Minecraft Machines and Technology

This week, I think I actually accomplished some stuff in my Direwolf20 mod pack world. Last update, I dealt with some niggling stuff, but I didn't feel like I had much to show for my efforts. There's more to show this week, so without further ado...

Applied Energistics: Beginnings

That's the basics of an Applied Energistics (AE) system in a room decorated with some funky Chisel blocks. AE has some fairly significant startup requirements, but once you put the basics in place, it gives you some great auto-crafting and storage capabilities. My system isn't complete, it just has the bare essentials in place and doesn't have any storage, but I can now make everything I need to add those features.

AE's Other Half: Crystal Growth

Very briefly, here's the AE setup I've built:

• A Charger that turns regular Certus Quartz into Charged Certus Quartz
• An Inscriber that lets me create processor parts from raw materials
• An ME Controller that expands the channels available on the ME network
• An Energy Acceptor to turn RF into AE energy
• Crystal Growth Accelerators that speed up the creation of (you guessed it), crystals
• A Steve's Factory Manager (SFM) system to handle crystal creation

The SFM also deals with power control for the Crystal Growth Accelerators, turning them off when they're not in use. Speaking of power, I upgraded that system a bit too.

More Power

I added a third Combustion Generator, upgraded the Leadstone Energy Cell to a Hardened Energy Cell, and added a Drum for fuel storage. Together, these improvements provide a more stable power supply. The Drum stores 256 buckets of fuel, and the Hardened Cell holds up to 2 million RF. That should keep things running smoothly for the next few weeks at least.

Ender Pearls

Since I don't feel like spending a lot of time hunting down Endermen for pearls, I turned my half-assed Ender-lily farm into a real farm. Pearl production is now automated using an MFR Planter and Harvester, and Ender-lilies are growing on End Stone, which speeds up growth. It also gives a chance of dropping extra seeds. Eventually, I should have a full grid of pearl producing plants.

Ender Pearl Production

New Hardware

Making End Stone required some new machinery, a Magma Crucible to melt pearls and a Fluid Transposer to inject Resonant Ender into sandstone, creating End Stone. I also added a few more bits of hardware to the shop. The Slice'n'Splice lets me create more advanced item filters for my conduit system, and the painting machine lets me cover up conduits with painted covers that match the walls. The Forestry Squeezer, Carpenter and Centrifuge let me build Apiaries for bees, which are Coming Soon (TM).

More Machines

There's also a Cyclic Assembler in the shop, which is processing melons into seeds, which go to the Squeezer and make Seed Oil, a vital material for bees. Even my four-plant melon farm is producing enough seeds to meet my demands.

Hmm, what did I miss? Oh yeah, ore automation! Ores are now transferred back to base using an Ender Chest. That connects to the conduit system, which ships ores directly to the Sag Mill/Alloy Smelter setup for doubling and smelting. That's why I needed advanced item filters. I also built an Experience Obelisk to reduce the impact of unexpected deaths and a coke oven, just because I could.

This week I plan on adding to the AE system. It needs storage and interfaces. I also need a bunch of cables, which may mean a manual mining trip for extra crystals and nether quartz. I do have some basic Apiaries up and running, so I'll probably go bee hunting and maybe add some automation to that system too. Until next week, happy Minecrafting!

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