Again, does anyone know how to disable gravel beaches? My worlds are all covered with big swathes of gravel. They seem to be twice as common and four times as large as the sand beaches. I would like to disable them. I tried manually adding "B:GravelBeach=false" to the config, but it doesn't seem to have any effect. I also tried disabling enhanced vanilla biomes. Also no effect.
As usual, please read the whole thing before shooting the idea down.
What it is
Balls are freely moving blocks. They roll as freely as minecarts on tracks or boats on water, except that they can go anywhere. They are crafted by the player and used in a wide variety of applications. They can be kicked around by the players, they can be guided by minecart tracks, they can set off pressure plates and with enough momentum some blocks can crush mobs or even smash through walls.
How a sphere can fit the cubic world of minecraft
I have modeled the ball the way one would model a sphere with voxels. I feel it looks no more out of place in minecraft than the chickens do. Also, the concept of a totally freely moving block really offsets the standard "fixed" blocks in a really refreshing way.
Uses
Balls made from different materials would have different properties and between them a wide variety of uses. They could be used for minecraft sports (such as soccer), mob traps (a la Indiana Jones, seen below), used to create complex Rube Goldberg-esque machines, cannons, mining tools, etc. What I love most about this idea is that the uses of the balls is left open wide to the imagination of the player rather than being a single-use only device.
Creeper Jones already lost his hat. That's why he's going to die.
How the balls are guided and controlled
Pushing and striking
Balls roll and fall freely. They can be pushed around by the player; striking them makes them go further. Once a ball is moving it will stop when it hits something or is struck head-on by the player. However, this can be a danger to the player since certain balls do damage when moving fast enough.
Blasting with TNT
Metal, diamond and obsidian balls may be "shot" with TNT without being destroyed. Therefore a player could easily build a simple cannon using something like the following recipe shown from the side:
Next, balls will automatically latch on to minecart tracks and follow the rails. This allows the player to use tracks to aid the balls rolling up and down inclines an around corners. Unlike mine carts, however, the balls roll just as easily without tracks and continue with the same momentum where the tracks end.
The tnt fires the ball up the tracks, giving it a 45 degree launch angle. Note that balls never destroy tracks, otherwise the ramp would be damaged.
Ball size
crafting more than one of the same ball type together would create larger balls. The standard ball would be 1x1x1. Crafting those together would make a ball 2x2x2, and crafting those together would make one 4x4x4.
Of course, in the real world these would be 8x and 64x heavier, respectively, however it makes more sense for gameplay that they be only 4x and 16x heavier. We'll just run with the square-cube rule. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SquareCubeLaw
Momentum
Momentum is based on velocity times mass, with a very simple equation:
V x M = P
When a ball strikes a ball or another free object (such as a minecart or mob) it transfers it's momentum. So in transfering momentum from one object to another:
V1 x M1 = V2 x M2
By balancing the equation, a light ball hitting a heavy ball will cause the heavy ball to move slowly, while a slow moving heavy ball striking a light ball would cause the light ball to go flying. This system means that by using multiple types of balls in the same machine can create a wide variety of mechanical effects.
How balls can damage mobs.
Balls will do damage based on their momentum. The higher the momentum the more damage it will do. Balls will only damage mobs in the direction they are moving or underneath them. Some balls are designed to never do damage no matter how fast they go.
Balls will also always damage mobs directly beneath them.
How balls will smash through walls
Certain balls will carry enough force to smash anything directly in their path once moving fast enough. This will require a great deal of force, such as being fired by TNT or dropped down a very, very long incline. Each block that the ball smashes through will slow it down slightly until the momentum is low enough that the ball cannot smash any more and stops. Most balls can only smash through a few layers of rock. In general balls are less effective than TNT for smashing down walls, but they can be used at a distance and are reusable.
Each type of ball (see the section on types of balls below) has certain materials it can smash through.
Some balls (such as wood) will break themselves if they strike another block moving too fast.
Where balls come from
Balls spawning naturally
For the most part balls would need to be crafted, but I have a few ideas for balls that appear naturally. One is a tumbleweed which would appear in desert biomes. It wouldn't serve any real purpose but it would add to the desert feel. The other idea is that stone balls might appear from time to time underground as natural boulders and would be a danger to the player, creating a risk of cave-ins.
Crafting balls
My only idea for how you might craft the ball would be by using some sort of neutral item. Perhaps using a pearl from a clam underwater and surrounding it with eight of the material you want to make the ball out of.
