RetractableBridge
Build redstone powered rectractable bridges, without using commands!
Features:
- It doesn't use commands. Just build the bridge and it will work.
- Stateless, i.e. it does not have to save anything on the server.
- It's redstone powered, giving you flexibility in controlling it.
- It is realistic. The bridge does not disappear, but slides in and out just like a real one would.
- Holds back water or lava... ;)
- Configurable speed by applying more or less redstone power
Demo server: mc.pepsoft.org
Check out the PorteCoulissante and RetractableBridge demo Minecraft server at mc.pepsoft.org. It shows examples of both plugins in use, so you can see what you can do with them, and how you use them.
Note that you can't build or break anything or go too far from the town. You can use chests, beds, furnaces, etc. Hostile mobs won't spawn inside the walls at night, but they do spawn outside the walls. If you want to have some fun, there is food in the inn's kitchen, and weapons in the armoury. Note that the gates don't open from the outside!. If you lock yourself out or you get stuck, use the /kill command to kill yourself and respawn. Please let me know if you encounter any problems, if the server is full, or if you find any evidence of griefing!
Server admins, feel free to direct your users to this demo server so they can see how to use the plugins!
Usage:
- Build the bridge itself, out of slabs/half-blocks or double slabs.
- Make sure there is at least one block adjacent to the bridge on three sides, so that it can't move in that direction.
- For the direction in which you want it to move, make sure there is a block to stop at the distance you want it to move to.
- Power one of the blocks underneath the bridge with redstone. Please note: you are powering a block underneath the bridge, not the bridge itself! Note that for the purposes of this plugin, just running redstone wire underneath a block will power it.
- If you power more than one block, the bridge will move faster! Two blocks doubles the speed, and three blocks doubles it once more (so four times as fast as one block).
- Make sure that when the bridge is fully extended it is still in contact with redstone power underneath. It can be the same blocks, or different ones.
- When the blocks receive redstone power, the bridge will move to the south or east (in other words, increasing x or z coordinates; depending on which direction is free), when they lose redstone power, it will move to the north or west (in other words, decreasing x or z coordinates).
- Here is an example. If you build this, it will work. The bridge in this picture is three blocks wide and four blocks long. Note that it only has one powered block, so the bridge will move at its slowest speed:
Tutorial:
Check out this tutorial created by the folks of UK Gaming Troops:
Hints and tips:
- The bridge has to be at least two blocks long on each side, and it must be rectangular. It can't have holes or bits sticking out. It also can't abut any other blocks of the same height and material (when open or closed), since the plugin will think they are meant to be part of the bridge.
- I highly recommend to make the distance the bridge can move less than its length. That way, the blocks at the forward edge of the bridge (when it is open) are always in contact with the bridge, so you only have to power one of those blocks.
- The bridge will go through (and hold back) water and lava, so you can make water gates and water or lava traps with them.
- The blocks that stop the bridge when it retracts can be steps or stairs. This way you get a smooth walking experience when the bridge is closed, without having to jump, if you are using slabs/half-blocks for the bridge. Here is an example to show what I mean (the bridge is closed in this example, and there are wooden stair blocks on each end):
Source code:
The source code for the plugin is hosted at sourceforge.net. See the Source Code page for details.
Configuration:
The plugin is configurable via a configuration file. See the Configuration page for details. The aspects of the plugin you can configure include: the speed of the bridge; the materials from which you can make it; the materials that are allowed as power blocks (the blocks directly underneath the bridge through which it receives redstone power, by default this can be any solid block), whether or not bridges are allowed to float in thin air and various aspects of the sound effects.
Feedback:
Please let me know what you think of this plugin! Are there any bugs? What can I improve about it? Leave a comment on this page to let me know. And if you're a server admin and you're using my plugin I'd love an invitation! ;)
@ghostyboy5
Fixed
For some reason; the plugin stopped working on my server today; me and one of my staff members attempted fixing it many times, many different ways. Could a dev of THIS plugin, please come on and see if you can fix it?
To all Minecraft server admins and world operators:
This is to announce a new Bukkit plugin that I have created which may interest you. It has nothing to do with RetractableBridge, I just want to plug it here once since many of you might be interested in it. It is called BukkitScript, and it allows you to run JavaScript scripts on the server, binding them to in-game events or commands and allowing you to influence the world and the players in it in various ways.
The idea is to be able to implement complex game mechanics without having to write an entire custom plugin for it or having to build complex redstone contraptions (if what you want is even possible with redstone). It is not meant for use by regular players, this is a plugin for the admins or operators to customise the gameplay of their worlds.
I am using it myself to reset the mc.pepsoft.org server (the demo Minecraft server for the RetractableBridge and PorteCoulissante Bukkit plugins) after the last player logs out, so that it is fresh and correctly configured (all gates closed, all doors, fence gates and trap doors closed, chests stocked, etc.) when someone logs in again. This is the kind of thing I envision people using it for, but of course you can be as creative as you want.
