The redstone thread!

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by Egeau, Sep 19, 2016.

  1. Hello everyone,

    As some of you might know am I quite a fan of minecraft redstone, I'm not extremely good at it, but I thought, you know what, Let's just share some of the things I builded. but it seems, that there isn't a redstone thread or something here, so, well, here it is. J The some kind of official empire minecraft redstone thread. made to share your creations and get some tips how to do things even better :)

    But, but? how do I share a creation?

    I think the easiest way of doing that is by making a few screenshots, describing what it does and maybe even a world download. if you have got a special redstone world, like me, you can easily just send the world with it. by making it a .rar or .zip (the program for that is called winrar) and than upload it at any way, I'd suggest using puu.sh, which is really useful and just drops everything in your downloads :)


    and, to kick things off, here's my redstone world: (6th version)

    http://puu.sh/uLUuH/94e5a1f570.zip

    Oh, yes, I guess about half of the systems on this world doesn't work annymore because things changed or just because they don't work, and about 90% of it is totally useless, but, sure :)
    RainbowPony, khixan, Zrugite and 4 others like this.
  2. Cool! I might try to load my redstone world up once, I backed it up somewhere. It's all very old and amateuristic stuff, though... :p

    Oh, and to zip without WinRAR (on Windows): select the files you want to include in the zip (probably just the folder with the world in it), right-click and choose "copy to" - "zipped folder" or something, my installation is in Dutch for some reason so I'm not sure what it says exactly. But that'll copy the files to a zip which takes up less room and is as such faster to upload and download.
    Unzipping downloaded zips is also simple, just open the zip in Windows explorer or right-click it and choose "extract all", it'll ask you where you want to copy the files to.
    TomvanWijnen and Jelle68 like this.
  3. I usually hate double posting (if this is) but I didn't want to have this in the op, but here are the creations I'm proud of:


    (487, 73, -1267)



    my first redstone door bigger as 2*2, it has been the entrance of my mall at 1145 for about 1.5 year, and I still love the way it works



    (460, 77, -1124)


    just flik the lever, and enjoy :)



    (410, 84, -1267)



    This is not just a screen, this is the first EVER screen with 1 redstone lamp 1 pixel, that is bigger as 10*10, it is also used on my touchscreen (that very big thing on the side of the world) and is actually awesome.



    (346, 82, -1158)

    just stand on the pressure plate, or press the button.



    (362, 107, -1144)

    A piston house is a house with loads of redstone contraptions, both of those systems are actually trying you to not get in to the place they're defending (as long as you aren't destroying blocks) I'ave alredey opened the places for you you just have to know in the Temple, (and turned the extra securyty off, since the door is open :p) so, if you just look around in the temple, and stop flying (since you're in creative mode) it will actually be quite fun to complete, the only thing you can't see wich is funny is the 3*3 hole in the ground to go to the place down where the chests are (just like a normal temple) since I'm sctually not able to tell you how to open that one, it's quite complicated. But I'ave actually opened all hidden staircases for you, so that you won't have to do an imposseble job with finding those (I'm using torch keys) the actual house will be way harder, since you have to know some codes and loads of torch keys to come in, but you can do really much if I tell you to just look very well foor wood buttons at oak planks :) (you can go to a big room out of sandstone, try to place redstone at the edges of this room to find some more things)



    (443, 72, -1237)

    There is a lever at the back to close and open it :)



    (353, 68, -1144)

    flip the lever :)


    for all other systems, just try to flip a lever or push a button, some things work, some don't :)
    RainbowPony, khixan, Zrugite and 4 others like this.
  4. Cool, I recently built a door designed for EMC with the anti grief update in mind. There is a way to lock a door and have only certain people able to open it. This took some testing to figure out how the anti grief works with blocks that have been moved by pistons. It is fully functional, and I have even brought ppl to it and asked them to try to break in (with their block break perms turned off).
    I'll try to set it up and show you in a test world. I can get some screen shots, but not sure about uploading the world download ( I'm pretty computer illiterate). I don't have time right now, I'll try to get to it in the next couple of days.
  5. I used to have a world for redstone testing, but I had to delete it because it got corrupted.
    Jelle68 likes this.
  6. Did you not make back-ups? :c
    Jelle68 likes this.
  7. I see it's time to bump again, since it's weekend now, don't be affreaid of sharing your creations, I will only eat you.
  8. I don't mean to brag, but not having that intention never stopped me from doing so.. So... I'm proud to show you something which is probably the best redstone machine ever designed by a player :)

    This machine will solve the ancient problem which us Minecraft players have been having: how to redstone. We've all been here before most likely: you want a device and you can't get any help with it. This machine will change your life!


