[Morgoth]

so, with rivers and stuff. Is there a way to create new rivers, or do I have to somehow dig a channel all the way from the sea?

[Aptorian]

Well, if you want it to actually look natural, you'd probably want to link it to the sea or a lake.

Water doesn't act like normal water. It comes from "spring blocks" which you can scoop out of lakes and the sea with a bucket. If you place a spring block on a flat plain water will flow from it in all four directions. But it will only flow for some 4-5 tiles and then stop. If you want the water to become a water fall or a river you want it to descend down layers, every time water drops a step it will flow another 4-5 times. If you want the water to keep a level you need to fill every crevice of your channel with spring blocks.

[Aptorian]

This chart has saved my life. It's making my sub marine project a whole lot easier.

[Morgoth]

so, can you scoop up lava too? and does that act in the same way?

[Tarcanus]

Morgoth, on 22 September 2010 - 07:52 PM, said:

Having built myself to the top of the mountain, explored a little outside of the valley system, I decided it was time to dig downwards. I picked the very centre of my ground floor hall and started digging a 3x3 shaft with stairs running down the walls in a spiral of sorts. Ten or so blocks down I fell into a huge cavern absolutely covered in spiders! In the centre there's some kind of burning thing I couldn't entirely make out.

Thankfully, I'd just acquired steel armour which made me able to escape with a sliver of health. Still, there's an army of spiders bellow my tower. It is not acceptable!

Wait, you said the spiders are directly below your tower? Did you also say that you started your world near magma? If, for whatever reason, decided that you'd rather not farm the spiders and didn't really want their string, you could craft some buckets, grab some magma, and just dump it down the hole....mwahahahaha!




And yes, lava works the same way as water, but moves MUCH slower. Also, word to the wise, do not try to interact with a chest or workbench or anything while holding a bucket of lava. Not a good idea. Trust me.

This post has been edited by Tarcanus: 22 September 2010 - 08:51 PM

[Aptorian]

Morgoth, on 22 September 2010 - 08:39 PM, said:

so, can you scoop up lava too? and does that act in the same way?

There are some important differences between water and magma characteristics.

They both flow out from a source block and they can both be sampled by scooping up a source block with a bucket (you can't scoop up the stuff that isn't the source block)

But lava is slow moving. It's very sluggish and can take for every flow down the side of a surface.

You can make an infinite spring out of water by making a four square hole and dumping two source blocks in separate corners, you can't do the same with lava. it can not be copied.

You can use lava to fuel your furnace.

If you place just one source block of lava on a slopping surface the source block will actually begin to move. If you place several of them together they will usually stay put.

Pouring water across source blocks of lava turns them into Obsidian. The toughest minable material that can only be mined with a diamond pick. You can make indestructible structures by crafting things out of a mould filled with lava spring blocks.

Also, if you have a bucket full of lava, make sure you keep it in the inventory and not on the hot bar. Nothing worse than right clicking a door or a chest and accidentally dumping a bucket of lava in your home.

Generally, when working with lava it is a great idea to carry along another bucket of water, to put yourself out if you catch fire.

[Jade-Green Pig-Hog Swine-Beast]

Do you think it means that I'm obsessed if I've started drawing up plans for my structures on spreadsheets?

[Aptorian]

I think you're getting jiggy with it.

[Jade-Green Pig-Hog Swine-Beast]

Probably. I must say though, it makes things a hell of a lot easier and quicker to build.

And now I've mentioned it, you'll all be doing it within a couple of days!

EDIT: CREEPER!

This post has been edited by Green Pig: 22 September 2010 - 09:45 PM

[Gothos]

I think I'll start doing that. Any structure - draw it in 3 views first. Plan it out. My last attempt at a four-towered rampart was a splendid failiure.

Also Edit: I found a creeper underground near the lava. So I mined the block right under it. Burned like dry hay :]

Another Edit: It's annoying I keep having to come back out for wood. I marked the entrance to my caverns with a large portal with pillars and raised a pyramid nearby, all with torches on all sides, too.

