User:Simons Mith/Advanced Construction

'Advanced construction' covers the most ambitious structures made in Minecraft. There are many examples online of some extremely complicated objects made in the game, such as scale models of cities and spacecraft, and enormous redstone constructions that took their creators weeks and sometimes months to build. The advanced construction page does not (and could not) provide plans for these objects. Its purpose is to give pointers to help you design and plan such things for yourself.

Draft section headings:


 * Planning tips
 * Determining materials requirements
 * Using external design tools
 * Aesthetics
 * Scale considerations
 * Managing group projects
 * Tips on terraforming
 * Usin in-game tools
 * Using external terrain and building editors.
 * Modular design tips
 * Producing models for real-world output
 * Tips for converting from real-world models
 * Tips for converting from other computer models
 * Scaffolding tips for large structures
 * Automatic construction
 * Hard-to-manage materials
 * Adverse construction environments
 * Tips for the Nether or the End?
 * Making construction videos, including tips for timelapse videos
 * Sources of inspiration
 * Estimating time

[Merge from/to Advanced_Shelter_Types

Initial section headings:
 * Project
 * Materials
 * Ideas for projects

Cut and pasted extracts from old discussion:


 * I see no reason to keep it. Most 'advanced' designs (redstone, mob grinders, automatic farming, etc.) already have their own pages anyway. -- Orthotope 17:11, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

(I'm putting those under 'Intermediate' --Simons Mith[82.69.54.207] 00:22, 30 July 2012 (UTC))


 * Well, I suppose there are two distinct types of 'advanced' design. One is mob grinders, automatic farms and the like. These are things which usually have one or more critical blocks where if you don't place them exactly right the mechanism doesn't work properly. But these structures do rightly tend to have their own pages. But the other important type of 'advanced design' is big or artistically complex structures where your blueprint doesn't have any particular constraints, and therefore every one of these structures can be unique. So we can't provide specific instructions, but it would still be nice to provide generic construction advice for these types of structure.82.69.54.207 12:32, 13 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Well, what /should/ go on this page? I have to admit I'm a bit stuck for ideas, I've added a brain dump of possible topics, but certainly just because something's big doesn't mean it qualifies as advanced. And to say, "to build an advanced X" (for whatever X may be) "needs at least 200,000 stone blocks, 50000 fences..." etc. is so trite as to be completely pointless. Anyone doing advanced construction will either be doing it in Creative, in which case they will have unlimited materials, or they will have already calculated in advance what they're going to need - because that's surely standard practice for any competent builder. Once you're very skilled you presumably get a feel for how much material a construct of a given size will need anyway.82.69.54.207 23:08, 6 April 2012 (UTC)

Possible Section Wishlist
The kind of subjects that might be useful for advanced constructors include (I'm guessing):


 * Tips on planning the project


 * Determining what materials will be needed - including some estimating tips/rules of thumb


 * Using external design tools such as bitmap editors, Google Sketchup, AutoCad, the GIMP, PoVRay - I don't know, but programs like those are presumably commonly used. Possibly include some discussion of the pros and cons of these various tools.


 * Aesthetic considerations such as colour schemes, materials to be used, decorative embellishments etc.


 * Scale considerations - e.g. how to go about something like the 5x lifesize model of the Millennium Falcon, or the model of Minas Tirith, or the Enterprise


 * Managing cooperative groups of players, as this is how mnay advanced projects are done. Do you use email, IRC, IM, online-chat, whiteboard apps...?


 * Tips on terraforming maps on large scales to accomodate a mega-project/finding suitable terrain/working with terrain rather than against it


 * Use of MCEdit and similar in-game tools for bulk terrain editing and building, either in-game or out. Descriptions of various suitable tools and their pros and cons.


 * Use of external terrain or building editors. (That is, building stuff outside of Minecraft then importing it in.) Descriptions of various suitable tools and their pros and cons. [For example you might have a design and construction chain of pencil and paper -> Google Sketchup -> Some External Mincecraft Block Editor -> import into MineCraft -> Final tweaks using McEdit]


 * Modular design tips (e.g. making a complex structure feasible by repeating simpler parts)


 * Producing models suitable for real-world output (e.g. 3D printing)


 * Tips for converting from real-world models to Minecraft


 * Tips for converting from other computer models (e.g. Quake maps) to Minecraft


 * Scaffolding tips for large structures (Presumably less applicable to creative mode, but what do I know?)


 * Automatic construction - e.g. using water + lava + pistons, or saplings + bonemeal


 * Dealing with hard-to-manage materials - such as building an ice palace or an obsidian tower


 * Dealing with adverse construction environments, as for water bases, floating islands, possibly ships, submarines, aircraft


 * Building tips for the Nether or the End?


 * Making construction videos, including tips for timelapse videos


 * Sources of inspiration


 * How long will it take? Estimating how much real-world time a structure of a given size is likely to take.

No wonder the page has stalled - doing it properly would be a daunting amount of work. If it could be done, then the page would definitely be worthwhile, but certainly all the stuff I've listed is outside my current skill level. I only just about know enough to try listing what might be useful... 82.69.54.207 23:08, 6 April 2012 (UTC)

Changes to this page

 * Firstly, I don't agree with simple deletion - this page can be really useful if done right. It can, however, be merged with Tutorials/Advanced_Shelter_Types, since there's almost no text in that page, shelters are already covered by Tutorials/Shelter Types, and a big shelter is just a big building with an actual purpose.
 * Also, the title should be changed, it's a bit misleading now. I propose "Bigger Projects".
 * The "Possible Sections Wishlist" above is wonderful and to-the-point, but let's do with this page the same as we do with Minecraft: start small, thinking huge. For now, I suggest the following new sections:
 * Project - planning what you're going to do. This can includes bits of talking about color combos, using The GIMP or Kolourpaint or whatever to make a draft, etc.
 * Materials - suggestions of materials to use, and links for tutorials about farming them.
 * Ideas for projects - includes most of what it is now in the page, but reworded to be a bit more succinct.
 * Yes, it will be a lot of work, but I think it's worth. Lvxferre 05:57, 24 June 2012 (UTC)