Tech Mods: Missing the Point

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epidemia78

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Tools, item transport, storage, invincibility, flight, automated mining, teleportation. These are a few of the goals that I think most tech mod players strive for early on. In Monster, theres usually only one best way of doing any of them and a bunch that nobody ever uses. And best is what is cheapest and easiest in most cases. It would be easy to minetweak certain requirements in between each of those goals. A mod like Galacticraft is perfect for gating overpowered machines because its a pretty big undertaking and could be minetweaked to require a whole slew of machines from other mods. Which is the very thing that made tech mods interesting in the first place. You need machine A to make machine B to make machine C...wait what did I need C for again and why is my base full of machines?
 
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epidemia78

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This is arguably even worse than the "mods should have limits" mentality. You are in effect setting up a rigid hierarchy of mods and their developers, one that not only will import all of the problems of forced standardization, but also of rivalries and a "social order" of mods.

Want your mod to grow into a high-end powerhouse? Sucks to be you if you were decreed to be at some lower point in the tree.

Not to mention slamming the door in the face of new mods which do not yet have a place in such a construct.


Well obviously some mods like yours and thaumcraft for example are the ones that all of the smaller ones would be based around.
 

epidemia78

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If theres no room for a common standard in whats allowed depending on amount of time and resources invested then we all might as well play in creative.
 

Democretes

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If theres no room for a common standard in whats allowed depending on amount of time and resources invested then we all might as well play in creative.
Or we could not use that mod.

Or we could ask the mod author to nerf.

Or we could use MineTweaker to set our own standards.

Minecraft is not linear, and neither are it's mods, unless you force it to be that way (ex. GregTech, TerraFirmaCraft).
 

epidemia78

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And what if they do not want to?

Then they dont have to. But I just cant see the downside of establishing a baseline of acceptable standards if you are making a mod that is almost certainly going to be played alongside a bunch of others.
 

Reika

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Then they dont have to. But I just cant see the downside of establishing a baseline of acceptable standards if you are making a mod that is almost certainly going to be played alongside a bunch of others.
How about mod authors being pressured into following those standards against the will, under threat of mod non-use (or worse)?
 
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epidemia78

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How about mod authors being pressured into following those standards against the will, under threat of mod non-use (or worse)?

Well thats just dumb. I am just saying that if for example, everyone agreed that rails should be much, much (MUCH) cheaper than pipes then people would have more of a reason to use them. People been searching for a way to make rails viable for a long time. Theres a lot of interesting gameplay we skip right by because theres easier cheaper ways to do it. But easier should be costly. People arent forced to use rails by more expensive pipes, they would just have to do without item transport for a little while longer. Thus extending the gameplay a bit.
 

Reika

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Well thats just dumb. I am just saying that if for example, everyone agreed that rails should be much, much (MUCH) cheaper than pipes then people would have more of a reason to use them. People been searching for a way to make rails viable for a long time. Theres a lot of interesting gameplay we skip right by because theres easier cheaper ways to do it. But easier should be costly. People arent forced to use rails by more expensive pipes, they would just have to do without item transport for a little while longer. Thus extending the gameplay a bit.
I agree on both counts, but not that that then means that some sort of enforced standards are justified. Such things explode beyond control and carry huge drawbacks.
 

epidemia78

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There should be a section of gameplay time that you either have to manually sort your items or use an old fashioned sorting system before you can even think about getting into AE. I think a old school sorter is one of those hills that every modded minecraft player should have to climb.
 

Reika

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I think a old school sorter is one of those hills that every modded minecraft player should have to climb.
"Have to"? Why do you get to dictate that to people?

As it happens, that is one of the rules for my next play, but I would never, and should never tell others to do the same.
 
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epidemia78

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I agree on both counts, but not that that then means that some sort of enforced standards are justified. Such things explode beyond control and carry huge drawbacks.

I am glad we agree. Looks like I am going to have to try Rotarycraft real soon. Mekanism is like cheating.[DOUBLEPOST=1410839877][/DOUBLEPOST]
"Have to"? Why do you get to dictate that to people?

As it happens, that is one of the rules for my next play, but I would never, and should never tell others to do the same.

