The new (soon-to-be) functional blocks look really cool, and seem to be an effort by mojang to draw out the crafting process of certain things. I believe that the different crafting stations give minecraft a more primitive feel, but at the same time maybe there will even be some rudimentary automation in the future!
What are your thoughts on the new crafting stations? Any theories as to what some of them do and what they can make?
One of the things I find enjoyable about modded is all the things that do different things, instead of one thing that does everything. It might be controversial (who am I kidding, of course it is), but I certainly like the idea. Let's hope they add a decent amount of redstone functionality for them, instead of just more unique crafting tables, though.
My theory is that the new blocks will be in villages and will be used by Villagers.
Blast Furnace: Unsure [Might just be furnace upgrade? Maybe used by Blacksmith Variants]
Grindstone: Unsure [Google says they're used for sharpening tools, maybe used by Blacksmith Variants? Or could be cheaper (than 31 iron ingots) way to repair tools]
Smoker: Butcher
Lectern: Librarian/Priest
Cartography Table: Cartographer (Obviously)
Fletching Table: Fletcher
Smithing Table: Blacksmith Variants
The Stonecutter
I honestly didn't see this returning after it was combined with BE's Crafting Table.
Going with the above theory, this leads me to believe it will be used by a new Miner/Jeweler/Stonecutter Villager Profession. Maybe the one with the cool eye lens?
I mean, why else would they bring it back?
The Bell
I have no freaking idea.
If all these blocks are related to the new villagers, maybe this one is a bell ringer Nitwit? I honestly have no clue.
The Loom
Yeah, yeah, this one isn't entirely new.
Maybe it will be used by a new Textile Maker Villager Profession.
I'm bad at naming things, okay? And I have no idea what the official name for someone who makes textiles is.
Or perhaps the Shepherd could use it.
What about the Farmer?
I'm aware that there are multiple existing Villager professions without a new block associated with them, but they aren't Craftsmen, they're Resource Gatherers that don't need special tools.
Anyway, this is all just my theory about why those new blocks are there.
I have to admit, I did NOT see these coming! Looks like the Loom was just the tip of the iceberg! My thoughts:
Blast Furnace: For smelting metals. Or perhaps it merely smelts metals faster, since you presumably need some metal to craft the Blast Furnace to start with.
Smoker: For cooking fish, and possibly other kinds of meat.
I suspect that the coming Campfire will be used for other kinds of food. Meanwhile, the regular Furnace will be used for things like bricks, glass, terracotta, cactus green, and so on - which makes total sense. Maybe it should be renamed to the Kiln.
Or possibly the Furnace will still cook food (in which case the name Oven would be appropriate), and the Campfire will just be a slower but easily craftable in the field version.
Cartography Table: For making and altering maps, of course. Here's hoping it'll include the ability to add more kinds of marker than banners.
Fletching Table: This one puzzles me. The various kinds of arrow did not seem to be crying out for a crafting method of their own. Perhaps we'll be seeing different kinds of arrow, possibly even specialized crossbow bolts?
Smithing Table: Seems clear that this will be for making weapons, tools, and armor.
Stonecutter: Shades of Pocket Edition! This will presumably be for making stone bricks, polished stone, stone slabs and stairs, and so on.
Lectern: I suspect this might be used to craft books as well as reading them. I'll bet it's used to craft the enchantment table, too.
I predict that the existing Crafting Table will basically become the Carpentry Bench, used for wood items almost exclusively.
I'm not sure what's going to happen to items that don't easily fit into the above categories, though. Like, what do you use to craft a sea lantern? Or an ender crystal? Or an eye of Ender, for that matter? Maybe the existing Crafting Table will continue as a catch-all? Or maybe the enchantment table will gain crafting functions as well?
I further predict that all these new crafting blocks will show up in the redesigned villages. That's the point of the update, after all, and they map pretty nicely onto villager professions.
Grindstone: I'm rather puzzled by this one. Are we going to have to sharpen our swords and tools every so often? Or will it be used to mill flour and other grainy items?
Barrels: They must have a unique use, otherwise there's no point. Maybe they can hold liquids? Or maybe the fact they're directionally placeable will play a role?
Bell: Presumably it makes a bell sound. Here's hoping it can be triggered by redstone!
New thought on the Grindstone! Maybe it's the new way to repair tools and weapons!
The way I'd do it is, you'd put your tool on the Grindstone, activate it, and wait. The tool will have its damage restored, but its maximum damage reduced. Repairing on the anvil would then restore the *maximum* damage. Repairing tools by crafting two of them together would be removed.
What's going to happen to the 2x2 crafting square, I wonder? It might be restricted to really simple recipes like planks and sticks.
Or possibly it'll be expanded to 3x3, and be the new catch-all crafting space?
It seems all these crafting blocks have been awaiting the lifting of item ID limits. Perhaps they've been in the works for some time.
The Blast Furnace may or may not end up used to make new items, such as smelting new ores, or at least smelt the current ones more efficiently. It could possibly produce byproducts as well.
I sincerely hope there are no new ores, unless they have been *thoroughly* thought out.
I'm thinking greater speed, as I said. I don't anticipate getting more metal from ore. Byproducts are an interesting thought, but I'm not coming up with any that would be interesting.
Hmm. Maybe one could justify getting more metal from ore if you had to add more crafting components? Like, put in iron ore, charcoal (not coal!), and some sort of stone as flux to get extra iron? Perhaps even grind the stone down to flux with the Grindstone first.
