The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Everything Redstone
by trunksbomb
If you’re here reading this, you either a) are an absolute beginner in making things with redstone and you want to learn how or :cool.gif: you just felt like clicking on the thread. I’m here to help out the person in case A, so the concepts in this guide will start off with the most basic topics regarding redstone. If you feel like any or all of this guide is “common sense” or “easy”, then you don’t have to read it. I’m not forcing you to read it, and I’m for sure not forcing you to comment on it. So if you’ve got any straight negativity to bring to the table, I ask you to find another table and bring your negativity there. If, on the other hand, you have some constructive criticism to bring to the table then, by all means, please do.
The Basics of Redstone
The most basic assumption I will make in this guide will be that you have found redstone and you are now trying to do something with it, but you haven’t yet figured it out. Redstone- as you may have noticed while mining it- can be in one of two states at any given time- powered or unpowered. When you come across a block of redstone in a mine or cave, it is initially in an unpowered state. If you happen to click on the redstone ore, you’ll notice that it lights up and starts emitting some red particles. This is the powered state of redstone. In comparison to binary, the unpowered state is off, or 0, and the powered state is on, or 1.
Once you’ve mined some redstone, you will have a various amount of redstone dust. Taking the redstone in hand, you’ll notice that when you place it on the ground, the very first piece forms a redstone cross on top of the block that it was placed on. Placing any redstone north/east/south/west of it will cause the redstone to form a line in that direction. You’ll also notice that when you first place redstone, it will be in its unpowered state (dark red).
Now that we’ve made some basic observations, how do we go about doing something with it? Logically, you must apply some type of power source to the redstone line you’ve placed. The most basic power source is a redstone torch, which is crafted with a stick and a piece of redstone dust. If you place a redstone torch by itself, notice that the default state is powered. If you place this at one end of your line, you’ll see that the line immediately turns “on” to its powered state (brighter red, emitting particles). You’ve now got your first live wire! But what do you do with it?...
How Signals Are Transmitted… An Important Concept!
Now that you know the most basic way to power a redstone line, what can you do with it? Before you can start doing things with redstone, you’ll need to know in what ways a signal is transmitted.
Start by following my example. Find a nice flat area and lay out a line of redstone- oh, say.. 5 blocks long. Again, notice that the line is unpowered. Now, place a redstone torch at one end and the line will become powered. You can think of this torch as now being a “source block” of power to the line.
For the sake of learning, place another redstone torch at the other end of the line. What happened? Nothing. This is because you’ve just placed two “source blocks” of power on the same line. They’re both powering the line, so the line continues to stay on. Nothing special there..
Now, destroy one of the torches. Place a block down where the torch used to be at the end of the line. On top of this block, place a redstone torch.. what happened? The torch switched to an unpowered state. This is an important concept; whenever a torch is receiving power, it will be unpowered. Also a very important concept to understanding redstone is that a redstone torch receives power from a line when it is mounted on a block that is at the same height as the source line. This may be easier to explain in pictures, so here we go!
As you can see in the first picture, torches placed on the ground at the same height as and adjacent to the line (wire) act as power sources. In order to turn a torch off, you must supply it with power. This is done by placing a block at the same height as the redstone wire and mounting the torch on one of the four sides as depicted in the second picture above. You may notice that I left out a torch facing the powered wire. Why is that? Because then you’ve simply got two source blocks powering the same wire. This is important to understand. When redstone comes into contact with a vertical face of a block, that face of the block then becomes an input. You can have anywhere from 1 to 5 inputs coming into a block (really you can have 6 but then there would be no output). Any face of the block that has a torch mounted on it therefore becomes an output for that block.In a block with 1 input and 1 output, the output will always be opposite of the input. That is, if the input is powered, the output will be unpowered and vice versa. This type of block is known as an INVERTER, and is the simplest logic gate we can make.
Whew, that was a lot of concept for one paragraph.. and a lot of text. Let’s break it up with some pictures!
