Ladies and gentlemen, I have returned to my first pack, the original Running Red. But this time, it's going to be in 1.7.10.
Running Red: Descent is the remake of the original Running Red for 1.7.10. Ordinarily, I would call it something like Running Red 2.0, but I wanted to avoid confusion with Vampire Money. So, here we are. I hope, that with all my increased knowledge of modpack creation, I will be able to create a pack even more enjoyable than the original.
The concept is the same. Stranded on an island in the middle of the sky, you are forced to ponder why you got here whilst giving up your blood. Most of the symbolism remains the same as in the first pack, so I won't bother explaining that here.
But, based on feedback of many persons, I've decided to overhaul many of the mechanics that people complained about. For instance, instead of spending the non-renewable golden apples, the player will be allowed to grow their own method of regeneration. As well, I've removed the need to put logs through the Altar in order to create planks, allowing for far less early-game grinding.
But just the same, I've introduced new mechanics. I've put more of a focus on the Alchemic Chemistry Set, and boy, am I going to have fun with reagents. Although blood will be part of every activity you take part in, you won't spend all your time grinding at the Altar anymore.
I've cut down on the modlist to make it only mods I plan to use in the pack, and I'll be taking full advantage of CustomItems and Minetweaker to give a much more centralized experience, as in Phoenix Reborn. I'll provide tweaks to mobs depending on the condition, as in Vampire Money. But don't let that scare you - this isn't going to be a combat pack.
Now, the part you've all been waiting for... screenshots. I'll only be showing off the starting islands for this. Obviously, I tried to stick with the theme and order of islands provided by the first pack. So, here you go:
The beginning island. Nothing special here. There will be a sapling there, I just didn't want trees growing while I built. This obviously sticks pretty closely to the original starting island. A Altar, chest, and sapling. One major improvement of this island is that it is in the blue area, not the black area with the irritating dark box.
The second island, the blood lake, has changed significantly. Not only does it look much nicer now, but it also sticks more with the theme of the pack. Gone are the days when things looked lively - now we've just got a small island that looks as dry and dead as the rest of the place.
And the witches' circle? Well, it's changed. You'll have to find out how exactly it did, aside from style, for yourself.
Early game has changed significantly. Although the early items may only be obtainable via the Blood Altar, you will quickly be obtaining items in other manners.
The first new mechanic, the Blood Infused Wheat, is accessible very early on. This wheat presents an interesting mechanic. It can be grown and harvested like normal wheat, however, it can be eaten in it's raw wheat form. Eaten this way, it will provide Regeneration for twenty seconds. If turned into bread, it will apply Regeneration II for twenty seconds. So, one can choose between more overall regeneration or a faster, albeit shorter amount of regen.
Gone is Ex Nihilo. Your leaves can be harvested very early game, using Bound Shears. In fact, most tools you'll be making use of early on will drain from your pool of life, instead of durability. So, you'd better watch your health, as some of this may be happening before you obtain a soul network.
Leaves will be used instead of saplings to be turned into dirt. And don't worry, it's fast this time. You'll have your dirt before you can say "He finally learned how to use proper drain rates!"
Cobblestone, however, is obtained in a different fashion. You'll be making use of the Alchemic Chemistry Set to transmute your dirt into cobblestone. This works in varying degrees of efficiency. If you put one dirt in, the process will consume more overall blood. But, if you put five dirt in at a time, you'll get a much more efficient way of transmuting dirt into cobble.
In addition to the Bound Shears, your early game tools will be Blood Infused Wooden ones. These tools are able to do whatever stone can do, but at a cost of blood. Once again, you'll need to watch out before you get yours soul network.
Now that you've seen all the things I've planned to change from the original, at least for the early game, it's time for you to speak up. What did you like from the original that you want me to keep? What didn't you like that you want me to get rid of? I'm looking to make a pack that is more fun for everybody involved, and honestly, I need your opinions to do so.
The concept is the same. Stranded on an island in the middle of the sky, you are forced to ponder why you got here whilst giving up your blood. Most of the symbolism remains the same as in the first pack, so I won't bother explaining that here.
But, based on feedback of many persons, I've decided to overhaul many of the mechanics that people complained about. For instance, instead of spending the non-renewable golden apples, the player will be allowed to grow their own method of regeneration. As well, I've removed the need to put logs through the Altar in order to create planks, allowing for far less early-game grinding.
But just the same, I've introduced new mechanics. I've put more of a focus on the Alchemic Chemistry Set, and boy, am I going to have fun with reagents. Although blood will be part of every activity you take part in, you won't spend all your time grinding at the Altar anymore.
I've cut down on the modlist to make it only mods I plan to use in the pack, and I'll be taking full advantage of CustomItems and Minetweaker to give a much more centralized experience, as in Phoenix Reborn. I'll provide tweaks to mobs depending on the condition, as in Vampire Money. But don't let that scare you - this isn't going to be a combat pack.
Now, the part you've all been waiting for... screenshots. I'll only be showing off the starting islands for this. Obviously, I tried to stick with the theme and order of islands provided by the first pack. So, here you go:
The beginning island. Nothing special here. There will be a sapling there, I just didn't want trees growing while I built. This obviously sticks pretty closely to the original starting island. A Altar, chest, and sapling. One major improvement of this island is that it is in the blue area, not the black area with the irritating dark box.
The second island, the blood lake, has changed significantly. Not only does it look much nicer now, but it also sticks more with the theme of the pack. Gone are the days when things looked lively - now we've just got a small island that looks as dry and dead as the rest of the place.
And the witches' circle? Well, it's changed. You'll have to find out how exactly it did, aside from style, for yourself.
Early game has changed significantly. Although the early items may only be obtainable via the Blood Altar, you will quickly be obtaining items in other manners.
The first new mechanic, the Blood Infused Wheat, is accessible very early on. This wheat presents an interesting mechanic. It can be grown and harvested like normal wheat, however, it can be eaten in it's raw wheat form. Eaten this way, it will provide Regeneration for twenty seconds. If turned into bread, it will apply Regeneration II for twenty seconds. So, one can choose between more overall regeneration or a faster, albeit shorter amount of regen.
Gone is Ex Nihilo. Your leaves can be harvested very early game, using Bound Shears. In fact, most tools you'll be making use of early on will drain from your pool of life, instead of durability. So, you'd better watch your health, as some of this may be happening before you obtain a soul network.
Leaves will be used instead of saplings to be turned into dirt. And don't worry, it's fast this time. You'll have your dirt before you can say "He finally learned how to use proper drain rates!"
Cobblestone, however, is obtained in a different fashion. You'll be making use of the Alchemic Chemistry Set to transmute your dirt into cobblestone. This works in varying degrees of efficiency. If you put one dirt in, the process will consume more overall blood. But, if you put five dirt in at a time, you'll get a much more efficient way of transmuting dirt into cobble.
In addition to the Bound Shears, your early game tools will be Blood Infused Wooden ones. These tools are able to do whatever stone can do, but at a cost of blood. Once again, you'll need to watch out before you get yours soul network.
Now that you've seen all the things I've planned to change from the original, at least for the early game, it's time for you to speak up. What did you like from the original that you want me to keep? What didn't you like that you want me to get rid of? I'm looking to make a pack that is more fun for everybody involved, and honestly, I need your opinions to do so.
