ShneekeyCraft Playthrough

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal entry: Day 1 AE (After Event)

I... I don't know where I am, but I appear to be stranded with nothing more than the clothes on my back, my GPS unit, a camera, and my logbook. To help me collect my thoughts, I have started a journal. This will help me remember important facts and maybe give anyone who finds this journal some clues about what has happened, and why.

First off, a point I'd like to clarify. I'm an engineer, not an ignorant tech, not an ivory-tower research boffin, and most definitely not a damn bureaucrat. I'm actually quite good at putting things together. I guess that's why I ended up on that damn project.

Extra-dimensional travel... getting from Point A to Point C without traversing through the Point B between them. Teleportation, in layman's terms, although it's not precisely accurate. It would be more accurate to say that you phase from one dimension to another which touches with our dimension at a ratio of greater than 1:1. With a sufficient dilation, it may seem like instantaneous teleportation to an outside observer. Such technology already exists... sort of. It's very energy intensive, of course, and much easier with small objects rather than living ones.

But they wanted more...

Some boffin got the idea that you could make a portal to one of these dimensions which the math geeks defined and travel there. To boldly gone where no one has gone before. That whole mess.

Granted, there was some success. We made a portal to the 16:1 ratio dimension. The explorers called it the Nether Dimension, since it looked like one of the pits of hell.

Of course, that success emboldened them to continue on. But they went too far, and too fast, in my opinion. There was a huge potential profit to be made. Already, glowstone was being incorporated into industrial applications, resulting in obscene profit margins. And... as we all know... profit makes the industry go 'round. So, against my objections, they decided to try again. Idiots. What's the point in hiring an engineer if you don't listen to him?

I suspect the Event was the result of industrial espionage from a competitor. There was a malfunction, and the emergency shutoff failed. The failsafes which I built into the damn thing, which should have automatically cut power when the deadman switch was cut, didn't function. I wired the damn thing myself, the switch is on the only power feed, meaning when you throw it, there is no physical energy flow to keep it going. There's literally no way power could have continued going to the process once the emergency shutoff was hit. Which means someone had to have tampered with it to bypass the failsafe.

I don't know where, or when, I am. When you're dealing with multi-dimensional physics, time is just another variable after all. But there's no civilization in sight. Which means I'd best get busy while the sun shines. I want some kind of shelter before nightfall. Some food wouldn't be a bad idea either. Once I have established the basic necessities, I can start exploring and see if I can figure out where the hell I am. Maybe I can find some of the others involved with the experiment, but odds are low, and will drop lower the longer I go, since I'm about the only one involved with the experiment who knows how to build the infrastructure from stone-age materials on up. After a couple of weeks at most, odds of survival of anyone else are too insignificant to meaningfully calculate.

All right, enough notes. Time to go punch a tree.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal Entry: Day 1 AE, later in the day

Ran across a berry bush. harvested some berries. Probably plant some seeds if I get the chance. Still trying to get out of this frozen wasteland.

Found an interesting rock formation, looks like something just took a massive chunk out of that rock outcropping. I shudder to think what it might have been.

Spoiler

Also found a nearby chasm rich with ores.

Spoiler

Much as it pains me to admit, I may well have to carve out a place for me to live here, at least temporarily, before moving to a somewhat more temperate clime. It's cold enough during the day here, I shudder to think what temperature it will reach after dark. And I do mean that quite literally...

Searching for shelter, I found another cave, but this one was not uninhabited...

Spoiler

The living dead! I hope this isn't in the Interdiction Zone around Raccoon City...

With nightfall fast approaching, I finally dig into the earthen side of a hill to hide for the night.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal Entry: Day 2

There were some terrifying noises outside of my humble dirt shelter, so I stayed inside until my chronometer told me it was once again daylight. During the night, I quarried out a bit of stone to make myself some better tools. I saw some spiders nearly as large as I was, but they didn't seem hostile so I didn't bother them. I also saw an odd creature which appeared to be made of foliage. The only other such creature I'm familiar with is a Shambling Mound, which are best avoided, so I endeavored to give this strange being a wide berth.

Continuing in the same direction, I finally hit a wooded area, with some wooly friends.

Spoiler

A crime and shame, perhaps, but I killed a few to make a bed for myself. Perhaps I shall atone for this by making a comfortable farm for them later, when I find a more hospitable climate to settle in.

