Talk:Piston

Powering a single piston in a vertical stack
So, imagine a vertical stack of pistons facing sideways. How one would power a single piston in the middle of the stack? Though powering them through a solid block works for now, article states it's just a bug that keeps a piston below un-updated.

Piston Use
I have a new use for a piston, to move glass blocks (because breaking them won't drop anything). Can I add this to the uses section? Assisstion 00:05, 1 July 2011 (UTC)

Destruction Clarification
Tile entities are destroyed if they are pushed by a piston. Are they destroyed as in annihilated, or simply turned into items? The text is not clear.

Guys this is a mod he decided to use see this video for a lot of info http://www.youtube.com/user/Coestar?feature=chclk#p/u/3/rugjyQxKy1s (it has the info about halfway through) --Ash0011 21:39, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

Vandalised
This page has been vandalised a few times now. Can someone protect this and roll it back? IVI4tt 15:39, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

Bugs
Piston/Sticky Piston with block on top and a pressure plate crashes SSP... permanently. Dunno where to put this in the page, but yea... created an account just to say this bug.

Pistons can easily crash the game. Don't let it push ANYTHING but normal solid Blocks, then you should be on the save side. I tried some, and got enough crashes with pushing water, torches and other things. --Casurin 14:56, 30 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Pushing Sand/Gravel over a hole with a sticky piston and just before it falls down pulling it back, will fill the hole with a copy of the original block. Finally Glass without destroying our Beaches :D --Casurin 17:02, 30 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Pushing Ice: Pushing an ice block (horizontally) works.  Also works if you push it into a non-ice block, but pushing ice into ice results in both ice being destroyed and water being generated.  Drlucky 23:28, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

Disputed?
Why is this disputed? There's been confirmation. Shouldn't we move this to future? JesusChrist666 00:31, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

Release Date
Should it be mentioned on this page? Notch said on his twitter that they plan for a release date of 6/30/11 Doirdyn 18:43, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

It has now been released in 1.7. We can remove this page.

Small error
The table describing the mod starts and ends with a "/div". Guess the starting parameter should be "div", am I correct? Any way, there is something wrong with the formatting
 * FIX'D. Along with the fact that half the data values are unknown, but that's okay. --Dramartistic 13:13, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

Image is same as Booster Rail in 1.5
This raises several questions as to the future of pistons. The largest debate I can see is if Notch is using the image for pistons for booster rails, then will he be creating a new piston, or leaving them to the modders? This would of course bring this page under question as it would need to be edited to fit into the wiki. (also as a new member I am not sure, but from what I have seen the wiki does not often comment/catalog modded content, thus this page may need to be removed.) Also, I have changed the wording of "pistons were not added in 1.5, but will be..." to "... in 1.5, but might be..." as in no post has notch solidly confirmed that it will be part of the game. The tweet from jeb only states that he is talking to the modder, not that it is a sure thing. UPDATE: Thanks to whomever changed the image, i have stricken my previous argument. As notch has confirmed that the piston mod is being added I have stricken my other argument. --Sporkius 16:30, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Beta 1.6
Where has anyone said that pistons will be added in 1.6? Did I miss a twitter or blog post? Last time I checked, the only new thing being added was maps. Pokachu 22:47, 14 May 2011 (UTC)


 * I went ahead and removed it. I think it's safe to keep removing it if it gets readded unless the person adding it can provide a valid source. 「 ダイノ ガイ 千？！ 」? · ☎ Dinoguy1000 00:59, 15 May 2011 (UTC)

Piston pushing piston
Had anybody tried to make piston push another piston? Piston occupying 2 blocks? --TakeruDavis 17:57, 26 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes. I made it. I'm not sure if I can post a link to my mod here.
 * Jeb_ already knows about it. DiEvAl 11:44, 5 June 2011 (UTC)
 * soo... what happens? I havent tried that, I havent tried ANY mod yet, because I have problems with their installation... --TakeruDavis 12:38, 7 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Both pistons move. DiEvAl 07:46, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

Finite Liquids, Sponges and Pistons
I seen video with mod, which makes Finite Liquids, Pipes and gives new purpose for Sponges. When Sponge takes some water, you can press - right click it to squeeze the water out. Would be great if you can use Piston to squeeze the water by using Redstone signal. Of course two interacting mods are probably even harder to make, but I hope Notch will make either both or at least one (probably Pistons) of them official part of MC. Then it could be piece of cake. What do you think of Piston-Sponge combo? --TakeruDavis 12:38, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Spikes Their Own Block?
Jeb_ says on his twitter that the method they may use is that spikes may be their own block, with can be used on their own or in conjunction with sticky pistons. Should we have a new article on this? - DarkAuk 01:02, 9 June 2011 (UTC)
 * They may be their own block. We should create an article after it's confirmed.
 * It is confirmed http://twitter.com/#!/jeb_/status/78559908211081216

