This is my redstone interpretation of a Hard Disc Drive, or HDD. It holds eight 29-bit piston tapes that contain read-only data. The "discs" themselves can easily run on a 5-tick clock cycle. But, thanks to the counter I'm using they run on a 7-tick clock, which is still a decent speed. The data contained is ROM, I was thinking of building a writable design, but I don't really need one so I passed on that feature.
The indexing mechanism is a modified 5-bit binary counter, which resets itself when it reaches 11101, or 29. The counter resets instantly, and because of this it is impossible to seek line 29. When attempted, the counter is stuck in an infinite loop until the clock is stopped or the destination is changed. Reaching the original default location, line 0 is also impossible because of a design error on my part, which I didn't notice until I was almost done. (herp derp)
The seeking mechanism wasn't planned out very well and is also a bit buggy. The counter's outputs are inverted, and when pistons are selectively activated by levers, the signals are sent to a line which inverts and powers a torch in the clock. Therefore, whatever digits you select, their inverted outputs must all be off to shut down the clock. This works fine when seeking from the default location, but has a lot of issues when attempting to loop back to a previous line.
This mechanism still has quite a few bugs, which is why I don't consider it complete yet. I may work them out sometime soon, or just wait until I start on a completely new design. Not completely sure at the moment.
That being said, I'm still fairly certain it's the largest and most complex piston creation in MCXBLA. I know I've said I don't like to focus on piston-based creations. But, after helping some people with their own piston builds, I was struck with this "piston fever" and decided to take it up a notch. So, let's take a look at some screenshots!
^^^ The "disc" is infinitely expandable. This is a model that supports 8-bit systems. It is loaded with completely random data, just to show you what it might look like. Lapis = 1, Glass = 0.
^^^ A single tape, sitting dramatically in front of the sunrise.
^^^ Indexing and seeking mechanism. The levers are for address designation, the button is an on/off override switch for the system's clock.
^^^ A modified version of SethBling's binary counter is used as the base of the seeking mechanism.
^^^ These pistons are operated by the levers to designate a location. The counter's outputs are inverted so the destination digits have to be off when sent to the line, which inverts and sends a signal to the clock, shutting the machine down when the correct location is reached.
Nice looking memory-array there. Certainly bigger than I've built(or currently need haha)
EDIT: Upon closer inspection, I see you only used 7 x 4 pistons. I'll have to check later, but I believe I used 8 x 4 pistons in a memory array I used for my seven-segment display countdown clock.
I have no idea what that means in redstone, but it looks pretty good!
It does the same thing as the hard drive in your computer, except the memory is ROM instead of RAM. There are two types of hard drives your PC probably has, either an HDD or SSD, solid state drive, this is a disc drive. You could make a writable version, but for me it was unnecessary. So, instead of a magnetic disc full of data that is altered by an actuator arm with electromagnetic heads, this uses piston tapes that you alter manually.
ROM is fine, since this will just be used as an external HDD to load programs to a RAM-based program memory in my next computer. There will be several of these, containing programs that will be used frequently. Since this information won't be altered very often, setting up a block switching system would just be extra hassle.
Nice looking memory-array there. Certainly bigger than I've built(or currently need haha)
EDIT: Upon closer inspection, I see you only used 7 x 4 pistons. I'll have to check later, but I believe I used 8 x 4 pistons in a memory array I used for my seven-segment display countdown clock.
The whole point is this is one of the most compact forms of memory storage possible in Minecraft. There is a more compact pulse-based method basically using a huge clock, but it's not very practical except in very specific applications. This holds more data than the program ROM on my computer, in a much smaller area.
I used 45 pistons total. 8 piston tapes, 4 pistons each, 5 more for the counter, another 5 for address designation, 2 block-droppers for the on/off manual override, and another for one of the monostable circuits.
I really wish I knew more about redstone so I could understand what you were talking about! Any chance you cold tell me what it would be useful for in layman's terms?