What do you think the contraption in the second picture does? If you don’t know what it does, test it out. What is the state of the output torch when neither input is powered? When both are powered? When only one is powered? Go ahead and test those three cases and try to figure it out. Still not sure? The output will be toggled (switched from powered to unpowered) when either or both of the inputs are powered. This is called a NOR gate. The output of a NOR gate is TRUE if and only if both inputs are OFF. If any of the inputs are turned ON, the output becomes FALSE (or, OFF). Aside from the INVERTER that we learned about previously, this is one of the simplest logic gates you can make. A logic gate is any combination of blocks, torches, and redstone that takes an input (or inputs) and creates an output.
Now we’re starting to learn how to make some logic gates. We’ve got a simple INVERTER and a NOR gate under our belts. What about an AND gate? An AND gate is only TRUE when all inputs are powered. Start with your output block. Place a torch on top of this- this will be your output. Run redstone wire from any two sides of the block- these are your inputs. Now how are we going to get the output to toggle only when both inputs are turned ON? As we’ve demonstrated, the output(s) on a block will toggle when any of the inputs gets turned on. Looking at that occurrence in a different light, this means that the output will stay off as long as at least 1 of the inputs is powered. So what do we want the default state of each input to be? We want the default input state to be powered. Then, when all of the inputs are unpowered, the output will toggle (turn ON in this case).
So we know what we want, but how do we accomplish it? If we were to attach our power sources directly to the wire already replaced, you’ve got a NOR gate (whose default input state is unpowered). How are we going to make it so that when we place a torch as the power source, it unpowers the input? An INVERTER! Go ahead and install an INVERTER on each of the inputs, with the output of the inverter leading to the inputs that we created first. Now you can pick a face of each INVERTER's block to be the inputs and run redstone out of them to where you'll place power sources. You’ve now got an AND gate! Go ahead and try it out. Start with placing one torch. Did it do anything? It shouldn’t have. Place a torch at each input. Did the final output turn ON? Yes! You’ve just created your first logic gate (INVERTER and NOR didn’t count, they’re too simple!)
Go ahead and try to make an OR gate. The output of an OR gate is TRUE (powered) when one or more of the inputs are powered. Think about it, design it, and open the spoiler below to see if your design works the same way as mine.
This picture also demonstrates an important concept: if you merge two or more redstone wires together, the wire will take the higher input at all times. Essentially, combining them acts as an OR gate. When either wire is powered, that whole section of wire will be powered.
Power Sources
So far, we've placed/removed torches as needed to act as input. A torch powered the line, and having no torch left the line unpowered. However, this is not desired. A torch with no input (the torches we've been using as power sources in our examples) is considered a CONSTANT (CONSTANTS are necessary in more advanced circuitry). Basically, we've been placing and removing CONSTANTS each time we needed to change the input, modifying the circuitry each time. Placing and removing torches is akin to opening up your computer and modifying the circuits instead of having a button that does the desired input for you. So, we need something that simulates USER INPUT instead of modifying the actual circuitry every time we need to change the input.
Thankfully, we’ve got just the remedy, and it comes in the form of levers, buttons, and pressure pads. Buttons and levers are used to send a signal for about 1 second before cutting off again. This is good for giving power to something that you only need for a few seconds (such as opening a door). Levers stay in whichever state you put them in- down to power a wire, and up to unpower it.
Go ahead and make a few levers before continuing (cobblestone on bottom, stick on top). In each of the gates you’ve made, replace the torches you were using as power sources with these levers. When first placed, the levers are equivalent of not having placed a torch yet. When you toggle the lever, it’s the same thing as placing a torch to power the wire. Much more convenient, right?
A nuance to watch out for as a beginner is how you approach your inputs. Inputs must be coming straight into the face of the block. This means that you cannot run a wire north and have it connect to an output that is 1 block to the east or west of the wire. Instead, move the output block one block farther away and lead the wire into the input of the block. To make sure everything connects as it should, ensure that all inputs finish with a straight piece of redstone (not a corner piece).
The wire on the left is a no-no because the wire leading into the input is a corner piece. The wire on the right is a yes-yes because it turns the corner and leads a straight piece of wire into the input. However, the same does not hold true for output. The first piece of wire leading out of an output can be either straight or a corner piece.