This post has been edited by Gothos: 22 September 2010 - 09:59 PM

[champ]

i actually dreamt about this game last night... but you could make a train and my track ran under a waterfall... safe to say it will be getting purchased tomorrow in time for the weekend!

[Traveller]

Gothos, on 22 September 2010 - 09:50 PM, said:

I think I'll start doing that. Any structure - draw it in 3 views first. Plan it out. My last attempt at a four-towered rampart was a splendid failiure.

Also Edit: I found a creeper underground near the lava. So I mined the block right under it. Burned like dry hay :]

Another Edit: It's annoying I keep having to come back out for wood. I marked the entrance to my caverns with a large portal with pillars and raised a pyramid nearby, all with torches on all sides, too.

I'm having a resource-hunt. Found an existing cave, and have followed it deep down, past lava flows and rivers. Took lots of wood though - every now and then I stop, make a new workbench, so I can replenish my tools and torches as i go. Found what looks like gold and redstone, but do I need a better pick to actually collect it? Found a few different blocks, but nosure what's in 'em yet.

[Gothos]

You need an iron (steel?) pick to harvest Gold and Redstone. Stone just won't cut it (hah, pun?)
Similarly, I think you need a Gold pick for Diamonds, and a Diamond pick for Obsidian.

[Jade-Green Pig-Hog Swine-Beast]

Gothos, on 23 September 2010 - 12:21 PM, said:

I think you need a Gold pick for Diamonds

An iron/steel pick is fine for diamonds - gold picks are pointless as they're really soft and break quickly, so it's best to save your gold for more exciting things. Obsidian does need a diamond pick though.

[Obdigore]

Purchased. Right now I am making the half-blocks out of cobblestones... is there a way I can make full-blocks with just a workbench?

I figured out stairs and whatnot, but I would like to be able to carry around stacks of 64 fullblocks instead of halfblocks, and no, I don't want undressed stone.

[Tarcanus]

Obdigore, on 23 September 2010 - 12:42 PM, said:

Purchased. Right now I am making the half-blocks out of cobblestones... is there a way I can make full-blocks with just a workbench?

I figured out stairs and whatnot, but I would like to be able to carry around stacks of 64 fullblocks instead of halfblocks, and no, I don't want undressed stone.

You can build a furnace with 8 cobblestone blocks around the outside edge of the workbench squares. With the furnace, throw some coal in the bottom and smelt the cobblestone - it'll turn into nice smooth stone again.



Last night I followed a new cave system down to where the magma pools reside and began an ambitious project to find diamonds. I have hollowed out a huge space around the magma pools and found 7 diamonds. This was not without trials, though. I had to bust through a room with 15+ mobs before even reaching the magma level of the cave, and once I was there had to contend with surprise creepers dropping from higher areas in the cave and the problem was compounded by there being no sound >_<. I plan to continue the operation tonight.

[Jade-Green Pig-Hog Swine-Beast]

You have to stick cobblestone into a furnace to get smooth stone again.

(Furnaces are made by placing cobblestone in the eight outer squares of your crafting grid.)

You'll need a lot of fuel if you want to turn all of your cobblestone back into normal stone before using it, so I would suggest using buckets of lava as fuel (as they burn for the longest) and having several furnaces running at once.

EDIT: but Tarcanus beat me to it!

This post has been edited by Green Pig: 23 September 2010 - 12:49 PM

[Tarcanus]

The only problem with using a bucket of lava to power the furnace is that you lose the bucket in the process. I'd much rather burn coal(which is easier to find) than lose 3 bars of iron(which is much more rare)

[Gothos]

What's the practical difference between cobblestones and smooth stone anyway? Is it more durable?

[Tarcanus]

Gothos, on 23 September 2010 - 01:08 PM, said:

What's the practical difference between cobblestones and smooth stone anyway? Is it more durable?

It's puuuurdy. =D

ETA: or as Abyss would say: Purrdy.

This post has been edited by Tarcanus: 23 September 2010 - 01:15 PM