Stop mobs spawning over a large area (DW20)

[ksbd]

So, my main project as of late, is making an underground village. I always seem to get caught up in the technical side of FTB and forget that you can make some pretty good-looking stuff in it - it's not all about machines and gizmos. The problem I'm having however, is that I've been trying to make use of lighting effects - keeping some areas dark, or barely lit in order to add depth. Of course, this makes the entire area rather attractive for aggressive mobs.

I'm not sure of the areas dimensions. I'd guess it's anywhere between 75x75x20 to 200x200x30. I was wondering if, other than playing in peaceful, or lighting up the whole area, is there any way to prevent mob spawns? I thought maybe mffs, but I've never used the mod before, and not sure if a forcefield could encompass the entire area.
Anyone got any suggestions? (Energy/resources aren't an issue, I'm pretty late-game)

 

[Grydian2]

Xycraft blocks dont allow mobs to spawn on them...

 

[lavarthan]

That is good if you have that many Xycraft blocks (you may I do not have Xycraft installed). Another option is bottom half slabs. They hopefully do not look too weird to you. Top half slabs or two slabs together will allow for spawning. Bottom slabs only will not. The only problem is the dropped down look compared to other parts of the village.

 

[Moezso]

IIRC mobs will not spawn on microblocks, transparent blocks, and as said above Xycraft blocks and bottom slabs. Now that I think about it, I'm guessing mobs only spawn on blocks they're coded to spawn on, so unless mods change that code, they probably only spawn on those vanilla blocks they're programmed to. Bear in mind that last sentence is only a guess.

I thought villagers needed LOS to the sky to spawn. Or are you just moving them into the village from elsewhere?

 

[Poppycocks]

And yeah, MFFS can be pretty.... gargantuan. The big size forcefields eat a lot of forcicium though. I haven't played too much with it, the npc killer upgrade does most mobs immediately, not sure if it stops spawning though.

I think that zinc blocks don't allow spawning either.

One last thing you could do is use ... a biome changing tool to change the biome to mushroom island. Mobs don't spawn in it.

IIRC mobs will not spawn on microblocks, transparent blocks, and as said above Xycraft blocks and bottom slabs. Now that I think about it, I'm guessing mobs only spawn on blocks they're coded to spawn on, so unless mods change that code, they probably only spawn on those vanilla blocks they're programmed to. Bear in mind that last sentence is only a guess.

Big guess, yeah. Spawning can occur on any block that's opaque, or has a proper top surface and isn't coded specifically to not allow spawning. The engine also checks if the monsters hitbox fits into the selected space.

And.... well, it's a bit more complicated than that, but that's the very basic gist of it.

 

[ksbd]

Yeahhh. xycraft blocks just wont fit in with the village look, and getting rid of all the grass and replacing with stone slabs might make it more 'cold looking' than what I'm going for :/ I'll have a play around next time I'm on ftb. One idea I do have is to have multiple mffs areas set up to periodically 'stutter' a kill option for hostile mobs, though in practice, it may cause a lot of lag, not work out all that well, or be a massive drain on energy... I'll post my findings anyhoo.

 

[ksbd]

IIRC mobs will not spawn on microblocks, transparent blocks, and as said above Xycraft blocks and bottom slabs. Now that I think about it, I'm guessing mobs only spawn on blocks they're coded to spawn on, so unless mods change that code, they probably only spawn on those vanilla blocks they're programmed to. Bear in mind that last sentence is only a guess.

I thought villagers needed LOS to the sky to spawn. Or are you just moving them into the village from elsewhere?

In regards to the villager question, I'm rather familiar with vanilla mechanics, so I think I'm correct in saying that villages aren't sky-necessary, unless an update has changed this. What is needed is direct sunlight atop a door for a house to be registered as a house. Because houses make a village, technically the village can be underground providing there are potholes in key positions. But in answer to your question; I've set up a breeding system in a void age where villagers spawn, fall into a portal and end up in my village, where there are 'population-control' methods

And yeah, MFFS can be pretty.... gargantuan. The big size forcefields eat a lot of forcicium though. I haven't played too much with it, the npc killer upgrade does most mobs immediately, not sure if it stops spawning though.

I think that zinc blocks don't allow spawning either.

One last thing you could do is use ... a biome changing tool to change the biome to mushroom island. Mobs don't spawn in it.


Big guess, yeah. Spawning can occur on any block that's opaque, or has a proper top surface and isn't coded specifically to not allow spawning. The engine also checks if the monsters hitbox fits into the selected space.

And that's it.

I have many interdimesional-barrel-thingys full of forcicium so I think I'll attempt this route.


Thanks guys for your replys

 

[Mash]

You could always go to a desert and play around with a wrath igniter.

Speaking of wrath igniters, would wrath lamps suit your purpose? I know that lighting it up isn't exactly what you want, but wrath lamps have a much, much larger radius of light coverage than other light sources. If resources aren't an issue, I can also practically guarantee that lighting it up would be easier than replacing the entire floor.

 

[Moezso]

Vanilla iron golems plus a few Thaumcraft iron golem guardians (the smart variety to take care of creepers) could help keep your village mob free, or at least somewhat safe.

And yeah, MFFS can be pretty.... gargantuan. The big size forcefields eat a lot of forcicium though. I haven't played too much with it, the npc killer upgrade does most mobs immediately, not sure if it stops spawning though.

