Please read my post if you're interested in helping me solve the puzzle that my mob grinder has become! I am in a singleplayer Survival world in Minecraft 1.12.1 on a MacBook Pro. (Yes, I can aim with a trackpad.)
The spawning area for my farm consists of sixteen 1x1x2 spawning spaces, lined up in a 1x16 row. They are alternatively situated on y=52 and y=53 (just under the surface, so that it isn't an eyesore). Each spawning block has tripwire above it, which upon a mob's spawning, triggers a piston and moves that spawning block away. Thus the mob is sent down a massive drop down to y=13, where they meet a magma block floor and a minecart hopper collection system. (The tripwire, incidentally, is placed at the mob's feet, so that even baby zombies will be caught by the system. Any spawnable spaces in the redstone powering the piston's movement have been slabbed over or covered with a piece of redstone wiring.) Additionally, all the surface land around my afk spot has been lit up in a circle with a radius of approximately 33 or 34.
The idea is for me to be able to afk at this farm (my current spot is at y=53, about 25 blocks horizontally from the center of this 1x16 row) and get a decent amount of mob drops overnight. However, after two consecutive nights of trying, I only get 15-25 each of bones, arrows, rotten flesh, and gunpowder per night. My concept obviously is working, but my rates are lousy. What am I doing wrong?
1) Do I need to light up the surface around my afk spot even more, up to a radius of 128? (There is, I concede, an unlit roofed forest nearby). I thought that the mobs that spawned outside of what I have lit already would despawn quickly enough to where they wouldn't interfere with my mob system. Perhaps I was wrong.
2) Are the spawn attempts for mobs somehow failing all the time because I am asking the mobs to spawn in 1x1x2 spaces? I thought that the mob cap, desperate for a place to spawn mobs, would flood my sixteen spawning blocks with spawn attempts and, thereby, with mobs. But perhaps not.
3) Is there just some unlit cave around that I really need to find? I have done a pretty thorough job lighting up my caves but perhaps this is the best explanation.
4) Finally, is the problem that I don't know how to afk? I currently have my computer sleep settings to 'never' and my display sleep settings to '15 minutes', although I did wake up to a locked screen after my last attempt, indicating perhaps that my computer stopped running after some time. I'm not sure.
Thank you for any troubleshooting help you can give!
Please read my post if you're interested in helping me solve the puzzle that my mob grinder has become! I am in a singleplayer Survival world in Minecraft 1.12.1 on a MacBook Pro. (Yes, I can aim with a trackpad.)
The spawning area for my farm consists of sixteen 1x1x2 spawning spaces, lined up in a 1x16 row. They are alternatively situated on y=52 and y=53 (just under the surface, so that it isn't an eyesore). Each spawning block has tripwire above it, which upon a mob's spawning, triggers a piston and moves that spawning block away. Thus the mob is sent down a massive drop down to y=13, where they meet a magma block floor and a minecart hopper collection system. (The tripwire, incidentally, is placed at the mob's feet, so that even baby zombies will be caught by the system. Any spawnable spaces in the redstone powering the piston's movement have been slabbed over or covered with a piece of redstone wiring.) Additionally, all the surface land around my afk spot has been lit up in a circle with a radius of approximately 33 or 34.
The idea is for me to be able to afk at this farm (my current spot is at y=53, about 25 blocks horizontally from the center of this 1x16 row) and get a decent amount of mob drops overnight. However, after two consecutive nights of trying, I only get 15-25 each of bones, arrows, rotten flesh, and gunpowder per night. My concept obviously is working, but my rates are lousy. What am I doing wrong?
1) Do I need to light up the surface around my afk spot even more, up to a radius of 128? (There is, I concede, an unlit roofed forest nearby). I thought that the mobs that spawned outside of what I have lit already would despawn quickly enough to where they wouldn't interfere with my mob system. Perhaps I was wrong.
2) Are the spawn attempts for mobs somehow failing all the time because I am asking the mobs to spawn in 1x1x2 spaces? I thought that the mob cap, desperate for a place to spawn mobs, would flood my sixteen spawning blocks with spawn attempts and, thereby, with mobs. But perhaps not.
3) Is there just some unlit cave around that I really need to find? I have done a pretty thorough job lighting up my caves but perhaps this is the best explanation.
4) Finally, is the problem that I don't know how to afk? I currently have my computer sleep settings to 'never' and my display sleep settings to '15 minutes', although I did wake up to a locked screen after my last attempt, indicating perhaps that my computer stopped running after some time. I'm not sure.
Thank you for any troubleshooting help you can give!
