Should ftb be... harder?

  • Please make sure you are posting in the correct place. Server ads go here and modpack bugs go here
  • FTB will be shutting down this forum by the end of July. To participate in our community discussions, please join our Discord! https://ftb.team/discord

Ryiah

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
102
0
0
The only challenge minecraft will ever have is the limits of your own imagination.
I never understood those who feel mods or modpacks should try to enforce "difficulty". If I find something too easy, I give myself a handicap. It isn't like it is difficult to force yourself to avoid features you find "OP".
 

PhilHibbs

Forum Addict
Trusted User
Jan 15, 2013
3,174
1,128
183
Birmingham, United Kingdom
The problem with balancing a modpack is, what is it balanced for? FTB started out as a challenge map pack, a skyblock-like puzzle map where you have to produce a bunch of items that gives you a reward that lets you create the next set of items. That's pretty much ancient history now, as half of it was based around the old Equivalent Exchange EMC mechanic. So, now it's just a generic modpack. There is no single purpose that it can be balanced around. The fact that it includes GregTech indicates that it is intended for use on servers where community builds and 24/7 running can mitigate the increased resource costs. Other than that, it's up to individual users or server operators to decide how to balance the config for their purposes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Whovian

Salamileg9

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
220
0
0
Someone probably already said this, as I didn't read pages 2-4, but yes, I agree, Minecraft is ridiculously easy. Do mods change that at all? Yes. The mods in FTB? No. They enhance the game, not make you want to ragequit. It is all about making the game more interesting and expanding your horizons. In all honesty, I got bored of Minecraft within a month. I already had everything that I could want. That's what got me into servers and modded Minecraft.
 

SeniLiX

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
115
0
0
For you getting those diamonds might not be a tedium, for a lot of people it is. For me FTB is about building cool automated bases. I can already spend craptons of time on that. Why on earth would I want to have to spend more time waiting or mining?

If all you want to do is built automated stuff and spend no time on mining/exploring, Survival mode may not be for you. What you describe is Creative mode.
Some of us actually want to use the time to go out and, you know, work for the items...
 

Chocorate

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
1,257
0
0
Why don't we just all play legos with lasers and quarries...[DOUBLEPOST=1373381592][/DOUBLEPOST]
If all you want to do is built automated stuff and spend no time on mining/exploring, Survival mode may not be for you. What you describe is Creative mode.
Some of us actually want to use the time to go out and, you know, work for the items...

I think he means that he likes to play his good old Minecraft, but with cool, fun automating elements. Without having to spend a lot of time to get them. It's not creative mode, he just doesn't want to spend all his time working on a system that gives him more time (through automation).
 
  • Like
Reactions: fergcraft

Loufmier

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
1,937
-1
0
If all you want to do is built automated stuff and spend no time on mining/exploring, Survival mode may not be for you. What you describe is Creative mode.
Some of us actually want to use the time to go out and, you know, work for the items...
if you actually want to work for items id sugest you play an mmorpg or something close RL.
the thing is that in such game as modded minecraft there is a balance to be achieved between resource acquiring and resource spending. when such balance exist you are free to pick any option and mix them as you desire.
if such balance doesnt exist you will feel forced do more of one thing than other.
 

Enigmius1

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
499
0
0
No, im not comparing it to vanilla, because vanilla is easy as hell as well. Also understand moded MC is still based on MC. So ask yourself why are you playing "survival" mode rather than creative? Its FAR too easy to get items and there is little risk for the rewards involved. There is no adventure there sans the first day. GregTech doesnt do much to make it harder. GregTech makes it more convoluted/trollish. My 'perception' of difficulty doesnt need to change. You are in survival mode. Do you have ANY chance of dying? Most people that have played for a week in FTB the answer is "no". Thats a problem and defeats the purpose of the playmode. Mods do not inherently need to make the game easier to play. Infact, they are there primarily to enhance the game. It should be much harder than vanilla in that respect, and take a greater degree of skill, but when it comes down to it, aside from complex LUA scripting that you should be doing in a IDE anyway, most mods do nothing except turn survival into some sort of bastardized creative mode. They should be fixed, not given excuses. They should be promoting dungeon raiding, not build a quarry, spend 3 hours in-front of turtle, collect ALL the things. Things need to be more rare. We are on our asses enough playing the game in the first place, shall out virtual characters too succumb to this disease of ease and sit there letting the world pass them by? There is creative mode for that.

