Content: Slate Blackcurrant Watermelon Strawberry Orange Banana Apple Emerald Chocolate Marble
Background: Slate Blackcurrant Watermelon Strawberry Orange Banana Apple Emerald Chocolate Marble
Pattern: Blank Waves Notes Sharp Wood Rockface Leather Honey Vertical Triangles
Welcome to TerraFirmaCraft Forums

Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to contribute to this site by submitting your own content or replying to existing content. You'll be able to customize your profile, receive reputation points as a reward for submitting content, while also communicating with other members via your own private inbox, plus much more! This message will be removed once you have signed in.

  • Announcements

    • Dries007

      ATTENTION Forum Database Breach   03/04/2019

      There has been a breach of our database. Please make sure you change your password (use a password manager, like Lastpass).
      If you used this password anywhere else, change that too! The passwords themselves are stored hashed, but may old accounts still had old, insecure (by today's standards) hashes from back when they where created. This means they can be "cracked" more easily. Other leaked information includes: email, IP, account name.
      I'm trying my best to find out more and keep everyone up to date. Discord (http://invite.gg/TerraFirmaCraft) is the best option for up to date news and questions. I'm sorry for this, but the damage has been done. All I can do is try to make sure it doesn't happen again.
    • Claycorp

      This forum is now READ ONLY!   01/20/2020

      As of this post and forever into the future this forum has been put into READ ONLY MODE. There will be no new posts! A replacement is coming SoonTM . If you wish to stay up-to-date on whats going on or post your content. Please use the Discord or Sub-Reddit until the new forums are running.

      Any questions or comments can be directed to Claycorp on either platform.
Lumireaver

Dirt Roads

102 posts in this topic

So I was playing around with the idea of dirt roads. At first I thought it would be neat if they created themselves if you tread down certain paths often enough. The grass would die due to the frequent traffic, turning the grass block into a dirt(road) block. As neat as that would be, I don't think it's feasible. (I could be wrong).

As I kept playing with the idea, I thought maybe a tool, like a rake, could be used to rip the grass off grass blocks for an extended period of time. Dirt roads could need to be maintained, or not, if that seems like too much tedium.

Perhaps both ideas could be implemented. I don't know. Mainly I think it'd be neat if we had another road style to make player villages and towns look different.

8

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As I kept playing with the idea, I thought maybe a tool, like a rake, could be used to rip the grass off grass blocks for an extended period of time. Dirt roads could need to be maintained, or not, if that seems like too much tedium.

I like this more.

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I like it, even when i prefer cobblestone streets. It could be an indicator of how far the city/village has gone in the game as a group: newbies villages with dirt streets, medium-low villages with cobble, medium-high villages with bricks/raw stone and the best cities with smooth stone.

Ignore that... just me and my thoughts, which i don't know why i wrote down xD

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Tamper? Compresses the dirt so grass can't take root.

Only works on dirt blocks, not grass

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You should add further onto this and make streets increase walk speed slightly so there is a real reason to use them.

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You should add further onto this and make streets increase walk speed slightly so there is a real reason to use them.

I'm pretty sure the organization benefit is already a pretty huge deal. Especially when we're talking about multiplayer environments.

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The grass would die due to the frequent traffic, turning the grass block into a dirt(road) block. As neat as that would be, I don't think it's feasible. (I could be wrong).

Seems pretty doable. After all, when you walk over plowed dirt too much it just - sometimes instantly - it goes back to normal dirt. Applying that to grass doesn't seem very complicated (but then again, I never tried coding for minecraft so there's no way for me to know for sure). But you'd have to configure it correctly, I don't want my first step on a block of grass to turn it into dirt.

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Is nice idea, I really do prefer the one that the block kind of identify the walking of the player, and after some X time he passes, the block recognises and do this change.

Because... Adding a tool to do that is nice too, but wuold be really boring and silly to just keep re-doing a road just for esthectics, because it is growing.

Besides, dirt roads are kind of very medieval roads, and even on that, they used to throw a lot of rock on it, so on rainy days, they just don't turn much into a swamp mud thingy dingy. xD

And I don't know if "increasing the speed" is actually a thinkable ideia. Yes, this makes the hole ideia of roads more nice and add a objetive in making roads. If that could exist, as I said, mud roads will need to do some disvantage on rainy days too, so you will decrease speed on that. And with this, no one will run into dirt roads on rainy days. So in other way, you actually will prefer to do rock roads, that will kind of last forever, as you just walk on it. (You don't have a car to damage it... maybe a pig! xD)

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Roads are used for two reasons, the organization and directions this is fairly important and then also wheelbarrows and carts are very difficult to push on grass. If carts were implemented a speed penalty in grass could be given. To maintain the roads a hoe would be fine we just need the hoe to change grass into dirt and dirt into tilled earth. Salt could also help prevent the spread of grass.

