Gregtech Survival Guide

Sorry:

I've been very busy. I will continue to be busy. So to remind myself to make this guide, and in preparation for CQI's Learn Gregtech Modpack, I am going to be releasing parts of my survival guide early. In fact, I've been so busy that I cannot finish this guide and work on modpacks and look at colleges and go to school and, well, it has also been neglected for a while.

Feel free to comment below, and suggest changes to each specific part on the Google docs. I hope by cutting the guide into pieces I can manage it better.

Spoiler: Google Drive links:

Full Guide
Part 1
Part 2
Part X...

Spoiler: Downloads (PDF)

Download it here

And if you still want some more reading:
Greg's Q/A
Muphet's Post
Pyro's Post (to be incorporated into our guide)
Oh yeah forgot this

Videos
Our Pal MrMoo. He is going to be doing 2 minute quick "bite" sized videos on GT.
TheMightyDanP. He just started, and is pumping out content.
UNG has some of the best content on Youtube for GT5. However, being Brazillian, he is a bit hard to understand at times.
Chloe is a badass. She has very detailed hour long guides on a variety of things. Rock on girl.

If I left something out (which I know I did), link it to me below.

And yes, I am using GitHub for a PDF. Feel free to make fun of me.

 

Ta Da

 

@Queue Thanks for posting this !

 

No prob
Thanks again to all the contributors, we've added some new ones today. I am supposed to be studying for the physics midterm though, and the parts 2 and 3 will come after I finish my other midterms.

 

@Queue Which school are you at ? I remember my Physics classes from a loooooong time ago at Georgia Tech.

 

Your guide is very good but obv a work in progress. Probably no guide could answer all questions, but here are some basic issues I'm having in my own game.

I've gotten to LV machines but the GT Steam Boiler confused me a bit, some videos helped with hatches and the maintenance stuff. Then I made large steel pipe and ran the steam up to my railcraft steel tank but no steam would go into it. Not sure why. I watched Chloe's video explaining how pipes work and using shutters, but those didn't work for me either and I did use the screwdriver on em. Maybe I didn't wait long enough for the steel pipe to fill up, I dunno. I finally just gave up and made EnderIO top level fluid conduit and now my steam production is really cookin'. Maybe your guide could explain GT pipes and how they work, and little things like the difference between an input hatch and an input bus, when to use each one.

So my next step is to make that Electric Blast Furnace, but here it all comes to a screeching halt. LOL Your guide has a section on this very issue, but it's still highly confusing. Here's my idea, and it leads to another question... I plan to make four Steam Turbines, each outputting 32v and 1a, and use a cable that can handle 32v and 4a to run the output from the turbines into a GT transformer. The output from that should be 128v and 1a, is that correct? Am I on the right track?

Here's another electric scenario confusing me at the moment. I have the Thermal Centrifuge for making valuable byproducts like cobalt which gave me a nice level 3 pickaxe... but after struggling I learned the Thermal Centrifuge requires 32v and 2a, not the standard 1a like most LV machines. Confusing, not listed anywhere - how could I have known this one machine requires 2 amps? That's the kind of thing I'm looking for in a Guide or Tutorial - maybe add a section on machine amp/volt requirements, at least list the "oddballs".

Since Chloe's video on Battery Buffer Boxes didn't cover a lot of important stuff, I think you should also add a section in your Guide on how to provide a specific amperage to a machine. For example, with my Thermal Centrifuge, I made a 4-battery buffer box and only put two batteries into it since I read that each battery will output 1a. Then I used lead cable which can handle up to 2 amps. Perfect! But I've noticed I can then go ahead and fill the buffer box with all 4 batteries, and nothing melts or blows up... unless I restart Minecraft, or also if the machine runs out of power in the middle of processing. If all four slots are filled with batteries in either scenario, the lead cable will immediately burn up and melt. I can't figure out if that's a bug or not - why would the buffer push out 4 amps of current if nothing is requesting 4 amps? And if it isn't a bug, then why doesn't my lead cable melt as soon as I fill the buffer box with all four batteries? How should I run my power cabling to provide each machine with its proper power? Should I have a batter buffer touching each machine, ideally? Should I be using transformers? If I use a 16-battey Buffer Box, am I really gonna have to use a cable capable of handling 16 amps?! How can I split the output so I don't melt my wiring? If you could add a big section on electricity, a tutorial on how we should approach our machine/power layout, I think it would be a huge help. Your guide has already been a very big help as it has evolved over time, thanks for your efforts.

