[AE] How to prioritize items in one form?

[PoisonWolf]

Hi guys,

I finally crafted my first 3x3x3 assembly chamber...and I'm loving it! Having said that, to reduce space storage, I was wondering how would I go about keeping my materials in their block forms, if possible, as opposed to me manually doing it? For example, to always convert iron into iron blocks if possible, and only when I need iron will it convert them back into regular iron.

I'm still very new to AE thus the seemingly simple question.

EDIT: Since I'm making a post, I figured I'd ask two more questions as well.
a) Are there any renewable ways to get quartz? Bees don't seem to be the answer (dang).

 

[Adonis0]

Well, it's possible to make a crafting recipe 9 iron = 1 iron block, then get a precision/fuzzy export bus, point it an ME interface, and have it export with craft only.

What this does is make the ME system craft the item so it can be exported, and then it exports it directly into a ME interface, which sucks the item back into your ME system.

The only problem I can think of this is the automatic conversion back again may clash with any automatic smelting that you may have
As you're not able to have two recipes in your system for iron ingots, you can't get your system to use patterns to smelt on demand and convert blocks back on demand too

(you'd be able to make iron ingots using export buses constantly though)[DOUBLEPOST=1379032426][/DOUBLEPOST]To your second part about renewable ways to get quartz.. Not that I know of, but automatic mining methods are pretty good at gathering enough.

The thing with Quartz is you need a lot originally, but as you get into things you don't need as much. And you can cut costs in places as well, because there is no need for 64k drives with everything. 4k drives with 64k drives for select things

 

[PoisonWolf]

Well, it's possible to make a crafting recipe 9 iron = 1 iron block, then get a precision/fuzzy export bus, point it an ME interface, and have it export with craft only.

What this does is make the ME system craft the item so it can be exported, and then it exports it directly into a ME interface, which sucks the item back into your ME system.

The only problem I can think of this is the automatic conversion back again may clash with any automatic smelting that you may have
As you're not able to have two recipes in your system for iron ingots, you can't get your system to use patterns to smelt on demand and convert blocks back on demand too

(you'd be able to make iron ingots using export buses constantly though)[DOUBLEPOST=1379032426][/DOUBLEPOST]To your second part about renewable ways to get quartz.. Not that I know of, but automatic mining methods are pretty good at gathering enough.

The thing with Quartz is you need a lot originally, but as you get into things you don't need as much. And you can cut costs in places as well, because there is no need for 64k drives with everything. 4k drives with 64k drives for select things

Thank you for the response. I don't quite get it yet but I'll try to follow your instructions to see if it makes sense. And after watching a few tutorials, I now know why 64k everything isn't the smartest idea. Lol. I got so excited I made the recipe to just craft-click 64k storage discs too.

I don't have any auto-smelting set up right now because I smelt everything manually. Because of tinker's constructs, I prefer to Luck + Auto-Smelt everything manually using a Filler + Item Tesseract. I just stand there and mine it with a Hammer for awesome yields.

 

[namiasdf]

Hmm. Well I don't know if it is necessarily worth your while to do this, it depends on what version you are running. Most ingot -> block recipes require the IC2 compressor. Though I am not sure if this is true for all ingots, this would require an extra step in your crafting process. i.e. You will have to smelt the block to get ingots back.

If you are truly worried about space, I'd suggest using ME storage buses to store your redundant items in. You can attach them to MFR DSU's which can hold 2 billion of a single item. Factorization barrels and even chests work too. They will be counted as part of your AE network, but will not be stored on drives.

I run a quarry, full-time at full-speed and haven't had an issue with memory space. Though I do store all my sand, cobble, gravel, dirt, stone and the other top 10 items in my AE system, inside of DSU's.

As for memory, it is much more efficient to have many 1k and 4k cells. Even 16k is pushing it, I find. The 63 unique item limit on a drive makes it very inefficient to make 64k cells, unless you really want to store high-volume items inside of drives. Even then, 64k is a looooooooooooot of items.

 

[Predatorkillol]

You can get both types of quartz through bees. You have to get a monastic drone through trading and then breed your way up to the most awesome one quantum bees producing both types of quartz and ender pearl dust. They were added in I think 1.1.2 Unleashed.

 

[PoisonWolf]

Hmm. Well I don't know if it is necessarily worth your while to do this, it depends on what version you are running. Most ingot -> block recipes require the IC2 compressor. Though I am not sure if this is true for all ingots, this would require an extra step in your crafting process. i.e. You will have to smelt the block to get ingots back.

