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Mirrors and Lenses — Directional Light Mechanics

Craftable mirrors and lenses that create a functional light-redirection system.

Mirrors would be placed as blocks and interacted with to set their angle on both vertical and horizontal axes, redirecting any light source. Sunlight would travel unlimited distances through a mirror chain, while weaker sources like torches retain their normal range. Because the sun moves across the sky, mirror angles would need adjusting throughout the day — or players could build Redstone circuits to automate rotation, with a daylight sensor measuring sun position and timed pulses nudging the mirror incrementally. True sun-tracking should be genuinely difficult, as the sun moves on a curve rather than a straight line.

Lenses (glass panes + amethyst) would either focus light to a single point — igniting flammable blocks or damaging mobs in direct sunlight only — or distribute it to illuminate a wider area.

Mirrors could also redirect a beacon beam and its effects around corners or underground.

This builds naturally on existing systems: beacons, daylight sensors, Redstone, and flammable blocks. It gives amethyst and glass more interesting uses, rewards geometric thinking in survival, and offers technical builders a genuine engineering challenge in sun-tracking automation.

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    I had a similar idea! However, mine takes the concept in a more technical direction: intentionally designing light-beam circuitry to send redstone signals long-distance with nearly instant (1-tick) transmission. While it could work in tandem with sunlight or other light sources, it's fundamentally designed as a controlled means of sending redstone signals, with beam attenuation, focusing, reflectors, and relays creating interesting engineering tradeoffs. But I think you and I are on the same general wavelength (pun intended)!