    All you have to do is to theme it properly (use sandstone in a desert, used packed ice in a cold biome, etc.) and place it in an area where you think some redstoners will pass through.

    One of them will come up to the device, notice the free redstone lying inside and then they'll walk in to get it. Mwua ha ha ha!

    The doors will all shut, the lamps will turn on * and then you caught got someone available who can help you with your building(s). All you have to do is to force, coerce, ask them to help you out!

    * At the time of writing those lamps don't work yet, that was actually the reason I build this device in the first place. But... didn't have much luck yet :)

    So.. did I win a prize?
    RainbowPony, khixan, 607 and 3 others like this.
  9. <------ NEVER made a back-up & doesn't even know how (shame face here)
  10. I can give you a quick tutorial on how to make backups! :D

    This quick tutorial is for Windows.

    By default, Minecraft's main directory is C:\Users\[name]\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft

    When you're in that directory, your single player worlds are under the folder "saves". Open that folder and you'll see a folder for each world, the folder name will be whatever you named the world. I back mine up by compressing the folder into a zip folder (.zip). You could just make a copies of whatever folders you want and just place them somewhere else in your computer where they'll be safe. To restore, just simply delete the corrupted folder and bring in your backup from wherever you stored it.

    Quick n' easy! ;)
    Jelle68, ShelLuser and TomvanWijnen like this.
  11. Keep in mind the AppData folder is hidden by default, and in the View tab of Windows Explorer you should check "Hidden Files" to make it appear.
    Alternatively, you could do Win+R and type "%appdata%" to get to the Roaming folder directly.
    Jelle68 and ShelLuser like this.
  12. Wow, had no idea it would be that simple. I know just where the .minecraft file is. I have a shortcut set up to get there under frequently used files. Makes it easier when I was messing around with mods, texture packs & world downloads.

    Thanks!
    Jelle68 and 607 like this.
  13. There is more. If you're using Windows Vista, 7 or up then you already might have several backups without knowing it.

    When you're in the .minecraft folder right click on the saves folder and open its properties. Then check for the tab 'recent versions' (or something similar). You'll probably find many snapshots from previous dates. You can even open those folders and then copy older stuff back.
    Jelle68 likes this.
  14. Here are some thing that I have built

    This is a programmable, order sensitive combo lock. I have built this on EMC after the protection update so people with the password to get into my base :p
    User interface for lock.

    and this is the redstone behind it

    and this is 3 the combo locks I've built(first gen, second gen, 3rd gen). They all do the same thing, but get simpler and more compact form first to third.



    This is a 1.9+ minecart elevator similar to ones i saw on youtube, except the one i made has an auto ejection and minecart recycling(minecart goes back to bottom to be used again). I have also built this one on EMC



    When you press a button, all other lights will automatically turn of and the one you select turns on.





    This thing is a super compact, extermely complicated read and write memory block which has can hold 9 bits of data. the blue wool at the bottom is the array which selects the memory units if connected to a clock to cycle through them. light blue wool at the is to write a 0 to the selected unit, and pink is write a 1. The system will automatically write the unit selected by the array to the bus lines(black)




    This one is a usb write only memory unit w/ 4 bits. This one has a bit of a story... so at school, there is a kid that is really into electronics, so i asked him if he knew how to make a usb memory unit, then he draws a circuit diagram on the whiteboard from out of nowhere. I then tell him I will make it in minecraft. The next day I go back to school and show the finished circuit in MC it to him.


