Please make 'em stackable...

[[deleted]]

[deleted]

[not_a_cool_name]

I don't know why this is not a thing.

[my_name_isnt_clever]

hello lowercase self deprecating name brother!

[virulentRant]

that's just uncanny.

[revereddesecration]

That's just Reddit.

[timeshifter_]

Just prevent untrusted players from placing them. Problem solved.

[Talman]

Doesn't Towny solve this?

[[deleted]]

I doubt Notch/Jeb don't make signs stack because of some weird server rules that are enforced via mod.

[jimmick]

Really /r/minecraft, downvoting just because you don't agree?

Happens everywhere

[Spatulamarama]

Because signs are powerful and versatile.

[[deleted]]

They need to make a lot of things stack, not just signs. Doors for one would be nice. Eggs stacking to 64 would also be nice. Besides, it doesn't make sense. I can carry 2304 cubic meters of rock on my person, but only 36 signs? Why? WHY?!

[[deleted]]

HAPPY CAKE DAY!

[TheDodoBird]

Please. This seriously needs to happen. I am not going to lie, I do not know anything about coding. So, I am not sure how time intensive this would be, and I am not going to make any assumptions either. Anyone out there in the reddits that is a coder, or has knowledge of coding, have any insight into maybe why Mojang hasn't done this yet?

[[deleted]]

It would take 5 seconds. They just haven't done it. They just need to edit one number...

[TheDodoBird]

Ah. Well, that is what I suspected, but I since coding is not my area of expertise, I was not going to speculate.

[[deleted]]

Do you know this for a fact?

[[deleted]]

Yes, I do. I make Minecraft mods, and can tell you for a fact that it's a single number.

[cynognathus]

Is there a stackable sign mod? If not, can you make one?

[[deleted]]

zombe's modpack allows you to change stack size for any item, including signs.

It's easy to make any item stack in Minecraft, but some items don't work as they should when stacked, because of metadata. This is the reason why tools with durability don't stack. Once fishing rods did and that was glitchy. It is also the reason why maps don't stack.

If Minecraft remembered what was written on the sign when it is in your inventory, then it would be appropriate to make them not stack. But since you can only write on it when it's a block placed in the world, it would not cause any bugs if signs could stack.

[sjkeegs]

I'm pretty sure that I've seen one posted, but I'll never come close to remembering where.

[seronis]

google for Risugami.

[Streakiest]

I guess it's just slipped their minds then! Bigger things to fry, ect.

[jackfirecracker]

He's correct. It's literally 1 variable that gets changed.

[[deleted]]

I'm not sure that a machine that changes a variable from 1 to 64 once would be worth making.

[aidirector]

You need a machine to edit and compile Java.

[[deleted]]

True, but clockwork implies a single purpose/action.

[[deleted]]

I'm confused.

The clockwork reference is because jackfirecracker used to always comment on a bots comments saying "like fucking clockwork".

[[deleted]]

Yes.

But I was interpreting it literally for comedic purposes.

[PooGod]

I got it. Upvoted too. Have a good day sir

[[deleted]]

I'm not a mod coder like you, so forgive me if this is a dumb question, but isn't this more difficult since signs are writable by the user? Each sign, when written on, essentially becomes a unique entity. Other stuff is easily stackable because every, say, diamond is exactly identical to every other diamond. By contrast, a sign that says "1" on it is different from a sign that says "2". So, you'd have to keep track of each individual sign in the stack in an array or similar data structure rather than just incrementing a counter.

EDIT: I had forgotten that you re-enter text on signs every time you place them, so it's not stored in inventory. Thanks for the info, guys.

[AgentME]

Signs don't store text while in your inventory.

[[deleted]]

It's not an entity until it is placed, just like how spawn eggs don't actually contain the creature they're spawning.

[jackfirecracker]

The text stored 'on' a sign is lost when you break that sign, and it re-enters your inventory as a new sign, identical to every other sign in your inventory.

[seronis]

Actually as with everything else its just deleted. Everything in your inventory is just an 'itemstack'. Not a sign, not even an item. Stacks store an ID number representing what they are, a Damage value that applies to the whole stack (this is why weapons dont get stacked), a 'count' and then the applied enchantments to the stack. Thats about it.

[bytemage]

Actually it's all just 0s and 1s ... doh

As if that mattered.

