[16x] [MC1.5.1 | PE 0.5.0] Coterie Craft V4s.13 (Updated 4/10/13) 'Random Mobs!' [SS 13w11a]

(Basically the history of it all and a little bit about myself)

It all started with the Quandary Texture Pack, created by ExtraNoise, he set the baseline for this pack. ExtraNoise was quite big within the texture pack community, widely known in the days of Minecraft Alpha for "sprucing up the default textures" and his assortment of seasons, by which changed the grass and foliage color to look coherent to the designated month and/or season type within the year. He would also contribute some of his textures to Rhodox, author of the Painterly Pack, such as the leather sprite to name one. But not too long after I got my Minecraft account, awarded through an honorable mention in the 2010 WoM Halloween Contest, I felt that his textures could be improved upon, or to at least have them look good in my Minecraft.

Thus, in the late December of 2010, was born the Best of Quandary Texture Pack. It wasn't much to be honest, but it had a purpose. Apparently ExtraNoise became unresponsive by this time, updates in his pack no longer came... and I decided to step into the scene to some degree. Bonemouse, a major contributor to Quandary for his outstanding mob textures (currently the author of his own pack, Isabella), supported my work, even if it was made rather simply through the basic mechanisms of "copy" and "paste." But then again it wasn't all that bad, I did some recoloring and knew how to apply smoothness... so I guess it was an 'OK' compilation at the time. Again, bonemouse was supportive and so were other members within ExtraNoise's thread on the Minecraft Forums, I respectfully gained supporters over time and met many great contributors as well as nice people, no longer on the forums now, but dearly remembered.

To mention one of these people, with varying fascination towards each one of them, Morgus was the first to comment on my topic. But what was almost ironic about the matter was that ExtraNoise sponsored one of Morgus' comments as a kind of technique in presenting one's own content with words outside your own; he said, "Love it! [...] Many subtle changes while preserving the original atmosphere." Morgus then says to my pack, "Nothing to improve imho. I am using this with great pleasure." (probably using this version at the time) So I was kinda proud to have that initially positive feedback from the get-go. By this time I had already created my own quandary-style armor models based on the sprites that Quandary had... and it was a good update; bonemouse approved.

Another person I'd like to mention, Axapez! He, along with many other contributors, had presented me with honest, unrestrained and well-appreciated, constructive criticism that helped this pack grow to greater demand. Eventually we joked about this "Axapez standard," whereas he would always have something to say for the better improvement of the pack, always giving me something to do as it would seem, and it was this standard that many appreciated when I upheld it, especially Master7432 and i_r_everyday_azn.

As more and more improvements were made, the Best of Quandary Pack became less of a compilation and more of a revival of Quandary, considering ExtraNoise was gone for such a long time. The pack was then called Quandary Reborn, but the name was only fitting for so long. Eventually many of my old-time contributors began to fade, but new contributors came in the process, for whom were many fans of Quandary. ExtraNoise also came back after such a long time, and later incorporated my armor models into his newer version of Quandary, but with much unwanted change, such as his new cobblestone, it had many of his fans find a distaste in the newer Quandary and sought to it that Quandary Reborn would retain the old Quandary as they remembered it.

My edits to the pack were entitled towards preserving Quandary, at least to the eyes of those who found my pack with much expectation, then to their disappointment. While many of my long-time contributors looked for ways to improve their Minecraft however way they felt necessary through the constructive criticism that they have always offered, my pack grew apart from the old Quandary look that many had desired and continued to take on a more independent role in fulfilling the needs of others who wanted an improved vanilla Minecraft look, so to speak. Two factions came out of this situation, but there was a way to resolve it. The name Quandary Reborn was no longer an accurate name for the pack it was, for it had grown more independent as I kept pouring more of my originality into the mix by making all kinds of edits to it's original foundation; all to their liking. Names were debatable at the time, and I tend to be very picky when it comes to names, but we found one that fit. The word "Coterie," by definition, was to represent a group of people who shared a similar interest, such as my fellow contributors at the time, then the word "Craft" was traditional generic for a texture pack name, but it fit nicely when it came together - Coterie Craft.

As was the new and current name of Coterie Craft, established in the early March of 2011, fully independent from it's original counterpart with goal to provide Minecraft's "New Default" by improving the gameplay and fervor of Minecraft, the Quandary name, on the other hand, is still a good one but has often been confused and wrongfully ridiculed due to my pack's similarities and surpassing success over time. A similar story can also be said about Dusty's Textures being used by Gerudoku, except no one has really given Dusty any noticeable credit for all the item sprites he made, whereas I hope that ExtraNoise's work, along with any other sources that I may use, are credited properly and noticeably, so that they may be supported for their efforts. Moreover, I hope this excerpt on my pack's history will serve some justice in providing evidence to the past and well-being for the future.

Help support Coterie Craft:

I have been reluctant about providing a donate button for a very long time, let alone trusting adfly. The time never seemed right for me to "advertise" a way where I could profit from this project, especially when its core objective is to provide Minecraft's "New Default" for anyone who wishes to use it. The only exception I have for those who wish to donate is towards my college fund and/or collegiate efforts that result from my personal development.

Still, if it were to come down to me being the donator, I would respectively support ExtraNoise's work, since he set the baseline for my pack. Without his Quandary Pack, I probably would not become the texture artist that I am today. Perhaps, to keep it fair, the donations should be split 50:50 between him and I, unless you are compelled to do otherwise.

Thank you ever so much. ^-^



OR

Help support Quandary:

The Quandary Texture Pack for Minecraft is done as a labor of love for the game. I don’t charge for the pack, or use a third-party advertising program that forces my users to jump through a bunch of hoops, or even place ads on the site. However, a small donation means a ton to my wife and I. Please also consider the other artists who have contributed some sprites to Quandary as well!

And, thank you. :)