So pretty self explanatory stuff here, I'm just wondering what people use them for in redstone.
I know pretty well how they work, but I've found them to be somewhat limited in their usefulness, so I thought it might more productive to ask you guys rather than sit around with my thumb... well you know.
Anyways, I'll probably keep a list below for reference, starting with what I've used them for so far.
Tree growth detection
Large scale hemp, reed, cactus, etc farms
Long distance toggles/pulsers
Block dispenser states (when used with light blocks)
Day night sensors (somehow I forgot this >_<)
Last edited by BlackCat on Sun Mar 03, 2013 11:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Ribky: eh, maybe kinda iffy at first, but you grew on me like a glorious tumor of innovation
Detritus: A whole lot of walls decided they wanted to give you a hug, but you're allergic to walls
Definitely long distance toggles. I have a sand-driven urn factory that recycles the sand with a lens triggered elevator that saved me quite a headache on redstone wiring. I'm also going to be using them aesthetically to turn the lights on my base exterior at night, as I have two giant towers which will be lit by a lens beam triggering evenly spaced detectors up their height. Doing it with redstone would be ridiculous.
Stormweaver wrote:Then you can just use the day/night cycle to separate out the adults, and put the kids in storage till you're ready to murder them.
Hemp farm and for elevator transport through my mine (hook up a lightblock/lever/lens at the bottom, with an XNOR at the top hooked up to a second lever, and a DB to sense the lens)
In addition to the long range detection and transmission, I use them as overhead lighting with vaulted ceilings. Being able to have an open floor uncluttered by torches is amazing.
DaveYanakov wrote:In addition to the long range detection and transmission, I use them as overhead lighting with vaulted ceilings. Being able to have an open floor uncluttered by torches is amazing.
Oh my..... <<THUNK!>>* ... what an idea! it never dawned on me to use them like that! Awesome XD
*sound of a penny falling from a great height and hitting me on my soul forged steel helmet !
DaveYanakov wrote:In addition to the long range detection and transmission, I use them as overhead lighting with vaulted ceilings. Being able to have an open floor uncluttered by torches is amazing.
Can you please post a screenshot? What you just said seems pretty amazing :)
I have a long half slabbed hallway, rather than having a bunch of lights down the length of the thing, i put 3 lens' side by side, its a neat effect to be walking down it and the light 'follows' you.
Magical Shit
Show
Syruse|Work: i like magic shit
MagikEh: ...
MagikEh: >.>
MagikEh: <.<
»» MagikEh walks to the bathroom
Syruse|Work: hahaaaaaaaaa
Syruse|Work: wait
MagikEh: xD
Syruse|Work: fuck
Syruse|Work: NO
Syruse|Work: DONT
magikeh wrote:I have a long half slabbed hallway, rather than having a bunch of lights down the length of the thing, i put 3 lens' side by side, its a neat effect to be walking down it and the light 'follows' you.
I played with a fun idea that used this, and then incorporated light detectors under the siding floor to light hibachis along the side of the hall as you walked down it. However, on my computer the constant lighting updates this causes were a bit much for it to handle.
People keep mentioning 'long range' and 'wireless redstone', but one of the cores of that is the fast and easy vertical transmission. I had a lens system for accessing the elevator to my floating island, so that I could signal it without any structure to pass the signal all the way up there.
Now that the projection functionality is back I'll be using them to line up stakes for measuring out buildings and such across long horizontal distances. Very useful for determining how high to make a bridge between two hills of different heights.
SterlingRed wrote:Now that the projection functionality is back I'll be using them to line up stakes for measuring out buildings and such across long horizontal distances. Very useful for determining how high to make a bridge between two hills of different heights.
I like this one! Very clever. I've used it for signaling in a simple elevator rather than using a long redstone pillar. I'm also using the lens for projection lighting in a huge vaulted project I'm building.
Yeah, one of the original design intents behind the Lens was to do precisely this kind of thing (I think I even used bridge building as the original example way back in the day). Basically, a way to mark straight lines at a distance, almost the equivalent of a level or something.
However, I think it kinda got lost along the way due to the prohibitive cost of building the things. I know I certainly don't think of packing a Lens in my inventory when I'm headed off for a large building project :)
Very glad to hear it's actually being used in that context though!
Everything. The lens is hands down my favorite block.
Besides the stuff mentioned here, a 5 minute timer transmit tower that beams to relay towers at farms.
Edit: it was mentioned several times, sorry, very tired. Long night at the hospital.
One five minute timer runs our town basically.
The only limitation that I found is the lens is blocked by everything. Tried making some interesting circuitry using pistons and glass, no go. Only posting so others don't try.
Still my favorite block easily, with sticky piston second because it moves.
Many builds look cleaner with optical wiring as I call it.
