• This week, the number of total submission views hit 700 million! Thato s what I call a milestone.
  
• The new chat 3.1 BETA was released this week, bringing a whole new interface. Now, members can see all of their logs and infractions. Commands, friend lists, private rooms, improved stability and more features will soon be implemented.
  
• An epic battle broke out between the PMC newspapers, as the owners of the PMC Telegraph, PMC Times and PMC Report all waged war to gain as many views and diamonds as possible. In-fighting and relentless advertising took place in the chat, causing chaos and controversy among moderators. Of course, ito s not about that. Ito s about the quality. (Pfft, not really.)
  
• Thato s it for this weeko s partly exaggerated, partly sarcastic, partly underwhelming news stories. Yay.
  

Hello, PeonFTW. So, first of all, when did you start playing minecraft and how much did you play in the first days/weeks/months?

I first started playing in Minecraft Beta 1.3. At first I thought, this is lame, but after I got into it I actually played A LOT! All my free time was spent on it!


Sum up how you found PMC in seven words.

I found PMC looking to post skins.


How has planet minecraft developed as a fan site over the past year?

It certainly has grown, and more and more great builders, artists, modders, and skinners have found their way here to contribute their epic stuff. But there's also more trolls and such, but thato s okay. Thato s the staff's job ;)
How has Minecraft changed as a game for you over the past years?

My interest in Minecraft has waxed and waned. I was really into it at first, but then got bored of it. Then I got into skinning and texturing, and I loved it! Then again I lost interest. After a period of about 6 months (I know right?!) I decided I would try modding. That was about a year ago. I really got into it and loved it haha. Since then I have slowed down, played more in game, and learned to build cool things. I really think that Minecraft changed ever since Jeb came along, adding these Horses and hoppers and nether things...Sometimes I wish for Minecraft to go back to Beta and have less STUFF, but sometimes I like it the way it is.
What are your plans and dreams on planet minecraft?

I dream that I can become way more active and helpful to PMC.

What is your favourite game (apart from Minecraft) and why?

My favourite game is either Skyrim or Sleeping Dogs, both of which I haven't played that much. Skyrim's graphics are epic even on my crappy computer, and the story lines and quests are amazing. Sleeping Dogs; I love the way ito s set in Hong Kong, and how the main character is both a cop and a bad guy.

• Links to Xoyjaz's and PeonFTW's profiles are down below!
  

Great games are made every year, but many of them seem to simply come and go. However, some games never get old. Minecraft was made about 4 years ago, yet more people are joining it every day. How is it Minecraft maintaining its new-ness? Is it the constant amount of custom maps that players keep constructing? Do great servers give minecraft its endless fun? Or is it the individuals that make modifications and texture packs that keep the game interesting? I think that ito s simply down to the fact that minecraft is always being updated. Updates keep the game fresh for everyone to enjoy and it just keeps getting better and better. Or does it? All the hard work that Mojang puts into the game is great, but could they start driving minecraft downhill?


I've spoken with some trusted friends and they seem to have mixed feelings about what is being added to minecraft. Some say that there are useless additions and Mojang is putting too much into the game. Others feel that the minecraft is perfect and every addition is a good one. I think that there have been a few additions that are not necessary. I don't want to see the game cluttered with useless mobs or filled with ores that do nothing more than the current ones. Of course, we all have our own opinions and if Mojang really did add something that the community didn't like, they would change or remove said addition quickly.


Minecraft had been criticized in the past for it's endless stream of bugs and problems, and Mojang does well when it comes to fixing them. However, wouldn't it make sense for them to stop adding things for a bit and focus just on fixing current glitches and adding better settings for us to use? Mod compatibility has been a long awaited addition and as much as we all want to see mods being installed as easily as resource packs, it might not come for a while. Of course, Mojang is a small company and they can only do so much every week. So it's a balance between fixing current issues and adding new ones in.


As far as my thoughts go, Mojang is driving the game on the right path and their updates will continue making the game more fun and interesting. However there are many people that feel that the game is lacking things. Of course, it's impossible to please everyone because the opinions on what should be added vary so much. Some feel that minecraft should steer towards being more like the Tekkit mod pack. I've heard many people say that there should be more mobs and those like the enderdragon are too weak to be the final boss. I personally want to see vertical half-slabs added, but that's just because I like to look at it from a builder's perspective. Like I said, we all have different thoughts on what should be brought into minecraft and what should be taken out. If you think you have a cool idea, leave it in the comments and we can start a conversation!

• Check out OnlyIn5DYT's latest blog: 'Why Are You Not Popular?'
  

Our friends are what help us through the hard times in life. PMC is a place where making friends is easy - when you know how. The easiest way is to be active in the chat, talk to some moderators, and don't be that annoying person who spams and gets banned. (Although you may earn a little bit of stardom, it's short lived.)


