[kscherer]

Grey and I have been tossing ideas around regarding the possibility of moving to 1.8 and the wiping of the Nether. If the Nether is wiped (and I agree with Grey that it should be) then a new Nether Hub will need to be constructed.

Nether Hub 1.0 was my first Nether construction project and I was terribly nervous of the ghasts and lava (and died … a lot). However, I am no longer one who lives in fear of the Nether. In fact, I have spent far more time exploring it than the overworld and am comfortable there with or without armor. Simply put, I don't find the Nether to be a scary place any longer.

That said, I am far more confident that we can build out a Nether Hub that is far more "sexy" (as Grey likes to say), with wider paths and a more futuristic look. Jess and I have been tossing ideas around in our server at home and have arrived at both a railed and walking path design. I am against the rail idea in the Nether, since travel distances are so short, anyway. A rail-based subway in the new Overworld is a fantastic idea, though!

Anyhow, below are some pictures of the prototype walking tube Jess and I have been building. While I have done the placement, she has a pretty good eye for design and has been tossing lots of ideas (some of which have stuck).

So, without any further B.S., here are some pics for comment:

—

This image is looking up at the tube and an intersection with a portal. As you can see, this design has the tubes "hanging" from the ceiling, which is some 40 blocks above. The hanger "chains" are iron rail and will be much easier to install than it appears.

This image looks down on the same intersection and portal. Note the portals are 3x3 (rather than 2x3) to bring symmetry to the system. The portals are the exact same dimensions as the tubes.

Looking along the tube into the distance. The tube segments are 5 blocks long in the prototype, but I would make them 4 blocks long in the working model (to bring symmetry for intersecting tubes). If you look carefully, you will see a spot where I fouled up and made one section 4 blocks in length, rather than five. This is actually what I want for 2.0.

Standing inside the tube looking into infinity. The segmented sections are stone slabs capped with quartz steps to "round" the corners.

Looking down on the intersection from the opposite direction.

Looking down and along the tube (note the quartz blocks replacing the steps where a chain connects. This is to add a U-bracket look for structural integrity).

Finally, looking down the tube where the tube is buried in Netherrack. Unlike the current system, which has a different appearance where it runs underground, Nether Hub 2.0 will carry the exact same design all the way through.

This design will be glass, stone, iron and glowstone expensive. However, I came up with an idea for construction that will actually make it easier and safer to build than Nether Hub 1.0.

—

If you have any input, please make it known. I'm pretty excited to take on another project like this, and I know of at least two other people who are, also.

[turtle]

I do happen to like this idea. The design looks really good.

What about diagonals?

[kscherer]

I have no plans for diagonals in 2.0, simply because they are hard—going on impossible—to make look good. Personally, I'm not going to build them. If someone else wants to, be my guest. Otherwise, I plan to build out in X, Y, and then connect around the perimeter. I may add a halfway-perimeter (an inside box, if you will) to reduce travel distances for those portals inside the outer ring. I think this would look nice and create a bit more dimension to the system.

At this point, I just haven't seen a diagonal that looks good while being symmetrical. Even the current hub's diagonals are ugly (to me) and I hate them. They are useful, but I'd rather have a pleasant design that can be intersected with in a symmetrical and cool-looking manner.

One of the reasons I used the iron bars to "hang" from the ceiling is that the current Hub looks too artificial. There is no structural reality to the tubes. Some may have noticed some pillars going up beneath portals near spawn. That's me looking desperately for something like structural engineering—i.e., support.

Anyway, it's still early in the planning stages, and I am waiting patiently for input from others. I don't feel comfortable making a "command" decision on such a project, although that sort of happened with Nether Hub 1.0 due to a lack of input. If we get to 2.0 with little or no input, I'll just start working on it—because it's fun! Perhaps this is the sort of project that others just don't find compelling, and I'm OK with that. I like doing it.

Also, there is now a mockup of the system I detail here just past the rail-based mockup, so if anyone wants to take a walkthrough, please do so.

[turtle]

So what you're saying is you aren't up to the challenge...

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by turtle So what you're saying is you aren't up to the challenge...

