I received an informal warning for attempting to revive my previous topic and was told instead to start a new one. So here it is, with hopefully some better wording and a more interesting format!
As it stands, there are only two sizes of text. There's the small text written on signs. The other size is gigantic, made from actual blocks placed in the world. We're not even counting the shoddily cobbled-together lettering attempted in ASCII art that doesn't translate well from one font to the next.
Please keep in mind that none of these are set in stone, and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Enter Glowing, Wooden, and Redstone Letters!
These are meant to be a happy medium: a one-block-tall, pass-through letter object that you can pick up, change, and set down again. It could even use the same font your current texture pack does, stretched 1/8 block into the third dimension.
These Letters would be pass-through, but you can place all types of Letters against one another, just like signs. Removing the surface your Letter is resting against doesn't remove it, however; in this way, you can incorporate floating text, labels, and reliable ASCII art. All types of Letters would have 28 facing options (chosen by whichever faces you, again like signs):
Standing up (8 directions).
Lying face-up on the floor (8 directions).
Stuck face-down on the ceiling (8 directions).
Against a wall (4 directions).
Glowing Letters
Glowing Letters each store one letter, numeral, or punctuation mark. You can adjust their facing by breaking them like signs and setting them down again.
Glowing Letters emit light at level 12 and do not receive shading (like glowstone). Its front/back color is chosen by dyeing it or using colored wool in its crafting, and its edges follow the glowstone texture.
Here are the main points in a quick format:
Happy medium between signs and block-formed lettering.
Can face many different directions, to allow diagonal writing and rounding corners.
Can stick to walls if that's what you want.
Emits light at level 12, with no shading on the letter itself (like glowstone).
Can be set to any letter, number, or punctuation.
Slim like panes, non-solid like signs.
Doesn't inherently clash with any decor.
Font follows your current texture pack.
Recipe is small and lightweight, designed to make sense.
Doesn't take up the entire block, so you can still see past it.
Stackable! You can pile 64 of these babies into one inventory slot.
Can be colored by using colored wool in its crafting or by dyeing the Letter.
Letters can be crafted with a simple recipe that yields four Glowing Letters:
Wooden Letters
Wooden Letters are much like Glowing ones, but they do receive shading and don't emit light. Wooden Letters have an oak plank texture on the front and oak bark on the sides. Unlike other types of Letters, these only require wood (and some of its derivatives) to make. Also, you'll have to light them manually if you want them to be seen.
Happy medium between signs and block-formed lettering.
Can face any direction, to allow diagonal writing and rounding corners.
Can stick to walls if that's what you want.
Receives shadows and emits no light.
Can be set to any letter, number, or punctuation.
Slim like panes, non-solid like signs.
Font follows your current texture pack.
Recipe is small and lightweight, designed to make sense.
Doesn't take up the entire block, so you can still see past it.
Stackable! You can pile 64 of these babies into one space in your inventory.
This recipe would yield four Wooden Letters:
Redstone Letters
Redstone Letters are to Glowing Letters as Redstone Lamps are to Glowstone blocks. The key here is that, while they don't require any glowstone to make, you must power them to light them up. This can create added functionality, such as signs with changing text or "Open" signs on shops.
Power from one Redstone Letter transmits to all Redstone Letters immediately next to it, including above and below, with no limit. This power does not, however, transmit to other objects.
When lit, Redstone Letters emit light at level 12 and receive no shading. When unlit, they do receive shading and emit no light.
The front and back have the wool texture, while the sides have modified redstone textures.
Happy medium between signs and block-formed lettering.
Can face any direction, to allow diagonal writing and rounding corners.
Can stick to walls if that's what you want.
Can be lit or unlit. Power your Letters to light them.
Can be set to any letter, number, or punctuation.
Slim like panes, non-solid like signs.
Doesn't inherently clash with any decor.
Font follows your current texture pack.
Recipe is small and lightweight, designed to make sense.
Doesn't take up the entire block, so you can still see past it.
Stackable! You can pile 64 of these babies into one space in your inventory.
Can be colored by using colored wool in its creation or by dyeing the Letter.
