I do not want airships to be strictly craftable, nor do a lot of the people who support this. This whole thing is about making customizable airships/boats in the exact same way that you create your house or fort.
please stop suggesting to make it just a craftable object.
I agree with you completely, Sting. I'm just looking at it from the designer's point of view... Sure, the final version will probably be a fully craftable design, rather like the idea for buildable boats in another thread. The thing I'm simply suggesting is a half-way point, a stepping stone, if you will, which is a craftable object. Sure, it may not be the best, it may need some kinks ironed out, but isn't it better to iron out all the bugs on a prototype first? Getting lighter-than-air transport is a big step, which this thread was aiming for in the first place, no?
Here's how I see it:
Notch implemented the boats. They are craftable only, and they just love to break on everything. They are still buggy and fiddly to control at times. Using this version of them, he works on ironing out the kinks and buffs out the scratches.
Then he, with luck, implements the fully player-constructed boats, leaving the craftable ones in for the sake of a failsafe and not having the existing system removed from places that use it already. If the player-built ones have major bugs, they are worked out over time, the system refined, etc.
This is how I could see him implementing the airships, too. Sure, the 16^3 mobile built entity may already be in, but the craftable airships are the first implemented, for bugfixes and general fixing//tinkering. Then, when that version is done to a satisfactory level, he then would go the the buildable entity, building off the existing boat version, while, once again, leaving the craftable version in for the sake of having a simpler, already used, and tried-and-true version in. That, and some people will want to just use the limited, but easy-to-make crafted one instead of using resources on a floating house, for instance.
That's how I see it, at least. Please note that my opinions probably hold no weight, and may or may not be representative of a convoluted way of doing things. Disclaimer over.
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Very probably insane, so don't mind me too much when I ramble.
here is the problem with using a craftable airship to "work out the kinks":
You can't test the physics of doing it with multiple blocks. You only test the physics of doing it with that specific object, which is only 1 single thing. Since this idea for airships is about multiple blocks behaving together as one, the physics will be much different than a craftable one, which is essentially just a flying boat.
here is the problem with using a craftable airship to "work out the kinks":
You can't test the physics of doing it with multiple blocks. You only test the physics of doing it with that specific object, which is only 1 single thing. Since this idea for airships is about multiple blocks behaving together as one, the physics will be much different than a craftable one, which is essentially just a flying boat.
I'm not talking about the kinks with the building (Hence the custom boat being done first, that'l be the one where the kinks of that system are mostly worked out), I'm talking about the kinks with air travel, such as how to handle the craft's buoyancy, how it should take damage, how much fuel it needs to stay aloft, durability, etc. Once that is worked out on a platform as simple as a flying boat, it can then be adapted to fit the custom build, which would then be modified to work with both (As airships, supposedly, would act differently in the air than the water), which would then allow for multi-surface platforms and whatnot.
Again, the craftable one is a middle ground between nothing (Or building massive bridges to nowhere) and the buildable version, much as the current boats probably are.
Again, this is just how I see it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Very probably insane, so don't mind me too much when I ramble.
OK now I understand what you meant. That makes sense.
on topic: For engines, I feel that each individual engine should produce a certain amount of thrust, and should consume a certain amount of fuel per second running, not per block traveled. This causes the weight of the ship to affect acceleration, as well as the shape because of air friction. Also, since engines would be producing a certain amount of thrust based on where they are, you would have to make your ships thrust symmetrical on both sides or else it would turn on its own.
I know this has been discussed before, but maybe it should be a special type of furnace? Say...
[] where is redstone? I know, too simple, but still... It would allow you to, say, toggle the engines on and off without removing the fuel? Since the engines, when active, would be providing thrust anyway, why not be able to toggle their output? Or, in a best-case-scenario, have them be able to activate/deactivate? For the sake of having large, multi-engined behemoths that have all their controls linked to the/a bridge with, say, three or four levers.
...Suddenly thinking of how to handle that in logic gates. Anywho...
