[1.11.2] MultiBlock Structure

[abused_master]

Hey guys, so i need some help creating a multiblock tank.

So the tank will be as so, 5x5x5, contains a tank controller and an input valve and output valve, and once put together will have a custom model.

Now I don't really know anything about making a multiblock, how would i do this? is it something along the lines of like when the controller is placed check if certain blocks are placed around it? or is there a much better way to do this?

once the multiblock is created how do i set the input and output blocks to only do their respective parts?

and lastly how would i specify the model? would it be ok to be a json made to a 5x5x5 size or would it have to be something like a java model/obj model? and would i need a TESR? i presume so to render the liquid

thanks for the help even though i think i'm asking a lot.

Edited May 1, 2017 by abused_master

[Matryoshika]

How will the multiblock look like? Will the controller, input valve & output valve have specific places where they have to be, or can they be located anywhere in the 5³?
I presume the tank is going to be empty, yes?

 

Have your tank, tick every ~20 ticks (1 second) and if the multiblock has not yet been formed, scan for the nearest corner block.

A corner is very important in an equilateral cube.
A corner is defined as having exactly 3 wanted blocks, 1 on each axis. Once you have found your corner, you can get the opposite corner. You know the structure is 5³.
The opposite corner will exist ±4 blocks away along the x, y & z-axis.
Once you have your 2 corners, you know your structure, without knowing the structure.
Scan once more, inside this 5³ cube, (Using BlockPos#getAllInBox) and skip over any blocks "inside" your tank, only going along the outer layer. If you encounter 1 input valve, and 1 output valve, and all other blocks consist of the tank-blocks, woohoo, we know the tank is complete!

 

As for models: JSON models can not extend outside the "blockspace", though the model itself can be translated along any axis. This means that you will not be able to use a normal JSON for this.
You can use a TESR, but over-use, and non-optimized, will kill FPS.
You can start with a TESR; but I would recommend that you at least eventually make use of a custom IBakedModel, with the List<BakedQuad> scaled to fit the 5³. Custom IBakedModels take a bit to get comfortable with, but once you do, they are very easy.
For fluids, you can look at Tinkers' Construct, but I would also recommend that you view Vazkii's Botania mod. The manapools render themselves through a JSON, but the mana inside is rendered with a TESR, and are optimized.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Matryoshika

[abused_master]

21 minutes ago, Matryoshika said:

How will the multiblock look like? Will the controller, input valve & output valve have specific places where they have to be, or can they be located anywhere in the 5³?
I presume the tank is going to be empty, yes?

 

Have your tank, tick every ~20 ticks (1 second) and if the multiblock has not yet been formed, scan for the nearest corner block.

A corner is very important in an equilateral cube.
A corner is defined as having exactly 3 wanted blocks, 1 on each axis. Once you have found your corner, you can get the opposite corner. You know the structure is 5³.
The opposite corner will exist ±4 blocks away along the x, y & z-axis.
Once you have your 2 corners, you know your structure, without knowing the structure.
Scan once more, inside this 5³ cube, (Using BlockPos#getAllInBox) and skip over any blocks "inside" your tank, only going along the outer layer. If you encounter 1 input valve, and 1 output valve, and all other blocks consist of the tank-blocks, woohoo, we know the tank is complete!

 

As for models: JSON models can not extend outside the "blockspace", though the model itself can be translated along any axis. This means that you will not be able to use a normal JSON for this.
You can use a TESR, but over-use, and non-optimized, will kill FPS.
You can start with a TESR; but I would recommend that you at least eventually make use of a custom IBakedModel, with the List<BakedQuad> scaled to fit the 5³. Custom IBakedModels take a bit to get comfortable with, but once you do, they are very easy.
For fluids, you can look at Tinkers' Construct, but I would also recommend that you view Vazkii's Botania mod. The manapools render themselves through a JSON, but the mana inside is rendered with a TESR, and are optimized.

