A replica of the Earth basically just means you don't need a map (assuming you've got a basic knowledge of the globe) and things are distributed in annoying ways that don't make for enjoyable gameplay compared to a generated map.
I would like to combine Minecraft with Mount & Blade, so we could all have our own nations and raise armies and have big huge battles, but we have to find/raise horses first and craft our own weapons and all the other Minecrafty things.
It would be exactly like Minecraft is now, but with these additions:
* A "forge", which is a larger crafting bench (grid of 5x5 or 8x8 or something).
* This would allow a greater variety of weapon patterns, so not just sword, but dagger,longsword,lance,battle axe,etc too.
* A "horse" animal, starts wild but tameable (like wolves) and then given a saddle to let them be ridden. There'd be different types (like sheep), and different roles they could have (e.g. packhorse,warhorse,etc).
* Land can be claimed by a player placing border flags, which have a radius they apply to (similar to torches) and if they form a circle the inside of that circle is also claimed (unless it contains other player's flags).
* Once a player has a certain amount of land, a new "animal" type of "peasant" is generated randomly, and if given weaponry they turn into a "soldier" that will fight for you and your allies.
etc.
It'd be completely unlike Civ - there'd be no tech tree, no city centres, no taxes, no special effect buildings.
Wonders would be whatever you wanted, and be a simple matter of respect/coolness, showing that you're so well defended that you've been able to gather resources and build this big cool thing.
Expanding your empire involves removing enemy flags and/or placing your own flags, but of course with enemy soldiers patrolling borders that would involve battles first - unless you mine your way past their defences - but you'd have to make sure to avoid the traps they're certain to set (like a hidden moat of lava, or a "trip wire" of redstone that, once broken, sets off alarms, etc).
It'd be far more unpredictable, because everyone can build their own bespoke systems of defence.
Actually, no, all that required very little thought/effort. :P
Words take a lot more effort than thoughts - I could have written twice as much as there is there, but it takes too long translating ideas into words and then getting my hands to transcribe them. :(
But yes, it would be a lot of fun. I just need to find someone to make it as a mod then we can all play it. :D
Ok, found it - any portals within 1024 blocks (in x/z dimensions) will link to the same nether portal (because Nether is 1/8th the size, and a portal has a "range" of 128 blocks within which it connects, and 8*128 is 1024.
