Seeking: Getting Started Guides

[SunnyDaze]

When the articles are edited by the wiki team they'll included recipe images, and screenshots. I think the images will help you out a lot

This is what I assumed...that any items names would be enchanced with links to pages, and images showing GUI's and recipes would be included, and also that anyone reading could take the name, and look up the recipe in NEI.

As far as the machines, I tried to create a general understanding of things that were common to *all* farms, like how they are powered, that there is a machine that builds, and a machine that harvests, etc. and tried to stay away from going in-depth for every single machine. And then I listed the specific farms available and the machines required, which will be links that take you to those specific pages.

(Not to hijack the thread but) if you're building a tree farm for example, you would start with the Arboretum. The Arboretum builds the farm around itself, and plants the saplings. You don't have to build the area. The Logger is the machine that harvests.

Honestly, looking at that IC2 link, I tried to write it exactly like that, under the assumption that pictures and links would be added to the right places. It's understandable that the text alone is confusing. But I'm sorry you are confused!

*Edit* - Wanted to add, that's a very cool chart ICountFrom0

 

[buzz]

What about logistics pipes?

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

What about logistics pipes?

The 'current' version of Logistics pipes is a fork done by a third party. We'd have to wait for Krapht to update the 'official' version before writing any documentation on it.

 

[buzz]

The 'current' version of Logistics pipes is a fork done by a third party. We'd have to wait for Krapht to update the 'official' version before writing any documentation on it.

That's to bad, the forked version is pretty good and is well maintained.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

That's to bad, the forked version is pretty good and is well maintained.

I would respectfully disagree, but you are entitled to your opinion.

 

[arkangyl]

What about logistics pipes?

Logistics Pipes has fairly limited content, and will be largely dependent on the Buildcraft guide. We won't really need a "getting started" article for it, just articles on the individual added pipes.

Also, Logistics Pipes hasn't been updated to 1.4 yet, and is not going to be in the pack until it is current, so it's not a huge priority on the wiki right now.

 

[wolvyn]

Roger that, dont get me wrong there is alot of info in everything ive read in this thread. Alot of it is over my head though. Splitting my post off to here so dont derail this awsome awsome idea . http://forum.feed-the-beast.com/threads/forestry-tree-farm-idiots-guide.4409/ is where i broke the thread off to.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

IndustrialCraft2 Guide is now up. Working on Factorization now. Should be up by lunch, CST.

EDIT: Factorization guide is up. Now working on RP2.

 

[motorhue]

EDIT: Factorization guide is up. Now working on RP2.

Small comment on the first paragraph: You are somewhat negative. If people want to check out this mod, let them do it without your personal opinion on its usefulness. Also, Barrels are quite useful in sorting systems as it accepts only one item type once its none-empty. Just my two cents; otherwise, good job!

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Small comment on the first paragraph: You are somewhat negative. If people want to check out this mod, let them do it without your personal opinion on its usefulness. Also, Barrels are quite useful in sorting systems as it accepts only one item type once its none-empty. Just my two cents; otherwise, good job!

Users do need to be aware of the limitations as well as the benefits of the items from the mod. Barrels really aren't all that good. They aren't that good in a sorting system because you'll need thirty plus barrels if you are doing it that way. And I do go out of my way to point out the synergy with barrels and redpower tubing.

 

[wolvyn]

Would it be possible for someone to write a guide for setting up a MJ power grid, taking advantage of every mod in the beta pack, as most people will probally tinker with everything and not just one mod. and from what this newby has noticed almost everything runs off MJ and not EU.

 

[Vegoraptor]

I partially have already, however only on BC itself, if there is any demand, I would happily make one also containing the other mods.

 

[wolvyn]

maybe something thats got cheepest costs to get things rolling that includes whatever relivant from BC/forestry/steves rails/thermal/ect? from you have a stone furnace, now you have the equilivant of a MFE of two power in your network.. There is demand from me deffinatly, but while all these guides are Great for each indivual mod with mod pack like FTB offeres there is absolutly no reason not to combine the mods to make a compilation of stuff? Im lost as heck and been messing round for about 2 weeks now, things are alot clearer.. but had i know at the first that i needed to use MJ and not EU for almost everything i would ahve done the work these past couple of weeks a heck of alot differently.. just with my wetting my toes in forestry, ive noticed that i could a redstone engine to run the bog farm, as if i read things correctly, that produces 1MJ wihich is the same as the Peat engine..

 

[SunnyDaze]

Users do need to be aware of the limitations as well as the benefits of the items from the mod. Barrels really aren't all that good. They aren't that good in a sorting system because you'll need thirty plus barrels if you are doing it that way. And I do go out of my way to point out the synergy with barrels and redpower tubing.

No offense, but I think motorhue's point is valid. There's a difference between pointing out limitations, and your clear disdain for Factorization. To be fair, I've skimmed most of your other mod blogs, and they don't read like this one.

"Their utility, however, is… limited." "These first machines are of… limited value." "The first two are… not very useful." All the "..." read like you want to say something else and you choose to tone down your language. Also, you're stressing that they are of limited use and value from the get-go, whether they really are or not.

Since he brought up Barrels, I want to expand on what I think he's trying to say: you paint barrels in a completely biased light by comparing their storage to a double chest. A barrel only takes up one spot, while a double chest takes up two. If I have a double chest full of cobblestone, I could store more than twice as much in the same space by using 2 barrels - not simply 10 more stacks. That is a benefit. How quickly you can pull out a few or a stack of what you need is another plus. The fact that it only stores one item is a limitation that keeps it balanced. Barrels are great storage (and really easy "starter" storage) for anything that you get in quantities much greater than what you can reasonably use. They have quirks with BC piping (offhand I can think of piping in the top and the the display bug; I haven't used RP yet) but they do work. When you start getting up to Gold, Diamond and Crystals chests, then they start to lose value in comparison, but logs are very easy to get in large quantities, and it's the very first thing you get in the game.