After more traveling, I came to a shoreline. Yes, a beach, with sand, flush up with snowy woods. This place gets crazier and crazier. I hug the shoreline west, which leads me back to a more southerly direction

Looking offshore, I see an enormous oil spout

Spoiler

While theoretically valuable, I now have a very different outlook on what is 'valuable' to me. Currently, warmth tops this list. So I continue on, As the sun sets on the second day, I quickly dig a small dirt hovel and lay down in my woolen bed as I write this. I've traveled over two kilometers since I showed up in this frozen land... I wonder if there is anything here BUT ice and snow?

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal Entry: Day 4 AE

Getting hungry. Those berries aren't very filling. Had to slaughter some pigs. Cooked their meat overnight. Kept moving. This place has to have an end somewhere, even though now I've hit the western edge of this place and heading northward again...

Journal Entry: Day 6 AE

I don't know what is going on here, I'd attribute this to snow-glare, but it's... no, that is not snow glare. I don't know what it is, but it keeps staring at me. And those eyes... I dare not meet its gaze.

Journal Entry: Day 10 AE

This seems to be a large island, a couple thousand kilometers in diameter. I've reached the northern part, close to where I first appeared in fact, where I found my first non-snowy area. It was a couple of smallish islands, but it was enough for me. Clearly, I was in the southern hemisphere of whatever place I landed on.

However, I am an Engineer, there is no problem which cannot be solved. So if I must go north to find a warmer clime, then in a boat I'll hither sail!

Journal Entry: Day 12 AE

Still no land in sight, but I did see a whole oil field. I know some people who would be pissing themselves finding it and calculating how much it would be worth. But I'd trade it all for a good place to live.

I've given up hope that I will encounter anyone else from the experiment. No one else would've been able to survive that harsh snowy nightmare I got dropped in. I haven't seen any signs of civilization either. All of these natural resources would have certainly been exploited already had civilization come this far. Which means I am truly on my own, at least for now.

[Geez, sorry this isn't starting off quite so fast as some... literally spawned on a 2k block island of snow and more snow, and so far I've passed 10,000 and still no sign of solid land...]

 

[Saice]

I like the Day Journal format and RP theme.

 

[Yusunoha]

wilson sure has become blocky and orange

 

[GPuzzle]

What was your seed again?
Norway?

 

[jumpfight5]

[Geez, sorry this isn't starting off quite so fast as some... literally spawned on a 2k block island of snow and more snow, and so far I've passed 10,000 and still no sign of solid land...]

No no no! The beginning part is the best and this story is doing fine. Ever read Hachet? After the beginning part it kinda just becomes more of the same. Take it slow like you're doing, you used the winter to your advantage, you could even see that oil field as unnavigable or something

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

[For those interested, the seed is: 2453887740392397334. I am playing with the ShneekeyCraft pack, plus Mekanism's 3 mods and Electric Expansion]

Journal Entry: Day 20ish I think?

It's hard to keep accurate track of time on this vast expanse of nothingness. Several times now, I've seen what I thought was land, only to realize it was just a figment of my imagination or some fevered dream.

Maybe it's the sun-baked brain, or maybe I've just plain cracked, but it occurs to me that there's plenty of land underneath all this water. All I'd need to do is find a way down. And it occurs to me that these oil spouts are just that... it's oil gushing up from deep underground. All I need to do is... hold my breath. Right?

The more nothing I see, the more attractive this option becomes. Finally, I have decided that this horribly risky plan is at least better than this expanse of nothing. Tis better to have died trying than to have subsisted upon an eternity of emptiness, right? Or something like that. Well... for King and Country, into the breach!

I had found myself stuck in the boat, I could no longer shake myself free! So, espying a sandbar nearby, I brought it up to ramming speed! This also gives me the opportunity to do a bit of constructing for some basic tools I will need. My current tools... suck. No, that's an insult to sucking. I don't have much in the way of resources. Even my supply of cobblestone is dwindling, far less wood. However, this will be a necessary requirement. Below the earth, plants do not grow very well, so my wood supply will be even shorter than stone. Therefore, it behooves me to build tools of stone which can then be repaired with stone. Crazy I might be, but I'm still an Engineer! Also collect a bit of this clay, it will be useful later on.

Now down, down to Goblin Town!

