Minecraft Forums

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3D redstone -- Redstone pipes.
Observations and suggestions are welcome.
If you can think of a better name for any of the components, let me know.
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This scheme would include the addition of 3 new blocks to the game. Those blocks are:
-A redstone pipe block that carries a redstone signal and can connect to any of its 6 neighboring blocks along the 3 main axes.
-A repeater block which can connect two redstone pipe blocks and repeats the input from one of those blocks to the other depending on its facing.
-A negator block which does the same as the repeater but inverts the content of the signal.

Advantages of this system compared to the existing redstone wiring
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3-dimensionality obviously, because all of these components can be connected to any neighboring block along any axis.

Compactness! Redstone pipelines can be placed directly adjacent to other pipelines with no risk of an accidental short-circuit. No insulating blocks are required.

Redstone pipe blocks and how junctions are created between them.
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A signal will only pass between two adjacent redstone pipe blocks if a junction connects them. A junction can connect any redstone pipe block to any other redstone pipe block that is adjacent to it (whether the other block is to the side, above, or below).

When a player places a new redstone pipe block, the new block will automatically connect via a junction to an adjacent redstone pipe block IF the adjacent block was the last block the player had placed before the new one.

A junction can be created between any two existing, adjacent redstone pipe blocks. To do so, a player holds a redstone torch in their hand and first left-clicks on one block, and then left-clicks on the other block in a consecutive manner. A junction will then be created between those two redstone pipe blocks and signals can then pass between them.

A junction can be destroyed in the same fashion. A player equips a redstone torch in their hand and left clicks on any two adjacent redstone pipe blocks that are already connected by a junction. The previously existing junction between those two blocks will be destroyed and no signal will pass between the two blocks (even though they are still adjacent to each other).

Unequipping the redstone torch will cancel a half-way-through formation or destruction of a junction.

Repeater and Negator blocks
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Repeater and Negator blocks behave in nearly the same way as the redstone torch and the redstone repeater blocks that already exist in the game, with a few exceptions..

Repeater and Negator blocks can face any of the 6 directions that align with the 3 main axes of the game. They will always face the player when they are created. (Their facing could be inverted if placed whilst the shift button is held down).

They will automatically connect to any two adjacent redstone pipe blocks if those blocks are located either in the direction the repeater/negator block is facing, or in the opposite direction.

Both the repeater and negator blocks act as one way valves. They take an input signal from their back side and output that signal to their front side. The negator inverts the content of the signal obviously.

An adjustable signal-propagation delay mechanism could be built in to both the repeater and negator blocks. (such as the existing redstone repeater already has).

Connecting to the outside world
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Redstone pipelines must be able to exchange signals with the rest of the world in order to be of any use.

If a Repeater or Negator block is adjacent to and directly facing a non- redstone pipe block, it will propagate a signal it to that block.

If a Repeater or Negator block is adjacent to and directly facing away from a non-redstone pipe block, it will receive a signal from that block.

I suppose it should be possible to form a junction between redstone pipes and other kinds of blocks, but I'm not sure if is neccessary. Using the repeater and negator blocks for that purpose may be enough. On reflection I realized that it would be very useful to be able to connect redstone pipes directly to ther kinds of blocks when there might be insufficient space to use a repeater or negator.

Technical notes
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Only 3 bits would be needed for each redstone pipe block to store its connections to its neighbors.

They made it before they became creepers obviously. And then ate it.

I'd like an option for a server to set the difficulty of hostile mobs to increase the farther a player is from spawn. The mobs health and damage could increase with range or more difficult kinds of mobs could spawn farther out. Harder mobs should come with more XP.

Servers should be able to set the scale by which the mobs increase in power. For example: +5% Life and Damage every 1500 blocks from spawn. Or if they're feeling more evil: +10% every 100 blocks.


The reasoning behind this: First, it would help prevent players from wandering way way out and making the world file too huge. Secondly, it would encourage players to work together to adventure farther out into more difficult territory, where they wouldn't be able to survive on their own. But it would give less adventerous players the option to stick closer to spawn where it is safer.

Quote from Sheltered

Let's say your inventory is full and you need to return to your base. When you later return to mining, do you continue on the long tunnel or do you start a new one? :biggrin.gif:

I was just about to concede your point. But then I realized that if you're just digging a long straight tunnel, it is probably out of laziness. In which case there is no motivation to return to the very end of the tunnel to resume mining where you left off. you can just start a new tunnel in some other direction.

