A clever Minecraft archery game uses redstone to automatically keep score with every shot. Mojang’s survival sandbox game gives players access to a variety of tools and resources, which can be used to construct any number of unique builds. While expansions like Minecraft‘s upcoming The Wild update continue adding new content, the game’s dedicated fanbase continue finding new uses for items and mechanics both new and old.
One of Minecraft‘s most useful and complex resources is redstone, which can essentially be used to form an electric current between various blocks. The valuable red dust can be mined from underground redstone ore, and it can then be laid on the ground as a trail. Redstone can connect to interactive objects such as lights, pistons and doors, and the charge can then be activated using blocks like sunlight detectors or pressure plates. Redstone usage can range from mundane things, like a switch-activated light, to extremely advanced programming using Minecraft arrow-activated target blocks or full-blown in-game computers.
In a display of redstone mastery, Reddit user enderlord113 created a Minecraft archery range that displays a score to track the shooter’s accuracy. The build makes use of a target block, which produces a redstone signal that gets progressively stronger the closer an object hits to the bullseye. The archery range makes use of this feature to turn the signal into a set number on a scoreboard – between 1 and 15 – which can take the form of a bar of lights or an actual numerical display. By having shooters stand high in the air a good distance from the target, enderlord113’s archery game looks to be quite a large-scale challenge.
The bow and arrow was one of the earliest additions to Minecraft, with the ranged weapon appearing in the game in 2010. The classic hunter’s tool has been made more and more useful over the years, thanks to the addition of target blocks and ranged enemies such as Ghasts and the Enderdragon. Recently one Minecraft player conceptualized a successor to the bow and arrow in the form of a Minecraft ender pearl crossbow weapon. Ender pearls are an item which can typically be thrown, with the player teleporting to the location where it lands. While this only allows for short-range travel, the proposed ender pearl crossbow would allow players to teleport much further distances very quickly.
Redstone is one of Minecraft‘s most difficult mechanics to learn, but also one of its most fun and useful. By mastering the use of the rare red dust, players can program any number of features to customize their randomly generated blocky worlds. While enderlord113’s archery scoreboard may seem like a pretty basic build, it takes an good deal of time and effort to program such a large piece of redstone machinery. For players who enjoy a bit of Minecraft target practice, especially when played against others, this automatic scoreboard would be a perfect tool.
Minecraft is available on all platforms.
Source: enderlord113/Reddit
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