talkingsoup Posted January 12 Report Posted January 12 So I play with both vertical and horizontal soil instability because it's funnier that way, but I've been very curious about how it actually works. Sometimes I can climb up loose dirt out of a pit without triggering a collapse, sometimes I can't. Sand and gravel seem to be more unstable than loose dirt, but other times dirt seems just as unstable. I thought maybe the presence of grass or trees might simulate a root system that would prevent a collapse, but that doesn't seem to be the case as I've seen a whole pit collapse while leaving several floating trees. I've seen landslides that seem to happen randomly without any trigger at all, just like real life. I'm just curious how it works. Is there a percentage chance of a dirt block collapsing based on entity/player interaction? Is it based on block updates or server ticks? Is it algorithmic? Does rainfall or moisture affect it at all? Is there a way to mitigate it when climbing up or down hillsides, or even potentially make it worse? Could I on purpose trigger an entire landslip to bury those pesky wolves? I'm just so curious about the back-end stuff that goes into making it work and what factors affect whether a block slips or not.
EmperorPingu Posted January 13 Report Posted January 13 Consider the 9 blocks directly beneath the dirt block in question... If the one directly beneath the dirt is gone - the dirt falls. If any of the others (8 spaces) are not filled by another block, then there is a chance that the block falls into one of those spaces. The block gets updated whenever you jump on it (walk on it as well I think), or place another block next to it. It does seem to be random without fixed laws it just becomes increasingly less likely that it will stay put the more empty spaces there are 2 blocks down from where it is. Generally it's okay on the side of hills but not a guarantee. Get used to jumping a lot because you can mitigate some of the fallout if you jump immedietly after landing on a block - the block may still fall but you'd land on the block underneath it rather than having that block fling you down the side of a mountain for example. Not certain, but my guess would be that the likelihood of a dirt/sand block sliding down would be somewhat akin to the system used with cave ins in that it is essentially a probability based on a number of conditional factors. Good luck, and well done for picking the only respectable way to play the game! >:) (Cave ins and soil instability are the only ways to play - everyone else can fight me over it >:0) 1
IAmMoss Posted January 15 Report Posted January 15 On 1/13/2026 at 12:39 PM, EmperorPingu said: Consider the 9 blocks directly beneath the dirt block in question... If the one directly beneath the dirt is gone - the dirt falls. If any of the others (8 spaces) are not filled by another block, then there is a chance that the block falls into one of those spaces. The block gets updated whenever you jump on it (walk on it as well I think), or place another block next to it. It does seem to be random without fixed laws it just becomes increasingly less likely that it will stay put the more empty spaces there are 2 blocks down from where it is. Generally it's okay on the side of hills but not a guarantee. Get used to jumping a lot because you can mitigate some of the fallout if you jump immedietly after landing on a block - the block may still fall but you'd land on the block underneath it rather than having that block fling you down the side of a mountain for example. Not certain, but my guess would be that the likelihood of a dirt/sand block sliding down would be somewhat akin to the system used with cave ins in that it is essentially a probability based on a number of conditional factors. Good luck, and well done for picking the only respectable way to play the game! >:) (Cave ins and soil instability are the only ways to play - everyone else can fight me over it >:0) my favorite part of soil instability is when an entity or mob steps on a random block in a field and my game drops to 2 frames because there's like 500 dirt blocks falling into a chasm 1
EmperorPingu Posted January 15 Report Posted January 15 1 minute ago, IAmMoss said: my favorite part of soil instability is when an entity or mob steps on a random block in a field and my game drops to 2 frames because there's like 500 dirt blocks falling into a chasm That's actually a very valid reason.
talkingsoup Posted January 15 Author Report Posted January 15 19 hours ago, IAmMoss said: my favorite part of soil instability is when an entity or mob steps on a random block in a field and my game drops to 2 frames because there's like 500 dirt blocks falling into a chasm This happened to me just yesterday, I watched a shiver trigger the largest collapse I've ever seen and bury like four of its friends. Must have been like 200 blocks. 1
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