Somebody defiantly needs to create a "how too" thread now. We all (most of us) now agree that the problem can be fixed on our end, with a bit of math and know how sure, you can fix it. The fact still remains though, we should not have to work around bugs though. The people complaining are the ones who are not going to accept a broken system and roll over. In the mean time they should learn ways around it and those who have the knowledge on how to do so should share that knowledge freely without belittling those who can't figure it out.
This game is so popular because it appeals to everybody of all ages and technical abilities. The features of the game should not be close to people because they don't want to/can't download external apps or count their steps in the nether to place a proper gate.
I've created the "how to" thread.
I posted it in the single player thread because this Halloween update should have been merged already.
I like the portal bug/problem and personally wouldn't mind if Notch keeps it the way it is.
I like fixing portals manually, it is either really easy or really difficult to fix each individual portal. The problem area has to be dealt with in it's own way and it adds a unique challenge that, to me, is fun to overcome.
But maybe i'm alone in thinking this way...
[b]This is what the problem is and how to fix it, sort of...
[/b]
I have fixed more than 15 portals, so far... the vast majority of mine have not worked the first time and i've become really good at fixing them, i thought I'd share my methods.
So far i have a 100% success rate and i've had almost every problem possible.
I hope this helps at least 1 person.
[b]The basics:[/b]
1. The Nether correlates to the surface world with an 8:1 ratio. (1 chunk = a 2x2 area.)
2. Building a portal on the surface will spawn a portal in the Nether (after you activate or use the portal)
3. Building a portal in the Nether will spawn a portal on the surface (after you activate or use the portal)
4. 8 blocks on the surface = 1 block in the Nether. = 8(1)
5. The surface and the Nether share the same cardinal directions.
6. You maintain your direction when you enter the Nether.
7. The correlation spots only change as you move horizontally through either world. you can freely change the elevation of your portals in either world and it will maintain its correlation spot in the other world.
8. The minimal distance between [b]perfectly aligned portals**[/b] is 16 blocks on the surface, 1 block in the Nether, which is 16(1)
[b]**[/b]If portals are not perfectly aligned i recommend [b]at least 80(10)[/b] 80 blocks on the surface, 10 blocks in the Nether as recommended in my example. For the best results I suggest [b]at least 128(16) because there seems to be a 1 portal per Nether chunk (16x16 area) limit, further testing required.
[b]The Problem[/b]
You build a portal on the surface and name it Portal A.
You enter portal A and get a loading screen: “Entering the Nether”
The game looks "down" at the correlated spot in the Nether but it is unsafe for a portal,
[b]The problem is because it does NOT build Portal B![/b]
In this example it cannot build it because a mountain is in the way.
The game finds the nearest safe place to create a portal, which is 10 blocks north, and it is named Portal C.
The Nether loads and you are standing inside of portal C.
You don’t realize the problem yet, to you it appears that everything went smoothly.
You step back into Portal C, you get a loading screening: “Now leaving the Nether”
The game looks "up" at the correlated spot for Portal C which is exactly 80 blocks north of your original portal, it is safe and the closest spot, so it creates a new portal. Portal D.
You load back on the surface in portal D, 80 blocks north of Portal A.
Portal C and D are connected as entrance/exit, but Portal A only acts as an entrance to Portal C.
[b]How to Fix.[/b]
You need to build Portal B!
The first thing you need to do is find out where Portal B needs to be built in the Nether by measuring the distance between Portal D and portal A.
In this example they are 80 blocks apart.
[b]Divide by 8.[/b]
[b]For long distances, 100+ blocks, simply count how long it takes to cross that distance and divide by 8[/b], this is approximately how long it will take to walk to Portal B's spot in the Nether.
Enter Portal D facing in the direction of Portal A.
When you load in the Nether you will be facing the direction in which the obstruction exists.
Remove the obstruction.
[b]- If it is a wall/mountain you will need to dig out a space for a portal.
- if it is a lava lake you will have to build a platform
- If it is lava fall you will have to divert the falls.[/b]
with the obstruction cleared count 10 blocks and build portal B
When you enter portal B the game will look at the surface and find Portal A.
Portal B and portal A will now function as 2 way portals connected to each other.
You can now destroy both Portal C and Portal D if you don’t want them.
Sorry if this had been posted before, or if it's a terrible idea, but pitching out ideas at all can't hurt, can it? What do you all think of this idea for fixing portals' positions:
Instead of the position it will spawn you in upon entering the nether moving if the portal location is deemed "unsafe", how about it just forces the area to be safe itself? For example, if it would place you in a wall, it would clear out an area around and above the portal (but not below, obviously), say, 4 blocks in each direction. If it would put you in the area, four blocks in each directly at the level of the bottom of the portal. If it would put you in lava, same as if in air, and if, somehow, UNDER the lava, perhaps it would make a box around you and/or clear out all lava above the portal in some range, or just move it up on the Z axis a bit. Does that sound like a good fix? It would most likely be harder for Notch to code, and definitely eat up more time getting to the Nether, but wouldn't it be worth it if it fixed the portal issues?