Also, in regards to fueling for long journeys, should you be able to put a chest near the engine(s), fill it with furl, and have it draw fuel from them? Or should it, say, be a special type of furnace, such as...
for the sake of, say, holding a few stacks (heck, even just one stack!) more of fuel for greater endurance? The reason why I suggest this is because, say, on larger airships, you could have quite a few engines on opposite sides of the ship, making it hard to keep them all topped off. Granted, that may be what you're aiming for...
*shrugs* I'm just thinking of a large, long-haul, airborne freighter in SMP that other airships could refuel at for, say, air raids on a far away target.
Sorry if I rambled a bit there, just got ideas, y'know?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Very probably insane, so don't mind me too much when I ramble.
OK now I understand what you meant. That makes sense.
on topic: For engines, I feel that each individual engine should produce a certain amount of thrust, and should consume a certain amount of fuel per second running, not per block traveled. This causes the weight of the ship to affect acceleration, as well as the shape because of air friction. Also, since engines would be producing a certain amount of thrust based on where they are, you would have to make your ships thrust symmetrical on both sides or else it would turn on its own.
I specifically address why that is the optimal solution in my tl;dr post. Check it, I even have some maths. That said, I didn't have a yaw modifier. Good idea.
As for the test object, it would be harder to implement the physics of a single-object entity to a block entity, than to make up and test physics on and for the latter. There're collision model issues to be taken into account, as well as damage ratios, and mass, and other such maths.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Who doesn't like Mustard Yellow?
-SchizophrenicMC
Why do we have a Suggestions section if everyone shoots everyone else down? I suggest renaming it the Flame War section. Pun intended.
Oh, and another thing I would like to say is that we wouldn't need to do any secondary testing with airships! It was already done with the boats, and all that the airship would be is a block-grid entity boat, but with a different object added that pulls it up!
Oh, and I did a re-read of your post earlier about the physics model. I understand it a little bit better now. I have a LOT of trouble learning things from reading it. I usually need someone to explain it out to me, so I probably still don't get it too well.
Back on topic about your physics model post: I don't like the idea of cloth and obsidian arbitrarily having a lift amount. It would need to be a block that behaves like a balloon under normal circumstances. If you check the aerwhale creature idea, and my idea for balloon lizards, you would have an example of 2 different creatures that could drop a "balloon block" of sorts.
Also, some people have been talking about ghasts dropping a "flight bladder", which is what lets them float around in the air. My idea is for ghasts to drop their flight bladders in an item form, which creates a balloon block when crafted with 2 segments of string. The balloon block is then attached by the bottom of the string, and the actual block part has an amount of force pulling it up.
The string is actually only a visual thing. You can't collide with it, it just shows the boundary of the balloon.
When the balloon is attached to a block grid entity, it would pull the block that it is attached to straight up. This also increases the difficulty of creating an airship, because you would need to place the balloons in a configuration that doesn't make the airship float sideways or some other weird thing.
Kinks about buoyancy and damage and fuel are nothing. They are afterthoughts beside the massive kink implied by any constructable moving object.
A boat or a minecart is not that different from a specialized mob. It is not a moving mass of blocks. You could add a pre-built airship that is larger than a minecart or a boat. Mobs have different dimensions. But it is not going to be something you build block-by-block that just starts moving.
Kinks about buoyancy and damage and fuel are nothing. They are afterthoughts beside the massive kink implied by any constructable moving object.
A boat or a minecart is not that different from a specialized mob. It is not a moving mass of blocks. You could add a pre-built airship that is larger than a minecart or a boat. Mobs have different dimensions. But it is not going to be something you build block-by-block that just starts moving.
You don't know that. The whole point of these entity ideas is to be ABLE to create these customizable boats.
What basically is supposed to happen is the blocks are fused together into one object.
Notch has already talked about making 16X16X16 entities, and from what I know it was actually for being able to make customizable boats.