EDIT: Alternatively, a recipe like that could be used to make steel, which would help fill the huge gap between iron and diamond. But I'm just guessing at this point.
So I decided to try to map the new blocks onto villager professions, and that may yield some insight into what some of them do.
Fisherman: Smoker
Shepherd: Loom
Fletcher: Fletching Table, obviously.
Librarian: Lectern
Cartographer: Cartography Table, duh.
Armorer, Weapon Smith, Tool Smith: Smithing Table
That leaves the Butcher, the Leatherworker, the Cleric, and the Farmer.
The Butcher might correspond to the Smoker. The Cleric, maybe the Lectern?
That suggests to me that the Barrel might be used by the Leatherworker (TerraFirmaCraft already uses barrels to make leather) and the Grindstone by the Farmer. If I'm right, we might need to mill wheat into flour, then bake into bread! If so, it'd better be made more competitive with meat.
So I decided to try to map the new blocks onto villager professions, and that may yield some insight into what some of them do.
Fisherman: Smoker
Shepherd: Loom
Fletcher: Fletching Table, obviously.
Librarian: Lectern
Cartographer: Cartography Table, duh.
Armorer, Weapon Smith, Tool Smith: Smithing Table
That leaves the Butcher, the Leatherworker, the Cleric, and the Farmer.
The Butcher might correspond to the Smoker. The Cleric, maybe the Lectern?
That suggests to me that the Barrel might be used by the Leatherworker (TerraFirmaCraft already uses barrels to make leather) and the Grindstone by the Farmer. If I'm right, we might need to mill wheat into flour, then bake into bread! If so, it'd better be made more competitive with meat.
I think that, although these blocks may be usable by the player, I think that (given this update's name) these new blocks will be primarily used by villagers. This could mean that non farmer villagers will be gaining unique behaviors as well. What they will be? Who knows but the devs.
I think that, although these blocks may be usable by the player, I think that (given this update's name) these new blocks will be primarily used by villagers. This could mean that non farmer villagers will be gaining unique behaviors as well. What they will be? Who knows but the devs.
Nearly the same as my thoughts.
I was actually thinking that these may be used in conjunction with villager trading...
The thought is that when a specific villager trade is 'locked' - the villager will then go gather materials (either from other villagers or natural resources) & go to the respective crafting block to reset their trade...
eg You trade with a fisherman to get cooked fish until it locks up > fisherman will then go fishing to gather fish > go back to the smoker & after a while the fish trade gets unlocked
Stuff like the bell could be used if pillagers attack the village - a villager goes to bell & rings it as a warning
The barrel, like mention earlier, could contain liquids - fill it up with water & can transport it around in a boat/pistons etc, working a bit like a portable cauldron, player then uses a bucket or bottle to remove water from the barrel until empty
I think that, although these blocks may be usable by the player, I think that (given this update's name) these new blocks will be primarily used by villagers. This could mean that non farmer villagers will be gaining unique behaviors as well. What they will be? Who knows but the devs.
I'm of two minds on this. On the one hand, it does seem awfully risky for Mojang to radically change something so basic to the game as crafting.
On the other, it seems pointless to introduce all these blocks strictly for villagers, while the player goes on using the generic crafting table. And we already know that the Loom has had recipes offloaded to it - ones that villagers would have no particular reason to use.
We *were* told that an upcoming update would address 'game mechanics'. And the lifting of block ID limits makes it newly possible.
Finally, the Stonecutter doesn't correspond to any existing villager profession.
All of that said, I could easily believe that these blocks are used by villagers to unlock trades. I just don't think that'll be their only use.
EDIT: There's another fact that gives me pause in my conclusions, though. The GUI's of the Barrel, Blast Furnace, and Smoker are currently only accessible in spectator mode. Does this imply that you can't open the GUI's normally at all? Perhaps you just click items into them, and they spit products out? (Or one just uses hoppers for both.)
Thanks for all the theories guys! Having read your opinions, I believe it is very likely that these blocks are primarily used by villagers, it just makes sense.
You know whatever crafting purpose the stone cutter serves, I kinda hope that it has a secondary function of being a togglable damage block. (Eg a red stone signal makes the blade "spin", damaging enemies on top of it)
Here's my opinion on these blocks: (The GUIs mentioned can only be accessed in gamemode 3)
LOOM: Used for easier banner crafting, may replace/remove banner crafting in crafting table.
BARREL: Judging by the GUI, used to store items, similar to a chest. I'd appear in shipwrecks, ocean ruins, and maybe villages. As of now, items can be put in and taken out of the barrel via hoppers.
SMOKER: Has a GUI, only with the title of "Furnace". As of now, items and fuels can be put in and taken out of the smoker via hoppers. Its smelting process is exactly the same as a furnace. I'd say in the future, it'll change to a furnace which cooks food items faster, but can only cook food.
BLAST FURNACE: has a GUI, only with the title of "Furnace". As of now, items and fuels can be put in and taken out of the blast furnace via hoppers. Its smelting process is exactly the same as a furnace. I'd say in the future, it'll change to a furnace which smelts ores faster, but can only smelt ore. (BTW, that's not how they work in real life)
CARTOGRAPHY TABLE: I'd say a block used to edit and resize maps, may replace/remove resizing maps in crafting table.
