Thanks. :smile.gif: I would like to grow cork trees, but maybe they should only be growable in rainforest biomes, or else grow exceedingly slowly elsewhere?
And I know what you mean. Building in the ocean would be quite a chore, because of the inevitable "CRAP THERE'S NOW A WHIRPOOL NOES" I encounter.
On the other hand, it would allow us to make boat elevators that worked...
Yeah, they should only be found in certain biomes.
Also, perhaps they would drop saplings much less frequently than other trees. So you could replenish cork trees easily, but you could only multiply their number slowly.
I like the idea, but with a few caveats. A minecart rests above the rails, which in turn are already above the blocks they sit on. In what way would the redstone signal propagate: and for how long? I can't see a redstone minecart as powering a booster for long enough to get a train of any real size across-- but the idea is a good one, and has many applications. I was originally going to say "stone and wood minecart detectors would do this," but this is quite a find indeed.
A current from a torch minecart would carry the same distance as a redstone torch. And like a redstone torch it doesn't power the block below it, just the blocks above and to the side. So a torch minecart actually couldn't give a signal to a powered rail by passing over it.
Instead you'd need to place redstone wire on the side of the track to receive the signal from the cart, and then give it back to the powered rail. How long would the torch provide a signal to the powered rails? It depends how long the trail of redstone next to the track is.
For example, let's say: = normal rail = Powered Rail = Redstone next to track = No redstone next to track
On this rail the torch minecart only powers the powered rail when it passes over so only it can pass:
But on this track it powers the powered rail for a while before and after it passes over the powered rail, allowing other non-torch carts to pass with it:
And you could do all kinds of other systems. With a not gate you could make it so that the powered rail is always on EXCEPT when a torch minecart tries to pass. Or you could use it in more complex redstone circuits.
I actually have no objections to cork itself being affected by currents, just that it might delay/make less attractive the implementation of this wonderful idea.
I don't think artificial difficulty should be used though. With wood, it's wood: no matter what, even a stone axe is more than sufficient for the late game, and artificially making it harder than other types of wood doesn't seem to be a great idea. Rarity, while also artificial, would probably be a better choice-- and perhaps unique conditions could be placed on how easy it is to grow a cork tree?
Honestly, there are plenty of things that can get you killed/distracted/raped by zombies on your first night-- least of all my one-time ill-advised obsession with growing this:
True enough about the axes. I don't really think it's important to have any requirements on how to harvest them, just a nice touch.
And actually, my biggest objection about making it affected by currents is that it would make it a lot harder to create rising/sinking structures and platforms. You would have to worry about blocking the cork on one side so the current doesn't sweep it away and ruin whatever you're building. If we could have both a block affected by currents and one that isn't that would be perfect since it would give people more options. But if I could only have one, I'd choose a block not affected by currents. Also as you said, it's simpler to create.
Just found out another property about powered rails that could make them work well with Torch Carts.
Powered rails stop carts when they are unpowered. That would allow you to create railways that only allow trains with torch carts to pass, and block anything without a power source.
So you could have have the torch cart actually provide power to the powered rail as it passes over, just by putting a piece of redstone dust on the ground next to the powered rail. Other carts would not be allowed through, the unpowered rail would stop them.
I don't want them affected by currents as of yet: it would require a much larger rewrite and possibly detract from the suggestion's viability! But even with what was outlined here, can you imagine? Not only would we have the ability to raise and lower parts of structures, but also to use the cork blocks for devilish puzzles, locks, balances...
Yeah, I don't think they should be affected by currents. But perhaps you could make something else out of cork blocks (cork half blocks perhaps) that would be affected by currents.
Here's another idea: what if you could only harvest cork blocks with an iron or diamond axe? That makes them more of a later game material. Which makes sense, you don't want to worry about building a submerging reemerging drawbridge on your first day.
I've been doing a bit more thought about how cork would interact with non-cork blocks.
Player, Mobs, Items
Cork could support them as a floor (or ceiling). If cork rises (or sinks) it would push up the players, mobs, items so they remain on top (or on bottom). If a solid block stops the player/mob from moving upward then the cork would stop moving until the player/mob stops blocking. Items wouldn't stop it from rising, those would just pop out to the nearest empty space, just like when you place a block on an item.
