I'm making this thread to compare the two packs and maybe help people who aren't sure yet decide on which to play, since there isn't really a good guide for new players.
Modlist for Direwolf20:
EE3
Mystcraft(worldgen)
Gravity Gun
ChargePads
Compact Solars
Modular Powersuits
Thaumic Bees
Reliquary
Mods Mindcrack has that direwolf20 doesn't:
Gregtech(worldgen)
Traincraft
Petrogen
Advanced Machnines
Advanced Solars
Comparing the mods:
Direwolf20 has three more mods then Mindcrack, however that doesn't necessarily mean it is better as it comes down to the size of the mod as well as personal preference. The major reason a lot of people use mindcrack is Gregtech. If you don't know, gregtech is a huge IC2 add on that adds a lot of end game and very powerful features, however it changes a lot of recipes from other mods, as well as vanilla, which makes it very controversial. Traincraft is another pretty large mod, however its more of an aesthetic mod then anything, the mod itself is pretty much useless with mods like railcraft and steves carts. It also adds a lot of world gen which is, in my opinion, very annoying. Petrogen lets you convert oil and fuel into EU. Again, I find this pretty useless, it isn't a direct way to convert MJ into EU, it relies on an (almost) nonrenewable resource that you will most likely not be using end game. Advanced machines adds a couple upgrades to basic IC2 machines such as the macerator, very useful if you use mainly IC2 machines. While mindcrack has advanced solars, direwolf20 pack has compact solars. They are pretty similar in that they add three higher tiers of solar panels. Advanced machines are (I believe) a little more expensive but work better, even at night. Compact solars are not as efficient, some would argue more balanced. Direwolf20 has EE3, a magic mod that lets you transmute items into other items. Some people consider this over powered however. Mystcraft is another magic mod that lets you create custom worlds, called "ages". While it is pretty difficult to get them, it is very easy to create random worlds, which could be bad for servers. Gravity gun is a cool mod made by ichun(who made portal gun) It can not only move blocks and mobs, but shoot them really far away. Chargepads is an IC2 addon that charges your electric tools and armor by standing on them. Modular Powersuits lets you make your own customizable suit that you can do tons of awesome stuff with. Thaumic Bees is a forestry/thaumcraft addon that adds new magical bees and other interactions between the two mods. And finally Reliquary(made by the original author of Equivalent exchange and EE2) another magic mod with tons of awesome items like a cloak of distortion(basically invisibility cloak) holy hand grenades, stackable splash potions, and even a handgun.
My thoughts:
I personally recommend the direwolf20 pack to most people(especially the ones who like magic mods) because while gregtech is very awesome, in my opinion it just doesn't compare to all the others mods in direwolf20 like Reliquary, mystcraft, and EE3. Other then gregtech I would say all of the other mods that are in mindcrack and not in direwolf20 aren't that useful and some maybe even more of an annoyance. However If you really want the challenge of gregtech and all the new stuff, I would suggest adding it yourself to the direwolf20 modpack.
Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments.
Modlist for Direwolf20:
- Buildcraft
- Thermal Expansion
- Chicken bones core
- Ender Storage
- Chicken Chunks
- Wireless Redstone CBE
- NEI
- NEI plugins
- Computercraft
- Misc Peripherals
- EE3
- Extra Bees
- ExtrabiomesXL
- Factorization
- Forestry
- Gravity Gun
- IndustrialCraft
- Compact Solars
- Chargepads
- Nuclear Control
- MFFS
- GraviSuite
- Iron Chests
- Modular Powersuits
- Mystcraft
- Obsidian Pressure Plates
- Omnitools
- Portal Gun
- Railcraft
- Redpower
- Rei's Minimap
- Steves Carts
- Soul Shards
- Thaumcraft
- Thaumic Bees
- Twilight Forest
- Reliquary
- Xycraft
- Buildcraft
- Thermal Expansion
- Chicken bones core
- Ender Storage
- Chicken Chunks
- Wireless Redstone CBE
- NEI
- NEI plugins
- Computercraft
- Misc Peripherals
- Extra Bees
- ExtrabiomesXL
- Factorization
- Forestry
- IndustrialCraft
- Nuclear Control
- MFFS
- GraviSuite
- Iron Chests
- Obsidian Pressure Plates
- Omnitools
- Portal Gun
- Railcraft
- Redpower
- Rei's Minimap
- Steves Carts
- Soul Shards
- Thaumcraft
- Twilight Forest
- Xycraft
- Gregtech
- Advanced Machnines
- Advanced Solars
- Traincraft
- Petrogen
EE3
Mystcraft(worldgen)
Gravity Gun
ChargePads
Compact Solars
Modular Powersuits
Thaumic Bees
Reliquary
Mods Mindcrack has that direwolf20 doesn't:
Gregtech(worldgen)
Traincraft
Petrogen
Advanced Machnines
Advanced Solars
Comparing the mods:
Direwolf20 has three more mods then Mindcrack, however that doesn't necessarily mean it is better as it comes down to the size of the mod as well as personal preference. The major reason a lot of people use mindcrack is Gregtech. If you don't know, gregtech is a huge IC2 add on that adds a lot of end game and very powerful features, however it changes a lot of recipes from other mods, as well as vanilla, which makes it very controversial. Traincraft is another pretty large mod, however its more of an aesthetic mod then anything, the mod itself is pretty much useless with mods like railcraft and steves carts. It also adds a lot of world gen which is, in my opinion, very annoying. Petrogen lets you convert oil and fuel into EU. Again, I find this pretty useless, it isn't a direct way to convert MJ into EU, it relies on an (almost) nonrenewable resource that you will most likely not be using end game. Advanced machines adds a couple upgrades to basic IC2 machines such as the macerator, very useful if you use mainly IC2 machines. While mindcrack has advanced solars, direwolf20 pack has compact solars. They are pretty similar in that they add three higher tiers of solar panels. Advanced machines are (I believe) a little more expensive but work better, even at night. Compact solars are not as efficient, some would argue more balanced. Direwolf20 has EE3, a magic mod that lets you transmute items into other items. Some people consider this over powered however. Mystcraft is another magic mod that lets you create custom worlds, called "ages". While it is pretty difficult to get them, it is very easy to create random worlds, which could be bad for servers. Gravity gun is a cool mod made by ichun(who made portal gun) It can not only move blocks and mobs, but shoot them really far away. Chargepads is an IC2 addon that charges your electric tools and armor by standing on them. Modular Powersuits lets you make your own customizable suit that you can do tons of awesome stuff with. Thaumic Bees is a forestry/thaumcraft addon that adds new magical bees and other interactions between the two mods. And finally Reliquary(made by the original author of Equivalent exchange and EE2) another magic mod with tons of awesome items like a cloak of distortion(basically invisibility cloak) holy hand grenades, stackable splash potions, and even a handgun.
My thoughts:
I personally recommend the direwolf20 pack to most people(especially the ones who like magic mods) because while gregtech is very awesome, in my opinion it just doesn't compare to all the others mods in direwolf20 like Reliquary, mystcraft, and EE3. Other then gregtech I would say all of the other mods that are in mindcrack and not in direwolf20 aren't that useful and some maybe even more of an annoyance. However If you really want the challenge of gregtech and all the new stuff, I would suggest adding it yourself to the direwolf20 modpack.
Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments.