 

What is really slowing me down is this darn Thermal Centrifuge. Ever since I discovered I can get one tiny pile of byproduct by running my macerated ores thru it, I feel like I have to use it... but boy is it ever slow and energy-intensive. I already mentioned Chalcopyrite yields Cobalt, which I turned into a level 3 pickaxe... does anyone have any suggestions about similar "hidden treasures"? I got Titanium from Bauxite, and I got Rare Earth from Redstone... not that I have any use for either of them right now. LOL I think I need to break my addiction to this machine before my progress bogs down to nothing. haha

 

First off, thanks
Secondary, I just gave permissions to some russian guy (won't put his email here for obvious reasons) who wants to add info on boilers, which should alleviate some of the pain.
Tertiary, I am going to try combing through the guide to make it as easy to read as possible. Since I've been doing so much work out of the game, my ingame time is limited (also due to a huge bug in my version of Java which made me not able to play for over a month). I am a bit less knowledgeable ingame as I used to be (and why I made the guide community driven).
Quaternary, for the reasons stated above I will have to summon @SpwnX and maybe @Pyrolusite for your inquiries.
Quinary, I will try to get your suggestions added to the guide and if you want to help, feel free to post it as a suggestion on the google doc (or PM me your email and I can add you to the editing permissions).

Senary, maybe I am getting carried away
Septenary, maybe I should stop.
Octonary, no one even uses these terms.
Nonary, I am using grammatically correct words that nobody bothers to use, making me a snob.
Denary, the best part is my usage of these words is actually grammatically incorrect in pretty much all of these sentences.

 

Well I just left my GT Steam Boiler running past full, and when I came back to my base, there's now a gigantic crater where all my stuff used to be (my entire AE system is gone so I do mean "all my stuff"). sigh Time for a break I guess. Too upset to deal with it right now. Half-hearted LOL. If I had at least gotten to see it happen in front of me, at least I'd have a fine memory that (in time) would be a funny one. I even got robbed of seeing it happen (or hearing it, for that matter). I love you Greg.

 

OUCH. That's one thing, Gregtech punishes you for screwing up- which I like- when the solution is *fairly* obvious or you are able to figure it out. The problem arises when info is less obvious and you lose hours of progress over some minor derp.

 

And I am just sitting here trying to decide if GT diesel turbines will burn creosote or if I have to process it first or something

 

I think this is my third GregTech world that I've gotten to the same exact point (Low Voltage electric machines) and then it just all falls apart. The good thing is, I am becoming a real expert at "early game" GregTech. The bad thing is, I am a totally clueless noob at medium voltage and above (mid-game to late-game) because I can't ever get there!! Something stupid always happens and I give up on that world. Last time I learned that you do NOT put electric machines outside, without a roof. I learned that rain can blow stuff up. I learned it the hard way, by seeing all my machines in flames. LOL

With all the hardships I experience, I'm def not a rookie when it comes to backing up my worlds... however, yesterday I got very lazy and didn't copy my "saves" and "journeymap" folders at regular intervals. I got complacent, and when you get complacent you pay a big price for it. I lost 8 hours of gameplay in the Steam Boiler explosion because I didn't pause my game to copy the folders. Laziness. And for that sin, I deserve to pay a big price. I find it very difficult to go back to playing when I've lost so much progress. But I also find it difficult to avoid playing, because I was really enjoying the effort to get to medium voltage machines for the first time. I really thought I was gonna do it this time. sigh LOL

