Request Suggestions for balanced tweaks for a single player modpack

[epidemia78]

Im going to start a new world soon with my customized personal pack but before I do so, I want to tinker around with it some more to make it better than it already is. Ive already made quite a bit of tweaks already over the last few months and some of them are quite ingenious if I do say so myself. Maybe you guys could share some ideas you have or clue me in on some cool tweaks from other packs you've played that I could "borrow". Now for the most part my tweaks arent geared towards adding more crafting tedium to the game but instead to actually relieve tedium, and take advantage of more interesting crafting mechanics that exist in mods, make them more useful.

For example, I have a thaumcraft crucible recipe for ender pearls that requires the aspects found on 4 blocks of obsidian and one diamond, to relieve that dreaded early game necessity of hunting endermen but its not so easy that it replaces the need for more traditional mob spawning methods. Also I added crucible recipes for blaze rods using netherrack sticks and ignis and one for enderium from platinum.

Another note to keep in mind, I think that almost all metals except for gold and iron and all liquids, especially molten metals are underutilized and Ive made progress towards making all of it more useful. Example, all gears in my pack are made by adding 4 ingots worth of molten metal onto a lead gear (which is crafted normally) either via casting table/basin or fluid transposer. Makes lead much more useful. I have the mod Thermal Smeltery installed so tinkers construct fluids can be made with a TE magma crucible.

Ive already changed all TE and EnderIO machines to require a wider variety of ingots and gears. Its one of the few changes that is actually harder than default but its certainly more interesting than using iron all the time. I want to spread the gears around to to other mods as well. Gears are cool, they are basically just a more refined and expensive ingot.

 

[tooncool64]

If using forestry, change the apiary recipe to
wood, wood, wood,
wood, chest, wood,
wood, plank, wood,

IMO, It removes the tedium of having to have tech just to breed bees

 

[KingTriaxx]

I just steal them from Villages. Though there's not really much teching involved. Copper, tin and some power to make the stuff to make the stuff.

Most of my recipe changes involve adding recipes for things you can't get normally. Like 8 Nether Stars in a specific shape for admin/creative things. Armor shaped for a Railcraft Admin Anchor, for example. Makes them an investment, but not impossible, yet not something you can do from say dirt, or that you're likely to do within the first hour.

 

[Scottly318]

With the Bee house you can start bees earlier. I think that's already the recipe.

 

[gold49]

Could you list the mods in your pack?

 

[Celestialphoenix]

A single plank can be shapelessly crafted into 2 sticks. (Yes I'm that lazy).

 

[lenscas]

Something that might result in interesting builds if you have both ic2 and big reactors of if one reactors waste is fuel for the other one.
so from ic2 reactors -> big reactors and the other way around
however balancing this might prove to be difficult

 

[jordsta95]

Something that might result in interesting builds if you have both ic2 and big reactors of if one reactors waste is fuel for the other one.
so from ic2 reactors -> big reactors and the other way around
however balancing this might prove to be difficult

infinite fuel?

 

[lenscas]

infinite fuel?

first off, like that is not already the case with a good mining machine/mfr mining drill/whatever you want
second, you can probably make it so that it is not a 1:1 conversion and that every cycle you lose some of the fuel
(doesn't big reactors already have something to turn its waste to its fuel with a bit of loss?)

 

[malicious_bloke]

first off, like that is not already the case with a good mining machine/mfr mining drill/whatever you want
second, you can probably make it so that it is not a 1:1 conversion and that every cycle you lose some of the fuel
(doesn't big reactors already have something to turn its waste to its fuel with a bit of loss?)

The Cyanite Reprocessor will turn two waste cyanite ingots into one blutonium fuel ingot.

 

[epidemia78]

Could you list the mods in your pack?

Sure thing:

 

[jordsta95]

I'd make it so the tool forge (the TiCon thing that makes hammers and stuff) so that you need to have done a fair amount of Botania and/or Thaumcraft, so people are more likely to use the 3x3 miners/better axes from those mods, rather than the TiCon ones.
Maybe have JABBA barrels require, at the minimum, an iron chest.

