Currently glass just acts as a window, wouldn't it be interesting if it could conduct light? This way we could have day/night detectors deep underground, and illuminate fortresses with nothing but glass tubes. Torches would still be useful since the conduits won't work at night.
Taking this further, placing a torch near a glass conduit should conduct that light. However, the more openings you have in the conduit to cast light, the weaker the light should get. This means you have to insulate the conduit with material to keep light from leaking in dark spaces. On the other hand, having a huge collector should mean more light in dark spaces.
From the side, here is a multistory conduit.
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That'll make a spot light. For a flood light, you would do something like this.
It's five times weaker since it's shining from five facets instead of one. You can compensate by placing more collection segments open to the sky, or to whatever your light source is.
If you look up through it it works like a normal window, the image isn't carried though, only the light. That way windows will work mostly normally. Perhaps light transfer could be made to work with only 1x1xN conduits. It should allow turns, rather than only straight line runs. Example below.
If glass only conducts light when insulated, and only when exposed to light, and in a degree proportional to exposed surfaces, then a glass house shouldn't glow any more than it currently does. I suppose conduction of light will also need to be first come first serve style, with the closest surfaces exposed to light getting the most light, then subsequent surfaces emitting consecutively less light. That way there should be no danger of a glass house being evenly illuminated by just a few torches.
With one torch at either end it should be like having two torches at either end. I'm not sure how the light works in the game, so I don't know if this would double the intensity in both squares or what. Torch light doesn't combine though, so you may get no result at all.
[edit] I meant to say torch light does not combine above a certain intensity, the lesser intensity squares do combine their light.
With one torch at either end it should be like having two torches at either end. I'm not sure how the light works in the game, so I don't know if this would double the intensity in both squares or what. Torch light doesn't combine though, so you may get no result at all.
But if say you put your torch a few squares away, so only half the light strength hits it, on both sides, the half light that hits it will go through the fiber optic and provide both ends with a light source half as strong as a torch.
So you are effectively lighting an area with more light than is actually being generated by your torches.
Edit: lol you editted that part in your last post - so yes, you DO get what I'm saying, and I'm wondering how other people feel about that mechanic - to me it seems a little unbalanced.
It might be a little imbalanced, since you are getting four torches of light with two. The system could be made to work with only direct light and sunlight, or sunlight only.
However, it may be balanced by the amount of work that goes into glass making, which admittedly is not so much. But for long conduits it would definitely balance.
Maybe to balance it out you'd need to craft glass further to function as a fiber optic wire? Maybe insulate it with cloth or something, like so:
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Bear in mind cloth is just an example, and maybe it'd be better to use a material you can't get by wandering outside and punching the dumbest animal you can find.
Currently glass just acts as a window, wouldn't it be interesting if it could conduct light? This way we could have day/night detectors deep underground, and illuminate fortresses with nothing but glass tubes. Torches would still be useful since the conduits won't work at night.
Taking this further, placing a torch near a glass conduit should conduct that light. However, the more openings you have in the conduit to cast light, the weaker the light should get. This means you have to insulate the conduit with material to keep light from leaking in dark spaces. On the other hand, having a huge collector should mean more light in dark spaces.
From the side, here is a multistory conduit.
[]
[]
[]
[] [] [] [] []
That'll make a spot light. For a flood light, you would do something like this.
[]
[]
[]
[] []
[] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] []
It's five times weaker since it's shining from five facets instead of one. You can compensate by placing more collection segments open to the sky, or to whatever your light source is.
[]
[]
[]
[]
[] []
[] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] []
If you look up through it it works like a normal window, the image isn't carried though, only the light. That way windows will work mostly normally. Perhaps light transfer could be made to work with only 1x1xN conduits. It should allow turns, rather than only straight line runs. Example below.
new way of farming mobs!
hopefully fiber optics will be a different material than glass
what wrong with glass?
maybe something combined with glass to make it?
Thanks, to all who like the idea.
Fiber optics are just glass spun out into threads, man.
To
Over powered?
[edit] I meant to say torch light does not combine above a certain intensity, the lesser intensity squares do combine their light.
But if say you put your torch a few squares away, so only half the light strength hits it, on both sides, the half light that hits it will go through the fiber optic and provide both ends with a light source half as strong as a torch.
So you are effectively lighting an area with more light than is actually being generated by your torches.
Edit: lol you editted that part in your last post - so yes, you DO get what I'm saying, and I'm wondering how other people feel about that mechanic - to me it seems a little unbalanced.
However, it may be balanced by the amount of work that goes into glass making, which admittedly is not so much. But for long conduits it would definitely balance.
Only thing I can think of right now is a problem with griefing, if I do this...
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Guess how many more light calculations are being done...
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Bear in mind cloth is just an example, and maybe it'd be better to use a material you can't get by wandering outside and punching the dumbest animal you can find.
What about melting it, then insulating it, or is that one too many steps?