I believe that no matter where you stop in either the branch mine or the straight tunnel, the total distance traveled to dig the mine and return to the origin will be the same. Since there is (usually) no reason to return to the end of the straight tunnel after making a drop-off, it eliminates the disadvantage you would have if you were to travel the extra distance to get back there. The only scenario in which this wouldn't be true is when your inventory became full or your pick breaks before you had finished mining ores that have already been exposed. So I guess it is possible that you might save a very little bit of time traveling while branch mining. Though I don't think it is enough to cancel out its other disadvantages.

Edit: Then I realized you can only start a new straight line tunnel in so many directions (4) before you will have to do something that resembles branch mining an awful lot. Maybe branch mining is inevitable to a certain degree, but they should be spaced far apart anyway.

Damn, two concessions in one post.

I was critiquing branch mining in another thread and thought I ought to just make my own thread specifically about the subject, and to point out that digging a straight line is superior to branch mining in terms of overall effectiveness.

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First of all, branch mining exposes fewer blocks than digging in a straight line for the same amount of effort made.

The reasons for this are 3 fold:
1) It doesn't matter if you miss blocks in one area as long as you have an equal chance of finding diamonds in another area. So you're not going to find *more* diamonds on average by making sure you don't miss diamonds in one area, when it is just as effective to look for diamonds in some other area.
2) With branch mines, you have closely spaced parallel tunnels and there is a risk of re-encountering an area you have previously excavated, this will therefore reduce the overall average number of blocks you newly expose per block you break.
3) With branch mines, at the junction between each branch and the main tunnel, you need to break blocks on a wall where the surfaces of as many as 4 blocks, which are adjacent to the blocks you're breaking, have already been exposed. This will slightly contribute further to an even lower ratio of exposed surfaces per broken block.

A 3-spaced branch mine is slightly more effective than a 2-space due to reason #2, above. A 4-space is even more effective. But an infinite space (straight line) mine is the best overall.

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Secondly, there is no advantage in way of travel distance with branch mines over straight lines. When people believe that branch mining confers a benefit in the way of reduced travel distances, they don't take into account the time needed to travel back up each branch after reaching its end.


OKAY... consider these scenarios...
Note: When counting the number of blocks exposed in each method, I didn't count the 4 blocks adjacent to the origin, because I considered them already exposed. In other words, I presume clearing the origin block was not part of the process.

A.) Consider this branch mine.

Note:
1) that 15 spaces of digging effort were made.
2) that 41 blocks were exposed during the digging, beyond the initial condition, and including the excavated blocks of the tunnel itself.
3) that if 1 return trip is made, 30 blocks need to be traversed in order to dig the mine and return to the origin. Remember: You have to count the distance you must travel to go back up each branch after reaching its end.








B.) Now consider this really long straight tunnel.
Note:
1) The same effort was expended building it. 15 spaces were dug.
2) 45 blocks were exposed beyond the initial conditions, and including the excavated blocks of the tunnel itself. That's 4 more blocks uncovered than the branch mine.
3) If you count the number of blocks that were traveled building the tunnel and returning to the origin, you will find that it was 30, which was the same distance we had to travel to build the branch mine and return to its origin.



Is there anything important that I've missed?

Either one is fine, just a way to zoom in your sight rather then having to go explore it by walking to the place. So right click while the item is in hand and zoom it, it has unlimited uses as well. I was thinking it could help with maps as well but not sure, maybe just a simple zoom is all that's needed. As I said instead of walking there you can zoom in to see if you'd like to go over somewhere instead.

The Telescope:


The Binoculars:


One or the other, not both. (Edited: Although a point was brought up later in the thread that if both are use, the binoculars would add the ability to show mobs besides just terrain.)

Later on in the posts this idea was narrowed down to just the Lens idea which has many implication But I'll let people expand on that and not me because I will probably over complacent things with the Lens idea which I usually do.

Here's my idea on how to make one though.

Quote from Ovus

Lol, why does everyone always suggest an item to dispell the unwanted features?

Don't like dougs, Notch should add an anti-doug totem. Don't like fog, Notch should add an anti-fog item.

Sometimes Notch dreams up crappy ideas that are best forgotten.

You do know the correct term is "Enderman"

Regardless, the Fog could be used for great ideas if it could at least be controlled. Unlike the Enderman, they just ruin creations and the Landscape.

I would rather see the void fog leave though.