1: This thread was here first,
2: The original idea was an airship made by your imagination
3: This idea is more versatile... but people keep getting confused.
well, instead of pushing the other topic away, why not combine the two ideas? more than one can exist... having a propellor(something like that) lifting a craft, with makeshift cannons along the sides and front and back.. all in an independant block entity.. there you go, an aircraft :smile.gif: and who cares if this was here first? that doesnt change the concept of the other idea.. not bombing this thread, just saying why not combine the two ideas to make an even better experience for the players?
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Quote from Ohreally »
Please speak with grammar.
I have no idea what this idea is about.
the grammer police ^
Quote from Trawlers »
This has already been suggested. Use this search bar.
I really hope that this gets implemented at some point. This would be perfect if the Aether is added as well.
This would also be fine without the Aether if flying mobs are added to the regular world. Just imagine fighting some MASSIVE enemy with your TNT cannons on your airship...
I like this idea, I think it would be worth adding IF there were flying mobs on Earth (The Nether has ghasts). Also, if the airship is one with a large gas pocket which keeps it afloat, It would make arrows more useful, especially on PVP SMP servers, where an army is coming in on an airship, and you take your trusty bow and arrow and rip holes in it, causing the enemy to plummet from the air. Then with the arrow part, this would fit with the arrowhead thread, with flaming arrows, etc.
I agree with the people saying that it will make the randomly generated maps appear to be a bit too small.
How?
...I know, right? I mean, just try walking far enough to reach the edge of Minecraft's MASSIVE map system. You'll crash. Even if you are going in a straight line, no detours, nothing like that, you'll end up crashing. It's that massive.
Honestly, I'm not one to like wandering about for a while to try to find resources or cool-looking terrain. It would be awesome to do it in an airship (Especially if mountains were made taller, and they had snow on them, and there were floating islands. Getting off-topic, though...) and see it from the top down. Granted, you might not be able to see resources that well from the air, nor most cave entrances or these awesome things called overhangs, but you could, for instance, use an airship to scout out an area for a large mine, then use minecart tracks to make a finalized route of sorts. As I had listed//mentioned earlier, minecarts (if the powered ones gain a bit more awesome power, or with Minecarts Mk. II) are great for getting from point A to point B, but not so much for exploring. Being on foot would be for the little details (Say, finding a good base point or large, flat area for a castle), and going through the air would be good for long-distance scouting (Not exploring, as exploring is more for the fine details than the general landscape).
Plus there's the whole 'Hey, let's drop TNT on some Ghasts! Bomb the Zombie Pigmen! Oh,hey, there's that portal... I was wondering where that thing went...' and so on.
Though, to be honest, I would want Air Pirates (Possibly pigmen?) as the main air mob... Perhaps there could be some 'good' ones that try to help you get in the air, and 'bad' ones that go after you, even if you aren't able to engage them in combat yet.
Ideas, what can 'ya do?
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Very probably insane, so don't mind me too much when I ramble.
Jimbo is deep in the mines, toiling. It is a quiet night on the server. His friends upstairs having a lively conversation about the new update. He hears several bangs in the distance, muffled by the miles of rock above him. All across the server he hears people screaming ATTACK! ATTACK! His friends rush in. "We're under attack!" they say. "How did they get through the walls?!" screams Jimbo, unwilling to believe it. "They didn't, they went over them."
Against his friends wishes, Jimbo rushes outside. There, clearly marked in the night sky by the torches lining its sides is a floating war-beast spewing out streams of city-razing TNT. The people are in a state of disorder. Swordsmen and archers alike cannot reach the terrible airship. It is slow, it is unyielding, and it is edging closer.
Jimbo knows what to do. He can outrun it, he can get there in time.
His friends call him a madman, but he sprints out of the door and down the well-lit streets of the city. Explosions erupt in the distance, the sound so deafening and constant that Jimbo does not notice the sounds move from behind him to around him. He was wrong; he can't - wont- outrun the blastzone. Pieces of housing material are sprayed through the air. A wall in his way is torn to pieces by TNT rained from the heavens. So close is he that the explosion knocks him to the ground, bits of the cobblestone wall finding their way into his inventory. The explosions move in front of him now. Ahead, a man breaks open the wall of the third-story of a building. He stands in the archway he has made, contemplating his chances of surviving the drop. He takes too long, a TNT tears him to bits. From his inventory drops a porkchop. Jimbo grabs it, devours it. With new hearts under his belt, he continues his mad dash through the city.