I play in survival rather than creative because it has different gameplay mechanics. I think you're getting hung up on a word, insisting the game 'should' play a certain way based on the name of the game mode. It's a casual game. If I want something else, I play something else. I don't expect modded MC to fill a niche it was never intended to fill. There are mods that change the game to bring it in line with what you're talking about, why aren't you using them? You can't really argue about 'should' this and 'should' that when you have the opportunity to play the game that way and you're not taking it. Not every mod or mod pack 'should' satisfy your vision for what the game 'should' be like.
 

casilleroatr

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
1,360
0
0
If all you want to do is built automated stuff and spend no time on mining/exploring, Survival mode may not be for you. What you describe is Creative mode.
Some of us actually want to use the time to go out and, you know, work for the items...

There is a progression in automating though. For example in my MFR slaughterhouse, I recently upgraded the pipe system with some diamonds I found so that I could automate the production of pink slime balls inside the same pipe network to make a nicer, cleaner system. As far as the quarry goes or other similar automining setups, there are logistical hurdles that are challenging and I think people do enjoy the limiting features of survival (you don't have all the things straight away) when slowly building their automated complex. Resource acquisition is a fun thing to automate too. I recommend you watch Kirindave's latest lets play episode where he set himself an arbitrary goal of having a remote quarrying facility with onsite power generation and processing. I think the process of making stuff like that in survival mode is satisfying.

Real spoiler below about the episode
There was even an element of real peril in this quarry build!
 

Symmetryc

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
317
0
0
i have to disagree with this. because TC enchant have same name as vanilla enchant, which work only with ores, so i expected TC`s one would do the same.
on the other hand, i can understand mdiyos position, because of possible technical limitations when autosmelt and fortune are mixed.
what i cannot understand is that why greg(the guy who tries achieve "balance" and fixes "exploits") unwilling to modify his configs, in order to avoid duping and conflicts.
The vanilla one works on more than just ores...Ex. Carrots, Glowstone, Nether Wart, Wheat, Gravel, etc.
 

Loufmier

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
1,937
-1
0
The vanilla one works on more than just ores...Ex. Carrots, Glowstone, Nether Wart, Wheat, Gravel, etc.
oh.. but even with those items added to the list, TC fortune+autosmelt affects more things than vanilla fortune, which it shouldnt imo.
 

Daemonblue

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
922
0
0
oh.. but even with those items added to the list, TC fortune+autosmelt affects more things than vanilla fortune, which it shouldnt imo.
That's only because of how it registers fortune after it smelts blocks into items. I'm fairly sure if you turn off the config for it though it won't affect stuff like ores, potatoes, or trees anymore while still affecting everything else.
 

Loufmier

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
1,937
-1
0
That's only because of how it registers fortune after it smelts blocks into items. I'm fairly sure if you turn off the config for it though it won't affect stuff like ores, potatoes, or trees anymore while still affecting everything else.
so that how it works.
dont get me wrong, i do like how its implemented, but it doesnt feel like Fortune, rather like Fortune mk2 or something :)
 

Hydra

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
1,869
0
0
If all you want to do is built automated stuff and spend no time on mining/exploring, Survival mode may not be for you. What you describe is Creative mode.
Some of us actually want to use the time to go out and, you know, work for the items...


There's a sense of achievement of working for something instead of it just appearing out of thin air, sure, but there should be a sense of balance between time invested and what you get for it. But that was not what the OP was talking about; he thinks that just because a block does something nice it should take long to get.

