IC2 is slowly dying out ?

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Hoff

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Oct 30, 2012
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I lol'd. I actually might use something other than geos now. Extreme Voltage windmills just sounds way too funny though.
 

ahwtx

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Jul 29, 2019
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that is just pathetic. keep going with mekanism in resonant, please and thank you!

ugh... people are lazy. and people suck.

only reason for a mod such as that.
 

Hoff

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Oct 30, 2012
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Actually it's not. The packet generation system of an equivalent number of windmills combined with their checks around them would produce far more lag. At least in the since of it the author made it so that the higher tier the compact the more air it needs around it.

Besides, who are you to judge the way people enjoy a game?
 

ahwtx

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Jul 29, 2019
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I lol'd. I actually might use something other than geos now. Extreme Voltage windmills just sounds way too funny though.
an extreme voltage windmill should only be able to output at extreme wind speeds, a.k.a during a hurricane.

need to make a hurricane mod that blows half your base into the ocean, and strands the livestock of your farm in random trees in a far off jungle. :p


edit: first post was a knee-jerk reaction, and admittedly, i'm about three (maybe four) sheets to the wind right now, so i didn't read the mod thread very carefully.
 

KirinDave

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Jul 29, 2019
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Actually it's not. The packet generation system of an equivalent number of windmills combined with their checks around them would produce far more lag. At least in the since of it the author made it so that the higher tier the compact the more air it needs around it.

Besides, who are you to judge the way people enjoy a game?

I get that argument. I just think that this is sad because... well it goes something like this:

  1. IC2's power generation is such that output is linear to machine+fuel cost.
  2. The above makes sense, except that the tiering of output grows geometrically, unlike MJ which grows linearly. So the cost of a reactor is leaps and bounds over the cost of running a simple generator.
  3. However the IC2 energy space itself is very small, so it actually only takes 13 generators running nonstop to equal the output of a basic reactor design, at a fraction of the cost.
  4. Since many generators run passively or with very renewable fuels, it seldom makes sense to go for nuclear reactors or even fusion reactors. IC2 incentives suggest you replicate lots of small builds.
  5. But following 4 is bad for the server, so people make these mods.
Why is this bad? Because it's boring. The nuclear minigame actually is pretty fun, but not really worth the cost. If IC2 changed its design such that the cost for powergen rose linearly with tier but power rose geometrically then you'd have a LOT more incentive to go into more complex and interesting power gen. Most people refer to power generation as a "chore" as a result.
It's interesting to note that we love to rag on lava as the "simple" solution, but in actuality Lava is only slightly easier and noticeably more expensive than a treefarm and a bank of generators. Greg's thermals are not as goofy a design decision as they appear to be at first glance. They sort of sucker you into maintaining lava taps.


The goofball solution is to increase the output of reactors about 4x, basically bumping every output rate up a tier. You can do this in the configs trivially. A better solution is to actually re-jigger IC2 and provide a lot of cool multi-block power solutions that are challenging bug fun to automate. We also need to change the costing of all the generators such that their output is tuned better. Most of the vanilla IC2 generators are fine, but some of the gregtech generators are too expensive for what they do.

Power generation can be a "project" rather than a chore, resulting in epic spectacles and a big payout. The Yogscastrs built the second-highest-tier generator in AtomicScience (and the way you make fuel for the highest tier) and it was pretty impressive. After hours of working to build the system, it seems like they all felt it was justified.
 

Hoff

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I suppose that's true for some people but doesn't that just mean the mod isn't for you? You're looking for something that in energy design is radically different aside from the real life generation they're based on. To me that's just more... you want a different mod really. I love the simplicity of IC2 energy. I don't look for energy generation to be something challenging. I just want to be able to go and do it and be done with it all in one go. That's why I love lava power. It may be fairly easy to do generators and a tree farm but it requires more work on my part to set it up which isn't really what I'm looking for.
 

KirinDave

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I suppose that's true for some people but doesn't that just mean the mod isn't for you? You're looking for something that in energy design is radically different aside from the real life generation they're based on. To me that's just more... you want a different mod really.

Well, I want a game that is well designed. Resemblance to reality is a plus, but MC doesn't do that very well.

I love the simplicity of IC2 energy. I don't look for energy generation to be something challenging. I just want to be able to go and do it and be done with it all in one go. That's why I love lava power.

Lava power is actually a long-term work investment. You'll hoover up lava and have to move on. Or you can spend a bit more time upfront and only ever have to grow the system laterally. Either way, you actually want a big complex power solution.