I'd increase the lit-up area's radius gradually, starting with an increase to 48, and see how that works. If it doesn't increase spawn rates in the grinder, then check underground around the grinder for any unlit cave systems nearby. Those can cut down the mob flow in the grinder.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I just took the Minecraft Noob test! Check out what I scored. Think you can beat me?!
Considering the limited number of spawn spaces you have, and that you have not spawnblocked the maximum area, I'd say the drops you are getting is pretty good. To maximize your output you need to prevent spawns in a 128 block radius around your AFK position, and even then your farm is too small for serious amounts of drops.
I think I have about 1000 spawnable spaces (dark block top surfaces) in my current spawner, which isn't even a "really big" one, but you have 32. Try maybe 10x - 30x as many dark blocks as you currently have (depending on how many spawns you want and how fast you want them.)
You have an active flushing system (pistons) so there's no need for you to be as close as 25 spaces, since you aren't depending on the mobs walking off to their deaths. Try being 120 blocks above the lowest spawning block (like y=170 if the lowest spawning block is at y=50) Doing that will result in the smallest number of random dark cave / surface blocks in the 128-radius sphere around you (the player.)
Lighting up the surface where it is within 128 blocks of the AFK spot would be good of course. There should be few caves within that radius but you could look, for a modest improvement in spawns.
I think I have about 1000 spawnable spaces (dark block top surfaces) in my current spawner, which isn't even a "really big" one, but you have 32. Try maybe 10x - 30x as many dark blocks as you currently have (depending on how many spawns you want and how fast you want them.)
You have an active flushing system (pistons) so there's no need for you to be as close as 25 spaces, since you aren't depending on the mobs walking off to their deaths. Try being 120 blocks above the lowest spawning block (like y=170 if the lowest spawning block is at y=50) Doing that will result in the smallest number of random dark cave / surface blocks in the 128-radius sphere around you (the player.)
Lighting up the surface where it is within 128 blocks of the AFK spot would be good of course. There should be few caves within that radius but you could look, for a modest improvement in spawns.
Note regarding the bolded text above: Small mistake there; the OP indicated the mobs fall to their death (at y=13). The highest the AFK position can be is 128 above that mark. otherwise the falling mobs 'may' despawn before they impact the ground. I would recommend 120 blocks above, to account for horizontal offset. Less than that if you expand your farm, since the auto-despawn at 128 is spherical.
You have an active flushing system (pistons) so there's no need for you to be as close as 25 spaces, since you aren't depending on the mobs walking off to their deaths. Try being 120 blocks above the lowest spawning block (like y=170 if the lowest spawning block is at y=50) Doing that will result in the smallest number of random dark cave / surface blocks in the 128-radius sphere around you (the player.)
The problem with that is the long fall distance he is using. If you AFK at Y170 the mobs will despawn before hitting the bottom of the fall at Y13.
The problem with that is the long fall distance he is using. If you AFK at Y170 the mobs will despawn before hitting the bottom of the fall at Y13.
Oh yeah, good point, people.
Seems like the best option would be to have the death surface be at y=20, and the AFK point be at y=140 then. You'll be including a lot more caves in the magic radius-128 sphere then, but hopefully not enough to cause major problems. (Substantially less than being near ground level anyhow.)
Or, geez, just build the whole thing high in the air. Make it look like a UFO mothership or something. Get there via the Nether.
I think I have about 1000 spawnable spaces (dark block top surfaces) in my current spawner, which isn't even a "really big" one, but you have 32. Try maybe 10x - 30x as many dark blocks as you currently have (depending on how many spawns you want and how fast you want them.)
Seems like the best option would be to have the death surface be at y=20, and the AFK point be at y=140 then. You'll be including a lot more caves in the magic radius-128 sphere then, but hopefully not enough to cause major problems. (Substantially less than being near ground level anyhow.)
Or, geez, just build the whole thing high in the air. Make it look like a UFO mothership or something. Get there via the Nether.
Yea, I built mine high up, and it has eight 19x19 spawn floors with a 5x5 flush hole in the middle (2,688 spawn blocks if I did the math right). It cranks out of lot of mobs (and drops). I use elytra to get up there, but I did plan on a nether portal when I originally designed it.
Hello,
Please read my post if you're interested in helping me solve the puzzle that my mob grinder has become! I am in a singleplayer Survival world in Minecraft 1.12.1 on a MacBook Pro. (Yes, I can aim with a trackpad.)
