So, I have made myself a large-ish cobblestone biodome on my latest save. While it looks fairly awesome, it's rather dark, and as the dome in which I shall survive until such time as I can find a cure for the zombie/creeper/skele virus (or whatever plotline you prefer) I want to be able to enjoy the wonderful heat of sunlight. I could replace the roof with glass, but that may allow the more agile beasts to smash their way in from above. Clearly, my only course of action is to construct my own artifical working sun!
EXPOSITION OVER.
I wish to create a sun (Probably a glass sphere filled with magma) that can be hidden or darkened by the activation of a redstone circuit. This circuit will use a timer (a minecart pendulum for accuracy and to prevent FPS affecting timing) and will switch off the sun at the same time as the real sun sets.
Things I need to work out:
How to block the sunlight when its time to turn off (Doors don't block light, do they? Do they block magma flow?)
How to make a delay dohicky in the circuit, as I don't have room for a minecart pendulum large enough to hit center once per day-cycle.
Whether a magma-sphere will be bright enough, or whether I will have to have magma veins running along the insides of the sphere.
How to install artifical sky (Probably just wool clouds stuck randomly in places. Maybe a layer of water on glass for blue sky?)
There is no reusable way to block light or fluids yet. Floodgates are planed for a later update.
I would say, have a latch that has input from your pendulum, have it connected to an and gate with the pendulum, and have that feed into as many more latch and gate combinations as you need to get the correct delay. The last output will activate whatever mechanism becomes available and reset all the latches.
A single magma sphere probably won't be bright enough.
Water on glass sounds good as a way to make a blue sky.
Minecarts don't block light. the only way to do this would be to use a release mechanism made from sand, torches, water and TNT, but then you have to reset it each time. (If you want, I could design one.)
Regarding the timer, you might be able to use the location of a mine cart as a counter of sorts. I'm not sure if it's extensible, but my mine cart system has two adjacent pressure plates at each station on the main track: a wooden plate followed by a stone plate. Either plate activates a cart on a parallel track that comes by to push it forward: but if the cart is on the first plate, it only gets nudged forward onto the stone plate, rather than being sent forward on the track. The cart on the parallel track doesn't get stopped either way.
I can envision a system that has a cart moving in a loop, nudging a "ones place" counter cart on a rectangular track one plate forward with each pass. When it reaches the tenth plate, it activates another cart that moves a "tens place" counter cart one plate forward. When the tens place cart reaches the tenth plate on its track, it activates another cart that moves a "hundreds place" cart one plate forward, etc. Such a system might be more compact than an equivalent redstone based system?
I don't know how it would be switched on and off, but directly affecting the lava's flow into the sun chamber (providing it's directly on the cieling) is a way one single lock could alter the whole of the sun's core. I'm pretty sure if it was just filling a shell, and the lava flowed into it from the top, it would cover the whole structure. So like this:
Also, the delayed speed of flowing lava could serve as a non-redstone time factor to help reduce on the space needed to make this work. I'm not sure how long it would take for the sun to "Set", though... that could be tested.
This is not yet possible. I'd be really surprised if anyone came up with something that could do it, but nothing seems to be reliable enough to do this, or reusable.
Ahah, lots of good points raised. Pity there's no floodgates at the moment, that would have made things significantly simpler.
Main issues seem to be how to turn on/off the magma flow effectively, and the large number of delaying circuits needed to get the timing right.
So, I figure if I use a large-ish sun, with magma veins along the walls as well, use a sand-water device to plug the flow when night falls, and Palarran's idea for a minecart timer, it sounds like it would work quite well, if I can set it up.
I'd still have to reset the system regularly, due to the sand-water stopper, but that wouldn't be too bad. I may also set "daylight" to last longer than the actual day outside; Not only would the contrast be interesting, but it fits with the sleeping patterns people adopt when they are not exposed to true daylight for some time. (From memory, I think the average day becomes 30 hours or something?).
I'll get to work, more developments posted here as they come.
Also, Human Endogenous Period(our natural sleep/waking cycle) is 24.18 hours. While Early research suggested 25+ hour days were our "norm" those studies(the results of which have now widely entered the cultural subconscious) were innately flawed owing to the participants being allowed the use of electric lights whenever they chose. As it turns out, we are so sensitive to light that even a 60W bulb can throw us off.
Also, Human Endogenous Period(our natural sleep/waking cycle) is 24.18 hours. While Early research suggested 25+ hour days were our "norm" those studies(the results of which have now widely entered the cultural subconscious) were innately flawed owing to the participants being allowed the use of electric lights whenever they chose. As it turns out, we are so sensitive to light that even a 60W bulb can throw us off.
Hmm. So to be strictly accurate to the HEP, I still need to be reasonably close to the day/night cycle... Ah, well, I can get to tweaking the timing system once I've built the dome.
