Seeing as this is my first post, a quick intro: my kids and I have been watching paulsoaresjr videos since this spring, but we've only started playing MC since the 1.8 release. Still, I've racked up quite a bit of playing time since then in a vanilla single-player normal (or hard, can't remember) survival world from a random seed. I've found that I spend a lot of time exploring and mining, not so much time looking for fights and almost no time/effort on redstone automation (apart from my no-frills subway system).
Anywho, I now have waaay more blocks of redstone, lapis, coal, etc. than I could ever possibly use (including stacks of ore I keep around for architectural accents or quick xp) and am getting bored with just stuffing my extra emeralds, etc. in trunks. I was considering building various pyramids of the stuff around my base, though now think I will attempt to construct 16x16 block cubes outside my farming area as visual "indicators" of my progress/"wealth" (they don't have as large a footprint as pyramids, though then again I won't be able to run around on them).
I have an idea of what my "treasure cube field" will look like, but was wondering if anyone had some good suggestions or images of creative ways of storing and/or displaying their goodies. Of course no-one but me will actually see these "in-game"- it's just something interesting to do with the stuff besides hiding it in double chests. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Ickabodx- I haven't seen the movie, but I've read the book (in fact, just finished reading it to the kids).
This isn't a bad suggestion and certainly do-able- given a 2-block wide walkway surrounding each of eight 16x16 cubes I believe that comes to a minimum cavern size of 38x74x19 (with 3 blocks of space to the ceiling). And, of course, it would take me a long, long time to accumulate that many emeralds!
However, the nearest mountainside from my base is just far enough away to be inconvenient (and I've got plenty of open space nearby). Likewise, without making the space much, much bigger (for catwalks or observation decks), it would be difficult for me to see (and gloat over) the entirety of the hoard at once. And, for whatever reason, I seem to like the idea of stacks of diamonds sitting around outside, open to the elements (but behind fences, of course). I dunno- I'll have to give it some more thought... Thanks for the idea!
Let me get this straight. You spent endless hours accumulating blocks and now you want to store them out in the open rather than in chests? As in you want to place them in the overworld so that you have to mine them a second time when you actually need them? Is that what you want? Hmmm people are weird... lol.
Anyways, if you want to display them make large statues around your village.
You might want to reconsider storing your resources like that; at least in my case it would require a ridiculous amount of space to say the least...
Yeah, I really did mine all of that from caving (the coal alone would require a cube 35 blocks on a side, or cover an area slightly over 207x207 blocks one block deep)... lets just say I'm insane (I typically mine more than 3,000 ore per play session spent caving... and I don't use Fortune, at least not anymore as even an Ender chest fills up very quickly; the torches I've used could also cover the surface of my entire world enough to prevent mob spawning; of course, they are all underground so the surface teems with mobs everywhere at night).
That said, my solution is a set of corridors lined with double chests, with the floor of each corridor lined with the respective blocks and signs marking the ones that are full; with 16 double chests on each corridor (one each for coal, iron, redstone and lapis, another split among rarer ores, moss stone (from dungeons), wool (made from cobwebs from cave spider spawners) and other stuff, and another corridor for rails from abandoned mineshafts (over 40,000 mined, representing well over a hundred separate mineshaft systems, giving you an idea of how much I've caved) each one can store nearly half a million resources as blocks (497,664 to be exact, or 55,296 blocks).
I'm actually nearing the end of my coal corridor with only four double chests left to fill, although I can easily make another corridor, the whole area is pretty small compared to my base:
(you can see that I actually had more corridors before I filled them in with dirt; I used to have an entire corridor for gold blocks and another for diamond/emerald blocks
Yep, out in the open. I do have a utilitarian underground storage room attached to my principal base, but it's just so... boring. Some of the materials I want at-hand for crafting or other projects of course, but I have much more coal, say, than I'll ever need or use, and I just mine more. Why not make a big pile to gawk at? I'm playing single-player, so no-one is going to walk up and take the stuff, and if it's properly fenced and lit I don't have to worry about creepers blowing it up. I *was* concerned about lightning igniting my coal pyramid (or cube or whatever I decide to build), but as long as it is completely exposed the rain should put out any fire (though apparently there is a small chance of lightning without rain- a bit of a worry, I guess).
