I feel like you're referring back to a previous conversation, but i can't remember which; could you please remind me?
consider the case of modding APIs, or breaking compatibility. whether or not a modding API is a good fit for this game specifically, I find that you have taken hardline stances on software that I disagree with in the past.
Perhaps i stated my goal wrong. Maybe a better way to phrase it would be that i want to create a game that's better at being Minecraft than Minecraft is. Or perhaps i could say that there's a certain happy feeling i used to have when playing Minecraft when i was youngerand less disillusioned with the world, and i want to be able to recreate that feeling.
I see now. that could be interesting.
If the consensus of the populace is that doing something would be the most fun, that's what should be done; if everybody's saying that something isn't fun, it should be removed; if experiments reveal that people find something more fun than expected, that should influence the decisions.
that certainly makes sense.
(I'm curious about what you specifically mean by the design goals you listed, though.)
well, I plan extensibility in the form of a module system, in which the game is constructed from modules which interact with each other by exposing public APIs and which can be used in different combinations at whim (as long as they don't conflict).
in terms of actual game mechanics, I want to design the game such that blocks in the world have interesting interactions, and hopefully emergent mechanics. my ideas hinge heavily on my reinterpretation of the voxel engine, wherein multiple blocks at once can fit within a space. this is implemented partially and inelegantly in minecraft in the case of waterlogging and slabs, but I wish to implement this generally.
I think that the main mechanics that the player will interact with to make mechanisms and generally get things done are heat and water. water, unlike in minecraft, will actually be finite and flow into different blocks akin to minecraft. heat will likely be producible by combusting fuel and by other means, and I think it will be the means to power mechanisms like pistons.
pistons will be akin to those in minecraft, but they will be much more powerful. utilizing the ability to contain multiple blocks in a space, one will be able to apply a gluelike block to the sides of blocks, which will cause them to be moved as one when pushed by a piston.
for implementing logic, my current idea is to have a funguslike substance whose stem conducts heat very well and whose head implements logic gates. the fungus would be found on the roof of a certain type of cave underground, and may be cultivated by the player once found.
pertaining to world generation, I want to feature detailed and fantastical environments. the world generation will take advantage of the "infinite" nature of the world, both horizontally and vertically. as one moves further from the center of the world, the environments become more fantastical, and as one ventures deeper into the ground, one is able to stumble upon the otherworldly. I'm not sure what should be in the sky, but perhaps there would be floating islands or celestial objects.
the inhabitants of the world, i.e. mobs, will generate with the world and not spawn spontaneously (at least, predominantly), unlike minecraft. though some might be dangerous, none of the mobs will exist simply for the purpose attacking the player (except maybe for one exception that I have in mind). I wish to have them exist in a sort of simplistic ecosystem, where the actions of the player could affect their populations.
in any case, your elaboration of your goals has given me a better idea of the project, and I think it could be cool.