Journal Entry: Same day, a few minutes later

Well, that was easier than I expected! Apparently there was a fault which permitted me access without needing to swim down the spout! Now I have another problem... inventory, I don't haz it. Well, certainly set a waypoint here so I can find my way back out to the light of day.

Journal Entry, Same day, I think.

Did a bit of a reconnoiter of my surroundings. Found a nest of spiders. Fortunately their size worked against them in the narrow opening I fashioned with my pick and was able to pacify them with light.

Speaking of light, I am fortunate that I can fashion stone rods to make torches with. I would quickly run out of wood if I had to use regular sticks.

For now, the best treasures, other than the actual chests themselves, was the bread and wheat. I can easily grind the wheat into flour and bake it into bread to keep me going a while longer, however I will need a steady food supply, which is harder to do down here. However, the Iron and Redstone will also come in quite handy, as will the buckets. Back to my makeshift manufactorum, and make a pick of iron.

Journal Entry: Day... 25? It's hard to keep track down here.

This is an expansive cave system I have broken into. Abyssal stone geodes litter the place. Generally barren, but occasionally having treasures like this:

I dare not even mine it yet, it is too valuable for later, but worthless to me now.

Those creatures made of vegetation are down here as well, and I discovered their explosive temper. Fortunately, I was mostly outside the blast radius, however it wrecked my front door I erected to keep the walking dead from including me in their number. However, there's no shortage of cobblestone down here, so I shall endeavor to repair it with something sturdier than dirt.

It is a humble beginning, I suppose, but at least it is warm!

 

[fergcraft]

Looking good I'm enjoying this form of story telling.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal Entry: Day... oh who gives a damn anymore?

While exploring further, some of these geodes are quite rich!

However, this exploration is not without peril...

While exploring on a ledge over lava, one of those vegetative explodinator things crept up behind me and, well...

Much to my surprise, I awoke back at my bed. Clearly, there is something strange going on here. Could it be that I have become extra-dimensionally out of phase, and snapping back to the last moment of semiconscious upon cessation of thought? Is there some extra-dimensional being toying with me? I don't know. All I know is that this is... different.

However, I now have a problem. All of my lumber was on me when I 'perished'. Which leaves me with the stone pick I first fashioned before setting down here.

Fortunately, I had saplings, dirt, and bones in my chest. I get an odd feeling that the word 'skyblock' should have meaning for me...

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal Entry: Day... something or other

Clearly I have failed to properly calculate the effects of Murphy's Law on my endeavors. Therefore, as any engineer faced with a problem will do... it's time to build something! But first, I need some room. Well, that's fairly easily accomplished. Also, some time with the spider spawner gave me enough silk to make some backpacks with. Light and durable, one will be used to carry stone while the other for precious ores and gems.

Right, so here's what we have so far:

Not much yet, but hey, everyone has to start somewhere. Now then, plenty of sand to be had up on the surface, and can be cooked into glass. My new grinder, using quartz dust to separate the stone from the ore can help me get started, but right now I need some basic machines, and to run them, I need some basic power.

Without any steel available to me, my options are limited. I can't make an Energy Cube without steel, and I can't make steel without a Metallurgic Infuser. So, I suppose it's going to have to run on thermal for the moment. I'd really rather not run on coal, which is a limited resource, or charcoal, which I don't have the means of making renewable yet. And it's the only energy source I can build without needing steel.

Having lit up my immediate cave system has made it a bit safer, but there are still occasional scavengers which roam the caves...

Nothing too dangerous, and the slimeballs have some interesting properties which bear experimenting with. But for now, I need Osmium, so hi-ho it's off to work I go.

Of course, I also need a renewable food supply. So I quickly put this together. It's simple, but it should keep me alive until I can do better:

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal Entry: Day... a couple later than the last one.

Osmium is a particularly dense metal, one which cannot be manually grounded with simple quartz crystal. If I wish to maximize my osmium output of the ore I have harvested, I will need a Pulverizing machine. The key here is that I can also build a clockwork engine to power it. Granted, it is a horrid waste of gold, but it will at least get me the osmium necessary to build my heat generation plant to make some steel.

Also, in preparation for my magma-driven power supply, I've made a bucket, and dug the basic trench, and put some lava down

Several hours of moving buckets of lava and building later, and we have the start on our manufactorum

Each heat generator has five sides with lava. The face shown has cabling.