This is most likely how it will be fixed.
Except more streamlined.
Mountain in the way: bubble of space created around the portal.
Lava lake in the way: move portal to the surface of the lake, platform around the portal.
Lavafall in the way: remove lavafall source block + flowing lava.
The alternative i've heard is to permanently link portals once they are created regardless of correlation.
This would lead to a confusing Nether with illogically placed portals.
By forcing correlation the portal creates a safe spot in the Nether instead of finding one and makes portals predictable and stable.
If Notch does "fix" portals I'm sure he will simply force the correlation and alter the terrain around the portal, it solves the problem without creating too many new problems.
About how many meters away is a 3 minute walk in a straight line? Because my 3rd portal is at least that far away from my home and it still takes me to the first one in the Nether. I have 3 in the overworld and only 1 in the Nether, and I personally have only created 2..
No need to convert it, you can just divide the time by 8.
3 minutes = 180 seconds
180 seconds divided by 8 = 22.5 seconds.
(You maintain the same direction when entering the Nether.)
Enter the Nether, walk for 22.5 seconds, clear a nice spot and build a portal. This portal will now link up with your 3 minute distance portal in the overworld.
I'm really bummed about portals. And it seems we're being ignored for the time being. The focus has shifted back to SMP and portals have been left to rot in hell for the time being.
Portals as they are now are worthless. The Nether is equally worthless. There are no new materials that have any value whatsoever, and since portals are effectively impossible to use, there is no reason to go there for fast travel either.
The entire Nether concept is a complete waste of time until Notch gets around to "fixing" it enough for it to be playable.
id like to add that i'm not convinced that reflected fireballs damage the ghasts
i hit one with at least 6 or 7 fireballs until he flew out of sight, and he still didnt die, so either they do really really little damage, or none at all, considering that ghasts die with only 3 arrow shots.
anyone managed to kill a ghast with his own fireballs?
Yes, i've killed more Ghasts with their own fireballs than with anything else, only killed 2 with arrows, at least 10 with reflected fireballs.
BUT i think Notch made them immune to fire and lava recently, i haven't killed one since this change, it might have made them immune to their own fireballs...
Somebody defiantly needs to create a "how too" thread now. We all (most of us) now agree that the problem can be fixed on our end, with a bit of math and know how sure, you can fix it. The fact still remains though, we should not have to work around bugs though. The people complaining are the ones who are not going to accept a broken system and roll over. In the mean time they should learn ways around it and those who have the knowledge on how to do so should share that knowledge freely without belittling those who can't figure it out.
This game is so popular because it appeals to everybody of all ages and technical abilities. The features of the game should not be close to people because they don't want to/can't download external apps or count their steps in the nether to place a proper gate.
I have 100% mastered the Nether and portal placement.
I would absolutely bet my life on placing a portal anywhere at anytime on any world and making it work.
The portal problem is absolutely logical and easily fixed every single time.
BUT
There are a few variables that make a comprehensive "how to" guide really problematic without the use of video.
unfortunately I don't make videos...
But, I will work on a written guide but that will take some time.
Half blocks are there to prevent pigs from spawning.
This central storage room is seconds away from 10 Nether portals.
Wherever i place a portal on the surface world becomes a 1 minute trip to my storage room.
This simply can not be done if you build your storage room in the normal world.
not really, you would just have to go through two portals, your way is only slightly more convenient.
Slightly more convenient quickly turns into vastly more convenient depending on the number of trips and the scale of your projects.
For a ginormous world (40+mb with 14 portals) it is a massive time saver, for a small world (4 or less portals) then it only saves a few minutes per trip and some people don't care about convenience.
0
I've created the "how to" thread.
I posted it in the single player thread because this Halloween update should have been merged already.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=93046#p1400766
0
Let me know if you need any more help, I'm not sure if i've included all relevant information or not.
8
I like the portal bug/problem and personally wouldn't mind if Notch keeps it the way it is.
I like fixing portals manually, it is either really easy or really difficult to fix each individual portal. The problem area has to be dealt with in it's own way and it adds a unique challenge that, to me, is fun to overcome.
But maybe i'm alone in thinking this way...
[b]This is what the problem is and how to fix it, sort of...
[/b]
I have fixed more than 15 portals, so far... the vast majority of mine have not worked the first time and i've become really good at fixing them, i thought I'd share my methods.
So far i have a 100% success rate and i've had almost every problem possible.
I hope this helps at least 1 person.
[b]The basics:[/b]
1. The Nether correlates to the surface world with an 8:1 ratio. (1 chunk = a 2x2 area.)
2. Building a portal on the surface will spawn a portal in the Nether (after you activate or use the portal)
3. Building a portal in the Nether will spawn a portal on the surface (after you activate or use the portal)
4. 8 blocks on the surface = 1 block in the Nether. = 8(1)
5. The surface and the Nether share the same cardinal directions.
6. You maintain your direction when you enter the Nether.
7. The correlation spots only change as you move horizontally through either world. you can freely change the elevation of your portals in either world and it will maintain its correlation spot in the other world.