Crafting?
Is there a blank image we could use for the crafting output? It looks ugly with the error text. FelixGriffin 23:41, 14 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Just don't put an output... – ultradude25 ( T at 02:59, 15 June 2011 (UTC)

Moving pistons
But haven't you noticed in the video made by Jeb? Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZJr86d2IUo&feature=player_embedded He constructed a wall that turns into stairs with an entrance, but... It is impossible to create this without moving a piston by another piston! Proof: 2:49 in video - repeaters attaching nothing (that's where pistons move) 2:55 in video - a piston just in the way of the other one! *Sorry for my bad english* --Cith 20:58, 15 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I noticed that too. I think its good they behave that way. Except I would appreciate, if they could propel you and sand. Maybe if there was one more kind of them which would do that. Also, moveable chests would be neat... --TakeruDavis 21:50, 17 June 2011 (UTC)

Pistons mod
Is this page both about mod and block, or just block?

If both, we should put Template:Mod here. When I tried to do it, my edit was undone with comment "the mod has no place here anymore, ...".

If only block, Mods/Pistons shouldn't redirect here. That redirect should be deleted.

DiEvAl 08:18, 16 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I agree it should be about the block, not the mod.

How many blocks can pistons move at once
Jeb posted on twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/jeb_/status/81386768913534976) that piston currently can move up to 12 blocks

Someone please add this to a page because i suck at it.

--Cith 21:00, 17 June 2011 (UTC)

Pistons and fluids
Jeb tweeted that pistons indeed will be unable to push water or lava. Might add that somewhere considering I've had questions about this very matter in the server I play on. Jeb was apparently asked this before he answered. &mdash; Neithan Diniem   †  16:50, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

How much can be pulled
"Pushing (and pulling if sticky) at least 1 block, and at most 12" Does this mean that a sticky piston can pull more than 1 block? This should be clarified. Retep998 19:53, 19 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I dont think it would work. I would like it if did, but I doubt. You would then for example have I block pushed touching another block, pulling both back. --TakeruDavis 12:18, 21 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Doesnt work, just tried it, it cna only pull 1 block. If that block is a piston, it won't get pulled if it is extended. Sadly this makes big drawbridges impossible for now. --Casurin 14:59, 30 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah, sadly doesn't work, but it is understandable. Some kind of control should be needed, where you can somehow set how many blocks should be pulled back, otherwise it could destroy other mechanisms, or simply the world. :) I could think about sticky blocks, where you can make any block sticky and those would move together with piston movements and would pull back as one too. --MaLakai 12:12, 01 July 2011 (UTC)

self building house
should this be added? i mean this is quite a feat that people have manged to do here is a link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTZMU90CJRU&feature=related Silverfox6000 06:34, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

This is with the Piston Mod isnt it? Not the official piston. So shouldn't this go to the mod's page? Jtlcr777 15:40, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

True...but is't this possible with the new pistons notch added? unless they catch fire or something. maybe someone should try? --Silverfox6000 20:22, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

i just did a test and it indeed works with the pistons Notch added. it can't push as many blocks but i was able to make a small self building house. i dont know how to make youtube videos.... so i'm hoping someone will and and that they will add a link demonstrating it--Silverfox6000 22:02, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

I created a house that builds/repairs itself this-morning and finished it this evening. If I get time tomorrow I might make a video of it along with a tutorial. It's truly not that hard to do if you have the materials and time. --TangentDelta 2:35, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Plz make a video.. i think it would be a great addition on this pageSilverfox6000 05:54, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Okay, but first let me get some TNT and pretty up the house a little bit xD

I could also add a part to the video that shows how the house actually works.

TangentDelta 13:47, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isMsEVIb4v4

TangentDelta 16:43, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Corrupted my world with a piston
How do I retreive my world? It got stuck on the saving chunk screen after i tried to push a torch; do not make automatic light switches.Fwd 14:30, 30 June 2011 (UTC)


 * I have the same problem but with pushing the lever that activated it. Yulex2 14:34, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

Oh my, I lost both of my worlds by pushing random blocks and right-clicking sheeps... Looks like the only solution is to use MCEdit to remove pistons from the map, but I don't know for the sheep issue.

Well if you go to your saves folder in the .minecraft folder, open the folder with the name of your corrupted map and drag level.dat to your desktop. Delete the folder and create a new one with the exact same name as before and drag level.dat back into the folder.