The city is very different behind the blastzone. It is darker, torches being thrown from walls. It is quieter, people knowing the worst is over. They look upon their ruined homes and resign to rebuilding. Not Jimbo, he will not accept defeat. He reaches his destination, the airfield, shortly after the TNT barrage does. Dead bodies and mangled airships litter the grounds. Others had his idea, and others had failed. Jimbo looked to the sky. The airship was poised to obliterate the solid gold Creeper sculpture, the towns most prised possession. From the ground, he could hear the Sky Pirates announcing their demands. 128 diamond or there will be a crater to the bedrock where the watchtower once stood.
There is one hope. Jimbo steals out of the city, to a small shed near the walls, outside of the blastzone, where he keeps his own, private airship. A small, spry thing it is. He hadn't even time to put torches on it. But he hops into it and lifts into the sky.
He cannot believe it.
They are too confident. The airfield is destroyed, they think. We are invulnerable. We'd see any other airships coming, and shoot them out of the sky. But they don't see Jimbo's. Jimbo's is tiny, its position unbetrayed by torches. Jimbo lands his airship in the larger one's hangar unnoticed. The crew is too busy watching the negotions from the bridge. He creeps into the storage room and weasels out an iron pickaxe. Had there been any traps, he would have perished. But they were arrogant. No one would think to sneak onto an airship full of enemies in the middle of battle.
Jimbo studied massive airships like this before. He knows where the engine is. It is encased in obsidian when he finds it. It too is unguarded. He begins mining away at the obsidian. It takes forever, and it gives him time to think. How will he get out of here? The hangar will be swarming with enemies trying to escape. Maybe he won't be noticed amidst the chaos? But will he even get to the hangar in time?
No, he won't.
Jimbo realizes this, but he does not stop mining. He cannot escape, but he cannot stop mining. The obsidian breaks, he sabotages the engine, and the airship plummets towards the ground like a giant pile of sand. Jimbo has saved the day. He hears the screams of the Pirates. What can they do to him? If they come here, they won't have time to get off the ship. Still some show up. Jimbo is unarmed. They drive a blade right through Jimbo's chest, just to prove that they can, just to prove that they have some control, and can still enact vengeance; just as the airship slams into the ground and crushes them all.
If I was somehow capable of logging into minecraft and doing EXACTLY this on a server, I would be a happy man.
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While true Banana can't cry, nor can Banana wear pants.
One thing Banana can always do,
Is the Great Banana Dance...
No blood, ice cold,
But Banana can dance,
Because Banana has a soul
-Onision
Hi guys I'm sort of new to the forum here as well as to the world of minecraft itself. But I must say that I support the idea of airships in any form. I think it would add a whole new realm of gameplay and possibly design. As has been stated before. Something should power this new form of transport. I believe that if say something such as coal were used that the player would EVENTUALLY have to make a landing to refuel right? It would also be likely that he
or she would then desire to build a base in the immediate area to gather resources. The reason that I am posting this is that one of the arguments has been that it will take away from gameplay by making the availiable unexplored space much smaller and more easily crossed, as well as possibly causing air traffic on SMP servers. Well, if the said player has to stop every say two to three days or so, I think that they won't be circumnavigating the minecraft cube/ world any time soon. Furthermore, There is so much randomly generated terrain that has yet to be explored, I doubt that everyone is going to conglomerate (sp?) to the same point. Notch among other things is definitely an entrepreneur who has a vested interest in having this game succeed and while I do not know the man personally, I suspect he does keep up to date on things his players want. I am sure that when/if this happens he will have devised a way to do it smoothly.