I'd like the controller to be placed at the bottom middle, here is a picture of roughly how it will be

https://gyazo.com/e40ca6e3b4d682f087e1892208163631

Andesite = frame

glass is tank glass, so you can see liquid inside,

iron block = input

redstone = output

furnace = controller

yes it will be empty,

i want to make it so that those cannot be moved elsewhere 

with that first part i think i get will, will give it a shot in a little and reply if i have any questions/problems,

but is there any place that goes over IBakedModels, how to use them, and an implementation example i could look at?

 

[Draco18s]

Easy. Either use a tool to "activate" the construction (the way Immersive Engineering does) and look for that controller block. From there look for the rest of the construction. If it's all there, activate, do The Thing, give feedback to the player that it was successful, change the models, etc. etc.

 

OR

 

Require that the controller be placed last and on-place check for the rest of the structure, if it's all there, active...etc etc

[abused_master]

How can i go about counting the matches found with BlockPos#getAllInBox?

[Draco18s]

Well, with a well-defined structure I wouldn't use getAllInBox. I'd go "this is the core, so at x+1 I should find BlockY, at x+2 I should find...  And do a big query that way.

[abused_master]

wouldn't that just cause a huge mess in code? and would't i have to do a check for every facing?

[Matryoshika]

Well, this is a dynamic multi-block; It just needs x <block> within the structure, and doesn't care where they are, if I'm understanding this correctly.

If so, local variables before the for-each-loop, can be used to keep count of the blocks inside; one variable for input, one for output, one for the controller, and one for the actual walls/bounds of the tank.

Inside the for-each-loop, if it encounters a wanted block, add it to the appropriate counter for that type.

After the for-each-loop, check these values.
If you got more, or less than 1 controller? Incorrect.
If you do not have an input, nor an output? Incorrect.
If controller+input+output+walls less than (or greater than, for redundancy) 5³-4³ blocks (hollow 5³ structure), then the multiblock is not yet complete

[Draco18s]

17 minutes ago, abused_master said:

wouldn't that just cause a huge mess in code? and would't i have to do a check for every facing?

It is a little messy, and facings can be mitigated.

 

You can convert a facing (EnumWest) into x and z offsets.  "Forward" gets translated to facing.offsetX() + facing.offsetZ() because a facing will only ever have one of those values as non-zero. For right, you use facing.rotate(UP).offsetX() + facing.rotate(UP).offsetZ() (you can store the rotated facings as their own variables as well).

[tommyte]

private void setMultiblockAndRotate()
	{
		Hashtable<BlockPos, Block> blocks = new Hashtable<BlockPos, Block>();
		Hashtable<BlockPos, TileEntity> entities = new Hashtable<BlockPos, TileEntity>();
		int offset = getFacingOffset(facing);
		
		for(int x = bx; x <= ex; x++)
		{
			for(int y = by; y <= ey; y++)
			{
				for(int z = bz; z <= ez; z++)
				{	
					BlockPos oldpos = new BlockPos(x,y,z);
					
                    //this puts the blockpos in a 2d vector and rotates it, so it will face correctly
					Vector2d vec = new Vector2d(oldpos.getX(), oldpos.getZ());
					vec = Util.getNormalVector(vec, offset);
					
					BlockPos newpos = new BlockPos(vec.x, oldpos.getY(), vec.y);
					
					if(newpos.equals(BlockPos.ORIGIN))
					{
						blocks.put(newpos, BlockRegistry.basicmachine);
					}
					else //'blocks' is a hashtable simelar to blocks in this method. But, that table already has values that I set earlier.
					if(this.blocks.containsKey(oldpos))
					{
						blocks.put(newpos, this.blocks.get(oldpos));
					}
					else
					{
						blocks.put(newpos, fillerBlock); //fillerBlock is a block that I also defined earlier. Its just there so that I dont have to put those blocks at a position. This code just assumes that everything that isnt defined should be this block
					}
					
					if(this.tileentities.containsKey(oldpos))
					{
						entities.put(newpos, this.tileentities.get(oldpos));
					}
				}
			}
		}
		frame = blocks;
		tileentities = entities;
	}

This is how I've done it. It works by indexing blocks by their relative blockpositions (relative to the controller). Later you'd check if all the blocks defined in 'frame' are actually in the world, and if so, it'll form the multiblock. This way you could also add new tileEntities to handle things like in- and outputting liquids.