Is Automation Ruining Modded Minecraft: Who's To Blame?

[jimmytrouser]

I'd like to start with a few disclaimers about the purpose of this thread and how I feel about modded Minecraft:

1) I love Modded Minecraft!! (MM)
2) I love the modded community and the fact mods are free; I don't play vanilla minecraft!
3) Sometimes once a ball (modded minecraft) begins to roll it collects so much momentum that the likelyhood of it changing direction becomes almost impossible.
4) I love the FTB team and what they have done to make modded minecraft accessible and enjoyable for people like me; a non-coder or computer technician who just knows how to turn their computer on, and off!

So let's begin with my narrative...

I started to play MM back in 1.2.5, where the modpack I played (DW20 let's play pack before the launcher was available) had very little in the way of mods. I was amazed at the logistic pipes set up to automate auto crafting; I could request any craftable Item I had set up my system to make.

This was revolutionary for me.

However, fast-forward to 1.7.10 and it seems mod developers make mods with the idea of everything being automated; yes I can play without automating things, but the mechanisms of the mod require so many steps it becomes tedious very quickly, hence why the automation becomes virtually essential.

And for me this is where I think modded minecraft had become a ball that will not change direction. I realise that the forgecraft server has the 'latest and greatest' mode devs playing to 'iron-out' the problems so people like me can play a mod pack without the issues the forgecraft team endure; so I am thankful for that.

But, as DW20 seems to like automation so much are mod devs making their mods with this in mind; thus if I am a mod dev, I will make a mod that can be automated so DW20 will see it and think, "I can use that" and thus the mod gets 'air time' over other perhaps more adventuring mods, which DW20 doesn't like. Fair enough we can't all like the same things.

Which leads me onto my next point: Do people like DW20 have a responsibility to the modding community and those that enjoy playing modpacks? Does a person, once they become quite renowned, have a responsibility to be more balanced with what they ask for as any mod dev would jump at the change of their mod being mentioned by DW20 as the followers of DW20 will be introduced to the mod, over other mods.

This may be a bit harsh but it is an open question. In our celebrity culture the celebrities have a responsibility, but should that apply to DW20 and the forgecraft team? I wonder...

So back to modded minecraft...

I have just enjoyed watching the latest DW20 video 'let's play S7 E60 Mergning Aura nodes' in which DW20 worked with the automation of Thaumcraf t essence.

So here is my other question: Would it be better if mods crafting was more simplified?
What I mean is, the crafting steps for the general mod are vast and tedious, and I wonder if this is making the mod more fun; for me I would say no. Hence why the auto-crafting mechanisms of mods like AE are so appealing to people. But I feel if I do not wish to use AE the crafting becomes tedious very quickly, thus I feel my hand is forced somewhat.

I feel like modded minecraft is becoming a game of 'collect resources so I can stand still and autocraft everything game'. For me this is not fun as I like to be out in the world and spending 10 minutes crafting something through various steps and windows in order to make something so if I want to make the same thing again I can now auto-craft it in 5 seconds. Thus, the auto-crafting treadmill becomes ubiquitous throughout modded minecraft. it seems the only way to have fun is to make things so I can later autocraft these things if I want to make more things...and so on and so forth.

How do people feel about this? For me, if I think back to 1.2.5 this wasn't a problem as I still enjoyed adventuring in the world, instead of setting up a quarry and standing in-front of the AE screen autocrafting anything I wish.

Do people think this is due to DW20 and his team? I would love to hear people's opinions on this.

But, please, look at the disclaimer at the top of this post as I am not bashing the FTB team or DW20. I am merely asking if the aforementioned have a responsibility to the modded community in general to promote mods that are not simply about making items to make autocrafting of later items easier.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the FTB team and DW20 personally as I have learnt so much from watching him. But I feel I prefer let's play like Etho as he seems to be much more diverse and more adventuring orientated.

I do wonder why the mod devs don't make more questing narratives with HQM to inject more adventuring into minecraft, as I feel the modded minecraft paradigm is becoming a little predictable, as predictable as an autocraftig mechanism....

I look forward to seeing what people's thought are on this subject.

Thank you.

jimmytrouser.

 

[Theopenlink22]

The thing about automation is a lot of the time, it's difficult to set up and by the time you ARE automating, you are probably OP (Blood Magic Armor, Ender Quarry, etc...) Also having complex crafting recipes is the one thing sometimes from making an item OP. If it were simple, it would be too easy.

 

[malicious_bloke]

Blasphemy.

Yes, it's a simple enough thing to automate crafting and ore processing just for a bit of convenience.

But then it's also a simple enough thing to build mediocre crappy house out of cobblestone.

The real joy is building a vast, sprawling system of elaborately over-designed things all controlled completely in full by the might of Colin.

Only then will you find true enlightenment.

 

[epidemia78]

Direwolf automates trivial things just to pad out the length of his videos and because he has no imagination. Theres actually very few recipes that are so tedious as to require autocrafting and that is mostly in the AE storage cell department. I dont need more than one resonant jetpack so I can craft it manually which is a breeze when you can just shift click the recipes into place. Other recipes such as enderium are tedious and slow. So make it in bulk and walk away to do something else for a while. I love to multitask towards a goal like that. If you think automation ruins minecraft, then be more choosy about what you automate. Theres a million ways to get things done in modded.

 

[jimmytrouser]

Thanks for the replies people.

But no one seemed to address my point "...Do people like DW20 have a responsibility to the modding community and those that enjoy playing modpacks? Does a person, once they become quite renowned, have a responsibility to be more balanced with what they ask for as any mod dev would jump at the change of their mod being mentioned by DW20 as the followers of DW20 will be introduced to the mod, over other mods..."

