Why can't I get Zombie Pigmen to spawn?

Question

I have spent the last several days making a Zombie Pigman Grinder/Gold Farm. this is on Minecraft SMP, and so this took a while. Now it is built, and I cannot get any Zombie pigmen to spawn for the life of me. I have waited at the base/ collection area of the trap for 10 minutes - and none spawned. Here are some screenshots of the trap:

This is the base of the trap, where the Zombie pigmen fall, and I can collect the gold nuggets here.

Looking up at the top of the trap. Basic working principle is that the pigmen spawn up there in the spawning area and walk onto the open gates as if they were solid blocks, then fall 30 blocks to their death.

Spawning Area, from the right side.

Spawning area, from the left side.

I know that they are spawning because there are a lot outside. I'm playing on the server 50.56.92.111, on Normal difficulty. Thanks so much for taking the time to help me solve my problem!

Asked by William

Answer

The answer you are looking for is hidden inside you own question: "there are a lot outside". The game randomly checks places to put mobs and since the outside is much larger than your trap, most of the zombie pigmen spawn there. The mob limit is exhausted pretty much instantly and the game doesn't spawn any more, unless some of the existing mobs de-spawn or get killed.

You will get zombie pigmen to spawn in your trap eventually, but you may have to wait hours for just a few spawns. You need to prevent spawning outside your trap to improve rates of your trap. This is very difficult to do in the nether, since you can't use light or water to prevent spawning. That is why you don't see zombie pigmen traps, building one is a monumental project. Notice for example here a huge area is covered with half-slabs to prevent spawning.

The spawnable area is +/- 8 chunks from each chunk where there is a player (minus the chunks on the edges of that area). If a single player is online, mobs spawn in 240x240 blocks area centered on the player chunk, that is roughly +/- 120 blocks from the player.

Answered by Kcats

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When do Snow Golems despawn in Minecraft?

Question

Long ago, I created a large batch of snow golems and let them wander. I don't see them any more. Recently, a boxed snow golem in my home vanished. I thought they lasted forever, but apparently not.

When exactly do snow golems despawn?

The only discusssion of despawning I could find on Minecraft Wiki clearly does not apply to Snow Golems since they last much longer than one minute.

(Please answer with experimental or code evidence (your own or a link), not just passing on what you've heard. There are a lot of urban legends.)

Asked by Kevin Reid

Answer

Based on the fact that my latest boxed golem has stuck around since I asked this question, my conclusion is that they do not despawn under any ordinary circumstances.

The disappearance must have been a glitch — or perhaps a skeleton got in, killed the golem, and despawned itself.

Answered by Kevin Reid

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When does a monster spawner activate in minecraft?

Question

On the minecraft wiki entry for monster spawners, there is this statement:

A monster spawner is only active when a player is within a distance of 16 blocks from the spawner (where distance is calculated the standard (euclidean) way)

Does this calculation take into account vertical distance as well as horizontal distance?

Answer

To test this, I built a tower over some spawners and stayed directly over them about 15-20 blocks higher than they are.

As you can see, the flames have disappeared (and the spawners quit spinning, but you can't tell that from a picture), indicating that they are no longer spawning, despite me being directly over them.

So yes, it does take into account vertical distance.

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Bukkit plugin to control which mobs spawn?

Question

I'd like mobs to spawn on my server: just skeletons and zombies though. I don't want those meddling creepers putting pockmarks in our architecture.

Is there a (current and up-to-date) server-side Bukkit plugin to control which mobs can spawn, and which cannot?

Answer

WorldGuard (Download) appears to have the ability to prevent certain mobs from spawning
(Control+F -> "block-creature-spawn").

At the time of this writing, it appears to be up to date.

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How are SC2 start locations fair?

Question

If I spawn at the 12 oclock position typically the mineral line is above my hatchery/nexus/command center. The workers have to run all the way around the structure to get those sweet blue crystals. If I spawn at 6 oclock, they're right there.

This seems like it would also affect future drones hatching from eggs on the wrong side of the base.

Doesn't this result in faster mining in the southern bases?

Answer

There are always some differences in starting locations. Hatchery position is only one of many. Another things - ramp position, configuration of air zone over base (on some locations it's usually bigger that others).

I believe that even on high-top-levels such things aren't statistically significant.

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What is the spawn code for pine wood in Minecraft?

Question

What spawn code do I need to use to spawn pine sapling in multiplayer? On some website I saw something like 17-1 (17 for the sapling, and 1 for pine since 1 is the type of a sapling).. But when I try spawning 17-1, i get the "There's no item with id 17-1" message. Oh and I tried googleing, but can't find the code anywhere.. Hints? Thank you.

(using up-to-date Minecraft 1.7)

Answer

You can't spawn things with special data attached in the base game, such as pine saplings or colored wool.

You need a mod, like bukkit.

Then, the command would be /give BlueRaja 6:1 64

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