I'm starting this thread to try to help with those of you who haven't played GregTech before and don't know where to start. Please comment anything you feel provides viable input to the conversation. THIS IS NOT A GT DEBATE THREAD!!! Don't like GT? Cool...leave and don't say anything or watch some videos and learn of its true awesomeness. Beginners feel free to ask questions...
GregTech Beginnings
- Thread starter ILoveGregTech
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Perhaps a good thing to do would be to post a short (a few paragraphs, maybe some pictures if there is anything that would be better explained in a thousand words encoded into visual data) "getting started" guide for GregTech with a set of prerequisites such as "have an EU network that can support an MFSU", or "have access to a macerator", etc.
Gregtech/IC2 path
Centrifuge (before carrying on make sure you are at MFE standard) > Electrolyser > Industrial Blast Furnace > Implosion Compressor > Matter Fab
From there you have a path to make Iridium and can take the rest how you like, somewhere in that lot you need to sort out power requirements, the easiest way to power IC is by lava in Gregtech thermal generators. Try and get at least 2 MFSU's and sufficiently powered before getting a Matter Fab.
You need to be at Industrial Blast Furnace level before you even contemplate making solars (unless the server is on easy recipes).
Centrifuge (before carrying on make sure you are at MFE standard) > Electrolyser > Industrial Blast Furnace > Implosion Compressor > Matter Fab
From there you have a path to make Iridium and can take the rest how you like, somewhere in that lot you need to sort out power requirements, the easiest way to power IC is by lava in Gregtech thermal generators. Try and get at least 2 MFSU's and sufficiently powered before getting a Matter Fab.
You need to be at Industrial Blast Furnace level before you even contemplate making solars (unless the server is on easy recipes).
Don't forget the Industrial Grinder! You'll probably make it somewhere around the same time as the I. Blast Furnace. It's very, very helpful in processing rare ores, and it allows you to grind nikolite ore for diamond dust, and in the new update you can get thorium from coal ore. (Yes, you need two whole diamonds and eight more diamond dust to make it. You might find it helpful to buy some diamond tools off villagers and pulverize them.)
Ironically, if you're using Gregtech in Mindcrack, you'll probably start by using TE ore processing tools, namely the pulverizer and/or the induction furnace. While it is possible to start with the IC2 macerator, you need at least three diamonds to make it, so most people don't.
Ironically, if you're using Gregtech in Mindcrack, you'll probably start by using TE ore processing tools, namely the pulverizer and/or the induction furnace. While it is possible to start with the IC2 macerator, you need at least three diamonds to make it, so most people don't.
You missed the grinder, an absolute must, and preferably prior to the blast furnace.
Complete path is something like: Pulverizer -> Railcraft blast furnace -> MFE level power -> Industrial Grinder -> Industrial Electrolyzer -> Industrial Blast Furnace -> MFSU level power -> Matter fab.
Unless you're using the Centrifuge for methane generation, it's not really terribly necessary. The important recipes have moved to the electrolyzer. Lithium from electrolyzers make MFE's literally dirt cheap.
Things which are also good to get along the way, although not must-haves: chemical reactor (allows cheap RE batteries for making your generators, among other things) and electric crafting table (get empty cells back from crafting recipes).
You can also use the Centrifuge to extract tin and copper from lava. That certainly isn't a trivial use, especially combined with TE magma crucibles and/or BC pumps.
What do people do to get to MFE range? I'd recommend to make a Nuclear Reactor. Just one reactor's fine, you'll only need a generator and a Compressor, which will allow you to make one reactor, if you need more copper, hook up the output to an Industrial Centrifuge, then you can make more reactors, and more EU, and more reactors, and more EU!
Then again, you'll need more Uranium, but that's easy, assuming your second reactor's a breeder and you have an industrial centrifuge to put the Uranium in...which you should have.
Really.
Then again, you'll need more Uranium, but that's easy, assuming your second reactor's a breeder and you have an industrial centrifuge to put the Uranium in...which you should have.
Really.
I've restarted my world again..with the thought of not using lava, solar, windmill and watermill..
EU:
For eu power system I started wth 4 RC coke oven and 1 blast furnace (early power) -> get the tesseract +oil refinery+diesel generator+MFE/MFSU (early-mid eu production) -> IC2/GT nuclear power+MFSU
MJ:
Forestry farm->biofuel->steam boiler->MJ (now how easy is that compared to EU power system lol)
Since I also turned on all the TE hardmode recipes (machine frame need steel) and I couldn't find any swamp biome for my induction furnace, my the tech tree was something like this:
Coke oven+macerator+electric furnace+other tier 1 IC2 machine -> factorization setup+crystallizer (for slime ball) -> RC blast furnace -> pulverizer+everything else in TE (because I need to make tesseract) -> industrial centrifuge -> industrial electrolyzer -> industrial blast furnace+industrial grinder(+chem reactor).
Somewhere in between I will also start doing the bee for iridium (and MJ power system for XBee).
Chemical reactor is a must have to triple ore yield unless you want to start early quarry, which I usually don't until I really need it to gather resource for fusion reactor or copper for nuclear reactor.
