Mystcraft
In the Myst series, there are special books that describe wild and varied new worlds, called Ages. These Ages can be written with a special language, and the books they are written in can be used to visit those Ages. Some ages can be beautiful and safe, while others can be inherently unstable and dangerous.
Mystcraft brings the ability to write Ages to Minecraft, allowing players to create and explore wild new worlds for adventure, settlement, or material gain. When playing with such powerful forces, powerful dangers will also be present. Players must always ensure they have a way home, and must endure harsh conditions in unstable ages or learn how to write safer ages to inhabit.
Mechanics
Listed below are some of the mechanics in Mystcraft, but more the Mystcraft Wiki will contain more comprehensive documentation.
Linking
Right clicking on a Descriptive or Linking book will bring up a book GUI.
You can get to this screen by right clicking a stand or lectern or right clicking with a book in-hand.
There is a black rectangle on the right page. This is the "Linking Panel". You can click on this panel to link to the destination Age.
If a book is used from the hand, the user will then drop the book on the ground (as an entity which can be picked up). Note that this is a one way trip. Without a Linking Book made before you leave, it will be impossible to return.
On Entities, Stands, or Lecterns there is a slot from which you can pick up the book. If a Stand or Lectern is empty there will be a slot where you can place an item appropriate for the container.
Descriptive Books
Descriptive Books (Age Books) are crafted using a book and a feather (no shape). They can be used to link to a new Age. Note again that this is a one way trip.
Descriptive Books are assigned a unique identifier when crafted that correlates to the dimension id they link to.
To avoid dropping the book on the ground use a Linkbook stand or Lectern to hold the book.
Linking Books
Linking Books are crafted simply with a book. A Linking Book remembers the current location, direction, and Age (dimension) of the creator allowing travel to that place. This book can be used the same way as an Descriptive Book and will follow the same mechanics (drops to the ground as player travels). Also a one way trip by itself.
It is possible to make linking books to The Nether and The End, as well as other non-Mystcraft dimensions.
Book Entities
The books that fall to the ground can be picked up by sneak + use (default: shift + right clicking) them. Plain "use" (right click) will bring up a linking panel, letting you pick it up or use it. If a book is left on the ground it will slowly decay (the book flashes as it takes damage). It is also possible to burn or otherwise damage books in this state.
Linkbook Stands
Linkbook Stands allow you to place a book on them and use the book from the stand without having to pick the book back up. Right-clicking an empty stand with a book in your hand places the book. Right-clicking a stand that already has a book brings up the linking panel. Breaking the stand causes it to drop the book.
Lecterns
Lecterns are alternates to stands designed to sit on top of a single block of wood planks, or similar base.
There is floating text above books in the world and text in the item tooltip which display the name of the Age to which the book links. Note that this is a config option, and in v0.9.05 and later it defaults to off. For it to be on, both the server and client must have it turned on. With a server setting of "off", books can be hidden (useful for adventure maps, or competitive survival worlds).
Writing Desks
Writing Desks allow you to view the symbols in a Descriptive Book and rename books. If a Descriptive Book is renamed then the Age is renamed and all subsequent Linking Books made in that age will default to the new name (any previously made ones keep their identifiers). Desks allow for actual writing mechanics (selecting symbols for Ages; See below). In the future they will also allow changing the symbols that describe an age.
Notebook
The only book entity added so far that doesn't do something magical. Used to track the symbols you have learned. They have a special slot on the writing desk and will automatically store the symbols from any descriptive book placed in the desk at the same time. It is impossible to actually 'write' an age without one, though the only way to add symbols is to learn them by randomly generating ages (using underspecified books).
Ages
Ages are other worlds (similar to "dimensions"). The mechanics of the Age are determined by the Symbols written into its Descriptive Book (symbols may be automatically added on linking if there are not enough or logic is missing). Some possible world types are Standard Terrain, Cave, and Flat Worlds. The randomly generated Ages have from one to three biomes, and may include unusual or special features.
Note that it is impossible to legitimately go from an Age to either the End or the Nether via their usual portals. Some mods (such as Twilight Forest) may choose to deny their portals from Ages as well. This is a property of the portal mechanics in use, not Mystcraft.
Star Fissures
Star Fissures are natural links to the Overworld. If an Age has a Star Fissure it will generate near the Age spawn point.
Instability Effects
Some ages may be unstable. See the wiki for a full description of instability. Improperly written Ages or Ages with certain symbols will be unstable. There are several effects that can come from this, for example:
- Decay Blocks may spawn in unstable Ages and slowly eat the age. Black decay will spread horizontally and eat downward, causing blocks above them to cascade downward. It can be removed with a shovel. Colored decays eats blocks and spreads into them, with no cascading fall. Most of them can be removed with a pick-axe, though it is very difficult to keep up with the rate of spread. White decay also cause damage to any entity (including yourself, or mobs) that walks on it, and generally cannot be removed (the tool is still a pick-axe, but it spreads too quickly.)
- Potion effects can also be seen in unstable Ages. Most of these happen when you are exposed to the sky, and will fade in a few seconds if you get under shelter.
- Meteors can fall from the sky, causing about what you'd expect in terms of destruction.
Instability Effects can be disabled individually in the configuration file.
Writing
The Age will automatically select symbols to fill in logic it is missing. Doing so adds a small amount of instability to the Age.
The Age will also sometimes add some extra stuff. This won't cause instability (unless the symbol inherently adds instability, like the Dense Ores symbol).
If any two symbols add the same critical logic (two terrain generator symbols, for example) then the second will be used and a large amount of instability will be added.
If too many biomes are specified (for the biome controller sin use) then a large amount of instability is added for every extra biome and the extras are ignored.
Portals
The Mystcraft crystal blocks can be arranged into portals. These portals can be any shape and/or size. A book receptacle can be made from 8 crystal blocks in a crafting grid (outer edges) and placed against the crystal portal frame. Putting a book into the receptacle causes a portal to form that links as if the book. All entities that can collide with blocks will link in this way. "Disarm" books will not link items, and will empty the inventory of any entity that links.
