How do you decide what to build next?

[Death-A-Lot]

As the title says really, How do you decide what to build next?

Is it a case of you have an idea in mind that will take you through from the beginning till the end ad you know what to build to get there? Do you take inspiration from elsewhere? Or is it a case of "Oh that looks good, I will try that!"

Its just that with FTB there is a lot of stuff you could build and it can get overwhelming when deciding on things to do next, so much so that I end up running two to three builds at once and not finishing any in any decent time due to going of on a tangent to do something else.

 

[Lambert2191]

sorta just flows with me. I get an idea in my head and start to build it, then along the way things change, and I change my design and idea and add different parts to it. I don't have a set way of designing buildings, it just happens.

 

[Guswut]

How do you decide what to build next?

I usually am in a GregTech world, and I like the IC2 branch, so I usually just make what is required to get to the next level. Sometimes I will deviate from that and make something entirely different, such as a farm for my strawberries and blueberries (delicious berries), or a sugar cane tower, but usually it is best to get a tech tree progressed.

 

[Lambert2191]

such as a farm for my strawberries and blueberries

what mod gives these? :S

 

[ajskuce]

i usually have some big thing i want to work to and as im trying to do that i start and finish a lot of smaller builds because im in need of certain things. and sometimes ill just see something awesome on someones youtube channel and want to make it/improve on it. But on my server right now we prolly have 4 or 5 unfinished builds that we work on a little here and there. Mainly depends on what type of mods i feel like working with that day. (magic, machines, bees, etc.)

 

[Guswut]

what mod gives these? :S

The HarvestCraft mod collection (http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/402069-147forgesmppams-mods-feb-21st-17-more-crop-mods/) from Pam. There are some item ID conflicts with a few things into the BuildCraft range, so if you are interested in knowing which I've found thus far I can shoot that data over to you.

The amount of world changing awesomeness that having loads of fruiting trees, loads more plants to harvest, and whatnot is truly something I cannot put into words so I'd suggest thinking about it.

 

[Bibble]

i'll usually have some kind of end goal (and get distracted). My current thought process works along the lines of:
"Oooh, I want the 36HP liquid boiler I used to have. That needs:
1. Resources (quarry)
2. Fuel, which needs bees, which needs apiaries, which need seed oil, which need TC3, which need resources for the research, which needs a quarry.

I need a quarry. I'll need something to fuel it. That'll need combustion engine this time, I think. I've not seen oil yet, so I need a tree farm. That needs diamonds. That needs mining.

I think I'll go mining to build a cart assembler."

 

[Death-A-Lot]

Don't you ever get sidetracked for days or weeks and then forget what you were building before you went off on a tangent?

 

[Guswut]

Don't you ever get sidetracked for days or weeks and then forget what you were building before you went off on a tangent?

Yes to the first part, no the the second part. I'll get sidetracked at times, but I won't forget what I wanted to build. I'll just deprioritize it until I finish whatever tangent I am working on, and when I finish that I normally get back to it.

At worst, make a sign board in game with your "Current Goals" listed.

 

[Death-A-Lot]

Yes to the first part, no the the second part. I'll get sidetracked at times, but I won't forget what I wanted to build. I'll just deprioritize it until I finish whatever tangent I am working on, and when I finish that I normally get back to it.

At worst, make a sign board in game with your "Current Goals" listed.

That's not a bad idea actually. I think that would be pretty useful.

 

[Hitmaniac]

I ususally see something on YouTube I think looks really cool, like maybe a neat Nuclear Reactor or a base run from Biomass.

 

[Guswut]

That's not a bad idea actually. I think that would be pretty useful.

It works well for some of the users on my server. Another system is a Google Docs spreadsheet, which you can use to keep different sheets on the same document for each user, as well as a "shared" sheet for shared goals.

 

[Death-A-Lot]

I ususally see something on YouTube I think looks really cool, like maybe a neat Nuclear Reactor or a base run from Biomass.

Well I watch DW20 and he has so much stuff that I still manage to lose track, I know I could make a note of things but I'm generally eating whilst watching lol .

 

[Saice]

I call the holy console of the Shoops.

They gather around the sacred table of hewn basalt and bleat out there commands.

Thus I follow their whims.

Ok no really I get a lot of random ideas while doing stuff so I always got sort of a back log of shit I need to do.

 

[jumpfight5]

What happens is:
I need to store all my stuff I've come along while mining. So I will need a processing plant. And I don't like to do things twice.
I need materials to do processing, so I'll need to mine. But I can't automatic mine until I've got me a processing plant.

I'm not used to storage systems, if you've played on tekkit, the only storage you'll need is a Klein Star Omega, a Transmutation Tablet, and an Alchemical chest for each mod that you work with. You can still become super rich and stuff in both packs, but in this one, I have to learn how to process and store.

 

[Saice]

Jumpfight5

Here is my pearl of wisdom form Mt Shoop and the great Shoop oracles.

Get over the issue of building more then once.

No really it is far better to build something you need now so you can build something better later. And realize what ever you do build you will most likely want to upgrade, rebuild, or replace later.

Heres the thing. You get better at building, design, coming up with ideas, and just generally get better at the game the more you do it. It is not about building big that makes you good it is about just building and building and building.

 

[jumpfight5]

Yeah, I had a little sorting system and a bunch of barrels, but then I upgraded to managers and it looks a lot cleaner...I may now have to "upgrade" some managers for sorting machines, because I want to hold some stuff in some chests without it spitting stuff out. In my IC2 chest, I want to hold more things than a Manager can get for me, so I feel kinda dumb now...heh.
I was even trying to avoid more than one blast furnace, because I'll need the low temp one, then upgrade it to the med temp one, then shove my rubies down the drain to smelt the most useful material. Not even Xycraft can fight for the useless title with Tungsten anymore.
But I have been trying to not only build things once. I have a base, and I'm moving it, and I've decided to live in a different area as well. It's hard work doing the complete refitting of the storage area, but it seems worth it because my fps has risen by 5! That's an 75% increase!

 

[Guswut]

Oh, and one final way that is worth mentioning: Go to http://random.org, and input all of the possible things you may want to do in the randomize list system. Then, from there, randomize the list and follow your new randomly ordered list.

 

[Saice]

I litter my worlds with abandon bases like a serial killer leaves a trail of bodies.

My morthership build has no less then four old bases laying around the place. And that world is only as old as the Mindcrack pack.

 

[MushroomDynamo]

It seems to be a self-defeating philosophy, but whenever I do a task in-game I think "How can I change this so that I never have to bother with it again?"

It provides a pretty decent supply of tasks, although eventually you'll just end up sitting on your rear while your base does everything for you.