Bear with me, I know I just contradicted you. Steady as she goes, Hoff.

See, what you want is something where you can make a fun project of it and then be "done" in the sense that besides some basic safety and maintenance it just makes all the power you need (until you need more). Even setting up a lava tap is a multi-step process and a commitment to move the pump (and it's harder in 1.5.1, btw), so it follows. Now imagine something about twice as complex as your lava tap with 4x the energy output that is an interesting-looking multi-block structure. Maybe it requires a tiny bit of automation and could be a bit dangerous. You'd probably do that if you needed the power, if you only had to do it once, because your option (if you need the power) is either pay 2x for the bigger solution or pay 4x for a series of smaller solutions replicated.

It may be fairly easy to do generators and a tree farm but it requires more work on my part to set it up which isn't really what I'm looking for.
It's really a lot easier than you think it is :)
 

Hoff

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Well, I want a game that is well designed. Resemblance to reality is a plus, but MC doesn't do that very well.



Lava power is actually a long-term work investment. You'll hoover up lava and have to move on. Or you can spend a bit more time upfront and only ever have to grow the system laterally. Either way, you actually want a big complex power solution.

Bear with me, I know I just contradicted you. Steady as she goes, Hoff.

See, what you want is something where you can make a fun project of it and then be "done" in the sense that besides some basic safety and maintenance it just makes all the power you need (until you need more). Even setting up a lava tap is a multi-step process and a commitment to move the pump (and it's harder in 1.5.1, btw), so it follows. Now imagine something about twice as complex as your lava tap with 4x the energy output that is an interesting-looking multi-block structure. Maybe it requires a tiny bit of automation and could be a bit dangerous. You'd probably do that if you needed the power, if you only had to do it once, because your option (if you need the power) is either pay 2x for the bigger solution or pay 4x for a series of smaller solutions replicated.

I guess I never really see it as a long term investment as I have as of yet to play a world long enough to drain even a small nether lava lake. It's also a lot simpler for me personally since I use ABO's tele pipes that cost a bit more(read 7 more diamonds than a tesseract) but require me to do almost nothing for them.

I really don't ever want to look at my power generation twice. Just be able to access it for whatever I need but I see what you're getting at. I generally go for whatever I won't 'ever' have to look at again(A bit of a loose term since I don't play worlds long). If I have to pay more upfront for it but be able to straight out do it without pause for processing or something similar it's the choice I'll take.


It's really a lot easier than you think it is :)

I know it's fairly easy I just don't like automating things for the most part. Like those tree farms that craft the wood info scaffolds and then burn them- too complicated. I could of course just straight burn logs but I digress.
 

jumpfight5

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Jul 29, 2019
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So I keep talking about how I think IC2 suffers a critical lack of good design and good content in power generation. And lo and behold what is linked to me today:

http://forum.industrial-craft.net/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=9205

I hate everything. Was CompactSolars too boring for you? Too tedious? Did AE render it too trivial? NO PROBLEM WE HAVE YOU COVERED. Now simply MASH YOUR FACE AGAINST YOUR KEYBOARD while you MOAN UNCONTROLLABLY like you usually do and it will generate TONS OF POWER.
Maybe we should ask for it to be added into FTB...

"Compact Wind: Unbalanced"
What about compact sol--NO it's UNBALANCED.

an extreme voltage windmill should only be able to output at extreme wind speeds, a.k.a during a hurricane.

need to make a hurricane mod that blows half your base into the ocean, and strands the livestock of your farm in random trees in a far off jungle. :p
A high voltage solar should only be able to output at high sun...aka during a sun-storm.

We need a drought/famine mod that causes wildfire, makes sand cracked, and drains lakes. :p
 

Mash

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Jul 29, 2019
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Yikes. I wanted wind power to be looked into, but not like that. That's god damn awful.

I could understand technology improving solar power to a mild extent. However, I do not understand how technology would cause a light breeze to create hurricane-strength wind energy. Like, that's just shitty design. It's terrible.

Why can't people just make like... I dunno, multi-block structures that work more efficiently the larger they are or some shit? Railcraft did it well! I'd like to see something like THAT be utilized with wind and hydroelectric energy. Especially hydroelectric. Hydroelectric dams are monstrous power-generating machines. Do want.
 
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StreetKing

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Jul 29, 2019
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Maybe instead of focusing on generating more power how about special machines/cables/upgrades that reduce eu/t consumption. I am not sure how it would work though , just an idea I thought of.
 
