I technically have two bases currently. Though, only one is an actual base, while the other is more of an outpost.
My actual base, titled Starlight HQ, is really a collection of bases as it is divided into multiple factions. Additionally, the Nether hub on the other side connects to various other outposts which could be considered separate bases. But since it's all connected, I just consider it one massive base.
So I've been spending whatever I free time I had last week watching Person of Interest and Breaking Bad. Though, that free time was nonetheless limited. Over the past two weeks I had the early morning shifts, which meant that by the time evening came, I was too tired to do anything. Thankfully though, I'm off today, so I have some time to think through this update thoroughly.
While I originally considered a 5-session update, at this point that would be too many, even after a(nother) two-week break. The reality is that we're starting to increase momentum very quickly in what we get done in these sessions, and so less is actually more.
With that, let's get to it!
Session 160 - "Blaze Farm Construction"
Meet "Taz", a new member of the Starlight herd! You'll see he's in Orion's old spot, because Orion died like an idiot trying to not drown.
Back in my old world before Techtropolis, from 2012, I found two blaze spawners in such close proximity that I built a farm utilizing them both. So naturally, with Techtropolis being a step up from that world (or a few steps up, rather), I was hoping to get the same kind of luck. In a sense, I did, as you'll note on the Mesa Mission from sessions 158-159. But that was so far out from the Nether Hub, especially considering that there was a blaze spawner just less than 50 blocks from the hub. So I finally decided to let my guard down and build a farm around that spawner instead. Although it wasn't utilizing two spawners, at the very least it was close enough to actually be part of the Nether Hub, which in and of itself is quite nice.
I built a funnel similar in design to Etho's cone, although it was more simplistic and didn't include as many pistons. I also built the collection chamber for the blaze to collect - I did so out of clay because not only did I now have a practically unlimited supply, but I wanted a sleek-looking design overall.
The collection center itself is worth looking at. Because the nature of the farm has it so that the blaze end up much lower than the spawner itself, the farm ends up looking like this:
I didn't work on any redstone today, mostly because I wanted to do all of that together. But I did get everything set up so that all I'd have to do next session is the redstone. However, in other news, I added a nether brick border to the lava moat surrounding the hub:
Session 161 - "Control Circus"
Today was redstone day for the blaze farm, which I've now beautifully titled the "Blaze Blaster". I started by building the lighting system:
The lever to activate the lava lights is in a unique spot - a hanging pillar far enough from the spawner to keep blaze from spawning:
Afterwards was the crusher. While I used the same redstone design for all crushers in the past (including those built in the Mob Processing Hub), this time I did something quite a bit different: a comparator clock (credits to Mumbo Jumbo for the design).
Additionally, I added a blockage system to prevent other blaze from entering the chamber while the first ones are being crushed and destroyed (activated via the lever):
Now that the wiring was all complete, theoretically the system should work! So I cleared it out and tested it, and it did work well indeed!
Unfortunately though, maybe I should've used a more automated funnel design, because now we had a new problem:
Regardless, I still got a lot of XP from this farm, and overall I was quite satisfied with the result. To celebrate its completion, I added a sign for it in the Lapis Hall of Fame:
But now it was time to work on some of the aesthetics, notably in the collection chamber. I started today with a second viewing, and some proper sandstone stair work.
And in regards to how far this farm actually is from the hub, well...
Session 162 - "Mob Drop Item Sorter"
For so long, I wanted to redo the mob drop storage system in the Power Museum (you know, the one automated via minecart). Well, today was the fantastic day in which we did just that! And the best part was that this new system is fully expandable for the future! After building a number of item sorters in recent months, I became fairly acquainted with how to build them, and thus I could do so rather quickly. So I figured, why not also sort the drops? I mean, that alone would be the real upgrade, right? Well, that and extra storage space! But let's take a look:
So where is this at? Well, take a look at the schematic for the Starlight Resources Facility posted in session 151. It's located down here! You know what that means? It means that this sorting unit is located over 40 blocks beneath the old one, meaning I had to craft a hell of a lot of hoppers. But it also means I can expand this storage for up to 40 layers in the event that it all fills up! And, if that wasn't enough, its location couldn't be more convenient, since it's almost exactly where I planned it would be on the initial schematic. So, I think this is a win-win-win situation!
I then removed the old system, tearing out all the redstone and the minecart track. I even opened up the land a bit to expose it, so that I could initiate ideas on how to further develop this area. The reality was that there was no way this system could have stayed; I'm just glad I got it out now before I started a development around here that required it. Additionally, having the minecart constantly moving 24/7 can cause some lag, and so we've now eliminated that.
I didn't move the drops; I just left them in the old chests until I decided to turn that room into something else. And, while I already have something planned for it, that won't be disclosed until another day.
Overall, this was an incredibly successful session. We're continually moving forward in more ways than one, transforming Starlight HQ into an ever expanding house of resources!
So we got a lot of stuff done in this update, which took place back in November (just a few weeks prior to the start of this journal!). Speaking of which, I should note that I've officially completed session 176 and have moved through session 177. But from the looks of it, we'll be there sooner rather than later!
There are quite a few things coming up. Hope you're enticed as I am!
Next up... Session 163 - "Arcade Connections"
Little cliffhanger for the next update... Remember this picture from session 118?
So cool! I am always looking forward to see next update
I have a question. How long have you been playin' Minecraft in total?
Thanks, glad you like it!
I only ever had two main worlds. The first was when I started playing Minecraft, in November 2012; the second, Techtropolis, in June 2013. So I've played this game for a little over three years now.
Damn, the move took longer than I anticipated, and we just got Internet installed in our new home. So alas, it is time for a long overdue update!
Session 156 - "Multi-tier Farm Fun"
When we last left off, we had just completed a few farms in the new Starlight Resources Facility that we had been constructing (notably, a slime farm and a chicken/egg farm). Additionally, we built the storage cellars, decorated the interior slightly, and overall prepared for further developments. Well, those developments continue today, with a few new farms!
Back in session 130, when I built the pumpkin patch, I did so with the intention of making a more efficient way to grind pumpkins. I thought, "If I plant enough seeds, one pumpkin will grow as I harvest another." With this, I assumed that I could harvest pumpkins indefinitely. However, I was quickly proven wrong, and thus the pumpkin patch was only really useful as a novelty. So today, I started with two foundational farms: a melon farm and pumpkin farm - both inspired by Etho's design!
SRF main entrance to the left:
The way it works is actually quite simple. You step on the pressure plate, and then the pistons harvest all the blocks. It certainly is not the most efficient of systems, but let's be honest - melons and pumpkins aren't exactly at the top of my list in terms of necessary resources. In fact, I have so much of both, that they are near the bottom! Regardless, all I was aiming for was something automatic; and while this isn't really a more efficient substitute for the pumpkin patch, at the very least it's part of a more organized design, making it much more practical in use.
Hello, friend! Get out, please!
The multi-layer sugar cane farm that I built next is much more intriguing. It's a design that I believe was originally acquired from NimsTuts, in which a bud switch is used to determine when to harvest the sugar cane, automatically of course. Let me show you what it looks like!
The bud switch is powered when the far right sugar cane grows one block higher. This triggers a wall of pistons that harvest all sugar cane pieces on the top two layers you see. All items are then dropped into the hoppers, in which they are dispensed into storage:
And if you're unfamiliar with how that works:
Once the piston to the left is powered via the sugar cane, it will quickly push and retract the redstone block. This will create a pulse which will activate two redstone torches: the one you see to the right below the right-most piston, and the one on the other side of that same block, the latter of which powers the wall of pistons above.
I built two layers of this farm today, although I did plan to add more later on. Besides, I can add as many as I want, which is the glory of this design! The biggest advantage though, is of course the fact that I don't have to do anything ever - sugar cane is automatically harvested as long as the chunks are loaded! Sugar cane is indeed a vital resource, what with books (for enchanting) and sugar (for potions); so this farm was a step in the right direction for sure.
I also added the second layer of the storage cellars today, which was equivalent to the first layer we built in 153 (it was just directly beneath it).
In other news, while I was out harvesting leaves once more, you won't even believe who I found...
