Minecraft Forums

Furnace minecarts strike me as a bit useless. They are hard to get started in the right direction and they can't even push an occupied minecart up a 1/1 slope. These are only a few of their flaws. However, giving them more power would make them OP while rendering powered rails useless. Therefore presenting:

The steam engine!

Physical appearance:


Images by 3pix*
Another possible look:
Inventory sprite:



Image by 3pix*
Crafting: Open for suggestions!
Recipe #1 (suggested by psycodragons):

Recipe #2 (suggested by psycodragons):

Recipe #3:

Recipe #4 (suggested by ZingidyZongxxx):


Behavior:
-Right clicking opens a GUI with one slot for fuel, an indicator of how long the current fuel will last, a forwards/stop/backwards lever and a water gauge.
-Can store a stack of fuel
-Clicking the water gauge with a water bucket will fill it one level (you keep the bucket). The gauge has 5 levels, and each one will last the same time as two pieces of coal (2 minutes). (suggested by qw6722)
-Can be filled by a hopper (a new block that'll be added in 1.5). Coal/ charcoal will automatically go to the fuel slot; water buckets will fill the water gauge (empty buckets remain in the hopper)
-Latches on to any one minecart directly behind it
-Can push/pull an occupied minecart up a 1/1 slope
-Uses 3 times as much fuel as a furnace minecart (1 coal/charcoal only powers it for one minute)
-Goes faster than a furnace minecart, but slower than a minecart on powered rails.
-Suggested by EyeOfTheDaev: Additional suggested feature: when it passes over an unpowered Powered Rail, it automatically stops. When the rail becomes powered, it continues moving in the same direction.

If this gets added, the minecart with furnace could work like an actual furnace. (Suggested by TigerTot)
Alternatively, these features could simply be added to the existing powered minecart, possibly with a change in its crafting recipe.

Love trains and want to support? Copy-paste one of these into your sig:

[url="http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/1703619-steam-engine/"][img]http://mag.racked.eu/cimage/3668imp/Not+worth+your+iron%3F/Support+the+Steam+Engine%21/mca.png[/img][/url]

[url=http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/1703619-steam-engine-now-with-more-concept-art/][img]http://mag.racked.eu/cimage/4054xfp/Better+powered+minecart%21/Support+the+steam+engine%21/mca.png[/img][/url]

*Thanks to 3pix for the awesome concept art!
His profile: http://www.minecraftforum.net/user/874618-3pix/
His awesome thread: http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/1682339-make-your-suggestion-visible/

Quote from maymonaise

There's a mod like this that's much more developed if that's the kind of thing you're looking for.

It's still very buggy and in beta stage, especially the GUI's.

I think something simpler like what you're saying would be really nice though.

"There's a mod for that" probably applies to about 75% of the posts in the suggestions forums. It would be nice to see this in Vanilla, though.

Quote from maymonaise

There was a guns thread I just commented on a few minutes ago that I feel aplies here as well. If minecraft adds much of anything from modern technology it completely destroy the lore. I personally believe that minecraft takes place around the 900's if we were to put a time stamp on it.

Personally, I think Minecraft cannot be pinned down into a single time period. Steve wears jeans and a t-shirt, but fights with a bow and arrow. Then there are those fantasy elements that don't fit into any time period...
On topic: I wasn't thinking anything big like that train mod, just an improved minecart engine that's no more than 2 blocks long and still runs on the same basic mechanics.

Quote from maymonaise

There was a guns thread I just commented on a few minutes ago that I feel aplies here as well. If minecraft adds much of anything from modern technology it completely destroy the lore. I personally believe that minecraft takes place around the 900's if we were to put a time stamp on it.

What lore? I must have missed the update where they gave Minecraft a defined setting, storyline, and history! Your personal beliefs are irrelevant and I'll thank you not to shut down other peoples' ideas based solely on them.

I think that some modifications to the existing Furnace Cart to make it into a train/steam engine would be completely apropos and, combined with the upcoming hoppers, could open up some exciting new possibilities for large-scale item transfer.

Any ideas for the crafting recipe?

Quote from Droideka30

Any ideas for the crafting recipe?

I kinda made this on the fly, but judging by the description it was gonna be bigger and more redstone involved.

Quote from Mordikins

What lore? I must have missed the update where they gave Minecraft a defined setting, storyline, and history! Your personal beliefs are irrelevant and I'll thank you not to shut down other peoples' ideas based solely on them.

You're right in that there is no defined setting, storyline and history, but come on, it's fairly clear that it's not a futuristic game.

On Topic:

Quote from Mordikins

I think that some modifications to the existing Furnace Cart to make it into a train/steam engine would be completely apropos and, combined with the upcoming hoppers, could open up some exciting new possibilities for large-scale item transfer.

I do like the sound of these new possibilities, but I think if steam engine carts are added, then furnace carts should be removed. I mean, they'd be completely obselete, and just add extra stuff to the crafting recipe.

Quote from LlamaFfama

I do like the sound of these new possibilities, but I think if steam engine carts are added, then furnace carts should be removed. I mean, they'd be completely obselete, and just add extra stuff to the crafting recipe.

'Tis true. I will add another crafting recipe that doesn't use furnace carts. However, furnace carts were already obsolete because of powered rails. Unless you're on flatland, they're basically useless.

Will this do?

Could anyone who's good at image editing put together a GUI? It should have a single slot for the fuel with furnace-like flames, and a lever-based switch for forwards/stop/backwards.

Possibility #2:

Possibility #3

Possibility #4

(lever can be placed on either side)

These are some possible images for the post.

Quote from Psycodragons

Possibility #2:

Possibility #3

Possibility #4

(lever can be placed on either side)

These are some possible images for the post.

Thanks. I could use the website myself, but I'm doing this from my phone. I'll probably make a poll to thin out some of them.

Quote from Droideka30

Thanks. I could use the website myself, but I'm doing this from my phone. I'll probably make a poll to thin out some of them.

I don't mind. You could say I love to help.

If no one else responds to the poll, I'll delete it.

I changed the poll a little. What do you think of my idea?

No one has an opinion on this?