  15. Let's bump this up a little :)
    Nice, I'va also built one myself, that one has a little more possibilities in it I think, but the basic system is the same I think (if it is working with multiple inputs that all go in to one redstone line, the one makes the signal stronger than the other, it is) I do really like the way you did do the panel, I made such a 3*3 pad of buttons, and used quite some redstone to make it one line, I do like this way, brilliant :)


    Brilliant thing, and yes, you can win a price, if you pay 100r for participating, you have a chance to win the big Jelle 68 redstone price, which contains 1 redstone renamed "you moron" :p
  16. That moment when you search for this thread in Minecraft discussions, Community discussions and then find it here :D Friend and me did something really dumb (but SO much fun) this evening, I'm already grinning when I think back about it...

    Behold: the pit of doom! :eek:

    Friend and me decided to give PVP a try. I don't like PVP (it's why I started playing on EMC) but that has nothing to do with the competitiveness but the (usually) unfairness. Generally speaking it's often not about "the best player wins" but "the best ping wins". If you have a speedy Internet connection and are up against someone with a lousy speed then you often gain an automatic advantage.

    Anyway... Because I read so much stories about long lasting PVP battles we decided to make it a little harder. And that turned into a project of its own ;)


    A magma wall (4x3) powered by 4x3x6 = many pistons behind it :D These pistons push the wall forward one step at a time (except somewhere in the middle, then it skips 2 blocks). Eventually pushing you over the edge and into a huge pit (you won't survive without armor).

    The whole thing gets triggered by a switch which powers the first row of pistons and turns on a 'cascading hopper timer', each timer triggers another row of pistons:


    On the foreground you can see the hopper timers, if you look closely in the middle you'll notice redstone 'stripes' on top of the obsidian and you'll also see 6 redstone lights. Each light represents a hopper row, every time the wall gets pushed forward one light will lit up, making it easier for the (non present) spectators to see how far thing are.

    All but one row has been triggered (see redstone circuits on the left and the lamps in the middle / right).

    Now... Extending hoppers is one thing, retracting them (and their blocks!) is another :confused: If you got such little space as we had then you can pretty much forget about a redstone clock to retract everything: you wouldn't have room to trigger all rows.

    (note: we put all pistons together in one huge block, thinking back we probably could have created some extra margin by using slime blocks, is for next time :)).

    Our solution? Structure block! :cool:


    After the wall is extended we reset the hopper timers, which turns off the redstone & pistons. Then the structure block gets triggered which simply loads all the pistons (and magma wall) in their default (retracted) state. Ready for the next round! :mad:

    PS: Observer block = cool!

    Notice the top of the end? That's an observer block (1.11) which triggers 2 dispensers packed with fireworks. It gets triggered once the wall fully extends. We timed it so that the fireworks explodes with a nice bang around the same time when you drop dead at the bottom :D

    The perfect recipe for a ragequit, if it wasn't for the fact that we had tons of fun here :)
    RainbowPony, Zrugite, 607 and 2 others like this.
  17. mhm, using structure blocks, I didn't use them jet, but it seems to be interesting :) I do also like the thing you build, I might also build something like that, a great idea :)

    *bump*
    607 and ShelLuser like this.
  18. It gets worse, I turned it into my own amusement park :p With ticket shops and all, maybe I should share some of the redstone in the zecret areas :p
    Jelle68 and 607 like this.
  19. This thread could use a little more love ;) In fact, Jelle, I think you should consider a move request to the general Minecraft forum. Just a suggestion of course, but it seems more in place there considering that it's fully "MC ontopic" :)

    Anyway... Today I'm not sharing specific creations (will do so again soon!) but I'd like to vent a little about why I'm so excited about the new observer block which we'll be getting in the upcoming 1.11 version. I know this could also be ontopic in the 1.11 thread, but meh: this is about redstone :)

    Crafting the new observer block

    Now, there are 2 reasons why I'm super-excited about this block. To start: this is the first official addition to the redstone section in years. Now, we did got some updates in the past but those were merely cosmetic (like the new wooden doors (acacia, birch, etc.)) or rather small (like the inverted daylight sensor). But this is different, this is a block which provides us a completely new way to design things. Trust me when I say that this update is huge.

    The second reason I'm so excited, I already mentioned as much, is because this addition is huge. Uh oh, I'm repeating myself :oops: But seriously: this block will severely change some of the ways in which we design redstone machines and it will open unheard possibilities.

    A BUD switch!

    The new observer block is basically a BUD switch rolled into one single block. Sounds impressive huh? So... what is a BUD switch? Well, BUD is short for Block Update Detector and it basically means that such a switch can detect block updates, as its name already suggests.