This does not hold true for outputs that are being powered by redstone on top of its block. Redstone wire can be in any formation if placed on top of a block whose outputs are on its vertical faces. Here is an example:
Same Difference... or, Gate Construction Variation
Gates can be made in any number of ways. If you really wanted to, you could build everything out of OR gates, or NAND gates, or XOR gates.. so the examples you've seen so far are just some of numerous ways to make gates. Don't fall prey to thinking that the examples depicted in this guide are the end-all-be-all of logic gates. There are many more that I did not detail, and many combinations of them that form more advance circuitry. Experiment with different gates found in the links below to learn more.
What Can I Output To?
Output is not limited to making a torch turn on or off. Although you can do some pretty cool stuff just with torches (screens, timers, flashing decorations, etc), many other things can be powered by redstone as well!
Notch has hinted at blocks that will play music when powered! One more thing to output to!
More advanced topics to be continued…
Conclusion
I hope that this guide has given you the very basics of redstone such that you can now pick up other guides on the forum (links at the bottom) and roll with what they’re talking about. If you like this guide, please let me know that my guide isn’t going to waste. If you think there’s something to add or you can explain it better, let me know and I’ll be sure to give credit where it’s due. Also, if you have links to more guides, feel free to post them.
Other Guides/Topics
“red stuff” logic gates - viewtopic.php?f=35&t=16440
--A pretty large compendium of logic gates. Not a tutorial.
Minecraft Wiki: Redstone Circuits - http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Redstone_circuits
--A detailed list of circuits and how they work. Of particular interest is the topic of vertical transmission (at the bottom).
Redstone Simulator - viewtopic.php?t=17924
--A program for designing redstone circuits.
Credits
--imapiekindaguy - catching my careless mistake.
--DiEvAl - suggested [img] tags to make things smaller.
--icks - corrected my labeling of a NOR gate as an OR gate. Also clarified my description of inputs and outputs.
--Cadde - suggesting that I change my presentation of power transitions to be more clear ("How Signals Are Transmitted" section),clarifying between CONSTANTS and USER INPUT, detailing the numerous ways gates can be formed.
--CX gamer - credit for inclusion of alternate outputs ("What Can I Output To?" section).
As for the default texture pack: this texture pack is not radically different from the default pack, so I don't see a need to. I thought about it before I started but decided to leave the texture pack enabled. If someone is confused by something as simple as a texture pack ("Hey, mine doesn't look like that! I'm stuck!"), then they probably won't benefit much from learning how redstone works. They would be better off copy/pasting a design and using it without fully understanding it.
imapiekindaguy: Thanks, I fixed that error. I did a similar thing with talking about inputs and outputs where I said outputs and outputs. I caught that one myself though!
Thanks dobby and Tackers! Was there anything you felt could be added (as far as basics go)?
You're partially right about the block being output. However, the faces of the block can be used for input or output. It just depends on how you use it.
If you want a face to be input, you allow redstone to touch that face. You can have the bottom of the block be input as well, but you'll have to have a redstone torch directly under it as opposed to wire.
If you want a face to be output, attach a torch to it. A single block with 2 or more inputs acts as a NOR gate.
And you're right about how I called that an OR gate. Typically, an OR gate is true (powered) when one or more of the outputs is on. So an OR gate will will actually be:
In the picture, neither input is powered, so the output is false (unpowered). When either or both of the levers are toggled, the output will be true (powered). That is an OR gate.
I start off with the user placing "constant inputs". In the "Power Sources" section, I explain that this is a bad idea and you should instead use levers or other mechanisms. However, I don't necessarily describe it in the terms of CONSTANT and INPUT. I can do that though.
I think overrides are a bit out of reach of this topic, in that circuitry that requires overrides is an advanced topic not covered in this guide.
Cadde, it's also too easy to confuse the reader with "you can do it this way.. or this way! Or this way too!" This is just basics, so a simple example of an OR gate suffices. I will, however, add in that gates can be made in any number of ways. You've been a great contribution so far!
And glad I could help, TheSteaIth.
*EDIT* The following was taken from the "red stuff" logic gates thread:
Quote from CX gamer »
I have yet to see a tutorial that explains how blocks can get 'ON', rather than only torches and wires. It's pretty confusing at first, specially since you have no visual indication. Like a block can become powered by redstone from the sides or a torch below it, and it outputs to wire on top, or torches on top or at the sides. This is a very important piece that's missing in all rs tut's I've seen.