Youtube Videos of Bugs
Do we really need these? They are taking up a ton of space on the page. I don't want to make a judgement call on whether they violate Rule 16 or not (though I suspect the verbal explanation is good enough for most), but at the very least, can we not embed them? --Warlock 20:52, 30 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The Users are watching these videos so i think yes we need videos (embeded). And it's a better explanation how to use these bugs as only text is. --Nox Nebula 21:53, 1 July 2011 (UTC)

Extendable and retractable pistons device!
Probably this has already been done but so far as I know I'm the first to actually document it. So what I've created is an automatic sticky piston retraction and extension device. I made this very hastily so I apologize for the screenshots, I'll fix it in the morning cause its near midnight here.

So one side is an extension device, very simple and not much to mention. It is spaced so that it will activate all the pistons in order. Here it is:



Next you have the retraction device, which I am very proud of. It retracts the sticky pistons once they extend. It works in 3 'phases' and has two parts, the phase timing and the triggering mechanism. The phase timer makes sure that all the phases go in order, and the trigger times each piston's firing:



Triggering mechanism. This uses descending redstone repeater values to trigger the whole thing one piston at a time.



and the Phase timer. This does each phase in sequential order.

I have parental controls logging me out soon, but I'll get more action screenshots going tomorrow. The best part is that I could add extra pistons and more phases for them with little hassle to make a maximum 13 piston extender, which is 27 blocks If I'm correct. It also wouldn't be hard to separate extender and retracter so as to make a drawbridge with an open/close switch.

I'm so happy I made this! Weesplat 03:59, 1 July 2011 (UTC)

--Alright, I've done some work and I'm certain I can recreate this and put it to use on a drawbridge or something of the like. I made a model that uses 7 pistons; the redstone usage is very draining but It works very well, extending and contracting in about 6-8 seconds.



Can we put this under uses as an extension and/or retraction device? It seems pretty useful even if it is so complex. -Weesplat 21:55, 1 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Please do. I'm working on something and need a nice drawbridge. --Charlie St. Cloud 23:16, 1 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Unfortunately, since Pistons only extend when redstone powers them and redstone has to have blocks to be placed, a true drawbridge that extends through air is impossible. Its possible to use torches to transmit a signal upward to power the pistons, which would mean a pitfall of two blocks right under the drawbridge. It's also possible to make a portcullis if you're going for a medieval castle, or a walkway that pops out of a wall, but not an ideal drawbridge. I was mostly making this to get a better idea of how to use pistons and to give myself something to do with them. I admit I don't have many ideas for use horizontally, but vertically it could make a nice elevator. I haven't created that yet though, its a bit harder to make. Weesplat 02:11, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

I found a design flaw that slowed the retraction time, and also made a few other tweaks to get a faster retractor device. This one also uses far less redstone, opposed to the astronomically expensive first design. Haven't made a 7 piston retractor, but I have a 5 piston retractor here, which does its retraction phase in about 4 seconds. Interestingly enough, this design actually toggles leaving the sandstone block and retracting it with the pistons, although by separating the retraction and extension the same feat can be accomplished without so much hassle.



Weesplat 02:13, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

Piston crash, can't find in which category this crash belongs
Hi,

I'm crashing with that Pistons edge case:

Yet, I don't know in which category this crash belongs to. It does not create a "Savings chunks...", it just freezes the game as soon as the first piston moved. The world gets corrupt too (I don't mind, Dropbox is performing saves).

Any thoughts?--Ha3 06:59, 1 July 2011 (UTC)

Specific about a bug mentioned on the page
Somebody said under bugs that sometimes a piston may be powered when it is powered by a redstone torch even when the torch is powered off. This is actually because in order for the redstone torch to be powered off, the block it is connected to has to be powered ON. If that block is in contact with the piston or to where the piston may extend to, the block might actually be powering the piston and not the torch.

Hope this helps... Maxd123456789 21:48, 1 July 2011 (UTC)

Piston Bug
I used pistons to make a new doorway to my house. I made a mistake putting the lever down in the hole where the piston was. I pulled the lever.. and the piston made a weird sound (BOUFH). The game sorta crashed. The screen said Saving Chunks, with no loading bar. The window went small, and had a pure black screen. I quit and went back on, I saw my world flash, then it did the same thing as before. My first ever world... gone. Could anyone help with this?

Sticky Piston Theory
Notch had said (or was it Jeb) that if two sticky pistons grasp the same block at the same time, one sticky piston will get the block. I did controlled tests on this theory by making a plus shape in the ground and putting sticky pistons at the back. Each sticky piston orients towards the middle, in the opposite direction it is placed (The piston at the north faces south). A diagram is shown below.

