Talk:Pointed Dripstone

Is the terms "stalactite," "stalagmite," and so forth official terms?
Does the game or its code refer to them officially as stalactites, stalagmites, and so forth, or is it just an unofficial term? Blockofnetherite Talk Contributions 18:20, 26 November 2020 (UTC)


 * The developers called them stalactites and stalagmites at Minecraft Live, which are real-world terms, so maybe they should be kept? Not certain however. – Unavailablehoax (talk) 19:38, 27 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Update, the death message for falling pointed dripstone calls them stalactites. – Unavailablehoax (talk) 17:51, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

In contrast to stalactite and stalgmite, the word "stalagnate" is not found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary or Britannica Online article on Stalactite and stalagmite. Wikipedia has an article for it, but it's just a stub, and looking deeper it doesn't cite any reputable sources. It also doesn't turn up in a general web search other than on Wikimedia projects; it appears to be a neologism. Of course, it wouldn't be the first time Mojang used a novel or misspelled word ("wart" instead of "wort", "sculk" instead of "skulk"), and they can call it anything they want, but I don't have Java and it's not in Bedrock yet, so I can't say definitively that the word isn't used in the game and therefore doesn't belong here; I'll rely on others to verify that. If they do, the redirect "Stalagnate" should be deleted as well. Incidentally, the term that is in common use for these floor-to-ceiling cave deposits is "sinter column" or, less technically, "pillar". --Auldrick (talk) 15:13, 10 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Per Auldrick's comment, I think that "stalagnate" should be renamed to "pillar", because the devs called them like that sometimes, or to "sinter column", because is more technical, accurate and looks more appropiate, as this is a wiki. If we don't find anything on the code, "sinter column" would be the best option and "pillar" would be a redirect. Supeika (talk) 14:06, 11 January 2021 (UTC)


 * All I see in the scholarly literature are the terms pillar, column, and stalagnate, but not "sinter column" in the context of cave formations (which by the way are called "speleothems"). Stalagnate seems to be the least common term, but it is a valid term. The fact that Webster's and Britannica omit the term just means its more obscure.
 * There is no longer a Wikipedia article on stalagnates. I changed it to a redirect and merged it into existing text in the stalactite article.
 * "Pillar" would be best, particularly if that's how the devs referred to them. Amatulic (talk) 17:48, 11 January 2021 (UTC)

Sounds button will not work
The 6ᵗʰ sound button for "When the block lands when falling" in the Java Edition section of Sounds does not work when clicked and will not light up. Awesomedragon29 (talk) 19:01, 27 November 2020 (UTC)


 * Thanks for pointing that out. I accidently added an extra sound parameter, there isn't a sixth land sound. – Unavailablehoax (talk) 19:14, 27 November 2020 (UTC)

Cauldron Interactions
I have a few questions about how filling cauldrons with water works. Does dripping water under the right conditions fill the cauldron straight to full, or does it fill it in phases? I am also wondering if it fills at a consistent or a random rate, as well as the details of whichever one it is.PegasusDust (talk) 23:03, 10 December 2020 (UTC)


 * Based off this comment on by User:Sonicwave, which describes 20w48a stalactite mechanics, and my testing on 20w49a, if the topmost stalactite gets random ticked and there is a lava or water source 2 blocks above, it'll attempt to find the tip of the stalctite up to 9 blocks downward, then checks for a non-obstructed cauldron below. – Unavailablehoax (talk) 05:16, 11 December 2020 (UTC)


 * Interesting. I guess it wouldn't make a reliable water clock in that case, though if it does fill in phases there may still be some interesting uses for it redstone-wise.PegasusDust (talk) 05:33, 11 December 2020 (UTC)


 * Update: confirmed by Sonicwave to be accurate, it also only checks for a cauldron within 10 blocks below the tip. – Unavailablehoax (talk) 05:40, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

Stalactite falling damage
The article currently says the damage from falling stalactite increases by 2 per block the dripstone falls. But I find the length of the stalactite affects the damage.

In Java edition 1.17.1, the damage seems to follow the formula:.

Except for a single dripstone where. Then it deals 1 less damage than the above formula predicts.

After that calculation, the damage is capped at a maximum of 40 as the article already says.

JNCressey (talk) 21:54, 12 July 2021 (UTC)