Finally I have a chance to show you what I've been working on. Unfortunately, all I can provide for now is screenies, as my regular PC (Where Fraps is at) doesn't play well with Minecraft right now. I've got the game on my work laptop (Shhhh!).
I've been wanting to create a nice, pretty rail and cave system and it's coming along nicely. I have 3 rail systems in place, 2 little ones (Ground floor to bottom of the grand staircase and the end of The Undercuttting up to the surface). The major railway I have travels through a good 80% of my tunnel system, and that's what I'll save my fraps for when I get my PC fixed
First things first, however... I built on the shore of a lovely lake and into the eastern hillside where there was a natural cave to begin with that I have since expanded upon as my base of operations.
I've torn out a lot of sand around my lake for use in glass and the occasional TNT, but it's still looking pretty nice from on top of my mountain. This is my main entrance here:
It used to be dirt, then it became cobblestone then upgraded to stone then I actually managed to come back from an exploration in one piece with plenty of clay so I made up the bricks you see pictured and used that. Comes complete with a skylight over the main foyer to keep an eye on those pesky spiders and skeletons who have a nasty habit of spawning on top of my mountain at night!
This is my wheat garden, freshly replanted after a bountiful harvest. I know I could make it more efficient and probably faster growing if I'd knock out every other torch and make that square into a seedbed, but I just haven't yet. I kinda like the way it looks now.
My lengthiest project (no pun intended) is The Undercutting. A straight mineshaft that cuts in under all the rest of my work and comes out to a lake dockstation from where I can launch off on explorations of the rest of the world.
Misc. facts for The Undercutting (because I love numbers, and I'm just that bored tonight)It measures 329 Meters long, 5 meters wide (with the exception of the first 28 meters, where it's only 3 wide) and 3 meters high. This makes 5,067 cubic meters of Tunnel. To get the railway to run the length of the tunnel, it takes 5 Boosters (4 on the floor and 1 at the end for the turn around). I have evenly spaced double torch sets along the length of the track every 6 meters, with a narrower pair right next to the railway track at every alternate 6 meters. I'm a sucker for symmetry, you should have seen me trying to find a way to get my boosters in without knocking down my torch pattern
ANYWAY.. Moving on... The Dockstation at the end of The Undercutting comes with tower with cycling red stone lights on three sides (I tried to get all four to cycle, but when I add the fourth into the loop, my clock breaks. I will have to experiment with an alternate clock to power that last side.)
The tower
The dock (Sorry Reg; stole your dock design, I thought it looked awesome
)
This is the clockwork that makes the lights flash on top of the Station Tower. I really should save it for Fraps, but I wanted to show it anyway.
I have also started on a series of smaller tunnels right near the surface. These are there primarily for Iron and Coal, as those seem to be a lot more prevalent up near the surface then down deep. Plus, it gives me an excuse for more tunnels! I've gone a good way into my mountain and branched off into the four cardinal directions, mostly to try and find the cavern that was making all the noise while I was working. Wanted to throw some lights in and get things settled down. I could never find it till I decided to start digging a spiral staircase down just for the heck of it. I found this:
This thing was literally 2 squares below my intersection and I never even knew it, all I heard was zombies grumbling about being undead and pheening for brains. I've seen other nifty things as well in my travels and diggings.
I've got a very effective mob trap set up as well out in the plains near my home, but that's probably better for frapsing so I can explain how it works and perhaps show how to build it. Why waste the time to chase the baddies around and whack them with a sharpened bit of metal when you can lure then into a gentle flowing tide of water that slowly, but inexorably directs them to scream in agonizing pain as they are burnt alive by lava instead? And you even get to keep all the goodies they drop! Complete with notification light
