Talk:Technical blocks

Redundant information everywhere
So most of theses blocks are far better explained their own article. I know this has been mentioned before, but this page is getting ridiculous. And it is inconsistent, for example, it has the Brewing Stand and the Cauldron, but not the repeater and the comparator (the unpowered versions). The worst part is people are often adding information to this article, when they should be adding it to the actual articles on the blocks. In summary I think an official definition of a technical block is needed, or to break apart this article completely.

Sorry about a bit of a rant, but I am finding this page very hard to use in it's current form.

--KnightMiner (talk 00:26, 27 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Now that most of them seem to have been removed as of 1.8/1.7.2, what still remains?? –Goandgoo ᐸ Talk Contribs Edits 10:58, 23 August 2014 (UTC)


 * Burning furnaces and farmland are all I can find. Mostly though, this article is about the block forms, and tons of fake technical blocks that should get removed, as they are simply the block form of an item (if we keep that up, we will need to add just about every block come 1.8 - 1.9, as blocks and items have been mostly separated with the addition of blockstates). --KnightMiner  (t 21:23, 23 August 2014 (UTC)


 * I was wondering myself why there were so many 'technical blocks' listed in this article. I agree having a definition that singles out exceptional blocks would be nice.


 * I had expected to find only blocks that have no item that places them, like piston head, piston extension, nether portal and end portal.


 * Interpreted widely, perhaps also blocks that can't be placed directly, but that transform from a default block, such as lit furnace, lit redstone ore, unlit redstone torch, powered redstone repeater, lit redstone lamp, powered redstone comparator, inverted daylight sensor or farmland.


 * In no sense did I expect things like flower pot, bed, mob head, sign, brewing stand, cauldron, wooden or iron door, redstone wire, stationary or flowing water or lava, wheat, potatoes, carrots, pumpkin or melon stems, sugar cane, nether wart, cake or monster spawners.


 * – Sealbudsman (Aaron) SealbudsmanFace.png t/c 05:46, 24 March 2015 (UTC)


 * I am now starting to think that we could just incorporate these parts into their respective articles, and do away with this page. The definition of a Technical Block currently on this page is based on a now-outdated concept; Goandgoo is right, you can't "obtain" these blocks anymore, they are now cleanly tucked away and restricted so that they can only be used properly (except Farmland, which has its own article anyway). Everything in this article is really just variations on the default block you would get if you placed the item, and are covered in the Block State sections of their respective articles -- except spawner and piston related blocks, which still could be covered appropriately in their own articles.


 * – Sealbudsman (Aaron) SealbudsmanFace.png t/c 06:15, 27 March 2015 (UTC)


 * I also agree splitting this article would be a good idea. Most of this information can cleanly fit on an existing article, such as the variety of piston related blocks or the duplicate repeater, stem, and door blocks. It also seems like in the future it will be harder to tell what fits the current definition, so splitting would make even more sense. I am going to add a split message box to the article linking to this discussion. – KnightMiner  t/c 14:57, 27 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Still advocating to split it, but if so, want to bring up a few things.


 * 1) Is it worth keeping a short summary of what Technical Blocks were, as historical info?
 * 2) If so, perhaps they warrant a full list of what blocks were in the list, through 1.7.x (before block states)?  Just a list, and an explanation of why they were considered Technical Blocks, but aren't considered that anymore.
 * 3) Are the PE / Console blocks here still true Technical Blocks, under the definition?


 * – Sealbudsman (Aaron) SealbudsmanFace.png t/c 15:38, 27 March 2015 (UTC)


 * . I’ll propose this change on Russian wiki. —  NickTheRed37 t/c (f.k.a. Naista2002) 16:01, 27 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Sealbudsman@undefined To answer 1 and 2, maybe we could replace it with a category? It could have a brief description and a relevant list. As for the PE/Console edition, the blocks from the list seem to fit the same cases of PC edition, some would be decent to state here, while some don't belong. – KnightMiner  t/c 16:08, 27 March 2015 (UTC)


 * The very meaning of “technical block” is too broad and unofficial. I don’t see any need in having this term at all (along with the article), to the point that I tagged the Russian article for deletion. —  NickTheRed37 t/c (f.k.a. Naista2002) 16:29, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