TheMasterCaver- I've been following your posts a bit- quite an impressive effort! I am streamlining my mining inventory as per some of your suggestions, but I don't tend to stay under as long as you nor am I ever very far from transportation while mining (I am semi-methodically branch mining below all the nearby Extreme Hills and constructing a rail system as I go). In fact, you'll probably laugh, but I carry three diamond picks- one with efficiency for various stone, iron and gold, one with fortune for coal, lapis and redstone, and one with silk touch for diamonds and emeralds. I gave up silk-touching redstone after accumulating eight or ten stacks of the ore, but I'm still hoarding the diamond and emerald ores. And you're right- I find myself resurfacing far too often to "use up" the fortune-generated xp. I have at least dozen or so enchanted books that I'll never use, only because I didn't want to "waste" my xp beyond 30... Anyway, I don't have anywhere near as much material as you, but I figure 16x16x16 cubes (4096 blocks) would be an appropriate size for my purposes.
I have cleaned out a few mineshafts, but I've used most of the rails for my subway. I'm now working my way through stripping a stronghold and setting aside all the doors, buttons, cracked stone, etc. that I come across. As a matter of fact, just last night I axed my way through a library and brought home at least two and half stacks of bookshelves (maybe three and a half- more than I'll need, that's for sure).
And Deranged09- in one of my bases I have my bed sitting on two gold blocks surrounded by quartz stairs- a little garish, but I like it!
Thanks, all, for the continued comments- I'm enjoying the discussion.
However, I think I may not have been very clear in my original question. I used the term "wealth" with quotes purposely. I mean, all this redstone, coal, etc. is extra. That is, I have more than I could ever use. And if something isn't useful, it isn't truly valuable, is it? So, this isn't so much about my ego or "showing off"- after all, unless I post a screen shot the only people who'll ever see it are my kids (and really, I probably have a lot *less* of this stuff than many of you anyway).
It's more about the hoarding, the obsessive/compulsive aspect of accumulating stuff- whatever the stuff happens to be. I mean, I'm not the only one filling chest after chest after chest with items and materials I'll never use or need. I'm just asking for interesting or useful or decorative ways in which to store my accumulated stuff- in this case ore products- *other than* simply piling it up in chests. I figure making big blocks of the stuff is at least visually interesting (if done tastefully) and is a nice way to visualize the relative abundance of each in the game (modified of course by fortune enchantments and one's particular mining habits).
As for specific suggestions: replicating my skin or statues- interesting, but no. In this particular world my aesthetic is semi-realistic and utilitarian. That is, no floating blocks, no three-story mob farms, no unsupported bridges. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with those, but in *this* world I want my farms to look like farms, my towers to be made of glass and stone and look like towers and I try not to do more terraforming than I have to- I'd rather my builds look like they "fit in" rather than "stand out".
Beacons: yeah, but no. Personally, I think they look kind of goofy and who needs to have special powers while futzing around their base? Doesn't make much sense to me.
Smooth stone/stone bricks: yes, I do use a lot of it, but I am currently "strip mining" everything but the end portal room from the nearest stronghold. I've recovered stacks and stacks of stone bricks, half slabs and whatnot and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface (so to speak). I also have a silk-touch pick or two, so smooth stone is pretty easy to obtain without using coal.
