Cyborg Steve

1st Official Post

    Intro:


    I should start by saying I have no idea how to code. I am a Developmental Counselor (MA/LPC) that uses this minecraft mod as a tool for working with kids diagnosed autistic or other developmental disorders (PDD, Asperger’s...until the DSM V comes out that is). This mod in particular has been a great GREAT tool in teaching kids effective processes for order and operational skills. Many of the kids I work with are non-verbal and use Minecraft as a means of communicating with me events of the day and processing their feelings. Furthermore, a tremendous amount of these kids are undiagnosed co-morbid having anxiety/depression as secondary (contrary to pop culture’s reliance of ADHD) and building/constructing is a great tool to utilize as a means of coping.


    That said the number one thing missing from Minecraft, from our perspective is a mod dedicated to the evolution of Steve. The kids I work with ask...in so many words...why the world around steve changes yet he stays the same. So we came up with a plan to present to you guys (seeing as this mod is hands down their favorite) a mod idea based around steves transformation - cyborg steve

    Quote


    Conclusion
    Above are the beginning phases of development of this mod concept. I am unsure if it will ever actually be made because…
    1. I have limited mod skills and frankly am intimidated by the idea, I do not have an aversion to learning…but do not even know where to begin
    2. The kids and I get together just too infrequently (1 time a week)
    3. Only 2 of them have any JAVA knowledge. They are 8th -11th graders . They listen and have developed a great rapport to me but is it even a good usage of our time to engage in this?
    However we enjoy talking about this idea and I wanted to present it too you guys so if anyone was motivated they could run with it. Also if you would like to share insights or dialogue with the group I will throw your ideas at them and see how they react.


    Thanks for reading,


    Anthony

    Tl:dr. from reading the beginning its unlikely to be added.

    Alblaka says:

    "People using their intellect in attempts to discuss other people into the ground could be considered less intellectual then people using their intellect for something beneficial :3"

    • Official Post

    Yes, its unlikely to be added at all. Not because this Suggestion is bad, but because we already have advanced Armor with very similar Functionality, and redundancy is usually nothing what gets added to Core-IC². Those Cyborg Functions you are suggesting, are mostly covered with the Quantum-Suit.


    There is a relatively new Addon, which gives you customizable Armor, it's called "Modular Powersuits" (Pending Addons Section), you should try it out.

    guys thanks for the response. This actually gives me good discussion material that works with my existing treatment protocols.


    1. difference between collaboration vs competition - ie how to build in a system and avoid redundancy. why is redundancy bad/good/nuetral? (i have my answer I want to hear theirs).
    2. How does this effect interpersonal relationships? (counseling stuff). can you foster relationships an emphasis on collaboration...or competition...or both?
    3. taking the constructive criticism offered how could they use this to build their idea and not abandon it.


    as long as its ok, I am gonna update this weekly with the kids responses to any constructive criticism and see were this takes them.


    Gonna check out modular power suits as well!

    You may want to check this out: http://dev.bukkit.org/server-mods/mcmmo/


    It divides various minecraft abilities into skills which you develop. With use the skills get better and new abilities are unlocked.


    Also, I would suggest the millienaire mod http://www.minecraftforum.net/…fixes-for-the-byzantines/. In the mod players work along side (or against) a variety of civilizations to collect materials and go on quests. The goal is to help the various civilizations develop from hamlets into empires.


    Curious; are you a member of a therapeutic support staff?

    Disclaimer: I might sound so, but I don't intend to be arrogant. If you dislike my tone, I apologize beforehand.

    Redundancy is not good or bad per se, it depends strongly on the application, always. Ask a database guru whether he likes redundancies in his academically clean relational database, he will probably smack you with the nearest reachable kind of raw fish. Ask an avionics engineer whether he wants the electronics of a fighter jet to be redundantly implemented in different ways, he won't be able to agree more.


    In our particular case, we're discussing additions to already-existing software, but we're not equal peers to the developers, who actually decide what is implemented and what's not. Collaboration would be if we were a team of developers and creatives who discussed with which gameplay mechanics we could achieve certain effects in the best way possible. There is basically no competition to existing ideas, I'd even consider calling it a taboo - questioning design decisions on this forum, that is. It's "take it or leave it", not really competition.


    Interpersonal relationships... You know, from tutoring courses at university, I think I can answer this one. Collaboration will make "the sheep think their opinion is worth shit". Competition will make "the sheep not listen to you because you don't listen to them because you're right". Collaboration will create a comfortable climate, and a comfortable climate generates creativity which will sometimes lead to re-inventing the concept at hand fully. Competition will create either a solid, healthy rivalry where equal peers incite eath other to reach their maximum, or a hostile climate where bad decisions will be taken if it's for the lower good: "my own personal gain" or being right. The/One possible German word for "competition" is "Wettkampf", which, translated word-by-word, means something like "betting fight". It can be mean!


    In short, collaboration can generate creativity, whereas competition generates effort. It also depends on the people, collaboration can generate slackers, competition might generate selfishness. Generally, personal glory has no place in this kind of discussion.


    Redundancy is bad for Minecraft mods, I think that's for sure. There are small examples like the need for Ore Dictionary. Copper and Tin are added by many different mods, so if you play with multiple mods, you end up having too much of it and not being able to use the ingots from one mod for recipes of the other mod. Thankfully, that's not true, but it took effort to counter it. There are also big examples: If you play with many mods that add item pipes, the amount of knowledge you need to set up a system that uses them all will make your experience turn from "game" to "work".


    Minecraft is already a game with a lot to know. Now imagine we had additional alloys besides Bronze, let's say brass, aluminum bronze, lead bronze, gun metal and the like. Say their tools wouldn't be different from bronze tools, give or take minute changes to their durability. We would add additional ores (which forces people to generate new chunks of land in one way or the other), crafting recipies that are not intuitive, would eat up additional block and item IDs or at least make it non-trivial to handle, and for what? Tools that do nothing new.


    About your last question... I don't know about your kids, but I suppose there's two sides to constructive criticism: The sender being modest and the receiver trusting the sender to have good intentions. As a first step, I'd try not to read into criticism, under no circumstances. Criticism is not the place for irony, cynicism or sarcasm. Once I allow myself to look for them, every piece of criticism becomes a slight insult. Secondly, be a utilitarist. It's about what makes the final product, the greater good, the best, and not how much pseudo-fame the individual gains. That way, my readiness to change my idea increases.


    Lastly, I think it's better to abandon ideas than to forcingly keep them alive. The best of game designers throw thousands of ideas overboard for each good idea they implement.