FLETCHING TABLE: I'd say a block used to make better/tipped/spectral arrows (judging by the texture). May replace/remove making different arrows in crafting table.
GRINDSTONE: I'd say a block with something to do with farming and crops, maybe used to grind wheat into flour.
SMITHING TABLE: I'd say a block used to upgrade/make tools. Upgraded tools could mine faster, and weapons could have more knockback or deal more damage. May be akin to some enchanting.
STONECUTTER: I'd say a block used to make stone items/blocks easier, may also deal damage. May replace/remove making stone blocks in crafting table.
BELL: I'd say a block that just makes sound when punched or right-clicked. May also be used in villages to signal raids.
LECTERN: I'd say a block used to display and read books. May make books readable by multiple players at the same time. No idea why it is in the Redstone tab.
Some kind of RS functionality is going to be added to the Lectern, according to Dinnerbone on Twitter. My guess is that it will emit a signal when a book is put in it and/or read.
(I was gonna use Multi-Quote for this to Reply, but at 6 - basically 1 /3rd of the above - it seemed that much can be left to individual parsing of imaginations, by oneself). Great Ideas!
Lots Of Overlap, too. My feeling is that as we are-given Already a Crafting Table (when Library /Bookstore present), and Three Furnaces (when Blacksmith's House /Shop present), and an Infinite Water Source in the form of the 2X2 sections of the (Deep-enough to not see the bottom of) central in-design Well, it's being expounded-upon.
Villagers probably will use them - as opposed to Ignore them, currently (other than the Farmers with Crops, of any kind within-range of them) - or at-Least they will become highly-collectible and /or potentially co-usable (would we see Villagers putting stuff in /changing stuff /making stuff /taking stuff out..?!) Blocks to Decorate-with. I'm sure that at least a few would be usable by the Player, And that some of them - if ever used by Villagers - and removed, would be kind-of messing-up Villagers' Trading /other mechanics (again, this would be a Change from-before), so I wonder if they could - and how - be Crafted-anew by the Player (avoiding-"Griefing" Villagers' at least original Village appearances).
Having seen Iron Golems easily-enough handle Pillagers' attacks (if less so Illager Beasts) in the Snapshots so-far, I wonder if the Bell would also be used to warn of Zombies (as of the Other Sieges) (which on Hard Mode might be as-Difficult to deal-with, overall). It's also funny to think that this could be the sometime-"Nitwit's" role, that they're "the Villager who Clanged 'Wolf' (read: Pillager /Illager Beast /Z. )," so that they might have a somewhat-undeserved "name."
Heck, they might even wear Green to help-camouflage them (Creeper green) the best, overall, in MC, while they spy-upon attackers and run la-la-la away at their usual kinda-slow Villager pace. All it would take is some head-related animation for them to warn of concussions when "Ringing the Bell."
My theory is that the Grindstone will increase attack damage of swords (meaning that they're a bit sharper) but lower the durability (by taking a little bit of material off the sword).
I'm guessing all the blocks are relevant to certain villager jobs and allow some level of automatic functionality to them, like the farmer. This will give them more life and use. I'm very certain in this. What I am not certain about, is if these blocks will ultimately replace the crafting table and furnace, or if these new blocks will simply operate differently. I can't see Mojang simply making an echo block (the furnace... but for villagers!), so if they don't replace the current blocks, I image they will work for the player differently, or not all. With the new blocks and the focus of the patch on villagers, it's hard to imagine these blocks for anything else, tbh. Between the clear redstone on the texture, and dinnerbones tweets, it seems they will also have a redstone functionality.
I'm guessing all the blocks are relevant to certain villager jobs and allow some level of automatic functionality to them, like the farmer. This will give them more life and use. I'm very certain in this. What I am not certain about, is if these blocks will ultimately replace the crafting table and furnace, or if these new blocks will simply operate differently. I can't see Mojang simply making an echo block (the furnace... but for villagers!), so if they don't replace the current blocks, I image they will work for the player differently, or not all. With the new blocks and the focus of the patch on villagers, it's hard to imagine these blocks for anything else, tbh.
So;
♦ (a) New blocks remove the old furnace and crafting table, and spread tasks over different blocks.
♦ (b) New blocks and old blocks together, but have different functionality.
♦ (c) New blocks and old blocks together, but the new blocks ONLY work with villagers.
(And I think B is the most likely.)
I always assume these things about Mojang Devs when speculating; ■ How can we get the MOST out of this new block? (appearance, redstone, natural spawning, synergy, etc.)
■ What part of Minecraft will this improve or what needs improving? ■ What secondary and tertiary features can this block bring?
■ Does it fit the Minecraft "lore"? (No F16 fighter jets)
The villagers in order: Librarian, Butcher, Cleric, Cartographer, Leatherworker, Fletcher, Shepherd, Farmer, Fisher, Armorer, Toolsmith, Weaponsmith They aren't new jobs, but they all have their own skins now. (What job they are matters.)
♥ Balance: Maybe after some trading, or passively, villagers will use these blocks. It's hard to tell how much interaction will be required for the villagers to be "automated". Will they take any fuel? Does it have to be coal? What about the things they cook or craft? Is it player dependent? Limited/random quantity? Hard to tell at this point and can go many ways.
Redstone Use: I feel like most of these block and others that work directly with villagers can be change somehow with redstone. Either as an off/on switch for villagers to access, or as another unknown function change.