This recipe would yield four Redstone Letters:
What Would You Use These Things for?
There are a lot of applications for these Letters, including:
You can keep the credit for the redstone letters. My idea was to simply have metal plaques crafted from gold and redstone that act like a sign but light up red when powered. As for the idea, the only applications I see (unless I'm misunderstanding) would be making supermarkets or large billboard signs. You may want to include such examples and pictures to maybe give people some context, but unfortunately, this seems a very specific thing to add and while I wouldn't overtly object to them being added, they aren't a high priority for me.
You can use them for all sorts of things, such as reliable ASCII art, adding shading to pixel art at a smaller scale, and labeling landmarks, streets, bulletin boards, etc.
For example, you enter a city on a server without town-based plugins. Instead of seeking out a tiny sign or being shouted at with five- or three-block-tall lettering, you would see a nicely themed, clean town name across the archway.
Or maybe you want to create some kind of arena. These Letters could be used for all sorts of things, from seating labels to arrows.
If you had these, you would also be able to more simply mark in caves and dungeons which way your home is, by affixing a Glowing Letter to the floor while facing that way and typing "^", avoiding even the need to use a torch. Or mark the way to your nether portal with an "N". Or to a stronghold with "S".
You could create a small playable chess set simply by standing letters on an 8x8 grid.
In a multi-storied building, you could add floor numbers that don't take up the entire available height. In a hotel, you could add easily readable room numbers. In a market, you could clearly categorize your merchandise. In the middle of nowhere, you can add a small compass rose or visibly point someone toward the nearest town.
And the best part is you can do all this however you like: on the floor, on the ceiling, in midair, on the wall, horizontally, vertically, diagonally, etc. As with most things in Minecraft, your imagination is your only limit!
... You may want to include such examples and pictures to maybe give people some context...
The most I could manage myself is a horrid-looking mockup. I don't have a 3D modeling program I'm skilled enough with to attach any kind of texture, and I certainly can't program (though I understand a lot of the logic and objectives). I do think I've given a reasonable enough description to give an actual programmer a head start, though.
These would be much more visible from a longer distance than signs and would be much less bulky and more area-friendly than lettering formed from blocks.
As it stands, there are only two sizes of text. There's the small text written on signs. The other size is gigantic, made from actual blocks placed in the world. We're not even counting the shoddily cobbled-together lettering attempted in ASCII art that doesn't translate well from one font to the next.
Please keep in mind that none of these are set in stone, and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Enter Glowing, Wooden, and Redstone Letters!
These are meant to be a happy medium: a one-block-tall, pass-through letter object that you can pick up, change, and set down again. It could even use the same font your current texture pack does, stretched 1/8 block into the third dimension.
These Letters would be pass-through, but you can place all types of Letters against one another, just like signs. Removing the surface your Letter is resting against doesn't remove it, however; in this way, you can incorporate floating text, labels, and reliable ASCII art. All types of Letters would have 28 facing options (chosen by whichever faces you, again like signs):
- Standing up (8 directions).
- Lying face-up on the floor (8 directions).
- Stuck face-down on the ceiling (8 directions).
- Against a wall (4 directions).
Glowing LettersGlowing Letters each store one letter, numeral, or punctuation mark. You can adjust their facing by breaking them like signs and setting them down again.
Glowing Letters emit light at level 12 and do not receive shading (like glowstone). Its front/back color is chosen by dyeing it or using colored wool in its crafting, and its edges follow the glowstone texture.
Here are the main points in a quick format:
- Happy medium between signs and block-formed lettering.
- Can face many different directions, to allow diagonal writing and rounding corners.
- Can stick to walls if that's what you want.
- Emits light at level 12, with no shading on the letter itself (like glowstone).
- Can be set to any letter, number, or punctuation.
- Slim like panes, non-solid like signs.
- Doesn't inherently clash with any decor.
- Font follows your current texture pack.
- Recipe is small and lightweight, designed to make sense.
- Doesn't take up the entire block, so you can still see past it.
- Stackable! You can pile 64 of these babies into one inventory slot.