I'm just glad I lit everything up, the last thing I need is getting blown up while trying to fill lava buckets...

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal Entry: Previous Journal + a few hours

Ahh, the soothing thrum of electrical power, how I have missed you. Now all I need is an Energy Cube to store it and convert into MJ which all of my TE machines run on. Oh, and some Rednet to run redstone signals. Then I can finally bring some of the comforts of modern living back to my... hole. Not even a hovel, it's simply a couple of square holes I have dug out manually. Inexcusable living quarters. But then, this whole area here was designed to just be temporary anyways. I have some plans, but they involve the Rolling Machine and far more resources than I currently possess. But yes, my living conditions need to improve.

An underwater glass dome... modular design so they could be easily connected together to form a sub-aqueous base! I can always dig up the sea bed once I have evacuated the water.

I also have plans for energized glowstone lighting for the domes, but that does remind me that for the next step, I'm going to need to hit Dimension Ratio 8:1. However, that is -not- a fun place to be, particularly in the wild and untamed places. However, it at least can give me access to some exceedingly valuable resources... Cobalt, Ardite, Nether Quartz, Glowstone... heck, at the moment, I'd even take the Glowing Mushrooms as a food source, plus the various Nether Woods.

Now then, to be able to harvest Cobalt, I'm going to need something stronger than iron. Normally, I would need Alumite, however Steel also works. Now, while Steel is a particularly good metal for use as the pick head, the handle itself I would prefer something a bit more... shock-absorbent. Now, slime has a lot of shock-absorbent properties, but by itself would do poorly. Hmm... dirt and sand are both loose-fill materials. If I saturate a blend of dirt and sand with slime, it should form a clay or mud like substance which can be kilned into something suitable. Of course, Obsidian for some reinforcement.

Of course, I don't really have a way of mining obsidian at the moment. But fortunately, there's a machine for that. The Igneous Extruder can produce Obsidian by feeding it water and lava. Water... yea, not a problem. And there's several lava lakes which I used to fill my Heat Chamber that still have copious quantities. It'll require a Machine Frame, but hey... isn't that what I dug up that gold for in the first place?

Now then, since Obsidian also resonates to the proper extradimensional frequency as the 8:1 ratio dimension, I'm going to need to build a frame, then apply molecular agitation via heat source until resonance occurs and the dimensional portal is established and stabilized.

More hauling of lava later, and I have my obsidian, plus a few extra just in case. I suppose a fitting place for this would be in the nearest geode. A bit of work with the stone later, and a snap with some flint and steel, and we have our portal!

Divesting myself of all valuable resources other than my pick and backpacks, filling my Digger's Backpack with cobble to fortify the other end, I plan on entering in the morning.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal Entry: You know, I think I'm going to stop bothering to date these.

Well, that was... umm... interesting. Right off the bat, there was a small problem with the portal's placement. Fortunately, I moved out of the way in time

Spoiler

Now, I don't have access to anything which can help me survive handling lava, and I don't have enough obsidian to make another portal, so this is a rather severe problem that I'm going to have to solve -before-I can do anything else. Fortunately, I am an engineer. There's always a solution.

A few minutes work with cobblestone, some careful balancing, and a weathered eye on the Ghast across the lava lake later, and I have a solution. Build a small area for the lava to flow into on top of my portal.

Spoiler

Now to actually build a base here!

That ghast that I was keeping a weathered eye on decided to come closer and start taking pot-shots at me. Originally, I was going to try and build a fairly decent structure for once, however necessity required I first build a cobblestone building to protect me from his unwanted attentions.

I can also now confirm that if I die in this hellish place, I show back up at my bed again. I really have no clue how or why that happens, and it is exceedingly... disconcerting. I dare not push my luck too much, of course, but a part of me is curious why this happens.

Fortunately, none of my stuff fell in the lava, and I was able to recover them. There was a Darkwood Tree which was in the way of my construction that I had to chop down. However, this might actually be a good thing. Darkwood has a lovely blueish hue which might be useful in my underwater base.

I also encountered another denizen of this land... much like the explosive vegitative creature, but with a MUCH shorter fuse. Fortunately, I had led him far away enough that it didn't impact any part of my base, but it does drive home that I need to build this shelter very securely. Fortunately, I have a solution... an Iron Door and some Obsidian plates. I'm also building an 'airlock' around the door area to keep the door from being directly impacted by Ghast Fireballs.

