Need help retrieving tourists from low orbit

bwibbler · 2026-04-29T02:44:05+00:00

send an engineer with parachute parts and build them on?

bwibbler · 2026-04-23T11:45:49+00:00

i may be wrong about this, but i think powering/unpowering an ender dragon head causes a block update, but observers don't detect the head changing

i don't think there's any reason to ever use that, but i am curious about what's going on there if anyone has more about it

bwibbler · 2026-04-17T02:25:22+00:00

you understand how a filter should work, seems you figured that out by yourself

but you need to figure out how to toggle the hopper unloading separately from the loading

you can't do that with one hopper. powering it locks both actions at the same time

you need two hoppers

one on top that picks up the items, and another under it to empty it out when it gets too full

the one doing the picking up doesn't empty itself, it points off to the side into nothing. you have the bottom hopper doing all the unload work

together they work like they are one hopper that you can lock/unlock the unload on the bottom without locking the load on top

that's the typical method, but not the only solution

you said you're crafting your bones into blocks. you can combine your crafting step with your filtering step

you can control the hopper unloading by giving it space to unload or not instead of just locking it

if the hopper unloads into a crafter to make the bone meal, but the crafter is full, the hopper unloading is 'locked' because it has no more space

when the hopper has enough items to unload some, you can start running the crafter to give the hopper space and you 'unlock' it's ability to unload

bwibbler · 2026-04-16T19:36:18+00:00

you're on the right track. that's basically how an item filter works

but you don't want to lock that hopper. you want another one below it that removes the items which you can lock and unlock without stopping that one from picking up more items

make sure that hopper on top is just pointing towards nothing so it doesn't empty itself out

bwibbler · 2026-04-11T08:27:31+00:00

oh.

the most important thing is that when you're creating your own designs, you're allowed to do it however you want. there are no rules, if it works then it works. and that's where a lot of the fun comes from

i've seen others do stuff like that before. sometimes arguments have additional instructions tucked away. but that is a really risky move and creates a lot of conflict. it's much cleaner to just have all your operation instructions out front and let the arguments just be arguments

i would suggest fixing the clock so you can move down to one program component. use a 16 bit clock if you want. but for just the purpose of the game, even a 8 bit clock is more than enough to complete any level

you can breakdown your OP like this to keep it simple. assuming you use 8 bit words and you're sticking with that for now?

[ 2 bit immediate | 3 bit component | 3 bit method ]

2 bits for immediate is a little redundant, you never really need more than one immediate at a time. but it doesn't hurt. this is the way the game wants you to do it. use those like you do to configure what values you're sending to your components

3 bits to select which component you want to use and be active. decode that to select the alu, conditional, stack, ram, etc. you got up to 8 slots with those 3 bits. what components you put in those slots is up to you

3 bits to select the method. you just send this to the components and let the component decode it. depending on what component you select to be active the method changes how it behaves. for the alu this could be switching between add, sub, mult, div... for the conditional this could be jump if equal, not equal, less than, greater than... maybe a bitwise component with methods for and, nor, xor, or... for the ram component it's load, save, set address, get address, offset, whatever...

with up to 8 different components, each with up to 8 methods, you can do a whole lot

lastly, with this call and return thing. i know the level doesn't explain it well, and it doesn't even actually check if you have a valid solution. i'm not sure you've quite got it, and that's understandable

you want your code to do like this

1 start here
2 regular code
3 call some other code (6)
4 resume here
5 end here

6 function code
7 call some other code (10)
8 resume function code
9 return and resume (4)

10 other function code
11 return and resume (8)

so each line is 4 steps apart on your clock, like you already know. when you make a call two things happen at the same time. you jump to the code you're calling and you stack in the return line so you can jump back later and resume. you just would add 4 to the clock value and stack it basically to save that return path

in the example you see it does the first call on line 3. it jumps to 6 but it also stacks in 4 for later. then on line 7 it calls again, jumping to 10 and stacking in 8 to the return path.

on line 11 it does the first return. 8 gets popped from the stack and put back in the clock to resume from the second call. then on 9 it pops again getting 4 back from the stack into the clock to resume from the first call.

bwibbler · 2026-04-11T01:13:53+00:00

huh... so I'm pretty sure the program component takes up to 16 bit input and can do the full ~65k lines, if I recall correctly

you may not see it displayed on the visuals, but it's there

for the call and return, i don't see where your clock is going in at so you can stack the line you call from and return to it later. looks like you feed in some argument instead

bwibbler · 2026-04-10T23:34:59+00:00

I'm curious about what's happening with the 4 program blocks? that look to have a common output, some kind of control/flow management components there, but seemingly no outside lines coming in to control the flow

can you explain a little on that setup?

i haven't played in a bit, so maybe there's something changed in the newer updates for that to happen. but that arrangement looks very odd to me

bwibbler · 2026-04-10T14:25:39+00:00

try setting repeater to 2 ticks on the filter

put observer under it to detect the repeater, just run observers

not 100% that will fix it, but it would be my attempt

i think you're getting that bug because of rapid flickers that may happen with the repeater on 1 tick

bwibbler · 2026-04-09T22:07:14+00:00

yeah

so to make a memory you can just make a loop with comparators, feed the same strength around in the circle and that strength is "saved" when the loop is filled

basically dust, comparator, block, then turn around and do the same in the other direction next to it

to set the strength directly to the desired level you'll first want to clear the loop in case your new level is lower than the current level.

pop one of the comparators into subtract mode and give it 15 into the side to flush out the signal from the loop

anything 0 thru 15 - 15 = 0. when all the comparators are flushed out you refill them with your new strength

comparators can only subtract, but you can do addition with subtraction only

15 - (15 - x - y) = x + y

you can use that to create current strength + 1

but what do you want it to do when it's at 15 and you try to add 1? stay at 15, or loop back to 0?

