Just adding my 2 cents re: using the Fortune enchantment on a shovel idea...
I can see Phoenix's concern that he would prefer a better control as to whether you get clay or not.
I could go with:
No Fortune Enchantment always drops dirt (0 clay balls)
Fortune I has a very small chance of dropping 1-2 clay balls (instead of a dirt block)
Fortune II has a small chance of dropping 2-3 clay balls (instead of a dirt block)
Fortune III has a moderately light chance of dropping 3-4 balls of clay (instead of a dirt block)
Farming Mycelium with a Fortune enchanted shovel could have a much higher probability of getting the upper end drops (2, 3, 4 respectively), than by farming dirt, tilled, or grass blocks.
Problem with that is that dirt can run out, and unlike stone, there's no way to make dirt.
Problem with that is that dirt can run out, and unlike stone, there's no way to make dirt.
Where is it written that every block in Minecraft should be available in unlimited amounts? I wish more of the blocks were like dirt... so many of them have become unlimited that there is almost no incentive to "value" them anymore (i.e. it has made the game progressively less challenging and less challenging and less and less about mining and resource management). More and more the game is only about slaughtering mobs... just another "shooter" only with swords..
Where is it written that every block in Minecraft should be available in unlimited amounts? I wish more of the blocks were like dirt... so many of them have become unlimited that there is almost no incentive to "value" them anymore (i.e. it has made the game progressively less challenging and less challenging and less and less about mining and resource management). More and more the game is only about slaughtering mobs... just another "shooter" only with swords..
No, it's the fact that Xbox 360 worlds are so small. Minecraft has so much to do, but with these puny worlds it's hard to do everything that we want to do. Also, in PC edition they have unlimited resources, so it just seems reasonable for more things to be renewable in Xbox 360 Edition.
No, it's the fact that Xbox 360 worlds are so small. Minecraft has so much to do, but with these puny worlds it's hard to do everything that we want to do. Also, in PC edition they have unlimited resources, so it just seems reasonable for more things to be renewable in Xbox 360 Edition.
Sorry, I disagree. Unlimited amounts of all blocks does not equate to unlimited things to do snd limiting the amounts available of some blocks does not limit the number of things to do. Blocks can be reused (i.e. old builds torn down and new designs erected). IRL this is done all the time.
Most people have not ever even come close to exhausting any of the limited resources in a world - even diamonds (of which there are estimated to more than +9000 diamond ores in a world (and the potential to triple that with a Fortune III pickaxe(s)... It's the "idea" that the worlds are small and resources could possibly run out seems to make people panic about it long, long before they've even scratched the surface of the resources they do have. Case in point is the young gent who is still working quite diligently on mining out an entire world... and he started in 2012. In a superflat world, there are nearly 3 million dirt blocks. I suspect this number is even higher in a regular world where dirt can be found interspersed with the stone at all subterranean levels and form large hills above ground.
If dirt can run out, then please show me a dirt-less world that has not by touched by creative, and is not a Superflat.
What I mean is, if dirt has a chance to turn into clay, than we would get a lot of clay, but then we'd start running low on dirt. Of course, these things only happen if one starts doing huge terraforming projects.
Thing is, you'll never run out of dirt, even on a Superflat--I know, I've been there. I say keep it at zero for standard breaking and have fortune affect its total drops. I doubt that you'll need that much clay before you can enchant.
What I mean is, if dirt has a chance to turn into clay, than we would get a lot of clay, but then we'd start running low on dirt. Of course, these things only happen if one starts doing huge terraforming projects.
I say that even if dirt has a chance to turn into clay without Fortune, actually running low on dirt is not a likely scenario at all. Theoretically possible, but so remote given the total number of dirt blocks in a world as to be ridiculous to be concerned over it. Case in point, gravel did not become renewable until the reset nether option was brought in. Did anyone ever even come close to running out of gravel in their worlds before then? Doubt it.
Furthermore, the prospect of losing something IS what makes a game a game. If you can't lose anything, then you have precisely nothing to gain... it's all just pixels anyway. I think the process of making everything in this game unlimited is ruining it as a game and making it progressively more boring to play.
I say that even if dirt has a chance to turn into clay without Fortune, actually running low on dirt is not a likely scenario at all. Theoretically possible, but so remote given the total number of dirt blocks in a world as to be ridiculous to be concerned over it. Case in point, gravel did not become renewable until the reset nether option was brought in. Did anyone ever even come close to running out of gravel in their worlds before then? Doubt it.
Furthermore, the prospect of losing something IS what makes a game a game. If you can't lose anything, then you have precisely nothing to gain... it's all just pixels anyway. I think the process of making everything in this game unlimited is ruining it as a game and making it progressively more boring to play.
But in Minecraft you're never supposed to stop. I guess my point here is that there's always a point of stopping with Xbox Edition. now that I think of it, it would be a very long time before I even came close to running low on dirt. But I still want an easier way to retrieve clay.
No, it's the fact that Xbox 360 worlds are so small. Minecraft has so much to do, but with these puny worlds it's hard to do everything that we want to do. Also, in PC edition they have unlimited resources, so it just seems reasonable for more things to be renewable in Xbox 360 Edition.
Dirt is found at any altitude, and comprises the majority of the upper terrain layers in most overworld biomes.