And IMO if you're guide is truly "The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Everything Redstone";
[*:2b91grtt]How to obtain redstone dust?
[*:2b91grtt]How do I make a redstone torch?
[*:2b91grtt]What kinds of input does redstone toggle?
[*:2b91grtt]What kinds of output can redstone be used?
[*:2b91grtt]I see images of redstone schemes, what do those symbols mean?
Your tutorial is very very brief imho..
Since I'm about to post in this topic anyways, I'll go ahead and reply here:
At the very beginning of my guide, I make the basic assumption that you've found redstone and you want to know what to do with it. It's not my aim to explain how to find redstone, rather, I want to explain how to use redstone. Play the game, mine some caves.. you'll find redstone.
I explain how to make a redstone torch, albeit briefly. Again, this is not the aim of my guide. A brief "stick on bottom, redstone dust on top" is all that is needed for that matter.
I don't know what you're asking in your next two questions. Redstone can be in one of two states- ON or OFF. Redstone wire is used for input to the vertical faces of a block. Redstone torches are used for inputs to the top and bottom of a block, when mounted one block above or one block below the receiving block, respectively. Redstone torches mounted on a block serve as output for that block. Again, redstone will ever only have one state of a possible two- it is either ON or OFF.
As far as "images of redstone schemes", you don't see any in my guide. Redstone schematics are outside the realm that I am discussing and lie solely with those guides and tutorials aimed at explaining (or implementing) those schematics and the programs that use them.
And to your first point: In my guide, I explicitly explain how blocks receive power and how outputs change.
I love you. Now my redstone testing room can finally be a redstone testing room (after several unsuccessful attempts at making strobe lights, I gave up and made some pretty designs with the redstone xD).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Quote from spaz102 »
Actually, that's the best mental image ever. A dying, drowning man stuffing his face from a massive wall of cake, and carving out a monstrous underwater cake picture. I'd pay to watch that irl.
[quote=Rotten194][quote=mcnugget] "Love cabin"[;/quote][quote=mcnugget]creepers.!
icks, there are some things that can be simplified. But there are other things that, if simplified, would be undermining (see what I did there) a very fundamental concept. The idea of unoccupied faces of a block being input and block-mounted torches being output is vital to understanding how redstone works.
Thanks Cadde for that detailed response. And cheezburger, I love you too. (no homo :smile.gif:)
Just posting to let readers know that I've updated the guide to include a section on alternate outputs (under "Advanced Topics") and did some small error-fixing here and there.
Let me have your feedback, people of Minecraft! It's always good to hear that I've helped, and even better to hear when I went wrong and said something stupid (so I can fix it and help more people!).
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
Retired Staffby trunksbomb
If you’re here reading this, you either a) are an absolute beginner in making things with redstone and you want to learn how or :cool.gif: you just felt like clicking on the thread. I’m here to help out the person in case A, so the concepts in this guide will start off with the most basic topics regarding redstone. If you feel like any or all of this guide is “common sense” or “easy”, then you don’t have to read it. I’m not forcing you to read it, and I’m for sure not forcing you to comment on it. So if you’ve got any straight negativity to bring to the table, I ask you to find another table and bring your negativity there. If, on the other hand, you have some constructive criticism to bring to the table then, by all means, please do.
The Basics of Redstone
The most basic assumption I will make in this guide will be that you have found redstone and you are now trying to do something with it, but you haven’t yet figured it out. Redstone- as you may have noticed while mining it- can be in one of two states at any given time- powered or unpowered. When you come across a block of redstone in a mine or cave, it is initially in an unpowered state. If you happen to click on the redstone ore, you’ll notice that it lights up and starts emitting some red particles. This is the powered state of redstone. In comparison to binary, the unpowered state is off, or 0, and the powered state is on, or 1.
Once you’ve mined some redstone, you will have a various amount of redstone dust. Taking the redstone in hand, you’ll notice that when you place it on the ground, the very first piece forms a redstone cross on top of the block that it was placed on. Placing any redstone north/east/south/west of it will cause the redstone to form a line in that direction. You’ll also notice that when you first place redstone, it will be in its unpowered state (dark red).