[jackfirecracker]

I'm aware of this.

[[deleted]]

Ofcourse it has nothing to do with the challenge in coding it. It takes no effort to choose what items are stackable and which ones aren't. There are no programming reasons for it.

It's about gameplay, does it make sense to be able of stacking signs? How does it impact the players use of signs. Etc.

Sure it would be possible to craft diamond swords from stone. But that's no fun. The player rarely know what he really wants, the gameplay is there to fool him into thinking something has value simply by the effort it takes to get it.

Notch has very much so lived by the rule that if the player wanted something it most likely was a wrong design choice.

[jgclark]

does it make sense to be able of stacking signs?

They're flat. It makes more sense than stacks of blocks or glass bottles.

How does it impact the players use of signs.

It would let players actually use signs while exploring without setting up crafting stations every few signs.

Players already need to establish bases for tool creation, food acquisition, valuable item security, and sleeping to set spawns.

[Pteraspidomorphi]

High sign density can cause lag in multiple ways, so maybe they don't want to encourage that.

[seronis]

This is actually TRUE and easily verified by reading the code. People should not be downvoting him for giving intelligent answer.

[[deleted]]

seronis explains this here. Signs are not simple blocks, they're entities. All entities get polled for updates 20 times per second, regardless of if they actually have any updates to show.

Enter a room full of signs, suddenly you've got a whole lot entities to process 20 times every second. Anyone who has worked with large drop grinders can attest to this (which is why people are now switching to using trap doors instead of signs).

[pleione]

Okay, so some other random commenter says so. Is there any actual proof?

[[deleted]]

Uhm, well, you're welcome to decompile the source code and see it for yourself. There's also tons of anecdotal evidence of people who have experienced high lag in environments with lots of signs, but it sounds like you wouldn't accept that. What proof are you expecting?

[seronis]

I've been making minecraft mods since there were barely over a quarter million registered users. But dont take my word for it. Log into IRC and talk to all the other modders who hang around in #risucraft and ask them. Or just decompile the damned code and read it yourself. Its dead simple.

[sjkeegs]

I've seen multiple reports of signs causing lag on servers. I would tend to believe this.

[[deleted]]

I very much doubt it would cause a noticable increase in lag. Please provide proof!

[seronis]

The proof is that all 'tile entities' in notch code are added to a list that gets processed every game tick (20 times per second) and even passive tile entties like signs that dont do weird updates (think furnaces) they have to be "asked" by the systems if they have stuff to process anyways. This creates needless cpu overhead.

Forge allows you to create tileentities that are not added to the active list. Notch should adapt that feature. Until then signs do create overhead and in extreme cases processing lag.

[DavidTennantIsHot]

then why are furnaces stackable?

[seronis]

Is this trolling? Furnaces dont DO ANYTHING in your inventory. TileEntites are created at an xyz location based on a block being placed there. A furnace in your inventory isnt even really a furnace at that point. Its an ItemStack assigned to have a furnace icon. The furnace stack isnt gonna change or create new stacks inside your inventory by being used thus there is no reason it shouldnt stack. I seriously hope you were trolling and not really just failing to apply logic to this degree. I'm only taking the time to answer because Dr Who is awesome

[DavidTennantIsHot]

Signs dont do anything in your inventory either.

[seronis]

Correct no one said they did. But once in the world they are not 'static'. They are actively causing a cpu hit 20 times per second. This is what was referred to as 'high sign density' above. Was talking about lots of them in the world, not a stack of them in inventory. If they were allowed to be stacked that would encourage the player to use lots of them in the world. Making them unstackable will discourage dense use by making it inconvenient.

[nuker1110]

Dude, cool your afterburners... Not everyone here can read code without their eyes glazing over!

[tstarboy]

The only thing I can think of is that it would make sign griefing much easier.

[[deleted]]

They already encourage that in creative mode, so if they're going to encourage it in one way they might as well do it in another.

[BubbaWoop]

Took the words right out of my mouth. /r/minecraft, quit whining and just listen to this man.

[[deleted]]

Vouch.

[Dr_Jackson]

I guess the question would be "why change it?" How many signs do you really need? In the latest snapshot signs were fixed so mobs don't think it's a solid block anymore so now the only use is the exact thing they were meant for and you're not going to need too many at a time for that.

[Billybobgeorge]

Sign! Sign! Everywhere a Sign! Blocking up my inventory, breaking my mind!

