Considering my stockpile of iron and rails garnered in the shortime the update has been out - I am not considering the cost of creating a mine cart track to be that big of a deal.
Yes, sprint might be cheap, but it's not nearly as convenient as a rail system. Hit button, tab out, chat with friends, manage inventory, take a dump. BAM - at your destination. All for just a bit of investment in time laying the track, you've given yourself the ability to multitask during travel.
Gold rails a problem? Oh please... on flat ground you only need 1 every 35 blocks if your looking to get their fast, you can spread it out more if you feel the need to. 6 gold per combine yielding 16 boosters. The redstone required to power the rails is negligable next to it's commonality.
Besides, what else are you going to use the Gold for anyway? It's tacky as a decoration and terrible for weapons and armor :biggrin.gif:
Use your feet if you wish - But rails still have a place in the game.
Tracks are a lot cheaper now that they're lying all over the underground. Food, on the other hand, is now non-renewable and much more valuable than it was before. Also, sprinting is a difficult way to travel unless you've got a lot of flat space.
For the tracks underground, you first need to find the mines, and once you do your looking at a few stacks of tracks maximum, you'd be better off mining the iron in the time it takes to find and remove these tracks. Also, you don't need flat space to sprint jump, you dont even need a ceiling, you can go up and down terrain as you please, minecarts demand slight slopes, sprinting is a lot more flexable and anyone can do it. Furthermore, Mobs can spawn limitlessly, also farming can rack up a lot of food in a very short time.
And every time I sprint, I find myself falling into a ravine.
Whats the minecart solution for that? Bridge over it? Well for minecarts, you make the bridge than put the track down, with sprinting you make the bridge...
For the tracks underground, you first need to find the mines, and once you do your looking at a few stacks of tracks maximum, you'd be better off mining the iron in the time it takes to find and remove these tracks. Also, you don't need flat space to sprint jump, you dont even need a ceiling, you can go up and down terrain as you please, minecarts demand slight slopes, sprinting is a lot more flexable and anyone can do it. Furthermore, Mobs can spawn limitlessly, also farming can rack up a lot of food in a very short time.
I don't know about your experience with sprinting, but with me it always ends up turning off when I try jumping up blocks.
If notch or jeb did, they would have made powered minecarts better instead of adding "boosters"
But they don't.
At all.
Right. They don't care about minecarts so they added boosters for the minecarts. Seems like flawless logic.
To OP, I can definitely see how sprinting is better for many situations, but I don't think it's a huge problem. People use minecarts all the time because they let you set up lines of travel that don't require much effort on the part of the player to navigate. Sprinting is a lot more involved than sitting in a minecart. Some people aren't playing from as much of logical standpoint and enjoy the ease of use, even if they're "wasting" resources to set up the track. It's often about what the player wants to do, not so much the metagame implications of comparing one feature to another.
There's also aesthetic value to consider. Minecarts are cool and can do some cool things, like flying over open pits of lava and landing on another track. ****'s cool man. You can get pretty creative.
I use sprint for traveling, minecarts for going to distant places I went to already.
It's just more convenient. To go to somewhere by minecart, you just got to place it in the track, hop in, press a button and relax. By sprinting, you need to get some food as it can go low fast, double click front, keep it pressed and control exactly where you are going. Plus, minecarts are just cooler.
I like the idea of Minecarts but they do need to be improved, they can be annoying in smp because any slight lag disrupts them. Boats should also be improved in this regard. Minecarts are the more elegant way to travel.
One situation i do prefer minecarts for, is when your traveling on the surface of the nether and you have to go around lavalakes and such, generally safer on minecarts, thanks for that idea :tongue.gif:.
Ok minecarts are 1 time uses and sprinting is used multiple times, so eventually the cost of food will outweigh that of iron.
ice cant be spawned naturally and not every ocrridor will be 2 ft tall so you wont be able to outrun minecarts by all means minecarts are still more efficient.
Minecarts also are much cooler and allow you to be lazeh :biggrin.gif:
Ok minecarts are 1 time uses and sprinting is used multiple times, so eventually the cost of food will outweigh that of iron.
ice cant be spawned naturally and not every ocrridor will be 2 ft tall so you wont be able to outrun minecarts by all means minecarts are still more efficient.
