[MC-88843] Items don't move up when stuck in block

When items are inside blocks they used to move upwards.
This was changed (probably related to the changes for MC-73302) in the recent snapshot.

Steps to reproduce
1. Build up a 3x3 out of some full block on the floor.
2. Punch out the center block.
3. Throw an item in. Looks like this now:

[media]

4. Place the block in the center again.

[media]

5. The item does not move up as it used to.

Why is this an issue?
As mentioned on MC-73302, item elevators are widely used among players. While I understand why test137E29's fence item elevator got fixed along with the bug, I think that it would make sense to keep the feature of moving items inside blocks upwards to allow for item elevators in general.
Also just imagine a situation where TNT blows up sand. The items dropped would be stuck inside the blocks that fall down from on top. It would be nicer if the items would find their way to the surface.

An alternative idea
What also could also be done to enable easier item elevation would be to make items able to get flushed up half blocks.
Basically just setting their step height to 0.6.
I know this is an entirely different feature request, but it is related to the issue people have with this change.

Linked issues

is duplicated by 2

MC-88854 Floating/Broken blocks/items unmovable Resolved

MC-88878 Broken blocks don't float up anymore Resolved

relates to 2

MC-118411 Non cubic blocks do not properly push out items Open

MC-123320 Items do not move through blocks smoothly Open

Attachments

Comments 21

Boompoet 2015-09-16T16:46:37Z

The only reliable way of moving items upwards was this "bug". Every other elevator type has failed under heavy use. We need this back.

sancarn 2015-09-16T16:55:53Z

@Boompoet - Not really true... Dropper elevators don't fail at all. And if you have large volumes of items then you just need to increase the number of dropper elevators you're using 🙂.

It doesn't particularly matter if this remains this way it's just not ideal and will break many people's worlds 🙂

Boompoet 2015-09-16T17:00:53Z

@sancarn, With respect, Just last week I had the standard dropper elevator fail repeatedly and after much reconfiguration and testing with a high volume Guardian farm. A glass block elevator elevator was the only one I have found that has not stopped working or backed up.

Toni Täubert 2015-09-16T17:34:17Z

This is the darkest day in the history of minecraft 😞 All good Farms are broken. please Mojang, fix these bugs!!!!!

sancarn 2015-09-16T17:49:36Z

@Boompoet - What's standard? And how did it fail? If your droppers stopped working then file a bug report. There is no reason for a dropper elevator to fail except from how you wired it.

11 more comments

fienxjox 2015-09-16T18:31:41Z

Unfortunately based on word from @unknown himself on MC-1230 this is now the intended functionality.

Things will not get pushed up when they get stuck in a block. They will prefer to fall down.
I think the current behaviour is at least predictable 🙂

Theron Trowbridge 2015-09-16T18:57:51Z

I understand items preferring to fall down, but if there is no way for them to go down, placed blocks will not displace them at all. Meaning the items share the same space as a placed block. This does not make sense from a physics standpoint. As long as I can remember, placed blocks have always displaced floating items.

This intended functionality feels more like a bug, and it makes mining and building in game much more difficult.

Erik Broes 2015-09-16T19:00:58Z

Mmm placed blocks should displace them.

I'll look into it.

Alejandro Acosta 2015-09-16T19:11:28Z

Wich pretty much means aswell, that you can no longer save diamonds falling to lava, doing a Zisteu kind move, by having a fast reaction and placing a block in the hole before the item completely falls thru it. ?

So It might not be a mather only about Farms and contraptions, but as a mechanic we use while we Mine or basicly play the game.

Meri Diana 2015-09-16T19:18:59Z

Alejandro, Mr. Broes from Mojang just wrote 10 minutes before you that it should displace item when you place blocks, so he's going to look into it };]

Btw, regarding fast reaction/item saving:
I'd probably rather use a waterbucket I always got on my hotbar while doing dangerous stuff, even more when I'm mining for diamonds, I'd turn all lava into obsidian before around diamonds or cover it up with cobble, in case I'd like to make use of the lava itself later, e.g. for smelting.

MojoBeast 2015-09-16T19:20:44Z

Upvoted. Pretty sure the snapshot as currently released would be my cue to quit making things in vanilla Minecraft. This will break so much stuff that I and others have made, and for what gain?

When hoppers were introduced, there should have been a legit, lossless mechanism to transport items upward. Absent such an obviously useful component, is it surprising that so many designs rely on the glass item elevator?

There is precedent here: the piston BUD is and always has been a bug, but the game has never had a legitimate redstone component to achieve the same behaviour. Hence the exploitation of the bug in so many designs that it is now impossible to remove from the game, despite the undesirable limitations it places on the use of pistons, droppers and dispensers.

My suggestion: keep the behaviour, or (better) provide a new block to achieve the same end (a water pipe, perhaps?)

Erik Broes 2015-09-16T19:27:45Z

Fixulated!

Meri Diana 2015-09-16T22:22:57Z

yay Panda doesn't get murdered by the tech community anymore \ö/

Thank you Mr. Broes }=)

Enrico Ancilotto 2015-09-17T15:53:59Z

Still broken, playing in 15w38b. I should note that I'm using a fence not a full block, in the standard item elevator. It used to work at least in 15w37a

Panda4994 2015-09-17T16:06:32Z

The behaviour inside fences was based on a heavy and far reaching bug.
Fences have space there where the items can lie. The items are only intended the fly up if they are stuck inside blocks.

In general item elevators work again in 15w38b. Just the simple design by test137E29 won't anymore. But as mentioned that was based on a heavy bug, so I won't expect to get it back.

Enrico Ancilotto 2015-09-17T16:15:03Z

Oh ok, I don't think it's a good idea but guess it's not my game

Lift Pizzas 2015-09-17T16:51:38Z

Or just do what should have been done ages ago and add some vertical and horizontal pipes to the game.

Panda4994 2015-09-17T17:26:54Z

Yeah, it's always annoying when you have to rebuild things because of bug fixes, but item elevators like this one should still work fine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8SKJCP-SCw

So it's a fix we should be able to live with (especially because of all the positive effects of it), I think 🙂

Theron Trowbridge 2015-09-17T21:22:56Z

Thank you! Things make sense again in 15w38b.

I agree with @panda4994 - It's a bit of an inconvenience to have to tweak item elevators, but given that was based on a bug that caused other more serious issues, I can deal with it.

Mason Ginter 2015-09-20T17:28:59Z

IDK if you'd allow this, but if there were a petition made, would you return these mechanics back to the previous form? I'm sure there is a gigantic community that will be upset about this change, and I doubt the other communities that play minecraft would have much of a problem with this going back to the way it was

fienxjox 2015-09-20T17:40:30Z

You can go to the Minecraft Suggestions reddit and post there, but given the issues this fixes there is almost no way it would be reverted. Given people have already developed item elevators using very close to the previous design there really is no reason.