Well for one they have no hands(or arms), but then again we are talking about minecraft physics.. so I'm sure you'd point out that its an invalid argument. If you were to point out some of the benefits of villagers having the ability to activate pistons, redstone creations, etc... then maybe I could start to see where you're coming from. Till then I still think its kind of pointless.
Not much now, since villagers don't do anything at the moment besides spawn iron golems.
Once the AI is improved, and there's a reward for helping them thrive (which Mojang has stated they want to add), then allowing them to use redstone contraptions might have more of a purpose.
And even if there isn't a purpose, it's still fun to make a machine designed for a mob.
I think movable chests and dispensers would be very neat. It would definitely be nice to have an automated storage system that doesn't rely just on minecart chests.
It doesn't make sense to rewrite the code of the villager, and then add in a new item as well..
Because pressure plates detect everything. Using a button like this you could for example have a two way Jeb door that lets villagers out of a castle in the morning and brings them home at night. And that way you don't need to worry about zombies or cows opening it.
If villagers can be rewritten to open doors, and mate when doors are nearby (not making that up), they can be programmed to push a button.
What if you don't want villagers to push buttons until a certain time? Simple. Just have a piston hooked up to a timer hold a block in front of the button until it's ready to be pressed. If villagers can't see the button they won't try to press it. Dude its called a clock, basic redstone
I'm not sure what you're trying to say. What is the difference between a timer and a clock? Or do you mean a clock generator?
Mojang is planning to upgrade villagers, and provide incentives for helping them thrive. Wouldn't it be nice if you could assist villagers by creating redstone machinery that only they can activate, and not wandering zombies and animals?
I suggest adding a new block to the game: The Villager Button.
The villager button acts exactly the same as a regular button, except when a villager gets within 10 spaces curiosity gets the better of them and they walk over to press it. The player can still press it too.
Once a villager presses a button they lose all interest in button pushing for a random period between 1-5 minutes, so that way you don't need to worry about villagers pushing a button non-stop all day.
What if you don't want villagers to push buttons until a certain time? Simple. Just have a piston hooked up to a timer hold a block in front of the button until it's ready to be pressed. If villagers can't see the button they won't try to press it.
Aside from being useful in redstone machinery, the button can act as an effective villager lure, even if it doesn't actually do anything if pressed.
Since the power to move around villagers is pretty potent, I suggest making the button have the relatively expensive crafting cost of 2 gold ingots, producing two golden villager attracting buttons at the cost of an ingot each. Villagers: "Oooh, shiny...."
Another advantage of adding a golden button is that it would look nicer than stone buttons in many situations, even when just used as a regular button for only players to press. Making it gold isn't really a crucial part of this suggestion though, and the button could easily be made of something else instead.
What if dispensers could change the color of wool? If wool is blocking a dispenser, if the dispenser fires dye then it consumes the dye and changes the color of the wool block.
More realistic than most things in Minecraft, and it could be useful in color changing displays. Although you'd need to refill the dispensers eventually if you want it to work repeatedly.
Going back to light sensors, there are two possible approaches I really like:
A: The light sensor powers adjacent redstone wiring at the same level of light that strikes it. So a light sensor in brightness 6 light would produce a charge that travels down 6 pieces of wire.
B: The light sensor responds to any level of light brightness 1 and up, and produces the same charge as a redstone torch. You could sense different levels of light by blocking the sensor with transparent blocks to reduce the light level, so that only light of a specific brightness or higher is able to pass through to the sensor.
Perhaps a cargo rail which boosts storage carts along with the same friction as a regular golden rail does to a passenger cart when riding would be the answer. Not sure about all the possibilities.
Or minecart physics could just be made more realistic, so unoccupied carts travel the same speed as occupied ones.
The only benefit right now of having differing speeds is that it allows you to determine which carts are occupied. If there was a passenger/item in chest detector rail it wouldn't be necessary.
A detector rail only triggered by occupied minecarts or storage minecarts containing items could be useful.
I'd also like to see a way of training villagers to use switches. Perhaps a special kind of button they're attracted to pressing. I'm not exactly sure what I'd build with this yet, but I'm sure there would be something interesting. Since Mojang wants to make people ally with villagers and help them it would be neat if you could build machines designed to benefit them. Or toss villagers into horrible traps they trigger themselves, whatever appeals to your sick mind.
I would see this as a block that power the first redstone in front of it, with a max range of 15 blocks, maybe with a one tick delay
Rather than have it power any redstone, it'd be better if it acted like in the laser mod, with a transmitter and receiver. Non-transparent blocks and entities could block the signal, allowing it to also act as a motion detector.
personally I would like to see the following things in the future:
Wireless Redstone(w/transmitters and receivers that is able to set to a number of channels..or unlimited?)
Furnace powers redstone once smelting is done(for a definite time)
Insulated wire(works on its own, doesn't connect to other normal redstone wires)
I think redstone radio with many might be a little too powerful/high tech, and if it operates over long distances then it runs into the problem that most of the world isnt loaded, so many signals won't be received.
I'm in favor of wireless redstone through things like light sensors, that help you convert redstone signals into other forms and then back into redstone.
Maybe the answer is a BUD block, like people have suggested? Instead of making furnaces special.
And when it comes to insulated wiring, I can see the need. But I'd rather than add a new material like "bluestone" I think we should just get "insulated redstone", basically redstone encased in stone like a repeater so it only connects in two directions. Except it wouldn't refresh the signal or add a delay, and it would work in both directions. It's just a wire that doesn't connect at the sides.