Minecarts also are much cooler and allow you to be lazeh :biggrin.gif:
You dig 2 high tunnels anyway branch mining and for most minecart tunnels...? Food is virtually free as well
I'm currently making a structure in creative mode with a 1/1 slope from bedrock to ground. Building a pretty much fully-powered minecart track between the top and bottom allows me to go up without hopping. Granted, I could just fly, but eventually this map could be ported back to survival and the track would still be there.
Minecarts are great for traveling long distances because your food bar does not go down when you are sitting or standing still. Also you can go afk like someone else said. Boats are also another great way to travel cause you do not waist food. As of right now, minecrarts seem to be better because of the lack of food and the amount of tracks you can get. Later on sprinting will be better.
Guess it all depends on the release and how far you got to travel and how often you go there.
Minecarts are great for traveling long distances because your food bar does not go down when you are sitting or standing still. Also you can go afk like someone else said. Boats are also another great way to travel cause you do not waist food. As of right now, minecrarts seem to be better because of the lack of food and the amount of tracks you can get. Later on sprinting will be better.
Guess it all depends on the release and how far you got to travel and how often you go there.
Yes, sprint might be cheap, but it's not nearly as convenient as a rail system. Hit button, tab out, chat with friends, manage inventory, take a dump. BAM - at your destination. All for just a bit of investment in time laying the track, you've given yourself the ability to multitask during travel.
Gold rails a problem? Oh please... on flat ground you only need 1 every 35 blocks if your looking to get their fast, you can spread it out more if you feel the need to. 6 gold per combine yielding 16 boosters. The redstone required to power the rails is negligable next to it's commonality.
Besides, what else are you going to use the Gold for anyway? It's tacky as a decoration and terrible for weapons and armor :biggrin.gif:
Use your feet if you wish - But rails still have a place in the game.
For the tracks underground, you first need to find the mines, and once you do your looking at a few stacks of tracks maximum, you'd be better off mining the iron in the time it takes to find and remove these tracks. Also, you don't need flat space to sprint jump, you dont even need a ceiling, you can go up and down terrain as you please, minecarts demand slight slopes, sprinting is a lot more flexable and anyone can do it. Furthermore, Mobs can spawn limitlessly, also farming can rack up a lot of food in a very short time.
I think it's 6 gold for 6 boosters in 1.7.3, unless it's changed in 1.8
Whats the minecart solution for that? Bridge over it? Well for minecarts, you make the bridge than put the track down, with sprinting you make the bridge...
If You Want Sort Of Temperary Fast Way Of Travel: GO DO THE SPRINT-JUMP METHOD! (Strip Mining Underground)
I don't know about your experience with sprinting, but with me it always ends up turning off when I try jumping up blocks.
ditto
is the way
is the way
Right. They don't care about minecarts so they added boosters for the minecarts. Seems like flawless logic.
To OP, I can definitely see how sprinting is better for many situations, but I don't think it's a huge problem. People use minecarts all the time because they let you set up lines of travel that don't require much effort on the part of the player to navigate. Sprinting is a lot more involved than sitting in a minecart. Some people aren't playing from as much of logical standpoint and enjoy the ease of use, even if they're "wasting" resources to set up the track. It's often about what the player wants to do, not so much the metagame implications of comparing one feature to another.
There's also aesthetic value to consider. Minecarts are cool and can do some cool things, like flying over open pits of lava and landing on another track. ****'s cool man. You can get pretty creative.
It's just more convenient. To go to somewhere by minecart, you just got to place it in the track, hop in, press a button and relax. By sprinting, you need to get some food as it can go low fast, double click front, keep it pressed and control exactly where you are going. Plus, minecarts are just cooler.
Hold space and w and youll be fine :tongue.gif:
Also boats are nice for water. :tongue.gif:
ice cant be spawned naturally and not every ocrridor will be 2 ft tall so you wont be able to outrun minecarts by all means minecarts are still more efficient.
Minecarts also are much cooler and allow you to be lazeh :biggrin.gif:
You dig 2 high tunnels anyway branch mining and for most minecart tunnels...? Food is virtually free as well
Minecarts are great for traveling long distances because your food bar does not go down when you are sitting or standing still. Also you can go afk like someone else said. Boats are also another great way to travel cause you do not waist food. As of right now, minecrarts seem to be better because of the lack of food and the amount of tracks you can get. Later on sprinting will be better.
Guess it all depends on the release and how far you got to travel and how often you go there.
How is there a lack of food :L