Well, I really didn't like the strip-mined desert near spawn, and I really think sand should be craftable from gravel, which should itself be craftable from cobblestone.
Given those two points, I decided I wanted to try and build a sand generator. I managed to get this one going: http://youtu.be/_T647oY0iNI. You can see it in it's glass bell housing here: http://mc.tomasu.org/#/1/64/752/max/0/0
It's pretty easy to mess it up, so if you want to use it ask me to show you how first (and what things to do when sand starts going the wrong way or something).
Cool, now I want to make a gravel generator :D
For roads n'stuff
I'm pretty sure the same machine works for gravel. And if there were any other gravity-affected blocks it would work for them as well. I think you could do it for non-gravity-affected blocks, but then you'd have to find a way to mine them so they don't push out to the sides.
Cobble/obsidian generators are relatively simple. though different.
Quote from: Tom on June 24, 2012, 01:53:33 PM
Cobble/obsidian generators are relatively simple. though different.
True however the simple ones don't work well in SMP, you need the more complex ones that deal with timing issues.
I may play with a cobble or obsidian generator /array/ on my tekkit server to feed my recycler to make UU-Matter :o
Cobble and obsidian are quite easy to generate - lava on one side, water on the other, then let them run into each other. Yes, it's not automatic (you'll have to mine the created block), but it's still way quicker (and safer if you make your generator in a safe room) than going mining.
Quote from: Thorin on June 24, 2012, 07:36:01 PM
Cobble and obsidian are quite easy to generate - lava on one side, water on the other, then let them run into each other. Yes, it's not automatic (you'll have to mine the created block), but it's still way quicker (and safer if you make your generator in a safe room) than going mining.
And add in a redpower 2 block breaker and some pneumatic tubes, and you have an automatic block generator!
Hey, so... Any problems noticed on the server now that I've generated 324+ stacks (6 double chests worth) of sand? Yes, 20,736+ blocks of sand :)
I wanted a double chest of sandstone, 4 sand = 1 sandstone, so that was 4 double chests of sand.
I wanted a double chest of glass, that was another double chest of sand.
And then I wanted a double chest of sand itself.