Yardsticks

Quickstart

Craft a trigger at a crafting table, then place it where you want the ruler to begin. It activates automatically: the trigger becomes 1, followed by numbered blocks extending in its direction.

• Place UP at the bottom of a clear vertical space to measure upward.
• Place DOWN in a clear cell beside a block to measure downward.
• Place FLAT above the ground to trace a horizontal route. Face the direction you want before placing it.

Try FLAT on uneven ground first: it follows the terrain instead of making a level row. Each ruler can place up to 50 numbered blocks.

Overview

Yardsticks is a temporary measuring and marking tool. It provides three placeable triggers—UP, DOWN, and FLAT—and numbered blocks from 1 to 50. Triggers activate on placement; there is no menu or extra item to use.

What It Adds

• UP, DOWN, and FLAT trigger blocks.
• Numbered blocks 1–50, with a single number on each face.
• A dark green-black background (#000100) and bright yellow lettering (#FFFC00).
• Numbered blocks that emit full block light (level 15), have no entity collision, and can be replaced by ordinary placed blocks.

Crafting And Obtaining

All three triggers are shapeless crafting-table recipes and use easy-to-find materials:

The triggers and numbered blocks are also available in the Creative inventory.

Abilities And Mechanics

• UP keeps the same X and Z coordinates and places each next number one block higher. It stops at a solid obstruction or the dimension’s height limit.
• DOWN keeps X and Z fixed and places each next number one block lower. It stops before solid terrain or another obstruction.
• FLAT captures your horizontal facing when placed, snapping it to the nearest of eight compass directions. It advances one block per number in cardinal directions, or one block along each axis for diagonal directions. Your viewing pitch does not change the route.
• For FLAT, 1 stays at the trigger cell. Later numbers sit above the selected surface: the top of solid ground, the surface of water, or—if both your feet and head are submerged when you place it—the solid underwater surface. The ruler can change height as it follows terrain.
• Rulers do not clear terrain or structures. If the next required cell is obstructed, the ruler stops there; shortened rulers keep their consecutive numbering from 1.
• Each ruler lasts 90 seconds of gameplay. At an intersection, the newer ruler replaces the older number at that cell and owns it until its own expiration; the rest of the older ruler remains. Expiration removes only blocks still owned by that ruler.
• If you remove or replace a numbered block, it will not regenerate, and expiration will not overwrite your replacement. Water displaced by a ruler is restored when its block expires, provided the cell is still unchanged. Rulers remain stationary in the dimension where they were placed, and expired markers are cleaned up as their areas become accessible again.