GGGGGGG GGGNGGG GGGAGGG GWABAEG GGGAGGG GGGSGGG GGGGGGG


 * G = Grass (w/ redstone)
 * N = North Sticky Piston (Facing south)
 * W = West Sticky Piston (Facing east)
 * S = South Sticky Piston (Facing north)
 * E = East Sticky Piston (Facing west)
 * B = Test Block
 * A = Air

Each sticky piston is joined on by redstone and a lever, so they operate at exactly the same time. One piston will get the block, and I note it down. I repeat the test two more times to confirm the result: This is a table showing the pistons used (Not where it orients) and the piston that got the block.

However, the directions are to be reversed, since they are being pulled in the opposite direction. This means:

The two tables show that Sticky Pistons follow the North-South quirk (if that's what it's called?) when a group of Sticky Pistons attempt to pull back the same block. They also seem to follow the South/West rule, which means that if you test any of these ideas with a sticky piston to the North, you can be certain that the block will be pulled to the North Piston (it retracts south). As for the East-West test, the block was pulled West, probably due to the South/West rule as well. MinecraftFan1 00:06, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Changes Made
I made a moderate change to the page:


 * Removed a bullet, as it is stated twice in the Bugs section
 * Fixed some typos and grammar issues in the Bugs section

History Citation?
The history claims code is used from the Piston Mod, however I believe notch has tweeted that all code for all updates is written in house. I'll try and dig up that tweet, but does anyone have any citations for the history paragraph? Jakechs 07:11, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Piston railways
It seems that you can make a piston move railways on the same level as the horizontal piston even retracting it with sticky the railway will change to fit existing rail. When pushed over a hole the railway will break. When placing a railway on a block affected by a horizontal piston the railway will break if the piston is powered, both sticky and regular do this even on retract if replaced once broken. When placing railway on a block standing on a piston the railway can be pushed up but will break if the block is retracted down. A railway pushed from above will count as a whole block. when piston is sticky the railway will be lifted from its place to hang in the air. Destroying the piston will the break the railway. --Elahim
 * Please sign your posts with ~ (I had to add your name myself).
 * Also, I am unable to get this functionality. The SMP server I attempted to play around with this on refused to extend a piston that pushed a block that had a rail piece on top of it.  Previously it would pop the rail off (if it was pushed vertically at all) or not move (as long as an acceptable block was pushed under).--Draco18s 20:26, 25 July 2011 (UTC)

Pros and Cons
Rename Pro and Cons, those are opinions –The preceding unsigned comment was added by Noaaisaiah (Talk . Please sign your posts with

New Bug?
In my messing around with pistons and redstone, I discovered something that I think is a bug. It is rather complex to explain, so I will just tell how I found it, and if I don't make any sense, please tell me. 1. Dig a 1 block deep hole 2. Place a sticky piston on the east or west lip of the hole so that the extension would cover the hole when powered, but leave it open when un-powered. 3. Place a redstone wire in the hole 4. Link the redstone wire to another wire on the south or north lip of the hole. 5. Place a redstone torch by the wire so that it powers the wires, but not the piston. 6. Attach any solid block to the sticky part of the pistion (I use dirt). Result: The piston will continually push and retract as if connected to a blink device.

Regular pistons are effected by this, too, but since they don't pull the block back with them, they only push and pull out once.

I tested this out in multiple other scenarios, and it will not work if the orientation is changed (E.g. The piston is on the north or south lip of the hole). It will not work if the redstone in the hole is connected to another wire on its own level to the south or north, however the wire can be connected to the east or west just fine.

I can get a screenshot if it is needed, however, I cannot provide a screencap video (Machine lags too hard when running a screencap program and minecraft at the same time).

I don't really know what causes this, but as it is direction oriented, I assume it has something to do with the south/west rule. GraklingHunter 00:18, 5 July 2011 (UTC)

-It isn't a bug that it blink-retracts, but it is odd that it only works in some directions. I never really did understand the north-south quirk. What happens is the redstone on top powers the block being moved, which powers the redstone underneath, which powers all 4 blocks surrounding it (in the ground), including the one under the piston. Pistons can't be activated from the side that extends, so power takes this circuitous route. That makes the piston then extend, and since the piston is a translucent block allows the redstone to change orientation and connect in a straight line, so that it no longer powers the piston. Repeat. The North/South redstone wires will prevent the redstone wire from changing orientation, but the east to west ones should keep it changing. Its just an interesting piston property, like logic gates or any other piston device. Good to know for a single piston blinker, however. Weesplat 00:12, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

That's good to know. I messed around with the idea some more and found something that is a real bug. Hook two of these up using normal pistons to face each other (2 block long hole east to west with a piston on the east and west lips and repeaters on the south or north lips so they face the hole) When a block is placed in between (again, I used dirt) the pitons rapidly push the block back and forth for a couple of ticks, and then the dirt block disappears to be replaced by a standalone piston head. It seems to be the same type of head that you get from breaking a piston that's attached to a blink device, but the pistons are both still there, and it consumed a block to make it GraklingHunter 00:54, 9 July 2011 (UTC).