The only 'balance' issue is just personal preference: what amount of time do you want to spend to achieve something. To people who's time is more valuable, that probably increases. I know that teenagers are generally more in favor of 'grindy' games because they simply have more time to spend on them. If you like me have a full time job and a daughter the time you can spend on a game is greatly reduced.
 

namiasdf

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
2,183
0
0
Some people really suck at the technical aspect of the game, but love FTB just as much. Perhaps they are like Etho and like building themed based things. They may not be practical or highly efficient, etc. But he usually builds for aesthetics. Take for example his sheep farm.

If you guys are speaking from an engineers point of view, then of course, a highly realistic, technical, automated and efficient system should be the goal. This also includes the integration of multiple systems and their improvement on the basis of efficiency, ergonomics, convenience, space-wise and time-wise.

But not everyone playing this game is an engineering student.
 

Runo

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
370
0
0
someone mentioned that this game is just a box of legos, and its a good analogy. however, there is one flaw with it: when you played legos, cetain pieces were more valuable than others for building because of scarcity. this is what made certain ideas more difficult to build, and made them more rewarding. a blue ship was less valuable among friends than a black ship with lasers on it, for example. Opportunity cost, tradeoff, and most of all negative consequence for a certain action made Legos more fun than an infinite barrel to me.

If you reduce scarcity too far, you don't have legos, you have a sandbox. Great, but some people like a challenge too. Games these days have removed most negative consequence for a mistake so the younger generation screams to high heaven when they are forced into that scenario by something like gregtech. Sorry, but I don't wanna be able to cut down one tree and gather one hive then never have to leave my base again.
 

namiasdf

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
2,183
0
0
Then don't play that way. Lego or sandbox is known for its flexibility. There are no rules other than that sand has certain properties and requires certain things to build basic building blocks. Same with lego, you have basic building blocks, but it's how you combine them together to get a product, is the end goal. For some it's building tunnels, for some castles. Some just enjoy building in a group and don't mind where the project takes them. Some prefer role-playing and some prefer all out wars. You cannot criticize how someone enjoys something like lego or a sandbox. Especially if they have like-minded players joining in with them.

Playing FTB means playing in a sandbox where showing off what you have created, is in most cases the most valuable experience. How you achieve those monuments/testaments to your time spent will determine who can appreciate what you have done.

You cannot deny that those who have spent hours in creative building redstone computers with displays, etc. have not done something amazing. Just like you cannot deny somebody who has created an extremely efficient system, the fact that they have done so.

For those who are keen on grinding things on, go for it. If I can save myself 30 seconds by cheating a lever, instead of running back, whatever. Usage of waypoints to save the time -I- spend on FTB isn't really subject to anybody else's opinion. If you wish to express those views go ahead, spend -your- time doing so. I'll do what engineers do best and will continue to do so. Nothing will change that =).
 

egor66

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
1,235
0
0
The grind-a-lot-mmos/rpgs/fps games to not equate to MC modded or not in general, these games has set in stone goals IE thats t5 armour/wep set up, that will take 3 weeks of grinding xx to get, a high end mount or pet, this is in no real way what MC ever was or shall be, its a sand box game & the mods added have a huge impact, if some how mc was to some how find its self a balanced game, with th addition of one mod this would then be blown out of the water, I do totally get that most modders have a planed route for there mod that in most cases does not account for the addition of other mods, can a mod team really hope to balance all these mods into one great big fun, challenging long lived game appearance, mho is no, it cant really be done but the team make a concerted effort, this is what MC is, it will never be any more than this its a basic sand box build em up game, to expect to much is to court disaster, set your own goals for your style of play, dont expect every one to follow your style, enjoy your game time, its a game could we ask for much more ?.

If you want a mmo, well go play one, if you want a science game go play one, etc fps, etc rts, the time we spend in one game type genre is limited so make the best of it, for me the game as it is modded or not is only part of the experience, I guess thats why most off us play online games & spend time hanging out on forums.

Just my 2 cents, & yeah its overpriced.