A friend is someone who is there for you when you fall. Well, that's the floor's job, but understand that friends will talk to you and comfort you at the hardest times of PMC life, whether it be during times of harsh criticism or unpopularity. (Unless the floor talks, I don't know, maybe the floor is a good friend...)


Trust. If you trust your friend, it will be much easier for them to trust you. My friends will be by my side no matter what. I would love a friend system on PMC, instead of having to make a list in the o about meo section because my amount of friends along the way increase s (I am very social, nuff said).


For those who are not good at friendships, confidence is key. Being boring is not. I'd rather have a guy with a high pitch voice shouting at me every 12 seconds than a man lecturing me about something I stopped caring about a while ago... bit of a weird case.... anyway I drifted, so this completes my first section of The PMC Telegraph. Hope you learnt something. Thanks for reading. Happy, out.

• Check out HappyKeysTv's latest blog: 'Minecraft Anagrams'
  

It was an average day at work. The sun was blazing on my tanned downloaded-skin, er, I mean arms and legs. The undulating waves splashed salty water on my face. I threw my fishing-pole once more into the sea, hoping for a lucky catch.


Needless to say, I am a poor fisherman, with only just enough money to provide for my family. Each day I woke up at the crack of dawn, preparing for another hard day's work at sea. I put some beef, that I got from raiding a villager's base, into a furnace, and added some coal in from my mines. After adding the cooked beef to my hot-bar, I proceeded to take my fishing pole and riding my boat the sea. I saw squids floating around while I cast my fishing pole into the dark, bottomless ocean.


Suddenly, a jerk on my rod told me that a fish was nibbling. I don't know why it was, because my rod had no bait on the end. But who cares? I'm amazed that I got a fish. As I reeled the light blue creature in, it suddenly flung at me, and somehow landed on my hot-bar. I didn't get any more fish for the rest of the afternoon, so I came back to the dock.


As I got off of my small boat, I found a strange-looking man notching lines onto a stick. We all call him Notch, because that's what he did all day long. He notched sticks for a living, and sold them for 2 iron ore and 3 spider-eyes each. I don't know what he does with the spider-eyes, and I don't want to. As I passed him though, he said something.


"I am the Creator. My name is Notch, and I will revolutionize our world. I shall call it Minecraft," he said.


"Man, you're crazy. All you do is notch sticks. Do you really think you can make a computer in our world? Our crafting tables can't make those things. Even if you could, do you even know how to code Java?" I responded, mocking him. Notch looked down at his stick, and started notching them again.


I suppose he thinks himself foolish now, for his ideas were something even a fool wouldno t dream up. But then again, Notch is an idiot. There's a reason why he can't chop oak wood.







Swirling darkness embraces him. The chilling hug of the shadows tickles his spine. The sound of cars, speeding along, and the blaring of sirens slowly diminishes until only his shallow breathing can be heard. He is calm, not at all scared by the current events. Calmer than he has ever been before.

Gradually, the darkness becomes a charcoal grey; that becomes a dirty white; that curdles together into a ball of dazzling light. The ball of light rises, and reveals an immaculate, pristine staircase. A staircase that seems to sink to the depths of hell, but still continues down. He casually strolls towards the staircase, and starts his descent. Not at all unsettled, not at all uneasy, not at all stressed. His heart rate shows no signs of picking up, nor plummeting down into the reaches of death.

He does not sense us.

A glass banister rises from the staircase. He does not make a move for it, as he is not scared. What has he to fear? It is peaceful here. A place of tranquillity; where death is forgotten, and life is just a distant memory. He had a wife and children. They are not important now, after all, they are just a distant memory.

No sound is made when his foot gently touches the floor. It is so clean, so spotless, it would make a hospital look filthy. He can still see the ball of light, emitting ito s gentle but piercing glow, soothing but painful to stare at. He is uncertain now. He stops. We will not let him stop. No, he must continue, he shall do as we say. We are not asking, we are not demanding, we are instructing. Those who refuse shall be engulfed by their sin, corruption and hatred. Forever freezing in the coldest depths of their heart.

The light is suddenly no longer soothing, but angry, tinted with the colour of blood and rage. The colour of envy and heart ache. The ball of light is no longer inviting and warm, but it is an eye. A bloodshot eye, that stares upon him, willing him to move. Forcing him to move his pale, spindly legs. He is not healthy, he is struggling. Although we are here to help. We guide him. We help him. We steal his trust right from under his nose. We ask him, subtly and politely to keep walking. o Please, could you keep walking? We are here to help,o we lie. o We only have your best interests at heart o ¦ honestly.o We are deceitful. We are evil. Yet we areomniscientand omnipresent.

