How to build a better Train

[sirrliv]

Calling all helpful Blocklinders,
I am in need of some assistance.
As we all know, moving trains are still a distant dream, and possibly an impossible one, due to the way Blockland is designed. However, that does not have to stop us from building stationary ones, which is where this post comes in.

See, here's the deal. I've been playing with Blockland for some months now and if I'm honest, I've found myself to be rather n00bish when it comes to major builds. But I do have ambition, and I wish to put it to use. All I need is a little advice.

My idea is to build a large railway station, complete with a number of trains. I've seen train builds around the board, and even visited a server some time agothat featured some very nice German-style trains, but a few details have me stymied. Chief among these are:
1. General scale (i.e. how big the cars, engines, and such should be): I'm reasonably sure of a width of 8 studs, and the length depends on the individual car. It's primarily the height that's giving me headaches.
2. The wheels: Both the steam engine's driving wheels and car's wheels.

I've been studying other people's builds, as well as the innumerable works posted on http://www.brickshelf.com/ for inspiration and research, but have found only limited success. That's why I'm asking for a few helpful comments, a bit of assisting advice that will help steer me right.

Any helpful posts will be accepted with gratitude. However, posts by starfishs and n00bs will not. I will not hesitate to lock this thread if things get out of control.

[Ad Bot]

[Falcondude]

I find it quite useful to compare an object's height to a typical human's. If the train is double a human's height, then make it double a blockland character's height, meaning 10 studs. It usually helps with scaling them.

[SuperSnake117]

YES! Someone who is not a complete friend!

Anyways, good builds are not spammy. Use bigger bricks that look good. For instance, don't build a wall out of 1x1s or 1x1x5s. Use atleast a 1x4x5. They're those tall bricks down at the bottom of the bricks on the first menu in the brick selector.

Try to make your builds look neat and organized. Don't go crazy with FX paints, only use it for necessary things.

[iFool]

Here it is again:

@iFool: I'd gladly look at your build, if the link still existed.

EDIT2: I personally am not in MotE and this is not my build; just posting for reference.

Built by: Ministry, Sensei, Bacon and serveral other MotE members.

[sirrliv]

Thanks to all who have posted so far.

@Falcondude: Thanks for the tip. Seems most people making regular buildings use a height of 7 studs. Personally, I think 6 high would work better for train bodies.

@SuperSnake117: I sympathise with you, and appreciate your praise. However, I must confess that I find your advice a bit mainstream in that it's stuff I already know. I'm not a complete n00b, ya know.

@iFool: I'd gladly look at your build, if the link still existed.

Thanks for the advice people. I think we've covered part 1. Now, if you could start giving advice on part 2. and any other train-related build topics, I'd appreciate it.

Here are a couple more examples of the stuff I'm using for inspiration:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=30319 - Rheingold Express
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=341354 - Nice station platforms, intend to duplicate.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=12156 and
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=11092
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=12166 - Very nice German stock.

Sub-question 1. Anyone have an easy way to convert MP3 files into something that Blockland will recognize?

[Wedge]

Yes. Google a program called audacity. Import an MP3, convert it to a mono track, and export it in ogg format.