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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2015-11-13, 15:24

More mockups. Added a dual track design and added a "levitating" layer to the single track to appease Grey's madness!

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Single and dual side by side

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Dual track with "levitating bullet train" madness!

I think it looks great, but don't anybody tell Grey.

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The support struts

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Looking down the line. In this line I'm using a powered rail with a detector rail on both sides (so the track will function in either direction … just in case)

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Cross section of the support strut and tower. Note the block placement has no lighting and, to prevent baddies spawning on the unlit towers, the only exposed surface is a set of half slabs. This design can be unlit the entire length of the track.

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Double track tunnel. Fenceposts above will prevent baddies from dropping onto the track. Unsure yet if the tunnels should be lit or unlit. My design makes it so baddies can spawn below the tracks, but not get onto them.

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Single track tunnel. You can see that I cleared a 1x2 path on either side of the track to keep baddies off the tracks. This single-wide track tunnel is lit with glowstone overhead and at 5-block intervals. I like the idea of having unlit tunnels just for the thrill. There would be nasties on either side of the track as you swooshed through. However, baddies might somehow get onto the track, so maybe they do need to be lit?

Or, we could line the floor of the tunnels with half-slabs to prevent any spawns, then we wouldn't need lighting. Personally, I like that idea better.

I like the double track. There's more mass to it and, if we can sort out the "this way to out" direction, two people can be on the line going in opposite directions and not crash and send each other into the spider-filled abyss below!



I'm not a fan of the stone bricks. Brick has a proper "architectural reality" in a tower, but not in an unsupported span. It looks out of place. Also, I like the granite color, since it brings a strong contrast to the biomes and their natural coloration. I prefer engineering to stand out and be it's own thing, rather than trying to blend in.

Anywhere the tracks get close to the ground, there should be a minimum 1-block wide path two blocks deep to prevent baddies from getting onto the tracks.

I'll defer to towers every 65 blocks since that makes sense for efficiency's sake and symmetry with the powered rails. I suggest this atop the towers (and at 32 block intervals):

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The dual detector ensures the carts will run somewhere no matter which direction. My testing with a single detector stopped me cold if I was going the wrong way. I suppose you guys sorted that all out with the previous rail system?

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Last edited by kscherer : 2015-11-13 at 17:11.
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