Removing "Stackable" from infoboxes
The "Stackable" entry in infoboxes is useless, since these blocks cannot be obtained (exceptions: Spawners, Burning Furnaces and Farmland), I vote for removing it. Laura Fidalgo (Talk / Contribs)  15:01, 20 October 2014 (UTC)
 * You would need to edit a template, which messes up other pages, but you could do one of the following:

71.35.109.25 03:32, 22 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Create a new template for technical blocks
 * Put NA or something similar for stackable


 * Technical blocks already have their own template. Every row is optional, including stackable. – KnightMiner  (t·c) 05:33, 22 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Then yes, remove stackable from all the blocks that do not appear in pocket edition. You can follow the link in this response to make sure.71.35.109.25 15:16, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

Portal in the end
The nether portal section says that the coordinates of the nether side of a portal in the end depends on the coordinates of a the end portal you used to get to the end. What would happen if you came in from the nether?71.35.109.25 03:24, 22 February 2015 (UTC) I forgot to say that I play pocket edition.71.35.109.25 15:37, 24 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Actually, I checked the page and it says when you first entered the end, but what if you build an end portal in the nether in creative mode?71.35.109.25 04:05, 26 February 2015 (UTC)


 * The end portal from any dimension except the end will send you to the obsidian platform in the end. Nether portals have no effect on this behavior. – KnightMiner  t/c 15:25, 26 February 2015 (UTC)


 * I mean if you entered the nether from the end and you came to the end from a portal in the nether.67.160.25.176 23:51, 26 February 2015 (UTC)


 * End portals function identically in the nether to one in the overworld, send you to the exact same spot. Nether portals can bring you from the end to the nether, though there are a few issues.
 * In both cases, you cannot obtain the block in that location without commands. – KnightMiner  t/c 04:14, 27 February 2015 (UTC)


 * Do you mean you would get a portal in the over world?71.35.109.25 14:41, 28 February 2015 (UTC)


 * As stated in the article end portal, three frames naturally generate in the overworld, only needing to be activated using eyes of ender to add the portal.
 * End portals do not generate naturally in the nether, due to the lack of frames generating, and nether portal frames do not function in the end. – KnightMiner  t/c 16:06, 28 February 2015 (UTC)

Proposal: redefine what Technical Block is, renovate, and keep article
At the risk of proposing too many things on this topic, here's another proposal:


 * Define a Technical Block as "Item form of blocks not normally obtainable in inventory"
 * Note that these were largely removed in 1.7.2–1.8 (except farmland I guess)
 * Explain that these were usually hacked into inventory through external tools or glitches
 * Explain the difference as to why it was possible to obtain them before, but not now – something to the effect of explaining roughly how the code works now versus then
 * Remove any blocks in the list that weren't actually possible to "obtain in inventory" (1.8 blocks?), and remove any blocks that you can just legitimately.
 * They probably don't all need Block boxes; they would probably only have Item boxes, and minimal at that

I think this might make it smaller, tighter, and keep the focus on the fact that this is a category of block that is largely gone / deprecated / bugfixed.

– Sealbudsman (Aaron) t/c 21:48, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

EDIT -- What about a page like this User:Sealbudsman/Sandbox/Technical Blocks ?

It's just a preview with the first dozen or so blocks (and last few) to illustrate how it could look. I wouldn't finish it unless it's worthwhile.

– Sealbudsman (Aaron) t/c 14:43, 1 April 2015 (UTC)


 * – This variant is fine, but there is no official meaning of the &ldquo;technical block&rdquo; term. &mdash; NickTheRed37 t/c (f.k.a. Naista2002)  06:41, 10 April 2015 (UTC)


 * Well, good point. – Sealbudsman (Aaron) SealbudsmanFace.png t/c 15:14, 13 April 2015 (UTC)


 * I do like the way you've presented the blocks in a more concise layout and by separating them into sections based on history. I do agree that they should probably go to removed features but not exactly sure on your definition of technical blocks - it is not an official term but that doesn't stop the wiki from using it if there is a consensus. –Goandgoo ᐸ Talk Contribs Edits 23:57, 13 April 2015 (UTC)


 * I looked through the edit history, but didn't look at the very oldest edits to see any of the original interpretations of the term. – Sealbudsman (Aaron) SealbudsmanFace.png t/c 00:46, 14 April 2015 (UTC)