Chronos! It was a dream come true! If you recall, I lost Chronos way back in session 115, though I believed him to be dead since I had no other reason to believe he was still alive. But as it turns out, a glitch in the system simply caused him to escape the stables, rather than suffocate in a wall like I initially presumed. Nonetheless, he was back with the pack!
Session 157 - "Starlight Entrance"
All of those pesky chickens still in the barn were finally removed from existence today. One animal down - three to go (in terms of making the barn obsolete)! But today was not the day in which we expanded on the possibilities for new animal farms. Today, in fact, we furnished the second entrance to the Starlight Resources Facility - the old entrance to the Diamond Mine from the Starlight Castle. You can see this entrance in its most primitive state in a picture within session 155. But let's look at its fuller form:
Obviously it is still far from complete, aesthetically speaking. But it at least has been opened up. Besides, at least the Starlight end of it is complete:
What you'll notice is that now, the old Diamond Mine entrance has been transformed into a vertical drop, while a vertical lift has been added. Both can be used as entrances to the SRF, but the latter is used as an exit from it.
I enchanted some new armor to prepare for a mission to find a mesa once and for all. This would be the first documented major adventure since the Fire Journey, and only the fourth one so far this season!
Sessions 158-159 - "Mesa Mission (parts 1 & 2)"
Our two-part mission, and the centerpiece of this update, began on the 29th of October 2015, and ended on the 30th.
This time I ventured south - far south - as opposed to north like on the Fire Journey. I passed the Nether fortress I used to travel on the Fire Journey, instead venturing further past two new fortresses before settling behind a dual-blaze spawner. And by that, of course I mean this:
You know, I was waiting to find two spawners this close to each other before building a blaze farm. But, due to how far away these were from the Nether Hub, I decided it might be best to just settle with one spawner. This conflict came from the fact that, in my old world prior to Techtropolis, I actually did build a blaze farm out of two spawners. So, I assumed I would have the same luck here. But from a practical sense (given the distance this discovery was), I didn't, and that's okay.
I built a portal, and ended up here:
I knew I would not find a mesa anywhere near here! But I didn't walk far until I saw something particularly promising:
"Could it be?" I asked myself. And it was!
The glimmer of the ice spikes was sparkling with beauty! I couldn't believe what I had found! Though, after finding this rare biome, I realized that I wouldn't find a mesa if I stayed. And so I bookmarked the location, set up a proper portal to it, and continued to head south through the Nether. After another portal, I landed in a particularly interesting location:
My options were limited, and so I took off... by boat!
It only took another trip through the Nether to end up here:
My oh my, could it be?
At last! The biome I had been searching for since it came out over two years ago finally made its way to Techtropolis! I can't tell you guys how excited I was to finally locate this biome. This journey was based entirely on the off-chance I'd find a mesa biome, and it paid off in multiple ways.
I named the mesa "Candyland", since to me that's what it felt like! I transported multiple full inventories of hardened clay back to the Starlight (took a while), not to mention a beautiful cave adventure I had just underneath Candyland:
Even found a few horses:
And... oh look, day 2500:
And finally, last but far from least, the ore pyramid for this adventure:
Lucrative indeed!
What an epic adventure, and a slew of amazing new discoveries! Even that ocean monument might be worth exploring later on. This was the first adventure I took extensive screenshots of, as you can see, because by this point I finally did have this journal in mind (even though this took place about a month before making it). With this, it was time to move into a new age of Starlight developments!
Hope you all enjoyed today's update! The Mesa Mission marked a turning point in our constructions, as I didn't embark on session 160 until mid-November - just a couple weeks prior to the journal's conception! We're getting close to the present day! As always, any and all feedback is welcome, and stay tuned as we approach 175, and soon the end of the season.
Next up... Session 160 - "Blaze Farm Construction"
To those following (and to those just joining in fact):
Apologies for no updates this past week! I've been in the middle of a major move amongst other things, and thus my accessibilities and spare time have been limited in many respects. However, I'm hoping that I finish the move today, which will give me some time to construct a new [4-session] update tomorrow!
Here, I'll give you something to chew on prior to that update:
As another note, I usually won't go a week without updates unless of extenuating circumstances , which is why I'm enlightening you on the situation! Once I finish moving, we'll be back on track and approaching 175 sooner than you might think!
It's been a few days... I imagine you're getting used to this slower pace. If not, well, my apologies! Regardless, it's time to bring some updates for today! Let's not forget, however, that everything in this update occurred this past October. Remember - I'm currently at session 175, and we'll get there soon so I can continue working on the world. We're almost there, in fact!
But let's recap - slime farm is finished. So now it's time to start working on the other farms in the Starlight Resources Facility!
Session 154 - "Egg Shooter"
The first thing I wanted to do was get rid of all those chickens in the barn! So, I created a completely automatic new chicken farm as the second farm of our new facility:
It works very similarly to a design I believe was invented by Mumbo Jumbo. The idea is that an egg would be automatically dispensed each time a chicken laid one. Over time this would create a collection of chickens. See here the original collection of chickens (these are solely in charge of laying the eggs):
If we look a little closer, you'll notice two dispensers. Each time a chicken from above lays an egg, two things happen:
First, an egg is shot out via the bottom dispenser, gradually creating the chickens to be killed. Secondly, lava is quickly created via the top dispenser to kill any chickens that have grown up (baby chicks aren't burned!). This means that the system is fully automatic, eliminating the need to constantly stock up on food storage.
And speaking of storage:
The chest in the middle picks up all things dropped from the chickens (this includes eggs that stockpile randomly from the chickens sitting too long). You may wonder why I didn't automatically sort the drops. Well, I considered this farm a big enough upgrade on its own that I was satisfied with it (but as we approach where I am now, at 175, well; let's just say I need to redo this storage unit). Feathers go on that wall.
...While chicken goes on that wall. And, I'd say the farm's results are great!
If you're wondering, this storage room is built off of the storage cellars we dug out in session 153. Go check out the schematics of them to understand how all the storage will connect. What you'll ultimately realize is that every storage unit is located directly beneath the corresponding farm, accessed by the storage cellars.
One more thing for today: The Diamond Mine! Well, I changed the purpose of the Diamond Mine room in the Starlight Castle. You know, this one:
Now, instead of going straight to the Diamond Mine, it connects as an entrance to the Starlight Resources Facility! It's currently just a temporary staircase that runs right into the dome, but that's to be renovated later on. Let's look at the new Diamond Mine entrance:
And, you guessed it (maybe), it's connected via the storage cellars. Until next time...
Session 155 - "Amenities"
Today, we start to see some serious aesthetic progressions of the Starlight Resources Facility. Let's not waste any time, but instead jump right in!
A few different things to see here. First are the obvious aesthetic changes! A beautiful mycelium floor to start us off - a material I've wanted to use for a while! With what I had planned regarding the rest of the dome, this was going to work quite nicely. Top that off with a dark oak border (both for the dome and the four storage cellar stairwells), and a quartz wall, I think we have some nice color contrasts going on here. I think the immediately next thing you'll notice is the array of flowers in front there. Those are four automatic flower farms! They use designs similarly to that of Mumbo Jumbo's, and they produce big results! But I thought... If I'm going to build some flower farms, then I need some storage! So I built a storage room right underneath:
What you're seeing is in fact the new dye storage room, to be completed later. It holds flowers in the six chests you see in front, while each dye gets its own chest on the sides and back.
Additionally, I planned on a cobblestone/stone storage unit to be expanded later. But it starts with this addendum:
Next thing you'll see in the first picture is the stairway that connects to the old Diamond Mine room in the Starlight Castle. But here's a closer look:
Also, say hello to the [finally] finished witch farm hub, complete with obsidian:
Today boasted some nice progressions on our new project. Hopefully these progressions were enough to get you engaged, but if not, the next update most certainly has some novelties...
Next update will feature the last two sessions prior to our next major adventure! Stay tuned.
Thanks! You can expect this journal to last a long while. The same system used in this thread has been used for the past 2.5 years in documenting this world, and while you'd expect it to die over time, it has only expanded! Some of the current plans for Starlight HQ alone (!) could last us all the way through Season 5.