Blocks Not Affected By Gravity
Cork would not be able to push solid blocks not affected by gravity. So if a cork block rises and hits a stone block underwater, it can't push the stone block upwards. The cork block would remain stuck under the stone block.
Blocks Affected By Gravity
Cork blocks would be able to push up gravel and sand. They would also be able to push up other cork blocks. However, gravel and sand and cork blocks above water could also push down underwater cork blocks. Sand and gravel blocks always push down. Cork blocks push down when they're above water, and push up only when they're underwater.
For example, a stack of 2 cork blocks would rise until one is above the water and one is below. That's because once cork is not in water it no longer pushes up, it pushes down. So the underwater cork and the above water cork cancel each other out. A stack of 4 cork blocks would rise until 2 are above water and 2 are below, because they'd reach equilibrium when half is above water and half is below. A stack of 3 cork blocks could never reach equilibrium, it would constantly bob up and down as the middle block goes above and then below water. These same principles apply no matter how big the stack is. A stack of 50 cork blocks would rise until 25 are above water and 25 are below.
Now let's talk about sand and gravel. A single underwater cork block beneath a single sand block would not rise because the weight of the sand would cancel out the buoyancy of the cork. 3 underwater cork blocks beneath one sand block would rise, because 3 is greater than 1. They would stop rising when 2 cork blocks are below water, and one cork block and the sand block are above water. That's because they'd reach equilibrium with two blocks above and two below. 2 underwater cork blocks beneath 1 sand block would never reach equilibrium, constantly bobbing on the surface as the cork block in the middle goes above and beneath the water.
What would be neat about this is that you could have very large structures rise from out of the water on command (using piston flood gates). It'd be pretty awesome to flip a switch, flood an underground lake, and have a tower one hundred blocks high emerge from a hole in the ground.
You could even completely hide the water and cork. You could create apparently normal sand and gravel terrain that transforms from flat ground to a hill and back whenever you want, all driven by underground lakes, corks and piston flood gates.
Or heck, why not be fancy and have a sand/gravel/cork building that appears out of flat terrain. Press a button and a flat desert transforms into a giant sandcastle. That'd just be badass.
I truly love this idea, especially in 1.5 along with pistons. Dont listen to the haters, dude, I actually like the texture.While multiblock entities would be hard, I love the idea of floating base, elevators, more ways of making calculators, and general awesomeness. diamond for you, sir.
Thank you!
I agree that multiblock entities will be hard. Because of that I think cork blocks should only float up in water and not be affected by currents. As much as I would like to see massive boats, I don't think the game actually has friction. So if the boat moved beneath you, you probably wouldn't move with it.
It would be nice though to have the option of cork that flows along currents for use in some contraptions. So how about this. Cork blocks only float up in water. Cork half-blocks float up AND float along currents. Two cork half-blocks stacked together would be exactly like a cork block but responsive to currents.
How efficient is it? You say "most" of the sugarcane lands in the water, so how much doesn't? And how much faster (if at all) is the water transport compared to pulling the lever, then running through your garden?
Don't get me wrong, it's a really cool machine, I'd just like to know whether it's efficient and cool.
I suspect it's inefficient for small sugarcane farms like the one in the video, but scaled up it could be very efficient for very large sugarcane farms. You could easily expand this system so it harvests hundreds or thousands of sugarcane plants at once, collecting from an area it would take a long time to walk through.
Not sure why you'd ever need that much sugarcane though.
I have a suggestion. How about cork blocks that are attached to each other act as a whole? This would allow for large ships... if not a floating base.
It would be nice if a cork platform could somehow rise at the same time when the area is flooded, rather than the blocks first exposed to water rising first.
Not bad... more diversity in the world, and a generically useful block with lots of potential. They should no doubt be rarer than the existing trees.
Any chance of seeing a mockup?
Unfortunately my artistic skills are lacking. Perhaps I'll give it a shot later. If anyone else wants to make a mockup they're more than welcome.
