Grappling hook

Grappling Hook is a mod for Minecraft Alpha and Beta. It is created by 303 and it's equivalent is Cheesey's Hookshot. Both the hook shot and the grappling hook allows the player to reach higher places easily. The concept is simple. Create a grappling hook, using a custom recipe, right click to launch it, then press another button to be pulled towards your hook. In this article, however, I shall be discussing the grappling hook only. Specifically the one for beta.

Preparation
Download the Grappling Hook mod from Minecraft Forums' mod section and copy the files over to the minecraft.jar file under %appdata%/roaming/.mincraft/bin on windows vista or under %appdata%/.minecraft/bin on xp. You may also use a modloader if you are using other mods. You should then obtain 4 iron ingots and a string using INVedit or from the game itself. Once that is done, go to a workbench and put the iron ingots and string like this:

A gray grappling hook should be ready for your usage. Put it in your quick access bar.

Usage
Right click the place you want to go to, and you should see the grappling hook getting launched. You may not see the white string, don't fret, this happens often. Wait until you are sure that the hook has reached it's target. If it missed and hit nothing after flying for a while, the hook should return to your hand. Once certain that the hook has reached a block, hit your pull button. The default should be Left Ctrl. You should be flying towards your target. Do not let go of the pull button, or you will stop moving and land. Once you reached your target, right click again to retrieve the hook. NOTE: You do not need to be near the hook to retrieve it. Retrieving it from blocks away is possible too. You can also access other properties of the grappling hook by pressing G, X, C, V or B, or a combination of a few.

Hotkeys
So what do these "hotkeys" do? Well, you will soon find out. Also, remember that combination of multiple keys is possible. You will also see that when you press a hotkey, a letter may appear or disappear, this is an indicator to make sure you are selecting the right properties.

G - Gravity Gun: Allows you lift objects off the ground. (Must be used in conjunction with X) X - Fixed: Makes the distance between you and the hook fixed, you cannot get closer nor further. C - Swap: When grabbing anything, you move towards them if they were supposed to move towards you and vice versa V - Reversed: Instead of being pulled to an object or pulling an object, you move away from it or it moves away from you B - Grab: Allows you to grab blocks and treat them like movable objects

You can also change these hotkeys in the options menu.

Options
The grappling hook allows you to customize much of it, like gravity, curvature and such. The options are self-explanatory and you can tweak them as much as you like. I personally use 0 gravity as it allows more accurate transfer of hook when falling.

Glitches
No mod is perfect and there's bound to be glitches, so here are some.

Grabbing "null"
If the player is playing around with the grappling hook, you may accidentally see a message "captured:null". You will find that the player is not grabbing on to anything and try to use L-ctrl to see what "null" is. However, the player will end up floating. Apparently, the player has grabbed themself! This has been proven multiple times but isn't an easy glitch to recreate.

Grabbing blocks at the back
If you enable grab, sometimes you may accidentally grab a block behind the one you intended, sometimes this is okay, but others times (like experimenting with a block on the roof of the player's home), it may end up wrecking something below.

Grabbing water
This may or may not be a glitch, but apparently the hook allows the player to grab water blocks. When the player grabs them, players can tow them around and set them down. The water block, when set down, will not become an active water spring (no water "sprouts" from it), but players can still use a bucket to pick it up. Putting two water blocks next to each other using the hook turns both into springs. If a player drops a water block on another, the player can actually get a water block that can be placed in your inventory as an item. Like from INVedit, just that the player gets it in Minecraft itself. Interestingly, the hook is unable to grab lava blocks.

Killing items
This is a minor glitch or may just be an error. When players destroy blocks, they turn into item form for the player to pick up. Using a grappling hook, the player can grab them and pull them to the player. A message "you killed " will be displayed.

Grabbing portals
Grappling hooks can grab portals apparently, however, using the pull button just pulls the player towards it, unless the Grab function is used. I have not tried going into the nether with the aid of the grappling hook as I'm afraid of another nether F1 (an unlikely situation caused when you enter a portal with another object like a minecart. You will see yourself flying in the nether at uncontrollable speeds, far faster than any minecart or boat. The only way to stop it is to end minecraft process and then go back in. You will be billions of chunks away from the p original portal you entered in and it will take 2 months (human months) to get back using the compass).