- Can be colored by using colored wool in its crafting or by dyeing the Letter.
Letters can be crafted with a simple recipe that yields four Glowing Letters:Wooden Letters
Wooden Letters are much like Glowing ones, but they do receive shading and don't emit light. Wooden Letters have an oak plank texture on the front and oak bark on the sides. Unlike other types of Letters, these only require wood (and some of its derivatives) to make. Also, you'll have to light them manually if you want them to be seen.
- Happy medium between signs and block-formed lettering.
- Can face any direction, to allow diagonal writing and rounding corners.
- Can stick to walls if that's what you want.
- Receives shadows and emits no light.
- Can be set to any letter, number, or punctuation.
- Slim like panes, non-solid like signs.
- Font follows your current texture pack.
- Recipe is small and lightweight, designed to make sense.
- Doesn't take up the entire block, so you can still see past it.
- Stackable! You can pile 64 of these babies into one space in your inventory.
This recipe would yield four Wooden Letters:Redstone Letters
Redstone Letters are to Glowing Letters as Redstone Lamps are to Glowstone blocks. The key here is that, while they don't require any glowstone to make, you must power them to light them up. This can create added functionality, such as signs with changing text or "Open" signs on shops.
Power from one Redstone Letter transmits to all Redstone Letters immediately next to it, including above and below, with no limit. This power does not, however, transmit to other objects.
When lit, Redstone Letters emit light at level 12 and receive no shading. When unlit, they do receive shading and emit no light.
The front and back have the wool texture, while the sides have modified redstone textures.
- Happy medium between signs and block-formed lettering.
- Can face any direction, to allow diagonal writing and rounding corners.
- Can stick to walls if that's what you want.
- Can be lit or unlit. Power your Letters to light them.
- Can be set to any letter, number, or punctuation.
- Slim like panes, non-solid like signs.
- Doesn't inherently clash with any decor.
- Font follows your current texture pack.
- Recipe is small and lightweight, designed to make sense.
- Doesn't take up the entire block, so you can still see past it.
- Stackable! You can pile 64 of these babies into one space in your inventory.
- Can be colored by using colored wool in its creation or by dyeing the Letter.
This recipe would yield four Redstone Letters:What Would You Use These Things for?
There are a lot of applications for these Letters, including:
- Signs on buildings.
- Chess sets.
- Crossword puzzles.
- ASCII art.
- Pixel art shading.
Special ThanksMinepenguincraft (Wooden Letters)
CreatorWorks1987 (improved recipes)
Nexus_Leonon (improved recipes)
ChadGarion25 (Redstone Letters)
For example, you enter a city on a server without town-based plugins. Instead of seeking out a tiny sign or being shouted at with five- or three-block-tall lettering, you would see a nicely themed, clean town name across the archway.
Or maybe you want to create some kind of arena. These Letters could be used for all sorts of things, from seating labels to arrows.
If you had these, you would also be able to more simply mark in caves and dungeons which way your home is, by affixing a Glowing Letter to the floor while facing that way and typing "^", avoiding even the need to use a torch. Or mark the way to your nether portal with an "N". Or to a stronghold with "S".
You could create a small playable chess set simply by standing letters on an 8x8 grid.
In a multi-storied building, you could add floor numbers that don't take up the entire available height. In a hotel, you could add easily readable room numbers. In a market, you could clearly categorize your merchandise. In the middle of nowhere, you can add a small compass rose or visibly point someone toward the nearest town.
And the best part is you can do all this however you like: on the floor, on the ceiling, in midair, on the wall, horizontally, vertically, diagonally, etc. As with most things in Minecraft, your imagination is your only limit!
The most I could manage myself is a horrid-looking mockup. I don't have a 3D modeling program I'm skilled enough with to attach any kind of texture, and I certainly can't program (though I understand a lot of the logic and objectives). I do think I've given a reasonable enough description to give an actual programmer a head start, though.
These would be much more visible from a longer distance than signs and would be much less bulky and more area-friendly than lettering formed from blocks.
I should make that a little more visible, though. Thanks.
EDIT: Done!