I decided to build longhouse-shaped simply because I already had the infrastructure there, and it let me build the thing without having to go back outside.

Spoiler

[Note: Yes, I did go Peaceful to snap that second shot. I am using Kazam to take pictures of my windowed minecraft instance, which has a five second delay so I can switch back into MC. I died twice by Nitro Creepers trying to take this picture, so in the interests of sharing with the class, I went Peaceful exclusively for this purpose, and went back immediately thereafter]

I haven't had a chance to actually obtain any materials (other than the Darkwood tree), but at least my portal is relatively safe.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal Entry: After I got back from the Nether

Well, having some Cobalt and Ardite does me no good without a proper smeltery, so I started preparations. I dug out a new room, and started making some Grout. Not too hard, there's plenty of clay near the sandbars underwater, the sandbars likewise give me sand, and I've got -plenty- of gravel from my excavations. Some work later, and I've got a fully functioning Smeltery. Now to make some casts. To do that, I need Aluminum Brass. So, some of my precious copper (very low on copper reserves due to the depth the land is at here), plus some aluminum into the resivoir, bring it up to temperature with some lava, and voila!

Spoiler

Now make an Ingot Cast, and I'm pretty well good to smelt down this Cobalt and Ardite. Make up one batch of manyllium with the ardite, but the cobalt has uses all by itself. I can make an improved Mine-O-Matic with this stuff. It goes even faster than steel. I can then pull some of the mossy cobblestone out of that spider den to give it a regenerative property, Lapis for luck, and Redstone for speed. As far as the binding... much as I would like to make paper, I have no reeds, so Obsidian it is. Perhaps once I obtain the necessary gear, I can go back to that snowy wasteland and harvest some resources properly. Heck, maybe even use the Nether's dimensionally tessering properties, build a nether portal over there, and make a Nether Rail to connect the two? Hmm... definitely bares consideration. But that's for later. For now, I have some tidying up to do.

This also gives me a reason to move my tables back into my smeltery room, and move the bed back into the room proper and away from that dangerous ledge. I also pulled the chest out and moved it to a safer location. I am also getting tired of swimming against the current to get back up to the surface. However, if I truly wish to have ease and comfort, I'm going to need to get a Rolling Machine up and running, because I'm going to be using Elevator Rails with some Powered Rails and buttons.

However, while visiting the surface, I did see an odd glow coming from the deep...

Spoiler

A Ravine which led into what appeared to be a Mineshaft! Could this really be civilization? I mean, this is not something that can happen by accident, this is something that is proof positive that mankind was once here...

Is this what Hope feels like? I feel... giddy. Finally, someone who can tell me where the bloody hell I am, maybe even get back home. Hell, maybe someone else on the project was dumped here.

Enough talk, I need to go explore

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal Entry: After I got back.

Isn't there some saying to the tune of 'those whom the gods would cast down, they first set on high'? Yea... this is even more creepy than the Nether dimension. You've got rail tracks and carts and obviously man-made structures and supports. But there's veins of every mineral under the sun (except copper, at these depths) open and exposed to the mineshafts without a hint of being worked! Iron, Tin, Osmium, Lead, Silver, Gold, even Diamonds and Lapis. All exposed along the mineshaft walls. There's no way, none whatsoever, that whatever mining consortium built this place would've left those in place. Ever. Which means something drove them out before they could do more than drill the main shafts.

I don't mind admitting that I got the heck out of there. Sure, there were skeletons sniping at me from the ridges of the ravine, but that seemed the lesser danger as I strove for the surface. Something drove them out. That something might still be around. I need better equipment. And for that, I need more copper. I've got a basic power system set up. Now I need some real armor. When whatever the hell it was that drove them out comes back, I want to be ready.

Mind you, it wasn't without danger. Venomous spiders, little buggers, had made several nests. The walking dead was prevelant. And worst of all, those explosive things. You can turn a blind corner and have one right in your face with bugger-all you can do about it. I'm starting to really hate those wankers.

Wiring isn't cheap, Lots of silver and copper. And Copper I have precious little of, considering I'm stuck under the sea bed. It is normally a fairly common resource, but it generally forms higher than the sea bed. Which brings me to a choice... do I really want to boat all the way back to that frozen wasteland I appeared on? There would at least be plenty of copper there. But no, I want a suit to protect me from the elements before heading back over there. Although, I can use the tessering properties of the Nether to create a shortcut back once I get there.

