Just to change tack slightly - can someone tell me about the Nether and how that works - how do you get to it, is there anything there worth mining, do mobs exist there on our server and how does the nether transport work?

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You go through a portal to get to the nether. Hopefully drew's new map will pinpoint the nether gates/portals. The nether is scary and full of lava, there's various new blocks there too. No mobs.

The nether transport works based on the fact the nether is smaller so if you travel across the nether it's like travelling further in the normal world (can't remember the factor, on my phone) so if you go into the nether and leave via a appropriate portal it'll send you much further across the normal map. Someone will no doubt explain this better.

Ant, Jon - that all makes some kind of sense.

I'm sure it'll all become more apparent in game.

I told you, it's not an ugly hole!

I plan to build something big. 120 blocks high, double real life scale. I'm thinking now though that maybe I should do it 1:1 so there's hardly any digging. Or one of each maybe.