 

[epidemia78]

Well I have to say, I prefer TiCon to be early game, I think the stone tools which needs to be repaired with cobble makes a lot of sense. Making the smeltery useful well into late game is a tweak I would be more interested in because its one of those interesting crafting mechanics and tends to outlive its usefulness quickly.

 

[rhn]

I REALLY like TPPIs tweak of Ender Storage's Ender Chest and Ender Tank. Here it makes the Ender Chest use a Thermal Expansion Tesseract Frame and the Ender Tank a Resonant Tank to push them both further into the "mid game". Prevents anyone from going for the easy solution of lava power, fuel ocean dimension or something similar at least in the very early stage of the game. You are actually forced to think in alternative power production methods and how to transport it over distances. Forces you to think more creatively and use the mods more in the early stages, instead of simply skipping them.

I would also suggest removing the power requirement of Logistic Pipes, to make it a more appealing alternative/addition to AE, but can see you are not adding it?

 

[epidemia78]

I REALLY like TPPIs tweak of Ender Storage's Ender Chest and Ender Tank. Here it makes the Ender Chest use a Thermal Expansion Tesseract Frame and the Ender Tank a Resonant Tank to push them both further into the "mid game". Prevents anyone from going for the easy solution of lava power, fuel ocean dimension or something similar at least in the very early stage of the game. You are actually forced to think in alternative power production methods and how to transport it over distances. Forces you to think more creatively and use the mods more in the early stages, instead of simply skipping them.

I would also suggest removing the power requirement of Logistic Pipes, to make it a more appealing alternative/addition to AE, but can see you are not adding it?

I am open to adding new mods, I should have mentioned that in the original post. Ive never used logisitics pipes, I should change that. And I agree, ender storage recipes are too easy considering how powerful they are.

 

[jordsta95]

Well I have to say, I prefer TiCon to be early game, I think the stone tools which needs to be repaired with cobble makes a lot of sense. Making the smeltery useful well into late game is a tweak I would be more interested in because its one of those interesting crafting mechanics and tends to outlive its usefulness quickly.

Oh no, I don't mean you can't use stone tools or the smeltery. Just that people having hammers, lumber-axes, etc. within the first 30 minutes of caving (shouldn't take longer than that to get enough ore for 4 metal blocks)

 

[epidemia78]

Ive edited the thread title to hopefully make my intent more clear. Ive been a bit scatterbrained of late, its typical of a longtime raging marijuana user like myself. But I was forced by circumstance to give up the habit a few weeks ago and the fog is slowly beginning to clear. A project like this is just what I need to keep on the straight and narrow.

 

[epidemia78]

Oh no, I don't mean you can't use stone tools or the smeltery. Just that people having hammers, lumber-axes, etc. within the first 30 minutes of caving (shouldn't take longer than that to get enough ore for 4 metal blocks)

I agree with you there but dont forget, metal blocks cannot be crafted in this pack without molten metal which alone adds a whole new level of complexity to many recipes. And since all TE machine frames also are tweaked to require different metal blocks, it means no machines until you have a smeltery. Ive played with this particular tweak enabled for quite a while and it really helps keep you in the stone age for a little bit longer than usual. its also why I have the mod Thermal Smeltery installed so you can melt metals in the magma crucible once you finally work your way up to it.

Another tweak I added is 9 ingots worth of molten metal in the Fluid transposer plus a block of sand equals metal blocks. I could remove this particular tweak so that instead you'd have to use a casting basin. Thoughts?

 

[jordsta95]

I agree with you there but dont forget, metal blocks cannot be crafted in this pack without molten metal which alone adds a whole new level of complexity to many recipes. And since all TE machine frames also are tweaked to require different metal blocks, it means no machines until you have a smeltery. Ive played with this particular tweak enabled for quite a while and it really helps keep you in the stone age for a little bit longer than usual. its also why I have the mod Thermal Smeltery installed so you can melt metals in the magma crucible once you finally work your way up to it.

I have never used Thermal Smeltery so I didn't know this

 

[rhn]

Ive edited the thread title to hopefully make my intent more clear.

Have you had a look at TPPI2 btw? It is currently in open beta exactly because it is missing GT. It should be fully playable, but I have not tried it out myself. Perhaps you can find some ideas from that.