Absolutely new to FTB : need help choosing the right pack / what to do first

[Hexalyse]

Hello,

I'm an old Minecraft player (I played it back when it was in beta, and a few years later had a CraftBukkit server with some plugins installed, for me and a few friends). But it's been some days now that the urge to play Minecraft again arose.

I'm still hesitating between a "vanilla" (CraftBukkit+plugins) server, or a modpack. I heard about FTB so many times but never really knew what it was. I just spent a few hours reading about it, watching some videos etc. to get an idea (and it's not the first time I do this actually, I already did a few months or years ago). I like the idea of mods adding industrial machines, automation, etc.

Anyway, now my dilemma is : I'm completely new to FTB and I have no idea what content it adds to the game. It seems like it adds A SHIT-TON OF NEW STUFF. I don't even know every new items added in the newer versions of the vanilla Minecraft. But I like "tech stuff" and I guess modpacks are much more enjoyable than vanilla where you quickly get ore, build a house and... you're done (I always ended up getting free blocks with a plugin and just did construction - creative-mode-style, while a few friends mine every resource the old way - I'm too lazy for that, honestly).

So my question is : What modpack should I start with ? I guess the most popular ones are FTB Beyond, and FTB Direwolf ?
Also : once I've started a game (note that I'll be installing the server on a dedicated server I own), is there a risk I'll be completely overwhelmed with all this content, and not know what I should do, where I should go, etc. ? If so, do you have some advice, or a video series I could watch on Youtube that would be both instructional and entertaining and teach me the basics of the most known mods and what they add ?

Or should I stick with Vanilla first, then maybe, later, switch to FTB if I'm bored with Vanilla ? (I'm wondering if a world from vanilla server can be imported in FTB modded server ? It could be cool to keep what I constructed, but I guess all this new content makes it incompatible)

Thank you in advance for your time and your answers

PS: Yes it was a long first message. But at least, you get the context.

 

[Henry Link]

I would suggest the Direworlf20 pack and you can watch Direwolf20's youtube series that matches the pack. He is very good. But, don't feel overwhelmed. Just remember it is still minecraft. So you can always stick to the basic you know to get started and slow jump in and learn about the new blocks, tools, devices, etc. that are in modded minecraft.

 

[Hexalyse]

What's the main difference(s) between the Direwold20's pack and FTB Beyond ? I kind of understood Beyond is the most "highlighted" pack on the front page, and also one of the biggest if not the biggest (in terms of mods/features added).

Ok so I can still play the way I know how to play Minecraft, then slowly discover new things as I go ? Nice ! Is there a preferred place to learn the most usefull stuff about all these mods ? I mean, except the obvious way of going to the wiki and reading dozens of "Getting started with <insert mod name>" which would be a bit daunting.

Also, last question : as there are tons of new things, would it be better for me to start solo/on my own server I'd be installing... or maybe join a pre-existing FTB server (so I don't get the hassle of installing/maintaining it, in the case it's more complicated than a vanilla server, and also maybe have the opportunity to ask question in the in-game chat as I learn).
If so, are there good "noob-friendly" servers, or some sort of FTB server directory ?

 

[Henry Link]

Beyond is a good pack. But it doesn't have everything. In fact it is missing a lot that could have been included. But the main reason I suggested DireWolf20's pack is because of his youtube series he does to match the pack. As for the main difference the FTB team designed the Beyond pack. Where as the DireWolf20 pack is actually designed by DireWolf and the FTB team puts the pack together for him and maintains the pack.

The sources of information about a mod vary. But I find that either Google or Youtube searches can reveal a lot of good info. But usually the best source is the mod author's wiki or in game documentation. For example Botania has an excellent in game manual written by the mod author and it does contain everything you need to play that mod.

As for running your own server it probably isn't to much more difficult than running a bukkit server. But, modded minecraft is more resource hungry (more RAM and CPU) than a vanilla or bukkit server would be. But the big advantage you get with a server especially if you get a few experienced players is you can bounce questions off of them in game for help. But the other issue you will find out is that there are an awful lot of modded players that play for the goal of "beat the pack" instead of building. So you may have some issues keeping players around long term. It can be done but the ones that prefer to take their time and just build are fewer in the modded world.

 

[Hexalyse]

Well, from what you say and what I've read on various reddit posts, I think I'll play along with Direwolf20 series (it'll give me a global understanding of the mods etc.). But just a quick question : should I start from the first season(s), which I guess are played on older and thus maybe different version of the modpack and may not even be possible to follow along, or the Season 8 where it starts from scratch on 1.10 is enough ?

Also, I've read that all (or 99%) of the mods from Direwolf20's pack are in FTB Beyond which have more than double the amount of mods, so I guess it could be possible to follow along with Beyond.

Hmm, will take some time to think about it while I'm continuing my research

 

[KingTriaxx]

Each season is a new mod pack and a new version of Minecraft. Other than that, each one is self-contained, aside from the minor background plot of Dire's on-going war with Enderman.

If you're new, or haven't played in a while, you might try out something like Space Astronomy, which is a 1.7.10 pack, but well designed. It has a selection of mods, and a Hardcore Questing Mod book that will guide you through things you might not have seen, while not changing recipes to strange and weird options. Or being ludicrously crazy.