It looks like a hell of a lot of work. Fair play, your a lot smarter than me =)
I think my reply above to patriotsboy12 above explains the hows and whats pretty well. I'm sure someone more creative than I could come up with many uses for it. It's mostly practical when it comes to computer science though. It actually only took maybe 5 or 6 hours total, it would've took a lot less time if I had planned the indexing mechanism better. I ended up rebuilding it 3 times, and it still isn't perfect, but functional enough for my intentions. It's not so much to know a lot about redstone, by itself the mechanics are pretty simple. Only someone who is interested in computer science and redstone is going to understand exactly what something like this is doing and how important it is to a system. That's why these builds aren't too common, only a group of people with specific interests focus on projects like this.
Don't feel dumb just because you don't understand it. That just means it's something you haven't learned about. I'm sure there are topics that you know much more about compared to myself. Intelligence is one of those things that is impossible to truly evaluate. A master mechanic could know nothing about programming, and an expert hacker could know nothing about mechanics. That doesn't necessarily mean one is smarter than the other, it just means they have different interests.
Damn! I'd hate to see what you can do when given the power of creative mode! I guess we'll see soon enough. What exactly does it do?
Refer to my reply to patriotsboy12. It's just a very compact form of ROM storage with a seeking and indexing mechanism attached. All it really does though, is send bits of data. Everything else is just extra features to assist in that process.
The whole point is this is one of the most compact forms of memory storage possible in Minecraft. There is a more compact pulse-based method basically using a huge clock, but it's not very practical except in very specific applications. This holds more data than the program ROM on my computer, in a much smaller area.
I used 45 pistons total. 8 piston tapes, 4 pistons each, 5 more for the counter, another 5 for address designation, 2 block-droppers for the on/off manual override, and another for one of the monostable circuits.
It is still, no doubt, impressive and far more useful/practical than my array, which was designed with one purpose and only one purpose in mind.
Not the biggest by a long shot, but cool anyway. I built a piston powered mob grinder that had 6000+ pistons, 6000+ pressure plates and 12000+ redstone torches. Unfortunately I had to rip the thing down in the end because every now and then a huge wave of mobs would all spawn in there and trigger off a few hundred pistons at once and crash the game.
Any chance I could get an invite to your world to get a better understanding of what you have done? I have come a long way from knowing nothing to a very good understanding of how redstone works, or so I think. The farthest I have gone so far is just building a countdown using a piston array somewhat similar to yours, CNBMinecrafts design though. I would like to take a look at what you've built if you don't mind! Msg me, my gamertag is: Kali Mist
i vaguley understand the computer concept it loses me thought when translated to redstone in minecraft. not entirely sure how it works all together.
i do think you could use this to create animations. but i think youd need a few more of them working in unison. you could conceivable make an actual computer screen using wool and lots and lots of pistons swapping blocks. though this would be impractically large. maybe when creative somes out you can give it a try.
ive been meaning to ask you. could you create a mechanism that runs constantly (with no reseting needed) . that puts out a high output half of the day and half of the night and vice versa for a low output. 4 cycles, 2 on 2 off. i want the sphere in the center of my fantasy area to have water flowing down it half of the day and half of the night.
that data disc is section genius. using the transparent blocks as 0s and the opaque as 1s. and it looks cool too. i actually understand it a little more now that i grasp that.
For people wondering what this could be used for in minecraft, the best ideas ive come up with are:
1- Programmable piston based signs that display multiple messages. Example: Working TVs!!!!
2- Programmable trap systems where a user could input what pattern of traps they want to use. Could be tons of fun in pvp based maps.
3- Programmable light systems, especially when we get lamps and such.
Im sure many other uses will be thought of as well.
^^^ Pretty much, this.
Anything created in Minecraft, is only useful based on the way someone likes to play the game. There is no real point to MC, your goal is whatever you decide it should be. My goal is to push the limits of redstone and educate myself along the way. Honestly, it's a great problem solving exercise. You wouldn't believe how many issues I run into and how many times I have to rebuild things to make them work.
The most obvious use for this machine is programming. It is literally the most compact form of program memory you could ever build in Minecraft currently. You could use it for other forms of memory storage, but it's not very practical. The biggest downfall is it would be extremely slow when running a program that requires branching. As an external storage for programs though, it's absolutely perfect.
It is still, no doubt, impressive and far more useful/practical than my array, which was designed with one purpose and only one purpose in mind.