]" title="-<->" /> =pearl ]" title="-<->" />
Otherwise I'm hoping we'll eventually get a 4x4 crafting bench, which would make things simple:
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Quote from RandomGuy5040 »
EDIT: Also, crafting idea:
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MOAR EDIT: To make larger ones, perhaps you could do this: =Ball
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Picking up and breaking down balls
You're probably wondering how you're supposed to pick a ball back up if striking it rolls away. Well, other than having to corner the ball against a wall or pushing into a hole so you can hit it, I was thinking that perhaps striking a ball with an axe or pickaxe would not cause it to roll away.
Once you pick up a ball, placing it on the crafting table would return the materials it is made of.
Types of balls and their properties
= leather ball (as usual, not having a leather icon is a real pain)
Very light (accelerates fast, flies far when hit) and bouncy. Does no damage. Does not break except from TNT or lava. Floats on water. Do not set off stone pressure plates. The Leather ball is best used for minecraft sports such as soccer, water polo, kickball, etc.
= wooden ball
Light and a little bouncy. Does no damage unless on fire. Burns. Can light other things on fire. Floats on water. Breaks if it hits another block to hard. Do not set off stone pressure plates.
= stone ball
Heavy (accelerates slowly, does not fly far when struck) and only slightly bouncy. Sinks in water. Damages mobs if moving fast enough. Can smash through dirt, sand, gravel and clay. Breaks if moving to fast, hit by TNT or hit by lava.
= iron ball
Heavier and less bouncy than stone. Damages mobs more easily. Can smash through anything except obsidian, iron blocks, gold blocks, or diamond blocks (note blocks means crafted blocks, not ore). Only destroyed by lava.
= gold ball
Exactly the same as Iron, but slightly heavier still. I really want gold balls to have some unique special property but I can't think of anything.
= diamond ball
As heavy and bouncy as stone. Damages mobs very easily. Completely indestructible. Can smash through anything but diamond blocks and obsidian. Can even survive falling in lava. Diamonds make the best overall cannon balls, since they fly far but still have great damage potential.
= obsidian ball
Absurdly heavy. Never bounces. Crushes mobs almost instantly. Completely indestructible. Can smash through anything except obsidian.
Special types
= shell
TNT in ball form. It's fairly self-explanatory.
= glass ball
Light when empty and heavy when full, not bouncy, breaks easily. The glass ball can have a liquid placed inside of it and when smashed it creates a source block of that liquid. Alternatively this could be a hollow clay ball and have the same properties.
= redstone ball
Perhaps a silly idea but I'll throw it out there. Lights op redstone dust it comes in contact with.
= tumbleweed
Spawns naturally in deserts. Extremely light, blows around on it's own. Destroyed in one hit.
Concerns
If you guys have concerns I'll address them here.
- Won't making the balls roll be a pain to program?: I figure the rolling would just be a simple moving animation. It might look a bit clunky and times but that certainly wouldn't be out of place in Minecraft.
I'm sure the beds are the secret. I really hope the new beds look as cool as my existing bed, which is 3x2 red wool blocks with a headboard made from signs.
It's only been three days since Notch got back. Probably whatever's in this next update is stuff they've been working on already, meaning I'd guess no underwater update quite yet (unless it's something really minor).
Shouldn't the days be longer in the summer too? Since it's a temperate climate I would say the day/night length should be about 13 minutes/7 minutes in the summer and 7/13 in the winter.
Good idea. You have my approval.
However, deep oceans may be problematic for diamond miners, as their absurdly efficient mine may be flooded a lot easier.
An idea: Rare(ish) lava pools could occur at the bottom of the ocean, causing obsidian to form.
Well, I say I need a challenge in the diamond mines. It's too easy. And probably the oceans wouldn't go all the way to bedrock (although that would be cool.) And it's not too hard to de-flood a tunnel, and it would be even easier if there were scuba gear and underwater lighting.
I was hoping that lava pools underwater would create steam vents. The lava/water interactivity needs to change if volcanic activity is ever implemented anyway.
Quote from ammon97 »
I agree that these ideas would be cool, but I would rather that notch concentrated on the surface first. I, personally, don't go into the water that much.
I don't go down there much either, but I totally would if any of the stuff in this thread were implemented.
Also, instead of adding oil pockets, perhaps we could stray from reality a little and perhaps mixing water and lava (or something) creates oil. Thus you really will have to build yourself a bit of a factory!
That already creates obsidian, and it doesn't make too much sense.
If it's not a new liquid it will probably be a whale drop.
I like the idea that the mantle is under the bedrock, and to get to it you have to explore the bedrock to find holes...but I kind of would like to see caves like that in the over-world too.
