FTB Monster | Thermal Expansion/BuildCraft vs Industrialcraft

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Jadedcat

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rhn said:
Yes it is true that many more mods support TE3 than IC2 now. But that doesn't meant that you cant with great benefit have a IC2 power generation. One of the biggest benefits to IC2 power generation IMO(and the reason why I make it for many things) is that it is one block(with compact/advanced solars/windmills) supplying the power. I don't need large laggy structures for everything. Don't get me wrong, I still build the large laggy structures that TE3 requires(treefarms, ethanol productions, boilers, rows of dynamos etc.) but I dont need to have 10 or 20 identical lines of them to power my base. This is because I choose to use IC2 to partly power the constant power hogs(AE, MFR and ore processing) with 512EU/t Solars. Helps make more complex projects more tolerable in terms of FPS/TPS etc.
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Lava. 1 pump 128 dynamos... no lag issues and that will produce 10,240RF/t enough to run everything short of a laser drill . The macerator alone with just enough power gen to run it in overclocked uses more computer resources than 25 pulverizers and the power to run them.Non overclocked the macerator and power gen = 10 pulverizers worth of computer resources. It only takes 5 pulverizers to keep up with the speed of an overclocked macerator. - This is according to jprofiler not just opis.

If we are going to start adding outside mods to the mix..... XU Solar generators will give you power with no performance issues . The reason Compact solars was made was because the number of solar panels people were using was lagging servers in the search of "free power". Compact solars is reasonably lightweight. However the macerator is not. And the entry level generators are not. There is a reason TE3 is in Lite2 and IC2 is not. IC2 is not a bad mod, but between the performance and lack of compatibility with other mods I just prefer TE3. MFR has one of the most powerful power gens available the Steam Turbine 160RF/T or 16MJ/t just add steam. And the bioreactors are incredibly efficient.

Edit to add for clarification: To be clear. That does not make IC2 a bad mod at all. Its not a horribly laggy mod either. Its just not as optimized as TE3. And I love optimized stuff *shrug*
 
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Golrith

Golrith

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Wow, that's even more efficient then I thought. IC2 team should have had some chats with KingLemming while he was still around. I know he was willing to help anyone who approached him. KL's real claim to fame was not TE3, but showing it's possible to mod without server strain, as a result, many other mods have become more efficient.
 
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Methusalem

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You might also want to check out the RF generators that Extra Utilities adds now. Got a cow farm? There's a generator that burns meat. Picked some flowers? Another generator uses pink (or orange?) dye. The usual generators that burn the normal furnace fuel or lava, one of them with lower output but the fuel lasts a lot longer.

My favorite is the Ender Generator. Ender pearls and blaze rods are easy to farm and half a stack (32) Eyes of Ender give 80 RF/t for over 13 hours.

Rotary Craft is also a great choice. Lots of interesting machines and the cross-mod interactions (has machines to use or produce MJ, RF, UE, Steam) is also really good.
 
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Snowboardpvp

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Thanks for all the info, it will all help. I will for sure be using TE now, because it sounds fairly simple, useful, and more universally compatible. I then plan to use rotary craft as at least some of my power source, and possibly some of my ore processing as it seems the mod doesn't get much attention. Also it looks to be a fun and unique plugin, that will definitely be worth it.
 
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Jadedcat

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Snowboardpvp said:
Thanks for all the info, it will all help. I will for sure be using TE now, because it sounds fairly simple, useful, and more universally compatible. I then plan to use rotary craft as at least some of my power source, and possibly some of my ore processing as it seems the mod doesn't get much attention. Also it looks to be a fun and unique plugin, that will definitely be worth it.
Click to expand...

Rotary craft has some really cool mechanics when you get to that point. Complicated but very worth it.
 
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AlanEsh

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Don't be shy to put together a Big Reactors power plant! They're pretty easy to build and provide a good amount of power for the fuel used.
(not to be confused with ReactorCraft)
 
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Jadedcat

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AlanEsh said:
Don't be shy to put together a Big Reactors power plant! They're pretty easy to build and provide a good amount of power for the fuel used.
(not to be confused with ReactorCraft)
Click to expand...

He did say he was new.. we probably shouldn't scare him just yet... <.<
 
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trajano080

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TE3 is better for starting out, but as you get farther into the game you will probably want to use IC2 machines for advanced ore processing and overclocking, BC for quarrying and AE for storage/auto crafting.
 
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Enigmius1

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Before TE, IndustrialCraft tended to be favored over BuildCraft for any/all of the following reasons:

IndustrialCraft provided useful power tools
IndustrialCraft provided useful armor
IndustrialCraft offered material (ore) processing
IndustrialCraft provided a means to store the energy you produced
IndustrialCraft machines were far less likely to explode

The only thing BuildCraft really brought to the party were quarries and pumps and if you had an energy conversion mod available you were usually skipping BuildCraft's energy generation. If you had RedPower available, there was rarely reason to use BuildCraft pipes.

IndustrialCraft was just a more engaging mod, but that changed when TE showed up and did everything better.
 
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ThatOneSlowking

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Enigmius1 said:
Before TE, IndustrialCraft tended to be favored over BuildCraft for any/all of the following reasons:

IndustrialCraft provided useful power tools
IndustrialCraft provided useful armor
IndustrialCraft offered material (ore) processing
IndustrialCraft provided a means to store the energy you produced
IndustrialCraft machines were far less likely to explode

The only thing BuildCraft really brought to the party were quarries and pumps and if you had an energy conversion mod available you were usually skipping BuildCraft's energy generation. If you had RedPower available, there was rarely reason to use BuildCraft pipes.

IndustrialCraft was just a more engaging mod, but that changed when TE showed up and did everything better.
Click to expand...
Im pretty sure IC2 didnt have automation before TE
Without buildcraft
Cause, y'know
It had NO ITEM TRANSPORT
*facedesk*
( I didnt really facedesk, just got a bit confused :p)
 
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Enigmius1

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ThatOneSlowking said:
Im pretty sure IC2 didnt have automation before TE
Without buildcraft
Cause, y'know
It had NO ITEM TRANSPORT
*facedesk*
( I didnt really facedesk, just got a bit confused :p)
Click to expand...

Ya, I commented on item transport. From Tekkit through FTB, BC's contribution to item transport has always been inferior.
 
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ThatOneSlowking

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Enigmius1 said:
Ya, I commented on item transport. From Tekkit through FTB, BC's contribution to item transport has always been inferior.
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Ah, I missed that xD
Although from my understanding 1.5 had BC as the best
And it had one advantage: Simplicity(i never undrstood sorting machines. Of course I never got to play an actual modded server and had a good time with actual progress until 2 or 3 months ago so I never really had reason for tubes)
 
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Revemohl

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Small advice: if you ever feel like using a pump to get lava or a quarry to mine everything, try using Extra Utilities's Ender versions of them instead of the usual Buildcraft ones. They might be a little more expensive (and obviously cost Ender Pearls), but your server will thank you.
 
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RealSketch

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Wagon153 said:
Honestly, I can't really say which is better. Thermal Expansion is best for beginners since it is relatively simple and cheap. Buildcraft has no ore processing, although it has item transportation and the quarry. IC2 is better for later game things because of it's new tedium to its recipes. That and its power system is more complex(but not much.) Rotary craft is an awesome mod that is in Monster that I highly suggest using. It is quite complex at first, but it comes with a handbook that explains all the machines, power production, and how the power works.
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I disagree, IC2 batboxes are great and easy for a beginner, along with a solar panel. With TE you need coal or something to power your machines. Also, I think EU is easier to understand, but MJ is more advanced.
 
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