If you are truly worried about space, I'd suggest using ME storage buses to store your redundant items in. You can attach them to MFR DSU's which can hold 2 billion of a single item. Factorization barrels and even chests work too. They will be counted as part of your AE network, but will not be stored on drives.

I run a quarry, full-time at full-speed and haven't had an issue with memory space. Though I do store all my sand, cobble, gravel, dirt, stone and the other top 10 items in my AE system, inside of DSU's.

As for memory, it is much more efficient to have many 1k and 4k cells. Even 16k is pushing it, I find. The 63 unique item limit on a drive makes it very inefficient to make 64k cells, unless you really want to store high-volume items inside of drives. Even then, 64k is a looooooooooooot of items.

I can't believe I've never heard of this deep storage unit.......ugh.

So when I'm using DSUs, do I need to attach both an export and an import bus to it? Or will an export bus to store cobble, for example, suffice (i.e., the terminal can still pull from it when making things like pistons, etc).

With DSUs, there doesn't seem to be a need for the 64k drives now....I guess I'll use many 4k drives instead.

You can get both types of quartz through bees. You have to get a monastic drone through trading and then breed your way up to the most awesome one quantum bees producing both types of quartz and ender pearl dust. They were added in I think 1.1.2 Unleashed.

What is this sorcery that you speak of!? I can't find this quantum bee. I did see the monastic bee though, and the hermitic bee seems to be pretty awesome!

 

[Hydra]

So when I'm using DSUs, do I need to attach both an export and an import bus to it? !

No, you attach a storage bus to it. It just behaves like a (very VERY large) barrel in that sense. Make sure you tell the storage bus what to store.

I currently have 15M items in stock and only 10 storage disks. Most of my stuff is in DSU's/

 

[Mysteana]

A method you can use to automatically convert items from one form to another is to do this:

Set up an automatic crafting table with the ingot to block recipe. Set up another one with the reverse. Set up import buses on both. Set an export bus to export in single items the ingredients, and set it to not export when it receives a redstone signal. Set a level emitter onto the export bus and set your thresholds.

Eg: I want to keep at least 4 stacks (256) of iron ingots on hand. Everything else is stored in blocks.
I set the level emitter for block to ingot table to emit when less than 256 ingots.
I set the level emitter for ingot to blocks when more than 288 ingots.
Ideally you should be aiming for a range within a stack. That way the number of stacks that is occupied by that item is kept stable and there's less risk for an item to spill out into another cell.

This uses a lot of components, but can be adapted for automatic stock keeping such as maintaining a stock of glass, conduits, tesseracts and the like by using an export bus into an interface or item tesseract leading into an export bus and getting the MAC and other integrated machines and patterns to do all the heavy lifting. Of course, if you have automatic ore processing that doesn't use the MAC and no recipes that also output ingots, you can just skip the automatic crafting tables and use the MAC directly for any recipe.

 

[Riuga]

Renewable Quartz?

Find the villager that trades 2 Emerald -> 6 certus

Theres also quantum bees that make certus combs

 

[PoisonWolf]

No, you attach a storage bus to it. It just behaves like a (very VERY large) barrel in that sense. Make sure you tell the storage bus what to store.

I currently have 15M items in stock and only 10 storage disks. Most of my stuff is in DSU's/

Thank you! Time to switch over to DSUs! The fact that they are movable is awesome.

A method you can use to automatically convert items from one form to another is to do this:

Set up an automatic crafting table with the ingot to block recipe. Set up another one with the reverse. Set up import buses on both. Set an export bus to export in single items the ingredients, and set it to not export when it receives a redstone signal. Set a level emitter onto the export bus and set your thresholds.

Eg: I want to keep at least 4 stacks (256) of iron ingots on hand. Everything else is stored in blocks.
I set the level emitter for block to ingot table to emit when less than 256 ingots.
I set the level emitter for ingot to blocks when more than 288 ingots.
Ideally you should be aiming for a range within a stack. That way the number of stacks that is occupied by that item is kept stable and there's less risk for an item to spill out into another cell.

This uses a lot of components, but can be adapted for automatic stock keeping such as maintaining a stock of glass, conduits, tesseracts and the like by using an export bus into an interface or item tesseract leading into an export bus and getting the MAC and other integrated machines and patterns to do all the heavy lifting. Of course, if you have automatic ore processing that doesn't use the MAC and no recipes that also output ingots, you can just skip the automatic crafting tables and use the MAC directly for any recipe.

Thanks for this very detailed instructions. I'll follow it and give it ago and when I get to it. Till trying to conserve my quartz right now. Lol.

Renewable Quartz?