While I'm on the subject of massive violent steam explosions... is there any way to play GregTech without using steam? For all the options we're given in this great game, I find it rather odd that we seem to be 100% locked in to steam power. There is another turbine, the Gas Turbine, and I was going to try and make a power system using those instead of the Steam Turbines... however I came across this thread and here's what someone said:

"You're not really supposed to create an infinite, self-sustaining loop with gas turbines. You're supposed to burn byproducts of other things you're doing in the mod."

Even tho they don't recommend it, I might give it a shot just to see if it can be done. I'm really getting sick of steam power after seeing what can happen. BOOM!

 

I've had some thoughts on alternative ways to play GregTech... such as, whenever I need a certain material I will allow myself to "/gamemode 1" and grab a few stacks. But I'll make a rule that I have to grab the raw material - if I need steel plates, I can grab a few stacks of iron. But I need to make the steel and the plates manually. If I need rubber sheets I can grab some sticky resin. I think this would speed up my progression thru the tiers quite a bit, since I don't have to explore, travel, and dig for ores which clearly seems to be the slow-down factor in this game. But it also would let me learn the tiers as I go, instead of just doing pure creative mode and plopping down every high voltage machine in the game. I'll still have to progress up the ladder. Has anyone else thought to try something like this, to speed up play while not going "full cheat mode"? Post your thoughts and ideas too!

 

Avoid using Creosote in anything else than a Railcraft boiler, if you plan on using it for GT-EU production. Very inefficient in GT's multiblock boilers, and can't be used directly in any GT generator/turbine.
Tip #2 : Avoid GT multiblock boilers and use RC ones instead, unless you have tungstensteel.
Tip #3 : If you don't plan on using steam as your main power source, use IC2's powergen stuff instead.

 

CONFIRMED.

Assuming one hasn't learned Tip #2 yet... is there any way to avoid manual control of the GT Bronze Boiler using that darn rubber hammer that I always need to carry around for one task? In other words, how do I automate this nuclear time bomb of a multiblock so it doesn't go BOOM when I forget about it?

P.S. I should add, by making the GT Steam Boiler, that taught me what I needed to know for when I finally am able to make the Electric Furnace... with the hatches, the muffler, etc. So while I lost one day's worth of play when the thing blew up and turned my base into a crater... it was actually well worth it. +1, would do again. As a matter of fact, I'm preparing to blow it on purpose (using a copy of my world, duh) just so I can watch it happen this time. haha

 

AFAIK, there isn't. The original idea behind maintenence (and the long-forgotten machine pollution that was planned back in 1.4.7) was to not have set-it-and-forget-it-machines. Especially for early game multiblocks. Can use redstone though to keep it from going boom though? I'm going to need confirmation on both of those.

 

I'm back to playing, but still very confused by electricity. I have one basic Steam Turbine, and one row of machines. That's simple and easy. 32 volts at all times, and the turbine emits one amp (one packet per tick but I'd prefer to stick to volts and amps terminology).

But let's say I want to add a second turbine? Oh dear. Total confusion now. LOL So I still only get 32 volts (no matter how many turbines), but now I have 2 amps of current, one for each turbine. But my 1x tin cable can only handle one amp. This raises a whole host of questions that I wish a guide would help answer. What do I do now? I can use 1x lead cable for 2 amps of current, or I can use 2x tin cable as well. I think the tin cable is less power loss per meter, so we pick that one, correct? So we run a line of 2x tin cable and place our machines along it (and atop it, which is what I do). Is anything gonna burn, melt or blow up?

