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Can Hoppers Pick Up Items Through Slabs in Minecraft? A Comprehensive Guide

Yes, hoppers can pick up items through slabs in Minecraft, but with a crucial caveat! A regular hopper can indeed collect items that are resting on a bottom slab directly above it. This is because a bottom slab does not occupy the full height of a block. The hopper can reach into the unoccupied space and suck up any loose items. However, a hopper cannot collect through a full block or a top slab. For this, you’ll need to employ the more versatile hopper minecart. Let’s dive deeper into the mechanics and nuances of item collection with hoppers and slabs.

Understanding Hopper Mechanics

Before we dissect the specifics of slabs, it’s essential to understand how hoppers function in Minecraft. A hopper is a block used for transferring items between inventories or collecting loose items. It can:

Pick up items that are directly above it.
Move items from its inventory into a container it’s pointed at.
Receive items from a container above it.

The crucial point is the “directly above” clause. Hoppers can only suck up items within a one-block radius above them, but this reach is affected by the presence of partial blocks. A partial block is anything that doesn’t occupy the full cubic space of a standard Minecraft block.

The Slab Exception

This is where slabs come in. A slab is a partial block, specifically half the height of a regular block. There are two types:

Bottom Slab: Sits on the bottom half of the block space.
Top Slab: Sits on the top half of the block space.

Since a bottom slab leaves the top half of the block space empty, a hopper placed directly beneath it can still reach up and collect items sitting on top of the slab. This is because the game considers the item to be within the hopper’s reach.

However, a top slab completely blocks the hopper’s ability to pick up items. It acts as a full block for item collection purposes.

Hopper Minecarts: The Block-Busting Collectors

What if you do need to collect items through a full block? Enter the hopper minecart. This nifty contraption combines a minecart and a hopper, offering unique item collection capabilities.

A hopper minecart can collect item entities through a full block. This means you can place a rail system with a hopper minecart running underneath a floor, and it will suck up any items lying on the floor above. To then extract those items from the hopper minecart, you place a hopper under the track. As the minecart rolls over, the hopper below removes items from the minecart.

Keep in mind the following:

Activator Rails: Be cautious of activator rails. A powered activator rail will lock the hopper minecart, preventing it from picking up items until it passes over an unpowered activator rail.
Speed and Efficiency: Hopper minecarts are generally faster at collecting items over a large area than static hoppers.

Designing Effective Item Collection Systems with Slabs

Understanding these mechanics allows for creative and efficient item collection system designs. For instance, a mob farm could utilize slabs to create a killing floor above hoppers, ensuring all dropped loot is quickly collected.

Here are a few design considerations:

Mob Farms: Use bottom slabs as the floor of your mob farm, placing hoppers underneath. This allows items to fall onto the slabs and be immediately collected.
Storage Systems: Incorporate slabs into your storage system layout to optimize space and item flow.
Aesthetic Designs: Slabs can also be used to hide hoppers discreetly while maintaining their functionality.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

To further clarify the nuances of hoppers and slabs, here are 15 frequently asked questions.

Can a hopper collect items through a full block? No, a standard hopper cannot collect items through a full block. You need to use a hopper minecart for that.
Will a hopper pick up items through a carpet? Yes! Hoppers can collect items through carpet because carpet does not take up a full block space.
Can hoppers collect items through magma blocks? No. Magma blocks are a full-sized block. Hopper minecarts can be used in this instance.
Can a hopper minecart pick up items through multiple blocks? No. A hopper minecart is only effective for one solid block.
What happens if a hopper is blocked? If a hopper is blocked, meaning it cannot transfer items into the container it is pointing at, it will stop picking up items from above until the blockage is cleared.
Can hoppers collect experience orbs? No, hoppers cannot collect experience orbs.
How far can a hopper reach to collect items? A hopper can reach one full block above it, but this is affected by partial blocks like slabs and carpets.
Can a hopper collect items through water? Yes, hoppers can collect items through water.
Does the direction a hopper faces matter for collection? The direction a hopper faces only matters for where it outputs items, not for what it collects.
Can hoppers collect from chests directly above them? Yes, a hopper placed directly below a chest will collect items from it, pulling them downward.
Can a hopper be used to automate crop harvesting? Yes, hoppers can be used to automate crop harvesting by placing them beneath the farmland to collect dropped crops.
Can I use hoppers with command blocks? Hoppers cannot directly interact with command blocks.
Can hoppers work in unloaded chunks? Hoppers can transport items through unloaded chunks, but the initial pickup might be delayed until the chunk is loaded.
Why isn’t my hopper picking up items? Check if the hopper is powered (redstone signal), if its inventory is full, if it’s facing the right direction, or if there’s a blockage in the output. Also verify if there is a full block over the Hopper.
Are hoppers laggy? Hoppers can contribute to lag if used excessively, especially in complex systems. Optimize your designs to minimize the number of hoppers in constant operation.

Advancing Your Game Knowledge

Understanding the intricacies of game mechanics, like those surrounding hoppers and slabs, is crucial for advanced gameplay and innovative design. These types of deeper learnings can be applied to other areas of the game and to problem solving in general. To explore more about how games can enhance learning and problem-solving skills, check out the Games Learning Society at GamesLearningSociety.org. The Games Learning Society is committed to advancing knowledge of how games impact education and cognitive development.

Conclusion

In conclusion, hoppers are versatile tools in Minecraft, but their interaction with slabs requires a nuanced understanding. Remember, hoppers can collect through bottom slabs, while hopper minecarts can collect through full blocks. By mastering these mechanics, you can create efficient and innovative item collection systems, elevating your Minecraft gameplay to new heights. Understanding the nuances of item collection is essential for efficient resource management, and designing automated systems. With these concepts and tools, the sky is truly the limit!

Can hoppers pick up blocks through slabs?