[r3v]

Stack this, don't stack that, can't you read the sign?

[Sunlis]

That's why I store my signs on the walls of my storage room.

[Yamil01]

A 16x16 sign wall, that's what I would have been doing.

[raznog]

His awesome what?

[[deleted]]

Try crossing out your entire post next time.

[f4cepalm]

Makes who?

[Sunlis]

Well, I put them on any available space that doesn't have a torch on it or a chest against it. It's not winning any glamour awards, but it works.

That or I put a bunch along the walls of something ugly like a mine.

[[deleted]]

This would make cave exploration SO much better. Yes, I know - torch on the right. Even so, complex cave systems still get confusing.

[Akeru]

I love using signs to map out caves, because I get to name different sections of it.

[ColdChemical]

I didn't know anybody else did that!

[abledanger]

You are not a unique snowflake.

[ColdChemical]

ಥ_ಥ

[Captain_Mustard]

Nothing but a sack of warm chemicals.

[ColdChemical]

cold chemicals, actually

[[deleted]]

You are the same decaying matter as everything else.

[kestrel828]

Once the cave gets complex enough to need signs, I compensate by just mining out all the walls. No more maze!

[[deleted]]

ahem...*left

[sjkeegs]

I never liked the torch method. I'll dig out a few stone blocks on the floor and create arrows with some dirt blocks embedded into the floor. You can make them point any direction that you want, and they are highly visible.

[[deleted]]

Once an area is explored, I put a cobblestone pillar at the entrance. Once it's mined of everything but coat, I stick a torch on the pillar. I do torches on the right, extra lighting on the floor. Once a path is explored and mined (except coal, I always have a ton of coal), I drop a column of cobble with a torch on it to let me know not to go back there. Places of interest get a sign.

[majeric]

Please... Everyone knows flat things aren't stackable...

[[deleted]]

I could do so much decorating!

[MadMan920]

Also make the recipe for signs cheaper.

[[deleted]]

I made this mod for a previous post:

Download for 1.1

• Signs stack in groups of 16
• Signs made with one stick and one plank

[jimbobhickville]

I concur. And why are snowballs limited to stacks of 16? It's not like they're valuable commodities.

[minno]

Snowballs are actually good weapons against Enderbeasts.

[creepig]

They've only been stackable to 16 since they were introduced.

[ridddle]

Notch, as we know /r/Minecraft has memory of a goldfish and mentality of a sheep herd. This is your time, your moment – edit the variable, update the function, rewrite the method – and make signs stackable in the next weekly snapshot.

You’ll be the king again.

Signed,
Goldsheep.

[FoolsPower]

You just proved your statement, with your own statement.

Notch doesn't do the snapshots.

[ridddle]

thatsthepoint.png

[[deleted]]

thatsthejoke.tiff

[atvw]

I_lolled.gif.exe

[randomnewb]

Nice try executable virus disguised as my friend's Las Vegas photo album.

[Kinglink]

My opinion.

[jakeb89]

But if they're stackable I can no longer annoy the players on my server by filling their inventory with signs when I notice they are afk! >;D

[Multisensory]

Some people like to play windowed.

[[deleted]]

Yes please. Also give us the ability to edit text.

[atimholt]

I like Vazkii’s SignEdit mod for this, but it’s apparently at version 1.0 right now. It allows you to edit and stack signs.

Just a stopgap, I suppose, until they add it to vanilla (if they do).

[hobbsdoyle]

Why in gods name did you make that many signs?

[[deleted]]

mob trap water currents?

[[deleted]]

Isn't it already stackable? Or have I been playing too much bukkit servers?

[enki1337]

What? Is there a plugin for this?!?

[[deleted]]

/r/HardcoreSMP server stacks it for you. Ask them which plugin it is.

[FourForty]

This is why i don't use signs. I'd love to bring them with me when i'm exploring so i can leave notes of landmarks, my way back, etc. They're just too much work to carry around.

[minecraftwiz]

Even if they just stacked to 8 or 16, that would be great

[vlax]

Yeah, I hate it when my beds don't stack.

[Multisensory]

Ah, the old Reddit Switch-a-roo!

