Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
If you plan to build a bunch of minecarts and treat them like a train, keep in mind that they
don'tlatch together,butinstead canbeusedtopusheach otheralong.Thisworksbestwith
a powered cart doing the pushing. But even if you're just propelling yourself in a standard
minecart, you'll find that you can push a practically unlimited string of storage carts ahead
ofyousimplybybumpingintothem—shuntingthemalong,asitwere—aslongasyoustay
on the flat. A powered minecart can push about four carts up a hill, but this doesn't always
work out well in practice because the minecarts sometimes get stuck as the chain works its
way around corners and over slope transitions.
Note:
Destroying and Reusing Minecarts
By the way, you can destroy minecarts with a few hits from any tool and
placethembackinyourinventoryforreuse.Youcanalsoloadtheminto
a dispenser placed at the start of your track, for easy one-click deploy-
ment.
Tip:
Build Now, Rail Later
Real-life cities tend to be a mess of transportation compromises. Roads and rail
fight forspace with buildings, sidewalks, parks,andutilities, nottomention utility
infrastructure. Take a leaf from their topic: tunnel. Put your rails underground
rather than demolishing your hard-built structures, and pop aboveground with ac-
cess points when you can. The ability to run rails on a 45-degree slope makes your
life much easier than that of a town planner, and subways with underground con-
courses add their own ambience to a vibrant landscape.
Rolling on Rails
Minecraft has four types of rail. Some are more resource expensive than others, but fortu-
nately they don't need to be used all the time. Here's a quick guide:
Normal rail
—Six iron ingots and a stick of wood will create 16 rail track seg-
ments. Place them with a right-click, and the system will take care of bending them
around corners or up and down terrain. You can use normal rail exclusively if you
like, trundling along in a minecart, but your speed will be somewhat limited. Only
normal rails can bend into curves or a T-junction.
