So, how exactly is it intended that we get a stationary minecart moving? Is there an official way, or are all methods "make do?"
So far, there are four ways that I know of, but they all have some kind of flaw:
1. Have a friend push you. This is obviously a problem in single player and a hassle regardless.
2. Push the cart and then hop in. This is just too messy of a method for me. The cart could easily run off and I really don't want to chase it down.
3. Have the cart come from a revolving station onto an inclined powered rail attached to a button. This method works fairly well. The powered rail stops the cart so you can get in, and gravity from the incline gets you moving when you activate the rail. And again, this works great for end stations, but for switch stations, where I have to get out of the cart and then get right back in, it's almost impossible not to bump the cart off the incline, which means I have to push it back up to reset it. It's too much work for something that should be so simple.
4. Put a powered rail attached to a button down so that one end is blocked. With one end capped off, there is a force to push you forward when you activate the rail. This is much simpler, but it tends to be a bit buggy. Upon departure, you have a tendancy to be hurt for some reason, and getting a cart to come in and stop so it is automatically ready to leave again seems to only work half the time, likely due to problems relating to the way rails try to automatically determine if you want to build a turn or not. Sometimes the cart just jumps right over the deactivated power rail.
So, is there a primary method built in by the designers that I don't know about? Why do we have to go through so much trouble to get the cart going from stationary?
Push the cart a bit and then hop in. It's better if you use powered rails for acceleration.
It's a minecart not an automobile were you just get in, hit the gas and off you go.
Plus, those minecart stations are rather cool.
If it's too messy for you, then try this: put 1 powered rail on a downhill position and connect it to the other normal rails. Place a button next to wall facing the powered rail, so when you place the minecart on the powered rail (which will be off) press the button and off you go. c:
e.g. pics:
The pictures above are from the PC version, but it'll work nonetheless.
Well, like I said, pushing the minecart and hopping in has to be done fairly close to a powered rail, and that tends to lead to runnaways.
The pictures you provided are my third example, but without the revolving station that automatically loads the cart onto the incline for departure. The reason your simplified version will not work is probably something you have not thought about in a long time. If you are using the PC version, you are likely used to getting out of a cart and dropping a few blocks away. In the current Xbox version, you get out right on top of the cart, which pushes it off of the incline, which means I have to reload it manually, which defeats the purpose.
It's a minecart not an automobile were you just get in, hit the gas and off you go.
That's exactly what the powered cart is, isn't it? Of course, powered rails are much faster.
But why shouldn't I be able to just go? All it would take is a rail exactly like the powered rail, exept that it would only flow in one driection, like repeaters, and would send you forward when given a signal, regardless of whether you are moving or not.
Use redstone rails and buttons to make a sort of stopping and starting station.
No offense, but did you even read my post? That is what I have been doing, but no matter how I configure it, there is always some inconvienience that arises.
The answer to your original question is indeed no. And sadly, you can't ride a minecart with furnace (powered cart) for that "get in, hit the gas and off you go" effect.
Although, a suggestion thread could be about improving minecarts (overall, in all editions) by adding a (I don't really know the word for this) a "brake lever" or "handbrake" something like that to the cart which when pushed it will release the minecart's brakes and get the minecart moving, accelerating slowly until it reaches a fixed speed; and when the "handbrake" is pulled it'll slowly stop the minecart. (Like some minecarts work in real life).
Here's a pic showing the "handbrake" on the left:
Nevermind the lights.
It's the best image I could find without getting flooded by Minecraft's minecarts. Of course, this suggestion would need more thought process, like for the fixed speed: how long would it take before the minecart starts slowing down if it's not accelerating?, etc.
power rails + button you don't need a slant or anything.
Are you sure? Last time I checked, unless there is a block directly blocking one end of the power rail (which may even be a bug), or you are already moving, power rails do nothing to a cart sitting on them when activated.
Powered rail doesn't work when it is placed on even ground?
Reasoning: Game needs to decide which direction to send you. (It can't read your mind)
To get powered rail to accelerate you from a dead stop you must define the direction you want to go.
Ways of doing this:
Place the powered rail next to a block so that the minecart is up against it. (block off one direction) (possibly because powered rail in ON possition allows carts to roll, therefor allowing the cart being "stuck" in the block behind you to "push-start" you.)
Place the powered rail on a slant so that gravity will define the direction you wish to go. (powered rail in ON possition allows carts to roll, therefor allowing gravity to "push-start" you.)
Both methods work, there are pros and cons to each.
The most notable being that "even" placed rails required the cart to be all the way against the wall or they will not work.
in my friends world, I made a "station" that involves no end block, but always works regardless...yes you have to push a button, but you're able to push it from the minecart.
\_/ (not this steep but in the idea of how it's placed)
The minecart follows gravity to an extent. This also takes advantaged of an unpowered powered rail causes a cart to stop/slow. The cart always stops on a slant, and when you push the button it will continue on in the direction the bottom of the cart is facing.
That so far is the only flaw, that it will only go one way currently.