The kind of events you can currently bind scripts to are some particular time of day, a player interacting with a block, a command, the world becoming idle (the last player logging out), etc. The script can detect the presence or absence of redstone power, whether a block is present at some location, the contents of player inventories or chests, whether levers are on or off, etc., and actions it can perform include throwing switches and pushing buttons, opening or closing doors, fence gates and trap doors, editing inventories, sending messages, etc., both for individual blocks or players and for all blocks of a certain type in an area, or all players.
It is still in alpha stage; i plan to expand it with more events, properties and actions based on user feedback. If you are interested, take a look at the plugin at http://dev.bukkit.org/server-mods/bukkitscript/. If you think it would be useful to you if only it had some event, property or action that it is currently missing, post it in the forum on that page (with a short motivation).
We now return you to your regular scheduled programming...
There have been some additions to the demo server (mc.pepsoft.org) recently:
I just released version 1.3.14, in which the movement of entities on the bridge should be much improved. They should now hopefully fall off less or even not at all. I recommend upgrading.
I created a demo server where you can see the RetractableBridge and PorteCoulissante plugins in action! It's at mc.pepsoft.org. Check the top of the page under "Demo" for details.
@Czy_Horse
I'm glad to hear it. :)
Amazing what getting the server updated will do. Works great. Now I have them working on your PorteCoulissante addon to install it on server as well
Thanks
Think maybe the server addon needs to be updated, I got digging around and the YML file in your plugin on the server has a date of April 2011, where the latest download version has a date of Feb 2012. Have put in a request to update the addon.
Again Thanks for your Time
@Czy_Horse
Well it's always possible that another mod is interfering or something like that, but it seems very unlikely. Stick to the bridge in the first picture and double check that you really built it exactly as displayed. It's important that the bridge deck is made of half slabs, and is constrained on three sides (by a material different than what the bridge deck is made of) and free to move on the fourth side. Note where the redstone goes. One mistake many people make is to feed the redstone directly under or next to the bridge deck. The redstone doesn't power the bridge directly, it powers a block (or two, or three) beneath the bridge, and it can do so from the side of that block, or from beneath it. Note that in the first picture above, the block that is being powered is the one above the last bit of redstone, underneath the centre of the leading edge of the bridge deck.
Thanks for the quick reply. My Multiplay Server is running Minecraft Bukkit ( v1.2.4-R1, #2126 ) I'm running stock downloaded Minecraft 1.2.4. When I do /plugins Retractable Bridge is in Green text. I've tried several different configurations of the above pictures with no luck. I've watch several "How to Videos" . . .wonder what stupid thing I'm doing wrong.
Thanks for your time.
@Czy_Horse
Yes, it works with 1.2.4. I just tested it with CraftBukkit 1.2.4-R1.0.
Is this working with 1.2.4 would like to try this but does not appear to work on my server ATM.
Nice plugin. It would be great if you could also restrict the blocks usable as a bridge to data values as well.
@Pandamatak
It's always best to just test my plugins on a new version of Bukkit, usually they will work fine. This is the case with 1.2, I tested it, and both plugins work great on the beta.
Any idea on when you'll update to 1.2?
Can you PM me if/when you do?
Legacy downloads removed
Please note: I have removed the legacy download locations for PorteCoulissante and RetractableBridge! They are now only accessible through BukkitDev. This means that any auto updaters you may have been using which don't access BukkitDev directly, such as CraftBukkitUpToDate, will no longer work.
@Captain_Chaos
Ahh! Didn't catch the config since it wasn't automatically generated.
Thanks a bunch, this plugin made my day.
EDIT: I'm using the same structures as your example, but the bridge always retracts at the base speed no matter what. I have three torches underneath so it extends pretty fast. It does not retract at the same speed, however.
@Pandamatak
You can use custom materials and increase the number of possible speed boosts by modifying the configuration. Check the Configuration page (see the link above). But blocks on top of the bridge won't move with it. They'll stay where they are, and things like pressure plates and redstone will pop off if the bridge moves out from under them. If you design the bridge such that it never moves out from under the circuitry you may actually be able to do it.
The speed with which the bridge retracts is under your control just like the speed with which it extends. It depends on the number of redstone powered blocks in contact with the bridge (from below) that turn off at once.
Sweet plugin.
Can you consider allowing us to add yet another redstone wire to go to 8x speed? Not much use for traps atm since it moves pretty slow. Oh, and no matter how many redstone wires you have, the bridge rolls back at the same (default) speed. I would really like it if you could change this...
Reasons for a faster contracting bridge -Traps where you need to contract a bridge quickly to reveal a deep pit or pool of lava are not possible with the slow speeds right now -I use faster speeds because it makes the animation more fluid, but it defeats the purpose since it goes back slowly -If you can get it to contract quickly, we could make bridges where one person could get across before the next person is able to set foot on the same bridge
I haven't checked whether it's possible or not, but can we put pressure plates on the bridges themselves to control them more easily? Meaning, will redstone wires stay on a bridge once activated?
Support for more materials, maybe?
Great plugin nevertheless