posted
I am a lot more rusty on math then I thought. I want to make a pyramid in Minecraft that is 100x100 blocks for the base. So teh first level would be 400 blocks. I will step in 1 and up one and the next level will have 98x98 blocks. And that pattern will repeat.
Can anyone make a math equation I can use to see how many blocks I need? I am making sandstone blocks on a friends server and want to surprise them one night by building a pyramid.
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
If the base of the pyramid is 100x100, then you need 10,000 blocks for the bottom level, not 400, don't you? (I don't do Minecraft, so if what you're saying makes sense there, I'm not sure how the concept differs, but I know it does.)
Assuming you do mean you need every block of the pyramid, I'm pretty sure the formula will be 2n(n+1)(2n+1)/3, where n is the number of levels (in this case, 50). So you need 100*51*101/3, or 171,700.
I'm rusty, so if someone wants to check my math that'd be great.
Posts: 6213 | Registered: May 2001
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posted
Actually, in Minecraft you only need to make the shell. So it would be 100/side for the first level, 98 / side for the second level, 96 /side for the fourth level, etc.
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
But the corner pieces are the same, so it's actually 396 for the bottom then? And in that case, you could just collapse the thing into a 100x100 square, so 10,000 blocks? Or do you need a double-thick wall so the next layer up has something to sit atop, which would make it 100x100 + 98x98, or 19,604?
Posts: 6213 | Registered: May 2001
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posted
The next layer up can essentially be floating in air from the one underneath it, but typically you spend an additional link block of some material to create a bridge up to the next level.
Also, this is minecraft, so no precise quantity plan will survive contact with the enemy and you'll have to bring a few extra stacks anyway, especially when creepers are about.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
I don't know what most of that meant, but it sounds like it's 10K plus links and extras. Whatever those are.
Posts: 6213 | Registered: May 2001
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posted
If I aren't much mistaken you need 2x2550 + 2x2352 = 9804. Let's even forget about the mining of sandstone, you'll need like almost 3h to do that, provided you place one block/sec. Maybe there's a program that simplifies things like that in minecraft, so you can do large constructions giving only it's dimensions and material it's gotta be composed of or sth.
Posts: 723 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
PM is correct, It would be exactly 10,000 if you don't have a single one on the top, since the penultimate level would be 4x4, the top one 2x2, and then 0x0. If you want a single one on the top, it would be 10,001.
edit: Szymon: it looks like you did a gauss sum for 50 and 48, but it should be for 50 and 49. Taking into account shared corners, two sides start at 100, which would be gauss sum 50 * 2, two sides start at 98, which would be gauss sum 49 * 2.
Posts: 1080 | Registered: Apr 2006
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posted
Really? I thought you need: 2x{[(2+100)/2]x50} + 2x{(2+98)/2]x49}
because: you got two opposite sides of 100+98...+2 which is the 50th level and the two other sides which start with 98 on the ground and finish one level short from the top cause it's already ready.
How can there be a single one on top if it has even number of blocks in a side? It'd be unsymmetrical.
Posts: 723 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
Sean: Syzmon's question about the single block on top only makes sense if you've played Minecraft. The world is made up of blocks, and you can't overlap. By that I mean you can't place a block that is, say, half over one block and half over another.
So if the top of his pyramid is 2x2, then there are only 4 distinct places you can put a block, and none of those will make it look more like a pyramid. There's no way to put one "on top," sadly.
Posts: 3580 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
You could start with either 99 or 101 across the bottom layer, though (requiring 9801 or 10201 blocks respectively).
Posts: 6213 | Registered: May 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Papa Moose: You could start with either 99 or 101 across the bottom layer, though (requiring 9801 or 10201 blocks respectively).
posted
Ohh, that is a good idea about the 99 or 101. So what does the finale equation look like? BTW...Hatrack rocks--particularly you all with higher skills then me.
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote: Let's even forget about the mining of sandstone, you'll need like almost 3h to do that, provided you place one block/sec.
That is why it is going to be so epic! Everyone will log on to our server after i stayed up all night to build the thing and be totally wowed.
I crossed an ocean and found a huge desert to mine sand and sandstone. I set up a portal and will use a minecart in the Nether to transport goods between my portal and their portal once I have everything--maybe in 2 weeks or so. When I am ready I will pull an all-nighter and build it outside of their town.
Right now I got five friends on a local server building an awesome town, but overnight I will have a huge sandstone pyramid in middle of their forest, view-able from any place in town.
My family is out of the country for 6 more weeks. My work is kinda slow. I am getting into podcasts. This project is the perfect thing to work on as I listen to NPR.
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote: Let's even forget about the mining of sandstone, you'll need like almost 3h to do that, provided you place one block/sec.
That is why it is going to be so epic! Everyone will log on to our server after i stayed up all night to build the thing and be totally wowed.
I crossed an ocean and found a huge desert to mine sand and sandstone. I set up a portal and will use a minecart in the Nether to transport goods between my portal and their portal once I have everything--maybe in 2 weeks or so. When I am ready I will pull an all-nighter and build it outside of their town.
Right now I got five friends on a local server building an awesome town, but overnight I will have a huge sandstone pyramid in middle of their forest, view-able from any place in town.
My family is out of the country for 6 more weeks. My work is kinda slow. I am getting into podcasts. This project is the perfect thing to work on as I listen to NPR.
Do they allow using the sand generator glitch on your server? My brother built one on my server and we have more sand than we'll ever need.
Posts: 1029 | Registered: Apr 2007
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