Blasting powder would be a more efficient alternative to TNT. The main use of the powder would be for mining out large areas of stone, but it could have other applications.
To create blasting powder, a player would have to combine 1 gunpowder, 1 redstone dust, 1 bone meal, and 1 blaze powder. Crafting these items together creates 5 blasting powder.
The powder would be much like a retextured red-stone dust. It would be place-able much like Redpower's "Red Alloy Wire". Meaning that it can go up walls, or on ceilings. When a redstone current is applied to the powder, all powder connected to it, with a 20 block range, will explode almost instantly. Exploding powder will destroy a 3x3x3 cube, centered around it, making it great for destroying large areas.
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Blasting powder with a trail? Gunpowder is flamable by itself, all you need is something to light it on fire, so pretty much the Flint & Steel tool would do that quickly. Perhaps if you could craft something like a Keg of Gunpowder, that would easily have a big bang similar to TNT, plus, all you would have to do is just kill a few Creepers, gather their Gunpowder, and just use some Wood Planks with the Gunpowder to make the Keg of Gunpowder.
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Blast powder doesn't sound controlled, and what your proposing is a controlled blast. I'd add stone or iron to the recipe and call it a shaped charge or detpack (detonation pack).
Well if the intended use is to create a trail and blow it up all at once then you're going to need to carve a path for yourself to lay the trails. It makes the explosives hardly worth the resources after you've already carved that much out to place them.
To create blasting powder, a player would have to combine 1 gunpowder, 1 redstone dust, 1 bone meal, and 1 blaze powder. Crafting these items together creates 5 blasting powder.
The powder would be much like a retextured red-stone dust. It would be place-able much like Redpower's "Red Alloy Wire". Meaning that it can go up walls, or on ceilings. When a redstone current is applied to the powder, all powder connected to it, with a 20 block range, will explode almost instantly. Exploding powder will destroy a 3x3x3 cube, centered around it, making it great for destroying large areas.
A directional charge that takes out a 3x6x3 cuboid in front of it might be more useful.
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I don't dig 3x3x"X" mine-shafts to place things.
I have mixed thoughts about using blaze powder. Blazes are pretty dangerous...
I think this would be good for traps in multiplayer too.
As I said in the OP, each powder does blow up a 3x3x3 area.
Mostly moved on. May check back a few times a year.