What do people think of this? Does modded minecraft need regulating? What I mean is, Direwofl20 and his pals run the forgecraft server where the majority of the devs who make mods for the Direwolf20 pack play, thus DW20 has direct influence over what changes in the mods, or what is added? I realise the mods are free, but should people, like DW20 take more responsibility and approach mod devs with ideas not just from his own perspective? These 'youtube' celebrities make money via viewer numbers, so do they have a responsibility to be a little more diverse? Of course, viewers watch what they want to watch, and this is a choice, but a good 'celebrity' will take their viewer's opinion into consideration as it is the viewer watching them that is making them a celebrity in the first place.

What if DW20 had a video series whereby people gave their ideas for mods and people voted for the best one which was then introduced to a mod dev. Due to the very nature of how mod packs are put together the community rely on the knowledge of the mod devs and those who know how to put mod packs together, but is this a little stagnant?

It seems every mod pack nowadays is just a reiteration of the present DW20 mod pack. There are mod packs like Regrowth and Material Energy, but even those use the same or similar mods.

Will Microsoft perhaps regulate the modded minecraft community and bring more variation and choice?

Thanks for taking time to share you views people.

Thank you

jimmytrouser.

 

[xKazlyn]

Automation is simply a piece of what modded minecraft is. Many mods are built around balance in the crowd, and automation is a big part of the crowd. But in your argument about complex recipes I completely disagree. if anything, these recipes exist to help stop automation, for example thaumcraft infusion took a while to truly automate. Mods such as SFM and CC to some extent are used to simplify automation for those who want to automate all the things.

 

[Padfoote]

Thanks for the replies people.

But no one seemed to address my point "...Do people like DW20 have a responsibility to the modding community and those that enjoy playing modpacks? Does a person, once they become quite renowned, have a responsibility to be more balanced with what they ask for as any mod dev would jump at the change of their mod being mentioned by DW20 as the followers of DW20 will be introduced to the mod, over other mods..."

What do people think of this? Does modded minecraft need regulating? What I mean is, Direwofl20 and his pals run the forgecraft server where the majority of the devs who make mods for the Direwolf20 pack play, thus DW20 has direct influence over what changes in the mods, or what is added? I realise the mods are free, but should people, like DW20 take more responsibility and approach mod devs with ideas not just from his own perspective? These 'youtube' celebrities make money via viewer numbers, so do they have a responsibility to be a little more diverse? Of course, viewers watch what they want to watch, and this is a choice, but a good 'celebrity' will take their viewer's opinion into consideration as it is the viewer watching them that is making them a celebrity in the first place.

No. These people are no different than anyone else other than the fact that they make videos that people watch. A lot of the people here will admit that they have watched DW20 in the past to learn some mods or because that's what got them into modded MC. You are implying that people should not be allowed to have their own views on mods because they have people watching videos they make in their free time. They don't lose their rights to their opinions the moment they start making videos.

What if DW20 had a video series whereby people gave their ideas for mods and people voted for the best one which was then introduced to a mod dev. Due to the very nature of how mod packs are put together the community rely on the knowledge of the mod devs and those who know how to put mod packs together, but is this a little stagnant?

People who make mods do so because they enjoy it and because they have an idea. They aren't going to just take the most popular ideas in a strawpoll and do it because they can. Also, modpack dev != mod dev. There's a big difference here. Mod devs can no nothing about creating mod packs and it won't have any effect on a modpack dev assuming they are not going out of their way to make things incompatible.

It seems every mod pack nowadays is just a reiteration of the present DW20 mod pack. There are mod packs like Regrowth and Material Energy, but even those use the same or similar mods.

Erm, this makes no sense. There's a massive difference between an unmodified kitchensink pack (which is what the DW20 pack is) and a highly modified pack like Material Energy. If there are mods that overlap, so be it. It's going to be impossible not to have mod overlap unless one specifically tries to use mods that have never been used in a pack. The resulting pack will not exist by the way, as mods that can be used in packs will have already been used. Also, BnB, for example, is the farthest thing from the DW20 pack.

Will Microsoft perhaps regulate the modded minecraft community and bring more variation and choice?

Seriously...?

Why would Microsoft waste their time and resources trying to "bring more variation" to a community that makes up a small fraction of the entire MC community?

 

[DriftinFool]

IF you don't like DW, but you like Ethos' style, then watch Ethos. The people who stream and put up videos owe you nothing. They are enjoying the game the way they like to play it and are nice enough to share it for entertainment. This is a sandbox and you can play in it anyway you like. The only limitation is your imagination.

Just because you can automate stuff doesn't mean you have to. I use AE to avoid giant halls of chests and barrel. I like my bases to look nice and some drives and an access terminal in the wall fit what I like. Even though I am pretty deep into my Infinity world, I still haven't set up a molecular chamber for crafting. The things I have automated are Ender lilies for ender pearls, essence oreberries for XP, Botania living wood and living rock, and ore processing for my quarry. I also setup conduits to make my AE2 processors so I always have some in stock, since they take a little time to make. I still craft everything else myself.

 

[rouge_bare]

Someone like Direwolf20, who make videos that are popular, (I'd hazard to say he's likely the most well known modded minecraft youtuber), can't really avoid their opinion being impressed onto people. That's not to say someone can't enjoy a different part of Modded MC than Direwolf's Automate all the Things. If we take a kitchen sink pack and compare to another, your right in saying they are going to be pretty similar. But comparing DW20's pack to something like Regrowth, Pheonix Reborn or the ME series of Packs. There is a fair bit of difference, even if they do share some mods.