8. The minimal distance between [b]perfectly aligned portals**[/b] is 16 blocks on the surface, 1 block in the Nether, which is 16(1)
[b]**[/b]If portals are not perfectly aligned i recommend [b]at least 80(10)[/b] 80 blocks on the surface, 10 blocks in the Nether as recommended in my example. For the best results I suggest [b]at least 128(16) because there seems to be a 1 portal per Nether chunk (16x16 area) limit, further testing required.
[b]The Problem[/b]
You build a portal on the surface and name it Portal A.
You enter portal A and get a loading screen: “Entering the Nether”
The game looks "down" at the correlated spot in the Nether but it is unsafe for a portal,
[b]The problem is because it does NOT build Portal B![/b]
In this example it cannot build it because a mountain is in the way.
The game finds the nearest safe place to create a portal, which is 10 blocks north, and it is named Portal C.
The Nether loads and you are standing inside of portal C.
You don’t realize the problem yet, to you it appears that everything went smoothly.
You step back into Portal C, you get a loading screening: “Now leaving the Nether”
The game looks "up" at the correlated spot for Portal C which is exactly 80 blocks north of your original portal, it is safe and the closest spot, so it creates a new portal. Portal D.
You load back on the surface in portal D, 80 blocks north of Portal A.
Portal C and D are connected as entrance/exit, but Portal A only acts as an entrance to Portal C.
[b]How to Fix.[/b]
You need to build Portal B!
The first thing you need to do is find out where Portal B needs to be built in the Nether by measuring the distance between Portal D and portal A.
In this example they are 80 blocks apart.
[b]Divide by 8.[/b]
[b]For long distances, 100+ blocks, simply count how long it takes to cross that distance and divide by 8[/b], this is approximately how long it will take to walk to Portal B's spot in the Nether.
Enter Portal D facing in the direction of Portal A.
When you load in the Nether you will be facing the direction in which the obstruction exists.
Remove the obstruction.
[b]- If it is a wall/mountain you will need to dig out a space for a portal.
- if it is a lava lake you will have to build a platform
- If it is lava fall you will have to divert the falls.[/b]
with the obstruction cleared count 10 blocks and build portal B
When you enter portal B the game will look at the surface and find Portal A.
Portal B and portal A will now function as 2 way portals connected to each other.
You can now destroy both Portal C and Portal D if you don’t want them.
0
It has the same root cause, it has the same solution.
What you are describing is not a "worsening" of the glitch, but just another example.
0
0
This is most likely how it will be fixed.
Except more streamlined.
Mountain in the way: bubble of space created around the portal.
Lava lake in the way: move portal to the surface of the lake, platform around the portal.
Lavafall in the way: remove lavafall source block + flowing lava.
The alternative i've heard is to permanently link portals once they are created regardless of correlation.
This would lead to a confusing Nether with illogically placed portals.
By forcing correlation the portal creates a safe spot in the Nether instead of finding one and makes portals predictable and stable.
If Notch does "fix" portals I'm sure he will simply force the correlation and alter the terrain around the portal, it solves the problem without creating too many new problems.
0
No need to convert it, you can just divide the time by 8.
3 minutes = 180 seconds
180 seconds divided by 8 = 22.5 seconds.
(You maintain the same direction when entering the Nether.)
Enter the Nether, walk for 22.5 seconds, clear a nice spot and build a portal. This portal will now link up with your 3 minute distance portal in the overworld.
0
Since torches don't prevent pigs use half blocks.
All of my floors are half block floors in the Nether and i get zero spawns.
0
Pure unfiltered hyperbole.
0
Yes, i've killed more Ghasts with their own fireballs than with anything else, only killed 2 with arrows, at least 10 with reflected fireballs.
BUT i think Notch made them immune to fire and lava recently, i haven't killed one since this change, it might have made them immune to their own fireballs...
0
0
I have 100% mastered the Nether and portal placement.
I would absolutely bet my life on placing a portal anywhere at anytime on any world and making it work.
The portal problem is absolutely logical and easily fixed every single time.
BUT
There are a few variables that make a comprehensive "how to" guide really problematic without the use of video.
unfortunately I don't make videos...
But, I will work on a written guide but that will take some time.
I'll probably post it on Saturday or Sunday.
0
Slightly more convenient quickly turns into vastly more convenient depending on the number of trips and the scale of your projects.
For a ginormous world (40+mb with 14 portals) it is a massive time saver, for a small world (4 or less portals) then it only saves a few minutes per trip and some people don't care about convenience.
0
Or.
2-3 hours mining the stone for a mob trap.
+
4-10 hours creating a mob trap.
+
3-4 hours standing on your collection point.
If you have 8 hours a day for the next 4 months you can do it manually.
If you don't have that much time you can create a machine to do it for you in 1/50th the amount of time.
0
The Nether is perfect for storage.
Half blocks are there to prevent pigs from spawning.
This central storage room is seconds away from 10 Nether portals.
Wherever i place a portal on the surface world becomes a 1 minute trip to my storage room.
This simply can not be done if you build your storage room in the normal world.