[MECH] RetractableBridge - Easy and realistic retractable bridges

If it's anything like your PorteCoulissante plugin I will definitely install this mod without question.

Another amazing plugin. I can't wait to test this out on the server. You know, once all the 1.4 kinks are worked out of bukkit. Lol.

But yeah man, amazing work.

works great! using this and your Portcullis one they rock!

the only thing that might make this better would be a French name...

Oh man, this looks awesome.
Sayy... will there be vertical / diagonal bridges?

Okay, it seems that the power under the block, like in the first pic, does NOT work currently. However, powering a block from the side just with the porte plugin works just fine. I do know how to use these. Trust me, I do. I had to spend 2 hours working on a method of raising/lowering one of the portculli from both sides with two switches using a redstone circuit.

Finally a solution to all my CraftBook tears. Can't wait to use this along with PorteCoulissante.

I'm guessing that you finally found a similar solution, but a T-style FlipFlop works really well for this sort of thing.

If by vertical you mean like a portcullis, you should take a look at my PorteCoulissante plugin...

If you mean a drawbridge, then no, that's not likely to happen, because I think it would look terrible. Minecraft is just too blocky to make things at an angle (when they are relatively small at least)...

I tested that first pic and it worked for me. Are you sure that if you build the exact same thing it doesn't work? Is anyone else seeing this?

Everything looks great from here. Working on 602 build, power under working just fine.

I'm glad we had a conversation about this. It's perfect.

Now, How are you going to do your elevators? Perhaps processed stone halfsteps with fenceposts at each corner?

it's south west rule, you may need to invert the current depending on the direction.

Anyway, it is almost as great as your other plugin, but it lacks speed, I mean I put a big bridge, it takes almost 5 minutes to expand^^

He he he, nice try...

I'm busy with another Minecraft related project which might interest the people here: http://www.minecraftforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=1022&t=250898

I'm sure you're exaggerating a little bit. A bridge that takes 5 minutes to expand would be a mile long

If there are more people who think it's too slow I might increase the speed a bit, but not by a lot. It's a big and heavy wooden construction, it would take long time to crank open or shut.

no, it's just 230 squares long^^

Ok, it is not meant to do long things at once, but it would be nice to have possibilities to make multiple steps bridge for those long runs (I mean, like crossing the sea).

An idea would be to be able to store the tiles vertically, but it would mean much more complicated scripts (and would mean double stacking in vertical but not horizontal).
you could maybe use your other plugin alongside with this one for this.

But anyway, I love your plugins, they are easy to install, easy to use, and add things that were only present through magically creating/deleting blocs, so yours feels better, at least to me.

You don't need the bridge to retract all the way across the sea of course. You could have a fixed bridge for most of the way, and a small retractable part (wide enough so you can't jump it) half way or something.

Any chance of choosing which block the bridge should be? (Individually, not in a config)

So, did anyone figure out yet that you can make flying carpets with this? Or ferries that bring you across the water?

Not likely. I like to keep things simple, and the wooden half-block makes the most sense for a retractable bridge. Also, you don't want random bits of scenery to start moving just because a bit of redstone happens to touch them, so it has to be a block that doesn't occur naturally and is relatively rare.

Can't blame a guy for trying.

In the meantime I'll see if I can't use a modified PorteCoulissante to do this.

Ha!!! Tested and it works I just put down fences in a 3x3x2 and built a frame... left 2x2 open at the top ... powered all three with the same redstone and switch.... whala instant elevator.

Now... I could combine this with the bridge in order to retract the blocks stopping the elevator and thereby add floors.

That's very creative! But I don't think that works going up, does it? Meaning it won't actually move you up if you're standing on it, instead it will go right through you. Does it?

Really harder to use than your last plugin^^

I am trying to make a bridge for my castle, so it would be a real bridge, meaning I try to make it so that you don't have to jump, not matter what side you come from.

So far, didn't find a way to do it, because the only way would be a double-stacked wood half bloc, with only the bottom one moving, but adding a second one makes it so that the bridge won't move.

If someone succeeded in doing a bridge where you don't have to jump, please give me a clue on how to do it.

You have to set it up so that you step down onto the bridge by using stairs or half-blocks.

Like Greylocke said, you can do it using stair blocks. Look at the second example image in my original post, it shows you how to do it. I admit it's a bit hard to see, but if you look carefully you can see where the stair blocks go. You could also use half-blocks (as long as they aren't wooden half-blocks) instead of stair blocks.

One area that definitely needs improvement is attaching the redstone. It's very hard to hide the redstone from view. I'm looking into ways I can improve this.

the thing is that we are half way in a bloc when on the bridge, so even a half bloc on the higher level is too high for the character to climb automatically.

Code:

-     -
 -----

you would need a plain bloc on each side to have a half bloc height

Code:

X-----X

Unfortunately, you can only do it on one side of the bridge


EDIT: Ok, I get it now, I have no other choice but to make half of the bridge, or at least the middle into a fix area.
too bad, but better that nothing I gess

Well, accidentally I did make a flying carpet, and it just went off into the distance, couldn't stop it (;

Also, FYI it works perfectly with 617 if you need that for the title.

@Captain Chaos
Name it Pont Rétractable

Assembling a working bridge that blends with the architecture and terrain can take quite awhile! I spent more hours than I care to admit last night moving things this way and that way... trying all sorts of configurations before I finally ended up with something that I can live with. Not that I'm done... but it was 'done enough' to logoff for the night anyway. There will much tweaking to follow.

Here's the working bridge (and you'll see a bit of the open portcullis behind it) :


I also took some more detailed snapshots of how it is assembled, including how to hide the redstone and how I made the transitions at each end. You can check it out the photos here, if you'd like.

Hopefully this helps out a frustrated bridge-builder!