Scrooge McDuck money bin: now this could be pretty cool (and perhaps is similar to what the dragon-hoard suggested previously was aiming for). If done properly it would be visually interesting and fun to run up and down various piles of stuff in a big pit- a couple of big piles of redstone with smaller piles of diamonds, gold, etc, scattered about. And, I like the juxtaposition of "treasure" haphazardly lying around in an open area. But again, the OCD part of me wants to organize the stuff into nice, neat, quantifiable piles, not strewn around higgledy-piggledy (tastefully higgledy-piggledy, but higgledy-piggledy nonetheless).
As always, thanks for the comments. Last night I calculated that I have enough redstone blocks (if you also count unmined ore) on hand to nearly complete a 14x14x14 cube. I may toy around with this in the next couple of days- if I come up with something I like I'll post a picture.
you should try haste beacon when mining or speed II beacons in every other case. they are most utilitarian buffs you can get :-)
As far as I understand it, even the largest beacons only have an effect radius of 50 blocks (except for straight up). That would barely cover the core of my homestead. Why would I need haste or speed for shearing sheep, baking potatoes and whatever else it is I do at my base? My nearest active mines are at least a couple minutes away by ladder and subway; I guess I just don't see the point in constructing a beacon, except maybe if I had a gladiator-ring type hostile mob generator...
Well I still think you should construct a giant bust of yourself sticking out of a mountain gazing down on your valley. Like Mount Rushmore. (Edit: make it mostly out of iron blocks?)
Just having your "loot" scattered around doesn't sound like much.
Or. Would it be out of line to construct a chessboard with chesspieces?
This is probably a silly question, but how do you place double chests next to each other? I tried in my world and it seemed they needed a block of space in between.
By the way your stats are innnsaaaannnneeeeee.
Side idea for beacon. A large pyramid kept dark so that creeps spawn inside it with a beacon in the middle shooting out the top of the pyramid. Just make sure the base walls of the pyramid are an odd number so the pyramid ends in a 3x3 to 1x1 opening at the top. Then a secret treasure vault underneath the pyramid and a mine shaft room under or near that with mines going off in all directions and various points.
Well I still think you should construct a giant bust of yourself sticking out of a mountain gazing down on your valley. Like Mount Rushmore. (Edit: make it mostly out of iron blocks?)
Just having your "loot" scattered around doesn't sound like much.
Or. Would it be out of line to construct a chessboard with chesspieces?
Ha- yeah, a Rushmore-like bust would be a challenge! I've got the perfect mountain for it visible from the top of my tower *and* it doesn't necessarily violate the "semi-realistic" quality of my world. However, it would severely strain the limits of my design abilities (and suck up time I have to play).
In a slightly different vein, I've been thinking of using my excess cobble (about six double-chests full) for some large-scale outdoor projects. I've been pondering creating large hollow spheres, maybe 48 blocks across, artfully placed on various prominent peaks in my neck of the woods. They're not exactly realistic, but I would like to think of them as mysterious totems for future civilizations to ponder over. Sort of like the moai on Rapa Nui, but larger and more abstract....
As far as I understand it, even the largest beacons only have an effect radius of 50 blocks (except for straight up). That would barely cover the core of my homestead. Why would I need haste or speed for shearing sheep, baking potatoes and whatever else it is I do at my base? My nearest active mines are at least a couple minutes away by ladder and subway; I guess I just don't see the point in constructing a beacon, except maybe if I had a gladiator-ring type hostile mob generator...
I have pretty much the same problem with beacons, particularly since I easily cover an area larger than 100x100 blocks while playing; the way I usually explore caves, I go out in one direction until I have to return, marking that spot, then I go back to my original entrance and explore in another discretion until I've explored everything around that point, then return to each exit I made to repeat the process. For really large cave complexes I can easily travel several hundred blocks in one session.
For an example, this is a rather large cave system complex I found recently, with the range of a beacon superimposed on top of it; while exploring it I went from one end to the other multiple times; even smaller cave systems are often larger, plus I'd explore more than one or a mineshaft; a single ravine can also be over 100 blocks long:
I've also only ever gotten one Wither skull, just by accident, since I've never been inclined to make a Wither (I've killed them before for fun in test worlds so I know they aren't that difficult if you put them in a tunnel near bedrock).