Sounds like a perfect purpose for the redstone block to me
Ah, but which one? There have been a lot of different interpretations of the "redstone block" in this thread, and the only thing they agree on is that it takes 9 redstone to make one. So far there's been at least:
1 - A block that conducts signals like wire, but in three dimensions, allowing easy vertical transmission
2 - A moveable block that is always powered
3 - A single block toggle, becoming powered or unpowered indefinitely each time it receives a charge
What happens when you want to mass-herd a bunch of cows and pigs?? You would have to keep switching between items just to keep them following you. Animals are pretty ADD as it is so I don't think it needs to be any harder to herd them. If you don't want all of the animals following you, just kill them. You can always make more.
Then use wheat. Wheat would still lure all animals, I'm not suggesting we change that.
0
Not much now, since villagers don't do anything at the moment besides spawn iron golems.
Once the AI is improved, and there's a reward for helping them thrive (which Mojang has stated they want to add), then allowing them to use redstone contraptions might have more of a purpose.
And even if there isn't a purpose, it's still fun to make a machine designed for a mob.
0
0
Because pressure plates detect everything. Using a button like this you could for example have a two way Jeb door that lets villagers out of a castle in the morning and brings them home at night. And that way you don't need to worry about zombies or cows opening it.
If villagers can be rewritten to open doors, and mate when doors are nearby (not making that up), they can be programmed to push a button.
I'm not sure what you're trying to say. What is the difference between a timer and a clock? Or do you mean a clock generator?
6
I suggest adding a new block to the game: The Villager Button.
The villager button acts exactly the same as a regular button, except when a villager gets within 10 spaces curiosity gets the better of them and they walk over to press it. The player can still press it too.
Once a villager presses a button they lose all interest in button pushing for a random period between 1-5 minutes, so that way you don't need to worry about villagers pushing a button non-stop all day.
What if you don't want villagers to push buttons until a certain time? Simple. Just have a piston hooked up to a timer hold a block in front of the button until it's ready to be pressed. If villagers can't see the button they won't try to press it.
Aside from being useful in redstone machinery, the button can act as an effective villager lure, even if it doesn't actually do anything if pressed.
Since the power to move around villagers is pretty potent, I suggest making the button have the relatively expensive crafting cost of 2 gold ingots, producing two golden villager attracting buttons at the cost of an ingot each. Villagers: "Oooh, shiny...."
Another advantage of adding a golden button is that it would look nicer than stone buttons in many situations, even when just used as a regular button for only players to press. Making it gold isn't really a crucial part of this suggestion though, and the button could easily be made of something else instead.
1
More realistic than most things in Minecraft, and it could be useful in color changing displays. Although you'd need to refill the dispensers eventually if you want it to work repeatedly.
0
It would be neat if pistons could move rail vertically as well as horizontally.
0
A: The light sensor powers adjacent redstone wiring at the same level of light that strikes it. So a light sensor in brightness 6 light would produce a charge that travels down 6 pieces of wire.
B: The light sensor responds to any level of light brightness 1 and up, and produces the same charge as a redstone torch. You could sense different levels of light by blocking the sensor with transparent blocks to reduce the light level, so that only light of a specific brightness or higher is able to pass through to the sensor.
0
Or minecart physics could just be made more realistic, so unoccupied carts travel the same speed as occupied ones.
The only benefit right now of having differing speeds is that it allows you to determine which carts are occupied. If there was a passenger/item in chest detector rail it wouldn't be necessary.
1
I'd also like to see a way of training villagers to use switches. Perhaps a special kind of button they're attracted to pressing. I'm not exactly sure what I'd build with this yet, but I'm sure there would be something interesting. Since Mojang wants to make people ally with villagers and help them it would be neat if you could build machines designed to benefit them. Or toss villagers into horrible traps they trigger themselves, whatever appeals to your sick mind.
0
Rather than have it power any redstone, it'd be better if it acted like in the laser mod, with a transmitter and receiver. Non-transparent blocks and entities could block the signal, allowing it to also act as a motion detector.
0
http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/971037-sand-gravel-duplicating-machine/
0
I think redstone radio with many might be a little too powerful/high tech, and if it operates over long distances then it runs into the problem that most of the world isnt loaded, so many signals won't be received.
I'm in favor of wireless redstone through things like light sensors, that help you convert redstone signals into other forms and then back into redstone.
Maybe the answer is a BUD block, like people have suggested? Instead of making furnaces special.
And when it comes to insulated wiring, I can see the need. But I'd rather than add a new material like "bluestone" I think we should just get "insulated redstone", basically redstone encased in stone like a repeater so it only connects in two directions. Except it wouldn't refresh the signal or add a delay, and it would work in both directions. It's just a wire that doesn't connect at the sides.
0
Ah, but which one? There have been a lot of different interpretations of the "redstone block" in this thread, and the only thing they agree on is that it takes 9 redstone to make one. So far there's been at least:
1 - A block that conducts signals like wire, but in three dimensions, allowing easy vertical transmission
2 - A moveable block that is always powered
3 - A single block toggle, becoming powered or unpowered indefinitely each time it receives a charge
4 - A simple storage/ornamental block
0
Then use wheat. Wheat would still lure all animals, I'm not suggesting we change that.
0
Makes sense!