Piston Time
How many ticks does it take for a piston to push out/in? Is it different for normal and sticky pistons? I'd like to know this, and I'm sure others would, too, so could it be posted up? Pitzik4 00:30, 5 July 2011 (UTC)

Alright, now I've run a test and got a suspicious 0 ticks output. So this is certainly not a reliable method of testing. What I did is this: I placed a piston and a 1/4 redstone repeater a block to the side and in front of it, both pointing in the same direction. I had a dirt and glass block in front of the piston, with the dirt block powered by a redstone torch. I had a 1/4 repeater pointing away from the dirt block. This and the other repeater are both hooked up to my very reliable verification system which pushes a dirt block if the piston and repeater are both powered at the same time. I then powered both the piston and repeater with a torch (both "lit up"). The result was the dirt block remaining in the same place. Subtracting the 1-tick repeater on the piston from the 1-tick direct one I get 0 ticks. Doesn't make sense, and the same result came with a 2/4 repeater. Pitzik4 01:02, 5 July 2011 (UTC)

I have no idea what you just said, but from my observations with piston retractors it seems a sticky piston takes 1 tick to move either in or out. The device pulls a piston with a piston, and the piston pulled extends instantly afterwards. It doesn't work with a 1/4 repeater as the first piston gets stuck outward, but a two tick timer works perfectly, making it seem that a sticky piston extends/retracts in 2 ticks, so 1 tick both ways. I also have an extension device which works with 1/4 repeaters between extending pistons, in much the same way I described above, so extension must be 1 tick. I don't have any conclusive evidence on normal pistons, but it seems that it would be clear if there was any tick difference from sticky pistons. Weesplat 00:24, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

From what I can tell, the destination space is updated after one tick, but the origin space is updated after zero ticks. To test this, I had two pistons trying to push blocks into the same tile, one hooked up to a piston transistor and the other to a repeater. I would simply check to see what delay it would take for the pistons to switch from one to the other. Chronos 00:39, 10 July 2011 (UTC)

Can this delete server worlds too?
"NEVER try to be crushed between 2 walls of piston, this will cause the game to crash, and losing your world" Will this delete a server's world? Mitterdoo 05:29, 6 July 2011 (UTC)mitterdoo

Piston-based minecart launcher
The Uses section states that the slant method for launching minecarts can be used with a sticky piston to reset the track, but I don't think it's possible so simply; I've tested it and when the block is pulled back down level with the rest of the track, the rails pop out. (Test video I've made) Note that it does work to launch a cart just fine, but to reset the track properly you have to lay the rails back down or use a much more convoluted sticky piston setup NSDragon 02:34, 10 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Yeah, the rails should pop off the block, since the sticky piston will only pull the block underneath it down. If a normal piston is used on the bottom, then it should be possible to push the rails back down with another normal piston above them. Father  Toast  20:13, 10 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Well, using a normal piston worked for the raised block and rail, but the rails that become slanted on either side still pop out. So my solution now is to drag those slanted rails out with stickies, push the raised block back down, and then push the other two rails back into place. (video!) NSDragon 22:41, 10 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Ah, I didn't even think that the angled rails would break off. Now all it needs is some clever wiring. Father  Toast  23:31, 10 July 2011 (UTC)

Efficient XOR Gate
Here's an efficient XOR gate constructed from pistons and repeaters. It has (I believe) a propagation delay (total delay) of 1 tick, and a contamination delay of 0 ticks.



Chronos 18:27, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

Inaccurate Information
Main Page states: "Two sticky pistons with solid blocks attached can also be used to convert trees into log items as well; although it can require some ingenuity to determine out how to get the topmost logs down to the ground using this method." Perhapse they are refering to the mod version but I have not been able to create this effect. Either state that this is useing mod pistons, state more clearly how this is done, or remove it from the page.

Piston texture glitch
i just noticed that though there is a picture of the glitch, the article does not explain what causes it. i ran into this glitch today, and took a picture. i made an account to point this out, and i don't know how to post a picture. can someone please tell me? --Brewtzar 00:11, 20 August 2011 (UTC)