◄◄◄BLOCKS►►►
► Barrel: Villager Use: I'm not sure which villager would actually need to use liquids. There are wells at the village, and there are farms. Possible blacksmith variants use water/lava, possibly clerics use potion barrels. I'm probably the least sure about this block's relevance to villagers than the rest.
Secondary Use: Right now, transporting a bunch of liquid is a pain and (at best) you bring a shulker box full of buckets, and start scoopin' away. I think this barrel will be the first liquid storage in Minecraft (outside of buckets). Probably not a large amount, I'm gonna guess about 20 "buckets" of said liquid. It's almost guaranteed that this will hold liquids in someway, but also- WHICH liquids this will hold, is also a matter of interest. Just water? Milk? Lava? Potions? It also almost certainly hold one type* of liquid at a time. I imagine the functionality is similar to cauldrons, you can click with a bucket to empty contents into the barrel, then click again with an empty bucket to extract. With potions, it's an empty bottle.
Redstone Use: With redstone it might dispense the fluid. If it's water/lava it dispenses into the world or if its next to a cauldron, into the cauldron (if water), if it's a brewing stand, maybe it fulls the bottles (with water or a potion type, if empty).
World Gen: It would be cool if you could have potion barrels here or there as loot for places.
► Smoker: Villager Use: I like how ambiguous these blocks could be. The smoker in real life, generally slow cooks meats, but can also do veggies. It's basically an oven of sorts. So, this could be used by the all the villagers that sell cooked food. Fishermen sells cooked fish, Butcher sells other cooked meat, Shepherd sells cooked Mutton.
Secondary Use: If my condition (b) is accurate, then this won't be an echo block of the furnace. This will probably a resource light furnace, that operates slower, and only cooks certain items(ex. food, rotten flesh). For instance, you could put a stack of raw pork in the slow cooker, it takes maybe 100% longer to cook, but uses 50% less fuel to complete. I'm hoping for another rotten flesh use. You could smoke rotten flesh, maybe get some monster hide, combine 9 monster hide, get a piece of leather.
► Blast Furnace: Villager Use: Probably necessary for the the smith jobs to function correctly, or at least smelt ore for you.
Secondary Use: If my condition (b) is accurate, then this won't be an echo block of the furnace. This will probably a resource heavy furnace, that operates faster, and only smelts certain items(ex. ore, armor). For instance, you could put a stack of iron ore in the slow cooker, it's maybe 100% faster to smelt, but uses 50% more fuel to complete.
► Cartography Table: Villager Use: Probably necessary for the the cartographer to make maps to special locations. I'm also hoping cartographers will map the surrounding area overtime if there is a map in the block interface.
Secondary Use: Looking at what the loom does (make banner design management easier), I'm assuming this is something similar with maps. I'm thinking it will make the labeling and zooming features of mapping a lot easier.
► Fletching Table: Villager Use: Probably necessary for the the Fletcher to make arrows and crossbows, bows and Fisherman to make rods, especially automatically. It has a clear "redstone side" so it would be interesting if you can set up some hoppers, or toss some materials to the fletcher and he starts crafting things for you. Probably most handy for enchanted arrows.
Secondary Use: This may* be the only way to make arrows and bows in the future if condition (a) is correct.
► Grindstone: Villager Use: Probably necessary to get certain functionality from the; Armorer, Toolsmith, Weaponsmith, Fletcher. Anything that needs an edge or polish.
Secondary Use: Very vague block. In real life, they polish and sharpen. Polishing could be the new way to get things like polished blocks (polished quartz, polished diorite, etc.). It's kinda odd though. Unless they try some new super simulator crafting mechanic, you won't need this to "finish" crafting a sword. Sharpening is already an enchantment. Anvils and combining already are a means to repair things. This block MAY only be necessary as a way to work with other new blocks as a requirement.
► Lectern: Villager Use: Probably none. Might be in libraries in the future though.
Secondary Use: This and the loom are the only blocks with some details out. The point is probably to see text without needing to "use" or "hold" an item. For adventure maps, ease of access, etc. Neat block we'll probably see a lot on servers and custom maps.
► Smithing Table: Villager Use: Probably necessary for anything involving automatic crafting and villagers. Assuming villager moves to this block under the condition that all necessary recipe requirements are met. Dude has iron ore and sticks in inventory, there is a grindstone nearby (maybe), dude can make swords.
Secondary Use: This may replace the crafting table. I doubt it, but it's probably going to be an essential part of villager crafting. It would be neat if you could craft recipes that set the table's crafting. If (a) is true, then this replaces the crafting table. If (b) is true, then this is meant to crafting different things that the regular crafting table cant. If (c) is true, then it's purely meant for villagers and automating smith/crafting.
► Stonecutter: Villager Use: Maybe none. This is something that kinda has a history, so I'm making assumptions off of that.
Secondary Use: Guessing if automatic crafting is a thing in some way, this probably is that block. OR, it might be the way to make slabs, stairs, and wall variants and you can't just craft them in the table anymore.
► Bell: Villager Use: I think it make a little dong when used. It makes villagers take cover in nearby houses, as an alarm. It's for pillager attacks.
Secondary Use: Probably like a note block. Makes a nice ding. Redstoneable.
