StrangeThistleStudiosPresents...

[MacAisling]

UPDATE: Some big changes & a fresh start. The changes to Thaumcraft in 4.1 forced me to rethink my central Thaumcraft layout, which led to rethinking a bunch of other stuff as well. So I've cut even more mods from the pack, changed up some of the BoP active biomes, & started from the beginning. Since I'm playing through & not going semi-creative, it will take me a while to work up to where I was before, but you will be able to see some of my early game this time. Hopefully I will be able to stick with this world until I can complete the big base builds I have planned.

Mod pack: DW20 1.0.16 with a few mods added & many deleted. With all the mods I've cut, enderpearls are the new diamonds. The game runs much better on my old laptop than it did with the full pack. Here is the list of changes I've made to the pack:

Spoiler

Mods updated:
Thaumcraft 4.1.0e
ThaumicTinkerer 2.3-103
Mods added:
LanteaCraft RC1.14
ArchimedesShips 1.6.x 1.4.5
EnchantingPlus 1.16.5
Sync 2.1.1
Big Reactors 0.2.14A

Disabled mods:
AM2
BiblioWoods Forestry
BiblioWoods Natura
BILLUND
binnie-mods
BuildCraft A
BuildCraft Z
compactsolars
ComputerCraft
denLib
DenPipes
DenPipes Emerald
DenPipes Forestry
Factorization
Forestry
GateCopy
Hats
HatStand
IC2NuclearControl
industrialcraft
JourneyMap
LogisticsPipes
magicbees 2.1.12
MobiusCore
Morph
Natura
OpenPeripheralAddons
OpenPeripheralCore
Opis
PluginsforForestry
qCraft
Steve’s Carts
twilightforest

Seed: StrangeThistleStudiosBoP (-1837768199) World Type: Biomes O' Plenty
Since the world can look completely different depending on the biomes enabled, here is the config I'm using:

Spoiler

"beach variations to generate"
B:"Gravel Beach"=true
B:"Overgrown Beach"=false

"biomes to generate"
B:Alps=false
B:Arctic=false
B:AutumnHills=false
B:Badlands=true
B:BambooForest=true
B:Bayou=true
B:BirchForest=true
B:Bog=false
B:BorealForest=true
B:Brushland=false
B:Canyon=false
B:Chaparral=false
B:CherryBlossomGrove=true
B:ConiferousForest=false
B:ConiferousForestSnow=false
B:Crag=true
B: DeadForest=false
B: DeadForestSnow=false
B: DeadSwamp=false
B: Deadlands=false
B: DeciduousForest=false
B: Dunes=false
B:Fen=false
B:Field=true
B:FrostForest=false
B:FungiForest=true
B:Garden=true
B:Glacier=false
B:Grassland=true
B:Grove=true
B:Heathland=true
B:Highland=true
B:HotSprings=false
B:IcyHills=true
B:JadeCliffs=true
B:LavenderFields=true
B:LushDesert=false
B:LushSwamp=false
B:Mangrove=true
B:MapleWoods=false
B:Marsh=false
B:Meadow=true
B:Mesa=false
B:Moor=true
B:Mountain=false
B:MysticGrove=false
B:Oasis=true
B:Ocean=true
B:OminousWoods=false
B:Orchard=true
B:OriginValley=false
B:Outback=false
B:OvergrownGreens=false
B: Pasture=true
B: Polar=false
B: Prairie=true
B:Quagmire=false
B:Rainforest=false
B:RedwoodForest=true
B:SacredSprings=true
B:Savanna=true
B:Scrubland=false
B:SeasonalForest=false
B:Shield=true
B:Shrubland=false
B:Silkglades=false
B:Sludgepit=false
B:SpruceWoods=true
B:Steppe=true
B:Swampwoods=false
B:TemperateRainforest=true
B:Thicket=false
B:Timber=false
B:TropicalRainforest=true
B:Tropics=true
B:Tundra=true
B:Volcano=true
B:Wasteland=false
B:Wetland=false
B:Woodland=true

"nether biomes to generate"
B:BloodyHeap=false
B:Boneyard=true
B:CorruptedSands=true
B: PhantasmagoricInferno=true
B:Undergarden=true