Don't make me put lava in your house!

Been putting a lot of thought into it. Having no plans means I haven't sorted it out. If I (or someone else) can come up with a design that works, it'll get built, one way or the other. I know I've said I'm not going to build them, but that's based on the current design thought.

I just don't like the way diagonal paths look in MC. It's a shortcoming.

As it stands, I think we can build a much nicer, more consistent Hub without them.

[709]

I like the concept very, very much. The idea that the paths are hanging instead of on stilts (which look terrible) is a nice nod to coming down from above. Like an entrance from the Overworld to Hell was discovered and we're lowering down discovery sections one at a time. I like it. Very Dante. I like the 'rings' with uses of both Overworld and Nether materials, too. Smart stuff.

The very minor things I would adjust is that the 'rings' are way too close together. They're every 5 blocks in the pics above and every 4 in the prototype. Walking through there you don't even get to see the Nether, let alone take in its beauty. I'd say at a minimum every 10 blocks for rings. The chains could be hung every other one (it looks like it's currently 20 blocks in the pics).

Secondly I'd put the glowstone down at the middle block instead of each corner of each ring. No need to go for "maximum brightness" in the Nether. It's self lit anyways and a little moodier is better imo. The glowstone down the middle of the path would allow for offshoot paths at just about every block instead of being beholden to the grid, and we all have experience with having to place a portal exactly in place to get it working.

Just my 2¢. I've built a quick prototype next to the others, just to get a feel. It's encased in Netherblock, like yours, but if you imagine 'dark red' as 'this is the view' I think you'll see why I prefer longer stretches between 'rings'.

Again, the concept is really nice. Chains from above are genius – whoever came up with it gets the 709 "Holy Shit. I Should've Thought Of That." Award.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by 709 Chains from above are genius – whoever came up with it gets the 709 "Holy Shit. I Should've Thought Of That." Award.

Um, well, uh … I was using NetherBrick fence posts. Jess said, "Dad, that looks okay, but I think you should use iron rail. It would look better." To which I said, "But, that will be harder to work with and not look as Nethery." Then she said, "Just try it, dad. You're so 90's."

So, I get credit for the "hanging", the kid gets credit for the iron rail "chains".

It's a daddy-daughter cooperation thing … I think.

[kscherer]

Okay. So Grey built a prototype next to mine and I like the idea. It does give a much nicer view of the Nether and is less expensive in total resources since there are less "rings" and that means less glowstone.

I took his ideas back to my server and mocked up another arm, but made a few additional changes.

1) I wrapped the rings in 100% quarts for the sake of continuity. I think it looks much nicer while still keeping the whole "mixed materials" look what with the stone walkway.

2) Rather than going with grey's suggestion to "hang" the rings every 20 blocks, I chose to hang every ring (every 10 blocks) and like the look.

3) I added a piece of quartz to the ceiling where the chains hang to give the appearance of an anchor.

4) I also prototyped a new Spawn Portal. The portal is cubed (4 portals) with a portal facing each arm. I know from trial and error in the AN map that multiple portals in close-quarters will all map to the same over world portal. Thus, all 4 of these should map to Spawn in the over-world. Also, I wrapped the entire spawn in a cube of Obsidian about 15x15x15. I really like the way it looks on both the inside and outside. It gives kind of an eerie look as you walk from this dark thing out into the well-lit arms.

Some new pics:

Looking up, you can see the 10-block ring spacing as well as the ceiling anchors for the chains. Also note the all-quartz rings.

Looking back toward the unfinished Spawn Cube.

Looking down on the Spawn Cube.

The 3x3 set of 4 Spawn portals, all linking to the same over-world Spawn portal. All this sits on a platform 5 blocks above the floor of the Spawn Cube and is surrounded by glass rail.

A view looking past the rail into the bottom of the Spawn Cube.

I think this is the best angle to view the prototype. The tube appears to be suspended from the ceiling, supported by the rings (placed every 10 blocks), and has a very nice, symmetrical look.

Edit: Apparently, I wrapped the rings in "quarts". Who knew glass jars could be so useful?

[drewprops]

I like the "hangers"!