EU:
For eu power system I started wth 4 RC coke oven and 1 blast furnace (early power) -> get the tesseract +oil refinery+diesel generator+MFE/MFSU (early-mid eu production) -> IC2/GT nuclear power+MFSU
MJ:
Forestry farm->biofuel->steam boiler->MJ
(now how easy is that compared to EU power system lol)Since I also turned on all the TE hardmode recipes (machine frame need steel) and I couldn't find any swamp biome for my induction furnace, my the tech tree was something like this:
Coke oven+macerator+electric furnace+other tier 1 IC2 machine -> factorization setup+crystallizer (for slime ball) -> RC blast furnace -> pulverizer+everything else in TE (because I need to make tesseract) -> industrial centrifuge -> industrial electrolyzer -> industrial blast furnace+industrial grinder(+chem reactor).
Somewhere in between I will also start doing the bee for iridium (and MJ power system for XBee).
Chemical reactor is a must have to triple ore yield unless you want to start early quarry, which I usually don't until I really need it to gather resource for fusion reactor or copper for nuclear reactor.
I generally like to be at an MFE within a few hours of starting IC2, but I will just go with coal > thermal (I like to use volcanoes but on my last server I did try out the magma crucible), I know everyone here raves on about coal coke early game but meh. Coal is so abundant it got a quantum chest right after dirt cobblestone sand and gravel.
I mean, Coal Coke's good, it's convenient to have running in the background at all times, good for Creo, it also acts like a condensed version of Coal, because it'll hold twice the energy. But it's not as good as everyone says it is. In a Tekkit server I used to play on, Coal Coke and Creosote Oil were both sold for a dollar at the spawn. That's saying something because diamonds (EE2 enabled) were 20 cents!
I tried thermal, but I did it completely wrong. Instead of using tin cells, I used Buckets. And instead of putting it in a Thermal Generator I put it in a Railcraft Boiler. Let's just say it got to 22 degrees and stayed there. Did I mention it was 36 HP? Did I also mention it was my first time?
I will use a Magma Crucible, but I like to get something to produce the energy instead of the lava itself, it doesn't give enough of a gain to make it useful. So my boiler (running on charcoal
) will power the crucible, which will end up powering a Thermal Generator. But I can just use a steam turbine.Starting Tips:
- Loot chests contain a lot of bronze and steel, both tools and ignots.
- The 3 diamonds you'd use for a macerator could be used for a Steves Carts tree farm, and thermal generators only require a compressor and rolling machine to make.
- IC/Gtech/railcraft require a lot of iron, rich slag is good. Especially if you wanna build a big boiler asap.
- Soul Shards only require some glowstone, soul sand and a diamond, zombie spawners are very easy to find, turtles can use gem tools and iron tools can be macerated/pulverized.
- keep the RP rubies and saphires. Rubies = energy crystals or !!chrome!!. Saphires = lapotron crystals.
- steve's carts + sawmill + boiler + magma cruicible + centrifuge or igneous extruder + pulverizer + electrolyzer = way less mining you'll have to do
- Soulshards. Withers = diamonds. Endermen = fertilizer, Zombies = iron + methane, Zombie Pigmen = Gold + Methane, Creeper = Iridium plates
- Speaking of which, Blazes now suck for boilers. Generators however.... You could also make diamonds from 'em.
- The End. Dragon Crystals = 128 eu/t. 4 sheldonite = 1 iridium.
- If you're able to create a lot of crystal clusters, then you can pull 128eu/t per two nether stars out of thin air. The Flux will be very deadly though.
- Enchanting turtle + magic energy converter.
- Red Cobble + crafty turtle + electrolyzer = all the silicone, lithium and aluminium you could ever need
- lithium + aluminium = super cheap MFE.
- portal guns can be uncrafted for nether stars.
- blast furnaces might take a lot of time, but cost half the coal.
- there's a shit-tonne of Pyrite in the Nether if you're still short on iron.
Most of those are not really GregTech tips, Poppycocks More like tips on how other mods benefit from having GregTech installed.
(And hardliners like me would consider at least two thirds of those tips disable-worthy cross mod exploits, but hey, it's for everyone to decide how much cheese they can bear)
Here's some actual GregTech focused tips:
- Contrary to what some people say, you really want a centrifuge, maybe even two. You're going to be centrifuging a lot of redstone, and each run will take you over 40 minutes. Why are you going to be centrifuging redstone? Because it 1.) is incredibly abundant and your chests will overflow otherwise, and 2.) it gives you ruby dust -> chrome, which is a pain in the rear to obtain even with the much more plentiful Redpower rubies, and 3.) it gives you mercury cells, which you need as a yield booster for your industrial grinder anyway.
- Go find yourself a village and make friends with the inhabitants. Build them new houses and breed as many as you can. You're going to know why when you look up the recipe for iridium-neutron-reflectors.
- Are you playing singleplayer? Take the last digit off of the matter fabricator's energy need in the config. The default value is meant for 24/7 server play where people generate 90% of their energy while logged off.