Yes exactly. The method of blocking one end of the powered rail would be great, if it worked all of the time, and if reloading the cart automatically wasn't such a buggy process.
The ramp method would also be perfect, if you didn't exit the cart directly on top of it, wich causes it to run away. I know that change will be coming with later updates.
Anyway, I have only been playing for a little over 3 weeks, and I was just wondering if there was some standard way of initiating travel in a minecart that I just missed. I guess not. Why there isn't a simple, standard method, especially after the introduction of power rails, I can't understand. If they can do pistons, surely they can do this.
That is what I have been doing, and it works great, all except for when I come to a switch station and stop on an incline. Every time I get out, I just end up pushing it away.
I suppose I could just build another revolving station, like I have at all my end stations, to trap it so i don't have to get out on an incline, but thats just all the more resources I have to use, and all the more space the whole thing takes up.
Personally, I think a "nudge" option should be available. Maybe by pressing a button, you move half a block forward, or backwards if you're aiming behind the cart. Of course, a cap should be put on the nudge speed to prevent exploiting it.
Pertaining to the topic, I think your issue with being injured while riding the cart may be that you don't have enough space above your character. I believe 3 spaces (1 for cart, the two for your character) should be sufficient. The cart has never injured me while it was moving, though....at least not yet.
I do it with a power rail and a button to kick start it, then I have a sequence of rails going from 4 normal rails, 1 power rail (Lit), 4 normal rails, etc. I have a lot of iron ingots so I can make this and use more iron than I do gold.
What I do is keep the starting point on a flat surface and place redstone adjacent to it with a button that activates the rail. Works pretty well just don't bump the minecart.
I do it with a power rail and a button to kick start it, then I have a sequence of rails going from 4 normal rails, 1 power rail (Lit), 4 normal rails, etc. I have a lot of iron ingots so I can make this and use more iron than I do gold.
What I do is keep the starting point on a flat surface and place redstone adjacent to it with a button that activates the rail. Works pretty well just don't bump the minecart.
I don't understand. Are the two of you doing what is in my number 4 example? How does the cart actually start moving? Button and power rail don't work unless you are on an incline (becaus power rails don't so much add to your speed as much as they multiply it), or one end is blocked, the problems with both I detailed in the OP.
The powered-rail-incline method (mentioned a lot above) is what I usually use. You can attach a cart dispenser, too....
The furnace cars/steam cars/whatever you call them work like crap in this version. They'll clip through the cart you want to push and generally make a big mess. It never quite gets to the right speed with another cart in front of it.
I admit I didn't read all of every post, so.....
There's one other way I haven't seen anyone mention (if mentioned, disregard):
If a cart is on a powered rail and "jammed" (semi-clipped) into a block then it will eject out of that block. You can use this method to cause a powered rail that's flat (not inclined) to start a cart moving. It's semi-tricky to set up, but you basically want a detector rail before your powered rail but one normal track behind (powered rail, normal track, detector rail). You then want to wire the detector rail up to be inverted and with a few repeaters.
The idea is the powered rail should turn off on a slight delay to guarantee that the cart sort of clips into the wall. This may also be how other members above are starting from a flat surface.
This method isn't always multiplayer safe and parked carts might "fix themselves" on a save/reload, so you might have to manually reset a few times. :\
So far, there are four ways that I know of, but they all have some kind of flaw:
1. Have a friend push you. This is obviously a problem in single player and a hassle regardless.
2. Push the cart and then hop in. This is just too messy of a method for me. The cart could easily run off and I really don't want to chase it down.
3. Have the cart come from a revolving station onto an inclined powered rail attached to a button. This method works fairly well. The powered rail stops the cart so you can get in, and gravity from the incline gets you moving when you activate the rail. And again, this works great for end stations, but for switch stations, where I have to get out of the cart and then get right back in, it's almost impossible not to bump the cart off the incline, which means I have to push it back up to reset it. It's too much work for something that should be so simple.
4. Put a powered rail attached to a button down so that one end is blocked. With one end capped off, there is a force to push you forward when you activate the rail. This is much simpler, but it tends to be a bit buggy. Upon departure, you have a tendancy to be hurt for some reason, and getting a cart to come in and stop so it is automatically ready to leave again seems to only work half the time, likely due to problems relating to the way rails try to automatically determine if you want to build a turn or not. Sometimes the cart just jumps right over the deactivated power rail.
So, is there a primary method built in by the designers that I don't know about? Why do we have to go through so much trouble to get the cart going from stationary?
It's a minecart not an automobile were you just get in, hit the gas and off you go.
Plus, those minecart stations are rather cool.
If it's too messy for you, then try this: put 1 powered rail on a downhill position and connect it to the other normal rails. Place a button next to wall facing the powered rail, so when you place the minecart on the powered rail (which will be off) press the button and off you go. c:
e.g. pics:
The pictures above are from the PC version, but it'll work nonetheless.
