A Non-magical Use for Gems

[Kazahied 42]

Gems as we all know are pointless, excluding servers that use them for currency.

 

Many suggestions for a use for gems involve magic or buffs, but how about a more scientific approach to gems.

 

 

 

The beacon in minecraft is an often sought after block due to the massive pillar of light, and the buffs it can provide. Many kinds of gemstones can luminesce under the right conditions. By replacing the beacon with a more tfc version, we can make an intense light source a very high price.

 

the new beacon would only provide a pillar of light, and a large radius of light. It would need to be made by processing gems into a powder, then mixing these (like the tnt crafting recipe with the core being a platinum sphere made at an anvil, eventually using all the gems), then baking the result in a pit-kiln. This would give you a beacon core.

 

The shell of the beacon would be made from 8 rose gold double sheets, this would give an empty beacon block.

To activate the beacon place the empty beacon block in access of sun light then open the block via gui and insert the core.

 

During the day the core would absorb sunlight, and later emit it.

 

 

The beacon core could also be placed in a socket (crafted from any non tool metal {two ingots on top of each other}) to function in a smaller effect.

 

Beacon cores would gain charge by being placed in a socket or beacon block exposed to sunlight, they can then be stored but not stacked in any inventory to be used later.

 

As a beacon core emits light it will drain fairly quickly, but balanced to where a full day of sunlight would provide a full night of light.

 

[AllenWL 186]

How about make it so the beacon uses logs/coal/charcoal for fuel(say, 16 peaces of coal for 1 full night of light or something)?

 

We could say the gem focuses the light from the fire, reflects it, and magnifies it. I mean, I would like to have beacons without drilling holes all the way to the sky(one of the stuff that annoyed me in vanilla minecraft), and if it uses stored sunlight from a entire day for one night, then what about if the day gets rain or storm? that would bother with the re-charging, won't it? So I think having it run on fuel would be best

[Kazahied 42]

A fuel idea could work. Possibly have it run on either? The fastest (and cheapest) way to charge it would be direct sunlight, but it would would even if covered. If you have no access to sunlight you could always power the beacon with coal (yay another use for coal). The beacon would also emit the equivialant of sunlight- mobs would burn, plants in the radius would grow as if outside.

 

 

-- and as a second thought, any light source(not torches) near the beacon block would slowly (very slowly, so it cant charge it's self) charge the core.

 

 

 

-- could also be turned on or off with redstone toggle

[AllenWL 186]

Oh, and make it so torches can't grow plants.

You need sunlight or beacon light for it to grow

[Juan Vino 8]

Gems are also used in body armour, sapphire for example

[Kazahied 42]

What kind of body armor? Modern ceramics?

[Kazahied 42]

Another idea along the same idea;

 

Using the gem powder mix to create a coating for armor, and smaller objects

 

 

Add platinum as an armor (its technically the hardest metal in the game) and make it to where you can coat the armor with the luminous gem mixture. Then it would function like a torch after the armor is charged by wearing it in the light. (same charging as a beacon)

 

 

The gem mixture could also be used to coat small place-able metal pucks and could fill the role of a torch but would be a glowing metal disk that can be placed on any surface. (these would not need charged and are simply an expensive replacement for torches for those that don't want hundreds of burning sticks in there house.

[Pathfinder 5]

I'm personally fond of the idea of using gems for aesthetic purposes. Say, placing them as single parts of 8x8x8 blocks like you get when you chisel down stone. The quality and type of gem affect the opacity and color of the micro-blocks respectively. I could see making high-quality windows or statues using this method. Ideally you could even interface them with chiseled stone, but thats just a pipe-dream from a sculpter, I think.

 

The downside, though, is that this probably has a high coding requirement, but it was just a thought I had while playing with the chisel.

 

Apologies, I seem to have somehow missed the suggestion forum rules. I'll be moving this to its own thread now.

[Kazahied 42]

@pathfinder-

 

That is actually a really cool idea, and it wouldn't be any more lag intensive than a full block of detailed stone. TFC renders each piece of the block individually, so it would not affect performance nearly as much as you might think. (just don't make an entire building out of them)