The spawning area for my farm consists of sixteen 1x1x2 spawning spaces, lined up in a 1x16 row. They are alternatively situated on y=52 and y=53 (just under the surface, so that it isn't an eyesore). Each spawning block has tripwire above it, which upon a mob's spawning, triggers a piston and moves that spawning block away. Thus the mob is sent down a massive drop down to y=13, where they meet a magma block floor and a minecart hopper collection system. (The tripwire, incidentally, is placed at the mob's feet, so that even baby zombies will be caught by the system. Any spawnable spaces in the redstone powering the piston's movement have been slabbed over or covered with a piece of redstone wiring.) Additionally, all the surface land around my afk spot has been lit up in a circle with a radius of approximately 33 or 34.
The idea is for me to be able to afk at this farm (my current spot is at y=53, about 25 blocks horizontally from the center of this 1x16 row) and get a decent amount of mob drops overnight. However, after two consecutive nights of trying, I only get 15-25 each of bones, arrows, rotten flesh, and gunpowder per night. My concept obviously is working, but my rates are lousy. What am I doing wrong?
1) Do I need to light up the surface around my afk spot even more, up to a radius of 128? (There is, I concede, an unlit roofed forest nearby). I thought that the mobs that spawned outside of what I have lit already would despawn quickly enough to where they wouldn't interfere with my mob system. Perhaps I was wrong.
2) Are the spawn attempts for mobs somehow failing all the time because I am asking the mobs to spawn in 1x1x2 spaces? I thought that the mob cap, desperate for a place to spawn mobs, would flood my sixteen spawning blocks with spawn attempts and, thereby, with mobs. But perhaps not.
3) Is there just some unlit cave around that I really need to find? I have done a pretty thorough job lighting up my caves but perhaps this is the best explanation.
4) Finally, is the problem that I don't know how to afk? I currently have my computer sleep settings to 'never' and my display sleep settings to '15 minutes', although I did wake up to a locked screen after my last attempt, indicating perhaps that my computer stopped running after some time. I'm not sure.
Thank you for any troubleshooting help you can give!
I'd increase the lit-up area's radius gradually, starting with an increase to 48, and see how that works. If it doesn't increase spawn rates in the grinder, then check underground around the grinder for any unlit cave systems nearby. Those can cut down the mob flow in the grinder.
I just took the Minecraft Noob test! Check out what I scored. Think you can beat me?!
To take the test, check out
https://minecraftnoobtest.com/test.php
Don't click this link, HE is haunting it...
Considering the limited number of spawn spaces you have, and that you have not spawnblocked the maximum area, I'd say the drops you are getting is pretty good. To maximize your output you need to prevent spawns in a 128 block radius around your AFK position, and even then your farm is too small for serious amounts of drops.
I think I have about 1000 spawnable spaces (dark block top surfaces) in my current spawner, which isn't even a "really big" one, but you have 32. Try maybe 10x - 30x as many dark blocks as you currently have (depending on how many spawns you want and how fast you want them.)
You have an active flushing system (pistons) so there's no need for you to be as close as 25 spaces, since you aren't depending on the mobs walking off to their deaths. Try being 120 blocks above the lowest spawning block (like y=170 if the lowest spawning block is at y=50) Doing that will result in the smallest number of random dark cave / surface blocks in the 128-radius sphere around you (the player.)
Lighting up the surface where it is within 128 blocks of the AFK spot would be good of course. There should be few caves within that radius but you could look, for a modest improvement in spawns.
Note regarding the bolded text above: Small mistake there; the OP indicated the mobs fall to their death (at y=13). The highest the AFK position can be is 128 above that mark. otherwise the falling mobs 'may' despawn before they impact the ground. I would recommend 120 blocks above, to account for horizontal offset. Less than that if you expand your farm, since the auto-despawn at 128 is spherical.
<-- Click Banner to Apply !!
The problem with that is the long fall distance he is using. If you AFK at Y170 the mobs will despawn before hitting the bottom of the fall at Y13.
Oh yeah, good point, people.
Seems like the best option would be to have the death surface be at y=20, and the AFK point be at y=140 then. You'll be including a lot more caves in the magic radius-128 sphere then, but hopefully not enough to cause major problems. (Substantially less than being near ground level anyhow.)
Or, geez, just build the whole thing high in the air. Make it look like a UFO mothership or something. Get there via the Nether.
Yea, I built mine high up, and it has eight 19x19 spawn floors with a 5x5 flush hole in the middle (2,688 spawn blocks if I did the math right). It cranks out of lot of mobs (and drops). I use elytra to get up there, but I did plan on a nether portal when I originally designed it.