One of the things not too many people think about when it comes to these new crafting stations is whether or not they're for entirely new things, or if they're all going to be like the loom where it steals functionality from the crafting table. On one hand, more crafting tables is good because you can fill out dedicated crafting rooms a lot better and make them bigger while also retain being practical better than you ever could before. On the other hand, this means that you will not be able to access nearly as much stuff from the crafting table as you used to, which is a severe cut to speedy construction depending on what exactly gets shifted to new tables.
Barrels are perhaps the most interesting block out of the bunch. It's not a storage barrel, I'm sure, because it has a spigot spot on the top. So it's used for liquids.
The only think I can consider it being used for is as a cask for fermenting things. And what's something that is fermented in real life in barrels? Berries. Berries that we are getting in bushes because of the taiga overhaul.
I predict we will use barrels to make berry wine or juice.
The new (soon-to-be) functional blocks look really cool, and seem to be an effort by mojang to draw out the crafting process of certain things. I believe that the different crafting stations give minecraft a more primitive feel, but at the same time maybe there will even be some rudimentary automation in the future!
What are your thoughts on the new crafting stations? Any theories as to what some of them do and what they can make?
One of the things I find enjoyable about modded is all the things that do different things, instead of one thing that does everything. It might be controversial (who am I kidding, of course it is), but I certainly like the idea. Let's hope they add a decent amount of redstone functionality for them, instead of just more unique crafting tables, though.
My theory is that the new blocks will be in villages and will be used by Villagers.
Blast Furnace: Unsure [Might just be furnace upgrade? Maybe used by Blacksmith Variants]
Grindstone: Unsure [Google says they're used for sharpening tools, maybe used by Blacksmith Variants? Or could be cheaper (than 31 iron ingots) way to repair tools]
Smoker: Butcher
Lectern: Librarian/Priest
Cartography Table: Cartographer (Obviously)
Fletching Table: Fletcher
Smithing Table: Blacksmith Variants
The Stonecutter
I honestly didn't see this returning after it was combined with BE's Crafting Table.
Going with the above theory, this leads me to believe it will be used by a new Miner/Jeweler/Stonecutter Villager Profession. Maybe the one with the cool eye lens?
I mean, why else would they bring it back?
The Bell
I have no freaking idea.
If all these blocks are related to the new villagers, maybe this one is a bell ringer Nitwit? I honestly have no clue.
The Loom
Yeah, yeah, this one isn't entirely new.
Maybe it will be used by a new Textile Maker Villager Profession.
I'm bad at naming things, okay? And I have no idea what the official name for someone who makes textiles is.
Or perhaps the Shepherd could use it.
What about the Farmer?
I'm aware that there are multiple existing Villager professions without a new block associated with them, but they aren't Craftsmen, they're Resource Gatherers that don't need special tools.
Anyway, this is all just my theory about why those new blocks are there.
What do you think?
I have to admit, I did NOT see these coming! Looks like the Loom was just the tip of the iceberg! My thoughts:
Blast Furnace: For smelting metals. Or perhaps it merely smelts metals faster, since you presumably need some metal to craft the Blast Furnace to start with.
Smoker: For cooking fish, and possibly other kinds of meat.
I suspect that the coming Campfire will be used for other kinds of food. Meanwhile, the regular Furnace will be used for things like bricks, glass, terracotta, cactus green, and so on - which makes total sense. Maybe it should be renamed to the Kiln.
Or possibly the Furnace will still cook food (in which case the name Oven would be appropriate), and the Campfire will just be a slower but easily craftable in the field version.
Cartography Table: For making and altering maps, of course. Here's hoping it'll include the ability to add more kinds of marker than banners.
Fletching Table: This one puzzles me. The various kinds of arrow did not seem to be crying out for a crafting method of their own. Perhaps we'll be seeing different kinds of arrow, possibly even specialized crossbow bolts?
Smithing Table: Seems clear that this will be for making weapons, tools, and armor.
Stonecutter: Shades of Pocket Edition! This will presumably be for making stone bricks, polished stone, stone slabs and stairs, and so on.
Lectern: I suspect this might be used to craft books as well as reading them. I'll bet it's used to craft the enchantment table, too.
I predict that the existing Crafting Table will basically become the Carpentry Bench, used for wood items almost exclusively.
I'm not sure what's going to happen to items that don't easily fit into the above categories, though. Like, what do you use to craft a sea lantern? Or an ender crystal? Or an eye of Ender, for that matter? Maybe the existing Crafting Table will continue as a catch-all? Or maybe the enchantment table will gain crafting functions as well?
I further predict that all these new crafting blocks will show up in the redesigned villages. That's the point of the update, after all, and they map pretty nicely onto villager professions.
Grindstone: I'm rather puzzled by this one. Are we going to have to sharpen our swords and tools every so often? Or will it be used to mill flour and other grainy items?
Barrels: They must have a unique use, otherwise there's no point. Maybe they can hold liquids? Or maybe the fact they're directionally placeable will play a role?
Bell: Presumably it makes a bell sound. Here's hoping it can be triggered by redstone!
New thought on the Grindstone! Maybe it's the new way to repair tools and weapons!
The way I'd do it is, you'd put your tool on the Grindstone, activate it, and wait. The tool will have its damage restored, but its maximum damage reduced. Repairing on the anvil would then restore the *maximum* damage. Repairing tools by crafting two of them together would be removed.
What's going to happen to the 2x2 crafting square, I wonder? It might be restricted to really simple recipes like planks and sticks.