Well mine was also built with one purpose in mind, but could be used for several systems if you really wanted. I'm guessing your tapes were for a digital clock? Essentially, that's the same thing as my tapes, they're both data rolls that contain ROM. The main difference is that mine is intended to store binary words and the tapes run in unison. Yours would operate individually, triggered by a special condition in the previous tape.
Really, as far as piston tapes go, our builds are very similar. My design is just more universal, built to IRPE standards, and the tasks it can perform aren't as system-specific.
Not the biggest by a long shot, but cool anyway. I built a piston powered mob grinder that had 6000+ pistons, 6000+ pressure plates and 12000+ redstone torches. Unfortunately I had to rip the thing down in the end because every now and then a huge wave of mobs would all spawn in there and trigger off a few hundred pistons at once and crash the game.
Well, I'm not sure why you would build something like that or what your reasoning is for that many pistons. Frankly I don't believe it as that's many times more redstone items than there are in some of the biggest MCPC builds. But, just in case, I changed the name of the title.
Any chance I could get an invite to your world to get a better understanding of what you have done? I have come a long way from knowing nothing to a very good understanding of how redstone works, or so I think. The farthest I have gone so far is just building a countdown using a piston array somewhat similar to yours, CNBMinecrafts design though. I would like to take a look at what you've built if you don't mind! Msg me, my gamertag is: Kali Mist
Certainly! I have a flat area, about 200 x 200, filled with stuff like this.
i vaguley understand the computer concept it loses me thought when translated to redstone in minecraft. not entirely sure how it works all together.
i do think you could use this to create animations. but i think youd need a few more of them working in unison. you could conceivable make an actual computer screen using wool and lots and lots of pistons swapping blocks. though this would be impractically large. maybe when creative somes out you can give it a try.
ive been meaning to ask you. could you create a mechanism that runs constantly (with no reseting needed) . that puts out a high output half of the day and half of the night and vice versa for a low output. 4 cycles, 2 on 2 off. i want the sphere in the center of my fantasy area to have water flowing down it half of the day and half of the night.
Redstone computers work in a much similar way to real life computers. They can accomplish the exact same tasks, the only difference is paths are physically altered instead of electricity being sent to pins to force a current to take the path of least resistance. By itself, you could use this to draw images on a GPU, but it would be a bit slow. For instance, at the current clock speed, it would take around 15 seconds to draw a single 8 x 8 pixel image using scan line rendering. It could draw squares and filled squares pretty easily though, a little over a second per square.
I think a Minecraft day lasts 20 minutes, or something like that. If that's the case, the solution you're looking for may be simpler than you think. You could use two 5-minute item timers where a falling edge detector is attached to the pressure plate's output. The output of the detectors would go to the opposing dispenser. That way, when an item disappears on one pressure plate, an item is dispensed on the opposing plate. Then, you could just attach the signal from one of the pressure plates to pistons that will release your water.
I do see some problems for this idea though. You will probably be losing about a second or two between timers. Not really a big deal, but in the long term it would throw your timer completely out of balance. Also, sleeping through the night would also mess with the timer since sleeping doesn't actually make time pass, it just resets it to 0.
Well mine was also built with one purpose in mind, but could be used for several systems if you really wanted. I'm guessing your tapes were for a digital clock? Essentially, that's the same thing as my tapes, they're both data rolls that contain ROM. The main difference is that mine is intended to store binary words and the tapes run in unison. Yours would operate individually, triggered by a special condition in the previous tape.
Really, as far as piston tapes go, our builds are very similar. My design is just more universal, built to IRPE standards, and the tasks it can perform aren't as system-specific.
Yeah, I used it for my seven-segment countdown display which I'll be entering into your contest whenever you can get that up and running. Each tape in the array corresponding to a different segment for the display. Which would, obviously, allow for the correct segment to open at the time it is needed.
The bolded part is what I meant and should have said for the difference between what I did and what you did.
Off-Topic: Are you in a clan/friends with someone named Outlaw of Death(I forget exactly how it was spelled out)? I ran into this person the other day in Gears and was curious.
