Turtle that can be controlled from another dimension?!

[gavjenks]

So this is an idea I had for a system that would allow you to send a turtle into the world from another dimension like the end, have it do stuff, and then call it back to your dimension to repgrogram it and send it out again, without having to go there yourself.

Overhead schematic:

[] BB EC Tr Dp [] CC    (+Anchor somewhere)

WR      WR WR

 

Dp = Deployer

Tr = Transposer

BB = Block breaker

EC = Enderchest

WR = Wireless Receiever

CC = a stationary computercraft computer

[] = Spot where turtle would come or go

So the turtle has a little home base in the overworld that looks like this. It wanders around doing whatever you told it to do. Then every so often, or after completing a mission, it returns here (you would need to code very responsible location updating code that keeps track of where the turtle tried to move and if it got falses returned, etc.).

When it returns, it checks the wireless signal on the left. If it is off, then it is free to continue its programming if any. Otherwise it sits there and checks in again later.

If the signal is on, then the turtle sends a redstone pulse forward, breaking itself and moving itself into the ender chest. As long as you have given your turtle a computer label (>>label set [name]), it will keep all of its programs when it breaks into an item. Then you just scoop it out of the same chest in the End, program it new things, etc.

To send it back, you place it back in the chest, and activate the second wireless signal (which is set on the two receivers on the right hand side). You hit the frequency twice. Once pulls the turtle from the chest to the deployer. The second places the turtle in the overworld again.

The stationary computer then constantly (every few seconds) runs a command to turn on the computer next to it. Thus it will turn on the turtle which will commence running its startup code.

Note: if the turtle carries 2 world anchors and leapfrogs them as it moves, it can go anywhere in the world unaccompanied.

[LazDude2012]

The second receiver on the right could be done with redwire, but wow! This is a well thought out idea, and I'm impressed!

[The_DarthMoogle]

That's just insane...

I can just have turtles scout the nether on their own forever now.

I shall report back with findings and scripts :D

[andrewdonshik]

The only issue here is that non-player entities don't load different dimensions on SSP. This might work when 1.3 comes out, but for now, to do things in the nether, you need to be in the nether.

[thevortex]

its filed under the 'Tekkit' banner i assume this is geared towards SMP

[andrewdonshik]

its filed under the 'Tekkit' banner i assume this is geared towards SMP

True, but even then, someone needs to be in said dimension for it to work.

[gavjenks]

Yes, this would not work very well for scouting the end or the nether from the overworld.

The original reason I designed it was the other way around, though: I live in the End now, and I have barricaded off all entrances / it is inconvenient to travel back and forth. Therefore I designed this system to help me interact in a cool way with the OVERWORLD from the End. Since there is almost always somebody else on the server playing the game in the overworld, it will work just fine.

If I am online by myself, then no, it wouldn't (or in SSP). You're totally right.

In terms of practical uses, the server I play on has EE enabled, so there's not really any good reason I need to interact with the overworld. But if you didn't have EE, this could be somewhat useful for doing various mining setups and stuff in the overworld to get stuff in the End like ores, without having to go there.

Mostly it's just amusing though, to go visit people with a turtle as my emissary =P

[gavjenks]

Actually, new idea:

If the stationary computer in the above diagram is instead another turtle, who always stays in the overworld and tags along behind the first turtle, then you could actually move the entire base around, instead of having it located in a fixed position. The permanent overworld turtle's job is to turn on the migrant turtle when it arrives, AND to set up and pack up the whole system of devices here to move the turtle portal around as desired.

Much more practically useful that way. Turtle could be given a generic search mission, and when it finds something interesting, it comes back and you reprogram it to deal with that thing, and then it can go deal with it immediately instead of having to fly back out there again.

The only problem with this is that turtles can't set wireless frequencies. However, this is solvable, if a bit more complicated: instead of wireless you could use another enderchest with a constantly ticking transposer and an item detector, which essentially works as a wireless system. The "frequency" is just the particular item you send through that the detector is looking for.

New setup:

[] BB EC Tr Dp [] Tu(+Anchor)

EC--Dt    |--'

    Tr+t  Dt--EC

    EC    Tr+t

          EC

 

Dp = Deployer

Dt = Item Detector

| and - = Wire

Tr = Transposer

Tr+t = Transposer + timer

Tu = Turtle

BB = Block breaker

EC = Enderchest

[] = Spot where turtle would come or go

This requires 9 kinds of blocks/items to set up (including the world anchor and a screwdriver that can be used in a temporary deployer to allow a turtle to orient RP machines). Which means it will juuuuust barely all fit in the basecamp turtle's inventory to be packed up and moved. The item used for the detector would have to be one of these things though (e.g. a screwdriver =P)

The extra two enderchests are just a valid place for the detected items to go. It wouldn't actually work like this. You'd have to arrange things a bit differently due to not having space to bring any tubes along, but hopefully you get the basic idea.

You could alternatively go ahead and use pneumatic tubes instead of the wires, and make 3 detector lines, then the detected items could just be tubed into the main enderchest (the one where the turtle comes and goes).

[LazDude2012]

Overengineered! I love it! After all, that's what Tekkit is all about. :)

[disconsented]

IIRC turtles have a tendency to "disappear" without any loaders.

[gavjenks]

IIRC turtles have a tendency to "disappear" without any loaders.

IIRC I addressed this in the OP:

Note: if the turtle carries 2 world anchors and leapfrogs them as it moves, it can go anywhere in the world unaccompanied.

they will never be unloaded. Turtle places a world anchor, moves 16 blocks, places another one, goes back, digs the first one and places it 16 ahead of the new one, etc.