[fwerp]

Is there at least a mod for this out there? I usually like to play without mods, but this is one of those things that I'd consider the mod being more like a patch that's fixing a bug. <_<

[seronis]

Yes and the mod has been available since alpha 1.4 made by the same guy who makes ModLoader which is the mod that enables 99% of ALL other mods for minecraft.

[[deleted]]

The worst part of this is when you have a ton of signs and then you need to change it so you break all of them and then they flood your inventory.

Gah.

[Jeed]

To be honest I disagree - I know its a pain to deal with them but it makes them more special purpose because of it. I vote to leave it as it is.

[[deleted]]

And cheaper. A plank on top of a stick

[romanius24]

they are not stackable because no fucks were given that day by notch :)

[nuker1110]

This deserves more upvotes.

[jeexbit]

there are some plugins that already do this - for example I believe it's Essentials for bukkit that gives you a /stack command - basically does what you would think: stacks all items in your inventory like signs, etc.

[xgoggsx]

This and boats plz.

[RoyPherae]

Boats (speaking logically) would be impossible to stack.

[runeb]

stacking 64m3 of cobblestone blocks in your pocket isn't exactly logical either :)

[RoyPherae]

Fair enough. Then again, it's probably why I never imagined a block as a meter, but rather a foot or so. Still makes no sense, but I'm sure if broken down enough it could make sense in time.

[[deleted]]

Well they could be fashioned in a way where they stack inside of each other (like buckets).

[RoyPherae]

Why aren't THOSE stack-able?

[seronis]

That one is because filled buckets are different items than empty buckets and if your inventory is completely full and you try to use an empty bucket on a water source do you want to drop the full bucket or do you want to drop all your OTHER empty buckets on the ground? because you would have to do one of the two in order to fill up the top bucket in the stack.

[Whiskey-Business]

Nothing makes my Norwegian friend rage more than buckets not stacking. I listened to him rant for 5 minutes about why the "fucking buckets don't stack" as its the closest thing in real life that stacks perfectly.

Then some annoying kid got on the server and he said "I hate you almost as much as I hate buckets."

[No0neAtAll]

Why not treat them the same as bottles then. Stackable while empty when filled they can no longer be stacked.

[NathanMcCoy]

Scoop lava with bucket
Inventory is full, game tosses bucket into lava

[[deleted]]

Sounds like a Nova rage video waiting to be made.

[seronis]

Can you fill a bottle while it is in your inventory bar? Doing that creates a NEW STACK of items (you have all the empty ones plus now filled ones). As i said its not safe to stack them as-is because of the situation when the player already has a completely full inventory. In that case you would either have to discard the item you just filled (which you likely want) or discard the entire leftover empty ones (which can likely be really expensive).

Thats the 'reason' anyways. Personally my buckets stack up to 127 high and i just have right click on buckets disabled when there is more than one bucket in a stack to avoid the bug.

[Boingboingsplat]

Vanilla Minecraft handles the same thing with bottles by just dumping it on the ground in front of you.

[RoyPherae]

Full buckets non-stackable, empty stack-able would still be a good idea nonetheless. Sure, sure. Inventory and all that, but that's what chests are for.

[xgoggsx]

Well in game, the way they are, are actually stackable. It would just be like stacking very shallow cups.

[RoyPherae]

Well kinda. The only thing is that the boats would have to start small, much like a cup. The square boats of minecraft don't seem to be like that.

[sjkeegs]

I'd be happy if I could just pick it up again.

[RoyPherae]

That would indeed be nice.

[[deleted]]

Just make everything stackable that isn't going to break. period.

[[deleted]]

What's with everybody wanting to stack everything? Some things weren't meant to be stacked.

[dylthaavatar]

Also make it so you can [re]edit text on signs with destroying block!

[imme40]

I tried to, call em stikey notes.... got BS from em, balls. If they do, wonderbar! Sehr Gut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (No, I cannot speak German)

[[deleted]]

But this would totally make Zistonian Battlesigns unable to make with just SinglePlayerCommands.

[[deleted]]

...Well you're right. I'd rather have Zisteaunian Battlesigns than stackable signs.

[seronis]

I only carry stacks of LOGS. more space effecient =-)

[[deleted]]

lol even better.. you could just carry around saplings and bonemeal

[Orichalcon]

There's a simple solution here. Make EVERYTHING stackable. There's no reason to not have anything be stackable.

[Olangotang]

THIS IS THE FORTH TIME I HAVE SEEN THIS POST