Or possibly it'll be expanded to 3x3, and be the new catch-all crafting space?
It seems all these crafting blocks have been awaiting the lifting of item ID limits. Perhaps they've been in the works for some time.
I sincerely hope there are no new ores, unless they have been *thoroughly* thought out.
I'm thinking greater speed, as I said. I don't anticipate getting more metal from ore. Byproducts are an interesting thought, but I'm not coming up with any that would be interesting.
Hmm. Maybe one could justify getting more metal from ore if you had to add more crafting components? Like, put in iron ore, charcoal (not coal!), and some sort of stone as flux to get extra iron? Perhaps even grind the stone down to flux with the Grindstone first.
EDIT: Alternatively, a recipe like that could be used to make steel, which would help fill the huge gap between iron and diamond. But I'm just guessing at this point.
So I decided to try to map the new blocks onto villager professions, and that may yield some insight into what some of them do.
Fisherman: Smoker
Shepherd: Loom
Fletcher: Fletching Table, obviously.
Librarian: Lectern
Cartographer: Cartography Table, duh.
Armorer, Weapon Smith, Tool Smith: Smithing Table
That leaves the Butcher, the Leatherworker, the Cleric, and the Farmer.
The Butcher might correspond to the Smoker. The Cleric, maybe the Lectern?
That suggests to me that the Barrel might be used by the Leatherworker (TerraFirmaCraft already uses barrels to make leather) and the Grindstone by the Farmer. If I'm right, we might need to mill wheat into flour, then bake into bread! If so, it'd better be made more competitive with meat.
I think that, although these blocks may be usable by the player, I think that (given this update's name) these new blocks will be primarily used by villagers. This could mean that non farmer villagers will be gaining unique behaviors as well. What they will be? Who knows but the devs.
Praise be to Spode.
A long time ago they toyed with the idea of being able to crop maps back down. I hope that feature makes a return with the cartography table.
But yeah, it could be that these blocks revolve around new villager behavior.
Capture bats and other mobs in a small cage!
Bedrock edition: Using nether quartz to measure light levels
Nearly the same as my thoughts.
I was actually thinking that these may be used in conjunction with villager trading...
The thought is that when a specific villager trade is 'locked' - the villager will then go gather materials (either from other villagers or natural resources) & go to the respective crafting block to reset their trade...
eg You trade with a fisherman to get cooked fish until it locks up > fisherman will then go fishing to gather fish > go back to the smoker & after a while the fish trade gets unlocked
Stuff like the bell could be used if pillagers attack the village - a villager goes to bell & rings it as a warning
The barrel, like mention earlier, could contain liquids - fill it up with water & can transport it around in a boat/pistons etc, working a bit like a portable cauldron, player then uses a bucket or bottle to remove water from the barrel until empty
I'm of two minds on this. On the one hand, it does seem awfully risky for Mojang to radically change something so basic to the game as crafting.
On the other, it seems pointless to introduce all these blocks strictly for villagers, while the player goes on using the generic crafting table. And we already know that the Loom has had recipes offloaded to it - ones that villagers would have no particular reason to use.
We *were* told that an upcoming update would address 'game mechanics'. And the lifting of block ID limits makes it newly possible.
Finally, the Stonecutter doesn't correspond to any existing villager profession.
All of that said, I could easily believe that these blocks are used by villagers to unlock trades. I just don't think that'll be their only use.
EDIT: There's another fact that gives me pause in my conclusions, though. The GUI's of the Barrel, Blast Furnace, and Smoker are currently only accessible in spectator mode. Does this imply that you can't open the GUI's normally at all? Perhaps you just click items into them, and they spit products out? (Or one just uses hoppers for both.)
Thanks for all the theories guys! Having read your opinions, I believe it is very likely that these blocks are primarily used by villagers, it just makes sense.
You know whatever crafting purpose the stone cutter serves, I kinda hope that it has a secondary function of being a togglable damage block. (Eg a red stone signal makes the blade "spin", damaging enemies on top of it)
Capture bats and other mobs in a small cage!
Bedrock edition: Using nether quartz to measure light levels
Here's my opinion on these blocks: (The GUIs mentioned can only be accessed in gamemode 3)
LOOM: Used for easier banner crafting, may replace/remove banner crafting in crafting table.
BARREL: Judging by the GUI, used to store items, similar to a chest. I'd appear in shipwrecks, ocean ruins, and maybe villages. As of now, items can be put in and taken out of the barrel via hoppers.
SMOKER: Has a GUI, only with the title of "Furnace". As of now, items and fuels can be put in and taken out of the smoker via hoppers. Its smelting process is exactly the same as a furnace. I'd say in the future, it'll change to a furnace which cooks food items faster, but can only cook food.
BLAST FURNACE: has a GUI, only with the title of "Furnace". As of now, items and fuels can be put in and taken out of the blast furnace via hoppers. Its smelting process is exactly the same as a furnace. I'd say in the future, it'll change to a furnace which smelts ores faster, but can only smelt ore. (BTW, that's not how they work in real life)
CARTOGRAPHY TABLE: I'd say a block used to edit and resize maps, may replace/remove resizing maps in crafting table.
FLETCHING TABLE: I'd say a block used to make better/tipped/spectral arrows (judging by the texture). May replace/remove making different arrows in crafting table.