NOTE: The time span between the last few updates is the new time span you should start to expect with them. As previously noted, it usually takes a few days to get through one session (sometimes longer), and I want to start easing you guys into that as we approach 175.
Two sessions in today's update, as they are somewhat of a "two-part session."
Session 152 - "Slime Chunk"
There were a few different slime chunks within Starlight HQ. But the goal was to have the Starlight Resources Facility directly underneath Starlight Castle - or at least, as close as would work in concordance with the slime farm. Today, we work on the slime farm intensely! Let's take a look at how it was constructed:
As you can see, there are a total of six layers for slimes to jump off and be directed to the kill chamber where they are drowned. However, you'll notice that they are only 10x10 platforms, using the other six blocks in the radius of the chunk as the 3x3 airway for slimes to jump off. While this meant considerably less spawning space, I had to think about the entire facility at large (i.e. if this was the only thing here, I would have made it bigger). Problem was that the bigger the farm was, the larger the central dome would have to be (since larger radius means higher dome). This would conflict with the railway to the MPH from the Power Museum, since it's directly above where the tip of the dome would be (assuming I did my math correctly). Speaking of which, I outlined some of the central dome:
Easter Egg:
Day 2400 in Techtropolis!!
This took a long time to complete, but we weren't quite finished yet! In order to finish the farm, we needed to create a storage unit for our slimeballs! This meant we had to start the storage cellars...
Session 153 - "Finishing the Farm"
The slime storage unit would take quite a staircase to access! So, I figured there was no better time than now to create the storage cellars! These cellars would be accessed primarily by four staircases adjacent to the slime farm on all four sides:
They would then connect in a similar fashion:
There were going to be two layers of these, although I wasn't going to make the second layer today. However, I did build a stairway from what would be an entrance to a theoretical third layer, as shown here:
That of course leads to here:
Slimes spawn in the storage room too!
Wow!
I can't say these results surprise me though. The reality is that most of the caves and the surface are lit up, surrounding the 128x128 radius around the farm. Plus, since the mob farm in the Power Museum doesn't function when we're down here, the slime farm is the only farm actively producing mobs.
With that, we've completed our first farm of the facility! Hold tight, because we're one down from almost twenty! Let's do this.
With our first farm finished, a second was about to begin! If you haven't yet downloaded the world (session 103) and/or viewed the world tour (session 100), I encourage you to do so. Hope you all enjoyed today's update and as always, all questions/comments are appreciated.
One world. One goal. But a means to that goal? Well, there was a variety of options, and there still are. You can take many paths to arrive at the same destination. Sometimes the fork leads to the shorter road - sometimes the longer. But you still get there. I, for example, took the longer road. I spent 150 sessions (two years) building Techtropolis from such a primitive perspective. I was thinking so small scale! "Oh, today we're going to make a pumpkin farm!" "Oh, today let's build a small observatory!" "How about we change some lights?"
I wasted so much time! But starting today, things in Techtropolis will take a much more diverse direction at an extremely fast pace. Today we begin on what will become one of Techtropolis's largest projects to date: the Starlight Resources Facility. What was the idea? An underground hub which included every single farm in the game, fully automated, in addition to mass storage cellars and resource outlets. This facility would completely replace the Farmlands, the storage rooms, and many other utilities throughout Starlight HQ. As I am currently on session 176 in the world as of writing this post, I can tell you with actual certainty that this project will see the light of day, and that light shines bright!
But that's all just basic information. Let's take a look at where it is to be located!
As you'll note in the coordinates (you can follow along in the world), we're located directly beneath Starlight Castle. I've outlined with stone brick a slime chunk, which will be our first major project of this major project! I used lots of TNT to destroy all of the stone you see missing. Obviously there is still much work to do, but right my focus was just one getting the hub dug out. Speaking of which, the hub would consist of a dome, lined with various small farms. The larger farms would extend beyond the dome in all four directions, while the storage cellars would be comprised of multiple layers circling underneath the dome. The slime chunk you see in the picture is the centerpiece of this build, meaning that everything will be built around it.
This is why the slime farm is our first main project. But not for today! Ha, today we had to plan the schematics! While I did extensive planning for months prior to this build regarding its content, I did not actually plan the schematics until this session back in September (when this session took place). Let's look at the bombing aftermath (you may have to turn up your volume):
Now let's take a deeper look at the schematic I drew out on paper:
You can't quite pick everything out, as this was taken from my phone, but at least you can see the design plan.
In the center we have the central hub. The slime farm resides as the centerpiece, while the four rectangle chambers will be staircases that descend to the storage cellars. Lining the hub are various farms - as many as will fit, actually. To the left side we have the new animal farms as well as the massive Sheep Processing Facility that will be a much improved version over the original. And to the right we have what I've labeled as an "automatic tree farm." Coming from the bottom is the entrance from the Powerhouse room in the Power Museum. You can see the hallway in the video as well. And don't worry - you'll see more of that later on.
NOTE: None of what you see in the schematic is complete, nor is everything guaranteed to make the final cut. For example, the section up top I've crossed out because it doesn't make the final cut. But this was the very original schematic!
With that, I think it's time to end the session! Feel free to study the schematic and try to pick it apart - there are a lot of detailed builds involved with this project, and I'm excited to show you them! But first we needed a foundation. Today's session was tasked with blowing up the foundation for the foundation. And as you saw in the video, that has been completed.
That's all for today! Hope you're all looking forward to this project as much as I am! Imagine that once this is complete, we'll have resources generating at Starlight HQ like nobody's business!
Happy to see that Techtropolis has gotten some downloads! I'll be honest - I didn't think I would get 20! Lol! But it's nice to see you guys are interested. Based on poll results, you guys seem to really enjoy the Totem Run parkour course, which I'm happy about. Thanks for playing and hope everyone had a good 2015!
To start season 2.5, I'll demonstrate formatting changes. Notably, in each update, I'll foreshadow the next update by giving you the title of the session, leaving a sense of ambiguity and mild suspense! The goal from here is to make the journal more like a story, which starts tomorrow!
For some reason, the download is running extremely slowly right now. It's been averaging 0.5 Mbps and is only about 1/5 downloaded in 10 minutes. I have a good connection that should be able to download this much faster, so it might be a Mediafire problem. I don't know if you can control it or not.
Hey Cobbleknight,
This may sound like an absurd question, but are you on dial-up connection? The reason I ask is simply because the expected download time is between 40-50 minutes if you are (which matches with your statistics). If you aren't, then I suggest restarting your router once, maybe twice. Upon seeing your comment I tried the download again, and it seems to working well on my end. Let me know if you're still having trouble.
Alternatively, I had to resubmit my world upload to Curse, as apparently I was not allowed to use the version number (1.5) in the title. This rule contradicts the number of world names with supporting version numbers currently available, but it's not something I'll lose sleep over. A Curse download should be available within a day or two!
Over a period of nine months (though technically six since I took a holiday break from December 2014 - March 2015), I embarked on 50 sessions, trying everything from massive exploration missions to massive build projects! These of course include the buoyantly vivacious Starlight Plaza, the blazingly beautiful Nether Temple, the exhaustively decorated Mob Processing Hub, and a plethora of other fun changes and additions along the way! So where are we now? In today's video update, I want to answer that question in a few different ways. So sit back, relax, and feel free to even play in your world while you listen!
I am happy to say that working on this journal over the past three weeks has been fun for me, even if I wish I had started it sooner (thought better now than never, right?). This is one of the many topics I cover in today's update. I won't transcribe the whole video because that's why it's a video, but basically I wanted to outline my goals with this journal, some context on it and the world, as well as what the goals are for the future. One of my big goals with the journal in particular is to gradually start to make each session feel more like an episode, enriching each with considerably more content.
Hope you enjoy the mid-season finale (I know, that's a comical title for something like this, but by definition, that's what this is!) as we embark on an exciting new direction for Techtropolis!
As mentioned in the video, I'm giving you guys a world download of Techtropolis as of session 103! This of course is the version you see in the world tour - alternatively referred to as the "Techtropolis Season 1 World" or more appropriately "Starlight HQ 1.5." It also includes the things we did in sessions 101 and 102, as well as a few things from 103 (thought not all of them). It's as close to the world tour version as I'll get, but I think you guys might like it.