Although I originally used a map editor to place my dome in the world, I've decided that using that route simply isn't very fun. As well, I can only place a sphere of approx 45 radius before the map crashes on load, and quite a bit of effort was taken to stop it crashing even at that level. (Stack Overflow error. I could have fixed by giving the program more RAM to use, but meh.)
I've found a neat area to place the dome; a sizable waterfall coming out of a cliff, near to the sea, plenty of trees. As well, the surrounding area contains islands and large archways; the mountain the waterfall flows down has a huge hollow area within, with a lake at the bottom.
Spawn point is some distance from this location, though it is only 5 steps from an open-air dungeon. I am torn between playing on peaceful, then swapping to hard once the dome is up, or keeping it on hard all the way. Leaning towards peaceful; spending all that time avoiding darkness would be annoying, especially when the dome is near complete and mobs begin to spawn within even during the day.
Radius is to be 77 meters (Because I like the number 7). Main difficulties will be:
Creating radials correct distance. I tried several times before I resorted to the map editor, always ended up miscounting the distance.
Collection of cobblestone. I cannot simply dig down, as I wish to have the inside of the biodome as natural-looking as possible.
Plan for the equator of the circle.
Making it actually curve inward as it climbs upward will be another issue, but I'll get to that once I've made the equator. Also, I shall be adding blocks to that plan; I don't like the fact that certain blocks are connected by a corner rather than a side.
Thw only thing I could think of would be,
To have redstone wire leading to a single block of TNT holding back water.
(TNT would be surrounded be obsidian as to not explode surrounding blocks)
Once blown up the water would block the "sun" light,
one problem. you would have to manually reload it.
Off to a bad start; I had travelled some distance while surveying, and ended up heading down the wrong side of the mountain. Wandered about for 10 minutes, before finding a skyisland. Using Cartographer, and the sky island as a waypoint (It was kinda arrow shaped too, which helped), I realised my mistake. On the plus side, there are plenty of trees and natural caves here; the caves in particular may help, preventing my mining from having any visible affect upon the surface, and thus keeping even the world outside my dome pristine.
Sunset, and I'm still lost. Using a standing rock (its a giant freaking rock, tall as a mountain, with a tiny base and a WATERFALL coming out of it! I've really lucked out on this world-gen) as a waypoint, I once again adjust my course.
Passing more caves, another, smaller skyisland, and yet another waterfall, I finally find the site I'd set as the location for my dome, marked by the massive system of archways that have been eroded from the mountain. Perhaps after the biodome is complete, I'll set up a canyon/cave style city in the walls there. My march home is occasionally interuptted by the intelligent and enlightened convosation I deeply enthralled within with Munsie.
Munsie says:
BUT BRO IT'S NIGHT TIME.
TheInvisibleMage says:
BUT BRO, IT AINT
Munsie says:
BUT BRO IT'S BUT BRO.
TheInvisibleMage says:
BRO IT BUT BUT BRO IT
Munsie says:
BUT BUT IN THE BUTT BRO BRO BUT BRO IT ITS BRO BUT BRO
I finally arrive at the great waterfall. I gaze upon my soon-to-be home, and smile.
The first order of business is a minor adjustment to my plans. Because I wish to include the waterfall, as well as an area of ocean in my dome, I decide to start at a point above the waterfall, count 77 in, and make that the center of the sphere. Counting out from the radius would probably be easier, but means I run the risk of not placing the radius in a location that would encompass the waterfall. Finding the perfect place, I mark it with a pillar of dirt, topped with wool.
The first radial line is marked out, using saplings planted every 20 meters (three times, then another lot at 17). Munsie offers to help with construction; I save, quit, and prepare a server. As well as the extra pair of hands, this means that I can use Runecraft (and more specifically, its Flight spell) in the construction of the dome.
Multiplayer construction begins. Munsie is on resource gathering duty; the caves I saw earlier appear to be rich in coal and iron. I've set up all 4 radials, but noticed a minor issue with the original plans. Currently revising.
you could make a server with the runecraft mod, and then have a functioning civilization and everyday someones job is to open and close the secret passage that you would use from runecraft to cover the sun!
you could make a server with the runecraft mod, and then have a functioning civilization and everyday someones job is to open and close the secret passage that you would use from runecraft to cover the sun!
I thought of that, actually, but the pendulum idea just seems so much cooler. :biggrin.gif: I might have the secret passage as an override, though.
I have been toying with the idea of a day/night cycle in an underground biome for a while now.
Honestly, the best effect I can create is to line the floor of the dome with glass, and put a ton of redstone lights underneath the glass. Then just trigger them to turn on and off using a massively long repeater.