I agree with you completely, Sting. I'm just looking at it from the designer's point of view... Sure, the final version will probably be a fully craftable design, rather like the idea for buildable boats in another thread. The thing I'm simply suggesting is a half-way point, a stepping stone, if you will, which is a craftable object. Sure, it may not be the best, it may need some kinks ironed out, but isn't it better to iron out all the bugs on a prototype first? Getting lighter-than-air transport is a big step, which this thread was aiming for in the first place, no?
Here's how I see it:
Notch implemented the boats. They are craftable only, and they just love to break on everything. They are still buggy and fiddly to control at times. Using this version of them, he works on ironing out the kinks and buffs out the scratches.
Then he, with luck, implements the fully player-constructed boats, leaving the craftable ones in for the sake of a failsafe and not having the existing system removed from places that use it already. If the player-built ones have major bugs, they are worked out over time, the system refined, etc.
This is how I could see him implementing the airships, too. Sure, the 16^3 mobile built entity may already be in, but the craftable airships are the first implemented, for bugfixes and general fixing//tinkering. Then, when that version is done to a satisfactory level, he then would go the the buildable entity, building off the existing boat version, while, once again, leaving the craftable version in for the sake of having a simpler, already used, and tried-and-true version in. That, and some people will want to just use the limited, but easy-to-make crafted one instead of using resources on a floating house, for instance.
That's how I see it, at least. Please note that my opinions probably hold no weight, and may or may not be representative of a convoluted way of doing things. Disclaimer over.
You can't test the physics of doing it with multiple blocks. You only test the physics of doing it with that specific object, which is only 1 single thing. Since this idea for airships is about multiple blocks behaving together as one, the physics will be much different than a craftable one, which is essentially just a flying boat.
I'm not talking about the kinks with the building (Hence the custom boat being done first, that'l be the one where the kinks of that system are mostly worked out), I'm talking about the kinks with air travel, such as how to handle the craft's buoyancy, how it should take damage, how much fuel it needs to stay aloft, durability, etc. Once that is worked out on a platform as simple as a flying boat, it can then be adapted to fit the custom build, which would then be modified to work with both (As airships, supposedly, would act differently in the air than the water), which would then allow for multi-surface platforms and whatnot.
Again, the craftable one is a middle ground between nothing (Or building massive bridges to nowhere) and the buildable version, much as the current boats probably are.
Again, this is just how I see it.
on topic: For engines, I feel that each individual engine should produce a certain amount of thrust, and should consume a certain amount of fuel per second running, not per block traveled. This causes the weight of the ship to affect acceleration, as well as the shape because of air friction. Also, since engines would be producing a certain amount of thrust based on where they are, you would have to make your ships thrust symmetrical on both sides or else it would turn on its own.
[]
...Suddenly thinking of how to handle that in logic gates. Anywho...
Also, in regards to fueling for long journeys, should you be able to put a chest near the engine(s), fill it with furl, and have it draw fuel from them? Or should it, say, be a special type of furnace, such as...
for the sake of, say, holding a few stacks (heck, even just one stack!) more of fuel for greater endurance? The reason why I suggest this is because, say, on larger airships, you could have quite a few engines on opposite sides of the ship, making it hard to keep them all topped off. Granted, that may be what you're aiming for...
*shrugs* I'm just thinking of a large, long-haul, airborne freighter in SMP that other airships could refuel at for, say, air raids on a far away target.
Sorry if I rambled a bit there, just got ideas, y'know?
I specifically address why that is the optimal solution in my tl;dr post. Check it, I even have some maths. That said, I didn't have a yaw modifier. Good idea.
As for the test object, it would be harder to implement the physics of a single-object entity to a block entity, than to make up and test physics on and for the latter. There're collision model issues to be taken into account, as well as damage ratios, and mass, and other such maths.
-SchizophrenicMC
Why do we have a Suggestions section if everyone shoots everyone else down? I suggest renaming it the Flame War section. Pun intended.
Oh, and another thing I would like to say is that we wouldn't need to do any secondary testing with airships! It was already done with the boats, and all that the airship would be is a block-grid entity boat, but with a different object added that pulls it up!
