[1.7.10][LISTED] InfiTech 2 Modpack v3.2.21 [HQM][GregTech balanced hard-mode modpack]

[asb3pe]

Which Gregtech tool is best for picking up track (rails)? Is it the crowbar? I'm collecting track from abandoned mineshafts instead of making it, but the GT Drill doesn't break track. You have to break the block underneath, which makes a mess. I'd much rather use a tool that picks up the track but the crowbar is the same speed as using my empty hand to collect the tracks so maybe I'm not using the right tool?

 

[codewarrior0]

A bucket of water is best for picking up track, no?

 

[asb3pe]

A bucket of water is best for picking up track, no?

I like it. Thx.

Which tree is best for producing logs from a Steve's Cart's farm, standard oak? I need to keep up with my Pyrolyze Oven which I think just means adding more track to the farm, making a larger layout. But I'm using Spruce trees and not sure if that's sub-optimal. I guess we want to use Oak if for no other reason than we get Apples as a by-product which can be turned into a fuel (methane?). But does Oak also return more logs than a Spruce or Birch farm because of that small chance for the very large Oaks? Is there a way to use Steve's Carts with a 4x4 Spruce somehow?

 

[codewarrior0]

I've never tried it personally, but there is an Exotic Trees upgrade for the cart that lets you plant things like Greatwood.

 

[EconBrony]

I like it. Thx.

I need to keep up with my Pyrolyze Oven which I think just means adding more track to the farm, making a larger layout. But I'm using Spruce trees and not sure if that's sub-optimal. I guess we want to use Oak if for no other reason than we get Apples as a by-product which can be turned into a fuel (methane?). But does Oak also return more logs than a Spruce or Birch farm because of that small chance for the very large Oaks? Is there a way to use Steve's Carts with a 4x4 Spruce somehow?

Have you ever used the Ender IO Farming Machine for your tree farm? I power it using Ender IO solar and use conduit to transport the logs to my pyrolyse ovens. I currently have two farms with one upgrade each and its creating more logs then my 5 ovens can use.

 

[asb3pe]

Have you ever used the Ender IO Farming Machine for your tree farm? I power it using Ender IO solar and use conduit to transport the logs to my pyrolyse ovens. I currently have two farms with one upgrade each and its creating more logs then my 5 ovens can use.

I guess I'm old school, I'm enjoying the little cart scootin around clearing the trees. The tree farm is the last step in automating my Steam production which is a big step. I'll look into the Ender IO for sure, it's one of my favorite mods but there's still so much of it I've never used or even see, the Farming Machine being one of em. Thx for that tip.

 

[asb3pe]

I've never tried it personally, but there is an Exotic Trees upgrade for the cart that lets you plant things like Greatwood.

I don't think I can break down the cart once I've built it, correct? In this pack, it's not trivial to say "just make another cart". haha

Which brings to mind a few questions - the big deal in my current cart is the Tree Cutter item, how can I get that back, does a GT Disassembler work? And second, I made a Smelter for my cart because I thought it could smelt the logs it collects and make charcoal to power itself, but I haven't figured out how to make it do that. Is it possible or has that feature been disabled/removed? How about solar power for Steve's Carts, is that disabled in this pack so I can just forget using that method?

 

[targetingyou78]

I believe you could even extract methane from them and still get the gold out, is that still the case?

Why yes you can, however I'm not using methane for anything so I'm just smelting them. I have a fews news and a 4x4 farm of Aurelia plants and that keeps gold coming in at a relatively decent pace.

 

[Nezraddin]

@asb3pe
For 2x2 trees you need to give the cart a "Planter Range Extender" (I think that's the name) lets you tell the cart to plant saplings up to 7 blocks - I think it's 7 - away from the tracks. (only put it to 2 away though, the higher numbers are meant for trees that need more than 2x2)

To change a cart after already making it you need the "Cart Modifier" upgrade for the assembler-block. With that you can put the cart into the assembler and change stuff around (of course that costs time and fuel again). Great also when you want to make a new cart, like with a better wood cutter, and not want to craft every part new.

And you will need an "Advanced Smelter" in your cart. With that you can tell it how much you want to smelt into charcoal and where it should put it.
I usually had 2 advanced smelter in my treefarm-cart one to refill the coal-generator with charcoal and another to make extra charcoal into the inventory. Though I don't know if that works with GT, not that far yet (I play too many pack *grumbles* ^^")
Oh and just in case: You need to tell it 'what' you want to smelt. Just place a wood in the first slot of the smelter so it know what item to look for in the inventory to smelt it.


[edit]
Oh yeah, with the planter range extender you might want to try around if you actually want it. Problem is that it has a weird planting-way for these tree. Especially when it comes to corners.
Try not to make too many corners in the track or it can mess up alot (so it doesn't plant the best possible way).

 

[targetingyou78]

Looking for some tips on Platinum. I am now at the point in the quests where I need to make a vacuum freezer and I need platinum to progress. Should I just mine until I get a vein?

 

[codewarrior0]

Looking for some tips on Platinum.

Put Crushed Nickel Ore in a Chemical Bath with a bucket of Mercury (obtained from Redstone or Cinnabar).

See the Mining and Processing wiki page to find more sources of Platinum.

 

[asb3pe]

Put Crushed Nickel Ore in a Chemical Bath with a bucket of Mercury (obtained from Redstone or Cinnabar).

See the Mining and Processing wiki page to find more sources of Platinum.