Feel free to explore around and I encourage you to play the Totem Run parkour course - something I didn't do justice to in the world tour! I feel like there's no better way to get acquainted with the world than by playing in it yourself! I want to take a break from the journal to let everything we've done so far soak in, and to give you guys some time to play around with the world. Don't worry though - it's a short holiday break this time! We will be returning with session 151 on January 2, 2016, if all goes well.
World download notes: You actually spawn at the mob farm collecting chamber, contrary to what I said in the video (atop the mob farm). It is still within session 103 (egg generator exists, but mob drop tower does not). There will also be a lot of lag for systems not as great. This is largely due to the barn (over 300 entities total). Feel free to kill all animals! Also, to get to the Tropic Fortress (since the only way to get there in this version is via horse or walking), you simply need to traverse in the western direction straight across Techtropolis Island (there's a map of it in the second floor transport center of the Starlight to help you; the green arrow is Starlight HQ). The far western coast is spawn. The Tropic Fortress (and Totem Run) is in the northwestern corner.
There are probably some other notes, but just ask me if you have any questions! Have fun!
Merry Christmas, and a happy new year to all! I would love your feedback so far, not just on the world but also on the journal. What do you like? What don't you like? Which build do you like the most (hence the poll)? Which do you like the least? Is formatting satisfactory? Any and all feedback is beautifully appreciated, as more community involvement is a gradual goal for this series.
World download will be available from Curse as soon as it is approved. Until then, you may download it from Mediafire here.
Can you believe we're already halfway through? Well, to be fair, it normally would have taken an upwards of nine months to get through 50 sessions (and you'll get a feel for that in Season 3), but since I started this journal way late in the game, we got here in three weeks! Because of this, I'd like to give a slight break to allow much of the content to soak in. The latter half of the season moves at a far faster pace, and I've still got 1/4 to go (because remember I'm at 175)! Let's jump right in to the final normal update of the year!
Session 146 - "Fall Damage"
In the previous session, I stripped an entire chunk of its resources. Why did I do that? Well, it does provide a healthy amount of stone, despite a relatively small amount of ores (though there was a ravine nearby that I got to explore, which made up for that). Specifically however, I was preparing the land for my second parkour course! The first parkour course in this world (not including the playground) was Totem Run, built at the very end of Season 1, through sessions 93-96.
This parkour course would be a vertical drop, but you'd have to dodge the various obstacles in the air on the way down - like a free fall of sorts. The title of the course is Fall Damage. Here are some pictures of the construction:
After the chunk harvest was complete, putting together the different parts of the course didn't take too much time (since all the planning for them was already done). I did spend some time outlining some barrier designs in MS Paint (since a 16x16 canvas is the equivalent of a chunk, where the pixels are equivalent to blocks), but otherwise the entire thing went together in 1-2 days! This was a fun project and a very much-needed break from some of the work we had been doing at Starlight HQ. Here is a video of the course, including the fails!
Don't mind the audio glitch at 00:56. I re-rendered it a few times but couldn't figure out how to get rid of it. The challenge is falling through the red rings, which you'll notice took me a few tries. You could also innovate your own challenges with it - staying within the corners for example, although I've yet to attempt that. There is also an easter egg in the course, but I'll let you try to find it (shouldn't be too difficult to spot). Fall Damage has not been added to the poll because I plan on using it in another poll, which probably won't come to fruition until Season 3 (so it's still a number of months off).
Session 147 - "Atop the Fire World"
Apparently, Mojang fixed the bug where dark oak saplings could break bedrock way back in 1.8.2. I didn't even know that lol. It's a good thing I looked it up before landing myself atop the Nether! I knew that I wanted to build a gold farm in the future, and I knew I wanted to utilize the top of the Nether for this (among other things). So today was a pretty relaxed session, dedicated to breaking a hole in the bedrock roof of the Nether. But wait - they fixed that! This of course is why I did something that I would never suggest anyone ever do - ran my world in a downgraded version. I downgraded to 1.8.1 while already in the Nether, just in case something went wrong in Starlight HQ (though I'm not sure if that would help circumvent possible complications).
It actually went smoothly and quicker than I initially anticipated.
There was an elevated platform in the Nether Hub upon which I build a vertical tower up to the roof.
I also built a diamond-like staircase as you can see. It wasn't a great look, but it would do for now. At the moment I just needed a convenient way up - the rest I could take care of later. You'll also notice a pink window, to keep in accordance with the other colors of the Nether Hub. The portal to the witch farm that you saw in session 143 is located behind this staircase, to give you an idea of where it is.
Session 148 - "Nether Beams"
I don't usually have two relaxed sessions in a row (haven't had that since Season 1), but this was another smaller session, focused around completing what was already in progress at the Nether Hub. This basically meant the roof. Now, there were a lot of directions I could have gone with the roof. I originally wanted to do some steeply bowed cones, but I decided on something that I think looked a lot better:
I spent a lot of time designing these, and you'll notice that the middle roof is more accentuated than the surrounding roofs. Overall I'm thrilled with the design!
Additionally, I added a suitable pathway from the inner hub to the stairway sector (which isn't really an official name, more of just an interim title).
Honestly, this could have been combined with the previous session, but because of the fact that the two sessions were planned as separate projects (since I always plan the sessions before I engage in them), they remain separated (this was mostly because I overestimated the difficulty of creating a hole to the top of the Nether, which ended up taking like five minutes). This could be considered a waste of a useful session, but trust me when I say that planning for the latter half of the season was far more involved.
With that, the Nether Hub was officially labeled as complete. Of course it would continue to be developed over time, especially with the inclusion of some major farms, but for now I used it primarily for transportation purposes. I thus added a sign for it to the Lapis Hall of Fame, and it has been included in the poll! Keep in mind that anything we do to the Nether Hub in the future will count as part of the same build noted here, similarly to how the Starlight Castle's continuing developments are still considered the same structure, for the purposes of the poll anyway (the Lapis Hall only shows the month/year in which version 1.0 of each build was completed, without considering any further developments of that build).
Session 149 - "Higher Glowstone"
This was a busier session, and rightly so as we approach the halfway mark of Season 2. I thought that our last project in the first half should return to our roots - good ol' Starlight renovations! My favorite!
Today we finally get to installing proper lighting on the third floor, removing all torches! And it looks so much better!
Similarly to the first two floors, I made some notable renovations along the way. Probably the biggest is that the disintegrator room has been stripped of its oak wood, instead transforming into a more suitable shade to more smoothly transition into the newly renovated Starlight Observatory. The dark oak/quartz combination looks quite nice if you ask me!
Additionally, I've added carpet to the range room, and removed the pointless fence gate doors (yeah, because mobs were going to spawn in that small balcony that was lit up).
A feature commonly forgotten about when you look at the Starlight is the Grand Observatory. That may not ring a bell even after watching the world tour, since I only mention it once. But it's basically just the small observatory right underneath the lookout room on the third floor (the big green clay room). Well, I figured that since I'm coloring all the other glass throughout the Starlight, I may as well do the same here. So I did:
And yes, the library too!
Aside from these aesthetic changes, I added a lock to the donkey pen. This meant that I would be able to add more than one donkey (since having two would introduce the possibility of one standing on the pressure plates while the other left the pen, which is what happened). The lock disables all pistons from being activated from the inside, which is the opposite to how most locks work. I suppose you could consider it a safety lock of sorts. However, I have enabled three pistons to activate from the outside, so that way I can visibly check whether or not the lock is active (could have done a light, but where's the fun in that?).
So that was this session! Overall this was a nice way to end the first half of the season I think, but let me know what you think!
I'm putting together session 150 in the form of a special video, and it will include a little special something for the holidays. You'll see it in a couple days! Until then, feel free to leave any comments/questions about the first half of the season below. While this wasn't the most feature-rich update, it was a suitable conclusion to the previous update's projects.
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One, if any at all. Ample time is not a luxury I have much of.
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I technically have two bases currently. Though, only one is an actual base, while the other is more of an outpost.