Oh, and I did a re-read of your post earlier about the physics model. I understand it a little bit better now. I have a LOT of trouble learning things from reading it. I usually need someone to explain it out to me, so I probably still don't get it too well.
Back on topic about your physics model post: I don't like the idea of cloth and obsidian arbitrarily having a lift amount. It would need to be a block that behaves like a balloon under normal circumstances. If you check the aerwhale creature idea, and my idea for balloon lizards, you would have an example of 2 different creatures that could drop a "balloon block" of sorts.
Also, some people have been talking about ghasts dropping a "flight bladder", which is what lets them float around in the air. My idea is for ghasts to drop their flight bladders in an item form, which creates a balloon block when crafted with 2 segments of string. The balloon block is then attached by the bottom of the string, and the actual block part has an amount of force pulling it up.
The string is actually only a visual thing. You can't collide with it, it just shows the boundary of the balloon.
When the balloon is attached to a block grid entity, it would pull the block that it is attached to straight up. This also increases the difficulty of creating an airship, because you would need to place the balloons in a configuration that doesn't make the airship float sideways or some other weird thing.
A boat or a minecart is not that different from a specialized mob. It is not a moving mass of blocks. You could add a pre-built airship that is larger than a minecart or a boat. Mobs have different dimensions. But it is not going to be something you build block-by-block that just starts moving.
You don't know that. The whole point of these entity ideas is to be ABLE to create these customizable boats.
What basically is supposed to happen is the blocks are fused together into one object.
Notch has already talked about making 16X16X16 entities, and from what I know it was actually for being able to make customizable boats.
Wait...
Are ghasts 16x16x16? They might be the entity Notch was talking about...
Ghasts aren't that big.
From what I know, Notch was talking about actual entities made from blocks.
the grammer police ^
the search police ^
together they will have your head in prison!
Ah. That's what I thought originally, but...
I really need to buy minecraft.
1: This thread was here first,
2: The original idea was an airship made by your imagination
3: This idea is more versatile... but people keep getting confused.
the grammer police ^
the search police ^
together they will have your head in prison!
This would also be fine without the Aether if flying mobs are added to the regular world. Just imagine fighting some MASSIVE enemy with your TNT cannons on your airship...
Minecart + Minecart + Minecart + ... + Minecart = Train.
How?
Overall, I like the idea. Have a creeper
...I know, right? I mean, just try walking far enough to reach the edge of Minecraft's MASSIVE map system. You'll crash. Even if you are going in a straight line, no detours, nothing like that, you'll end up crashing. It's that massive.
Honestly, I'm not one to like wandering about for a while to try to find resources or cool-looking terrain. It would be awesome to do it in an airship (Especially if mountains were made taller, and they had snow on them, and there were floating islands. Getting off-topic, though...) and see it from the top down. Granted, you might not be able to see resources that well from the air, nor most cave entrances or these awesome things called overhangs, but you could, for instance, use an airship to scout out an area for a large mine, then use minecart tracks to make a finalized route of sorts. As I had listed//mentioned earlier, minecarts (if the powered ones gain a bit more awesome power, or with Minecarts Mk. II) are great for getting from point A to point B, but not so much for exploring. Being on foot would be for the little details (Say, finding a good base point or large, flat area for a castle), and going through the air would be good for long-distance scouting (Not exploring, as exploring is more for the fine details than the general landscape).
Plus there's the whole 'Hey, let's drop TNT on some Ghasts! Bomb the Zombie Pigmen! Oh,hey, there's that portal... I was wondering where that thing went...' and so on.
Though, to be honest, I would want Air Pirates (Possibly pigmen?) as the main air mob... Perhaps there could be some 'good' ones that try to help you get in the air, and 'bad' ones that go after you, even if you aren't able to engage them in combat yet.
Ideas, what can 'ya do?
Against his friends wishes, Jimbo rushes outside. There, clearly marked in the night sky by the torches lining its sides is a floating war-beast spewing out streams of city-razing TNT. The people are in a state of disorder. Swordsmen and archers alike cannot reach the terrible airship. It is slow, it is unyielding, and it is edging closer.