Find the villager that trades 2 Emerald -> 6 certus

Theres also quantum bees that make certus combs

Are quantum bees not available in unleashed? On the NEI, the bees don't appear to do anything and there doesn't seem to be a way to breed them. Googling doesn't seem to help either...

 

[Riuga]

Are quantum bees not available in unleashed? On the NEI, the bees don't appear to do anything and there doesn't seem to be a way to breed them. Googling doesn't seem to help either...

Update to 1.1.4

 

[Juanitierno]

For rewable quartz:

The MFR drill (http://ftbwiki.org/Laser_Drill) pretends to be mining but actually just generates the ores (including both types of quartz).

Since the quartz will never end as long as theres power, and power can be renewable, i guess it would be renewable quartz?

You can also use a focus lens on the laser to increase the amount of a specific material you get, including quartz.

 

[PoisonWolf]

Guys, I wanted to ask, what happens when you have two recipes with the same output, but different inputs? For example, I have one recipe to turn 4 silver grains into 1 pulverized silver inside the Molecular Assembly Chamber. In a separate area, inside an ME Interface, I have a 1 Silver Ingot to 1 Pulverized Silver which sends the ingot to a pulverizer.

How does the system choose which approach to use whenever it needs silver?

 

[angelnc]

At the moment AE can't handle multiple recipes for one item.
I think it's not predictable what recipe the system will choose.
Correct me, if I'm wrong.

 

[Adonis0]

At the moment AE can't handle multiple recipes for one item.
I think it's not predictable what recipe the system will choose.
Correct me, if I'm wrong.

For the most widely used AE in FTB, no you're not wrong

But in later versions since this is such a widely asked feature, it has been implemented, not entirely sure of the mechanics though
From [URLl]ae-mod.info[/URL]

Changelogs for rv13.a

...
18. The Interface can now be configured into a blocking mode.
...
34. If identical recipes are placed in separate interfaces AE will rollover/load balance the processing, useful with #18

 

[Harvest88]

Quantum bees?!? Is those from extra bees? I only know the default forestry one that churn out nether quartz.

 

[b0bst3r]

Quantum bees?!? Is those from extra bees? I only know the default forestry one that churn out nether quartz.

Yes, they give 15% chance of certus comb and shimmering comb (besides Mellow comb). Certus comb has 25% chance to give Nether Quartz and 20% chance of Certus Quartz Dust.

 

[Harvest88]

Wow finally a low energy alternative way of getting both quartz but with any other bee products your trade off is long time investment of time and bee keeping. But hey you can churn out 64k discs on entirely off of bees! (if you want better bangs for your bucks then goes Extra cells and get those 16mil rated cells!) However the real barrier for a full pledged factory is the trading. But still indeed possible if you don't mind a voyage to enough villager towns. But once those bees are in production of the drones (those often annoying extra drone sprenums could do the trick) Once your clear out that "dying" trait that 80% bees get you'll be good to go.

 

[PoisonWolf]

Wow finally a low energy alternative way of getting both quartz but with any other bee products your trade off is long time investment of time and bee keeping. But hey you can churn out 64k discs on entirely off of bees! (if you want better bangs for your bucks then goes Extra cells and get those 16mil rated cells!) However the real barrier for a full pledged factory is the trading. But still indeed possible if you don't mind a voyage to enough villager towns. But once those bees are in production of the drones (those often annoying extra drone sprenums could do the trick) Once your clear out that "dying" trait that 80% bees get you'll be good to go.

I honestly how he added the dying trait in for no reason other than to force you to grind and make your world-saves larger in size due to needing to explore further to collect more princesses. (e.g. I need to get 8 wintry princesses and 8 rocky drones to get my first x4 drone production rocky princess that doesn't have the dying trait, if you were to breed manually without the use of machines). For people who like small world-saves file sizes, it is a redundant change to the system. He could have just as easily just reduced the odds of getting any product from combs by 80%, or heck, 90% and I'd still be okay with it. The dying feature is just turning it into an unnecessary grind.

I'm honestly glad I'm still on 1.5.2

For the most widely used AE in FTB, no you're not wrong

But in later versions since this is such a widely asked feature, it has been implemented, not entirely sure of the mechanics though
From [URLl]ae-mod.info[/URL]

Changelogs for rv13.a

...
18. The Interface can now be configured into a blocking mode.
...
34. If identical recipes are placed in separate interfaces AE will rollover/load balance the processing, useful with #18

I ask because right now everything seems to be working fine, and it is taking the products from the grains when making pulverized silver. But given the information you provided, I guess it's good to go. Does Unleashed 1.1.3 use rv13.a for AE?