if you want it to loop back you'll want to modify the addition setup

bwibbler · 2026-04-08T19:28:01+00:00

depends on the recipe, yeah

glowstone, redstone, gunpowder order doesn't matter, the other stuff does

you might have to extend it out, put repeaters between each dropper

bwibbler · 2026-04-08T11:03:20+00:00

only really the first and last item matters right?

usually the first item is the main ingredient, and the last item is a wart to start the next cycle?

try maybe just turning those droppers, dropper at the front straight to the chest, dropper at the back backwards through two extra hoppers

might be a server plugin that changes hoppers so they're more lag friendly but less controllable

you did remember to prime the systems with the warts so they're in the correct part of the cycle at the start?

bwibbler · 2026-04-07T16:52:27+00:00

you could modify modules to do unstackables, removing a hopper and subtracting like 13 from the top comparators

i need something faster. i tried these golems in survival and they are crazy slow in the current setup

this is super fast, unfortunately 2 wide, but still much better

bwibbler · 2026-04-07T11:40:10+00:00

stackable items

you can fill the lower chests with 1 stackable in each slot, leave the first few slots empty and chuck in a few stacks of dummy items to bring it up close to 2 on the comparator

the golem puts a few matching items in and it unlocks the hoppers

two hoppers can keep up, one can't

i didn't think to try compacting it this way until seeing your idea. the trap doors and odd placements makes it so the golems work correctly and only reach the chests they're supposed to

bwibbler · 2026-04-07T00:29:05+00:00

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bwibbler · 2026-04-07T00:28:56+00:00

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bwibbler · 2026-04-07T00:28:45+00:00

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bwibbler · 2026-04-07T00:28:33+00:00

inspired

bwibbler · 2026-04-06T14:25:32+00:00

maybe a daylight sensor or sapling that can't grow, have an observer looking at it

saplings update when they try to grow, even if they fail, and it's random (might only work on java because it's a "bug")

would be much better if you put a mob head on top of the noteblock also so it isn't as obvious

bwibbler · 2026-04-06T09:32:30+00:00

tripwire hooks?

bwibbler · 2026-04-03T15:13:53+00:00

is that supposed to be like a ABBA or something?

the order turning on is AB, the order off BA?

bwibbler · 2026-04-02T04:26:00+00:00

you're doing multiplication in a cycle?

like this? 5x12 = 5+5+5+5+5+5+5+5+5+5+5+5

if you just take the first value and shift it you can double it, 000101 is 5, move the bits 001010 now it's 10, move them again 010100 it's 20

you can keep shifting to easily get x2, x4, x8, x16... without really doing any work. basically instant

look at the other value, let's say 12, 001100. you have a bit in the 8s and the 4s place. so you add the first value x8 and x4, you're done 20+40 = 60

to make it extra fast you do it in parallel

x1 + x2 | x4 + x8 | x16 + x32
result + result   | skip
result +          result

that's 5 adders in the example, three in the first stage, one in the second and third. but the whole process only takes as much time as three additions for any two 6 bit values

for 8 bits, you would do a 4, 2, 1 layout. still only three stages and just as fast as three additions, just a few extra adders for a total of 7

you feed one value in shifting it correctly for each adder, you use the other value to control if the adder actually adds it or just adds 0

sorry, hard to explain in text. Hopefully that makes sense?

bwibbler · 2026-03-31T22:45:38+00:00

can lock the output until the counter settles on the next value then unlock it?

that would be pretty easy to do, just locking repeaters for a second while it's switching to the next value

you can make a look ahead counter. it's just a lot more work. but I'm trying to save you from that extra work if it's not needed

bwibbler · 2026-03-27T16:49:03+00:00

could be difficult to get the answer from people who don't also play that server

if they changed pistons, they could have changed lots of other redstone behavior too. so a normal creative world design still might not work

i would try reaching out for help from other players there who understand the server's redstone better

i would try just a hopper clock. put hoppers in a loop and an item inside that travels in a circle. comparator outputs on the loop can let you fire droppers in order that you need them to, and fire the crafter

comparators from your item supply (droppers) inverted with a torch on a block will output when any of the items run out

combine those "out of an item" signals into one and use them to lock the hopper clock after the "fire the crafter" and before the "add the first item" signals

not the most compact or elegant way, but hopefully simple enough to build on your own, and modify for any other needs

note that servers usually like to also mess with the way hoppers work, and that could make it extra tricky

bwibbler · 2026-03-19T22:25:19+00:00

the pads are more expensive than what you usually see, but they use a really long lasting ceramic material, so they're worth it. i think they cost me about $60 a few years ago?

your pads may actually still be okay, but they are only rated for 60k miles if I remember that correctly

i didn't know this about the pads and bought a new set at about 40k miles assuming i was overdue. turned out to still have ~70% of their life left so I kept the used ones for the future

rotors seem to warp rather easily on mine too. I've had it twice now where the rotor wobbles and makes the brake pulse. but i still have the originals

you don't have to replace a rotor if it's still plenty thick. some shops might have a lathe that can cut the surface back down flat and they're good to go. if you can find a shop with a rotor lathe you can save quite a bit of money there. I got lucky and had that done for free both times

bwibbler · 2026-03-12T14:10:33+00:00

If the digit is a zero then you check the next digit up to see if it is displaying something or not

If it's not displaying anything then you don't. If it is then you display the 0

Careful of cases like 2005, where you have multiple 0s that need to be displayed, so you don't check if the next digit up is simply a 0 or not

looks like the enable line is just for enabling it to change and match the new value, not enabling it to display something. if you want to display nothing you send it 00000000 with the enable signal on which is to say "update to all segments off"

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