I think that zinc blocks don't allow spawning either.

One last thing you could do is use ... a biome changing tool to change the biome to mushroom island. Mobs don't spawn in it.


Big guess, yeah. Spawning can occur on any block that's opaque, or has a proper top surface and isn't coded specifically to not allow spawning. The engine also checks if the monsters hitbox fits into the selected space.

And.... well, it's a bit more complicated than that, but that's the very basic gist of it.

The mushroom island idea sounds good to me. And that's why when I make a guess I try to make it clear that it's a guess, and not to be taken as fact. Then I wait for someone like you who knows to come along and correct me. Now I know and don't have to guess!

In regards to the villager question, I'm rather familiar with vanilla mechanics, so I think I'm correct in saying that villages aren't sky-necessary, unless an update has changed this. What is needed is direct sunlight atop a door for a house to be registered as a house. Because houses make a village, technically the village can be underground providing there are potholes in key positions. But in answer to your question; I've set up a breeding system in a void age where villagers spawn, fall into a portal and end up in my village, where there are 'population-control' methods



I have many interdimesional-barrel-thingys full of forcicium so I think I'll attempt this route.


Thanks guys for your replys

Ah I see. I only mentioned it because Docm77 had the same issue in his villager/golem powered vanilla iron farm, which he put inside a giant tree with the same strategically placed "potholes". It's quite an impressive machine for vanilla MC.

 

[ksbd]

You could always go to a desert and play around with a wrath igniter.

Speaking of wrath igniters, would wrath lamps suit your purpose? I know that lighting it up isn't exactly what you want, but wrath lamps have a much, much larger radius of light coverage than other light sources.

I actually have a few wrath lamps hidden in the ceiling of the cave. It's not that I can't light it all up; I just think it looks far better with dark spots around everywhere[DOUBLEPOST=1368401195][/DOUBLEPOST]

Vanilla iron golems plus a few Thaumcraft iron golem guardians (the smart variety to take care of creepers) could help keep your village mob free, or at least somewhat safe.

That didn't even cross my mind to be honest. I'll give that a go if all else fails, but you can pretty much guarantee that over time, the golems will screw up, and the creepers will be successful.

 

[Mash]

Well, really your only choice is partial blocks and transparent blocks. Those are the only others that stop mob spawns.

 

[ksbd]

Ah I see. I only mentioned it because Docm77 had the same issue in his villager/golem powered vanilla iron farm, which he put inside a giant tree with the same strategically placed "potholes". It's quite an impressive machine for vanilla MC.

Oh yes, I've been a fan of Doc and a few other mindcrackers pretty much from the start, they always come up with some impressive things; 'The Ironwood' I think he called it? I've made a few similar systems back before I started on mods, but Doc, JL and occasionally Etho always seem to blow them out of the water by making these massive and efficient farms, then disguising them brilliantly. I dont know where they find the time to be quite honest.

 

[Fuzzlewhumper]

Find a zombie spawner, give the zombies stuff to pickup like cobble or something, when you have 100 (or the exact number of hostile enemies that can spawn in your game world dimension) zombies holding cobble (or whatever) no more hostile mobs can spawn in that dimension.

Unless this has been fixed, it should work fine even in vanilla.

 

[MadDogTen]

With MFFS you don't actually need to force field the whole area. The Defense Station can kill mobs (Only Aggressive is set that way) itself. You may need more then 1 of them to cover an area that big though.

 

[natnif36]

Remember that with Redpower one can make diet covers, and AFAIK one can even make Grass covers with Immibis stuff. So perhaps using these may be useful?
Also you mentioned ripping up and replacing the floor, a Wand of Equal trade is your friend here.

Remember that NEI apes you to see exactly where
Mobs can spawn, and therefore you can put the preventative measures in these places only, such as dirt slabs wherever light level is below 8.

 

[davidmeow2]

MFFS defense station would probably work

 

[Phantom27]

What I like to do sometimes is put the block I want to use for the floor underneath a layer of glass blocks. That way you can have the block type of your choice, as well as a way to prevent mobs from spawning. Warded glass has a really clear texture and you can barely see it, so I would recommend that if you'd like to hide the glass as much as possible. I like using it with dark blocks underneath, such as black or dark gray warded blocks. Xy-glass is also pretty nice if it's easier for you to get.

 

[enneract]

I'm actually working on a mod to do exactly this. At the moment I have a global whitelist of blocks that mobs are allowed to spawn on. I've got a few features in the works, notable per-mob whitelist or blacklist (as well as global whitelist or blacklist), and a block that functions like a chunkloader and prohibits mob spawns in chunks containing it (or configurably adjacent)

 

[wolfsilver00]

Half slabs, they're cheap and prevent mob spawning. Oh, and you can't make an underground village. Just saying. You would need to make vertical tunnels to connect to light for villagers to recognize houses.. And that would look pretty badly.

 

[wolfsilver00]

Um, if im not wrong, the zombie swarm can be prevented with the use of halfslabs (any type).. But i don't know of other transparent or xycraft blocks :/

Yeah, it may work that way, but is still too much effort and it will not be "underground" because you willl have light comming from the sky in pillars in every door... And if we take count that for a villager there needs to be 3 doors, it would 3 pillars for villagers (mining it with miner would be the best solution, but still it will take time) and i don't think it would look cool at all.. Leave uderground living for steve or cave bees xD