Now that we’ve made some basic observations, how do we go about doing something with it? Logically, you must apply some type of power source to the redstone line you’ve placed. The most basic power source is a redstone torch, which is crafted with a stick and a piece of redstone dust. If you place a redstone torch by itself, notice that the default state is powered. If you place this at one end of your line, you’ll see that the line immediately turns “on” to its powered state (brighter red, emitting particles). You’ve now got your first live wire! But what do you do with it?...
How Signals Are Transmitted… An Important Concept!
Now that you know the most basic way to power a redstone line, what can you do with it? Before you can start doing things with redstone, you’ll need to know in what ways a signal is transmitted.
Start by following my example. Find a nice flat area and lay out a line of redstone- oh, say.. 5 blocks long. Again, notice that the line is unpowered. Now, place a redstone torch at one end and the line will become powered. You can think of this torch as now being a “source block” of power to the line.
For the sake of learning, place another redstone torch at the other end of the line. What happened? Nothing. This is because you’ve just placed two “source blocks” of power on the same line. They’re both powering the line, so the line continues to stay on. Nothing special there..
Now, destroy one of the torches. Place a block down where the torch used to be at the end of the line. On top of this block, place a redstone torch.. what happened? The torch switched to an unpowered state. This is an important concept; whenever a torch is receiving power, it will be unpowered. Also a very important concept to understanding redstone is that a redstone torch receives power from a line when it is mounted on a block that is at the same height as the source line. This may be easier to explain in pictures, so here we go!
[img]http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/714/20101216224637.png[/img]
[img]http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/9354/20101216225635.png[/img]
As you can see in the first picture, torches placed on the ground at the same height as and adjacent to the line (wire) act as power sources. In order to turn a torch off, you must supply it with power. This is done by placing a block at the same height as the redstone wire and mounting the torch on one of the four sides as depicted in the second picture above. You may notice that I left out a torch facing the powered wire. Why is that? Because then you’ve simply got two source blocks powering the same wire. This is important to understand. When redstone comes into contact with a vertical face of a block, that face of the block then becomes an input. You can have anywhere from 1 to 5 inputs coming into a block (really you can have 6 but then there would be no output). Any face of the block that has a torch mounted on it therefore becomes an output for that block. In a block with 1 input and 1 output, the output will always be opposite of the input. That is, if the input is powered, the output will be unpowered and vice versa. This type of block is known as an INVERTER, and is the simplest logic gate we can make.
Whew, that was a lot of concept for one paragraph.. and a lot of text. Let’s break it up with some pictures!
Logic Gates
[img]http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/4133/20101217000427.png[/img]
[img]http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/7788/20101216232309.png[/img]
What do you think the contraption in the second picture does? If you don’t know what it does, test it out. What is the state of the output torch when neither input is powered? When both are powered? When only one is powered? Go ahead and test those three cases and try to figure it out. Still not sure? The output will be toggled (switched from powered to unpowered) when either or both of the inputs are powered. This is called a NOR gate. The output of a NOR gate is TRUE if and only if both inputs are OFF. If any of the inputs are turned ON, the output becomes FALSE (or, OFF). Aside from the INVERTER that we learned about previously, this is one of the simplest logic gates you can make. A logic gate is any combination of blocks, torches, and redstone that takes an input (or inputs) and creates an output.
Now we’re starting to learn how to make some logic gates. We’ve got a simple INVERTER and a NOR gate under our belts. What about an AND gate? An AND gate is only TRUE when all inputs are powered. Start with your output block. Place a torch on top of this- this will be your output. Run redstone wire from any two sides of the block- these are your inputs. Now how are we going to get the output to toggle only when both inputs are turned ON? As we’ve demonstrated, the output(s) on a block will toggle when any of the inputs gets turned on. Looking at that occurrence in a different light, this means that the output will stay off as long as at least 1 of the inputs is powered. So what do we want the default state of each input to be? We want the default input state to be powered. Then, when all of the inputs are unpowered, the output will toggle (turn ON in this case).