GRINDSTONE: I'd say a block with something to do with farming and crops, maybe used to grind wheat into flour.
SMITHING TABLE: I'd say a block used to upgrade/make tools. Upgraded tools could mine faster, and weapons could have more knockback or deal more damage. May be akin to some enchanting.
STONECUTTER: I'd say a block used to make stone items/blocks easier, may also deal damage. May replace/remove making stone blocks in crafting table.
BELL: I'd say a block that just makes sound when punched or right-clicked. May also be used in villages to signal raids.
LECTERN: I'd say a block used to display and read books. May make books readable by multiple players at the same time. No idea why it is in the Redstone tab.
Some kind of RS functionality is going to be added to the Lectern, according to Dinnerbone on Twitter. My guess is that it will emit a signal when a book is put in it and/or read.
Capture bats and other mobs in a small cage!
Bedrock edition: Using nether quartz to measure light levels
(I was gonna use Multi-Quote for this to Reply, but at 6 - basically 1 /3rd of the above - it seemed that much can be left to individual parsing of imaginations, by oneself). Great Ideas!
Lots Of Overlap, too. My feeling is that as we are-given Already a Crafting Table (when Library /Bookstore present), and Three Furnaces (when Blacksmith's House /Shop present), and an Infinite Water Source in the form of the 2X2 sections of the (Deep-enough to not see the bottom of) central in-design Well, it's being expounded-upon.
Villagers probably will use them - as opposed to Ignore them, currently (other than the Farmers with Crops, of any kind within-range of them) - or at-Least they will become highly-collectible and /or potentially co-usable (would we see Villagers putting stuff in /changing stuff /making stuff /taking stuff out..?!) Blocks to Decorate-with. I'm sure that at least a few would be usable by the Player, And that some of them - if ever used by Villagers - and removed, would be kind-of messing-up Villagers' Trading /other mechanics (again, this would be a Change from-before), so I wonder if they could - and how - be Crafted-anew by the Player (avoiding-"Griefing" Villagers' at least original Village appearances).
Having seen Iron Golems easily-enough handle Pillagers' attacks (if less so Illager Beasts) in the Snapshots so-far, I wonder if the Bell would also be used to warn of Zombies (as of the Other Sieges) (which on Hard Mode might be as-Difficult to deal-with, overall). It's also funny to think that this could be the sometime-"Nitwit's" role, that they're "the Villager who Clanged 'Wolf' (read: Pillager /Illager Beast /Z. )," so that they might have a somewhat-undeserved "name."
Heck, they might even wear Green to help-camouflage them (Creeper green) the best, overall, in MC, while they spy-upon attackers and run la-la-la away at their usual kinda-slow Villager pace. All it would take is some head-related animation for them to warn of concussions when "Ringing the Bell."
My theory is that the Grindstone will increase attack damage of swords (meaning that they're a bit sharper) but lower the durability (by taking a little bit of material off the sword).
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◄◄◄PREFACE►►►
I'm guessing all the blocks are relevant to certain villager jobs and allow some level of automatic functionality to them, like the farmer. This will give them more life and use. I'm very certain in this. What I am not certain about, is if these blocks will ultimately replace the crafting table and furnace, or if these new blocks will simply operate differently. I can't see Mojang simply making an echo block (the furnace... but for villagers!), so if they don't replace the current blocks, I image they will work for the player differently, or not all. With the new blocks and the focus of the patch on villagers, it's hard to imagine these blocks for anything else, tbh. Between the clear redstone on the texture, and dinnerbones tweets, it seems they will also have a redstone functionality.
So;
♦ (a) New blocks remove the old furnace and crafting table, and spread tasks over different blocks.
♦ (b) New blocks and old blocks together, but have different functionality.
♦ (c) New blocks and old blocks together, but the new blocks ONLY work with villagers.
(And I think B is the most likely.)
I always assume these things about Mojang Devs when speculating;
■ How can we get the MOST out of this new block? (appearance, redstone, natural spawning, synergy, etc.)
■ What part of Minecraft will this improve or what needs improving?
■ What secondary and tertiary features can this block bring?
■ Does it fit the Minecraft "lore"? (No F16 fighter jets)
The villagers in order: Librarian, Butcher, Cleric, Cartographer, Leatherworker, Fletcher, Shepherd, Farmer, Fisher, Armorer, Toolsmith, Weaponsmith
They aren't new jobs, but they all have their own skins now. (What job they are matters.)
♥ Balance: Maybe after some trading, or passively, villagers will use these blocks. It's hard to tell how much interaction will be required for the villagers to be "automated". Will they take any fuel? Does it have to be coal? What about the things they cook or craft? Is it player dependent? Limited/random quantity? Hard to tell at this point and can go many ways.
Redstone Use: I feel like most of these block and others that work directly with villagers can be change somehow with redstone. Either as an off/on switch for villagers to access, or as another unknown function change.
◄◄◄BLOCKS►►►
► Barrel:
Villager Use: I'm not sure which villager would actually need to use liquids. There are wells at the village, and there are farms. Possible blacksmith variants use water/lava, possibly clerics use potion barrels. I'm probably the least sure about this block's relevance to villagers than the rest.