Completely unnecessary, but so so cool!


...

[kscherer]

I've been going through some numbers just for kicks and giggles. With the design as it stands, I have sorted out a rough materials cost based on the following:

10 blocks to a segment; 20 segments to an arm (200-block length); 12 arms (4 radials plus 8 connecting the outer perimeter); 1 Spawn Cube; miscellaneous crap and bits.

Making the segments 10 blocks long is not only prettier, but genius in terms of material calculations. Sort out what it costs to make a single segment; multiply that by 20, then that by 12.

As an FYI, there are roughly 240 segments. (which is actually less than the current system, due to no diagonals.

However, I may build that inner ring (halfway between Spawn and the perimeter) which would add about 80 additional segments—an additional cost of about 33%.

Anyway, this is how it breaks down (all numbers are rough).

Obsidian: 1500 or 1 small chest
Stone slabs: 4320 or 3 small chests
Glass blocks: 21600 or 16 small chest
Glowstone: 480 or 8 stacks
Quartz blocks: 3360 or 2 small chests
Iron rail: 6000 or 2 small chests (25 per-ring estimate, as these hang from indeterminate height and some rings will not hang)
Quartz steps: 960 or 15 stacks
Netherrack: 3000 or 1 small chest
Iron Picks: 54 or 2 small chests

If the design changes, the materials change, but this is a pretty close approximation. I would add 10% to the final number for loss, ghast damage, oopses, etc., and another 33% for the inner ring if we go that route.

To translate that into $$ (sans the inner ring), I went to the mart and did some maths. It looks like this:

Obsidian $150,000
Stone slabs $2,160
Glass blocks $21,600
Glowstone $96,000
Quartz blocks $1,075,200
Iron rail $225,000
Quartz steps $460,800
Netherrack $6,912
Iron picks $19,200

OR

$2,056,872

Adding 10% brings it to $2.2million

Hey! I can afford that!

These numbers translate into $9,167 per segment.

Shesacostabunch!

[turtle]

I can give you some money and even some time to help too. Should be fun.

[kscherer]

Thanks for that. If you're gonna do it, it's gotta be done before the switch to 1.8 (but you already knew that ).

Believe it or not, I don't actually need the financial help. I have a little over 5 million in the bank, so I can cover the cost in $$. However, I will be converting a lot of that to other needs when we cash out. I won't stop you from "donating" though.

[kscherer]

At this point (and thanks to his Grey-ness) all supplies have been accumulated with the exception of quartz blocks and steps. Those should be sorted out soon, but hoping Mr. Brad gets the quartz fixed in the store for faster!

[709]

Originally Posted by kscherer Okay. So Grey built a prototype next to mine and I like the idea. It does give a much nicer view of the Nether and is less expensive in total resources since there are less "rings" and that means less glowstone. I took his ideas back to my server and mocked up another arm, but made a few additional changes. 1) I wrapped the rings in 100% quarts for the sake of continuity. I think it looks much nicer while still keeping the whole "mixed materials" look what with the stone walkway. 2) Rather than going with grey's suggestion to "hang" the rings every 20 blocks, I chose to hang every ring (every 10 blocks) and like the look. 3) I added a piece of quartz to the ceiling where the chains hang to give the appearance of an anchor. 4) I also prototyped a new Spawn Portal. The portal is cubed (4 portals) with a portal facing each arm. I know from trial and error in the AN map that multiple portals in close-quarters will all map to the same over world portal. Thus, all 4 of these should map to Spawn in the over-world. Also, I wrapped the entire spawn in a cube of Obsidian about 15x15x15. I really like the way it looks on both the inside and outside. It gives kind of an eerie look as you walk from this dark thing out into the well-lit arms.

Good stuff.

1) I'm not sure the extra quartz makes it all that better than it was before, but hey, I can go with it.

2) Agreed. This looks really nice.

3) Another good idea. This doesn't need to be quartz, but again, if you're splurging it's your nickel.