"ocean biomes to generate"
B:"Coral Reef"=true
B:"Kelp Forest"=true
B:"Oceanic Abyss"=false

"vanilla biomes to generate"
B: Desert=true
B:ExtremeHills=true
B:Forest=true
B:Jungle=true
B:Ocean=true
B: Plains=true
B:Swampland=true
B:Taiga=true

The first video of this fresh start will be a walk through of my starter base (a mobile home or flying RV courtesy of Archimedes Ships) with a demo of my early game smeltery set-up (this will be added as a new post). I have fiddled with a bunch of the other configs, including doubling the size of enderchests & allowing portal guns to spawn in all 10 types of loot chests.

Original Post:

Spoiler

Hello. In my alternate realities I tend to go by Strange Thistle. I am NOT a youtuber, but I am addicted to Minecraft FTB & I occasionally feel I've come up with something worth sharing. I am currently playing the DW20 modpack for MC 1.6.4 with Archimedes Ships & Enchanting Plus added & about a dozen mods disabled. I play on a 5 year old laptop with 2G total RAM. Updating to the 1.6.4 packs has made it possible for me to play in peaceful mode again, updating to Mac OS X 10.9.1 has made it possible for me to play with hostile mobs spawning again. That said, my frame rate while recording is truly abysmal, but even so I feel video provides a better sense of the overall design than a few still captures. So, instead of 1 large grand tour, I'll be posting short bits & pieces, & I figure I should try to keep them all under 1 thread.

My title is also my seed, for those who are interested. I tried it with BoP, but spawned on a very small island in a very large ocean. I tried several random seeds in BoP & spawned on a very small island in a very large ocean. While I can appreciate the variety of ocean biomes added by BoP, I need me some continental land mass. I added BoP to the disabled list.

In real life & in the game I tend to be a practical builder, meaning getting it working is usually good enough. On the other hand, I do recognize & appreciate the talent of those who build grand structures with style & grace, & I try to up my game at least a little bit with every fresh start.

Let's start this showcase with a look at my magical workshop carved out of a volcano. I just finished several hours work switching most of my essentia into void jars & arranging them alphabetically (Instrumentum, Lux & Potentia are still in regular warded jars as I need mass quantities to fuel various devices).

And here is my small enderman farm. I can't be the only one out there who doesn't feel a need for 50,000 pearls/min.

 

[KingTriaxx]

I'm not sure if it's changed from 1.5 to 1.6, but Triaxx2 is my alternate username and I landed actually in a river between a Tropics biome and Sacred Springs and right near a Timber biome, using that as the seed. Of course if you like BoP, you could reenable it now and get to it with Mystcraft.

 

[MacAisling]

I've made some improvements to my tunnel bore, I may never use a BC quarry again. It looks like you can move spot loaders with Archimedes Ships with no problems.

 

[MacAisling]

Something new & irresistible...

 

[MacAisling]

I wonder...can I?...Yep! It's a thing.

 

[Yusunoha]

I wonder...can I?...Yep! It's a thing.

a classic "if it's not doing what you want, then you're simply not using enough of it"

 

[MacAisling]

Essentia use by the thaumic restorer

 

[MacAisling]

Trying to downsize my Arcane Bore ship design while still being able to tunnel in any direction. Still need to try it in a world that isn't superflat.

 

[MacAisling]

With the addition of Stargates (SGCraft mod), I feel the need to design my bases around them. Completely different concept from the courtyard & tower design I had been doing, & a lot bigger & more spread out. I also finally noticed that ExtraBiomesXL did not make it into the DW20 for 1.6.4 pack. So I decided to start a new seed & give BoP another chance. I also decided to disable IC2, CompactSolars, & Factorization (my lag problems are almost entirely gone now!) & re-enable MFFS (a world with stargates should have force-fields, even if I never get around to using them).

Even though I am starting over, I didn't want to give up everything I had just built. With NEI in cheat mode, I can take it with me! It turns out those 7 save slots are for player inventory. Back up my saved game file, tear down my base & stuff it into my ME system, put my ME system in my inventory, & away we go! It turns out those extra slots in the armor tab added by TiC & the contents of enderchests are stored separately from the player inventory, so reload my saved game & go back for the contents of my tool bag.