That reminds me, I need a better lava supply for obsidian generation. I'm going to need quite a bit going forward, leaded obsidian glass is very important to redstone conduits as well as liquiducts. Which means I need a steady supply, and I just don't feel like manually hauling lava up bucket by bucket. Fortunately, there's a solution.

Journal Entry:

Getting a Magma Crucible up and running is easy, now that I've got some netherrack. Just smelt it and compress into nether brick. Made some conduit, hooked up my other machines. Liquid Transposer wasn't too bad, although my copper reserves are running very dangerously low. Electrum blend is easy to make, just mix equal parts gold and silver dust. Then pulverized obsidian and lead in the Induction Smelter to make some Hardened Glass. Not that hard. Hook it up to my Energy Cube directly, and we've got power!

Spoiler

Now that I've got a Magma Crucible set up, I can start connecting my bases. For this project, I'm going to need to dabble in alchemy a bit. The Laws of Equivalent Exchange are quite clearly defined, after all, just another branch of science. While that isn't my field of expertise, I know enough at least to get started. Fortunately, I've got plenty of Minium Shards from clearing out these caves, the rest is just some iron, gold, and stone. Now I can transmute four iron into an Ender Pearl.

Honestly, this stuff has always made me a bit nervous. It was the dimension which resonated with these ender pearls that we were trying for when the Event happened. However, I need to set up some cross-dimensional connectivity, and it's the only real way to do so. Four ender pearls, plus some tin and hardened glass and a diamond for the frame, and I've got a Tesseract. Build two at a time, of course. Mind you, that eats up a half a stack of my iron, but I've got a couple stacks of Iron, and isn't it there to be used? Anyways, we're going to be making some Liquid Tesseracts. Also a Pump, which is still more iron and some glass. And blow my last diamond on an Enchantment Table to make a Chunkloader to stabilize the dimensional boundaries so it can tesser properly. Fill up my Digger's Backpack with cobble, and back to the Nether we go!

Working quickly to get the walls done before the ghasts show up, I build an addition to my nether house. Right now, I'm just going to power the pump with an Energy Cube I filled up back in base. Also one corner has to have an interesting jog to avoid one of the lava spouts coming down from above, so the addon isn't perfectly rectangular, but it'll do.

Spoiler

Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to finish off the roof due to running out of building materials. But at least it should keep the ghasts off unless they show up directly overhead.

[Yes, I made a nether lava pumping station for the exclusive purpose of making obsidian. Perhaps a bit overly complicated, but hey... isn't that part of what Minecraft is about? And no, I'm not going to run lava engines, it's just for obsidian]

Journal Entry:

Umm... I seem to have a... house guest. I have no idea how this zombie pigman got into my nether base, but he... er... followed me home. And since the pumpkin died in the Great Lava Incident, I've been feeling a bit lonely. He seems to be at least not hostile, although he's not really... all there. It's a bit disconcerting, but at least it is company. I think I'll name him Wilbur.

Spoiler

He demonstrates a high degree of intellect for a zombie pigman to be able to navigate the path up here. Perhaps he can be trained.

 

[Saice]

Nice.... Pump that nether dry.

Now only if you could make pigmen hang around like zombies by giving them stuff.[DOUBLEPOST=1371597502][/DOUBLEPOST]you know I never tested that. Throw some pants at him and see if he picks them up and puts them on. Mods with players items should not despawn.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

you know I never tested that. Throw some pants at him and see if he picks them up and puts them on. Mods with players items should not despawn.

[I wish I could, but unfortunately he despawned before I read your post. If I get another houseguest, I'll give 'em a battlesign and leather pants. Because it needs to happen]

Journal Entry:

This is really only a temporary base, which means I need a better way to store my stuff. These two or three chests are filling up fast, and I'm not really prepared for the sort of mass mining I'm going to be needing for some of my project ideas. So, let's get building!

Today, I built a second pulverizer and another Igneous Extruder. The second pulverizer I placed atop the Induction Smelter, with the Igneous Extruder adjacent in cobble-gen mode. This will keep my Induction Smelter supplied with sand. The Induction Smelter is a MUCH faster way to smelt pulverized metals than a regular ol' furnace, so this will speed up my rate of smelting significantly. Of course, the furnace is still under my 'input' pulverizer, but I've set that to only receiving secondary outputs. This leaves me with a gap under the Induction Smelter and beside the Powered Furnace. Don't worry, I've got a plan.

It's time to start up an ME Network. But first, I need some more resources. At least one diamond is going to be needed, so it's off to mine I go. But before I do, I look at the several stacks of Lapis, and look at my Cobalt-tipped pick. I've got enough Lapis to put Fortune 2 on that bad boy. Plus put on some moss for regrowth. Now that I have a Liquid Transposer, mossy cobble is renewable, so it's no longer a problem. Lapis is a very common resource in these geodes, which makes up for the fact that they tend to be less productive than regular veins.

I should probably also mention my sword. It's a Mannylium-bladed Broadsword, with slime handle and paper crossguard. Why paper? Well, it doesn't seem to hurt the functionality of blocking, and it will improve its upgradability. While I don't have reeds, I can run some wood through the pulverizer to get wood chips I can turn into paper. Currently, I have some Nether Quartz on it to hone the blade's edge, but not much. It still needs three hits to drop a skeleton. I'm going to improve that when I have the resources, but I'm not equipped for extended nether journeys yet.

Journal Entry: Got done harvesting a lot of the resources I've seen but haven't really had the inclination to mine yet due to lack of space. Going to fix that now that I have a couple of diamonds.

The ME Controller requires a diamond, and fluix crystals. Fortunately, I have redstone, Certus Quartz, and Nether Quartz, so I can make those easily enough. The Disk Drive isn't too bad either, and I make a 4k storage disk, which should keep me going for some time. Next, I put an ME Interface in that corner below the Induction Smelter and the Powered Furnace, behind it is the Controller, snugly nestled in amongst the conduit, with the Disk Drive behind the conduit. The interface will make sure that anything I process will go immediately onto disk. Then I make a Terminal. Right now, since I don't want to bother messing around with more ME Cable, I just put it in front of the ME Interface. After all, this is a temporary location anyways, right?

Spoiler

Pretty compact design, if I do say so myself. A Hopper goes on the 'input' pulverizer and all the ores I haven't bothered with previously processing hop on in. Since I'm running on Heat Generators, there's really no reason not to anymore.

Now it's time to do some serious mining. Maybe even branch mining. I did find some more copper while expanding my base, but it still isn't going to be nearly enough for what I want to do.

I also am wanting Auto-Smelting on my pick. However, that requires blaze rods, which requires finding a nether fortress, which requires being able to survive for extended journeys in the Nether. So that will have to wait for now.

Wilbur seems to have wandered off somewhere. I hope he's okay...

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal Entry:

Started making my suit. Needed an Emerald for the station, but such is the price of Science. Unfortunately, all the wiring depleted my copper and silver reserves. But now my helmet has a solar generator and a method of electrolyzing water to provide me with air to breathe, my boots have shock absorbers, my chest has a heat generator (to mitigate the effects of the Nether's ambient temperature, mostly), and my legs currently don't have any modules because I ran out of resources.

Then, I decided this whole water thing was for the birds. So I built a Rolling Machine and started manufacturing some Elevator Rails. I also started building with Stone Bricks. Cobblestone is SO stone age, and an affront to my sensibilities. Here's what I've got so far:

Spoiler

Next, I started a slow but steady solution to my chronic copper conumdrum. Oreberry bushes are rather prickly, the means they use to produce oreberries also makes for very sharp branches, but it's a renewable, if glacially slow, means of producing resources. They work best in the dark. and I am wanting a fully automated system, so I also built me a Harvester. Some work with conduits later, and I've got my darkroom copper oreberry farm:

Spoiler

Well, like I said, I want a -fully- automated system. So some work with some quartz, bother Certus and Nether, and a few more resources, and I run some ME Cable and drop an ME Interface directly behind it. Now I've got a slow but steady supply of copper. Eventually. So, with this set up, I go mining.

Came back and disappointed by the few nuggets that have appeared. But hey, it's better than nothing, I guess. Also, I found Wilbur. I guess he got a bit lonely and went back down to the portal.

Spoiler

I went to go make him a Battlesign, since I had heard that was their weapon of choice, but by the time I got back down, he had wandered off again. I hope he didn't run afoul of the oreberry bushes...