I've been impressed with the minecart stations I've seen in this forum, going as far back as I can remember (probably Alpha) I've never really understood the need for cart dispensers in SSP as nobody but me is going to be using the track, so I tend to not make them.
With the introduction of unglitched boosters and detectors in 1.5, and their subsequent power boost in 1.6, I've created and perfected a very simple to build and use "station" or, as I think of it, "stopping point." Along your track you slap one of these down and it halts your progress so you can get out if you so choose. If you want to continue on, hit a button and you do so. Want to go back? Hit another button and you do so as well.
Easy-peasy, and no-frills. Here's how it works:
= powered booster rail (With a torch underneath/beside)
= unpowered booster rail (with wire running to it under the floor from the buttons)
= detector rail
= regular rail
= regular wall
= wall with a button facing downward in the diagram. Buttons are on 'level 2'
(we need new icons)
Okay, first off the middle track will be a bend, from the sloped, unpowered rail ( ) and then off to the left. If it happens to go to the right, just mirror-flip the design. I never bothered to learn how the tracks bend. I just lay the tracks down, and build the station taking the bend into account.
Next, the buttons. The button on the left will send you left, and the button on the right will send you right. How? Each needs a path of redstone wire, running underground, to connect to the unpowered booster at the bottom of the diagram. The button though that is in directly above the bended rail, though, will also cause it to change direction long enough to send you the other way.
Coming back to the station from the left, you'll hit the bended rail and go up to the stopping point. Coming to the station from the right, you'll hit the detector rail, which will power the bended rail long enough to direct you to the stopping point as well.
The powered boosters on the left and right aren't so much a part of the station as an extra oomph to get in and out with enough speed. They don't take up any room that wouldn't have a regular rail there anyway.
It all fits in about 5x5 area with 4 vertical spaces needed (2 above the floor, 2 below).
im pretty interested though the diagram doesnt seem clear enough, i like peoples ideas for minecart stations. i have my own but i like to include other designs to make it better.
im pretty interested though the diagram doesnt seem clear enough, i like peoples ideas for minecart stations. i have my own but i like to include other designs to make it better.
Yeah it sucks having no icons for what I'm doing. I'll make an example station in my testing world and put some pics up.
I added 5 images to the original post, hopefully they clear things up a little bit. I also added a single non-booster track to the setup. I needed to do that to hide all the wires. If you don't mind unsightly wires everywhere, you can compact it further.
Very creative! I have just one suggestion which is that the design could be a bit more compact by having the stop-point be just a simple stop block+button launcher and use a lever to control rail switching rather than two buttons. It wouldn't be quite so neat looking I suppose, but personally I'm terrible with redstone wiring and try to keep things as simple as possible.
Very creative! I have just one suggestion which is that the design could be a bit more compact by having the stop-point be just a simple stop block+button launcher and use a lever to control rail switching rather than two buttons. It wouldn't be quite so neat looking I suppose, but personally I'm terrible with redstone wiring and try to keep things as simple as possible.
I actually played with the lever/button idea first, before I found this design. What I like about it over the lever/button design is that you only ever have to hit one thing.
The setup would work with the cart-against-the-block setup, essentially as-is, but it's so easy to not have a cart far enough against a block. You never have to worry about this one, just right click the cart, hit the button, and off you go.
With the introduction of unglitched boosters and detectors in 1.5, and their subsequent power boost in 1.6, I've created and perfected a very simple to build and use "station" or, as I think of it, "stopping point." Along your track you slap one of these down and it halts your progress so you can get out if you so choose. If you want to continue on, hit a button and you do so. Want to go back? Hit another button and you do so as well.
Easy-peasy, and no-frills. Here's how it works:
= powered booster rail (With a torch underneath/beside)
= unpowered booster rail (with wire running to it under the floor from the buttons)
= detector rail
= regular rail
= regular wall
= wall with a button facing downward in the diagram. Buttons are on 'level 2'
(we need new icons)
TOP VIEW:
<-- rails continue left and right -->
<- On a slope
<- To stop the cart from going over
Diagrams suck, so here are some images:
(Probably the best image to see how it looks)
[simg]http://planetretcon.com/img/mc/station-fromabove.jpg[/simg]
(Hit the left button)
[simg]http://planetretcon.com/img/mc/station-leftbutton.jpg[/simg]
(Hit the right button)
[simg]http://planetretcon.com/img/mc/station-rightbutton.jpg[/simg]
(Behind the wall redstone. I removed a lot of the floor so you can see the redstone path. NOTE that the wire goes behind BOTH buttons)
[simg]http://planetretcon.com/img/mc/station-redstoneback.jpg[/simg]
(In front of the wall redstone. I removed a lot of the floor so you can see the redstone path)
[simg]http://planetretcon.com/img/mc/station-redstonefront.jpg[/simg]
Okay, first off the middle track will be a bend, from the sloped, unpowered rail ( ) and then off to the left. If it happens to go to the right, just mirror-flip the design. I never bothered to learn how the tracks bend. I just lay the tracks down, and build the station taking the bend into account.
Next, the buttons. The button on the left will send you left, and the button on the right will send you right. How? Each needs a path of redstone wire, running underground, to connect to the unpowered booster at the bottom of the diagram. The button though that is in directly above the bended rail, though, will also cause it to change direction long enough to send you the other way.
Coming back to the station from the left, you'll hit the bended rail and go up to the stopping point. Coming to the station from the right, you'll hit the detector rail, which will power the bended rail long enough to direct you to the stopping point as well.
The powered boosters on the left and right aren't so much a part of the station as an extra oomph to get in and out with enough speed. They don't take up any room that wouldn't have a regular rail there anyway.
It all fits in about 5x5 area with 4 vertical spaces needed (2 above the floor, 2 below).
Did you know I write Science Fiction? Well I do. Check it out at http://planetretcon.com/books/
Yeah it sucks having no icons for what I'm doing. I'll make an example station in my testing world and put some pics up.
Did you know I write Science Fiction? Well I do. Check it out at http://planetretcon.com/books/
Did you know I write Science Fiction? Well I do. Check it out at http://planetretcon.com/books/
edit: apparently when they changed the forum it didn't keep my Mincraft ID. I'm The4thHorsemen.
doubledit: there it is.
I actually played with the lever/button idea first, before I found this design. What I like about it over the lever/button design is that you only ever have to hit one thing.
The setup would work with the cart-against-the-block setup, essentially as-is, but it's so easy to not have a cart far enough against a block. You never have to worry about this one, just right click the cart, hit the button, and off you go.
Thanks for the feedback, though!
Did you know I write Science Fiction? Well I do. Check it out at http://planetretcon.com/books/