One limitation of hoppers is that you cannot easily control which container slots they take items out from, or where they put items in.
This makes it harder to use hoppers for many purposes. For example, you can't really use hoppers with furnaces because they will put fuel in the wrong slot, or pull out items items before they're done smelting.
Here's what I suggest: use comparators to select active slots in containers.
When a container is powered by a comparator (and just comparators) the comparator's signal strength determines which slot can be access by hoppers.
For example, a furnace would have slots 1, 2, and 3. Power 1-5 would make slot 1 active. Power 6-10 would make slot 2 active. Power 11-15 would make slot 3 active. Hoppers would only be able to interact with the currently active slot.
On chests it would work a little different, because they have 27 slots. So there for example you might have every power level unlock two container slots at a time, and have an unused power levels, or think of some other purpose for it.
Conflicting signals from two different comparators would lock the container entirely, disabling all slots. While leaving it unpowered would keep everything open and semi-random and dependent on current contents as it is now.
Note that containers would remain transparent blocks and could not actually be "powered". A chest powered by a comparator would not transmit a redstone signal to wire or repeaters. It just affects how hoppers interact with it and nothing else.
I don't really like this idea. It's only needed for the furnace (what does it matter what slot it is in, in a chest?) and a far more elegant solution could be devised for that. Say, for example all items are placed in the smeltable slot (slot 1), unless they are a fuel item (coal, lava bucket, blaze rods etc.) in which case they will go in the fuel slot (slot 2) and nothing is ever placed in the output slot (slot 3), only sucked out of there if there is a hopper beneath.
For logs, they are placed in slot 1 unless there is already an item in slot 1 (or a full stack), in which case they will go into the fuel slot.
Far more user friendly than mucking about with signal strength.
I have to go with Black_Drath as far as the Furnace goes. I think it would be much more elegant of a solution to say that anything loaded via the top goes in the Smelting Slot, anything from the Side goes in the Fuel Slot, and a Hopper underneath only pulls items from the output.
I don't mind the other stuff, I just can't think of a reason to only put items in a specific slot. I'm already annoyed that I need to use two Hoppers just to fill both parts of a Double Chest.
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I don't really like this idea. It's only needed for the furnace (what does it matter what slot it is in, in a chest?) and a far more elegant solution could be devised for that. Say, for example all items are placed in the smeltable slot (slot 1), unless they are a fuel item (coal, lava bucket, blaze rods etc.) in which case they will go in the fuel slot (slot 2) and nothing is ever placed in the output slot (slot 3), only sucked out of there if there is a hopper beneath.
For logs, they are placed in slot 1 unless there is already an item in slot 1 (or a full stack), in which case they will go into the fuel slot.
Far more user friendly than mucking about with signal strength.
It's more user-friendly if it selected the slots for you, but there are uses to being able to access everything.
For example with a furnace, you might want to smelt something else and save any unused ingredients for later. If hoppers can only withdraw from the output slot you'd have to take any unsmelted items out by hand.
Another example, in potion brewing you can enhance already complete potions. So you need some way to decide which potions to keep in there for further alchemy and which to withdraw. That can be especially important if you're applying the same reagent to different potions, and not just brewing 3 identical ones
It's less important but still useful for chests too.
For example, rather than have a separate chest and hopper for each kind of item you want to move around, you could store multiple items in a single chest and have your system keep track of where they are inside. It allows for more compact machines, since you don't need as many separate chests and hoppers.
It would be probably be really handy for sorting and keeping track of non-stacking non-sortable items like books, armor, and potions.
You could also automatically organize chests, so it looks nice and neat even if you toss random crap in a hopper.
I think what you asked for has now been in effect, been introduced
Yes, kind of. They gave people the ability to lock hoppers down.
I still think being able to select which slots in other containers the hopper interacts with could be very useful. But just being able to lock hoppers is a great tool by itself.
The Hoppers are still being worked on. It would be better to wait before making suggestions on them.
Usually I agree that you shouldn't suggest changes to works in progress, but these snapshots are released specifically to get feedback before the official update.
This makes it harder to use hoppers for many purposes. For example, you can't really use hoppers with furnaces because they will put fuel in the wrong slot, or pull out items items before they're done smelting.
Here's what I suggest: use comparators to select active slots in containers.
When a container is powered by a comparator (and just comparators) the comparator's signal strength determines which slot can be access by hoppers.
For example, a furnace would have slots 1, 2, and 3. Power 1-5 would make slot 1 active. Power 6-10 would make slot 2 active. Power 11-15 would make slot 3 active. Hoppers would only be able to interact with the currently active slot.
On chests it would work a little different, because they have 27 slots. So there for example you might have every power level unlock two container slots at a time, and have an unused power levels, or think of some other purpose for it.
Conflicting signals from two different comparators would lock the container entirely, disabling all slots. While leaving it unpowered would keep everything open and semi-random and dependent on current contents as it is now.
Note that containers would remain transparent blocks and could not actually be "powered". A chest powered by a comparator would not transmit a redstone signal to wire or repeaters. It just affects how hoppers interact with it and nothing else.
Don't mind this.
Sure, Support.
For logs, they are placed in slot 1 unless there is already an item in slot 1 (or a full stack), in which case they will go into the fuel slot.
Far more user friendly than mucking about with signal strength.
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ModeratorI don't mind the other stuff, I just can't think of a reason to only put items in a specific slot. I'm already annoyed that I need to use two Hoppers just to fill both parts of a Double Chest.
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It's more user-friendly if it selected the slots for you, but there are uses to being able to access everything.
For example with a furnace, you might want to smelt something else and save any unused ingredients for later. If hoppers can only withdraw from the output slot you'd have to take any unsmelted items out by hand.
Another example, in potion brewing you can enhance already complete potions. So you need some way to decide which potions to keep in there for further alchemy and which to withdraw. That can be especially important if you're applying the same reagent to different potions, and not just brewing 3 identical ones
For example, rather than have a separate chest and hopper for each kind of item you want to move around, you could store multiple items in a single chest and have your system keep track of where they are inside. It allows for more compact machines, since you don't need as many separate chests and hoppers.
It would be probably be really handy for sorting and keeping track of non-stacking non-sortable items like books, armor, and potions.
You could also automatically organize chests, so it looks nice and neat even if you toss random crap in a hopper.
Yes, kind of. They gave people the ability to lock hoppers down.
I still think being able to select which slots in other containers the hopper interacts with could be very useful. But just being able to lock hoppers is a great tool by itself.
Usually I agree that you shouldn't suggest changes to works in progress, but these snapshots are released specifically to get feedback before the official update.