So the Mass Fabricator's a bit unhappy.
- Thread starter Dorque
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Packet size plays a smaller role now in IC2. Where a machine was previously limited to, say, 32 EU/packet with unlimited EU/t they are now one in the same. If you feed any of the lower tier machines the slightest amount more then 32 EU/t or 32 EU/packet they will break/explode.
IC2 is moving more and more towards a very small niche of players while at the same time adding in eye candy that will make the regular players want to use it. This will inevitably lead to bad experiences and leave the mod with a bad rep.
'tis a shame
I don't care to point fingers at anyone in particular but all the same, while disappointed, I cannot say that in light of recent developments with IC2 that I am surprised.
Sadly, I feel that he doesn't really care anymore.
The mass fabricator has always used the explosion value of a nuke, as defined in the config. Yes, even back in 1.2.5 and before. People simply didn't notice, because in order to overload a mass fab in classic IC2, you had to jump through hoops of actively trying to do so. The mass fab used to accept 512 EU/p (packet size), and the biggest energy supplier, the MFSU, supplied 512 EU/p. Due to the way energy packets worked, you could pump an infinite amount of energy into the mass fab, so long as no single packet was bigger than 512 EU. And your only options to make packets bigger than that were a condensator based nuclear reactor (which were hardly ever built, due to their sheer impracticality, inefficiency and upfront cost), or by running energy into an HV transformer and then into a mass fab. Which nobody did because seriously, why would you do that?
What changed is the way the e-net works. The extremely confusing "multiple packets per tick" mechanic is gone. There is only EU per tick... meaning all EU running down a cable in one tick are added together.
Example: in classic IC2, you could have six batboxes all outputting 32 EU/t into one cable.The result would be 6x 32EU/t, and machines that can only accept 32 EU/p had no issues with it. In the experimental branch, these six batboxes will instead cause a power flow of 1x 192 EU/t in that cable. Which means that not only will machines accepting only 32 EU/t blow up... no, even machines accepting MV (128 EU/t) will also be overloaded. And the cable itself must be rated for HV as well (though this is currently not yet implemented, all cables transfer any amount of EU).
To make things remain practical and usable, most things were bumped up an energy tier. Tin cables are rated for LV instead of 5 EU/t, copper cables do MV, gold does HV. Iron cables did EV before and still do now, but glass fiber was bumped up from 512 to the "quadruple EV" rating of 8192 EU/t. There's also a new EV transformer at the high end. Additionally, all common machines now accept MV by default; only luminators and batboxes (as far as I have found) are still limited to 32 EU/t. You can hook up 128 EU/t cables to your macerator no problem, even without transformer upgrades. On the topic of batboxes, there's a new MV storage unit, the CESU. MFEs got bumped to HV and MFSUs got bumped to EV, with maximum energy storage also going up (4m for the MFE and 40m for the MFSU).
The mass fab, however, did not get bumped up. It still does HV (512 EU/t). Since you now have MFSUs outputting 2048 EU/t, and even an MFE and a batbox will be added together to form 544 EU/t pulses, it is now actually possible to overload your mass fab by accident. Previously you had to be intentionally trying for it, now it can happen if you are careless. And the EU/t limits on machines are no longer per-input either, it's total. Just like on cables, all sources get added together. So by supplying 512 EU/t on one side, and adding a solar panel to the other side resulted in 513 EU/t going into the mass fab, even though the solar panel was never hooked to the same cable as the MFE. Cue the crater.
So there were not actually any extra changes to make IC2 machines more explosive than before, despite what some uninformed people in this thread preach. However, the e-net changes mean that you need to change your playstyle as well. If you play as you did in classic IC2, you will run into a big problem - probably before you even get to building a mass fab.
You can also now disable the nuke behavior of the mass fab in the config file. If you do so, it will still explode, but only like all other machines - with barely enough force to take out an uninsulated cable next to them, or taking 1-2 hearts from an unarmored player.
That was an excellent review of the new energy system. From what I can understand, its much easier to make explosions and much harder to compact a machine network even with painted cables.
Is there any upsides to the new IC2 aside from triple/quadruple ore output? That was already possible with Factorization, it just took some time and planning.
Is there any upsides to the new IC2 aside from triple/quadruple ore output? That was already possible with Factorization, it just took some time and planning.
Massively reduced processing overhead for the e-net, as well as the elimination of some legacy quirks, as far as I gather.
And it's actually easier than ever to set up compact IC2 machines in the experimental branch, thanks to the ejector upgrade. It will make IC2 machines auto-output in an inventory of your choice (or the first inventory it finds, that setting exists too). So now you can have your macerator directly adjacent to the ore washing plant and have it shunt all ground up ores directly into it TE-style, no piping necessary. It works really well.
Plenty of other new features as well, both planned and already implemented. Two new generators, new battery and backpack tiers. A nanosaber that actually works. Completely reworked, far more interesting flexible UU-matter mechanics, using liquids. New nuclear fuel types, with a future complete rework of reactors. Quality of life features, such as item and machine tooltips that tell you what these things actually do or what their current status is. New GUIs. New construction foam sprayer mechanics that makes it far easier to build with. And probably half a dozen more I forgot.
And it's actually easier than ever to set up compact IC2 machines in the experimental branch, thanks to the ejector upgrade. It will make IC2 machines auto-output in an inventory of your choice (or the first inventory it finds, that setting exists too). So now you can have your macerator directly adjacent to the ore washing plant and have it shunt all ground up ores directly into it TE-style, no piping necessary. It works really well.
Plenty of other new features as well, both planned and already implemented. Two new generators, new battery and backpack tiers. A nanosaber that actually works. Completely reworked, far more interesting flexible UU-matter mechanics, using liquids. New nuclear fuel types, with a future complete rework of reactors. Quality of life features, such as item and machine tooltips that tell you what these things actually do or what their current status is. New GUIs. New construction foam sprayer mechanics that makes it far easier to build with. And probably half a dozen more I forgot.