What I imagine though is just reusing the skin for ores, but replacing the stone with light brown color and the flecks of ore with dark brown. I think that would kind of look like a cork (not cork wood straight from the tree, but a cork you'd have in a wine bottle.)
I had a quick go, but I'm no texture artist and this was done very quickly:
Wow! That looks incredible! That's pretty much how I imagined it, light brown with dark spots.
Not bad... more diversity in the world, and a generically useful block with lots of potential. They should no doubt be rarer than the existing trees.
Any chance of seeing a mockup?
Unfortunately my artistic skills are lacking. Perhaps I'll give it a shot later. If anyone else wants to make a mockup they're more than welcome.
What I imagine though is just reusing the skin for ores, but replacing the stone with light brown color and the flecks of ore with dark brown. I think that would kind of look like a cork (not cork wood straight from the tree, but a cork you'd have in a wine bottle.)
I suggest adding cork trees to the game. They'd be found fairly rarely growing in forest biomes.
Wood harvested from a cork tree would have a distinctive appearance from regular wood, and you would not be able to turn it into planks or tools.
Instead cork wood blocks would have two interesting properties for use in construction. First, they would be affected by gravity just like sand and gravel. Second, they would float in water. When dropped they would stop falling on the surface of water. And If the area they're in is flooded, they would float to the surface of the water.
That would make cork ideal for use in elevator systems. For example you could use piston flood gates to raise or lower the level of water in a shaft, and ride up and down a floating cork floor.
They could look something like this (image courtesy of arirish):
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Yeah, they should only be found in certain biomes.
Also, perhaps they would drop saplings much less frequently than other trees. So you could replenish cork trees easily, but you could only multiply their number slowly.
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A current from a torch minecart would carry the same distance as a redstone torch. And like a redstone torch it doesn't power the block below it, just the blocks above and to the side. So a torch minecart actually couldn't give a signal to a powered rail by passing over it.
Instead you'd need to place redstone wire on the side of the track to receive the signal from the cart, and then give it back to the powered rail. How long would the torch provide a signal to the powered rails? It depends how long the trail of redstone next to the track is.
For example, let's say:
On this rail the torch minecart only powers the powered rail when it passes over so only it can pass:
But on this track it powers the powered rail for a while before and after it passes over the powered rail, allowing other non-torch carts to pass with it:
And you could do all kinds of other systems. With a not gate you could make it so that the powered rail is always on EXCEPT when a torch minecart tries to pass. Or you could use it in more complex redstone circuits.
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True enough about the axes. I don't really think it's important to have any requirements on how to harvest them, just a nice touch.
And actually, my biggest objection about making it affected by currents is that it would make it a lot harder to create rising/sinking structures and platforms. You would have to worry about blocking the cork on one side so the current doesn't sweep it away and ruin whatever you're building. If we could have both a block affected by currents and one that isn't that would be perfect since it would give people more options. But if I could only have one, I'd choose a block not affected by currents. Also as you said, it's simpler to create.
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Powered rails stop carts when they are unpowered. That would allow you to create railways that only allow trains with torch carts to pass, and block anything without a power source.
So you could have have the torch cart actually provide power to the powered rail as it passes over, just by putting a piece of redstone dust on the ground next to the powered rail. Other carts would not be allowed through, the unpowered rail would stop them.
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Yeah, I don't think they should be affected by currents. But perhaps you could make something else out of cork blocks (cork half blocks perhaps) that would be affected by currents.
Here's another idea: what if you could only harvest cork blocks with an iron or diamond axe? That makes them more of a later game material. Which makes sense, you don't want to worry about building a submerging reemerging drawbridge on your first day.
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Reinforced glass would be nice in that case. Although I'd prefer that storms just not break glass.
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Player, Mobs, Items
Cork could support them as a floor (or ceiling). If cork rises (or sinks) it would push up the players, mobs, items so they remain on top (or on bottom). If a solid block stops the player/mob from moving upward then the cork would stop moving until the player/mob stops blocking. Items wouldn't stop it from rising, those would just pop out to the nearest empty space, just like when you place a block on an item.
Blocks Not Affected By Gravity
Cork would not be able to push solid blocks not affected by gravity. So if a cork block rises and hits a stone block underwater, it can't push the stone block upwards. The cork block would remain stuck under the stone block.