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

- above post snip -

edit: would have been an above post snip if bsb hadn't posted before I finished :U

They both have advantages. The first has the benefit of making it something automatic, meaning wherever a player chooses to live, there will be evidence of their presence. For example, imagine trekking through a forest in SMP and spying some well trodden dirt by a spring out of the corner of your eye. Following it would lead you to a cottage hidden deep in the woods where one player has decided to make his home. ..It just kind of adds to the atmosphere. :U

Using a tool makes the process a lot faster, which is good for cultivating a nice, unified towny feel. It's also faster, and much less resource intensive than paved roads. Given some more thought, realistic road maintenance wouldn't really fly because of SMP...however, if a wildgrass, or other invasive, weed-like plant were introduced that grew and spread over grass, perhaps it could grow over dirt roads and not paved ones.

Medieval isn't quite right. I think man-made dirt roads probably predate just about every other man-made construction on the planet. They're also still in wide use today, depending on where you look. Run a Google image search, why don'tcha? Here's some more reading that proves how modern they are. :U

I kind of disagree with rain turning dirt roads to mud, It would take a torrential downpour to do something like that. Normal rain just makes dirt wet.

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I kind of disagree with rain turning dirt roads to mud, It would take a torrential downpour to do something like that. Normal rain just makes dirt wet.

That's actually one of the reasons I suggested a tamper - most dirt roads are very tightly compressed so that 1) plants don't grow, and 2) so that the soil is relatively nonabsorbent and won't turn to mud

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I like this idea. In principal I'm all for the tamper that Undeath suggested. My question is would it have any other use ?

It seems slightly excessive to add a whole new tool for tier 0 roads :P

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

@Lumiriver

Yeah yeah, saying medieval was quite... wrong. But the question of wetnees into dirt really depends on how that was made. Just a walking patch into grass, will deteriorate the dirt a lot, because no really work was done there, just grass that died. Knowing that grass, or any plant into soil, has roots obviously, that dirt is very wet, and kind of soft.

If we are talking of post-medieval roads, we supporsed to know that we have some tecnological carriage or diligences through that, so even if the road got super compressed, it will collapse someday if no proprer care would have been taken every now and then. Of couse that, in today speak, we have huge trucks and such, very heavy, so the care need to have every day.

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

anyone thought about road damage from seasons? ie when it rains, roads become covered in mud tiles. the mud could stop pull carts (if they were implemented) and could slow you down when walking. as a road is further degraded, the road will stay mud or will simply reconvert into grass blocks.

the same idea could work in winter. when snow lands on a road block, the path will become very difficult to travel on, forcing you to shovel your road to go places.

you could also have road damage from frost heave or washouts from rain

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That's actually one of the reasons I suggested a tamper - most dirt roads are very tightly compressed so that 1) plants don't grow, and 2) so that the soil is relatively nonabsorbent and won't turn to mud

Now, I don't really like the idea of adding a tool for a single purpose, but when I stop to think about it...that's kind of how tools get to be invented in the first place, isn't it? A tamper is definitely a more sensible way to make a decent dirt road than a rake. ...Though it doesn't explain why the grass magically goes away. You'd realistically need a rake, and a tamper to make a decent dirt road...

...I think I'm going to be switching from the No-More-Tools camp to the Tools-For-Everything camp now. :U

@Lumiriver Yeah yeah, saying medieval was quite... wrong. But the question of wetnees into dirt really depends on how that was made. Just a walking patch into grass, will deteriorate the dirt a lot, because no really work was done there, just grass that died. Knowing that grass, or any plant into soil, has roots obviously, that dirt is very wet, and kind of soft. If we are talking of post-medieval roads, we supporsed to know that we have some tecnological carriage or diligences through that, so even if the road got super compressed, it will collapse someday if no proprer care would have been taken every now and then. Of couse that, in today speak, we have huge trucks and such, very heavy, so the care need to have every day.

That's true. As a matter of fact, I was thinking of maybe suggesting that perhaps what you said could apply to swampy or marshy biomes, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea.

Yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of primitive dirt roads made by hand. The modern example was just to ring the point that they're actually still used.

anyone thought about road damage from seasons? ie when it rains, roads become covered in mud tiles. the mud could stop pull carts (if they were implemented) and could slow you down when walking. as a road is further degraded, the road will stay mud or will simply reconvert into grass blocks. the same idea could work in winter. when snow lands on a road block, the path will become very difficult to travel on, forcing you to shovel your road to go places. you could also have road damage from frost heave or washouts from rain

As long as it were tweaked finely enough so that it's more of a little chore you can fix while you're passing by and less of a huge grievance that destroys an entire town's walkways, I wouldn't mind roads semi-frequently crapping up during the rainy season in humid/damp biomes...I just can't see dirt roads instantly becoming slush over the course of a single rainstorm.

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Now, I don't really like the idea of adding a tool for a single purpose, but when I stop to think about it...that's kind of how tools get to be invented in the first place, isn't it? A tamper is definitely a more sensible way to make a decent dirt road than a rake. ...Though it doesn't explain why the grass magically goes away. You'd realistically need a rake, and a tamper to make a decent dirt road...

...I think I'm going to be switching from the No-More-Tools camp to the Tools-For-Everything camp now. :U

Well I'm sure more uses for a tamper can be thought of down the line...