All the same, trying to find holes in the over-world instead of just building a portal is a great solution because you have to explore, so there's a lot of luck and excitement when you find it. Just like finding diamonds.
But personally I would much rather see the overworld fleshed out more (with things like geocraft and oceancraft) before new dimensions are added.
I could see this in an alien expansion pack, where each of these are different planets. That'd be interesting.
If I were you I would try to think of some ways that really set apart these worlds as far as giving players good reasons to go there. Is moonrock super useful? Are there plants in twilight that can be used to craft amazing new tools?
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Oh there are two configs....I didn't notice.
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Is there a way to disable the gravel beach biome? It's not listed in the config.
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Sorry I keep changing the name of the topic. Just can't think of something that really zings.
I added ball sizes to the OP.
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As usual, please read the whole thing before shooting the idea down.
What it is
Balls are freely moving blocks. They roll as freely as minecarts on tracks or boats on water, except that they can go anywhere. They are crafted by the player and used in a wide variety of applications. They can be kicked around by the players, they can be guided by minecart tracks, they can set off pressure plates and with enough momentum some blocks can crush mobs or even smash through walls.
How a sphere can fit the cubic world of minecraft
I have modeled the ball the way one would model a sphere with voxels. I feel it looks no more out of place in minecraft than the chickens do. Also, the concept of a totally freely moving block really offsets the standard "fixed" blocks in a really refreshing way.
Uses
Balls made from different materials would have different properties and between them a wide variety of uses. They could be used for minecraft sports (such as soccer), mob traps (a la Indiana Jones, seen below), used to create complex Rube Goldberg-esque machines, cannons, mining tools, etc. What I love most about this idea is that the uses of the balls is left open wide to the imagination of the player rather than being a single-use only device.
Creeper Jones already lost his hat. That's why he's going to die.
How the balls are guided and controlled
Pushing and striking
Balls roll and fall freely. They can be pushed around by the player; striking them makes them go further. Once a ball is moving it will stop when it hits something or is struck head-on by the player. However, this can be a danger to the player since certain balls do damage when moving fast enough.
Blasting with TNT
Metal, diamond and obsidian balls may be "shot" with TNT without being destroyed. Therefore a player could easily build a simple cannon using something like the following recipe shown from the side:
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[]
[]
[]
[]
Guiding with minecart tracks
Next, balls will automatically latch on to minecart tracks and follow the rails. This allows the player to use tracks to aid the balls rolling up and down inclines an around corners. Unlike mine carts, however, the balls roll just as easily without tracks and continue with the same momentum where the tracks end.
Alternate cannon, using minecart tracks
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] []
The tnt fires the ball up the tracks, giving it a 45 degree launch angle. Note that balls never destroy tracks, otherwise the ramp would be damaged.
Ball size
crafting more than one of the same ball type together would create larger balls. The standard ball would be 1x1x1. Crafting those together would make a ball 2x2x2, and crafting those together would make one 4x4x4.
Of course, in the real world these would be 8x and 64x heavier, respectively, however it makes more sense for gameplay that they be only 4x and 16x heavier. We'll just run with the square-cube rule.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SquareCubeLaw
Momentum
Momentum is based on velocity times mass, with a very simple equation:
V x M = P
When a ball strikes a ball or another free object (such as a minecart or mob) it transfers it's momentum. So in transfering momentum from one object to another:
V1 x M1 = V2 x M2
By balancing the equation, a light ball hitting a heavy ball will cause the heavy ball to move slowly, while a slow moving heavy ball striking a light ball would cause the light ball to go flying. This system means that by using multiple types of balls in the same machine can create a wide variety of mechanical effects.
How balls can damage mobs.
Balls will do damage based on their momentum. The higher the momentum the more damage it will do. Balls will only damage mobs in the direction they are moving or underneath them. Some balls are designed to never do damage no matter how fast they go.
Balls will also always damage mobs directly beneath them.
How balls will smash through walls
Certain balls will carry enough force to smash anything directly in their path once moving fast enough. This will require a great deal of force, such as being fired by TNT or dropped down a very, very long incline. Each block that the ball smashes through will slow it down slightly until the momentum is low enough that the ball cannot smash any more and stops. Most balls can only smash through a few layers of rock. In general balls are less effective than TNT for smashing down walls, but they can be used at a distance and are reusable.
Each type of ball (see the section on types of balls below) has certain materials it can smash through.
Some balls (such as wood) will break themselves if they strike another block moving too fast.
