So How Are We Gonna Do It?

, Wed Nov 17 2010, 12:28AM

Hey folks. Finally, the votes are in and we can start building the Official CF|UK Server Project of a Giant Floating Island. And when I say giant, I mean gargantuan, colossal, etc.

So, how are we going to build it?

Obviously, the island will have to have nothing underneath it (or else we couldn't call it floating), and so it will need a foundation all of it's own, probably dirt/smoothstone. Personally, I'm not very keen on having the bottom all flat, and so ideally, I see the island being not quite as mountainous on the underside as it is on top. However, doing this presents it's own problems... namely, the fact that we built on top of an ocean that sits at y=64, leaving us only the other 64 blocks with which to build our island, a small portion of which is obfuscated by clouds. We could theoretically fill in the ocean, and have the land gradually sink down before reaching the isle. This would give us as much breathing room as we could want, but the process of emptying it is so involved, I'm not sure many folks would be interested in doing it. (Unless, of course, we enlist Broonie to murder the landscape with cuboid if he's willing.)

Otherwise, we could probably just build the bottom flat...

Another question on a similar tangent, how high off the ground should it be? A floating island only 1 block off the ground isn't much of a floating island, but too high and we won't have much room for stuff we want to do.

Probably a good height would be around 10-blocks? It should enough that its floating quality is apparent from a distance.

So what are your thoughts?
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Wed Nov 17 2010, 01:59AM

hmmm 10 blocks seems good...
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Wed Nov 17 2010, 01:59AM

I'll help all I can also. smile
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Wed Nov 17 2010, 02:08AM

Thats what she said to the title also. tongue
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
SampleName, Wed Nov 17 2010, 02:26AM

Yeah, I had been thinking around 10 blocks too.
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Wed Nov 17 2010, 02:41AM

Frank give up trying to get the most posts =P

Yeah 10 seems fine
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
cmg5217, Wed Nov 17 2010, 02:54AM

What about finding a large mountain region and dig the bottom out from under it? With the amount of support the project has we could easily have a 10 man dig team. I think a flat bottom would be a mistake.
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Wed Nov 17 2010, 03:50AM

:P toddy samp is beating me by a lot. I have given up hope now. Im just going to browse through the forums still and give my insight though.
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
SampleName, Wed Nov 17 2010, 03:54AM

Yeah, I really don't like the idea of a flat bottom. It just wouldn't look as cool. What if we made a reverse pyramid shaped pit with stairs going down, for the bottom of the island to float above. (Not sure if that made sense to you guys.)
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Wed Nov 17 2010, 04:00AM

I understand what you are talking about reversed pyramid. But the pyramid can't be completely even with the floor or else it would look, lemme see, unnatural? Probably one big pyramid and one small one next to it...
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Wed Nov 17 2010, 04:04AM

I'm 'kinda' following you sample, with the reverse pyramid idea, but not with the stairs. Only problem with the reverse pyramid is that eventually, the island would bottom out on the bedrock, and wouldn't allow much of a view underneath it, unless it's a very gently sloped pyramid, which could work.

The idea I had was more random; like underground hills. They'd give the bottom of the island some texture, like it was pulled out of the ground. This way, too, we could build expansions without it looking odd and keep it 'relatively' flat.
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Wed Nov 17 2010, 04:25AM

Tuatha <3 where are you? I cant find you on your midgar server either...
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
dubien, Wed Nov 17 2010, 05:30AM

I honestly don't think the floating island will be that cool... But thats just my opinion and I'll help anyways.
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
cmg5217, Wed Nov 17 2010, 06:18AM

What if we have Broonie blow a big hole in the earth <_< >_>
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Wed Nov 17 2010, 09:54AM

Broonie is good at making big holes in the earth. I guess we'll have to find a new spot though if we don't want to drain out the ice sea tongue .
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
SampleName, Wed Nov 17 2010, 05:34PM

Well instead of having 1 high blocks all the way down the reverse pyramid, it would be made of stairs, that way you could walk down it easily. And yeah, it'd be a gentle, wide pyramid. Just deep enough to build the bottom of the island and have it mountainous.
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
cmg5217, Wed Nov 17 2010, 06:09PM

Or we could use both the TNT and the pyramid. It's much easier to put a floor in a hole than it is to dig to the center of the earth.
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Fri Nov 19 2010, 01:35AM

I could build a quarry and refinery some distance away and send Pure/Refined stone and dirt via railway? I posted this on the wrong forum... lol
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
SampleName, Fri Nov 19 2010, 01:51AM

That's actually kinda smart. Have some workers at mining and gathering, and then ship it all down to the work site.
(Unless we're just going to have mods spawn it all or something.)
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
cmg5217, Fri Nov 19 2010, 04:24AM

Um, minecarts still don't work though. It's an interesting idea though. We'll have plenty of stone from digging out the area also.
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Fri Nov 19 2010, 04:56AM

Meanwhile, I can put Nutter in charge of logistics and keeping track of what construction teams need what.... maybe
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
cmg5217, Fri Nov 19 2010, 05:25AM

Is the Idea for it to actually be a fortress or just a floating city? If it's intended to be a military facility then I'd be interested to help with the walls. I like working with fortifications. If I may, I particularly enjoy cobblestone walls with a plank floor for the walkway on the top.
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Fri Nov 19 2010, 05:48AM

The idea, in my head at least, is for it to be a floating continent. But yes, we should probably start with the city idea and expand from there.
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Fri Nov 19 2010, 01:54PM

Well tbh as this is a server project, then the server community should decide, not one person. Last discussion majority liked the idea of a floating fortress. Perhaps another vote should be made, on the forum, to make sure
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
SampleName, Sat Nov 20 2010, 08:05PM

Oh yeah, I never thought of minecarts not working yet. Scratch that idea then.
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
, Sat Nov 20 2010, 08:09PM

When they do, our project will be that much easier. Until then, we'll have to stick to horse and buggy.
Re: So How Are We Gonna Do It?
cmg5217, Sun Nov 21 2010, 07:32PM

Well since there are no horses I guess it'll have to be pig and buggy =D