It does however explain the grass. When the ground is compressed, it crushes any plant roots (other than trees) that might be running through it, killing the plants. That's why roads form naturally - it's not the fact that you're running over the plants, plants are hardy lil bastards. It's the fact that compression of the earth through constant foot traffic crushes the roots. No roots, no plants.

[edit:]

Actually for other uses, maybe some heavy construction-based blocks like stone brick could only be placed on tamped ground? Or rather, they

could be placed on tamped ground and couldn't be placed on dirt or grass blocks. It would make sense... building a castle on soft earth is a good recipe for a castle whose right side is a good 3 meters higher than its left.

Also the tool would be REALLY simple, like a log and a piece of stone or something

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The best way to make dirt roads would be to implement a stone tool that would stamp the ground into a dirt road block. removing the road would be done with a shovel, but would be difficult to dig up because of how packed it is, they would also drop a normal dirt block. Roads should not revert to dirt unless they are completely covered in water.

1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The best way to make dirt roads would be to implement a stone tool that would stamp the ground into a dirt road block. removing the road would be done with a shovel, but would be difficult to dig up because of how packed it is, they would also drop a normal dirt block. Roads should not revert to dirt unless they are completely covered in water.

I like this. :)

Very simple solution I think. One tool (With not variant for material, just one type of tool, maybe stone..) that change dirt into a new type o block, "road whatever".

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The reason it should be stone is because once a person has metal they probably have enough stone to make cobble or brick roads. Metal variants could be possible, but I really see this as a starting level tool. I also think this is going to be used to make cheap hut flooring, considering the nature of the tool.

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well I'm sure more uses for a tamper can be thought of down the line...

It does however explain the grass. When the ground is compressed, it crushes any plant roots (other than trees) that might be running through it, killing the plants. That's why roads form naturally - it's not the fact that you're running over the plants, plants are hardy lil bastards. It's the fact that compression of the earth through constant foot traffic crushes the roots. No roots, no plants.

[edit:]

Actually for other uses, maybe some heavy construction-based blocks like stone brick could only be placed on tamped ground? Or rather, they

could be placed on tamped ground and couldn't be placed on dirt or grass blocks. It would make sense... building a castle on soft earth is a good recipe for a castle whose right side is a good 3 meters higher than its left.

Also the tool would be REALLY simple, like a log and a piece of stone or something

I know that, it's making it happen instantly is what wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. ...Of course we could chalk that up to game-logic unless we really wanted to make it a two step process. (Rake -> Tamp) I'm indifferent on that subject though. What I really love is what you've suggested about requiring flattening in order to build with heavier building materials. This could also extend to laying down rails, and stuff.

I was thinking it could be a blue-print tool though. Just make a huge rectangular box.

The best way to make dirt roads would be to implement a stone tool that would stamp the ground into a dirt road block. removing the road would be done with a shovel, but would be difficult to dig up because of how packed it is, they would also drop a normal dirt block. Roads should not revert to dirt unless they are completely covered in water.

Very yes, plus one. :U

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Dirt roads and paths aren't compressed to keep the plants from growing, they are compress as a result of the traffic. The side effect is that the plant roots can not grow through the compressed earth. That aside, there is no reason not to have a tool or method for compressing said earth to make a road from dirt, perhaps even a method that could consume gravel to upgrade the road block for greater benefit.

I also had an idea for said block, which is making wooden carts, like wheelbarrows, to push along them. Similar to the way a mine-cart follows a rail, these carts would have to stay on a road block and follow it, in the direction you push it. Duno how doable that is but with or without a cart roads would be neat.

Oh, another thought i had was if treading on grass could compress it to dirt road, and there is also a tool for making the road, how about a tool for loosening up the dirt so grass can grow again. Like some fool keeps walking on your grass and kills it, and you want it to grow again.

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sir, although some roads were made through compression most dirt roads aren't made like that either the plants are taken out or the dirt is poured in. Compression dirt roads only cover the area that was walked in, and it takes a lot of compression that is a lot of work for very little outcome. The new block would be unnecessary realistically i can push a cart across dirt rather quickly, almost as well as any other road we could make (not quite but close). That tool you just described is called a hoe and its already implemented.

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

let's not forget that minecrafters are a creative lot and will always use your building materials for something that wasn't intended. The first thing i can see happening with tamped earth is flooring for dirt huts, roofing for your dirt charcoal pits that won't cave in, ect. Dirt roads would also be a great solution when connecting two villages in smp, as making traditional stone roads requires you to replace a ton of blocks.

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

let's not forget that minecrafters are a creative lot and will always use your building materials for something that wasn't intended. The first thing i can see happening with tamped earth is flooring for dirt huts, roofing for your dirt charcoal pits that won't cave in, ect. Dirt roads would also be a great solution when connecting two villages in smp, as making traditional stone roads requires you to replace a ton of blocks.

...who said that tamped earth would have no physics?

0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

...who said that tamped earth would have no physics?

it should work like grass when unsupported, except for the random grass to dirt transition.
0

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites