Low Tech... Tech Mods?

[1SDAN]

While the title may sound redundant at first, I believe I may actually have a legitimate question:

Are there any mods that have Technology that does not run on electricity, is generally low-tier tech and is not RotaryCraft?

I need one for my Modpack as I found I have a lot of High-Tech mods and practically no low-Tech ones. This is impertinent as my pack is designed around working towards automation through many tiers of tech. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[McJty]

Thermal Expansion is pretty easy to get into and doesn't use electricity (it uses RF instead)

 

[Omegatron]

I think Resonant Induction has a low tech tier.

 

[Pokefenn]

This is a major thing which most modders don't really... design for, the only 'major' Low Tech tech mod that i can think of, is Tinkers Construct.
And then theres mods like hopperducts, chisel, carpenters blocks and other mods like that which fit into a vanilla environment.
It's been something I've thought about making a pack about, since it's a really interesting thing.

 

[Pyure]

This is a major thing which most modders don't really... design for, the only 'major' Low Tech tech mod that i can think of, is Tinkers Construct.
And then theres mods like hopperducts, chisel, carpenters blocks and other mods like that which fit into a vanilla environment.
It's been something I've thought about making a pack about, since it's a really interesting thing.

Almost want to second this. It has a gear-power tier which is similar in many ways to RotaryCraft (in terms of torque, rotation and power) but has a visual aspect more in keeping with a "water mills" level of technology. Looks cool. But its bundled with higher-tech stuff which the OP may be less interested in.

One of the obstacles I suspect of such a mod is that low-level tech relies on environmental power (wind, water), but Minecraft physics (particularly water) are just incredibly poor for balanced and sensible use. As an example: you can generate unlimited power in RotaryCraft by carrying a bucket of water to the top of a large pole, and dumping it down infinitely into a Hydroelectric generator. Ugh.

Tough question; definitely a niche that needs filling, poke > @Pokefenn

 

[KillerRamer]

Almost want to second this. It has a gear-power tier which is similar in many ways to RotaryCraft (in terms of torque, rotation and power) but has a visual aspect more in keeping with a "water mills" level of technology. Looks cool. But its bundled with higher-tech stuff which the OP may be less interested in.

One of the obstacles I suspect of such a mod is that low-level tech relies on environmental power (wind, water), but Minecraft physics (particularly water) are just incredibly poor for balanced and sensible use. As an example: you can generate unlimited power in RotaryCraft by carrying a bucket of water to the top of a large pole, and dumping it down infinitely into a Hydroelectric generator. Ugh.

Tough question; definitely a niche that needs filling, poke > @Pokefenn

It would work if fluid actually worked like fluid... Also free power is generally slow in the world of modded minecraft while machines tend to be somewhat high in power consumption. I feel like the older ic2 model of your machines starting out at a snails pace was fairly decent if it were coupled with the ease of cost, and lower power usage. But honestly a grinder from AE get's you pushed along fairly quick towards your metal needs and is certainly one of those good calls on early game. Same for the furnace... I just hate having tree farms late game. That's my biggest pet peave... By the time you get a tree farm going, you've probably moved off of charcoal to power a furnace...

Oddly enough, botania which is a magic mod.. has hit the right notes in my opinion.. It consumes water, which infinitely generates... but in my mind, I could picture it more as a system where water flows and moves along...

 

[McJty]

One of the obstacles I suspect of such a mod is that low-level tech relies on environmental power (wind, water), but Minecraft physics (particularly water) are just incredibly poor for balanced and sensible use. As an example: you can generate unlimited power in RotaryCraft by carrying a bucket of water to the top of a large pole, and dumping it down infinitely into a Hydroelectric generator. Ugh.

To be fair you have to supply the hydrokinetic engine with a constant supply of lubricant so it is a bit of work to get this fully automatic power generation going.

 

[Pyure]

To be fair you have to supply the hydrokinetic engine with a constant supply of lubricant so it is a bit of work to get this fully automatic power generation going.