The alternative is multiple beacons, but you'd need quite a few to cover a large area (16 to cover a 400x400 block area, roughly the size of the cave complex shown above, which is also under the ocean so they would have to be below sea level in order to extend down to y=11, the downward range being from the beacon block itself) and they would have to be regularly moved (my movements aren't predictable, making this more of an issue than just moving them which isn't that hard in itself, a few minutes total to mine and place the blocks).
Quote from metatech»
This is probably a silly question, but how do you place double chests next to each other? I tried in my world and it seemed they needed a block of space in between.
By the way your stats are innnsaaaannnneeeeee.
Side idea for beacon. A large pyramid kept dark so that creeps spawn inside it with a beacon in the middle shooting out the top of the pyramid. Just make sure the base walls of the pyramid are an odd number so the pyramid ends in a 3x3 to 1x1 opening at the top. Then a secret treasure vault underneath the pyramid and a mine shaft room under or near that with mines going off in all directions and various points.
Trapped chests can be placed directly next to normal chests (google how to make them).
Gives you some opportunity for some extremely tight storage designs.
Trapped chests can be placed directly next to normal chests (google how to make them).
Gives you some opportunity for some extremely tight storage designs.
Yep, that's correct (you can identify them by a reddish tinge around the latch); they are made with a normal chest and a tripwire hook (iron ingot + stick + plank arranged vertically).
Also, you can stack chests on top of each other and still be able to open the lower ones (they can be of the same kind), as well as place upside-down stairs (flat parts against the ceiling and facing out) over them so as to make it look like they are in a wall with no space over them (as seen here; the blue Ender chest is from a mod I made, allowing me to transfer an additional double chest of items between bases at once).
This is getting a bit off-topic, but I just spent a few minutes thinking about using beacons in a very structured environment, such as my branch-mining operations (attempting to use them on something as open-ended as caving does seem ludicrous)... and they still don't make much sense.
I mean, on the one hand, the numbers sort of work out in that I probably cover a total area of about 2,100 square blocks in an average session (a session being defined as the time it takes for me to go from level 27 to 30 in xp or fill up with goodies, whichever comes first). In my case that's very roughly six 1x2 shafts 100 blocks long with three blocks between (I think; I've never actually measured this- I might be underestimating a little). If I placed the largest size pyramid just exactly right, I could use it for about 14 sessions' worth of mining (assuming I use a three-tiered approach on the y axis). That *almost* sounds worth the trouble of hauling in the materials and assembling and disassembling the beacon.
However (without crunching the actual numbers) it intuitively seems a diamond pick with efficiency III or greater goes through most blocks (except obsidian) like butter anyway- I'm not sure why you'd want to go even faster than that. And yes, there definitely *is* such a thing as mining too fast! I suppose speed would be useful in fighting off mobs, but if you're careful you can mine almost indefinitely without a hostile encounter.
I dunno- I continue to be skeptical of the utility of beacons, even in a very proscribed circumstance.
Minecraft isn't much fun if you don't do anything with the blocks you have. So I have one thing to say; build anything and everything.
There are two levels of Minecraft players, the producers and the consumers. (Or makers and takers, whatever floats your boat) In the area of ecological sciences, it is better know as the tree of life. Expand your production capacities, namely redstone automation and building epic structures for either infrastructural purposes or aesthetic purposes.
Hopefully you get the gist of what I'm trying to say, enjoy
Thanks for the answers on the chests, and the extra info, always appreciated.