My actual base, titled Starlight HQ, is really a collection of bases as it is divided into multiple factions. Additionally, the Nether hub on the other side connects to various other outposts which could be considered separate bases. But since it's all connected, I just consider it one massive base.
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So I've been spending whatever I free time I had last week watching Person of Interest and Breaking Bad. Though, that free time was nonetheless limited. Over the past two weeks I had the early morning shifts, which meant that by the time evening came, I was too tired to do anything. Thankfully though, I'm off today, so I have some time to think through this update thoroughly.
While I originally considered a 5-session update, at this point that would be too many, even after a(nother) two-week break. The reality is that we're starting to increase momentum very quickly in what we get done in these sessions, and so less is actually more.
With that, let's get to it!
Session 160 - "Blaze Farm Construction"
Meet "Taz", a new member of the Starlight herd! You'll see he's in Orion's old spot, because Orion died like an idiot trying to not drown.
Back in my old world before Techtropolis, from 2012, I found two blaze spawners in such close proximity that I built a farm utilizing them both. So naturally, with Techtropolis being a step up from that world (or a few steps up, rather), I was hoping to get the same kind of luck. In a sense, I did, as you'll note on the Mesa Mission from sessions 158-159. But that was so far out from the Nether Hub, especially considering that there was a blaze spawner just less than 50 blocks from the hub. So I finally decided to let my guard down and build a farm around that spawner instead. Although it wasn't utilizing two spawners, at the very least it was close enough to actually be part of the Nether Hub, which in and of itself is quite nice.
I built a funnel similar in design to Etho's cone, although it was more simplistic and didn't include as many pistons. I also built the collection chamber for the blaze to collect - I did so out of clay because not only did I now have a practically unlimited supply, but I wanted a sleek-looking design overall.
The collection center itself is worth looking at. Because the nature of the farm has it so that the blaze end up much lower than the spawner itself, the farm ends up looking like this:
I didn't work on any redstone today, mostly because I wanted to do all of that together. But I did get everything set up so that all I'd have to do next session is the redstone. However, in other news, I added a nether brick border to the lava moat surrounding the hub:
Session 161 - "Control Circus"
Today was redstone day for the blaze farm, which I've now beautifully titled the "Blaze Blaster". I started by building the lighting system:
The lever to activate the lava lights is in a unique spot - a hanging pillar far enough from the spawner to keep blaze from spawning:
Afterwards was the crusher. While I used the same redstone design for all crushers in the past (including those built in the Mob Processing Hub), this time I did something quite a bit different: a comparator clock (credits to Mumbo Jumbo for the design).
Additionally, I added a blockage system to prevent other blaze from entering the chamber while the first ones are being crushed and destroyed (activated via the lever):
Now that the wiring was all complete, theoretically the system should work! So I cleared it out and tested it, and it did work well indeed!
Unfortunately though, maybe I should've used a more automated funnel design, because now we had a new problem:
Regardless, I still got a lot of XP from this farm, and overall I was quite satisfied with the result. To celebrate its completion, I added a sign for it in the Lapis Hall of Fame:
But now it was time to work on some of the aesthetics, notably in the collection chamber. I started today with a second viewing, and some proper sandstone stair work.
And in regards to how far this farm actually is from the hub, well...
Session 162 - "Mob Drop Item Sorter"
For so long, I wanted to redo the mob drop storage system in the Power Museum (you know, the one automated via minecart). Well, today was the fantastic day in which we did just that! And the best part was that this new system is fully expandable for the future! After building a number of item sorters in recent months, I became fairly acquainted with how to build them, and thus I could do so rather quickly. So I figured, why not also sort the drops? I mean, that alone would be the real upgrade, right? Well, that and extra storage space! But let's take a look:
So where is this at? Well, take a look at the schematic for the Starlight Resources Facility posted in session 151. It's located down here! You know what that means? It means that this sorting unit is located over 40 blocks beneath the old one, meaning I had to craft a hell of a lot of hoppers. But it also means I can expand this storage for up to 40 layers in the event that it all fills up! And, if that wasn't enough, its location couldn't be more convenient, since it's almost exactly where I planned it would be on the initial schematic. So, I think this is a win-win-win situation!
I then removed the old system, tearing out all the redstone and the minecart track. I even opened up the land a bit to expose it, so that I could initiate ideas on how to further develop this area. The reality was that there was no way this system could have stayed; I'm just glad I got it out now before I started a development around here that required it. Additionally, having the minecart constantly moving 24/7 can cause some lag, and so we've now eliminated that.
I didn't move the drops; I just left them in the old chests until I decided to turn that room into something else. And, while I already have something planned for it, that won't be disclosed until another day.
Overall, this was an incredibly successful session. We're continually moving forward in more ways than one, transforming Starlight HQ into an ever expanding house of resources!
So we got a lot of stuff done in this update, which took place back in November (just a few weeks prior to the start of this journal!). Speaking of which, I should note that I've officially completed session 176 and have moved through session 177. But from the looks of it, we'll be there sooner rather than later!
There are quite a few things coming up. Hope you're enticed as I am!
Next up... Session 163 - "Arcade Connections"
Little cliffhanger for the next update... Remember this picture from session 118?
You'll see it again (and then some)!
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Thanks, glad you like it!
I only ever had two main worlds. The first was when I started playing Minecraft, in November 2012; the second, Techtropolis, in June 2013. So I've played this game for a little over three years now.
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Damn, the move took longer than I anticipated, and we just got Internet installed in our new home. So alas, it is time for a long overdue update!
Session 156 - "Multi-tier Farm Fun"
When we last left off, we had just completed a few farms in the new Starlight Resources Facility that we had been constructing (notably, a slime farm and a chicken/egg farm). Additionally, we built the storage cellars, decorated the interior slightly, and overall prepared for further developments. Well, those developments continue today, with a few new farms!
Back in session 130, when I built the pumpkin patch, I did so with the intention of making a more efficient way to grind pumpkins. I thought, "If I plant enough seeds, one pumpkin will grow as I harvest another." With this, I assumed that I could harvest pumpkins indefinitely. However, I was quickly proven wrong, and thus the pumpkin patch was only really useful as a novelty. So today, I started with two foundational farms: a melon farm and pumpkin farm - both inspired by Etho's design!
SRF main entrance to the left:
The way it works is actually quite simple. You step on the pressure plate, and then the pistons harvest all the blocks. It certainly is not the most efficient of systems, but let's be honest - melons and pumpkins aren't exactly at the top of my list in terms of necessary resources. In fact, I have so much of both, that they are near the bottom! Regardless, all I was aiming for was something automatic; and while this isn't really a more efficient substitute for the pumpkin patch, at the very least it's part of a more organized design, making it much more practical in use.
Hello, friend! Get out, please!
The multi-layer sugar cane farm that I built next is much more intriguing. It's a design that I believe was originally acquired from NimsTuts, in which a bud switch is used to determine when to harvest the sugar cane, automatically of course. Let me show you what it looks like!
The bud switch is powered when the far right sugar cane grows one block higher. This triggers a wall of pistons that harvest all sugar cane pieces on the top two layers you see. All items are then dropped into the hoppers, in which they are dispensed into storage:
And if you're unfamiliar with how that works:
Once the piston to the left is powered via the sugar cane, it will quickly push and retract the redstone block. This will create a pulse which will activate two redstone torches: the one you see to the right below the right-most piston, and the one on the other side of that same block, the latter of which powers the wall of pistons above.
I built two layers of this farm today, although I did plan to add more later on. Besides, I can add as many as I want, which is the glory of this design! The biggest advantage though, is of course the fact that I don't have to do anything ever - sugar cane is automatically harvested as long as the chunks are loaded! Sugar cane is indeed a vital resource, what with books (for enchanting) and sugar (for potions); so this farm was a step in the right direction for sure.
I also added the second layer of the storage cellars today, which was equivalent to the first layer we built in 153 (it was just directly beneath it).
In other news, while I was out harvesting leaves once more, you won't even believe who I found...
Chronos! It was a dream come true! If you recall, I lost Chronos way back in session 115, though I believed him to be dead since I had no other reason to believe he was still alive. But as it turns out, a glitch in the system simply caused him to escape the stables, rather than suffocate in a wall like I initially presumed. Nonetheless, he was back with the pack!