4) This I'm on the fence about. On the one hand it's a fun, spooky concept. On the other it's a WTF coming out of the portal(s) and every time wondering which way you're facing because there's no visual cues at all. I'm willing to give it a shot, but don't be surprised if it gets a ring of purple glass around the middle because I need to see which way is North. Another thought - maybe we put the Nether Wart farm at the bottom of the cube? I like that we have a farm close to center. Also, it absolutely has to be 21 blocks square. That way it doesn't fuck up the rings.

[709]

Originally Posted by kscherer 10 blocks to a segment; 20 segments to an arm (200-block length); 12 arms (4 radials plus 8 connecting the outer perimeter); 1 Spawn Cube; miscellaneous crap and bits. Making the segments 10 blocks long is not only prettier, but genius in terms of material calculations. Sort out what it costs to make a single segment; multiply that by 20, then that by 12. As an FYI, there are roughly 240 segments. (which is actually less than the current system, due to no diagonals. However, I may build that inner ring (halfway between Spawn and the perimeter) which would add about 80 additional segments—an additional cost of about 33%.

I still think we should plan on around an extra 20% (and I've been kind've keeping that in mind as I drop off loot for the build). Since there's only a handful of us being vocal and pushing for this I think it's our responsibility to rebuild the player portals sooner rather than later, like before all the arms are even finished.

When 1.8 finally gets here there will be the inevitable player-spike, and I'd hate to have Lynn or Spec or whoever enter their home portal and get ghast-blasted and/or burned-up just because we wanted to make the Nether sexier.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by 709 Good stuff.

Shanksh!

Originally Posted by 709 1) I'm not sure the extra quartz makes it all that better than it was before, but hey, I can go with it.

Stone will be cheaper, I agree. I'm gonna spend some more time in my mockup and have a look. You might be right, might not be worth the cost (and brittleness).

Originally Posted by 709 2) Agreed. This looks really nice.

Settled, then. Woohoo!

Originally Posted by 709 3) Another good idea. This doesn't need to be quartz, but again, if you're splurging it's your nickel.

Settled then. Woohoo! (I agree, and will shift the anchors to stone slabs. Won't need to be any more pretty than that).

Originally Posted by 709 4) This I'm on the fence about. On the one hand it's a fun, spooky concept. On the other it's a WTF coming out of the portal(s) and every time wondering which way you're facing because there's no visual cues at all. I'm willing to give it a shot, but don't be surprised if it gets a ring of purple glass around the middle because I need to see which way is North. Another thought - maybe we put the Nether Wart farm at the bottom of the cube? I like that we have a farm close to center. Also, it absolutely has to be 21 blocks square. That way it doesn't fuck up the rings.

Again, I will spend some more time in the prototype.

1) I think Netherwort in the "basement" is a fab idea! Let's do it!
2) A ring of stained glass around the perimeter is also fab. I will mock it up!
3) 21x21 will just about double our Obsidian requirements, but a good idea none the less. I, too, had been thinking about measurements and symmetry out around the perimeter, so good maths!

Originally Posted by 709 I still think we should plan on around an extra 20% (and I've been kind've keeping that in mind as I drop off loot for the build). Since there's only a handful of us being vocal and pushing for this I think it's our responsibility to rebuild the player portals sooner rather than later, like before all the arms are even finished. When 1.8 finally gets here there will be the inevitable player-spike, and I'd hate to have Lynn or Spec or whoever enter their home portal and get ghast-blasted and/or burned-up just because we wanted to make the Nether sexier.

Right there with you. The allotment is for 9 large glass, but I supplied 12 knowing we were gonna need a lot more than we think. And, yeah. I'm with you in terms of building out player portals. We can call that one settled as well. Woohoo!

[kscherer]

More mockups in the prototype!

Looking out of the Nether Cube toward an arm. I have added Grey's suggestion of purple glass. I made it three blocks high to add symmetry to the arms (but we could go 5 for an even better effect). I think it looks nice. While the entry in this view does not show it, I changed all the quartz to stone slab, other than the rounding steps and the hangers. This design gives you a "you're in the Nether, but not quite" kind of feel. Add 150 blocks of purple-stained glass for this design. Edit: I went with 5x5 glass and it looks much nicer. If we do it, I say we go with this. And make it 300 blocks of purple-stained glass.