Where balls come from
Balls spawning naturally
For the most part balls would need to be crafted, but I have a few ideas for balls that appear naturally. One is a tumbleweed which would appear in desert biomes. It wouldn't serve any real purpose but it would add to the desert feel. The other idea is that stone balls might appear from time to time underground as natural boulders and would be a danger to the player, creating a risk of cave-ins.
Crafting balls
My only idea for how you might craft the ball would be by using some sort of neutral item. Perhaps using a pearl from a clam underwater and surrounding it with eight of the material you want to make the ball out of.
Otherwise I'm hoping we'll eventually get a 4x4 crafting bench, which would make things simple:
[]
[]
Picking up and breaking down balls
You're probably wondering how you're supposed to pick a ball back up if striking it rolls away. Well, other than having to corner the ball against a wall or pushing into a hole so you can hit it, I was thinking that perhaps striking a ball with an axe or pickaxe would not cause it to roll away.
Once you pick up a ball, placing it on the crafting table would return the materials it is made of.
Types of balls and their properties
(as usual, not having a leather icon is a real pain)
Very light (accelerates fast, flies far when hit) and bouncy. Does no damage. Does not break except from TNT or lava. Floats on water. Do not set off stone pressure plates. The Leather ball is best used for minecraft sports such as soccer, water polo, kickball, etc.
Light and a little bouncy. Does no damage unless on fire. Burns. Can light other things on fire. Floats on water. Breaks if it hits another block to hard. Do not set off stone pressure plates.
Heavy (accelerates slowly, does not fly far when struck) and only slightly bouncy. Sinks in water. Damages mobs if moving fast enough. Can smash through dirt, sand, gravel and clay. Breaks if moving to fast, hit by TNT or hit by lava.
Heavier and less bouncy than stone. Damages mobs more easily. Can smash through anything except obsidian, iron blocks, gold blocks, or diamond blocks (note blocks means crafted blocks, not ore). Only destroyed by lava.
Exactly the same as Iron, but slightly heavier still. I really want gold balls to have some unique special property but I can't think of anything.
As heavy and bouncy as stone. Damages mobs very easily. Completely indestructible. Can smash through anything but diamond blocks and obsidian. Can even survive falling in lava. Diamonds make the best overall cannon balls, since they fly far but still have great damage potential.
Absurdly heavy. Never bounces. Crushes mobs almost instantly. Completely indestructible. Can smash through anything except obsidian.
Special types
TNT in ball form. It's fairly self-explanatory.
Light when empty and heavy when full, not bouncy, breaks easily. The glass ball can have a liquid placed inside of it and when smashed it creates a source block of that liquid. Alternatively this could be a hollow clay ball and have the same properties.
Perhaps a silly idea but I'll throw it out there. Lights op redstone dust it comes in contact with.
Spawns naturally in deserts. Extremely light, blows around on it's own. Destroyed in one hit.
Concerns
If you guys have concerns I'll address them here.
- Won't making the balls roll be a pain to program?: I figure the rolling would just be a simple moving animation. It might look a bit clunky and times but that certainly wouldn't be out of place in Minecraft.
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It's only been three days since Notch got back. Probably whatever's in this next update is stuff they've been working on already, meaning I'd guess no underwater update quite yet (unless it's something really minor).
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Well, I say I need a challenge in the diamond mines. It's too easy. And probably the oceans wouldn't go all the way to bedrock (although that would be cool.) And it's not too hard to de-flood a tunnel, and it would be even easier if there were scuba gear and underwater lighting.
I was hoping that lava pools underwater would create steam vents. The lava/water interactivity needs to change if volcanic activity is ever implemented anyway.
I don't go down there much either, but I totally would if any of the stuff in this thread were implemented.
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Don't do that. The thread will end when it ends.
We do need underwater lighting. Lightstone (It is a legitimate nickname) is a pain and jacklanterns are hard to find and lacking in class.
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That already creates obsidian, and it doesn't make too much sense.
If it's not a new liquid it will probably be a whale drop.
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YAY! *Does a dance* I love oceans!
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All the same, trying to find holes in the over-world instead of just building a portal is a great solution because you have to explore, so there's a lot of luck and excitement when you find it. Just like finding diamonds.
But personally I would much rather see the overworld fleshed out more (with things like geocraft and oceancraft) before new dimensions are added.
I could see this in an alien expansion pack, where each of these are different planets. That'd be interesting.
If I were you I would try to think of some ways that really set apart these worlds as far as giving players good reasons to go there. Is moonrock super useful? Are there plants in twilight that can be used to craft amazing new tools?