made in deference to their pack. In other words, I feel they assumed a moral responsibility to do so.

Yes, it COULD have been released from the get-go. but you missed the entire point I made... I was not released, because the team making it, felt it was unfinished.

It has also been stated (which I COMPLETELY understand) that having too many testers -basicly every player in beta- can lead to inconsistent and delayed feedback. Access to the pack was given to serious dedicated streamers and members of the community that have a proven history of solid bug reporting and constructive feedback. Access was given to a control group into an environment that was tightly maintained for the purpose of testing only this pack. The minute you openly distribute to everyone, all control parameters go out the window. Johnny wants xyz mod so he adds it, Sarah wants pro mod so she drops it in, Fred hates BFD mod so he removes it... Then the next all three of them come here and start reporting bugs with the pack because what they changed caused a break... Bugs that have nothing to do with the actual pack, but things that take away from developer time to research and clear... thus creating even MORE delay for a "finished" (read as stable and acceptable) release.

I really do get it, marketing is a huge part of any corporation....but holding out for the sake of marketing after assuming that responsibility in a sense leaves me feeling betrayed a bit. If there is in fact something going on behind the scenes that legitimately is leaving you not wanting to release the pack yet (cause let's face it a lot goes on behind the scenes) then I am sorry. However, given the limited information available I do believe my assessment was at least reasonable.

Again this fixation on marketing, and now tossing out the "Responsibility" word. Please explain this one to me...

I have seen no statement or promise to deliver anything to anyone "until it's done". That is the only deliverable they have committed to. Releasing something of quality.

The simple fact is, from the early stream footage to the recent list of changes/improvements ... I'm blown away with how much work/effort has been invested in this project. Including an entirely new mod created just for this pack... You almost seem to believe that the people working on this pack have a desire to keep it from the public. Honestly, I can't imagine a more incorrect scenario. They make these packs for people to play them, to have fun, to be challenged. They want them out there to be enjoyed.

Your "assessment" seems to be entirely based on seeing others play the pack. Not taking into account the collection of bugs and balance feedback that drives the development and tweaks. This is similar to taking a seat at a restaurant and complaining that your food is not ready 30 seconds after you sit down because the people at the next table just got theirs... even tho they were there for 20 minutes before you even parked your car. I'm sure that if you raise enough of a stink the waiter will happily deliver you a half-cooked pork chop...

Let them finish it and release it when they are ready. They WANT it out there. But more importantly, they want it RIGHT. FTB is doing no marketing, this thread was after 3 weeks of radio silence. This thread was intended as a quiet, "thank you for being patient. we are still working on it, this is where we are, and we are confident that we are getting close"

In other words: This was communication, not hype.

The Hype is from people watching the testers, the players that are looking forward to the release, and the fact that history leads us to believe that this will be a great pack.


TL/DR: no summary, read it.

 

[DostarrSO]

Sorry then, the Partnership with curse post by Slowpoke clearly stated they joined Curse in advisory roles I will remove that section from the post. I can be patient, as long as it isn't some shenanigans. Though we will have to agree to disagree on the matter of it being 'wrong'. I firmly believe sometimes hard questions have to be asked. I also don't believe it was an unreasonable determination, had I been malicious or intending to deceive then surely I could agree that would be wrong, but I wasn't. <3