There are approximately 1,850 dirt per chunk in Plains, Forest, Tundra, Jungle, and Extreme Hills biomes. There can be as many as 3,000 in chunks with high mountains. Dirt generates in pockets underground as well. Dirt also generates naturally in the butcher's shop and in some houses in villages.
...of course the extreme hills biomes can roughly offset the ocean biomes and ravines which would typically have much less dirt blocks in those chunks.
So, let's approximate an estimate of on average between 1500 and 2000 dirt blocks per chunk.
MCX360 minable world size is 54 chunks x 54 chunks (2916 total minable chunks)
2916 * 1500 = 4,374,000 on the low (conservative) estimate side, or 68,343 3/4 full stacks of 64 blocks of dirt.
2916 * 2000 = 5,832,000 on the high (generous) estimate side, or 91,125 full stacks of 64 blocks of dirt.
Yes, technically it is a finite amount in Survival Mode... but not so finite that it really matters in the grand scheme of things...if you really need more than 4 million dirt blocks, maybe you should be looking at creative mode.
But in Minecraft you're never supposed to stop. I guess my point here is that there's always a point of stopping with Xbox Edition. now that I think of it, it would be a very long time before I even came close to running low on dirt. But I still want an easier way to retrieve clay.
I don't think it's actually written anywhere that there is not supposed to ever be a stopping point in a particular Minecraft world... and at any rate, a stopping point that so far out there that you'll probably never reach it isn't really a hindrance either IMO. I'll actually consider it a great accomplishment if I ever do reach a point in even one of my Xbox 360 worlds where I can sit back and say with satisfaction "I'm finished. It's done."
Worrying about running out of dirt is the most ridiculous thing I heard. In any one of my Survival worlds I have several double chests full of dirt that I will probably never use... and the world doesn't look lacking in it yet.
BP's idea of Fortune a "must" for dropping clay is a good compromise, I think.
Problem with that is that dirt can run out, and unlike stone, there's no way to make dirt.
Where is it written that every block in Minecraft should be available in unlimited amounts? I wish more of the blocks were like dirt... so many of them have become unlimited that there is almost no incentive to "value" them anymore (i.e. it has made the game progressively less challenging and less challenging and less and less about mining and resource management). More and more the game is only about slaughtering mobs... just another "shooter" only with swords..
No, it's the fact that Xbox 360 worlds are so small. Minecraft has so much to do, but with these puny worlds it's hard to do everything that we want to do. Also, in PC edition they have unlimited resources, so it just seems reasonable for more things to be renewable in Xbox 360 Edition.
Sorry, I disagree. Unlimited amounts of all blocks does not equate to unlimited things to do snd limiting the amounts available of some blocks does not limit the number of things to do. Blocks can be reused (i.e. old builds torn down and new designs erected). IRL this is done all the time.
Most people have not ever even come close to exhausting any of the limited resources in a world - even diamonds (of which there are estimated to more than +9000 diamond ores in a world (and the potential to triple that with a Fortune III pickaxe(s)... It's the "idea" that the worlds are small and resources could possibly run out seems to make people panic about it long, long before they've even scratched the surface of the resources they do have. Case in point is the young gent who is still working quite diligently on mining out an entire world... and he started in 2012. In a superflat world, there are nearly 3 million dirt blocks. I suspect this number is even higher in a regular world where dirt can be found interspersed with the stone at all subterranean levels and form large hills above ground.
Stay fluffy~
What I mean is, if dirt has a chance to turn into clay, than we would get a lot of clay, but then we'd start running low on dirt. Of course, these things only happen if one starts doing huge terraforming projects.
Stay fluffy~
I say that even if dirt has a chance to turn into clay without Fortune, actually running low on dirt is not a likely scenario at all. Theoretically possible, but so remote given the total number of dirt blocks in a world as to be ridiculous to be concerned over it. Case in point, gravel did not become renewable until the reset nether option was brought in. Did anyone ever even come close to running out of gravel in their worlds before then? Doubt it.
Furthermore, the prospect of losing something IS what makes a game a game. If you can't lose anything, then you have precisely nothing to gain... it's all just pixels anyway. I think the process of making everything in this game unlimited is ruining it as a game and making it progressively more boring to play.
But in Minecraft you're never supposed to stop. I guess my point here is that there's always a point of stopping with Xbox Edition. now that I think of it, it would be a very long time before I even came close to running low on dirt. But I still want an easier way to retrieve clay.
Just to crunch the numbers.... from: http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Dirt
...of course the extreme hills biomes can roughly offset the ocean biomes and ravines which would typically have much less dirt blocks in those chunks.
So, let's approximate an estimate of on average between 1500 and 2000 dirt blocks per chunk.
MCX360 minable world size is 54 chunks x 54 chunks (2916 total minable chunks)
I don't think it's actually written anywhere that there is not supposed to ever be a stopping point in a particular Minecraft world... and at any rate, a stopping point that so far out there that you'll probably never reach it isn't really a hindrance either IMO. I'll actually consider it a great accomplishment if I ever do reach a point in even one of my Xbox 360 worlds where I can sit back and say with satisfaction "I'm finished. It's done."
BP's idea of Fortune a "must" for dropping clay is a good compromise, I think.
^^^^ Click it! You know you want to...