Session 157 - "Starlight Entrance"
All of those pesky chickens still in the barn were finally removed from existence today. One animal down - three to go (in terms of making the barn obsolete)! But today was not the day in which we expanded on the possibilities for new animal farms. Today, in fact, we furnished the second entrance to the Starlight Resources Facility - the old entrance to the Diamond Mine from the Starlight Castle. You can see this entrance in its most primitive state in a picture within session 155. But let's look at its fuller form:
Obviously it is still far from complete, aesthetically speaking. But it at least has been opened up. Besides, at least the Starlight end of it is complete:
What you'll notice is that now, the old Diamond Mine entrance has been transformed into a vertical drop, while a vertical lift has been added. Both can be used as entrances to the SRF, but the latter is used as an exit from it.
I enchanted some new armor to prepare for a mission to find a mesa once and for all. This would be the first documented major adventure since the Fire Journey, and only the fourth one so far this season!
Sessions 158-159 - "Mesa Mission (parts 1 & 2)"
Our two-part mission, and the centerpiece of this update, began on the 29th of October 2015, and ended on the 30th.
This time I ventured south - far south - as opposed to north like on the Fire Journey. I passed the Nether fortress I used to travel on the Fire Journey, instead venturing further past two new fortresses before settling behind a dual-blaze spawner. And by that, of course I mean this:
You know, I was waiting to find two spawners this close to each other before building a blaze farm. But, due to how far away these were from the Nether Hub, I decided it might be best to just settle with one spawner. This conflict came from the fact that, in my old world prior to Techtropolis, I actually did build a blaze farm out of two spawners. So, I assumed I would have the same luck here. But from a practical sense (given the distance this discovery was), I didn't, and that's okay.
I built a portal, and ended up here:
I knew I would not find a mesa anywhere near here! But I didn't walk far until I saw something particularly promising:
"Could it be?" I asked myself. And it was!
The glimmer of the ice spikes was sparkling with beauty! I couldn't believe what I had found! Though, after finding this rare biome, I realized that I wouldn't find a mesa if I stayed. And so I bookmarked the location, set up a proper portal to it, and continued to head south through the Nether. After another portal, I landed in a particularly interesting location:
My options were limited, and so I took off... by boat!
It only took another trip through the Nether to end up here:
My oh my, could it be?
At last! The biome I had been searching for since it came out over two years ago finally made its way to Techtropolis! I can't tell you guys how excited I was to finally locate this biome. This journey was based entirely on the off-chance I'd find a mesa biome, and it paid off in multiple ways.
I named the mesa "Candyland", since to me that's what it felt like! I transported multiple full inventories of hardened clay back to the Starlight (took a while), not to mention a beautiful cave adventure I had just underneath Candyland:
Even found a few horses:
And... oh look, day 2500:
And finally, last but far from least, the ore pyramid for this adventure:
Lucrative indeed!
What an epic adventure, and a slew of amazing new discoveries! Even that ocean monument might be worth exploring later on. This was the first adventure I took extensive screenshots of, as you can see, because by this point I finally did have this journal in mind (even though this took place about a month before making it). With this, it was time to move into a new age of Starlight developments!
Hope you all enjoyed today's update! The Mesa Mission marked a turning point in our constructions, as I didn't embark on session 160 until mid-November - just a couple weeks prior to the journal's conception! We're getting close to the present day! As always, any and all feedback is welcome, and stay tuned as we approach 175, and soon the end of the season.
Next up... Session 160 - "Blaze Farm Construction"
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To those following (and to those just joining in fact):
Apologies for no updates this past week! I've been in the middle of a major move amongst other things, and thus my accessibilities and spare time have been limited in many respects. However, I'm hoping that I finish the move today, which will give me some time to construct a new [4-session] update tomorrow!
Here, I'll give you something to chew on prior to that update:
As another note, I usually won't go a week without updates unless of extenuating circumstances , which is why I'm enlightening you on the situation! Once I finish moving, we'll be back on track and approaching 175 sooner than you might think!
Apologies again and stay tuned!
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It's been a few days... I imagine you're getting used to this slower pace. If not, well, my apologies! Regardless, it's time to bring some updates for today! Let's not forget, however, that everything in this update occurred this past October. Remember - I'm currently at session 175, and we'll get there soon so I can continue working on the world. We're almost there, in fact!
But let's recap - slime farm is finished. So now it's time to start working on the other farms in the Starlight Resources Facility!
Session 154 - "Egg Shooter"
The first thing I wanted to do was get rid of all those chickens in the barn! So, I created a completely automatic new chicken farm as the second farm of our new facility:
It works very similarly to a design I believe was invented by Mumbo Jumbo. The idea is that an egg would be automatically dispensed each time a chicken laid one. Over time this would create a collection of chickens. See here the original collection of chickens (these are solely in charge of laying the eggs):
If we look a little closer, you'll notice two dispensers. Each time a chicken from above lays an egg, two things happen:
First, an egg is shot out via the bottom dispenser, gradually creating the chickens to be killed. Secondly, lava is quickly created via the top dispenser to kill any chickens that have grown up (baby chicks aren't burned!). This means that the system is fully automatic, eliminating the need to constantly stock up on food storage.
And speaking of storage:
The chest in the middle picks up all things dropped from the chickens (this includes eggs that stockpile randomly from the chickens sitting too long). You may wonder why I didn't automatically sort the drops. Well, I considered this farm a big enough upgrade on its own that I was satisfied with it (but as we approach where I am now, at 175, well; let's just say I need to redo this storage unit). Feathers go on that wall.
...While chicken goes on that wall. And, I'd say the farm's results are great!
If you're wondering, this storage room is built off of the storage cellars we dug out in session 153. Go check out the schematics of them to understand how all the storage will connect. What you'll ultimately realize is that every storage unit is located directly beneath the corresponding farm, accessed by the storage cellars.
One more thing for today: The Diamond Mine! Well, I changed the purpose of the Diamond Mine room in the Starlight Castle. You know, this one:
Now, instead of going straight to the Diamond Mine, it connects as an entrance to the Starlight Resources Facility! It's currently just a temporary staircase that runs right into the dome, but that's to be renovated later on. Let's look at the new Diamond Mine entrance:
And, you guessed it (maybe), it's connected via the storage cellars. Until next time...
Session 155 - "Amenities"
Today, we start to see some serious aesthetic progressions of the Starlight Resources Facility. Let's not waste any time, but instead jump right in!
A few different things to see here. First are the obvious aesthetic changes! A beautiful mycelium floor to start us off - a material I've wanted to use for a while! With what I had planned regarding the rest of the dome, this was going to work quite nicely. Top that off with a dark oak border (both for the dome and the four storage cellar stairwells), and a quartz wall, I think we have some nice color contrasts going on here. I think the immediately next thing you'll notice is the array of flowers in front there. Those are four automatic flower farms! They use designs similarly to that of Mumbo Jumbo's, and they produce big results! But I thought... If I'm going to build some flower farms, then I need some storage! So I built a storage room right underneath:
What you're seeing is in fact the new dye storage room, to be completed later. It holds flowers in the six chests you see in front, while each dye gets its own chest on the sides and back.
Additionally, I planned on a cobblestone/stone storage unit to be expanded later. But it starts with this addendum:
Next thing you'll see in the first picture is the stairway that connects to the old Diamond Mine room in the Starlight Castle. But here's a closer look:
Also, say hello to the [finally] finished witch farm hub, complete with obsidian:
Today boasted some nice progressions on our new project. Hopefully these progressions were enough to get you engaged, but if not, the next update most certainly has some novelties...
Next update will feature the last two sessions prior to our next major adventure! Stay tuned.
Next up... Session 156 - "Multi-tier Farm Fun"
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Thanks! You can expect this journal to last a long while. The same system used in this thread has been used for the past 2.5 years in documenting this world, and while you'd expect it to die over time, it has only expanded! Some of the current plans for Starlight HQ alone (!) could last us all the way through Season 5.
NOTE: The time span between the last few updates is the new time span you should start to expect with them. As previously noted, it usually takes a few days to get through one session (sometimes longer), and I want to start easing you guys into that as we approach 175.