    Now, that sounds cool and all but I can well imagine the next question: so what is a block update?

    Well, some blocks can change their behavior. For example: a furnace can be 'on' (burning, so it's smelting stuff) or 'off' (when it ran out of fuel). That moment when it goes from off to on (or back again) is a block update. The block actually changed a bit.

    And there are more examples: ever mined redstone? If you come into contact with a redstone ore block then it will light up a bit and emit particles. However, it does not actually contain (or transmit) redstone power but it did change its behavior. That too is a block update:

    Redstone ore and the furnace in both states, notice how the comparator remains off?

    Now, the reason why this is important is because this can allow us to do special things. For example: as you can see above the comparator is off, so the redstone ore block does not have any redstone charge or such which we could use. But... It still 'did' something. Wouldn't it be cool if we could somehow detect these changes and then 'do' something with them?

    Well, we can, but it's not very compact:


    This is a (redstone) BUD switch, and it's even one of the more compact designs around. So what is happening here? We actually created a bit of a 'short circuit'. The redstone block emits power, as can be seen by the lit up redstone dust on the ground. That dust in its turn powers both diorite blocks, you can see proof of that because the redstone torch under the left piston is off. But... If it powered the diorite then the piston on the right should also be affected. Yet it doesn't move?

    Enter the BUD switch... The pistons actually did move, but they got stuck in an endless loop which eventually 'overloaded' the redstone mechanics a bit after which the circuit stalled. But the moment I place a block next to the right piston it will immediately extend, which will remove the charge on the redstone dust, which will also make the right piston retract again, the redstone torch will trigger the piston on the left and that will push the block back, which immediately triggers the piston on the right again but because the piston on the left will still be extended at that same moment the right piston won't be able to extend right away. In the mean time the torch will be turned off which will make the left piston retract. And that results in this same situation again.

    The best way to experience this is to rebuild this construction yourself and then simply placing a block next to the piston on the right.

    2 more BUD switches, the one on the left also uses pistons while the one on the right only uses redstone.

    If you'd like to know more about these BUD switch designs then I suggest you check out the official Minecraft wiki, the tutorial on the block update detector.

    The Observer block

    So what makes all this so exciting? Simple: with 1.11 we no longer need these rather large contraptions anymore! Instead we can use 1 single block which will do all of the above, and much more!

    The observer block hard at work!

    Here I just threw some iron into the furnace, which turned on and that triggered the observer block behind it. I used a few repeaters to delay the signal because an observer block only sends out one short redstone pulse. So this way we could actually see something happening.

    And you can immediately see another interesting feature in the background: even a redstone lamp triggers block updates when it's turning on and off. The lamp turning on triggered the observer next to it which in its turn turned on the lamp in front again.

    This block is seriously going to change the way how we're going to design redstone circuits.

    Because there's more....

    Monostable circuits


    Monostable basically means that the output of a circuit will eventually remain the same ('mono' aka 'single') as it was before. If I push the button in the design above then several things will happen: the block to which the button is attached gets charged which will turn off the torch above it which in its turn will stop charging the block above that and this will result in the block on the left getting 'discharged'. So the torch on the left will turn on and that will extend the piston.

    But wait... The repeater in the middle is set to a delay. So shortly after the block on the left gets discharged it will get 'recharged' again which will turn off the torch again. So now the piston retracts. In the mean time the button will get turned off after which the whole circuit is back to its default state, the one you can see above.

    This is also why these type of circuits are also often called 'pulsars' or pulse generators. Because the circuit generates one short pulse (on & off) and that's it. For more information on pulse circuits, you guessed it, check out this Minecraft wiki page.

    So guess what? We also no longer need contraptions such as these anymore either! The new observer block is not only reacting to block updates, it does so by sending out one single pulse. Even better: that pulse can also be triggered by merely charging the block using a redstone signal (using redstone dust or a repeater, comparator, etc.).

    Summing up....

    Not only are we getting a really cool new redstone block in the upcoming 1.11 update, that block can also obsolete dozens of redstone circuit designs. And that will allow us to create even more compact designs than before!

    Honestly... I think this block is going to massively change the way we can work with redstone.

    And that makes me very excited about the upcoming version :)