So we know what we want, but how do we accomplish it? If we were to attach our power sources directly to the wire already replaced, you’ve got a NOR gate (whose default input state is unpowered). How are we going to make it so that when we place a torch as the power source, it unpowers the input? An INVERTER! Go ahead and install an INVERTER on each of the inputs, with the output of the inverter leading to the inputs that we created first. Now you can pick a face of each INVERTER's block to be the inputs and run redstone out of them to where you'll place power sources. You’ve now got an AND gate! Go ahead and try it out. Start with placing one torch. Did it do anything? It shouldn’t have. Place a torch at each input. Did the final output turn ON? Yes! You’ve just created your first logic gate (INVERTER and NOR didn’t count, they’re too simple!)
An AND gate
[img]http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/9599/20101216234055.png[/img]
Go ahead and try to make an OR gate. The output of an OR gate is TRUE (powered) when one or more of the inputs are powered. Think about it, design it, and open the spoiler below to see if your design works the same way as mine.
Power Sources
So far, we've placed/removed torches as needed to act as input. A torch powered the line, and having no torch left the line unpowered. However, this is not desired. A torch with no input (the torches we've been using as power sources in our examples) is considered a CONSTANT (CONSTANTS are necessary in more advanced circuitry). Basically, we've been placing and removing CONSTANTS each time we needed to change the input, modifying the circuitry each time. Placing and removing torches is akin to opening up your computer and modifying the circuits instead of having a button that does the desired input for you. So, we need something that simulates USER INPUT instead of modifying the actual circuitry every time we need to change the input.
Thankfully, we’ve got just the remedy, and it comes in the form of levers, buttons, and pressure pads. Buttons and levers are used to send a signal for about 1 second before cutting off again. This is good for giving power to something that you only need for a few seconds (such as opening a door). Levers stay in whichever state you put them in- down to power a wire, and up to unpower it.
Go ahead and make a few levers before continuing (cobblestone on bottom, stick on top). In each of the gates you’ve made, replace the torches you were using as power sources with these levers. When first placed, the levers are equivalent of not having placed a torch yet. When you toggle the lever, it’s the same thing as placing a torch to power the wire. Much more convenient, right?
[img]http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/3543/20101216235054.png[/img]
Advanced Concepts
Proper inputs
A nuance to watch out for as a beginner is how you approach your inputs. Inputs must be coming straight into the face of the block. This means that you cannot run a wire north and have it connect to an output that is 1 block to the east or west of the wire. Instead, move the output block one block farther away and lead the wire into the input of the block. To make sure everything connects as it should, ensure that all inputs finish with a straight piece of redstone (not a corner piece).
[img]http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/7719/20101217002035.png[/img]
The wire on the left is a no-no because the wire leading into the input is a corner piece. The wire on the right is a yes-yes because it turns the corner and leads a straight piece of wire into the input. However, the same does not hold true for output. The first piece of wire leading out of an output can be either straight or a corner piece.
This does not hold true for outputs that are being powered by redstone on top of its block. Redstone wire can be in any formation if placed on top of a block whose outputs are on its vertical faces. Here is an example:
[img]http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/7190/20101219141446.png[/img]
Same Difference... or, Gate Construction Variation
Gates can be made in any number of ways. If you really wanted to, you could build everything out of OR gates, or NAND gates, or XOR gates.. so the examples you've seen so far are just some of numerous ways to make gates. Don't fall prey to thinking that the examples depicted in this guide are the end-all-be-all of logic gates. There are many more that I did not detail, and many combinations of them that form more advance circuitry. Experiment with different gates found in the links below to learn more.
What Can I Output To?
Output is not limited to making a torch turn on or off. Although you can do some pretty cool stuff just with torches (screens, timers, flashing decorations, etc), many other things can be powered by redstone as well!
[img]http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/2562/20101219140231.png[/img]
[img]http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/6894/20101219140727.png[/img]
Notch has hinted at blocks that will play music when powered! One more thing to output to!
More advanced topics to be continued…
Conclusion
I hope that this guide has given you the very basics of redstone such that you can now pick up other guides on the forum (links at the bottom) and roll with what they’re talking about. If you like this guide, please let me know that my guide isn’t going to waste. If you think there’s something to add or you can explain it better, let me know and I’ll be sure to give credit where it’s due. Also, if you have links to more guides, feel free to post them.
Other Guides/Topics
“red stuff” logic gates - viewtopic.php?f=35&t=16440
--A pretty large compendium of logic gates. Not a tutorial.