Personally I wouldn't "waste" the Mercury just yet, on Platinum (I'm in MV-to-HV era), because you can simply mine a ton of Nickel Ore and use the Thermal Centrifuge on the Crushed Nickels to get a tiny Platinum Dust. Tiny dusts do add up quick tho, 7 Dusts per stack of Nickel Ore, I got a stack and a half of full Dusts from one Nickel vein... and I've found quite a few Nickel veins during my somewhat fruitless searching for Manganese... As far as I know, Nickel has no real purpose and in both my play-thru's I've ended up with quite an excess of Nickel dust, solely from obtaining Platinum from it. Even the Cobaltite Ore, which I valued so much during early game for my tools, now has little purpose to me since I've moved on to better tool alloys. Maybe Nickel will come into play during end game fusion, I don't know since I never got there (yet). But basically, finding a Nickel vein means one thing at my stage of the game - Platinum. That's a big item but not yet needed in vast quantity, just a cable or foil here and there so far. I'm sure it will be needed in quantity at some point, which is probably where this "Platinum Sludge" I am reading about comes from...

 

[codewarrior0]

Platinum cables are my go-to power conductors in the IV era. The other options for IV cables all eat up a bunch of time in the Blast Furnace, but Platinum can be smelted in an ordinary furnace. Mercury wasn't especially hard to come by. Most of it was a byproduct from centrifuging tons of Redstone to get Chrome, and also directly from Cinnabar, which itself was a byproduct from excavating an entire Redstone vein.

Platinum Group Sludge isn't a rich source of any metal in particular. It takes two stacks of Pentlandite or Chalcopyrite to get 1.5 Platinum, 1.5 Gold, 1.2 Palladium, 0.9 Osmium, and 0.9 Iridium Dust. At best, it's a way to get a speck of the rare metals so you can start replicating them.

 

[targetingyou78]

Ahh that's not too bad. I have only found a single Nickel vein. I haven't been back to it since I stopped using cobalt for tools. The small amount I mined while looking for cobalt has been more than enough to supply the small amount needed for alloys. I'll have to go back and tear into that vein. Thanks for the help. I got really discouraged there for a minute.

 

[asb3pe]

Ahh that's not too bad. I have only found a single Nickel vein. I haven't been back to it since I stopped using cobalt for tools. The small amount I mined while looking for cobalt has been more than enough to supply the small amount needed for alloys. I'll have to go back and tear into that vein. Thanks for the help. I got really discouraged there for a minute.

The game sort of becomes an NEI-hunting game at times. haha I got to the HV stage, needed a few Platinum wires, and panicked for a moment until I found the Nickel recipe somehow and breathed a sigh of relief. And then it all came back to me, my previous attempt at the pack where I had a Jabba barrel full of Nickel dust...

 

[asb3pe]

Have you ever used the Ender IO Farming Machine for your tree farm? I power it using Ender IO solar and use conduit to transport the logs to my pyrolyse ovens. I currently have two farms with one upgrade each and its creating more logs then my 5 ovens can use.

There's probably a fairly large material cost in the hoes and axes required tho, I made it and realized I'm gonna be going thru a lot of axes again, which was kind of the whole point of my cart farm. Of course, even the Steve's Cart has a repair cost in diamonds. Material costs might be minor to some but a constant need to replenish is what I'm trying to avoid, and the Farming Station has that problem unless I'm missing something? Have you achieved HSS-E axes or something?

 

[MarcNemesis]

There's probably a fairly large material cost in the hoes and axes required tho, I made it and realized I'm gonna be going thru a lot of axes again, which was kind of the whole point of my cart farm. Of course, even the Steve's Cart has a repair cost in diamonds. Material costs might be minor to some but a constant need to replenish is what I'm trying to avoid, and the Farming Station has that problem unless I'm missing something? Have you achieved HSS-E axes or something?

I use a Dsrk Axe/ Shears with Unbreaking III on them. Can literally gather over 200k leafs (for Biogas) and probably over 50k logs before even needing to repair them.

Edit: They are at max level for the 1mil energy of course. And yes Unbreaking III affect the energy used just the same as the HP itself.

 

[codewarrior0]

A farming station that cuts trees is self-sufficient! Just set up a thing that crafts wooden axes for it.

 

[asb3pe]

I use a Dsrk Axe/ Shears with Unbreaking III on them. Can literally gather over 200k leafs (for Biogas) and probably over 50k logs before even needing to repair them.

Edit: They are at max level for the 1mil energy of course. And yes Unbreaking III affect the energy used just the same as the HP itself.

Yeah that explains it, thanks. I've been so focused on GT that I forget how useful Ender IO stuff can be, because you're right, now I have to get into the whole Enchanting thing to put Unbreaking III on the axes. But Ender IO makes that fairly easy too, except of course one thing leads to another and now I really have to get to work on finishing my Etho Blaze Grinder in the Nether so I have a way to "earn" XP without having the bushes and experience berries to eat.

 

[asb3pe]

Things sure are looking up - the Pyrolyze Oven has really been a time-saver, plus I was getting pretty sick and tired of filling that Charcoal Igniter pit day after day, time after time. LOL And today I went ahead and make the Universal Macerator, because I was curious about the "Schredding your ores with byproducts" tag... sure enough, even tho it's called a Macerator, when you click on its recipes you see they are Pulverizer recipes instead! Which means I now get to use all those NEI recipes earlier than expected. I previously thought I'd have to wait until I arrived at EV stage, when the machine does in fact become a "Universal Pulverizer". But today I learned that it's the HV version instead where those recipes get unlocked. A nice surprise indeed, already paying dividends.