To get back on topic, it sounds like you would like to display the blocks of coal, redstone, etc. in the open, perhaps in a cube so they can be counted and viewed. You could plan a large 'temple' with the cubes inside. make a lot of big archways maybe so the rooms are open and cubes are visible from any one spot in the large temple room. make large skylights, either square or dome shape with glass, or have an open roof entirely (or just a very high ceiling). Make the 'temple' out of whatever you want, but inside have the cubes of blocks displayed. This way, you still have your cubes, but also a grand structure to admire. Try to design the structure/temple with a lot of 'openness' as not to hide the blocks from view. Inside, the grand megalithic cubes will be worshipped Make high ceilings, and walls should be replaced with repeating archways so that much of the entire large room is visible from anywhere inside the temple (as not to block the view), but still giving it a sense of structure/architecture. You could also consider having a minecart system traveling through the center archways of the temple with the cubes of blocks to either side, height and width of cubes would be visible and thus the # of blocks in the cubes is 'displayed'.
Seeing as this is my first post, a quick intro: my kids and I have been watching paulsoaresjr videos since this spring, but we've only started playing MC since the 1.8 release. Still, I've racked up quite a bit of playing time since then in a vanilla single-player normal (or hard, can't remember) survival world from a random seed. I've found that I spend a lot of time exploring and mining, not so much time looking for fights and almost no time/effort on redstone automation (apart from my no-frills subway system).
Anywho, I now have waaay more blocks of redstone, lapis, coal, etc. than I could ever possibly use (including stacks of ore I keep around for architectural accents or quick xp) and am getting bored with just stuffing my extra emeralds, etc. in trunks. I was considering building various pyramids of the stuff around my base, though now think I will attempt to construct 16x16 block cubes outside my farming area as visual "indicators" of my progress/"wealth" (they don't have as large a footprint as pyramids, though then again I won't be able to run around on them).
I have an idea of what my "treasure cube field" will look like, but was wondering if anyone had some good suggestions or images of creative ways of storing and/or displaying their goodies. Of course no-one but me will actually see these "in-game"- it's just something interesting to do with the stuff besides hiding it in double chests. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
cheers: thebugguy
That would look impressive.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0OtPNZX22RvZVeq4-dHa8GYKOc5lojKX
This isn't a bad suggestion and certainly do-able- given a 2-block wide walkway surrounding each of eight 16x16 cubes I believe that comes to a minimum cavern size of 38x74x19 (with 3 blocks of space to the ceiling). And, of course, it would take me a long, long time to accumulate that many emeralds!
However, the nearest mountainside from my base is just far enough away to be inconvenient (and I've got plenty of open space nearby). Likewise, without making the space much, much bigger (for catwalks or observation decks), it would be difficult for me to see (and gloat over) the entirety of the hoard at once. And, for whatever reason, I seem to like the idea of stacks of diamonds sitting around outside, open to the elements (but behind fences, of course). I dunno- I'll have to give it some more thought... Thanks for the idea!
cheers: thebugguy
Anyways, if you want to display them make large statues around your village.
Yeah, I really did mine all of that from caving (the coal alone would require a cube 35 blocks on a side, or cover an area slightly over 207x207 blocks one block deep)... lets just say I'm insane (I typically mine more than 3,000 ore per play session spent caving... and I don't use Fortune, at least not anymore as even an Ender chest fills up very quickly; the torches I've used could also cover the surface of my entire world enough to prevent mob spawning; of course, they are all underground so the surface teems with mobs everywhere at night).
That said, my solution is a set of corridors lined with double chests, with the floor of each corridor lined with the respective blocks and signs marking the ones that are full; with 16 double chests on each corridor (one each for coal, iron, redstone and lapis, another split among rarer ores, moss stone (from dungeons), wool (made from cobwebs from cave spider spawners) and other stuff, and another corridor for rails from abandoned mineshafts (over 40,000 mined, representing well over a hundred separate mineshaft systems, giving you an idea of how much I've caved) each one can store nearly half a million resources as blocks (497,664 to be exact, or 55,296 blocks).
