As I'm sure some of you have noticed in the Mod/Item/Stuff Ideas thread, I'm kinda planning out my own Thief/steampunk themed mod, which I have decided to dub Keep of Metal and Gold, after one of my favourite members of the Thief fan community.
Q: What's this mod about?
A: In part, its a Thief-inspired, steampunk themed mod which features many different forms of steam boilers with what I hope will be wholly unique mechanics regarding the production and usage of steam. It'll have its own power system, which will focus on short-to-medium distance electricity transportation and modular power generation a la MFFS. The mod will also feature many neat tools, toys, a few new hostiles to combat, plus a few TV/movie/game references here and there.
Q: How does this mod's steam differ from Railcraft steam?
A: In two fundamental ways: its focus is less on realism and more on providing an enjoyable and intuitive experience; also, its not another way to make BuildCraft power, Keep of Metal and Gold's power system is unique unto itself and its steam will not be able to mingle with Railcraft steam, nor is it a (technical) liquid, and thus can't be carried via liquiduct or waterproof pipe.
Q: Will it have its own ore processing machines and mechanics?
A: Sort answer is yes. The longer answer is that I want to take something that is, again, unique, but also intuitive. Ore processing machines start off somewhat weak, providing bonuses roughly analogous to Factorization slag furnaces. However, you'll be able to build, later on in your game, machines and upgrades that will grant you greater yields, and the ore machines will be able to work as one cohesive unit if placed adjacent to one another in the proper order, no pipes/tubes/AE necessary.
Q: You mention "unique mechanics," what are some examples?
A: First and foremost, the idea of upgradable machines, items, and other odds and ends. The end result will be the user keeping their early machines longer, diverting from the norm established by mods like IC2, where upgrading your machines usually means replacing them entirely. For example, your standard electricity generator block will be a generator housing, which can be made of different materials, which all have their own unique properties: steel has high durability, gold has low durability, but high conductance and capacitance, and so on. However, the block won't function without a motor inside it which can, again, be made from many different materials granting different levels of performance in different areas.
Also, a theme of routine maintenance will be in place, where users must occasionally look over the components in their machines (viewed by shift-right clicking the machine in question) and assessing their levels of wear and metal fatigue. Wear is something like a health bar for the item, as opposed to normal Minecraft item damage; it'll wear down the longer the machine's active, but will be restored over time, moreso if the machine is inactive. Metal fatigue is more along the lines of what Minecraft players are accustomed to in terms of item damage; its semi-permanent and will require the item being taken to a repair bench and supplied with the necessary materials and/or replacement parts to keep it in good, working order.
In addition to maintenance, some machines, such as generators, will require lubrication to prevent excessive, unnecessary wear. An easy, early-game form of lubrication will come in the form of water-based lubricant, which doesn't last very long and only stops some wear and metal fatigue from affecting the components inside the machine. As time goes on, the player will be able to create better lubricants, including petrol-based lubes in addition to those based around renewable plant/animal resources (the former likely requiring BuildCraft for oil), all the way up to modern, synthetic lubricants, namely Teflon.
Q: I heard something about golems, or automatons, or somesuch...what's that all about?
A: Well, methinks their official name (courtesy of Lambert) will be VAO, or vapor amet operarius ("steam powered worker" in Latin). Apart from that, the VAOs will be mid-to-late game pieces of advanced technology, capable of performing one of a multitude of functions: area patrol, point defense, construction, wood harvesting, mining, food gathering, farming, bodyguards, and even sorting VAOs! Their functions will be determined by what core module you install into the VAO Orb (think golem-in-a-ball, kinda like Morrowind), and they can be given a range of upgrades which will include intelligence, strength, carrying capacity, perception, chunk loading (requisite for mining VAOs), and even upgrades which will (if they're installed) allow them to interface with things like IC2 tools, MPS gear, and Applied Energistics inventories.
Q: So, you want to interface with other mods? Do you have any examples or a wishlist of mods you'd like to interface with?
A: Actually, I do! I'd definitely want to be able to interface with IC2, BuildCraft, and their constituent addons like GregTech and Thermal Expansion. In addition to those, I'd really like to be able to interface with XyCraft, Modular Power Suits, Applied Energistics, and perhaps even Computer Craft and PowerCraft. That is assuming, of course, that I get permission to do so from their authors...I'd not do so without it; I show them the same respect I'd want them to show me.
There's more to come, I've just kinda hit a fair stopping point for this post. Please note that this mod will take a fair bit to create and get working properly, and that its principal author, me, will be going thru several critical life changes over the next few weeks, so code will take a bit to come into being as I get situated and get my life in order.