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RavynousHunter

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Jul 29, 2019
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Efficiency upgrades? That sounds fairly doable. Like, each upgrade ticks off 10% of a machine's EU cost, but you can only stack a max of 5 of them in a single given machine, ending up with your machine costing half what it normally does. However, after a certain point in IC2 power, machine EU consumption becomes a non-issue for everything outside mass fabricators, and that's WITHOUT solars. Hell, I've been powering all my IC2 shit in my most recent map off a bank of 4 magmatic engines and 17 combustion engines running fuel, and all that power is running everything else, as well. I've only recently begun my foray into nuclear power, using that nifty 0-chamber 100 EU/t, 100% safe, golem-automatable setup that was posted some time back. Even then, I've only got one reactor...and right now, I don't even really need it. Once I get a bank of 5 of 'em working together, I'll dedicate them solely to running a mass fab, and until then, I've got an AE + golem setup that keeps my lone reactor fueled constantly.

After a while, EU becomes less of a critical, "need it NOW" resource, and more a way to show off, like "I just filled an IDSU with combustion engines!" The only real reason to even bother with the other power solutions is because they offer greater power output in a smaller space; automating 10 vanilla generators would take at least 20-30 blocks, if not more, and that's assuming you use nothing but Applied Energistics. My AE + golem setup? I've got it spread out a fair bit, but it still fits neatly into a 5x5 space, and I could compress it a LOT if I just wanted to. It might take more work to get it started, but once you get it running, keeping it running becomes a triviality.
 

Whovian

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Jul 29, 2019
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I love how this discussion went from IC2 to nuking the Twilit Lich to moons in the TF to hating on Twilight to the mechanics of Twilit Lich and back to EU.
 
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Hoff

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It seems Minecraft breeds ADD as well as OCD(ABCD for the Morvy fans ;))
 

Mash

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Jul 29, 2019
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When are we going to kill the Lich with a series of exploding IC2 machines?

There. Now we can have our cake and eat it, too.
 
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Hoff

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Would it be possible to blow the top off then use a lightning rod to hit him with lightning?

Oh wait that's not vanilla IC2
 

snooder

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Jul 29, 2019
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I get that argument. I just think that this is sad because... well it goes something like this:
  1. IC2's power generation is such that output is linear to machine+fuel cost.
  2. The above makes sense, except that the tiering of output grows geometrically, unlike MJ which grows linearly. So the cost of a reactor is leaps and bounds over the cost of running a simple generator.
  3. However the IC2 energy space itself is very small, so it actually only takes 13 generators running nonstop to equal the output of a basic reactor design, at a fraction of the cost.
  4. Since many generators run passively or with very renewable fuels, it seldom makes sense to go for nuclear reactors or even fusion reactors. IC2 incentives suggest you replicate lots of small builds.
  5. But following 4 is bad for the server, so people make these mods.
Why is this bad? Because it's boring. The nuclear minigame actually is pretty fun, but not really worth the cost. If IC2 changed its design such that the cost for powergen rose linearly with tier but power rose geometrically then you'd have a LOT more incentive to go into more complex and interesting power gen. Most people refer to power generation as a "chore" as a result.

Well yeah, the basic problem with IC2 power is that they keep making reactors suck balls. Reactors were bad enough back in the days of CASUC style ice pumping, but then they nerfed even that.
And the amount of copper/tin needed to make quad cells and all the new heat vents and such is just punitive, especially compared to the results you get. The only decent output from reactors is now with LZH/RZH reactors. We basically went from pumping ice into machines to pumping in far more costly lapis/redstone.

Gregtech's fusion reactor is a decent try, but it leaves a large gulf in the space between a ~100 EU producing nuclear reactor or small geothermal bank and the 8096 EU fusion reactor.
 

Mash

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Jul 29, 2019
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Reactors should probably be putting out at least double what they currently do, if not more.

Nuclear energy is pathetic, and IC2 should really knock it up a notch.
 
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snooder

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Reactors should probably be putting out at least double what they currently do, if not more.

Nuclear energy is pathetic, and IC2 should really knock it up a notch.

The weird thing is, I can see where the designers planned for nuclear reactors to fill that mid-range role. Putting out a few hundred EU per tick in a single generator isn't actually a bad design plan. The problem is that they then made the cost too high for the EU it put out. For example, if a heat vent only cost let's say 2 refined iron and a design with 10 vents and 10 uranium cells put out 200 EU/t, it would be very competitive with a bank of 5 geothermals that costs about the same in iron and tin but puts out half the EU. But instead, to get 200 EU out of a reactor, you have to blow something like 200 iron and 400 copper.