I'm actually nearing the end of my coal corridor with only four double chests left to fill, although I can easily make another corridor, the whole area is pretty small compared to my base:
(you can see that I actually had more corridors before I filled them in with dirt; I used to have an entire corridor for gold blocks and another for diamond/emerald blocks
TheMasterCaver's First World - possibly the most caved-out world in Minecraft history - includes world download.
TheMasterCaver's World - my own version of Minecraft largely based on my views of how the game should have evolved since 1.6.4.
Why do I still play in 1.6.4?
That would be big enough to build something interesting inside (mob spawner, blinking glowing eyes, etc.)
If you're going to go for ego, go all the way.
Yep, out in the open. I do have a utilitarian underground storage room attached to my principal base, but it's just so... boring. Some of the materials I want at-hand for crafting or other projects of course, but I have much more coal, say, than I'll ever need or use, and I just mine more. Why not make a big pile to gawk at? I'm playing single-player, so no-one is going to walk up and take the stuff, and if it's properly fenced and lit I don't have to worry about creepers blowing it up. I *was* concerned about lightning igniting my coal pyramid (or cube or whatever I decide to build), but as long as it is completely exposed the rain should put out any fire (though apparently there is a small chance of lightning without rain- a bit of a worry, I guess).
TheMasterCaver- I've been following your posts a bit- quite an impressive effort! I am streamlining my mining inventory as per some of your suggestions, but I don't tend to stay under as long as you nor am I ever very far from transportation while mining (I am semi-methodically branch mining below all the nearby Extreme Hills and constructing a rail system as I go). In fact, you'll probably laugh, but I carry three diamond picks- one with efficiency for various stone, iron and gold, one with fortune for coal, lapis and redstone, and one with silk touch for diamonds and emeralds. I gave up silk-touching redstone after accumulating eight or ten stacks of the ore, but I'm still hoarding the diamond and emerald ores. And you're right- I find myself resurfacing far too often to "use up" the fortune-generated xp. I have at least dozen or so enchanted books that I'll never use, only because I didn't want to "waste" my xp beyond 30... Anyway, I don't have anywhere near as much material as you, but I figure 16x16x16 cubes (4096 blocks) would be an appropriate size for my purposes.
I have cleaned out a few mineshafts, but I've used most of the rails for my subway. I'm now working my way through stripping a stronghold and setting aside all the doors, buttons, cracked stone, etc. that I come across. As a matter of fact, just last night I axed my way through a library and brought home at least two and half stacks of bookshelves (maybe three and a half- more than I'll need, that's for sure).
And Deranged09- in one of my bases I have my bed sitting on two gold blocks surrounded by quartz stairs- a little garish, but I like it!
cheers!
Error 404: HUEHUEHUE not found.
However, I think I may not have been very clear in my original question. I used the term "wealth" with quotes purposely. I mean, all this redstone, coal, etc. is extra. That is, I have more than I could ever use. And if something isn't useful, it isn't truly valuable, is it? So, this isn't so much about my ego or "showing off"- after all, unless I post a screen shot the only people who'll ever see it are my kids (and really, I probably have a lot *less* of this stuff than many of you anyway).
It's more about the hoarding, the obsessive/compulsive aspect of accumulating stuff- whatever the stuff happens to be. I mean, I'm not the only one filling chest after chest after chest with items and materials I'll never use or need. I'm just asking for interesting or useful or decorative ways in which to store my accumulated stuff- in this case ore products- *other than* simply piling it up in chests. I figure making big blocks of the stuff is at least visually interesting (if done tastefully) and is a nice way to visualize the relative abundance of each in the game (modified of course by fortune enchantments and one's particular mining habits).
As for specific suggestions: replicating my skin or statues- interesting, but no. In this particular world my aesthetic is semi-realistic and utilitarian. That is, no floating blocks, no three-story mob farms, no unsupported bridges. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with those, but in *this* world I want my farms to look like farms, my towers to be made of glass and stone and look like towers and I try not to do more terraforming than I have to- I'd rather my builds look like they "fit in" rather than "stand out".
