So I've come reasonably far in my new world, and have finally decided that I can't hold out on getting slime balls anymore. So I used a slime chunk finding tool (http://mcslimes.appspot.com/), and dug out a 16*16*3 cube at bedrock. After lighting the area up and moving away at least 25 blocks, I waited about 20 minutes and returned to find no slimes. After this I dug another room in the same chunk, but at Y=10. This had the same result. So I decided that maybe the slime chunk tool didn't work in 1.3, and tried another(http://extension.ws/minecraft/slimes.html), and dug another room in a chunk that this app, but to no avail.
Why won't any slimes spawn? I -need- sticky pistons, I can't hold on much longer :'(
Yes, go to a slime biome, they are found between see and extreme hills/grassy lands/swamps MOSTLY, dosent mean they cant be anywhere else, slimes will spawn in that area, so you can just kill them, they will respawn pretty fast, depending on how much you changed their terain...
There is no such thing as a slime biome. What he is describing is slimes spawning naturally in slime chunks, which can happen when ravines and other generated spaces exist at depths appropriate for spawning slimes.
As for your original question, the spawn rate for a single slime chunk is quite low. For best results you want to excavate an area that encompasses multiple slime chunks. This takes a lot of work but the end result is a reliable spawn rate.
I found a slime in a tunnel since the update to 1.3. It's just because they're a rare spawn. That was actually the first time I've found one in a tunnel without mods.
Slimes are found for only one purpose, slimeballs. I found a slime not that far underground next to my nether portal. Slimes are extremely rare. I found out last update (maybe) that they added an option in the pause menu. It is called "Open to LAN". I decided to open it and I saw to other options. One, "Game Mode: Creative, Survival, Hardcore", and, "Allow Cheats: Off, On". I selected allow cheats and selected start LAN world. I learned that when cheats are on, you can use the "/give" command (no Single Player Commands), give yourself exp, and so much more! I decided to use the "/give" command. I found out how to give myself items. This is how to get slimeballs (without quotes), "/give <your minecraft name here> 341 <how much slimeballs you want up to 64>". 341 is the id for a slimeball. For example, in my username, "/give trollz0rdf 341 64", and it will give me 64 slimeballs! Is that simple!
Light up caves, don't use torches on the ground (use jack-o-lanterns), they can't spawn on bedrock so don't bother trying that.
Also, giving yourself items is cheating (hence, why they're called "cheats"), shoreangutang.
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I have no idea what to put here, nor do I have any idea what to make my profile pic. Ideas welcome, I suppose. Now satisfy my like *****ing hogging self and give me a little rep, please and thank you?
1) Find a slime chunk. Mcslimes link you used above works.
2) Make 3 high spawning floors in the chunk, light with jack'o'laterns. I usually start first floor on y=40.6 for your head in f3 and work my way down. If you do the max you can fit you will get some slimes even with terrible lighting in local cave systems.
3) Decide on a method to kill/transport the slimes. One quirk to slimes is they spawn and walk in a random direction and have no self preservation AI. So they will end up in the corners of a square room and they will happily jump to their death.
They will despawn like most mobs, so transport them to within 32 blocks of your idle point.
- So around the perimeter of your slime chunk you can dig a 3 wide trench to bedrock and just wait down there for the slimes to fall down to your level. Or just in the corners if you want to save time. Then transport them from the corners to you using water.
- In the corner of each floor you could have a lava blade at the third block and a 1 wide hole for the smallest slimes to fall through. Larger slimes will hit the blade and reduce down. Mediums will jump and hit the blade and reduce down.
- Slimes cannot swim, so you can drown them in pools to reduce their size down or kill them.
- Small slimes will climb ladders, so you can move them up as well.
4) Light up caves around where you idle waiting for slimes to improve efficiency.
Example:
With the right placement you can light two floors at a time:
Basic concept from a ethos' SMP video on slimes.
If you go from peaceful to any other mode a few times and don't get slimes out of your system there might be something else wrong with your system. Maybe they are stuck somewhere or dieing in transit.
Or if you don't want to switch modes just watch the 'E' values. It should go up/down fairly rapidly. As long as those numbers are changing hostile mobs are spawning and de-spawning.
The critical dark space is anywhere < 32 blocks away -- hostiles here will not de-spawn and deadlock hostile mob spawning.
Light up caves, don't use torches on the ground (use jack-o-lanterns), they can't spawn on bedrock so don't bother trying that.
Also, giving yourself items is cheating (hence, why they're called "cheats"), shoreangutang.
I know, I felt wrong after cheating it out. But at least I encountered a slime (once) anyway (it committed suicide by jumping of a ledge)! Plus, I only cheat in emergency situations...
Why won't any slimes spawn? I -need- sticky pistons, I can't hold on much longer :'(
Is there a solution that doesn't involve 10 years of my life?
How do you tell if it's a slime biome?
There is no such thing as a slime biome. What he is describing is slimes spawning naturally in slime chunks, which can happen when ravines and other generated spaces exist at depths appropriate for spawning slimes.
As for your original question, the spawn rate for a single slime chunk is quite low. For best results you want to excavate an area that encompasses multiple slime chunks. This takes a lot of work but the end result is a reliable spawn rate.
Use TNT.
Also, giving yourself items is cheating (hence, why they're called "cheats"), shoreangutang.
*****ing hogging self and give me a little rep, please and thank you?2) Make 3 high spawning floors in the chunk, light with jack'o'laterns. I usually start first floor on y=40.6 for your head in f3 and work my way down. If you do the max you can fit you will get some slimes even with terrible lighting in local cave systems.
3) Decide on a method to kill/transport the slimes. One quirk to slimes is they spawn and walk in a random direction and have no self preservation AI. So they will end up in the corners of a square room and they will happily jump to their death.
They will despawn like most mobs, so transport them to within 32 blocks of your idle point.
- So around the perimeter of your slime chunk you can dig a 3 wide trench to bedrock and just wait down there for the slimes to fall down to your level. Or just in the corners if you want to save time. Then transport them from the corners to you using water.
- In the corner of each floor you could have a lava blade at the third block and a 1 wide hole for the smallest slimes to fall through. Larger slimes will hit the blade and reduce down. Mediums will jump and hit the blade and reduce down.
- Slimes cannot swim, so you can drown them in pools to reduce their size down or kill them.
- Small slimes will climb ladders, so you can move them up as well.
4) Light up caves around where you idle waiting for slimes to improve efficiency.
Example:
With the right placement you can light two floors at a time:
Basic concept from a ethos' SMP video on slimes.
If you go from peaceful to any other mode a few times and don't get slimes out of your system there might be something else wrong with your system. Maybe they are stuck somewhere or dieing in transit.
Or if you don't want to switch modes just watch the 'E' values. It should go up/down fairly rapidly. As long as those numbers are changing hostile mobs are spawning and de-spawning.
The critical dark space is anywhere < 32 blocks away -- hostiles here will not de-spawn and deadlock hostile mob spawning.
I know, I felt wrong after cheating it out. But at least I encountered a slime (once) anyway (it committed suicide by jumping of a ledge)! Plus, I only cheat in emergency situations...