Two sessions in today's update, as they are somewhat of a "two-part session."
Session 152 - "Slime Chunk"
There were a few different slime chunks within Starlight HQ. But the goal was to have the Starlight Resources Facility directly underneath Starlight Castle - or at least, as close as would work in concordance with the slime farm. Today, we work on the slime farm intensely! Let's take a look at how it was constructed:
As you can see, there are a total of six layers for slimes to jump off and be directed to the kill chamber where they are drowned. However, you'll notice that they are only 10x10 platforms, using the other six blocks in the radius of the chunk as the 3x3 airway for slimes to jump off. While this meant considerably less spawning space, I had to think about the entire facility at large (i.e. if this was the only thing here, I would have made it bigger). Problem was that the bigger the farm was, the larger the central dome would have to be (since larger radius means higher dome). This would conflict with the railway to the MPH from the Power Museum, since it's directly above where the tip of the dome would be (assuming I did my math correctly). Speaking of which, I outlined some of the central dome:
Easter Egg:
Day 2400 in Techtropolis!!
This took a long time to complete, but we weren't quite finished yet! In order to finish the farm, we needed to create a storage unit for our slimeballs! This meant we had to start the storage cellars...
Session 153 - "Finishing the Farm"
The slime storage unit would take quite a staircase to access! So, I figured there was no better time than now to create the storage cellars! These cellars would be accessed primarily by four staircases adjacent to the slime farm on all four sides:
They would then connect in a similar fashion:
There were going to be two layers of these, although I wasn't going to make the second layer today. However, I did build a stairway from what would be an entrance to a theoretical third layer, as shown here:
That of course leads to here:
Slimes spawn in the storage room too!
Wow!
I can't say these results surprise me though. The reality is that most of the caves and the surface are lit up, surrounding the 128x128 radius around the farm. Plus, since the mob farm in the Power Museum doesn't function when we're down here, the slime farm is the only farm actively producing mobs.
With that, we've completed our first farm of the facility! Hold tight, because we're one down from almost twenty! Let's do this.
With our first farm finished, a second was about to begin! If you haven't yet downloaded the world (session 103) and/or viewed the world tour (session 100), I encourage you to do so. Hope you all enjoyed today's update and as always, all questions/comments are appreciated.
Next up... Session 154 - "Egg Shooter"
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Season 2.5 begins!
Session 151 - "Bombs Away!"
One world. One goal. But a means to that goal? Well, there was a variety of options, and there still are. You can take many paths to arrive at the same destination. Sometimes the fork leads to the shorter road - sometimes the longer. But you still get there. I, for example, took the longer road. I spent 150 sessions (two years) building Techtropolis from such a primitive perspective. I was thinking so small scale! "Oh, today we're going to make a pumpkin farm!" "Oh, today let's build a small observatory!" "How about we change some lights?"
I wasted so much time! But starting today, things in Techtropolis will take a much more diverse direction at an extremely fast pace. Today we begin on what will become one of Techtropolis's largest projects to date: the Starlight Resources Facility. What was the idea? An underground hub which included every single farm in the game, fully automated, in addition to mass storage cellars and resource outlets. This facility would completely replace the Farmlands, the storage rooms, and many other utilities throughout Starlight HQ. As I am currently on session 176 in the world as of writing this post, I can tell you with actual certainty that this project will see the light of day, and that light shines bright!
But that's all just basic information. Let's take a look at where it is to be located!
As you'll note in the coordinates (you can follow along in the world), we're located directly beneath Starlight Castle. I've outlined with stone brick a slime chunk, which will be our first major project of this major project! I used lots of TNT to destroy all of the stone you see missing. Obviously there is still much work to do, but right my focus was just one getting the hub dug out. Speaking of which, the hub would consist of a dome, lined with various small farms. The larger farms would extend beyond the dome in all four directions, while the storage cellars would be comprised of multiple layers circling underneath the dome. The slime chunk you see in the picture is the centerpiece of this build, meaning that everything will be built around it.
This is why the slime farm is our first main project. But not for today! Ha, today we had to plan the schematics! While I did extensive planning for months prior to this build regarding its content, I did not actually plan the schematics until this session back in September (when this session took place). Let's look at the bombing aftermath (you may have to turn up your volume):
Now let's take a deeper look at the schematic I drew out on paper:
You can't quite pick everything out, as this was taken from my phone, but at least you can see the design plan.
In the center we have the central hub. The slime farm resides as the centerpiece, while the four rectangle chambers will be staircases that descend to the storage cellars. Lining the hub are various farms - as many as will fit, actually. To the left side we have the new animal farms as well as the massive Sheep Processing Facility that will be a much improved version over the original. And to the right we have what I've labeled as an "automatic tree farm." Coming from the bottom is the entrance from the Powerhouse room in the Power Museum. You can see the hallway in the video as well. And don't worry - you'll see more of that later on.
NOTE: None of what you see in the schematic is complete, nor is everything guaranteed to make the final cut. For example, the section up top I've crossed out because it doesn't make the final cut. But this was the very original schematic!
With that, I think it's time to end the session! Feel free to study the schematic and try to pick it apart - there are a lot of detailed builds involved with this project, and I'm excited to show you them! But first we needed a foundation. Today's session was tasked with blowing up the foundation for the foundation. And as you saw in the video, that has been completed.
That's all for today! Hope you're all looking forward to this project as much as I am! Imagine that once this is complete, we'll have resources generating at Starlight HQ like nobody's business!
Next up... Session 152 - "Slime Chunk"
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Hey folks,
Happy to see that Techtropolis has gotten some downloads! I'll be honest - I didn't think I would get 20! Lol! But it's nice to see you guys are interested. Based on poll results, you guys seem to really enjoy the Totem Run parkour course, which I'm happy about. Thanks for playing and hope everyone had a good 2015!
To start season 2.5, I'll demonstrate formatting changes. Notably, in each update, I'll foreshadow the next update by giving you the title of the session, leaving a sense of ambiguity and mild suspense! The goal from here is to make the journal more like a story, which starts tomorrow!
Next up... Session 151 - "Bombs Away!"
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Haha, well your patience is certainly appreciated.
Sorry to hear it's not cooperating appropriately.
On another note, an official Curse download is now available...
...here!
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Hey Cobbleknight,
This may sound like an absurd question, but are you on dial-up connection? The reason I ask is simply because the expected download time is between 40-50 minutes if you are (which matches with your statistics). If you aren't, then I suggest restarting your router once, maybe twice. Upon seeing your comment I tried the download again, and it seems to working well on my end. Let me know if you're still having trouble.
Alternatively, I had to resubmit my world upload to Curse, as apparently I was not allowed to use the version number (1.5) in the title. This rule contradicts the number of world names with supporting version numbers currently available, but it's not something I'll lose sleep over. A Curse download should be available within a day or two!
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Time for our mid-season break!
Session 150 - "Where Are We Now?"
Over a period of nine months (though technically six since I took a holiday break from December 2014 - March 2015), I embarked on 50 sessions, trying everything from massive exploration missions to massive build projects! These of course include the buoyantly vivacious Starlight Plaza, the blazingly beautiful Nether Temple, the exhaustively decorated Mob Processing Hub, and a plethora of other fun changes and additions along the way! So where are we now? In today's video update, I want to answer that question in a few different ways. So sit back, relax, and feel free to even play in your world while you listen!
I am happy to say that working on this journal over the past three weeks has been fun for me, even if I wish I had started it sooner (thought better now than never, right?). This is one of the many topics I cover in today's update. I won't transcribe the whole video because that's why it's a video, but basically I wanted to outline my goals with this journal, some context on it and the world, as well as what the goals are for the future. One of my big goals with the journal in particular is to gradually start to make each session feel more like an episode, enriching each with considerably more content.
Hope you enjoy the mid-season finale (I know, that's a comical title for something like this, but by definition, that's what this is!) as we embark on an exciting new direction for Techtropolis!
As mentioned in the video, I'm giving you guys a world download of Techtropolis as of session 103! This of course is the version you see in the world tour - alternatively referred to as the "Techtropolis Season 1 World" or more appropriately "Starlight HQ 1.5." It also includes the things we did in sessions 101 and 102, as well as a few things from 103 (thought not all of them). It's as close to the world tour version as I'll get, but I think you guys might like it.
