Minecraft is a popular sandbox video game that allows players to create their own worlds and structures using various building blocks.
One of the most common tasks in Minecraft is mining, which can be done manually or with the help of automated machines.
In this blog post, we will be discussing how to create a mining turtle in Minecraft using ComputerCraft and Lua programming language.
Specifically, we will walk through the step-by-step process of creating a CC Tweaked Lua script that allows a turtle to mine a rectangular shape, and explain each line of code.
Step 1: Define Variables
The first step is to define the maximum values for X, Y, and Z coordinates that will determine the size of the rectangular shape that the turtle will mine.
These values will be passed as command line arguments when the Lua script is executed in Minecraft.
The following line of code initializes these variables:
lua
local maxX,maxY,maxZ = …
The ellipsis (…) is a Lua keyword that captures all of the command line arguments passed to the script as a table.
In this case, we are expecting three values for maxX, maxY, and maxZ.
Step 2: Convert String Arguments to Numbers
The next step is to convert the string values of maxX, maxY, and maxZ to numbers using the tonumber() function.
This is necessary because the turtle functions we will be using later require numerical values.
The following code accomplishes this:
lua
maxX = tonumber(maxX)
maxY = tonumber(maxY)
maxZ = tonumber(maxZ)
Step 3: Define Movement Functions
The turtle will need to move forward and up in order to mine the rectangular shape. However, if there are blocks in its path, it will need to dig them out first.
To handle this, we define two functions: forward() and up().
Both of these functions check if the turtle is able to move in the desired direction using the turtle.forward() and turtle.up() functions respectively.
If the function returns false, it means there is a block in the way, so the turtle digs the block using turtle.dig() or turtle.digUp() and then moves forward or up again.
The code for these functions is as follows:
lua
local function forward()
local result = turtle.forward()
if result == false then
turtle.dig()
turtle.forward()
end
end
local function up()
local result = turtle.up()
if result == false then
turtle.digUp()
turtle.up()
end
end
Step 4: Mining Loop
The main loop of the script will handle the actual mining of the rectangular shape.
It begins by setting the initial Y coordinate to 0:
lua
y = 0
Then it enters a while loop that will continue until the turtle has mined the entire height of the rectangular shape.
Within this loop, there are two nested for loops that will move the turtle along the X and Z axes to mine the entire area.
lua
while y < maxY do
for z = 2, maxZ do
for x = 2, maxX do
forward()
end
if z % 2 == 0 then
turtle.turnRight()
forward()
turtle.turnRight()
else
turtle.turnLeft()
forward()
turtle.turnLeft()
end
end
for x = 2, maxX do
forward()
end
y = y+1
if y < maxY then
up()
turtle.turnRight()
turtle.turnRight()
end
end
Within the for loops, the forward() function is called to move the turtle along the X-axis.
After the turtle has mined the entire row, it turns around using turtle.turnRight() or turtle.turnLeft() depending on whether the Z-coordinate is even or odd, and then moves forward along the Z-axis.
This process repeats until the turtle has mined the entire rectangular shape.
After each Z-axis row has been mined, the turtle returns to the starting X-coordinate by moving forward the same number of blocks as the maxX value.
Then it moves up one block along the Y-axis and turns around to face the opposite direction using turtle.turnRight() twice.
This process repeats until the turtle has mined the entire height of the rectangular shape.
Step 5: Return to Starting Position
After the turtle has mined the entire rectangular shape, it needs to return to the starting position.
This is done by first turning around using turtle.turnRight() twice, and then moving down along the Y-axis until it reaches the starting Y-coordinate:
lua
turtle.turnRight()
turtle.turnRight()
y = maxY
for i = 2, maxY do
turtle.down()
end
Once the turtle has reached the starting Y-coordinate, it moves forward along the X-axis until it reaches the starting X-coordinate:
lua
for i = 2, maxX do
turtle.forward()
end
Finally, it turns right and moves forward along the Z-axis until it reaches the starting Z-coordinate:
lua
turtle.turnRight()
for i = 2, maxZ do
turtle.forward()
end
turtle.turnRight()
Conclusion
By following the step-by-step guide outlined in this blog post, you can create a mining turtle in Minecraft using ComputerCraft and Lua programming language.
The turtle will mine a rectangular shape of any size specified by the user, and return to the starting position once it has completed the task.
This script can be modified to suit your specific needs and can be used to automate mining tasks in Minecraft.