To say that they won't replace chests is fair, albeit obvious, but the fact is they work well hand in hand with chests, they have their strengths, and there's plenty of room to utilize both.

 

[SunnyDaze]

maybe something thats got cheepest costs to get things rolling that includes whatever relivant from BC/forestry/steves rails/thermal/ect? from you have a stone furnace, now you have the equilivant of a MFE of two power in your network.. There is demand from me deffinatly, but while all these guides are Great for each indivual mod with mod pack like FTB offeres there is absolutly no reason not to combine the mods to make a compilation of stuff? Im lost as heck and been messing round for about 2 weeks now, things are alot clearer.. but had i know at the first that i needed to use MJ and not EU for almost everything i would ahve done the work these past couple of weeks a heck of alot differently.. just with my wetting my toes in forestry, ive noticed that i could a redstone engine to run the bog farm, as if i read things correctly, that produces 1MJ wihich is the same as the Peat engine..

I think you may not realize that these guides are for a single page, a "Getting Started" page, for each mod on the Official Feed the Beast wiki:
http://wiki.feed-the-beast.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

...which needs a lot of work (and has a whole team working on it) but will in fact be a compilation of all the information for all the mods in one place, not just the super basic information you're seeing here. I have confidence that there will be many more in-depth pages in time, but I understand your frustration, having never used mods at all until a month ago, and there being no single place to find information. That's what the wiki will be for. Making mistakes, building it again and learning all the ways the mods interact has been amazing to me, and while it's hard to find and process, there is documentation out there, all over the place, especially on YouTube.

Many of the mods have wikis of their own if you google them, but some may be out of date, or contain unofficial/mistaken information. I think there's also a thread around here that has a list of all the wikis.

Also, you are correct about Redstone Engines producing 1MJ; however, I believe Redstone Engines can only be used to power BC transport pipes. I know that they cannot be used to power Forestry machines.

 

[ratchet freak]

actually if you use enough of them you can power a quarry but it is cheaper to go higher tier engine

 

[ICountFrom0]

Ratchet, no, you can't, that was a bug, it's fixed.

 

[Vegoraptor]

After all, an extra page comparing the pros and cons of different mods in the starting stage is something I personally like to see, and, if greenlighted by the wiki staff, create.
For example, as far as I can see in the very early stage, using Thermal Expansion machines plus Hobbyist's steam engine is far more effective than IC, whilst this is faster etc later on.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

No offense, but I think motorhue's point is valid. There's a difference between pointing out limitations, and your clear disdain for Factorization. To be fair, I've skimmed most of your other mod blogs, and they don't read like this one.

"Their utility, however, is… limited." "These first machines are of… limited value." "The first two are… not very useful." All the "..." read like you want to say something else and you choose to tone down your language. Also, you're stressing that they are of limited use and value from the get-go, whether they really are or not.

Well, it would have been pretty rude of me to expound and pontificate on the worthlessness of the items.

Since he brought up Barrels, I want to expand on what I think he's trying to say: you paint barrels in a completely biased light by comparing their storage to a double chest. A barrel only takes up one spot, while a double chest takes up two. If I have a double chest full of cobblestone, I could store more than twice as much in the same space by using 2 barrels - not simply 10 more stacks. That is a benefit. How quickly you can pull out a few or a stack of what you need is another plus. The fact that it only stores one item is a limitation that keeps it balanced. Barrels are great storage (and really easy "starter" storage) for anything that you get in quantities much greater than what you can reasonably use. They have quirks with BC piping (offhand I can think of piping in the top and the the display bug; I haven't used RP yet) but they do work. When you start getting up to Gold, Diamond and Crystals chests, then they start to lose value in comparison, but logs are very easy to get in large quantities, and it's the very first thing you get in the game.

I think the barrel debate could probably be better handled in a different thread, suffice to say I respectfully disagree.

The more I was trying to find some reason why a person would want to include Factorization *anything* in their FTB Pack play, the more I was frustrated by the lack of utility the mod provides. Yes, the Crystalizer gives you 3x output for ores... but it takes 20 RL minutes to finish. And really, with Quarries, frame quarries, and Mystcraft Ages... that's not really a major concern for most people anyways. About the only other thing I could come up with was the angle cutter, and that was only if you don't have GregTech installed for the Rock Cutter. I attempted to be as positive as I could be without deliberately misleading people. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot in this mod to be excited about. Granted, it still isn't a finished mod yet, there's still plenty of areas the mod author is wanting to expand into, but just hasn't had the time yet. Not faulting the mod author on that, life happens, but it does mean that in a mod pack containing IC2 and TE... there's just no need for most of the machines in the mod. Now that RP2 has updated, the Sortrons and Managers make even the wrath tech obsolete.

I'm not trying to say it is a -bad- mod, I'm just scratching my head and wondering 'why?'. I literally could not think of a single reason which would not be sophistry or 'because you liek it hardcorez' why anyone would actually use this mod at this time. I look forward to reading a more positive guide which will prove me wrong, it was simply beyond my ability this time.

 

[Vegoraptor]

Made a new version of the Getting started on Factorization, and tried to make it a bit more vivid.
http://pastebin.com/kSaeVS8s