Three new things are live this week. A lot of new players have been trying to join Emerland lately 😉 so… Spawn Gates and few more things. Here’s what’s changed and how it works.
Spawn Gates: a safe start for new players
Emerland and NE3
When you join as a new player, you start in the spawn zone. Four glowing Boundary Stones mark its edges. Inside the zone you’re in adventure mode, and you can’t leave it on foot, by pearl, by elytra or by boat. If you walk into the edge you’ll be bounced back in. Also you can’t get through any Nether portals at spawn for now.
Getting out: step into a Gate, one of the crying-obsidian portals at spawn. Stand in it for few seconds, like a nether portal, and you’ll be taken to its far end, 300,000+ blocks away, in survival mode.
Once we trust you and you get the emerald tag, none of the restrictions apply and you can go anywhere.
- Each gate leads to its own survival area, 200,000 blocks across.
- The Nether works too. It covers the same area divided by 8, so you can build your own nether portals out there.
- Mobs, minecarts and items all come through the gate as with Nether portals.
- If you die without a bed, you go back to spawn. Take the gate again to return.
- The End is off-limits for now.
For emerald players: spawn zone and gates
Peeps with Emerald tag only
You’re the only ones who can place or break Boundary Stones, light gates or break gate frames.
Boundary Stone recipe: a block of redstone in the middle, a diamond above it, and deepslate bricks in the other 7 squares.
Moving the zone: break one stone to switch the zone off, then place four stones on the corners of a rectangle (each side at least 3 blocks, with open air above each stone).
- Keep the world spawn inside the zone.
- Gates only work inside the zone, so moving it can break the gate frames at spawn.
- Make sure the new zone covers every gate you want to keep, or players (and anything they brought through) will be stranded on the other side.
- Relight those gates once the zone is back on.
- Don’t leave the zone off for long either, because newbies can walk out while it’s off.
Building a gate: build a crying obsidian frame inside the zone, the same shape as a nether portal frame (the opening can be from 2×3 up to 21×21). Light it with flint and steel and wait a few seconds for the far end to build. Each gate gets its own survival area. If you break a frame and relight it in the same spot, it reconnects to the same far end.
Waymarks: put your place on the web map
Emerland and NE3
Got a shop, a mall, a farm or a build worth finding? Now you can put it on the web-map.
- Place a sign and write the place’s name on it.
- Use a compass on the sign.
- The sign gets locked, sparkles and makes a sound. That means it’s now a waymark.
The name shows up on the web map the next day, because the map updates every night. Waymarks give off a green sparkle now and then, so should be easy to spot in-game.
- To rename one: break it, place a new sign and repeat the steps.
- To remove one: break it, and it’s taken off the map.
- Shows on the locator bar as little green star.
- Fire, explosions or a missing support block will knock it off.
You need the emerald tag to make waymarks.
The Surveyor’s Lens: coordinates on NE3
NE3 only
Coordinates are turned off on NE3, so you find your way with maps, compasses and lodestones.
The Surveyor’s Lens is an ultra-rare item for those who prefer playing with the coords on. You hold it in either hand and your X / Y / Z appear above the hotbar.
It can’t be crafted. You can only find it in:
- End City chests: about 1 in 10
- Ancient City chests (the deep dark): about 1 in 25
Chests you haven’t opened yet can still have one, even in structures that have already been explored.
It’s a normal item, so it drops when you die and burns in lava. You can also trade it, store it or put it in an item frame.