Feel free to explore around and I encourage you to play the Totem Run parkour course - something I didn't do justice to in the world tour! I feel like there's no better way to get acquainted with the world than by playing in it yourself! I want to take a break from the journal to let everything we've done so far soak in, and to give you guys some time to play around with the world. Don't worry though - it's a short holiday break this time! We will be returning with session 151 on January 2, 2016, if all goes well.
World download notes: You actually spawn at the mob farm collecting chamber, contrary to what I said in the video (atop the mob farm). It is still within session 103 (egg generator exists, but mob drop tower does not). There will also be a lot of lag for systems not as great. This is largely due to the barn (over 300 entities total). Feel free to kill all animals! Also, to get to the Tropic Fortress (since the only way to get there in this version is via horse or walking), you simply need to traverse in the western direction straight across Techtropolis Island (there's a map of it in the second floor transport center of the Starlight to help you; the green arrow is Starlight HQ). The far western coast is spawn. The Tropic Fortress (and Totem Run) is in the northwestern corner.
There are probably some other notes, but just ask me if you have any questions! Have fun!
Merry Christmas, and a happy new year to all! I would love your feedback so far, not just on the world but also on the journal. What do you like? What don't you like? Which build do you like the most (hence the poll)? Which do you like the least? Is formatting satisfactory? Any and all feedback is beautifully appreciated, as more community involvement is a gradual goal for this series.
World download will be available from Curse as soon as it is approved. Until then, you may download it from Mediafire here.
UPDATE! A Curse download is now available!
Have a good holiday everyone.
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The fact that you edited your post is what amuses me the most.
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Can you believe we're already halfway through? Well, to be fair, it normally would have taken an upwards of nine months to get through 50 sessions (and you'll get a feel for that in Season 3), but since I started this journal way late in the game, we got here in three weeks! Because of this, I'd like to give a slight break to allow much of the content to soak in. The latter half of the season moves at a far faster pace, and I've still got 1/4 to go (because remember I'm at 175)! Let's jump right in to the final normal update of the year!
Session 146 - "Fall Damage"
In the previous session, I stripped an entire chunk of its resources. Why did I do that? Well, it does provide a healthy amount of stone, despite a relatively small amount of ores (though there was a ravine nearby that I got to explore, which made up for that). Specifically however, I was preparing the land for my second parkour course! The first parkour course in this world (not including the playground) was Totem Run, built at the very end of Season 1, through sessions 93-96.
This parkour course would be a vertical drop, but you'd have to dodge the various obstacles in the air on the way down - like a free fall of sorts. The title of the course is Fall Damage. Here are some pictures of the construction:
After the chunk harvest was complete, putting together the different parts of the course didn't take too much time (since all the planning for them was already done). I did spend some time outlining some barrier designs in MS Paint (since a 16x16 canvas is the equivalent of a chunk, where the pixels are equivalent to blocks), but otherwise the entire thing went together in 1-2 days! This was a fun project and a very much-needed break from some of the work we had been doing at Starlight HQ. Here is a video of the course, including the fails!
Don't mind the audio glitch at 00:56. I re-rendered it a few times but couldn't figure out how to get rid of it. The challenge is falling through the red rings, which you'll notice took me a few tries. You could also innovate your own challenges with it - staying within the corners for example, although I've yet to attempt that. There is also an easter egg in the course, but I'll let you try to find it (shouldn't be too difficult to spot). Fall Damage has not been added to the poll because I plan on using it in another poll, which probably won't come to fruition until Season 3 (so it's still a number of months off).
Session 147 - "Atop the Fire World"
Apparently, Mojang fixed the bug where dark oak saplings could break bedrock way back in 1.8.2. I didn't even know that lol. It's a good thing I looked it up before landing myself atop the Nether! I knew that I wanted to build a gold farm in the future, and I knew I wanted to utilize the top of the Nether for this (among other things). So today was a pretty relaxed session, dedicated to breaking a hole in the bedrock roof of the Nether. But wait - they fixed that! This of course is why I did something that I would never suggest anyone ever do - ran my world in a downgraded version. I downgraded to 1.8.1 while already in the Nether, just in case something went wrong in Starlight HQ (though I'm not sure if that would help circumvent possible complications).
It actually went smoothly and quicker than I initially anticipated.
There was an elevated platform in the Nether Hub upon which I build a vertical tower up to the roof.
I also built a diamond-like staircase as you can see. It wasn't a great look, but it would do for now. At the moment I just needed a convenient way up - the rest I could take care of later. You'll also notice a pink window, to keep in accordance with the other colors of the Nether Hub. The portal to the witch farm that you saw in session 143 is located behind this staircase, to give you an idea of where it is.
Session 148 - "Nether Beams"
I don't usually have two relaxed sessions in a row (haven't had that since Season 1), but this was another smaller session, focused around completing what was already in progress at the Nether Hub. This basically meant the roof. Now, there were a lot of directions I could have gone with the roof. I originally wanted to do some steeply bowed cones, but I decided on something that I think looked a lot better:
I spent a lot of time designing these, and you'll notice that the middle roof is more accentuated than the surrounding roofs. Overall I'm thrilled with the design!
Additionally, I added a suitable pathway from the inner hub to the stairway sector (which isn't really an official name, more of just an interim title).
Honestly, this could have been combined with the previous session, but because of the fact that the two sessions were planned as separate projects (since I always plan the sessions before I engage in them), they remain separated (this was mostly because I overestimated the difficulty of creating a hole to the top of the Nether, which ended up taking like five minutes). This could be considered a waste of a useful session, but trust me when I say that planning for the latter half of the season was far more involved.
With that, the Nether Hub was officially labeled as complete. Of course it would continue to be developed over time, especially with the inclusion of some major farms, but for now I used it primarily for transportation purposes. I thus added a sign for it to the Lapis Hall of Fame, and it has been included in the poll! Keep in mind that anything we do to the Nether Hub in the future will count as part of the same build noted here, similarly to how the Starlight Castle's continuing developments are still considered the same structure, for the purposes of the poll anyway (the Lapis Hall only shows the month/year in which version 1.0 of each build was completed, without considering any further developments of that build).
Session 149 - "Higher Glowstone"
This was a busier session, and rightly so as we approach the halfway mark of Season 2. I thought that our last project in the first half should return to our roots - good ol' Starlight renovations! My favorite!
Today we finally get to installing proper lighting on the third floor, removing all torches! And it looks so much better!
Similarly to the first two floors, I made some notable renovations along the way. Probably the biggest is that the disintegrator room has been stripped of its oak wood, instead transforming into a more suitable shade to more smoothly transition into the newly renovated Starlight Observatory. The dark oak/quartz combination looks quite nice if you ask me!
Additionally, I've added carpet to the range room, and removed the pointless fence gate doors (yeah, because mobs were going to spawn in that small balcony that was lit up).
A feature commonly forgotten about when you look at the Starlight is the Grand Observatory. That may not ring a bell even after watching the world tour, since I only mention it once. But it's basically just the small observatory right underneath the lookout room on the third floor (the big green clay room). Well, I figured that since I'm coloring all the other glass throughout the Starlight, I may as well do the same here. So I did:
And yes, the library too!
Aside from these aesthetic changes, I added a lock to the donkey pen. This meant that I would be able to add more than one donkey (since having two would introduce the possibility of one standing on the pressure plates while the other left the pen, which is what happened). The lock disables all pistons from being activated from the inside, which is the opposite to how most locks work. I suppose you could consider it a safety lock of sorts. However, I have enabled three pistons to activate from the outside, so that way I can visibly check whether or not the lock is active (could have done a light, but where's the fun in that?).
So that was this session! Overall this was a nice way to end the first half of the season I think, but let me know what you think!
I'm putting together session 150 in the form of a special video, and it will include a little special something for the holidays.
You'll see it in a couple days! Until then, feel free to leave any comments/questions about the first half of the season below. While this wasn't the most feature-rich update, it was a suitable conclusion to the previous update's projects.
Stay tuned!