It works fairly good with my small scale dome (diameter of 20). I don't know how well it would work for bigger areas.
I have been toying with the idea of a day/night cycle in an underground biome for a while now.
Honestly, the best effect I can create is to line the floor of the dome with glass, and put a ton of redstone lights underneath the glass. Then just trigger them to turn on and off using a massively long repeater.
It works fairly good with my small scale dome (diameter of 20). I don't know how well it would work for bigger areas.
That would possibly work... but I think I'll stick with magma, as its brighter, and would look really cool. ;D
Quote from Cerbrus »
As for your dome: There's a thread on "Perfect Spheres" <-- Search for those 2 words and read the OP, you can find perfect blueprints in there.
I know the thread. However, they use diameters for mesurement, not radius, and don't have a 154 diameter sphere blueprint set in there. So I'm stuck with paint. I figure its still possible, just takes careful planning.
Today's work is done, methinks. Thanks to Dr_Tower for setting up a storage building while I was taking a break/studying, and Munsie for gathering all the resources we'll need for a while.
I should be able to get much more done tomorrow. After the exam. Which I should have been studying for instead of building the biosphere. :tongue.gif:
Progress for today:
Yes, I am aware that there is a CERTAIN INAPPROPRIATE WORD written in torches. Not everyone who joined the server today was there to help.
What if you covered the whole sky in redstone torches? :biggrin.gif:
Ya know, if you make a path of redstone torches across your dome, from one end to the other, say, 5 wide, I bet you could move a 5x5 square across it. It won't be very bright, but it would be awesome!
where is an iron door triggered by redstone and is the lava source? Seriously...this should work right? Or am I missing something silly? (Put multiple doors for more smoothness in the lava I guess...)
Water and lava won't flow through open doors. Silly, but true. Even double doors.
EXPOSITION OVER.
I wish to create a sun (Probably a glass sphere filled with magma) that can be hidden or darkened by the activation of a redstone circuit. This circuit will use a timer (a minecart pendulum for accuracy and to prevent FPS affecting timing) and will switch off the sun at the same time as the real sun sets.
Things I need to work out:
How to block the sunlight when its time to turn off (Doors don't block light, do they? Do they block magma flow?)
How to make a delay dohicky in the circuit, as I don't have room for a minecart pendulum large enough to hit center once per day-cycle.
Whether a magma-sphere will be bright enough, or whether I will have to have magma veins running along the insides of the sphere.
How to install artifical sky (Probably just wool clouds stuck randomly in places. Maybe a layer of water on glass for blue sky?)
Help me out here!
I would say, have a latch that has input from your pendulum, have it connected to an and gate with the pendulum, and have that feed into as many more latch and gate combinations as you need to get the correct delay. The last output will activate whatever mechanism becomes available and reset all the latches.
A single magma sphere probably won't be bright enough.
Water on glass sounds good as a way to make a blue sky.
I can envision a system that has a cart moving in a loop, nudging a "ones place" counter cart on a rectangular track one plate forward with each pass. When it reaches the tenth plate, it activates another cart that moves a "tens place" counter cart one plate forward. When the tens place cart reaches the tenth plate on its track, it activates another cart that moves a "hundreds place" cart one plate forward, etc. Such a system might be more compact than an equivalent redstone based system?
Also, the delayed speed of flowing lava could serve as a non-redstone time factor to help reduce on the space needed to make this work. I'm not sure how long it would take for the sun to "Set", though... that could be tested.
Come visit us!
MINECRAFT FACTS: BIG LIST OF WHAT NOTCH HAS ACTUALLY SAID ABOUT THE PLANNED FEATURES OF MINECRAFT
Main issues seem to be how to turn on/off the magma flow effectively, and the large number of delaying circuits needed to get the timing right.
So, I figure if I use a large-ish sun, with magma veins along the walls as well, use a sand-water device to plug the flow when night falls, and Palarran's idea for a minecart timer, it sounds like it would work quite well, if I can set it up.
I'd still have to reset the system regularly, due to the sand-water stopper, but that wouldn't be too bad. I may also set "daylight" to last longer than the actual day outside; Not only would the contrast be interesting, but it fits with the sleeping patterns people adopt when they are not exposed to true daylight for some time. (From memory, I think the average day becomes 30 hours or something?).
I'll get to work, more developments posted here as they come.
Also, Human Endogenous Period(our natural sleep/waking cycle) is 24.18 hours. While Early research suggested 25+ hour days were our "norm" those studies(the results of which have now widely entered the cultural subconscious) were innately flawed owing to the participants being allowed the use of electric lights whenever they chose. As it turns out, we are so sensitive to light that even a 60W bulb can throw us off.
Hmm. So to be strictly accurate to the HEP, I still need to be reasonably close to the day/night cycle... Ah, well, I can get to tweaking the timing system once I've built the dome.