Jimbo knows what to do. He can outrun it, he can get there in time.
His friends call him a madman, but he sprints out of the door and down the well-lit streets of the city. Explosions erupt in the distance, the sound so deafening and constant that Jimbo does not notice the sounds move from behind him to around him. He was wrong; he can't - wont- outrun the blastzone. Pieces of housing material are sprayed through the air. A wall in his way is torn to pieces by TNT rained from the heavens. So close is he that the explosion knocks him to the ground, bits of the cobblestone wall finding their way into his inventory. The explosions move in front of him now. Ahead, a man breaks open the wall of the third-story of a building. He stands in the archway he has made, contemplating his chances of surviving the drop. He takes too long, a TNT tears him to bits. From his inventory drops a porkchop. Jimbo grabs it, devours it. With new hearts under his belt, he continues his mad dash through the city.
The city is very different behind the blastzone. It is darker, torches being thrown from walls. It is quieter, people knowing the worst is over. They look upon their ruined homes and resign to rebuilding. Not Jimbo, he will not accept defeat. He reaches his destination, the airfield, shortly after the TNT barrage does. Dead bodies and mangled airships litter the grounds. Others had his idea, and others had failed. Jimbo looked to the sky. The airship was poised to obliterate the solid gold Creeper sculpture, the towns most prised possession. From the ground, he could hear the Sky Pirates announcing their demands. 128 diamond or there will be a crater to the bedrock where the watchtower once stood.
There is one hope. Jimbo steals out of the city, to a small shed near the walls, outside of the blastzone, where he keeps his own, private airship. A small, spry thing it is. He hadn't even time to put torches on it. But he hops into it and lifts into the sky.
He cannot believe it.
They are too confident. The airfield is destroyed, they think. We are invulnerable. We'd see any other airships coming, and shoot them out of the sky. But they don't see Jimbo's. Jimbo's is tiny, its position unbetrayed by torches. Jimbo lands his airship in the larger one's hangar unnoticed. The crew is too busy watching the negotions from the bridge. He creeps into the storage room and weasels out an iron pickaxe. Had there been any traps, he would have perished. But they were arrogant. No one would think to sneak onto an airship full of enemies in the middle of battle.
Jimbo studied massive airships like this before. He knows where the engine is. It is encased in obsidian when he finds it. It too is unguarded. He begins mining away at the obsidian. It takes forever, and it gives him time to think. How will he get out of here? The hangar will be swarming with enemies trying to escape. Maybe he won't be noticed amidst the chaos? But will he even get to the hangar in time?
No, he won't.
Jimbo realizes this, but he does not stop mining. He cannot escape, but he cannot stop mining. The obsidian breaks, he sabotages the engine, and the airship plummets towards the ground like a giant pile of sand. Jimbo has saved the day. He hears the screams of the Pirates. What can they do to him? If they come here, they won't have time to get off the ship. Still some show up. Jimbo is unarmed. They drive a blade right through Jimbo's chest, just to prove that they can, just to prove that they have some control, and can still enact vengeance; just as the airship slams into the ground and crushes them all.
If I was somehow capable of logging into minecraft and doing EXACTLY this on a server, I would be a happy man.
One thing Banana can always do,
Is the Great Banana Dance...
No blood, ice cold,
But Banana can dance,
Because Banana has a soul
-Onision
or she would then desire to build a base in the immediate area to gather resources. The reason that I am posting this is that one of the arguments has been that it will take away from gameplay by making the availiable unexplored space much smaller and more easily crossed, as well as possibly causing air traffic on SMP servers. Well, if the said player has to stop every say two to three days or so, I think that they won't be circumnavigating the minecraft cube/ world any time soon. Furthermore, There is so much randomly generated terrain that has yet to be explored, I doubt that everyone is going to conglomerate (sp?) to the same point. Notch among other things is definitely an entrepreneur who has a vested interest in having this game succeed and while I do not know the man personally, I suspect he does keep up to date on things his players want. I am sure that when/if this happens he will have devised a way to do it smoothly.