The indexing mechanism is a modified 5-bit binary counter, which resets itself when it reaches 11101, or 29. The counter resets instantly, and because of this it is impossible to seek line 29. When attempted, the counter is stuck in an infinite loop until the clock is stopped or the destination is changed. Reaching the original default location, line 0 is also impossible because of a design error on my part, which I didn't notice until I was almost done. (herp derp)
The seeking mechanism wasn't planned out very well and is also a bit buggy. The counter's outputs are inverted, and when pistons are selectively activated by levers, the signals are sent to a line which inverts and powers a torch in the clock. Therefore, whatever digits you select, their inverted outputs must all be off to shut down the clock. This works fine when seeking from the default location, but has a lot of issues when attempting to loop back to a previous line.
This mechanism still has quite a few bugs, which is why I don't consider it complete yet. I may work them out sometime soon, or just wait until I start on a completely new design. Not completely sure at the moment.
That being said, I'm still fairly certain it's the largest and most complex piston creation in MCXBLA. I know I've said I don't like to focus on piston-based creations. But, after helping some people with their own piston builds, I was struck with this "piston fever" and decided to take it up a notch. So, let's take a look at some screenshots!
http://www.planetmin...ve-rom-version/
^^^ Check out this project on my PMC page!
^^^ The "disc" is infinitely expandable. This is a model that supports 8-bit systems. It is loaded with completely random data, just to show you what it might look like. Lapis = 1, Glass = 0.
^^^ A single tape, sitting dramatically in front of the sunrise.
^^^ Indexing and seeking mechanism. The levers are for address designation, the button is an on/off override switch for the system's clock.
^^^ A modified version of SethBling's binary counter is used as the base of the seeking mechanism.
^^^ These pistons are operated by the levers to designate a location. The counter's outputs are inverted so the destination digits have to be off when sent to the line, which inverts and sends a signal to the clock, shutting the machine down when the correct location is reached.
EDIT: Upon closer inspection, I see you only used 7 x 4 pistons. I'll have to check later, but I believe I used 8 x 4 pistons in a memory array I used for my seven-segment display countdown clock.
It does the same thing as the hard drive in your computer, except the memory is ROM instead of RAM. There are two types of hard drives your PC probably has, either an HDD or SSD, solid state drive, this is a disc drive. You could make a writable version, but for me it was unnecessary. So, instead of a magnetic disc full of data that is altered by an actuator arm with electromagnetic heads, this uses piston tapes that you alter manually.
ROM is fine, since this will just be used as an external HDD to load programs to a RAM-based program memory in my next computer. There will be several of these, containing programs that will be used frequently. Since this information won't be altered very often, setting up a block switching system would just be extra hassle.
The whole point is this is one of the most compact forms of memory storage possible in Minecraft. There is a more compact pulse-based method basically using a huge clock, but it's not very practical except in very specific applications. This holds more data than the program ROM on my computer, in a much smaller area.
I used 45 pistons total. 8 piston tapes, 4 pistons each, 5 more for the counter, another 5 for address designation, 2 block-droppers for the on/off manual override, and another for one of the monostable circuits.
I think my reply above to patriotsboy12 above explains the hows and whats pretty well. I'm sure someone more creative than I could come up with many uses for it. It's mostly practical when it comes to computer science though. It actually only took maybe 5 or 6 hours total, it would've took a lot less time if I had planned the indexing mechanism better. I ended up rebuilding it 3 times, and it still isn't perfect, but functional enough for my intentions. It's not so much to know a lot about redstone, by itself the mechanics are pretty simple. Only someone who is interested in computer science and redstone is going to understand exactly what something like this is doing and how important it is to a system. That's why these builds aren't too common, only a group of people with specific interests focus on projects like this.
Don't feel dumb just because you don't understand it. That just means it's something you haven't learned about. I'm sure there are topics that you know much more about compared to myself. Intelligence is one of those things that is impossible to truly evaluate. A master mechanic could know nothing about programming, and an expert hacker could know nothing about mechanics. That doesn't necessarily mean one is smarter than the other, it just means they have different interests.
Refer to my reply to patriotsboy12. It's just a very compact form of ROM storage with a seeking and indexing mechanism attached. All it really does though, is send bits of data. Everything else is just extra features to assist in that process.
