The Pyramids( Finished at last! )

And have i been busy! First up, i have rebuilt the Great Pyramids of the Giza Necropolis(unfortunately they were too far apart to get the classic Sunset Picture) in Minecraft on a 1:2 scale(Each block in Minecraft is one metre wide by one metre tall by one metre long. For every two metres on the real pyramids i have one. Ie: Menkaure's pyramid(far left) is 100 metres to a side, here it's 50 blocks to a side.) I also use hard research to find out the exact side lengths, and to position them as accurately as possible , with their positions based off each other. They are epic.

Pictures!

My attempt at the classic Giza image.



Seen from miles above.




Making these pyramids made me realise just how hard it was to build the real pyramids. It first ocurred to me when i was filling in Menkaure's (small one) pyramid. I must have placed ten-thousand blocks or so, and i was doing just half the work. In reality, the blocks weighed two-and-a-half tons.I don't know how much the blocks in minecraft weigh, but it is certainly a lot.

Technically they are incomplete (middle and far right pyramids don't have interiors) but that is something for another day.

Big update!!

Sorry i haven't updated in a while! I actually forgot i had this blog, so that's why i haven't updated. Here's what i've been up to, in pictures.



A very,very early picture of my Work In Progress program. That's why the sky's the wrong shade of blue, the ground is perfectly flat, and the pyramid looks wrong. When it's finished, it'll tell you about how pyramids are built, and several egyptian superstitions concerning them.




Here is a picture of my Tutankhamun mask.First, my Granny first drew it out, then i traced it, then traced it again because it wasn't strong enough on the tracing paper, then once i had transferred it it onto the mural, i traced it for a third time, and voila! There you have it. Mind you, it still needs colour, so that's going to be done soon.

A day in the Life of Ra(or Re, or Amon-Re,etc.)

Here it is, as the tile says.

Ra was tired. He always was, after sailing through the Duat, and fighting Apep. But now, he felt lightened, as his boat came over the horizon, and the first light of morning shone upon the Great Pyramids.
Ra smiled at the sight. Dawn always made him feel better, and to see the pyramids light up like stars, that was a grand sight. In the north, he saw smoke in the Land of the Mitanni. Tuthmosis the Second was busy this year, destroying the disbelievers. Then, he turned his eyes to the south. He saw the great cities next to the Nile slowly wake up.

An hour later, he saw he was nearing the valley of Kings. They honour the dead well, thought Ra as he saw the tombs. And then, he looked north again, and saw the mighty temples of Karnak and Luxor. It was the time of the Festival of Opet. Amun's statue was being taken out of the temple, and loaded onto a gold-gilded barque. It would be taken to Amun's other temple, at Luxor. Being over the temple, he could smell the burning incense. He was in awe of the Egyptians, and their monuments.
One day he would take some time off, send Horus to drive the barque across the sky, and he would meet the people who designed and built these vast monuments, in and out of the Underworld. Of course, his nightly battle with Apep would cause trouble. Hmm. . . There'd be a way. Now, it was midday, and he was directly above the Great Pyramid. An amazing sight- a sun in the sky, and a sun on the earth.
"Lord? What is it?" Horus asked, seeing the awestruck expression on Ra's face.
"Just the sights. You know, Horus, one day i'd like to meet some of the people who made these places. You could row the barque across the sky, just to stop it being eternal night, and i'd meet you back in the Duat at nightfall. But i do want to see who could design such things as that pyramid."
"My Lord, i thought the barque could only be rowed by you! " said an alarmed Horus.
"Just a myth to stop it being stolen. Keep it quiet. And no need to call me " Lord ". " said Ra.
"Very well, Ra." said Horus.
He looked down, and saw the Nile below him. It was trying to pull him into the Duat, but he was wary of that.
Then, he looked back to the horizon. My, was Egypt grand.

Review of the Anubis slayings

Summary: The Anubis slayings are the story of the second murder spree in the rule of queen Hatusu, and the second one to have been followed by Amerotke. Hatusu had planned to sign a peace treaty with the broken Mitanni. However, on the eve of the day that the treaty was to be signed, two of the emmisaries who were staying in the Temple of Anubis are found dead, and the treaty is postponed. A night later, the Glory of Anubis , a huge amethyst, is found to be missing, it's guardian dead. Soon after, a traveller named Sinuhe is found dead, a locksmith named Belet is gone, and an attempt is taken on Chief Judge Amerotke's life, after Hatsu's father's tomb is robbed. Amerotke yet again pieces everything together, and the Mitanni are found to be guilty. However, it is too late, as the treaty is signed, and they are gone.

Most interesting part: The unexpected meeting with the Children of the Nile- a cult whom worship Sobek, the Crocodile God.

Rating:10/10- a perfect murder-mystery for older readers(12+)

Review of the Horus Killings.

Description: The Horus Kilings is a murder-mystery set in Anicient Egypt. Hatusu, the last Pharoh's daughter, has but ascended to power. All she needs is the backing of the priests, but with a strange and varied spree of murders, it is growing less likely. Only the Chief Judge, Amerotke even has a clue as to what is happening, and why it is linked to the mysterious Maze of the Underworld. People who support Hatusu's claim are dropping like flies. In the end, after following a tenous chain of clues, the murderer turns out that the wife of one of her most loyal supporters who killed anyone who had either found out a way Hatusu's claim was valid, or anyone who would find out. Hatusu rises to power, at the cost of six lives.

Most interesting part: The clever attempt on Amerotke's life. He was crossing the nile on a large reed-boat, when it is found that the water jars that act as ballast for the boat are instead filled with blood. This attracts crocodiles and hippos, who sink the boat. The Chief judge only survives because of another boat showing up at the last minute.

Rating: 10/10- A murder-mystery, filled with intrigue, in an old-world situation. Definately one for older readers.

Today, i have made a video of the first pyramid of the first of three giza pyramids that i will build in minecraft. It is menkaure's pyramid, smallest of the three, half the size of the largest.

Here's a link to the video. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK5p5SPGcrc&feature=channel_video_title

(put this into the bar at the top)

Also, the interior is relatively accurate, thanks to this map.



Expect to see more updates soon!

Pyramid Size

Yesterday I finished building the smallest pyramid of the great pyramids in minecraft, and today I did some maths telling me how many blocks were in the pyramid. What I did was find out how many blocks the first layer was to a side (which was 50 ) , multiply the number by itself(squaring), and then take two off of the first number(the number of blocks per side), to find out how many blocks there were to a side one layer higher. Also, I found a convenient algorithm(mathematical pattern.) There was a difference of 196 blocks between the amount of sandstone in the first layer and the second layer. The next difference was 188 blocks. I continued finding out the difference, and I noticed a pattern. The differences became 8 smaller(eight less blocks of difference) every sum I got closer to the finish. So I used this cleverly. I would take the last difference, subtract 8 from it, and then take the result off of the last answer. My final answer to how many blocks there were in the pyramid was 22100 blocks, An awful lot.
This is the smallest pyramid . . . the biggest is twice as big. Then afterwards I wrote a tiny, 5-10 line program that did half an hour's worth of work from my side in 0.000005 seconds(or ridiculously fast, anyway ). Here it is, in DarkBASIC.


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For x=50 to 2 step -2

Tempanswer=x*x
Answer=answer+tempanswer
next

text 20,20, (answer)


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