Added a Netherwort farm to the Cube's basement. Also removed the Glowstone from the center of the Spawn Portal to create a ladder-way down to the basement.

The center of the Spawn Portal showing the ladder-way down. I lit these four portals and tested them in the over world. No matter which portal you step into, you come out the same over world portal. Also, when entering the over world portal, you always spawn in the same Nether portal. Thus, confusion will be limited. You enter Spawn in the Needle and exit Spawn in the Nether. You can then enter any one of the four portals and exit at the Needle. When we spawn the first time, we can mark the way we come out and call that the front. The other 3 portals would then be built behind that so you always enter the nether facing an arm, rather than into the center of the cube. it works flawlessly, and looks frickin' awesome!

Standing in the basement looking up at the Spawn portals.

I adjusted the rings back to stone slabs and replaced the anchors with stone slabs. This view is looking back toward the Spawn Cube. In this view, the cube is 21x21, but only 15 high. Since we're calling it the Spawn Cube, it will be cubed! But I'm not gonna worry about that in the prototype. You get the idea.

—

When we build this, we will need to build the Cube first, since everything else works from it. That said, the Nether Hub will be just about useless until the Cube is built, as construction will involve removing a crap-ton of netherrack from the immediate area around the Cube (21x21x21, or 9261 blocks!) Why I loaded a chest with netherrack I do not know, as there will be plenty of it!

Also, building out the Cube will be quite tricky if we spawn in an area like this, since the bottom will effectively be floating in the air! However, the Cube looks way better suspended than sitting in a giant bowl of Netherrack.

—

In terms of constructing the arms, when building Nether Hub 1.0 a lot of material was lost to ghasts. Dirty little buggers shoot at you and destroy your work. With 1.0, however, half the arms are cobble, which doesn't die in a ghast attack. It was usually the glass that was lost (and I lost a lot of it). Nether Hub 2.0 is far more fragile during construction, so ghast attacks are going to be disastrous. However, I have come up with a construction method that I think will just about eliminate all ghast damage to expensive items. This method is why the materials list calls for netherrack. I plan to build out a 5x5 netherack tube over exposed areas and then replace the netherack with permanent materials afterword. An example follows:

Here, I have built out a netherack "tunnel" the same shape as the arm segments.

Once these floating tunnels are in place, it looks very much like you've tunneled into normal netherack. ghasts cannot see you and will leave you alone, making further construction very easy and efficient

Once it is in place, you just chop out the netherack in small segments and replace it with the appropriate material.

This method might be a little more time consuming, but there is far less materials waste and damage due to ghast attacks. It uses the same basic technique we would use tunneling into netherack. Also, there is far less possibility of losing full inventories after being knocked to the ground/lava by a fireball, and, as netherack is very cheap and plentiful (we will be tunneling through a lot of it) there is no worry over losing it. You just load up on netherack, build out the tube, then (when it is far safer) you go back and replace the rack with glass/stone/whatever. Anchors and chains can then be added from above once the arm segment is completed. You just add the quartz anchors, then nerd-pole/tard-tower () up and add iron rails as you go until you reach a ceiling. Then, tap the hole, add the upper anchor, finish the chain and chop your way back down. Whammo-slammo!

With the loss of /back and /repair, I think this method will go much further towards our safety than hanging our asses out over lava with expensive loads of inventory items (like glowstone and quartz). This is only a suggestion (one I plan on using) and is in no way a requirement for those who want to help.

—

With stone slabs instead of quartz for the rings, we can bring the amount of quartz down, but the amount of stone will go up:

Stone slabs will increase by 20 per segment (that doubles the amount of stone needed)

Quartz will drop from 14 per segment to 4.

4x240 - call it an even 1200 quartz blocks (hub+20%). We'll make it easy and call it 1 small chest.
20 x 240 - call it an even 6000 additional stone slabs (hub+20%). Easy will be an additional 4 small chests.
10x25 - call it an even 300 of purple-stained glass. Easy is 5 stacks.

