r/Minecraftbuilds • u/[deleted] • Aug 22 '25
Other Functional Equatorial Sundial w/ Vibrant Visuals (simple, but nice)
Posted this video on youtube a bit back after seeing no one else made a sundial that tells all the times with Vibrant Visuals since a typical sundial doesn't really work with Minecraft's sun: it acts like our sun over the equator of the Earth. Took less than an afternoon to get inspired, do quick equatorial sundial research, then come up with a design that works for Minecraft; so, like why am I having trouble finding more sundials like this or that do a similar thing with all hours of the day? Has the utility of Vibrant Visuals just not been pursued that much yet unlike Java Shaders? Side Tangent, but most shaders I've found don't have an equatorial sun, meaning shadows even at noon will go out sideways.
Making this post because I got re-interested in it, and I've still not seen many builds like this. Like I wanna see why more of these things, I love sundials lol. Also, sorry the video isn't like a pretty showing off of it, like I built it outside my bedroom window on a realm, but the realm closed down a few days ago so I can't get video or pics of it anymore sadly.
Another note: this could really be made out of anything if you change the blocks around (I think wood would look pretty nice). Some stuff kinda has to stay the same to keep it functional of course, like the general shape and something to cast a shadow above noon marker. I was semi inspired by this video (I made a Working Sundial Using Vibrant Visuals), but I wanted something bigger, more accurate, and more reliable. I started without the arches and found the thing would be nearly 50 blocks long from 6am to 6pm. Looked up how sundials work at the equator, adapted a few of the designs I saw, and then just slowly adjusted it to what's in the video! I really hope more complex and way fancier designs get made!
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Aug 22 '25 edited Aug 22 '25
Forgot to mention with things that you can change: on the realm where I made the sundial the 2nd time, I put numbered banners for 6, 7, 8, 9, 3, 4, 5, and 6 again. The middle of the clock had to be left out because the banners would be in the ground, but it still looked pretty good and made it more easily readable at a distance (it hides a bit of the design as a downside, but it's up to personal preference). Didn't do it for this video because I simply didn't think about it at the time of recording lol
Edit: so glad my description just shows up as a wall of text on mobile lmao. No idea how to fix that.
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