Theming your ride
Your track works. Now make it look — and sound — like something.
The Coaster Brush is the tool for this. It changes how a block looks, and it picks which character stands on an Animatronic Stand.
Rule of thumb: brush changes the look, wrench changes the settings.
Repainting decor
Most blocks in Blocks have several looks. Interact one with the brush to cycle to the next.
To do a whole wall at once, crouch + use the brush to select an area, then interact again to confirm.
Some props build themselves. Stack copies of Sarcophagus or Drop Curtain on top of each other and they work out the top, middle and bottom pieces on their own.
Animatronics
An Animatronic Stand holds a character that moves when the stand gets redstone power.
Place the stand
Put it where the character should stand.
Pick the character
Use the Coaster Brush on it. The picker is grouped by theme.
Pick the animation
Use the Coaster Wrench on it and choose one of that character's presets.
Power it
Give the stand redstone power and it switches from its idle loop to the animation. Cut the power and it goes back to idle.
26 characters in 5 themes — Horror, Egyptian, Pirate, Western and Dinosaur. Each one's page lists the animations it has: see Animatronics.
Particles and sound
Two blocks give a ride its atmosphere. Both run on redstone power, not on a signal key, and both are set up with the Coaster Wrench.
VFX Emitter
Fire, Smoke or Water particles, as a Stream while powered or a single Burst. Points in any of the 6 directions, with a strength and a front offset. It plays a matching sound as it fires.
SFX Emitter
39 sound effects in five groups, plus 8 background music tracks. Effects take a volume, a pitch and a loop toggle; music takes a range in blocks instead, and can mute itself for riders.
Preview every clip on the SFX Emitter sound catalogue.
Setting it off as a car goes past
An emitter and a stand both want redstone, and the tidy way to deliver it is a Signal Converter in Receiver mode: it turns a signal key into redstone at strength 15.
Sensor on the rail
Put a Track Sensor where the effect should happen and give it a key with the wrench, like scare_1.
Converter beside the effect
Place a Signal Converter in Receiver mode on the same key. It now powers redstone whenever a car passes the sensor.
Wire the effect to it
Run that redstone into your emitters and stands. They all fire together, in time with the car.
See Redstone Signals for how keys travel.
Building a themed zone? Drop one SFX Emitter on a music track with a wide range at the middle of the area. One block covers the whole section.
Naming the ride
A Coaster Sign is a big entrance sign. Place one and it fills itself out into a 7×3 block panel.