- Silk Touch All The Things! ...except diamonds and sapphires. Make a rock cutter early-on for this purpose. Not only will you increase your yield without the stupid luck required for a Fortune pickaxe (I have not gotten one in over 20 max level enchants...), but you also get interesting secondary products if you use a TE pulverizer or an industrial grinder. Pulverizing nikolite alone will give you more than enough diamond dust (which is why you don't silktouch diamond ore). Uranium gives bonus plutonium, coal gives bonus tungsten (and you usually want all your coal in dust form anyway once you're past the early stages of the game). Redstone can be centrifuged, rubies and emeralds you'll need every last scrap of dust you can get, and I probably don't need to mention iridium in the first place.
- Mind your energy generation. If a GregTech machine doesn't get its full power input for the entire process duration (and some recipes can drain 128 EU/t for several minutes straight), the process will reset to zero and you'll have to start over. Buffer storages and long-term reliable energy sources are your friend!
- There are GregTech ores in the nether and in The End. The Nether ores are largely useless, but they give a TON of experience if you don't silktouch them. You can easily level yourself from 0 to 30 in five minutes in the nether, so take advantage of it and enchant yourself some armor and weapons. The End ores are more valuable, especially sheldonite. Silk touch + industrial grinder with mercury is a must for that one! If you don't have that setup yet, save the ore until you do.
- There are some great alternative recipes for mixed metal ingots. They either allow you to get rid of useless metals (zinc anyone?) while saving those you actually need, or to massively increase the amount of mixed metal ingots you get. What was it, 9 ingots for the tungsten/bronze/aluminium combo? And they said tungsten was useless...
- And finally, the most important tip: Take a good hard look at what you like and don't like about GregTech, and then adjust the config file. Give those controversial features a chance, but if you find something you really don't like, turn it off. And turn some of the default-off things on if they sound like fun. That's what the config file is there fore. GregTech, more than any other mod I have seen, benefits immensely from proper custom settings to suit your style.
More like tips on how other mods benefit from having GregTech installed.(And hardliners like me would consider at least two thirds of those tips disable-worthy cross mod exploits, but hey, it's for everyone to decide how much cheese they can bear
)Here's some actual GregTech focused tips:
- Contrary to what some people say, you really want a centrifuge, maybe even two. You're going to be centrifuging a lot of redstone, and each run will take you over 40 minutes. Why are you going to be centrifuging redstone? Because it 1.) is incredibly abundant and your chests will overflow otherwise, and 2.) it gives you ruby dust -> chrome, which is a pain in the rear to obtain even with the much more plentiful Redpower rubies, and 3.) it gives you mercury cells, which you need as a yield booster for your industrial grinder anyway.
- Go find yourself a village and make friends with the inhabitants. Build them new houses and breed as many as you can. You're going to know why when you look up the recipe for iridium-neutron-reflectors.
- Are you playing singleplayer? Take the last digit off of the matter fabricator's energy need in the config. The default value is meant for 24/7 server play where people generate 90% of their energy while logged off.
- Silk Touch All The Things! ...except diamonds and sapphires. Make a rock cutter early-on for this purpose. Not only will you increase your yield without the stupid luck required for a Fortune pickaxe (I have not gotten one in over 20 max level enchants...), but you also get interesting secondary products if you use a TE pulverizer or an industrial grinder. Pulverizing nikolite alone will give you more than enough diamond dust (which is why you don't silktouch diamond ore). Uranium gives bonus plutonium, coal gives bonus tungsten (and you usually want all your coal in dust form anyway once you're past the early stages of the game). Redstone can be centrifuged, rubies and emeralds you'll need every last scrap of dust you can get, and I probably don't need to mention iridium in the first place.
- Mind your energy generation. If a GregTech machine doesn't get its full power input for the entire process duration (and some recipes can drain 128 EU/t for several minutes straight), the process will reset to zero and you'll have to start over. Buffer storages and long-term reliable energy sources are your friend!
- There are GregTech ores in the nether and in The End. The Nether ores are largely useless, but they give a TON of experience if you don't silktouch them. You can easily level yourself from 0 to 30 in five minutes in the nether, so take advantage of it and enchant yourself some armor and weapons. The End ores are more valuable, especially sheldonite. Silk touch + industrial grinder with mercury is a must for that one! If you don't have that setup yet, save the ore until you do.
- There are some great alternative recipes for mixed metal ingots. They either allow you to get rid of useless metals (zinc anyone?) while saving those you actually need, or to massively increase the amount of mixed metal ingots you get. What was it, 9 ingots for the tungsten/bronze/aluminium combo? And they said tungsten was useless...
- And finally, the most important tip: Take a good hard look at what you like and don't like about GregTech, and then adjust the config file. Give those controversial features a chance, but if you find something you really don't like, turn it off. And turn some of the default-off things on if they sound like fun. That's what the config file is there fore. GregTech, more than any other mod I have seen, benefits immensely from proper custom settings to suit your style.
Not since at least v8.01 they can't.
Since railcraft blast furnace can run on charcoal, and the industrial demands coal dust for steel, your statement is wrong. The industrial uses infinitely more coal for steel than the railcraft blast furnace.
The only portal gun that I've ever been to uncraft using the Uncrafting table is the default portal gun. All of the rest do not seem to work with uncrafting.
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