Yep, and I do consider that a mitigating factor; but its a terribly small one. Lubricant is essentially free itself, since it can be acquired by fans powered by thermodynamics-violating power (steam engines burning some sort of infinifuel in this case).

Just to be clear, I'm a big fan of RoC and stay on top of the most current versions; but I don't use certain power sources (hydro and steam engines in particular). The latter two at least would benefit from improved vanilla minecraft physics greatly*. And going back to the original post, so would any lower-tech mods.

*Water physics improvements have been tried by modders before; but the programming to model fluids over a surface is just incredibly resource-intensive.

 

[McJty]

Well you can practically automate every engine in RoC so it no longer needs any maintenance. For example, even the top jet engine can be automated because jet fuel generation can also be automated with the right other mods present. For example with magical crops you can essentially 'grow' all the ingredients you need for creating jet fuel. I'm currently working up to doing that in my world. It is a bit of world to fully setup though.

 

[Pokefenn]

It would work if fluid actually worked like fluid... Also free power is generally slow in the world of modded minecraft while machines tend to be somewhat high in power consumption. I feel like the older ic2 model of your machines starting out at a snails pace was fairly decent if it were coupled with the ease of cost, and lower power usage. But honestly a grinder from AE get's you pushed along fairly quick towards your metal needs and is certainly one of those good calls on early game. Same for the furnace... I just hate having tree farms late game. That's my biggest pet peave... By the time you get a tree farm going, you've probably moved off of charcoal to power a furnace...

Oddly enough, botania which is a magic mod.. has hit the right notes in my opinion.. It consumes water, which infinitely generates... but in my mind, I could picture it more as a system where water flows and moves along...

The Hydroangeas having water right next to them generating and working infinitely was a... bug <,<
And I never fixed it, and neither did Vaz

 

[KillerRamer]

Well you can practically automate every engine in RoC so it no longer needs any maintenance. For example, even the top jet engine can be automated because jet fuel generation can also be automated with the right other mods present. For example with magical crops you can essentially 'grow' all the ingredients you need for creating jet fuel. I'm currently working up to doing that in my world. It is a bit of world to fully setup though.

Magical crops that create pretty much every vanilla resource in the game... -_-

 

[Pyure]

Well you can practically automate every engine in RoC so it no longer needs any maintenance. For example, even the top jet engine can be automated because jet fuel generation can also be automated with the right other mods present. For example with magical crops you can essentially 'grow' all the ingredients you need for creating jet fuel. I'm currently working up to doing that in my world. It is a bit of world to fully setup though.

I'm doing the same (With magical crops)

But there's a distinction between realistic full automation and unrealistic. If fluid physics were realistic, it would be fully sensible for me to rig up a dam in front of a river and collect free power. I'd do that and have no issues with it, provided I could find a river that was suitable.

Similarly there's a distinction between what exploits mods offer each other, and what exploits a single mod offers itself. Reika can't do a darn thing about a mod which, say, transforms dirt into piles of jetfuel ingredients

 

[KillerRamer]

The Hydroangeas having water right next to them generating and working infinitely was a... bug <,<
And I never fixed it, and neither did Vaz

Meh it's better this way. There's no way to really recycle water inworld except infinite water sources. You'd just be adding a superfluous second step. "why can't I use an infinite water source pool in the hydroangeas setup?" "Because balance." This atleast "simulates" that it's flowing water in some fucked up minecrafty way... If there were some rainpool where rainwater collected in mass amounts, then it might be a more suitable....

 

[Pyure]

Meh it's better this way. There's no way to really recycle water inworld except infinite water sources. You'd just be adding a superfluous second step. "why can't I use an infinite water source pool in the hydroangeas setup?" "Because balance." This atleast "simulates" that it's flowing water in some fucked up minecrafty way... If there were some rainpool where rainwater collected in mass amounts, then it might be a more suitable....

You know what's weird? Aqueous Accumulators offend me on some level (I use them anyway, cuz...duh), but those Water Tank rainwater collector multiblocks from...RailCraft(?) feel totally kosher.

