A couple things that are probably obvious, but no one has mentioned yet:
1) digging straight down is completely safe if you stand on an edge that borders two different columns. You have to do twice as much digging, but it's still more efficient than building a stairstep descent.
2) These tests would be easier if you generated the world in minecraft, then exited, and then opened in mcEdit. You could delete large blocks of the world in such a way as to leave 1x1xN pillars, and then inspect them. Actually, to be completely accurate, leave a 3x3xN pillar, then clone the 1x1xN core, so you can inspect the core and the stuff around the core separately.
I'm fine with the way I'm doing this. Plus, I understand some/most don't mine directly down, this is just to give a rough estimate of what your chances are of what would happen. I like your Avatar, I love Spirited Away, Check the name :biggrin.gif:
I'm fine with the way I'm doing this. Plus, I understand some/most don't mine directly down, this is just to give a rough estimate of what your chances are of what would happen.
Ah, I wasn't trying to stop you. I just wanted people to know that digging down does not need to be dangerous.
Proceed with your science! FOR GREAT JUSTICE!
By the way, are you marking how many times you hit LL or diamond?
I'm sorry if this is percepted as trolling, but I gotta say that ANYBODY who thinks that digging straight down is an efficient way to mine is already half way down the road to retardnation. when you mine straight down you only expose 5 blocks per layer because you cant see the diagonals. Then on top of that it's a huge pain just getting out of the hole you dug yourself into which furthermore requires wasting some of the materials you just spent your time mining. I'd love for someody to give a reasonable explanaion as to why I might be wrong, but I think it'll be pretty difficult
Quick and easy way to probe the land for gigantic caves, Dig down, hit bedrock, fill back up with what you dug/mined, try it again about 10-20 blocks away, and usually after a couple times you hit a cave systems, dungeon or something, and you almost always hit coal/iron while digging right down, And its not a pain getting out of the hole, its as simple as holding down space and the mouse -.-
good enough arguement to me. i guess it just sort of depends on what your preference is. i like to dig in a 3x2 staircase and then straight once i hit the bottom because you collect alot of stone which I go through alot of...
(sorry about the background. i didn't feel like waiting for it to render)
...i need found coal, iron, and redstone in large deposits and gold and diamond aren't really all that important.
Alternatively, you could use MCedit to remove X by 1 by 128 slices from various places in a map and analyze columns to check the rate of death. This would be quicker as well as being able to represent a better average.
Once on one of my first worlds I decided to do something similar and the very first hole I dug I hit a 8 vein of :Diamond:.
And then I dug straight down and hit the void. I then covered up the hole with 1 block of dirt and put a sign next to it that said "DO NOT REMOVE DIRT.".
Sure, also, I haven't encountered any mobs going downwards, nor have I hit a lot long drops.
I found one of these on the surface. It's posted in the Beta Survival Pictures thread. I estimated the distance to the bottom to be about 27 blocks, likely enough to kill me were I to fall down it. Fortunately, there was a 1 block high ledge in front of me, so the only way to fall down it would have been by jumping.
Gravel is not an entirely useless block - not only can you mine it for flint for arrows and flint & steel, but the blocks can be used to drop down into a pit to make a safe route down it. But beyond a certain level, I believe that the blocks are destroyed and turn into a resource. I've seen it happen with sand, so gravel likely behaves the same way with long drops.
Simple solution: always place a bucket of water and then dig straight down. You will never die. Any lava will instantly be obsidian/cobblestone, and caves you'll descend into slowly.
Nice, someone actually trying to get some solid data instead of just anecdotal evidence. (Not that anyone would seriously recommend digging straight down of course :Sheep:). Good work, we should get some stats on dungeons too!
there are many risks to digging straight down... the most prominent one is hitting the bottome of the world... in fact happens about 95% of the time...
-ramblings by some random idiot
there are many risks to digging straight down... the most prominent one is hitting the bottome of the world... in fact happens about 95% of the time...
-ramblings by some random idiot
Sounds like you didn't even take the chance to even glance at the first post.
That is way lower than I thought... I thought >50% at least.
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They're Climbin in yo window, Snatching yo people up.
so Y'all need to hide your kids, Hide your wife.
Hide you're husband cus the spiders are raping everybody out here...
-Thescorpi0n
(soon after beta 1.2 when spiders started climbing walls)
Digging straight down is incredibly fast, but risky. In your tests, it seems to confirm the cardinal rule of minecraft. However, you could dig a two block wide/long hole and have a 0% of dying. Just a cool difference (50% avg - 0%)
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my god i love you. that is wat im talking about!! but these twitter trolls wont stop!
Sure, also, I haven't encountered any mobs going downwards, nor have I hit a lot long drops.
Yu leik dimondz?
1) digging straight down is completely safe if you stand on an edge that borders two different columns. You have to do twice as much digging, but it's still more efficient than building a stairstep descent.
2) These tests would be easier if you generated the world in minecraft, then exited, and then opened in mcEdit. You could delete large blocks of the world in such a way as to leave 1x1xN pillars, and then inspect them. Actually, to be completely accurate, leave a 3x3xN pillar, then clone the 1x1xN core, so you can inspect the core and the stuff around the core separately.
Regardless, whenever i go down, i make a 1x2 shaft. That way I can stop myself from falling.
I like your Avatar, I love Spirited Away, Check the name :biggrin.gif:
Ah, I wasn't trying to stop you. I just wanted people to know that digging down does not need to be dangerous.
Proceed with your science! FOR GREAT JUSTICE!
By the way, are you marking how many times you hit LL or diamond?
See has someone volunteered to do this for me, I noticed it.
I'm suspecting that he hit the bed rock, and that there was lava right next to (Example below)
[]
[]
[]
That's what happend:D
I expected as much with it, I was just kept it like it assuming it was that, I almost removed it :tongue.gif: Also, I updated the first post.
good enough arguement to me. i guess it just sort of depends on what your preference is. i like to dig in a 3x2 staircase and then straight once i hit the bottom because you collect alot of stone which I go through alot of...
(sorry about the background. i didn't feel like waiting for it to render)
...i need found coal, iron, and redstone in large deposits and gold and diamond aren't really all that important.
my creations : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPHzLPJhAQY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy06iztsbGw
And then I dug straight down and hit the void. I then covered up the hole with 1 block of dirt and put a sign next to it that said "DO NOT REMOVE DIRT.".
I found one of these on the surface. It's posted in the Beta Survival Pictures thread. I estimated the distance to the bottom to be about 27 blocks, likely enough to kill me were I to fall down it. Fortunately, there was a 1 block high ledge in front of me, so the only way to fall down it would have been by jumping.
Gravel is not an entirely useless block - not only can you mine it for flint for arrows and flint & steel, but the blocks can be used to drop down into a pit to make a safe route down it. But beyond a certain level, I believe that the blocks are destroyed and turn into a resource. I've seen it happen with sand, so gravel likely behaves the same way with long drops.
Haven't tried it, but wouldnt you drown?
-ramblings by some random idiot
my creations : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPHzLPJhAQY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy06iztsbGw
Sounds like you didn't even take the chance to even glance at the first post.
so Y'all need to hide your kids, Hide your wife.
Hide you're husband cus the spiders are raping everybody out here...
-Thescorpi0n
(soon after beta 1.2 when spiders started climbing walls)