—

One final thing: I know Grey does not like intersections and we have agreed to eliminate those when we add tubes out to player portals. However, I think we should have intersections out where the arms meet the perimeter (there would only be 4 T's and 4 corners). Doing so will add anchor points for the tube to hang and provide a clearly defined intersection/portal.

[kscherer]

Grey:

Since we are going to be assisting our comrades with their Nether portals, it seems wise to make a running list of the over-world coordinates for all player-built portals in the over-world, then get those trimmed to Nether coordinates. If we are going to be building these things, it's gonna be a whole lot easier if we have a complete list—prior to the wipe—that we can refer to while building out the new system.

Also, I am going to recommend building out the entire thing in netherack, then covering it over in pretty afterwards. That way, we can get all the paths laid so the hub is useful for those who could give a rip about our pretty bits.

Turtle:

Is there any way all the over-world portals give up their coordinates in some way that does not involve a trip to each one; you know, a list of some kind?

[709]

I've already made a list.

If you view the MCmap with portals on you can click on each one and it'll give coords.

[kscherer]

Holy smokes!

I didn't know that till just now. Awesome!

[turtle]

Yeah, I was going to say that was possible. I think there is a file I can look at to post them, though that doesn't seem needed now.

[turtle]

var Map0_portalData=[	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-385.5, 35.0, -193.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-28.5, 49.0, -272.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-52.5, 73.0, 353.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-455.5, 31.0, 714.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-236.5, 63.0, 587.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-21.5, 65.0, 682.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-19.5, 65.0, 680.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-1303.5, 53.0, -1333.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-1368.5, 71.0, 201.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-1360.5, 65.0, 1765.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-1943.5, 150.0, 62.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-2175.5, 73.0, -255.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-2496.5, 69.0, 561.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-2575.5, 16.0, 1234.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(239.5, 21.0, -76.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(241.5, 21.0, -76.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(333.5, 33.0, -250.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(1.5, 156.0, -800.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(220.5, 65.0, -1341.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(21.5, 12.0, 137.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(92.5, 52.0, 152.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(248.5, 60.0, 220.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(322.5, 142.0, 200.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(324.5, 142.0, 200.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(347.5, 86.0, 77.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(442.5, 59.0, 16.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(449.5, 64.0, 117.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(336.5, 51.0, 802.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(408.5, 104.0, 974.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(135.5, 111.0, 1125.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(261.5, 66.0, 1765.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(513.5, 120.0, -394.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(716.5, 40.0, -253.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(516.5, 98.0, 150.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(776.5, 64.0, 296.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(789.5, 57.0, 79.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(939.5, 5.0, 97.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(635.5, 42.0, 807.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(780.5, 55.0, 654.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(996.5, 65.0, 796.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(1815.5, 64.0, -1318.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(1826.5, 68.0, 222.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(1800.5, 68.0, 1810.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(2533.5, 77.0, 713.5)	}];

[kscherer]

Grey, what have you gotten me into?

[709]

It's not that bad. The directional portals don't need to be rebuilt down to the x/z block and others won't need to be rebuilt at all. Here's T's list with names added:


(248.5, 60.0, 220.5) - Spawn (space needle)
(-28.5, 49.0, -272.5) - bobsky's Atoll
(-52.5, 73.0, 353.5) - BryCo Petroleum
(-236.5, 63.0, 587.5) - Hockey Arena
(-21.5, 65.0, 682.5) (-19.5, 65.0, 680.5) Desert Pyramid
(-1943.5, 150.0, 62.5) - Spec's Mountain
(-2496.5, 69.0, 561.5) - Ely's Mountain
(239.5, 21.0, -76.5) (241.5, 21.0, -76.5) - Drew's
(1.5, 156.0, -800.5) - Skyranch
(21.5, 12.0, 137.5) - Spider/Skellie Spawner
(92.5, 52.0, 152.5) - Grey's
(322.5, 142.0, 200.5) (324.5, 142.0, 200.5) - Whammerdome
(347.5, 86.0, 77.5) - Spec's
(442.5, 59.0, 16.5) - Eiffel Tower
(449.5, 64.0, 117.5) - iJak's
(336.5, 51.0, 802.5) - Elysium's
(408.5, 104.0, 974.5) - Drew's Mountain
(135.5, 111.0, 1125.5) - Turtle's Mountain
(513.5, 120.0, -394.5) - Mob Trap
(716.5, 40.0, -253.5) - 13topia
(516.5, 98.0, 150.5) - Paulydome
(776.5, 64.0, 296.5) - grendagle's
(789.5, 57.0, 79.5) - Bradtropolis
(635.5, 42.0, 807.5) - Lynn's
(780.5, 55.0, 654.5) - Whammer's
(996.5, 65.0, 796.5) - Castle Whammerstein