With the recent changes to AE2, it looks to me like Algorithm wanted his mod to be a much later game thing then it was in earlier versions. Hes kind of forcing people to use something else in the meantime. Which leaves a huge opening for people to take advantage of some of the sorting features from other mods that have been getting ignored completely since AE became a thing. Which also opens a nice slot in the mythical tech tree for some other modder to come in with his own low tech sorting solution.
 

ratchet freak

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I am glad we agree. Looks like I am going to have to try Rotarycraft real soon. Mekanism is like cheating.[DOUBLEPOST=1410839877][/DOUBLEPOST]

With the recent changes to AE2, it looks to me like Algorithm wanted his mod to be a much later game thing then it was in earlier versions. Hes kind of forcing people to use something else in the meantime. Which leaves a huge opening for people to take advantage of some of the sorting features from other mods that have been getting ignored completely since AE became a thing. Which also opens a nice slot in the mythical tech tree for some other modder to come in with his own low tech sorting solution.
that opening used to be logistics pipes

but IMO AE2 is still early game enough that you can live out of wooden chests before you can set up your first MA network
 

Alhifar

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that opening used to be logistics pipes
I really like logistics pipes, other than its autocrafting, but it's just too expensive (in my opinion) to be a good "in between" system between a bunch of chests and AE. By the time I can afford to make a bunch of logistics pipes, I can probably afford to set up a basic ME system to store and do some basic autocrafting, even in AE2.
 
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Hoff

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Far too much reading in this thread. Good thing I read fast and had some spare time.


IMO; the premise of the thread is completely off. As others have said.

You're drawing a line in the sand for where you think all tech mods should conform or strive for. To say it plainly; no one cares what your preferences for this game or tech mods are. That is not to say we do not respect your opinions and preferences, seeing them as valid but in turn dictate you do the same. For some that create tech mods they set out to achieve a goal that is as far from the tech mod goals you have in mind as the farlands. This does not make their goal or even the premise of their goal wrong. Both your goal and theirs is valid and an acceptable implementation.

Just don't tell me I'm playing or modding this game "wrong" or that I've missed the point when you have no idea of the point I intended to make.
 

midi_sec

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Far too much reading in this thread. Good thing I read fast and had some spare time.


IMO; the premise of the thread is completely off. As others have said.

You're drawing a line in the sand for where you think all tech mods should conform or strive for. To say it plainly; no one cares what your preferences for this game or tech mods are. That is not to say we do not respect your opinions and preferences, seeing them as valid but in turn dictate you do the same. For some that create tech mods they set out to achieve a goal that is as far from the tech mod goals you have in mind as the farlands. This does not make their goal or even the premise of their goal wrong. Both your goal and theirs is valid and an acceptable implementation.

Just don't tell me I'm playing or modding this game "wrong" or that I've missed the point when you have no idea of the point I intended to make.
I think a lot of you are misconstruing mdiyo's point.

I think mdiyo's point is that the "point" that mods should strive for in this modern age of modding is that they should be less a clusterfrack of random items, but more of a game unto itself. that's all. :)
 
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Hoff

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I think a lot of you are misconstruing mdiyo's point.

I think mdiyo's point is that the "point" that mods should strive for in this modern age of modding is that they should be less a clusterfrack of random items, but more of a game unto itself. that's all. :)

But that's the thing; they shouldn't. Unless they want to. I love tech mods that are just a random assortment of blocks that serve no real greater purpose other than in my factory design.
 
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midi_sec

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But that's the thing; they shouldn't. Unless they want to. I love tech mods that are just a random assortment of blocks that serve no real greater purpose other than in my factory design.
It makes game designers cringe, though. :\ just my opinion, of course.

All I can say is that I agree with him. To me, the fun in modded is finding the cross mod interaction, not exploiting magic blocks that have been designed for a purpose. Going along with that, I enjoy mods that are their own ecosystem, but can still be integrated into other builds.
 

Hoff

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It makes game designers cringe, though. :\ just my opinion, of course.

All I can say is that I agree with him. To me, the fun in modded is finding the cross mod interaction, not exploiting magic blocks that have been designed for a purpose. Going along with that, I enjoy mods that are their own ecosystem, but can still be integrated into other builds.


That's just it though. If all the thread was, was saying tech mods cause him to cringe because they don't work the way he thinks they should work; it makes him pretentious. If he was instead asking for a mod that may tailor to that'd be fine but he's not or at least failed to make that notable in the OP.

It's great that there mods that are able to fit your playstyle and you enjoy but saying that all tech mods are wrong is, well, wrong.
 

midi_sec

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I don't think he said that all are wrong, but a lot (alot, lel) fall short.

Game design takes practice, and it's more difficult than you might think to keep players engaged in your story. his very last sentence gives credit to sengir in Forestry's early days.