Minecraft Wiki: Redstone Circuits - http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Redstone_circuits
--A detailed list of circuits and how they work. Of particular interest is the topic of vertical transmission (at the bottom).
Redstone Simulator - viewtopic.php?t=17924
--A program for designing redstone circuits.
Credits
--imapiekindaguy - catching my careless mistake.
--DiEvAl - suggested [img] tags to make things smaller.
--icks - corrected my labeling of a NOR gate as an OR gate. Also clarified my description of inputs and outputs.
--Cadde - suggesting that I change my presentation of power transitions to be more clear ("How Signals Are Transmitted" section),clarifying between CONSTANTS and USER INPUT, detailing the numerous ways gates can be formed.
--CX gamer - credit for inclusion of alternate outputs ("What Can I Output To?" section).
2) Use simg tags:
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
Retired StaffThanks, I put in [img] tags instead. Much better!
As for the default texture pack: this texture pack is not radically different from the default pack, so I don't see a need to. I thought about it before I started but decided to leave the texture pack enabled. If someone is confused by something as simple as a texture pack ("Hey, mine doesn't look like that! I'm stuck!"), then they probably won't benefit much from learning how redstone works. They would be better off copy/pasting a design and using it without fully understanding it.
imapiekindaguy: Thanks, I fixed that error. I did a similar thing with talking about inputs and outputs where I said outputs and outputs. I caught that one myself though!
Thanks dobby and Tackers! Was there anything you felt could be added (as far as basics go)?
HELLNether?And please bring some bacon
YOU JUST LOST THE GAME! (look at my avatar)
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
Retired StaffIf you want a face to be input, you allow redstone to touch that face. You can have the bottom of the block be input as well, but you'll have to have a redstone torch directly under it as opposed to wire.
If you want a face to be output, attach a torch to it. A single block with 2 or more inputs acts as a NOR gate.
And you're right about how I called that an OR gate. Typically, an OR gate is true (powered) when one or more of the outputs is on. So an OR gate will will actually be:
In the picture, neither input is powered, so the output is false (unpowered). When either or both of the levers are toggled, the output will be true (powered). That is an OR gate.
I'll make that correction in my guide. Thanks.
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
Retired StaffI start off with the user placing "constant inputs". In the "Power Sources" section, I explain that this is a bad idea and you should instead use levers or other mechanisms. However, I don't necessarily describe it in the terms of CONSTANT and INPUT. I can do that though.
I think overrides are a bit out of reach of this topic, in that circuitry that requires overrides is an advanced topic not covered in this guide.
I've always wanted a good tutorial for redstone but could never find one
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
Retired StaffAnd glad I could help, TheSteaIth.
*EDIT* The following was taken from the "red stuff" logic gates thread:
Since I'm about to post in this topic anyways, I'll go ahead and reply here:
At the very beginning of my guide, I make the basic assumption that you've found redstone and you want to know what to do with it. It's not my aim to explain how to find redstone, rather, I want to explain how to use redstone. Play the game, mine some caves.. you'll find redstone.
I explain how to make a redstone torch, albeit briefly. Again, this is not the aim of my guide. A brief "stick on bottom, redstone dust on top" is all that is needed for that matter.
I don't know what you're asking in your next two questions. Redstone can be in one of two states- ON or OFF. Redstone wire is used for input to the vertical faces of a block. Redstone torches are used for inputs to the top and bottom of a block, when mounted one block above or one block below the receiving block, respectively. Redstone torches mounted on a block serve as output for that block. Again, redstone will ever only have one state of a possible two- it is either ON or OFF.
As far as "images of redstone schemes", you don't see any in my guide. Redstone schematics are outside the realm that I am discussing and lie solely with those guides and tutorials aimed at explaining (or implementing) those schematics and the programs that use them.
And to your first point: In my guide, I explicitly explain how blocks receive power and how outputs change.
I don't want to know.
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
Retired StaffThanks Cadde for that detailed response. And cheezburger, I love you too. (no homo :smile.gif:)
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
Retired StaffJust posting to let readers know that I've updated the guide to include a section on alternate outputs (under "Advanced Topics") and did some small error-fixing here and there.
Let me have your feedback, people of Minecraft! It's always good to hear that I've helped, and even better to hear when I went wrong and said something stupid (so I can fix it and help more people!).