(-1303.5, 53.0, -1333.5) - NW
(-1368.5, 71.0, 201.5) - W
(-1360.5, 65.0, 1765.5) - SW
(261.5, 66.0, 1765.5) - S
(220.5, 65.0, -1341.5) - N
(1815.5, 64.0, -1318.5) - NE
(1826.5, 68.0, 222.5) - E
(1800.5, 68.0, 1810.5) - SE

(2533.5, 77.0, 713.5) - Ken's temp horse portal
(-2175.5, 73.0, -255.5) - Grey's temp horse portal
(-2575.5, 16.0, 1234.5) - iJak's ocean escape - not connected
(939.5, 5.0, 97.5) - Eastern end portal
(-455.5, 31.0, 714.5) - Western end portal - not connected
(-385.5, 35.0, -193.5) - cave portal W of Dellphi's - not connected
(333.5, 33.0, -250.5) - ocean portal N of Drew's - not connected

[kscherer]

Looking at this list, are there at least some portals that should be dropped?

(248.5, 60.0, 220.5) - Spawn (space needle)
(-28.5, 49.0, -272.5) - bobsky's Atoll (Perhaps the atoll can be unconnected? Go by boat?)
(-52.5, 73.0, 353.5) - BryCo Petroleum
(-236.5, 63.0, 587.5) - Hockey Arena
(-21.5, 65.0, 682.5) (-19.5, 65.0, 680.5) Desert Pyramid
(-1943.5, 150.0, 62.5) - Spec's Mountain
(-2496.5, 69.0, 561.5) - Ely's Mountain
(239.5, 21.0, -76.5) (241.5, 21.0, -76.5) - Drew's
(1.5, 156.0, -800.5) - Skyranch (The sky ranch should only be accessible by portal. The long path should go away)
(21.5, 12.0, 137.5) - Spider/Skellie Spawner (Is this necessary any longer, what with the End Trap? Perhaps no portal?)
(92.5, 52.0, 152.5) - Grey's
(322.5, 142.0, 200.5) (324.5, 142.0, 200.5) - Whammerdome (The dome may go away with 1.8. I've moved on from it )
(347.5, 86.0, 77.5) - Spec's
(442.5, 59.0, 16.5) - Eiffel Tower
(449.5, 64.0, 117.5) - iJak's
(336.5, 51.0, 802.5) - Elysium's
(408.5, 104.0, 974.5) - Drew's Mountain
(135.5, 111.0, 1125.5) - Turtle's Mountain
(513.5, 120.0, -394.5) - Mob Trap
(716.5, 40.0, -253.5) - 13topia
(516.5, 98.0, 150.5) - Paulydome
(776.5, 64.0, 296.5) - grendagle's
(789.5, 57.0, 79.5) - Bradtropolis
(635.5, 42.0, 807.5) - Lynn's
(780.5, 55.0, 654.5) - Whammer's
(996.5, 65.0, 796.5) - Castle Whammerstein

(-1303.5, 53.0, -1333.5) - NW (I assume most of these will go away and be re-lit post update? Flowers and such not included?)
(-1368.5, 71.0, 201.5) - W
(-1360.5, 65.0, 1765.5) - SW
(261.5, 66.0, 1765.5) - S
(220.5, 65.0, -1341.5) - N
(1815.5, 64.0, -1318.5) - NE
(1826.5, 68.0, 222.5) - E
(1800.5, 68.0, 1810.5) - SE

(2533.5, 77.0, 713.5) - Ken's temp horse portal (Gone with update)
(-2175.5, 73.0, -255.5) - Grey's temp horse portal (Gone with update?)
(-2575.5, 16.0, 1234.5) - iJak's ocean escape - not connected (Gone with update?)
(939.5, 5.0, 97.5) - Eastern end portal (Gone with update?)
(-455.5, 31.0, 714.5) - Western end portal - not connected (Gone with update?)
(-385.5, 35.0, -193.5) - cave portal W of Dellphi's - not connected (Gone with update?)
(333.5, 33.0, -250.5) - ocean portal N of Drew's - not connected (Gone with update?)