Now let's get crazy - let's make 14 Steam Turbines. Now what? I have 14 amps of 32v, what's my next move? Is this where transformers come in handy? Convert it up to 128v (which divides the amps by 4) for transmission, then step it back down at the usage point? 14/4 = 3.5, and I don't think we can have "half an amp", correct? So what happens to the extra 2 amps of 32 volts left over?

I think I'll stop here with my questions and see if anybody jumps in. (I've got a Blood Moon to deal with, ARGH lol)

 

There's two kind of GT pipes : item ones and fluid ones. Item pipes work like ye olde RP2 tubes (closest available inventory first) with restriction pipes to artificially lengthen the pipe, and fluid pipes work a bit like BuildCraft's, with fluid getting through the whole pipe network and flushing back, feeding all the connected tanks/machines in the process.
If your pipe is not receiving anything from a machine, it may be because there's no auto output on it (which is, afaik, true for GT multiblocks), so in your case you need to use a "pump" cover (it would be a "conveyor belt" for an item pipe). Craft one, then place it between the output hatch and the pipe, then use a screwdriver on it to set it to "input mode", and now it should work.
Now, I strongly advise you not to use GT multiblock boilers because of how inefficient they are compared to Railcraft's until you reached tungstensteel.

Concerning the hatches and buses, hatches are for fluids and buses for solids, iirc. The GUIs should help you do the difference. The higher their tier is, the more capacity they have.
Using them depends on what your multiblock consumes. For an EBF, an input bus and output bus should be enough, but sometimes you will need the oxygen fluid in a recipe, thus needing to add an input hatch. For a boiler, a input hatch and output hatch is mandatory, for water input and steam output, and another bus or hatch depending on the fuel (solid or fluid, respectively) you're using.

Using a transformer, the 4 LV turbines will indeed output 128v 1a, however, there's loss inside the transformer + loss from the cables meaning you won't inject 128 eu/t in the nerfed blast furnace (and, yeah, since there's still no fucking soldering iron, 10% efficiency loss on the EBF until you can make the carbon duct tape, which requires MV). I highly recommend you add another LV turbine to compensate the loss.

The GT machines recipes in NEI have their required amperage displayed along with the voltage and EU consumed.

You don't need to worry about how many amperage you put through your cables, but more about how many amperages a machine is asking for when processing.

Let's say you have 2 LV turbines connected to x1 insulated tin cables.
If a machine is asking for only 1 amp, 1 amp will be given and nothing bad will happen. However, if you have a machine asking for 2 amp, or 2 or more machines asking for 1 amp on the same cable network, the cables will melt. That's why you need to choose how many machines you will allow to work at the same time and use proper cables accordingly (the least lossy for your amperage and voltage of choice), to minimize loss.

 

Check the Thermal Centrifuge in NEI, there's no voltages listed for any recipe. Could be a bug, I dunno. For every other GT machine, your advice is correct.

Thanks for the advice. I've spent more time working on my Forestry tree farm (for the charcoal obv) than anything else to this point. It is a bit frustrating in that regard, which is why I asked somewhere for suggestions to replace steam. I have 10K apples from my tree farm, can the Gas Turbine help me out a lot if I convert them to methane? Or am I gonna blow thru 10K apples so fast it won't even be worth it? What I love about the GT boiler is that I can turn it on/off instantly, and when I turn it on, it fills my 9x9x8 railcraft steel tank within 10 minutes or so. That's pretty amazing. But then again, I'm going thru all that steam almost as quick. lol Do people have 9x9x8 farms of steel tanks just to buffer all the steam required for GregTech? I wonder about that. I'm ready to build a second one already.

 

That's because the GT Thermal Centrifuge is based on IC2's, thus displaying the IC2 recipes for it, like the macerator or the extractor.

Imo, centrifuging your apples into methane for energy production will not help you a lot, especially since you will need a power-hungry dedicated infrastructure for that.
If you don't want to use steam, you could use IC2's alternatives (since GT have poor alternatives compared to what it used to have) like biogas from plant matter, geothermal, or even nuclear.