1- Programmable piston based signs that display multiple messages. Example: Working TVs!!!!
2- Programmable trap systems where a user could input what pattern of traps they want to use. Could be tons of fun in pvp based maps.
3- Programmable light systems, especially when we get lamps and such.
Im sure many other uses will be thought of as well.
i do think you could use this to create animations. but i think youd need a few more of them working in unison. you could conceivable make an actual computer screen using wool and lots and lots of pistons swapping blocks. though this would be impractically large. maybe when creative somes out you can give it a try.
ive been meaning to ask you. could you create a mechanism that runs constantly (with no reseting needed) . that puts out a high output half of the day and half of the night and vice versa for a low output. 4 cycles, 2 on 2 off. i want the sphere in the center of my fantasy area to have water flowing down it half of the day and half of the night.
that data disc is section genius. using the transparent blocks as 0s and the opaque as 1s. and it looks cool too. i actually understand it a little more now that i grasp that.
^^^ Pretty much, this.
Anything created in Minecraft, is only useful based on the way someone likes to play the game. There is no real point to MC, your goal is whatever you decide it should be. My goal is to push the limits of redstone and educate myself along the way. Honestly, it's a great problem solving exercise. You wouldn't believe how many issues I run into and how many times I have to rebuild things to make them work.
The most obvious use for this machine is programming. It is literally the most compact form of program memory you could ever build in Minecraft currently. You could use it for other forms of memory storage, but it's not very practical. The biggest downfall is it would be extremely slow when running a program that requires branching. As an external storage for programs though, it's absolutely perfect.
Well mine was also built with one purpose in mind, but could be used for several systems if you really wanted. I'm guessing your tapes were for a digital clock? Essentially, that's the same thing as my tapes, they're both data rolls that contain ROM. The main difference is that mine is intended to store binary words and the tapes run in unison. Yours would operate individually, triggered by a special condition in the previous tape.
Really, as far as piston tapes go, our builds are very similar. My design is just more universal, built to IRPE standards, and the tasks it can perform aren't as system-specific.
Well, I'm not sure why you would build something like that or what your reasoning is for that many pistons. Frankly I don't believe it as that's many times more redstone items than there are in some of the biggest MCPC builds. But, just in case, I changed the name of the title.
Certainly! I have a flat area, about 200 x 200, filled with stuff like this.
Redstone computers work in a much similar way to real life computers. They can accomplish the exact same tasks, the only difference is paths are physically altered instead of electricity being sent to pins to force a current to take the path of least resistance. By itself, you could use this to draw images on a GPU, but it would be a bit slow. For instance, at the current clock speed, it would take around 15 seconds to draw a single 8 x 8 pixel image using scan line rendering. It could draw squares and filled squares pretty easily though, a little over a second per square.
I think a Minecraft day lasts 20 minutes, or something like that. If that's the case, the solution you're looking for may be simpler than you think. You could use two 5-minute item timers where a falling edge detector is attached to the pressure plate's output. The output of the detectors would go to the opposing dispenser. That way, when an item disappears on one pressure plate, an item is dispensed on the opposing plate. Then, you could just attach the signal from one of the pressure plates to pistons that will release your water.
I do see some problems for this idea though. You will probably be losing about a second or two between timers. Not really a big deal, but in the long term it would throw your timer completely out of balance. Also, sleeping through the night would also mess with the timer since sleeping doesn't actually make time pass, it just resets it to 0.
Yeah, I used it for my seven-segment countdown display which I'll be entering into your contest whenever you can get that up and running. Each tape in the array corresponding to a different segment for the display. Which would, obviously, allow for the correct segment to open at the time it is needed.
The bolded part is what I meant and should have said for the difference between what I did and what you did.
Off-Topic: Are you in a clan/friends with someone named Outlaw of Death(I forget exactly how it was spelled out)? I ran into this person the other day in Gears and was curious.
My brain is everywhere.
And I need to collect it now.
Thanks. When someone asks for something in layman's terms, this is what they mean, not "I already told you, re-read my jargon." +1 to you, sir.
Kenn (ARTISTIK), Quest & Lore Writer, Renatus RPG Server
Development Team, ARK_REALMS RPG Server