The pictures you provided are my third example, but without the revolving station that automatically loads the cart onto the incline for departure. The reason your simplified version will not work is probably something you have not thought about in a long time. If you are using the PC version, you are likely used to getting out of a cart and dropping a few blocks away. In the current Xbox version, you get out right on top of the cart, which pushes it off of the incline, which means I have to reload it manually, which defeats the purpose.
That's exactly what the powered cart is, isn't it? Of course, powered rails are much faster.
But why shouldn't I be able to just go? All it would take is a rail exactly like the powered rail, exept that it would only flow in one driection, like repeaters, and would send you forward when given a signal, regardless of whether you are moving or not.
It could be so much simpler.
No offense, but did you even read my post? That is what I have been doing, but no matter how I configure it, there is always some inconvienience that arises.
I guess the answer to my original question is no?
The answer to your original question is indeed no. And sadly, you can't ride a minecart with furnace (powered cart) for that "get in, hit the gas and off you go" effect.
Although, a suggestion thread could be about improving minecarts (overall, in all editions) by adding a (I don't really know the word for this) a "brake lever" or "handbrake" something like that to the cart which when pushed it will release the minecart's brakes and get the minecart moving, accelerating slowly until it reaches a fixed speed; and when the "handbrake" is pulled it'll slowly stop the minecart. (Like some minecarts work in real life).
Here's a pic showing the "handbrake" on the left:
Nevermind the lights.
It's the best image I could find without getting flooded by Minecraft's minecarts. Of course, this suggestion would need more thought process, like for the fixed speed: how long would it take before the minecart starts slowing down if it's not accelerating?, etc.
Are you sure? Last time I checked, unless there is a block directly blocking one end of the power rail (which may even be a bug), or you are already moving, power rails do nothing to a cart sitting on them when activated.
Reasoning: Game needs to decide which direction to send you. (It can't read your mind)
To get powered rail to accelerate you from a dead stop you must define the direction you want to go.
Ways of doing this:
Place the powered rail next to a block so that the minecart is up against it. (block off one direction) (possibly because powered rail in ON possition allows carts to roll, therefor allowing the cart being "stuck" in the block behind you to "push-start" you.)
Place the powered rail on a slant so that gravity will define the direction you wish to go. (powered rail in ON possition allows carts to roll, therefor allowing gravity to "push-start" you.)
Both methods work, there are pros and cons to each.
The most notable being that "even" placed rails required the cart to be all the way against the wall or they will not work.
Personally I use the slant method.
If it dies it will be your fault... SO CLICK IT!
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The minecart follows gravity to an extent. This also takes advantaged of an unpowered powered rail causes a cart to stop/slow. The cart always stops on a slant, and when you push the button it will continue on in the direction the bottom of the cart is facing.
That so far is the only flaw, that it will only go one way currently.
Yes exactly. The method of blocking one end of the powered rail would be great, if it worked all of the time, and if reloading the cart automatically wasn't such a buggy process.
The ramp method would also be perfect, if you didn't exit the cart directly on top of it, wich causes it to run away. I know that change will be coming with later updates.
Anyway, I have only been playing for a little over 3 weeks, and I was just wondering if there was some standard way of initiating travel in a minecart that I just missed. I guess not. Why there isn't a simple, standard method, especially after the introduction of power rails, I can't understand. If they can do pistons, surely they can do this.
That is what I have been doing, and it works great, all except for when I come to a switch station and stop on an incline. Every time I get out, I just end up pushing it away.
I suppose I could just build another revolving station, like I have at all my end stations, to trap it so i don't have to get out on an incline, but thats just all the more resources I have to use, and all the more space the whole thing takes up.
Pertaining to the topic, I think your issue with being injured while riding the cart may be that you don't have enough space above your character. I believe 3 spaces (1 for cart, the two for your character) should be sufficient. The cart has never injured me while it was moving, though....at least not yet.
I don't understand. Are the two of you doing what is in my number 4 example? How does the cart actually start moving? Button and power rail don't work unless you are on an incline (becaus power rails don't so much add to your speed as much as they multiply it), or one end is blocked, the problems with both I detailed in the OP.
Isn't that in the current PC version?
The furnace cars/steam cars/whatever you call them work like crap in this version. They'll clip through the cart you want to push and generally make a big mess. It never quite gets to the right speed with another cart in front of it.
I admit I didn't read all of every post, so.....
There's one other way I haven't seen anyone mention (if mentioned, disregard):
If a cart is on a powered rail and "jammed" (semi-clipped) into a block then it will eject out of that block. You can use this method to cause a powered rail that's flat (not inclined) to start a cart moving. It's semi-tricky to set up, but you basically want a detector rail before your powered rail but one normal track behind (powered rail, normal track, detector rail). You then want to wire the detector rail up to be inverted and with a few repeaters.
The idea is the powered rail should turn off on a slight delay to guarantee that the cart sort of clips into the wall. This may also be how other members above are starting from a flat surface.
This method isn't always multiplayer safe and parked carts might "fix themselves" on a save/reload, so you might have to manually reset a few times. :\
Pistons will be here soon....