 

[KillerRamer]

You know what's weird? Aqueous Accumulators offend me on some level (I use them anyway, cuz...duh), but those Water Tank rainwater collector multiblocks from...RailCraft(?) feel totally kosher.

I don't see why the multiblock would be any more kosher. It does the same thing with more space, but it's the same principle. Raintank however I can agree with being a neat concept, but it kind of get's shoved aside due to how annoying rain itself is, and how little benefit their is to rain in itself. And water sources being infinite... But if you were to make more use from how water recycles, and could manage to make it a bit beefy in whatever it does with rainwater, I feel like it might be more accept in 1.7 modding seeing as weather has a noise slider.

 

[fishille]

Low tech is an interesting topic. I'm curious where this goes.
My input on the subject is more of a question.
What would be the point of low tech mod that adds more then vanilla tech?
Example a watermill or a windmill is lowtech, but the only real use of such machines was for processing wheat or making basic materials like cotton. Wouldn't this mod make things more redundant on a basic level. Instead of crafting flour by putting wheat in crafting window feed into mill to get flour.
The only thing I can come up with is low tech farm automation. Hook plow to horse apply carrot on stick make field while carrot charge remains. Later hook up watering/fertilizer... Maybe even steam tractors?
Lowtech can be just as fun (why so many enjoy vanilla MC) but to make a mod that captures real lowtech you have to decide what you want the lowtech to accomplish.
Industrial revolution? RailCraft?

 

[1SDAN]

Good question @fishille and actually I have no idea. I guess I was looking for a type of Minecraft mod that gave machines that can automate, are not too expensive but require semi-complex set ups of multiblocks to generate power. All while requiring periodic maintain dance to keep everything running smoothly.

Or something like that.

BTW, when I said electricity, I meant anything that is like electricity, so RF, EU and MJ are kind of out unless they're otherwise low-tech.


Edit: Maintenance, not Maintain Dance _-_

 

[fishille]

So ideally you want what you can get from high tech mods with a lowtech feel? In the end as long as you transport power from one point to another be it piped, wires, even RoC shafts they become like "wires" transporting energy from one point to another.

Maintain dance actually is more of what maintenance becomes in the end.

A lot of this can be done in the Monster pack already. Railcraft/Steve's carts are great tools to create low tech feel for item transportation. TiCo gives you smelting in low tech and feeding it lava without a "high tech" solution could be complex in itself.

I think low tech and automation are almost a contradiction as high tech becomes the way to do something easier that what it could have been before. Low tech assembly line = people high tech = robots and machines.

 

[1SDAN]

SNIP

Okay, I understand how it may seem, but maintenance doesn't have to be bad. It can always be less about "maintain it or it breaks" and more about "if you decide to maintain it, we will reward you". So basically you get a bonus to energy production if you keep things in check, but you can still decide not to and your machines will still work.

As for the power thing, electricity usually only requires these small wires. I want complex networks of gears, pulleys, levers, shafts and the such that really requires some thought put into it. So I guess RoC is a good example in this case, though even that seems a bit off.

Overall, I just want a mod I can edit with Minetweaker, and make it fit into the earlier portion of my Modpack. Because skipping from farming straight to mastering electricity seems a bit off

So, recap: I feel like it'd be nice to have 2 options:

1. An expensive form of automation with a small physical footprint
and
2. A cheap form of automation that is quite bulky if you wish to make it have the same efficiency

I know I'm asking for a bit much, but I just thought there might be others who wanted things similar and wanted to find out if my hunch was right.

 

[fishille]

Roarycraft is basically the solution though perhaps not quite. You want great ore yield the extractor does that but is hard to automate but can be managed by hand to provide more easier. Or you can throw ore in the grinder and get less but requires less work.

Buildcraft is far from electric by the way and if explored may be what you are missing. Mj/t isn't electricity its kinetic energy.


Edit:
A Steam punk gear powered mod that isn't completely based on real physics, that is complicated still would be a very fun mod. Rotarycraft s firm grounds in reality causes things to be less fun sometimes