Alternately, Intro2Mods, which is only available on the classic FTB Launcher, by entering the pack code which is (upliftingnoobs). It's also 1.7.10, but has a very small selection of mods so you're not massively overwhelmed by the variety.

FTB Beyond is a great pack, but it's a kitchen sink and isn't really intended to be played as a comprehensive experience, as much as it is, a bunch of mods, that you can then go through and disable the ones you don't want. Lots of people forget that you can do that. On curse you've got to go into the options and unlock the pack, through a process I don't remember, but the classic launcher will just let you disable mods with the edit pack button.

 

[Hexalyse]

Ok, I was afraid he might use previous "knowledge" distilled in previous seasons. Well, I think I'll go with Direwolf20's modpack for a start then, follow his videos so I can learn. Then if I enjoyed it and want more, I'll dwelve in other packs.
But I can only imagine how much time you can spend with these mods... when you know how much time Minecraft can steal you even on vanilla :'D (I'm beginning to think it's a bad idea to want to play Minecraft again for my social life).

WAIT - there are astronomy tech in Minecraft, and other planets ? Damn, that sounds so cool !

Thanks for the info about disabling mods. Might come handy.

 

[KingTriaxx]

He will use that kind of knowledge, but he's very good about explaining what he's doing, even if the why occasionally escapes him.

Yeah, the first few planets are awesome, the rest... kind of samey. Still fun though.

 

[Hambeau]

The other plus with Direwolf20's is that he also has a series of "Mod Spotlights" highlighting a single mod and explaining how it works.

In addition, He usually alternates videos on YouTube as well has having a livestream on Twitch Thursdays and Sundays. His current livestream uses the "Infinity Evolved: Expert mode Skyblock edition", a 1.7.10 based pack.

His YouTube videos are currently:
A coop with Pahimar using the "Invasion!" pack. Think "Night of the Living Dead"
A new coop with Soaryn on Forgecraft1.

Forgecraft1 is a private experimental server that is currently loaded with MC 1.11.2 and new/updated mods. It's run as a place to test mods before they're released to the public, and all the "players" are mod and/or pack developers and Testers like Direwolf20 and Soaryn117.

 

[Hexalyse]

Ok, thank you Hambeau for the tip ! I'll look into it too

Well, I just installed Direwolf20 modpack on my dedicated server today, and started following along his last Let's Play. I'll try to invite some friends to play, because being alone is not very fun in this game. And it could be nice

But I don't know all those streamers/youtubers you're talking about. I'm completely stranger to the "Minecraft scene". I'm myself much more of an FPS player (Planetside 2, Battlefield series, Overwatch etc.). I just find this game interesting because you're completely free to do whatever you want, so it's endless. And it's much less intense than fast paced FPS so you can play while being tired without sucking.

 

[Hambeau]

The nice thing about the Forgecraft1 server is that you get a chance to see the mods evolve as new things are tried out and everyone on the server comments about the changes. Sometimes the bugs are serious, sometimes you get to see "unique" and funny side effects before they get fixed. You also sometimes get to put a voice to the name of the developer.

 

[GamerwithnoGame]

I'm with @Hambeau on this one - while its not helpful in terms of learning stuff for your use now, his Forgecraft series are nice because you have many of the people who are actually making the mods on there, and often the very up-to-date versions of mods - so its a nice window into what's coming up, what to look forward to in future, and so on.

Starting with Direwolf20's pack is a great idea - remember, you can take it at whichever pace you feel comfortable with. The only other thing to bear in mind is that that pack has also evolved over time; so some mods, which weren't in there when he started, ARE in there now. Between his Let's Play series and his Mod Spotlights though, you're well covered

 

[Reddis]

I am a fan of kitchen sink packs and for that reason I recommend either Beyond or All the Mods 2 (not an official FTB pack, although found on their launcher). The drawback here is you have to have a beefy pc to run these types of packs with 170+ mods. If your pc is more of a toaster, check out DireWolf's pack.

Best advise I can give you is learn to use NEI (not enough items), the search bar in the inventory menu. You can search for an item, "furnace" for example, and see how it is crafted or you can search by an entire mod, @applied energistics for example, to see all items available in the Applied Energistics mod.

Being a tech player too, I recommend learning the following mods first: Tinker's Construct (ore doubling and op tools), EnderIO (a little bit of everything tech, ore doubling, RF generation, storage, etc), Actually Additions (much like EnderIO but less complex) and then move to more advanced things like Refined Storage and/or Applied Energistics 2 (storage mods and so much more)

Welcome back to MC. Enjoy your stay!

 

[Rishenda]

I only skipped through the thread and I don't think I saw it mentioned. With Direwolf's playthru on You Tube, every 10th episode comes with a world download. So if there was something there you liked or didn't really understand, you could download the world and really have a look at it.

 

[Cptqrk]

I will recommend Direwolf20's pack over Beyond at this time for new players, as even in it's kitchen sink version, the pack developers have made recipe changes, and have altered terrain generation to suit their needs for when they switch over to having expert mode.