Board Thread:LotR Mod Technical Support/@comment-26388208-20150511000009/@comment-26388208-20150512033808

I have resolved this issue. The problem was not technical at all, so I apologize for the thread. I had previously assumed the following:

1.  That I had already cleared enough space on the "hilltop" for the portal to be created, and 2.  That the portal would destroy whatever blocks necessary for its creation.

Obviously, I was wrong on both counts. I merely removed 2 more trees from the perimeter and the portal now works as expected. My nephew will be excited to explore some parts of Middle Earth (I unfortunately can't travel in heavily forested areas due to my poor hardware).

I'm sure that it is obvious to experienced players that a substantial area needs to be clear for the portal to be created, but perhaps a FAQ or Wiki entry should mention that a certain size of empty space surrounding the "forging" block is required. I had seen the portal in various youtube videos, but some players may have no idea what the portal will look like or how large it will be. The gameplay provides no hint as to why the creation fails; it simply rejects the gold ring /or/ consumes it with no effect.

Perhaps this thread will eventually be helpful to someone who has also underestimated how large a free area the portal requires ;).

@SamwiseFilmore:  Thanks again for the suggestions and feedback. Unfortunately, this is a Windows install, though I do dual-boot to Manjaro Linux on this machine. I've found that Minecraft runs better in Windows than in Linux on this very old hardware and I need all the help I can get just to get 5 FPS :(.  I've now added Fastcraft and it appears to help.