Blocks Affected By Gravity
Cork blocks would be able to push up gravel and sand. They would also be able to push up other cork blocks. However, gravel and sand and cork blocks above water could also push down underwater cork blocks. Sand and gravel blocks always push down. Cork blocks push down when they're above water, and push up only when they're underwater.
For example, a stack of 2 cork blocks would rise until one is above the water and one is below. That's because once cork is not in water it no longer pushes up, it pushes down. So the underwater cork and the above water cork cancel each other out. A stack of 4 cork blocks would rise until 2 are above water and 2 are below, because they'd reach equilibrium when half is above water and half is below. A stack of 3 cork blocks could never reach equilibrium, it would constantly bob up and down as the middle block goes above and then below water. These same principles apply no matter how big the stack is. A stack of 50 cork blocks would rise until 25 are above water and 25 are below.
Now let's talk about sand and gravel. A single underwater cork block beneath a single sand block would not rise because the weight of the sand would cancel out the buoyancy of the cork. 3 underwater cork blocks beneath one sand block would rise, because 3 is greater than 1. They would stop rising when 2 cork blocks are below water, and one cork block and the sand block are above water. That's because they'd reach equilibrium with two blocks above and two below. 2 underwater cork blocks beneath 1 sand block would never reach equilibrium, constantly bobbing on the surface as the cork block in the middle goes above and beneath the water.
What would be neat about this is that you could have very large structures rise from out of the water on command (using piston flood gates). It'd be pretty awesome to flip a switch, flood an underground lake, and have a tower one hundred blocks high emerge from a hole in the ground.
You could even completely hide the water and cork. You could create apparently normal sand and gravel terrain that transforms from flat ground to a hill and back whenever you want, all driven by underground lakes, corks and piston flood gates.
Or heck, why not be fancy and have a sand/gravel/cork building that appears out of flat terrain. Press a button and a flat desert transforms into a giant sandcastle. That'd just be badass.
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Thank you!
I agree that multiblock entities will be hard. Because of that I think cork blocks should only float up in water and not be affected by currents. As much as I would like to see massive boats, I don't think the game actually has friction. So if the boat moved beneath you, you probably wouldn't move with it.
It would be nice though to have the option of cork that flows along currents for use in some contraptions. So how about this. Cork blocks only float up in water. Cork half-blocks float up AND float along currents. Two cork half-blocks stacked together would be exactly like a cork block but responsive to currents.
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Awesome banner! I'm going to put that in my sig.
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I suspect it's inefficient for small sugarcane farms like the one in the video, but scaled up it could be very efficient for very large sugarcane farms. You could easily expand this system so it harvests hundreds or thousands of sugarcane plants at once, collecting from an area it would take a long time to walk through.
Not sure why you'd ever need that much sugarcane though.
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It would be nice if a cork platform could somehow rise at the same time when the area is flooded, rather than the blocks first exposed to water rising first.
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Thanks! I definitely will!
Besides all the cool floating cork mechanisms people could design, I'm also excited about a new kind of wood for aesthetic purposes.
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Wow! That looks incredible! That's pretty much how I imagined it, light brown with dark spots.
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Unfortunately my artistic skills are lacking. Perhaps I'll give it a shot later. If anyone else wants to make a mockup they're more than welcome.
What I imagine though is just reusing the skin for ores, but replacing the stone with light brown color and the flecks of ore with dark brown. I think that would kind of look like a cork (not cork wood straight from the tree, but a cork you'd have in a wine bottle.)
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Wood harvested from a cork tree would have a distinctive appearance from regular wood, and you would not be able to turn it into planks or tools.
Instead cork wood blocks would have two interesting properties for use in construction. First, they would be affected by gravity just like sand and gravel. Second, they would float in water. When dropped they would stop falling on the surface of water. And If the area they're in is flooded, they would float to the surface of the water.
That would make cork ideal for use in elevator systems. For example you could use piston flood gates to raise or lower the level of water in a shaft, and ride up and down a floating cork floor.
They could look something like this (image courtesy of arirish):
What do you think?