Been working on this in creative mode. I started by building the walls and gate on the server (SMP9), but was trumped as to where to take it. So I took the design to creative mode and this is what's been done so far: Additional Screens Sky View Gatehouse/Office Gatehouse/Office Interior (bottom floor. Top floor is just three small rooms.) Utility Tunnel (Redstone Access. Redstone is tucked away under the floor level.) The Lobby/Garden (will be a hidden staircase if I can manage it without ruining the overall feel) There is one house built (exterior not shown) which is my own modification on a Keralis creation. That will serve as the gatehouse/office (still debating on if I want to build multiple houses or just one large mansion). All the gates open and close using one primary input which will be moved to the gatehouse. There is also a button outside of the wall that functions all the same. Underground, there is a "lobby" which is more of a garden that serves as a central hub to whatever I build down there. Shops, more homes, farms, whateva. It isn't shown, but I'll take more screenshots here in a bit when I get back to building. After yesterday's online mega-disappointment (lost a ton of resources), I wasn't in the mood to play any longer. Curious about the whole "renting out homes" thing. Not sure if that would have much of a point outside of maybe a Frontier Outpost location...so shops are probably what I'll continue to work on.
The design can be expanded, so then the materials needed are a variable. Basically, you need blocks of your choosing for the actual "gate". As long as its not an immovable object, it'll work. For the mechanics (to make it raise and lower) you need sticky pistons, regular pistons, repeaters, comparitors, droppers, hoppers, sand/gravel, redstone torches and redstone dust. Not to mention the blocks needed to pretty it up once the mechanics have been sorted. The build itself can be expanded, but a 4-wide, 3-high gate is what I use and it does the job quite nicely and efficiently. Now, making them raise and lower from a primary input ups the redstone materials drastically. Mainly one needs a lot...a lot of redstone dust and a good number of repeaters. Also, it depends on what mechanism you wish to use for the input. If you want a lever, its more resource-efficient. But if you are like me and like buttons and plates, then you have to build a T-FF...for each gate built (It has messed up every time I have used one T-FF for all the gates. Still working on it, it may require the traditional, noisy, clunky, slow T-FF). The one I use is a silent T-FF but it uses more repeaters, redstone, and redstone torches. The good side is that its silent, quick (nearly instant), and compact. No pistons, no hoppers. Also keep in mind the total size. The majority of my gate structure is aesthetics to hide the mechanical parts, and my gate is only 4-wide, 3-high. So the overall size of the completed build gets to ridiculously massive proportions the larger the gate itself gets. A 5x5 gate, for example, would be an outrageously huge build for a res. Maybe good for an outpost, but definitely not a res. It would be like building a fortress wall around a straw hut xD