Beacons: yeah, but no. Personally, I think they look kind of goofy and who needs to have special powers while futzing around their base? Doesn't make much sense to me.
Smooth stone/stone bricks: yes, I do use a lot of it, but I am currently "strip mining" everything but the end portal room from the nearest stronghold. I've recovered stacks and stacks of stone bricks, half slabs and whatnot and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface (so to speak). I also have a silk-touch pick or two, so smooth stone is pretty easy to obtain without using coal.
Scrooge McDuck money bin: now this could be pretty cool (and perhaps is similar to what the dragon-hoard suggested previously was aiming for). If done properly it would be visually interesting and fun to run up and down various piles of stuff in a big pit- a couple of big piles of redstone with smaller piles of diamonds, gold, etc, scattered about. And, I like the juxtaposition of "treasure" haphazardly lying around in an open area. But again, the OCD part of me wants to organize the stuff into nice, neat, quantifiable piles, not strewn around higgledy-piggledy (tastefully higgledy-piggledy, but higgledy-piggledy nonetheless).
As always, thanks for the comments. Last night I calculated that I have enough redstone blocks (if you also count unmined ore) on hand to nearly complete a 14x14x14 cube. I may toy around with this in the next couple of days- if I come up with something I like I'll post a picture.
cheers: thebugguy
As far as I understand it, even the largest beacons only have an effect radius of 50 blocks (except for straight up). That would barely cover the core of my homestead. Why would I need haste or speed for shearing sheep, baking potatoes and whatever else it is I do at my base? My nearest active mines are at least a couple minutes away by ladder and subway; I guess I just don't see the point in constructing a beacon, except maybe if I had a gladiator-ring type hostile mob generator...
Just having your "loot" scattered around doesn't sound like much.
Or. Would it be out of line to construct a chessboard with chesspieces?
This is probably a silly question, but how do you place double chests next to each other? I tried in my world and it seemed they needed a block of space in between.
By the way your stats are innnsaaaannnneeeeee.
Side idea for beacon. A large pyramid kept dark so that creeps spawn inside it with a beacon in the middle shooting out the top of the pyramid. Just make sure the base walls of the pyramid are an odd number so the pyramid ends in a 3x3 to 1x1 opening at the top. Then a secret treasure vault underneath the pyramid and a mine shaft room under or near that with mines going off in all directions and various points.
Ha- yeah, a Rushmore-like bust would be a challenge! I've got the perfect mountain for it visible from the top of my tower *and* it doesn't necessarily violate the "semi-realistic" quality of my world. However, it would severely strain the limits of my design abilities (and suck up time I have to play).
In a slightly different vein, I've been thinking of using my excess cobble (about six double-chests full) for some large-scale outdoor projects. I've been pondering creating large hollow spheres, maybe 48 blocks across, artfully placed on various prominent peaks in my neck of the woods. They're not exactly realistic, but I would like to think of them as mysterious totems for future civilizations to ponder over. Sort of like the moai on Rapa Nui, but larger and more abstract....
cheers: tbg
I have pretty much the same problem with beacons, particularly since I easily cover an area larger than 100x100 blocks while playing; the way I usually explore caves, I go out in one direction until I have to return, marking that spot, then I go back to my original entrance and explore in another discretion until I've explored everything around that point, then return to each exit I made to repeat the process. For really large cave complexes I can easily travel several hundred blocks in one session.
For an example, this is a rather large cave system complex I found recently, with the range of a beacon superimposed on top of it; while exploring it I went from one end to the other multiple times; even smaller cave systems are often larger, plus I'd explore more than one or a mineshaft; a single ravine can also be over 100 blocks long:
I've also only ever gotten one Wither skull, just by accident, since I've never been inclined to make a Wither (I've killed them before for fun in test worlds so I know they aren't that difficult if you put them in a tunnel near bedrock).
