Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
The Furnace Is Your Friend
Furnaces are crafted from eight blocks of cobblestone, and to get that you need to mine
stone. But stone is everywhere. It's the second most common element in Minecraft besides
airandisusuallyfoundjustoneortwoblocksunderalayerofdirt,ifnotjustlayingaround
in the open waiting for you to stub an inadvertent toe. One trick to stone, though, is that
you can't render it into cobblestone with your fists. You'll just pulverize it to dust instead.
You'll need a pickaxe to do it properly.
Check your inventory and if you haven't yet found eight blocks of cobblestone, start ex-
pandingyourshelterusingthepickaxetorenderanystoneyoufindintocobblestone.Don't
dig more than one block down at a time, because you won't be able to jump back up. Use
a shallow staircase effect if needed, but try to just stick to the horizontal plane for now, ex-
panding the perimeter of each interior wall rather than plowing into a long tunnel.
Figure
2.9
shows a handy layer of stone that came to light just one block from the entrance.
FIGURE 2.9
Stone is plentiful in Minecraft, but remember to bring your pickaxe.
As soon as you have the blocks, head back to your crafting table and run eight blocks
around the edge of the crafting grid, leaving the middle block empty.