Questions? Comments? Criticisms or suggestions? Bring 'em on! I'll do my best to ensure that no reasonable post is ignored or unanswered.
Q: What's this mod about?
A: In part, its a Thief-inspired, steampunk themed mod which features many different forms of steam boilers with what I hope will be wholly unique mechanics regarding the production and usage of steam. It'll have its own power system, which will focus on short-to-medium distance electricity transportation and modular power generation a la MFFS. The mod will also feature many neat tools, toys, a few new hostiles to combat, plus a few TV/movie/game references here and there.
Q: How does this mod's steam differ from Railcraft steam?
A: In two fundamental ways: its focus is less on realism and more on providing an enjoyable and intuitive experience; also, its not another way to make BuildCraft power, Keep of Metal and Gold's power system is unique unto itself and its steam will not be able to mingle with Railcraft steam, nor is it a (technical) liquid, and thus can't be carried via liquiduct or waterproof pipe.
Q: Will it have its own ore processing machines and mechanics?
A: Sort answer is yes. The longer answer is that I want to take something that is, again, unique, but also intuitive. Ore processing machines start off somewhat weak, providing bonuses roughly analogous to Factorization slag furnaces. However, you'll be able to build, later on in your game, machines and upgrades that will grant you greater yields, and the ore machines will be able to work as one cohesive unit if placed adjacent to one another in the proper order, no pipes/tubes/AE necessary.
Q: You mention "unique mechanics," what are some examples?
A: First and foremost, the idea of upgradable machines, items, and other odds and ends. The end result will be the user keeping their early machines longer, diverting from the norm established by mods like IC2, where upgrading your machines usually means replacing them entirely. For example, your standard electricity generator block will be a generator housing, which can be made of different materials, which all have their own unique properties: steel has high durability, gold has low durability, but high conductance and capacitance, and so on. However, the block won't function without a motor inside it which can, again, be made from many different materials granting different levels of performance in different areas.
Also, a theme of routine maintenance will be in place, where users must occasionally look over the components in their machines (viewed by shift-right clicking the machine in question) and assessing their levels of wear and metal fatigue. Wear is something like a health bar for the item, as opposed to normal Minecraft item damage; it'll wear down the longer the machine's active, but will be restored over time, moreso if the machine is inactive. Metal fatigue is more along the lines of what Minecraft players are accustomed to in terms of item damage; its semi-permanent and will require the item being taken to a repair bench and supplied with the necessary materials and/or replacement parts to keep it in good, working order.
In addition to maintenance, some machines, such as generators, will require lubrication to prevent excessive, unnecessary wear. An easy, early-game form of lubrication will come in the form of water-based lubricant, which doesn't last very long and only stops some wear and metal fatigue from affecting the components inside the machine. As time goes on, the player will be able to create better lubricants, including petrol-based lubes in addition to those based around renewable plant/animal resources (the former likely requiring BuildCraft for oil), all the way up to modern, synthetic lubricants, namely Teflon.
Q: I heard something about golems, or automatons, or somesuch...what's that all about?
A: Well, methinks their official name (courtesy of Lambert) will be VAO, or vapor amet operarius ("steam powered worker" in Latin). Apart from that, the VAOs will be mid-to-late game pieces of advanced technology, capable of performing one of a multitude of functions: area patrol, point defense, construction, wood harvesting, mining, food gathering, farming, bodyguards, and even sorting VAOs! Their functions will be determined by what core module you install into the VAO Orb (think golem-in-a-ball, kinda like Morrowind), and they can be given a range of upgrades which will include intelligence, strength, carrying capacity, perception, chunk loading (requisite for mining VAOs), and even upgrades which will (if they're installed) allow them to interface with things like IC2 tools, MPS gear, and Applied Energistics inventories.
Q: So, you want to interface with other mods? Do you have any examples or a wishlist of mods you'd like to interface with?
A: Actually, I do! I'd definitely want to be able to interface with IC2, BuildCraft, and their constituent addons like GregTech and Thermal Expansion. In addition to those, I'd really like to be able to interface with XyCraft, Modular Power Suits, Applied Energistics, and perhaps even Computer Craft and PowerCraft. That is assuming, of course, that I get permission to do so from their authors...I'd not do so without it; I show them the same respect I'd want them to show me.
There's more to come, I've just kinda hit a fair stopping point for this post. Please note that this mod will take a fair bit to create and get working properly, and that its principal author, me, will be going thru several critical life changes over the next few weeks, so code will take a bit to come into being as I get situated and get my life in order.
Questions? Comments? Criticisms or suggestions? Bring 'em on! I'll do my best to ensure that no reasonable post is ignored or unanswered.