He obeys. Of course he does. He has no choice, no say in the matter. He is alone, isolated and deserted. No one loves him. No one will miss him. We repeat this, louder now. We shout at the very core of his being.o No one loves you, no one will miss you. You are alone. You are isolated. Everybody has deserted you!o


We go too far. He hears us. He senses us. We are puzzled. He feeds upon our uncertainty, we feel him becoming stronger. He lurches to a stop. He does not look around. But gazes into our souls. We have no souls. How does he do this?


His gaze consumes our power. We must dispose of him. He shall pay for his insolence. He shall regret his actions. He o ¦ shall o ¦ suffer! It is sad though. We had great things in store for him. He would have been useful. No matter. More victims shall come before us. Some stronger than him. Others braver. People with great intellect. But none as powerful.


He runs. Climbs the staircase in incredible speed. He is making it shorter, but, how can he do that? This is our world! This is our dimension! His mind is ours! His mind is ours!


HIS MIND IS OURS!


He is gone.

Our rage is our downfall. He has made it back to the other world. He has escaped us. No matter. Others shall fall victim to us. Our name is feared among the mortals. We are hated.


We are reviled. We are feared.


We are The Coma.



PROJECTS! As you know, quite a few good ones are posted on PMC. And this week, there were a couple that really caught my eye.


o Violet Monasteryo is a medium-sized but spectacular build. Posted by Freeman0676, it has far less views than it deserves, with an incredible amount of detail incorporated into the build. It manages to look good in the default texture pack, and without too many shader effects. Thato s a rare thing. Freeman succeeds in using brick, together with sandstone and other stones, combined with purple-stained clay in the roof, creating a brilliant effect. The only thing Io d like to see, is more detail and features on the ground, plus some photos of the inside of the building. But chances are, Freeman will bring this in, along with a download link. So, go and check it out!




Another project that made my jaw drop was o The Origin of Melono by Gassy. Great name. And Io ve never seen anything like this on PMC. Gassy made (you guessed it) a gigantic melon supported by a giant, colourful plant, which is surrounded by a lake and fantasy-like structures, with an eye-popping amount of detail. There is also a gorgeous, eye-melting amount of colour. Youo d have to see it yourself to appreciate the originality and creativity. Io ve downloaded it because of its sheer beauty. I seriously recommend it!




Ito s good to see genuinely nice builds that dono t just rely on renders to look impressive. Ito s also good to see unique ideas still appearing on the pop reel.

• By SoggyTractor.
  

This week I was planning to review a YouTube channel, but something else came up. Something momentous.


On Friday, perhaps the funniest and most disagreeable Minecraft video EVER uploaded to YouTube, was unleashed upon the world. By who? YouTube legend and amateur gamer, Shane Dawson.


No prizes for guessing how much he knows about the game. o It sounds like some really creepy lesbian gothic show about witches,o was his first impression of the name Minecraft.


From the very beginning of Shaneo s video, ito s like watching Miley Cyrus attempt to put on some clothes and act like a normal human being.


Shane seems to be in a state of madness as he whirls around, mistakes his arm for something else that could be sticking out in front of his face (ahem), and asks, o what is this? How do I smoke it?o while destroying some grass on the ground.


Ito s an alien experience seeing someone so clueless in one of the worldo s biggest PC games. Hilarious, but alien. The fact that he walks around with what looks like an FPS of about 5, and doesno t think anything is wrong, is quite disturbing.




In Shaneo s opinion, the most exciting thing in this game is a pig. o There has to be something else to do,o he says, walking around aimlessly, with the idea of digging and crafting things (the clue is in the name, Shane) apparently not popping into his head. Like any ignorant person playing Minecraft, ito s infuriating to watch.


So it has to be the most annoying, yet comedic Minecraft video Io ve ever seen. It makes me think, o how much would Simon and Lewis laugh, if they saw this?o It would also be funny to see Shane watching one of their o Yoglabso videos, and discovering the true extent of everything you can do in Minecraft. Shane came close to discovering the amazing possibilities of the game, but gave up and called it boring before even doing anything.


o Why do people play this?o he asks. Ito s a good thing Shane is likable, and says this in a lighthearted way. Otherwise it would be even more irritating. And insulting to all 40 million Minecraft players.

• By SoggyTractor.
  

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Thank you for reading the PMC Telegraph. Diamond, favourite and subscribe if you enjoyed! A big thank-you to everyone who contributed. (If you want to contribute, PM me.) Please check out their profiles!

• Bebopper5
  
• HappyKeysTV
  
• OnlyIn5DYT
  
• LeePieGuy
  
• Xoyjaz
  
• PeonFTW
  

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