New seed: StrangeThistleStudiosBoP

Land! Horses everywhere! Best BoP start I've ever had! I was hoping for a convenient desert temple with the idea of digging a shaft down to bedrock under it & putting a beacon at the bottom, then digging out a Tokkra tunnel complex around it halfway down. I found a desert, but instead of a temple I found a large oil deposit with an oil spring at the bottom next to a natura redwood next to a plains village. On the mini-map I can see mineshafts just off the edge of my tunnel complex.

Film at 11. We'll see if my frame rate while recording has improved.

 

[NoPain9]

Sounds interessting. I'll have to look at those Stargates !

 

[MacAisling]

I still can't record & play at the same time, but here is a look at the new seed from spawn & the beginnings of the new base design. The plan is to put a beacon on top of the oil spring & build a temple on the surface. The ME in the tree is temporary until I get a room in the tunnels ready. The tunnel finish work will take a lot of time, but you can see where I'm going with it. I think I want to make the main Thaumcraft & Ars Magica setups part of the temple. Designing the temple will be the biggest challenge in the build. How high above you does the portal to the Promised Land spawn? I think I want to get it in as a ground level feature at 1 end of the temple courtyard.

 

[DeadPillz]

This is very nice, you have a laptop similar to me 2GRam 4 years old, how to you cope with lag? MY system wouldn't even run dire...

 

[MacAisling]

Lag has been a big problem since the middle of the 1.5 pack updates. Updating to Mac OSX 10.9.1 made it possible to play again, but disabling IC2, Compact Solars, and Factorization has made a huge difference, so 1 of these 3 may be the main culprit. I have also disabled several other mods I don't really use or could live without, including Twilight Forest.

 

[DeadPillz]

Yeah, I suppose I could just clean out some mods that are not necessary or I don't use.

 

[MacAisling]

I got my power back on line & my ME system installed. I still need to hook in all the machines for processing & crafting.

 

[MacAisling]

I've come up with an architectural style to house my magical workshops. The completed tower on the left will house my Thaumcraft stuff, the AM2 stuff will go on the right, & the middle tower at the back will frame my 5 beacons set at level 10 below. I think the middle tower needs to be 2x higher than the others...do I make it 4 stories, or 3 stories with some decorative space above the archways? Decisions, decisions...

I will probably extend a tongue out the front of the platform & place the portal to the Promised Land there. I know it spawns way up in the sky, but you can move it with the Archimedes Ships mod. This I have tested in creative.

 

[MacAisling]

My Thaumcraft & Ars Magica workshops are now up & running! My beacons are also working, but the rendering of the beams seems to be a bit glitchy (they flicker if they show at all, but the effects are constant).

Re: Thaumcraft: I haven't seen anyone else set up their cauldrons this way, but it makes dealing with flux taint much easier. No more placing blocks to clean up flux only to accidentally drop them in the cauldron when I break them. Being open to the sky lets the gaseous flux float away, closing the item grate keeps me from dropping things into the cauldron by accident, & liquid flux only has 1 block space to go to & can be removed by opening the trap door.

Re: Ars Magica: There is a thread about automatic block swapping to run the light nexus day & night. My thought is that with all the space you need to devote to it already, you might as well just build a 2nd light nexus.

Re: the build: peaceful mode, cheated in enough quarried stone block & stairs for the roof on the beacon tower & 18/28 arcane lamps just to get it done. Now I can resume my regular game play.

 

[MacAisling]

 

[CaptPanda]

You sir are a genius and a madman. Never have I seen such beautiful monstrosities, using arcane bores and archemedes's ships with it's own essentia generator is amazing.

I do find it a shame that the quality of videos aren't great, however I still think this is brilliant. keep up the good work, I am genuinely inspired.

 

[MacAisling]

A New Beginning: I've decided to make some changes & start over. The original post has been updated with the current details. All the cuts I've made to the mod pack has made some improvement to my video frame rate, but someone would have to buy me a new maxed-out Mac desktop to see any significant changes.

Here is my 1st completed starter base on the new map, a flying RV courtesy of Archimedes Ships. I also demonstrate my early-game smeltery set-up. I need to gather some more resources to finish tricking it out, but the structure is complete & mobile.