Mesecons is a electronics mod for voxel game engine minetest, primarily aimed for use with default minetest game and it’s deriatives. Gameplay of this mod focuses mainly on creating contraptions that combine blocks interacting with game world, wires that transmit signals between them, and logic elements that can change signals.

Video Link to heading

Theory Link to heading

Mesecons add nodes, or in other words, blocks, that are divided into four main categories:

• Receptors make signals
• Effectors are doing something when they receive signals
• Conductors are relaying signals to connect receptors and effectors
• And logic elements are acting as both receptor and effector, and make signals based on received signals

Conductors Link to heading

Conductors are blocks that relay signals non-directinally.

• Wires - four sides horizontally, can go one block up or down

• Vertical wires - vertically, bottom and top parts become a platform that relays to the four sides horizontally

• Mese blocks - six sides

• Insulated wires (+crossing and corners) - two sides based on rotation (crossing acts like two separate Insulated wires in one block)

Receptors Link to heading

Receptors ouput signal based on their condition.

• Power plant - always

• Blinky plant - switches every three seconds

• Switch and lever - switched by right click

• Button - pressed by right click, but unpressed after some time

• Solar panel - light detector

• Water turbine - flowing water detector

• Node (Block) detector

Effectors Link to heading

Receptors do action when they receive signal.

• Lamp, lightstones - light up

• Noteblock - makes sound based on what block is below

• Piston - extends and pushes one block

• Sticky Piston - can also retract block

• Movestone - moves to a direction based on what side signal comes from

• Sticky Movestone - can also take blocks from sticky sides with it (ALL blocks connected from sticky sides, not just one)

• Command block - executes server command based on privelegies of person from placed it

• Door - opens

Logic Link to heading

Logic elements are both receptors and effectors, their condition on being receptor is based on getting signal as effector. Basically, they change signals.

• AND Gate - outputs only if it gets 2 signals

• OR Gate - outputs if it gets at least 1 signal

• NOT Gate - outputs only if it gets no signal

• NAND Gate - does no output if it gets 2 signals

• NOR Gate - does no output if it gets at least 1 signal

• XOR Gate - outputs if gets only 1 signal out of 2

• Lua Controller - lua programming language interpreter, four sides can act as inputs or outputs

• FPGA - allows putting up to 14 logical primitives inside, four sides can act as inputs or outputs

• Diode - only allows signal to be relayed in one direction

Practice Link to heading

Then, let us make a simple 3 by 3 door using movestones.

1. First, place 3 by 3 blocks of choice. It will be the visible part of door.

2. Then, dig 3 by 7 hole underneath (7 being the depth), and some blocks to move around here

3. Place 3 by 3 sticky vertical movestones directly below door blocks.

4. Then, check which of wide sides of them will move movestones down and place 3 mese blocks (or other conductors) at that side of 3 bottom movestones

5. On the opposite side place 3 conductors one block deeper (image is wrong and shows opened door position)

6. Add NOT gate before side that moves up

7. Connect NOT gate and opposite side directly to the switch or another receptor of choice

8. Fill up additional holes (not 3 by 7 one), add walls and ceiling. Ceiling should have one block gap above door itself or it will be moved by movestones.

You can improve the design, for example by making pistons or ghoststones hide that gap, but generally, it works pretty well and fast. Also, you can scale the same mechanism infinitely, with drawback that it needs at least three times as much space as visible door part does, not counting mese lines and gaps.