My notes are up for discussion. I just think we should keep the clutter down to a minimum.

Bruce's monument at the SkyRanch should only be accessible by portal. That long path out from the atoll should be deleted. It will give it a more mysterious quality and remove what I believe to be a blight. Also, the atoll is no longer used by anyone, so it should just be reachable by boat, rather than portal. Nothing against Bruce at all. He contributed a great deal and the traps will live long and prosper, but let's face it: he's gone. We shouldn't maintain every portal just for nostalgia. The Mob Trap and the monument at SkyRanch should be sufficient memorials reachable by portal, only. The End Trap will remain with us, and I don't think the skellie spawner is even useful any longer. The End trap is more than capable of meeting all our XP needs.

Also, the portals that have not bee connected up to this point should just be ignored. Clearly, they are not being used and will be a waste of resources and time.

I have no plans to reconnect the dome. I may take it down completely and build a more dramatic piece in its place. No portal will be necessary for now.

Thoughts?

[ThunderPoit]

If you are referring to the portal of mine that's kind of underwater and then leads up to the surface, yes that one can go away

[turtle]

If you are wondering, this is what I have for Nether portals too:

var Map0_portalData=[	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-272.5, 57.0, -34.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-163.5, 57.0, -167.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-3.5, 73.0, -31.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-322.5, 68.0, 153.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-309.5, 61.0, 70.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-243.5, 55.0, 8.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-170.5, 57.0, 25.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-168.5, 57.0, 221.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-29.5, 63.0, 74.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-6.5, 57.0, 45.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(-2.5, 57.0, 85.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(0.5, 73.0, -99.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(28.5, 57.0, -169.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(26.5, 57.0, -11.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(69.5, 73.0, -40.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(98.5, 57.0, -25.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(228.5, 57.0, -165.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(2.5, 57.0, 16.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(11.5, 57.0, 19.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(28.5, 57.0, 28.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(16.5, 57.0, 140.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(16.5, 57.0, 142.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(39.5, 72.0, 25.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(41.5, 72.0, 25.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(42.5, 52.0, 102.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(32.5, 57.0, 220.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(54.5, 57.0, 0.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(53.5, 57.0, 19.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(51.5, 49.0, 121.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(64.5, 57.0, 18.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(79.5, 57.0, 101.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(98.5, 57.0, 10.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(97.5, 57.0, 37.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(97.5, 57.0, 81.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(118.5, 57.0, 12.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(123.5, 57.0, 99.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(228.5, 57.0, 28.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(225.5, 57.0, 225.5)	},	{		worldPos: new WorldCoord(315.5, 69.0, 89.5)	}];

[709]

Originally Posted by kscherer Looking at this list, are there at least some portals that should be dropped?

Yeah, I grouped the list by rebuilds, givens and gone. I should've mentioned that.

Originally Posted by kscherer Bruce's monument at the SkyRanch should only be accessible by portal. That long path out from the atoll should be deleted.

I don't see any reason for this. It's not interfering with anything and should stay.

Originally Posted by kscherer Also, the atoll is no longer used by anyone, so it should just be reachable by boat, rather than portal

Sure, that could be fun. Kind've a 'lost island' feel.

Originally Posted by kscherer . . . and I don't think the skellie spawner is even useful any longer. The End trap is more than capable of meeting all our XP needs.

True. That portal could go as well.

[kscherer]

Alrighty then!

Any word from the Brad?

[709]

Not that I've seen. I'm going to take some time today while clay is cooking to research what a texture pack in 1.8 entails. Maybe I can take that weight off him since he's obviously swamped at work.