Build Tips Compilation

Today's post is about a few build tips I may or may not have published previously. I have compiled them all in a single post for easy future reference.

Pictures inside also so be patient on slower net connections.

Having all the tips here makes it a 1 stop shop as an aid to getting your builds in order, as well as provide alternative ideas for people designing build projects than what I have otherwise seen from other players in the sandbox. Finally it is also a reference I can use and return to later and update as more tips and ideas are discovered and shared.

Mini-Tip index.
Tip 0 - Save frequently, safe often, and remember to back it up
Tip 1 - Double layered walls and ceilings.
Tip 2 - The n+1 rule on building sizes
Tip 3 - Clients and Textures
Tip 4 - Combine slabs with trap doors
Tip 5 - Use 'void' space creatively.

Tip 0 - Save frequently, safe often, and remember to back it up

Applicable to Single Player game saves but I recommend you use Save and Quit every few hours of game play to ensure all that progress you do is saved. This guards against the unlikely events of system crashes, freezing, computer decides today is the day it will take a vacation (not work correctly) or you being the lucky discoverer of a new super exotic bug in the game at the same time as it operates an autosave.

Instructions
Note: substitute if you use Mac or Linux based Operating System.

•  Save and Quit the game,
• Quit the launcher (not sure if necessary but I do anyway), 
• Go to your Minecraft folder
  shortcut on default Windows installs: C:\Users\<yourusername>\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft
• Open the saves folder,
• locate your save folder
  The folder will have the same name as your world name when you first created the map
• Copy the entire folder (or you could compress the entire folder and copy the zip/rar/7z file like I do with 7-Zip),
• Go to the 'My Documents' folder,
  Or another folder you can remember to use to make backups
• Create a new folder and call it MC saves backup
  Or any other useful name that you will remember
• Paste the copy of the file here.

This is your backup file, update it regularly (or even make additional copies for incremental saves).

Additionally you should also keep a copy of this folder, updated regularly, on a USB stick or external HDD for the event your computer decides not to play nice and corrupt your Hard Drive.

All this effort for a simple file?
5-10 minutes work to backup a few files is good insurance against losing hours to months worth of work, depending on the size and scope of your project. I think that is a very fair trade of your time.

Tip 1 - Double layered walls and ceilings.

Why 2 layers instead of the cheap and simple 1 layer everyone else uses?

I find the extra control on design and aesthetics of my builds to be a fair trade off as against the 1 layer walls/floors and ceilings where the option is making either the interior or exterior sacrifice to achieve a desired appearance with either the interior or exterior.

Now my 2 block wall/ceiling designs are more expensive on materials vs the common approach, however I think the results speak for themselves.

The images from the manor project (yes I am compiling a page for that soon) have very different wall designs between interiors and exteriors, which would have not worked were I to stick to the 1 block thick wall method of builds commonly used in Minecraft.

A quick demo of this tip in use.
Build 1 is a standard 'vanilla' design.

Alternative of the above design using 2 block wall/ceilings. Not exactly the same as during the build I extended the inner wall on the ground floor to be the floor 2 exterior.

Some highlights in build 2 include:

• I was able to use the wool blocks internally with minimal effect on the external appearance of this building.
• The ceiling pattern on the ground level not appearing on the floor of the second level.
• The internal ceiling on level 2 and how it is not impacted by the external roofing.

I left the top of the trunks exposed to show the n+1 rule in effect, which you can clearly see on the top down image here.

How you build things is up to you; but I thought I would share this tip as I found it useful in a few of my projects.

Tip 2 - The n+1 rule on building sizes.

This tip is mainly for builds that require a symmetrical/mirror effect where a single block vertical column may be the main point of focus (a single door, window that is an odd number in width horizontally or other structure feature).

Exception to the rule is when you are building the above defined object but with 2 blocks in width horizontally for the central vertical column/feature of your build (double doors and even number width windows for example).

The n+1 rule is also useful where a room to be build will have a central design feature that has an odd number of blocks and the rest of the room will be situated around (a throne with arm rests, a pillar or large table in the middle of the room).

A third usage is for adding a single block to calculations where you forget to factor in space for a door in your design; given how MC doors function and the space needed around them and that allowance being needed for when making buildings using 2 block thick walls.

n+1 is the basic formula where you take the intended horizontal length of a wall and add 1 block where an odd number is needed for structure.

Example, you want to build a 6 block long facing wall for the side of a building but would like to leave a block in from 1 end for the door.

Normally you would expect to build something like this

...but afterwards wanting to frame the door with a decorative block border later will ruin any initial decoration for the corners of the structure...

just won't work.

Solution 1 would be to keep it 6 blocks long but end up with the door practically in the middle of the structure

Solution 2 is to use the n+1 rule, basically adding a block to the length so it totals 7 blocks.

Note: If you still need the internal space to be an even number of blocks, fill in one side of the structure internally to use up the excess space made when using the n+1 rule for the external shape of builds and structures.

In the Tip 1 demonstration I also built the 2 structures using the n+1 rule which allowed me to place a light in the middle of both structures (middle on the 2nd floor of structure 2) and a trapdoor with ladder in the middle of the second larger structure.

Tip 3 - Clients and Textures

Already covered in detail here.

Brief summary is to be mindful that whatever textures and/or shaders your using won't look exactly the same to other users.

Tip 4 - Combine slabs with trap doors

Slab+trapdoor, with hinges on the opposite side to the ladder up to the trap door, makes for nice and clean travel up and down the map with no concerns about fall damage or getting 'stuck' on the ladder trying to get past a stubborn trap door.

Tip 5 - Use 'void' space creatively.

If your building or recreating a structure that has a larger external shape than the amount of internal space to be used, instead of simply filling in the gap with excess build materials (like cobblestone), try to use the space more creatively either as a hidden room (one you can access by breaking a specific block down or using a compass feature where servers allow it) or by sacrificing appearance with adding an extra door into the room.

Having access to this space means you can use it to either add some sort of bonus room or even more practically for placing loads of chests to store extra materials.

Tip 6+?
This specific blog entry may get updated on occasion so do check back every once in a while (a few weeks/months as other things beyond this blog grab my attention).

Tips of your own to share?
Submit a comment and I'll publish it when I get a chance to moderate comments.
I might even compile a blog post about it (pending other commitments) if I find it to be of enough interest.
Not only would I learn how to apply it to great effect but could also share what interesting results I come up myself from experimentation with your own suggestions.

Happy minin',
Crypto (crypto4coin)