The alternative is multiple beacons, but you'd need quite a few to cover a large area (16 to cover a 400x400 block area, roughly the size of the cave complex shown above, which is also under the ocean so they would have to be below sea level in order to extend down to y=11, the downward range being from the beacon block itself) and they would have to be regularly moved (my movements aren't predictable, making this more of an issue than just moving them which isn't that hard in itself, a few minutes total to mine and place the blocks).
TheMasterCaver's First World - possibly the most caved-out world in Minecraft history - includes world download.
TheMasterCaver's World - my own version of Minecraft largely based on my views of how the game should have evolved since 1.6.4.
Why do I still play in 1.6.4?
Trapped chests can be placed directly next to normal chests (google how to make them).
Gives you some opportunity for some extremely tight storage designs.
Yep, that's correct (you can identify them by a reddish tinge around the latch); they are made with a normal chest and a tripwire hook (iron ingot + stick + plank arranged vertically).
Also, you can stack chests on top of each other and still be able to open the lower ones (they can be of the same kind), as well as place upside-down stairs (flat parts against the ceiling and facing out) over them so as to make it look like they are in a wall with no space over them (as seen here; the blue Ender chest is from a mod I made, allowing me to transfer an additional double chest of items between bases at once).
TheMasterCaver's First World - possibly the most caved-out world in Minecraft history - includes world download.
TheMasterCaver's World - my own version of Minecraft largely based on my views of how the game should have evolved since 1.6.4.
Why do I still play in 1.6.4?
I mean, on the one hand, the numbers sort of work out in that I probably cover a total area of about 2,100 square blocks in an average session (a session being defined as the time it takes for me to go from level 27 to 30 in xp or fill up with goodies, whichever comes first). In my case that's very roughly six 1x2 shafts 100 blocks long with three blocks between (I think; I've never actually measured this- I might be underestimating a little). If I placed the largest size pyramid just exactly right, I could use it for about 14 sessions' worth of mining (assuming I use a three-tiered approach on the y axis). That *almost* sounds worth the trouble of hauling in the materials and assembling and disassembling the beacon.
However (without crunching the actual numbers) it intuitively seems a diamond pick with efficiency III or greater goes through most blocks (except obsidian) like butter anyway- I'm not sure why you'd want to go even faster than that. And yes, there definitely *is* such a thing as mining too fast! I suppose speed would be useful in fighting off mobs, but if you're careful you can mine almost indefinitely without a hostile encounter.
I dunno- I continue to be skeptical of the utility of beacons, even in a very proscribed circumstance.
cheers!
There are two levels of Minecraft players, the producers and the consumers. (Or makers and takers, whatever floats your boat) In the area of ecological sciences, it is better know as the tree of life. Expand your production capacities, namely redstone automation and building epic structures for either infrastructural purposes or aesthetic purposes.
Hopefully you get the gist of what I'm trying to say, enjoy
IP: mc.deadmandungeons.com
[Mod] Ex2c ~ Deadman Dungeons
To get back on topic, it sounds like you would like to display the blocks of coal, redstone, etc. in the open, perhaps in a cube so they can be counted and viewed. You could plan a large 'temple' with the cubes inside. make a lot of big archways maybe so the rooms are open and cubes are visible from any one spot in the large temple room. make large skylights, either square or dome shape with glass, or have an open roof entirely (or just a very high ceiling). Make the 'temple' out of whatever you want, but inside have the cubes of blocks displayed. This way, you still have your cubes, but also a grand structure to admire. Try to design the structure/temple with a lot of 'openness' as not to hide the blocks from view. Inside, the grand megalithic cubes will be worshipped Make high ceilings, and walls should be replaced with repeating archways so that much of the entire large room is visible from anywhere inside the temple (as not to block the view), but still giving it a sense of structure/architecture. You could also consider having a minecart system traveling through the center archways of the temple with the cubes of blocks to either side, height and width of cubes would be visible and thus the # of blocks in the cubes is 'displayed'.