Secondary Use: Right now, transporting a bunch of liquid is a pain and (at best) you bring a shulker box full of buckets, and start scoopin' away. I think this barrel will be the first liquid storage in Minecraft (outside of buckets). Probably not a large amount, I'm gonna guess about 20 "buckets" of said liquid. It's almost guaranteed that this will hold liquids in someway, but also- WHICH liquids this will hold, is also a matter of interest. Just water? Milk? Lava? Potions? It also almost certainly hold one type* of liquid at a time. I imagine the functionality is similar to cauldrons, you can click with a bucket to empty contents into the barrel, then click again with an empty bucket to extract. With potions, it's an empty bottle.
Redstone Use: With redstone it might dispense the fluid. If it's water/lava it dispenses into the world or if its next to a cauldron, into the cauldron (if water), if it's a brewing stand, maybe it fulls the bottles (with water or a potion type, if empty).
World Gen: It would be cool if you could have potion barrels here or there as loot for places.
► Smoker:
Villager Use: I like how ambiguous these blocks could be. The smoker in real life, generally slow cooks meats, but can also do veggies. It's basically an oven of sorts. So, this could be used by the all the villagers that sell cooked food. Fishermen sells cooked fish, Butcher sells other cooked meat, Shepherd sells cooked Mutton.
Secondary Use: If my condition (b) is accurate, then this won't be an echo block of the furnace. This will probably a resource light furnace, that operates slower, and only cooks certain items (ex. food, rotten flesh). For instance, you could put a stack of raw pork in the slow cooker, it takes maybe 100% longer to cook, but uses 50% less fuel to complete. I'm hoping for another rotten flesh use. You could smoke rotten flesh, maybe get some monster hide, combine 9 monster hide, get a piece of leather.
► Blast Furnace:
Villager Use: Probably necessary for the the smith jobs to function correctly, or at least smelt ore for you.
Secondary Use: If my condition (b) is accurate, then this won't be an echo block of the furnace. This will probably a resource heavy furnace, that operates faster, and only smelts certain items (ex. ore, armor). For instance, you could put a stack of iron ore in the slow cooker, it's maybe 100% faster to smelt, but uses 50% more fuel to complete.
► Cartography Table:
Villager Use: Probably necessary for the the cartographer to make maps to special locations. I'm also hoping cartographers will map the surrounding area overtime if there is a map in the block interface.
Secondary Use: Looking at what the loom does (make banner design management easier), I'm assuming this is something similar with maps. I'm thinking it will make the labeling and zooming features of mapping a lot easier.
Villager Use: Probably necessary for the the Fletcher to make arrows and crossbows, bows and Fisherman to make rods, especially automatically. It has a clear "redstone side" so it would be interesting if you can set up some hoppers, or toss some materials to the fletcher and he starts crafting things for you. Probably most handy for enchanted arrows.
Secondary Use: This may* be the only way to make arrows and bows in the future if condition (a) is correct.
► Grindstone:
Villager Use: Probably necessary to get certain functionality from the; Armorer, Toolsmith, Weaponsmith, Fletcher. Anything that needs an edge or polish.
Secondary Use: Very vague block. In real life, they polish and sharpen. Polishing could be the new way to get things like polished blocks (polished quartz, polished diorite, etc.). It's kinda odd though. Unless they try some new super simulator crafting mechanic, you won't need this to "finish" crafting a sword. Sharpening is already an enchantment. Anvils and combining already are a means to repair things. This block MAY only be necessary as a way to work with other new blocks as a requirement.
Villager Use: Probably none. Might be in libraries in the future though.
Secondary Use: This and the loom are the only blocks with some details out. The point is probably to see text without needing to "use" or "hold" an item. For adventure maps, ease of access, etc. Neat block we'll probably see a lot on servers and custom maps.
Villager Use: Probably necessary for anything involving automatic crafting and villagers. Assuming villager moves to this block under the condition that all necessary recipe requirements are met. Dude has iron ore and sticks in inventory, there is a grindstone nearby (maybe), dude can make swords.
Secondary Use: This may replace the crafting table. I doubt it, but it's probably going to be an essential part of villager crafting. It would be neat if you could craft recipes that set the table's crafting. If (a) is true, then this replaces the crafting table. If (b) is true, then this is meant to crafting different things that the regular crafting table cant. If (c) is true, then it's purely meant for villagers and automating smith/crafting.
Villager Use: Maybe none. This is something that kinda has a history, so I'm making assumptions off of that.
Secondary Use: Guessing if automatic crafting is a thing in some way, this probably is that block. OR, it might be the way to make slabs, stairs, and wall variants and you can't just craft them in the table anymore.
► Bell:
Villager Use: I think it make a little dong when used. It makes villagers take cover in nearby houses, as an alarm. It's for pillager attacks.
One of the things not too many people think about when it comes to these new crafting stations is whether or not they're for entirely new things, or if they're all going to be like the loom where it steals functionality from the crafting table. On one hand, more crafting tables is good because you can fill out dedicated crafting rooms a lot better and make them bigger while also retain being practical better than you ever could before. On the other hand, this means that you will not be able to access nearly as much stuff from the crafting table as you used to, which is a severe cut to speedy construction depending on what exactly gets shifted to new tables.
Barrels are perhaps the most interesting block out of the bunch. It's not a storage barrel, I'm sure, because it has a spigot spot on the top. So it's used for liquids.
The only think I can consider it being used for is as a cask for fermenting things. And what's something that is fermented in real life in barrels? Berries. Berries that we are getting in bushes because of the taiga overhaul.
I predict we will use barrels to make berry wine or juice.
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