Although I originally used a map editor to place my dome in the world, I've decided that using that route simply isn't very fun. As well, I can only place a sphere of approx 45 radius before the map crashes on load, and quite a bit of effort was taken to stop it crashing even at that level. (Stack Overflow error. I could have fixed by giving the program more RAM to use, but meh.)
I've found a neat area to place the dome; a sizable waterfall coming out of a cliff, near to the sea, plenty of trees. As well, the surrounding area contains islands and large archways; the mountain the waterfall flows down has a huge hollow area within, with a lake at the bottom.
Spawn point is some distance from this location, though it is only 5 steps from an open-air dungeon. I am torn between playing on peaceful, then swapping to hard once the dome is up, or keeping it on hard all the way. Leaning towards peaceful; spending all that time avoiding darkness would be annoying, especially when the dome is near complete and mobs begin to spawn within even during the day.
Radius is to be 77 meters (Because I like the number 7). Main difficulties will be:
Creating radials correct distance. I tried several times before I resorted to the map editor, always ended up miscounting the distance.
Collection of cobblestone. I cannot simply dig down, as I wish to have the inside of the biodome as natural-looking as possible.
Plan for the equator of the circle.
Making it actually curve inward as it climbs upward will be another issue, but I'll get to that once I've made the equator. Also, I shall be adding blocks to that plan; I don't like the fact that certain blocks are connected by a corner rather than a side.
Starting construction now.
To have redstone wire leading to a single block of TNT holding back water.
(TNT would be surrounded be obsidian as to not explode surrounding blocks)
Once blown up the water would block the "sun" light,
one problem. you would have to manually reload it.
Sunset, and I'm still lost. Using a standing rock (its a giant freaking rock, tall as a mountain, with a tiny base and a WATERFALL coming out of it! I've really lucked out on this world-gen) as a waypoint, I once again adjust my course.
Passing more caves, another, smaller skyisland, and yet another waterfall, I finally find the site I'd set as the location for my dome, marked by the massive system of archways that have been eroded from the mountain. Perhaps after the biodome is complete, I'll set up a canyon/cave style city in the walls there. My march home is occasionally interuptted by the intelligent and enlightened convosation I deeply enthralled within with Munsie.
I finally arrive at the great waterfall. I gaze upon my soon-to-be home, and smile.
The first order of business is a minor adjustment to my plans. Because I wish to include the waterfall, as well as an area of ocean in my dome, I decide to start at a point above the waterfall, count 77 in, and make that the center of the sphere. Counting out from the radius would probably be easier, but means I run the risk of not placing the radius in a location that would encompass the waterfall. Finding the perfect place, I mark it with a pillar of dirt, topped with wool.
The first radial line is marked out, using saplings planted every 20 meters (three times, then another lot at 17). Munsie offers to help with construction; I save, quit, and prepare a server. As well as the extra pair of hands, this means that I can use Runecraft (and more specifically, its Flight spell) in the construction of the dome.
Multiplayer construction begins. Munsie is on resource gathering duty; the caves I saw earlier appear to be rich in coal and iron. I've set up all 4 radials, but noticed a minor issue with the original plans. Currently revising.
More as it happens.
I thought of that, actually, but the pendulum idea just seems so much cooler. :biggrin.gif: I might have the secret passage as an override, though.
Honestly, the best effect I can create is to line the floor of the dome with glass, and put a ton of redstone lights underneath the glass. Then just trigger them to turn on and off using a massively long repeater.
It works fairly good with my small scale dome (diameter of 20). I don't know how well it would work for bigger areas.
That would possibly work... but I think I'll stick with magma, as its brighter, and would look really cool. ;D
I know the thread. However, they use diameters for mesurement, not radius, and don't have a 154 diameter sphere blueprint set in there. So I'm stuck with paint. I figure its still possible, just takes careful planning.
Today's work is done, methinks. Thanks to Dr_Tower for setting up a storage building while I was taking a break/studying, and Munsie for gathering all the resources we'll need for a while.
I should be able to get much more done tomorrow. After the exam. Which I should have been studying for instead of building the biosphere. :tongue.gif:
Progress for today:
Yes, I am aware that there is a CERTAIN INAPPROPRIATE WORD written in torches. Not everyone who joined the server today was there to help.
or you could get a i think its auto cart when u push a cart it stays at full speed all the time and just go read fourm in mapping and modding
Ya know, if you make a path of redstone torches across your dome, from one end to the other, say, 5 wide, I bet you could move a 5x5 square across it. It won't be very bright, but it would be awesome!
Save the slimes!
[Diamond] [Diamond]
Water and lava won't flow through open doors. Silly, but true. Even double doors.
OP: What server is this? I'd love to help..