Throwing together a quick pack to introduce a newbie

[GamerwithnoGame]

I know nothing about DR at all, but I will look out for this pollution thing. I don't mind an extra challenge like that that you have to plan for. It makes it more "real" if that makes any sense.

But, either way, I still think this basic set is solid for what I want to do. I will hopefully wrap up my buildcraft project this weekend and I'll get started on configuring and testing this one soon. Then my favorite part where I keep deleting and re-building the world for 3 days to find the perfect seed!

Do you know what's weird? I've been using just the number "404" as my seed (presumably it fills in the rest) and it's always been a fairly good result I've found. Usually a village nearby a river. But, that's for 1.10 packs; don't know how it results for other versions!

 

[Drbretto]

It's funny you say that, because I used a similar method. And apparently, "Boobies" is beautiful in every language

 

[Drbretto]

Less jokingly, I had one seed number that has actually turned out to be utterly gorgeous in three different packs. I don't know it off-hand, I have it on my phone somewhere. But I care way too much about the way the world looks, so I will start with my favorites, but I will still end up resetting it for literally days before I settle on the right one. It's not a coincidence that my worlds tend to have beautiful plots (before I come in and ugly them all up). It's super important to me to love the world I'm "living" in.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Do you know what's weird? I've been using just the number "404" as my seed (presumably it fills in the rest) and it's always been a fairly good result I've found. Usually a village nearby a river. But, that's for 1.10 packs; don't know how it results for other versions!

back before 1.7 Beta (as in before the official 1.0 Release), back when you had the Far Lands, the seed 404 had an interesting challenge involving a gravel area that would dump you deep into a huge cave system, and the challenge involved spending precisely a single day to gather your surface resources before taking a dive and never coming back up.

 

[Drbretto]

When you do the ores, can you change the rarity per y-level? If that sentence makes any sense.

Like, if I wanted just a few iron spawns in the diamond range, but much more iron from the copper range, could I do that? I suppose I could with the poor ores, but I'd rather not go that way because it doesn't seem like it'd make sense.

 

[Inaeo]

I've been tinkering with a similar concept, although since my computer is dying, my pack is considerably lighter. I'll address your pack from both an overall and personal status.

First off, I've opted to leave EnderIO out of my pack. As much as I enjoy what it brings to the table, it does have a tendency to take over packs (much like AE can if not careful). Out of the Sprout mods, I felt like EnderIO was least fitting to how I viewed the world, so it didn't make sense to use it in the pack inspired by said pack. Obviously, I can't hate on it being in your pack, since it does add some very nice options for doing... Well, everything.

AA has me torn. It's still on the brink of being added back to my pack after getting the early axe. I know it's your Binky, so I'll just say that it both fits and it doesn't fit what I'm looking for. It provides a range of options that are useful, but occasionally come off as almost cheating (maybe that's just how I use those tools though). As I said, still debating it for my pack.

I've decided against OpenBlocks in my pack. Out of it, the Hangglider, Elevator, and Tombstone were the major selling points, but I've moved on to Tomb Many Graves for my gravestone needs, I have the more immersive RFTools Elevator at my disposal, and I've decided to go Vanilla and actually use a horse for exploration. There are some other cool bits in OpenBlocks, but none worth the computing resources in my dying machine.

I too, have left Extreme Reactors out of the pack. I see you have opted NuclearCraft in its stead, but I've not delved into it for a proper review. Between that and Deep Resonance, your mid-late game power options should be pretty solid.

PSI was an add for me as well, which I find amusing that it's the closest thing to magic in either case. It's a mod I've been meaning to use in every pack I've played since I left 1.7, but for whatever reason, I've yet to scratch the surface. Looking forward to seeing what I can do with it.

I'm not a big fan of most of your Biology section, it seems. Animania was interesting for what little I needed it, and between it and the changes in animal behavior that LIT (Little Insignificant Things) adds, ranching takes on a new scope.

Ice and Fire was a cool concept, but my lack of hardware and the glitchy AI made it a no brainier to cut.

I have never had good experiences with Mo'Creatures. Maybe it's just me, but trying to configure the animals to spawn in logical biomes, while not spawning in absurd quantities was more work than it was worth. I haven't used it since 1.7, so maybe things have improved. In not sure how LIT would interact with those mobs, so you may want to tread carefully.

Chunk Animator was a cool effect, but my system has trouble keeping up with it. Likewise, Better Foliage was an easy cut for me. These likely aren't make or break for you, but thought I'd point it out for anyone else with a lower end PC as fat to trim if needed. Obviously, you want your world to be perfect and beautiful, so it makes sense to add if you have the capability.

I've decided to try my pack without Storage Drawers. This may (probably will) get added back after some testing, but the reasoning was twofold. One, it's in every pack and I'm somewhat bored with it. Two, with RFTools being a focal point of my tech, I will be leaning heavily upon Modular Storage. For now, I'm hoping this will force me stop storing bazillions of things just because I can, or at least curb it a little. My habit of using Storage Drawers as filters and buffers may ultimately force my hand, but I'm open to learning new ways to do that, and to do that, I'll have to kick away the crutches for a while.

I'm not certain you will need Flint Instead of Wood, as Silent's Gems has it's own flint tools. Sprout had it mostly for the early quest progression (the first half broken hatchet). It adds a few other things, but I doubt anything you couldn't live without.

Interesting to see Level Up and Levels in your pack. I'm curious how easily and flexibly they can be configured. I dropped them from.my list due to the system limitations and lack of other RPG style mods.

Waystones are nice for early game, but Silent's Gems and RFTools both have teleportation methods. I like the flavor of Waystones, but you already have more powerful options.

I've been trying my pack with RTG, because I love how it looks, but I've noticed that the MineColonies Lumberjack doesn't handle the way RTG modifies trees very well. This makes me curious if he works with BoP trees (and can they be filtered in the sawmill like other saplings can). He seemed happy with ATG, and I know he works in Vanilla.

I'll second Ruins to go with Recurrent Complex structures. Note that you may have to tweak the spawning if they coexist, else you may not have room to build between them. Don't forget that you can build your own structures for Recurrent Complex. It's extra work, but it is amazingly gratifying to stumble upon your own creation as world gen, and playing with the pallette of blocks available in creative helps get a feel for what works together without wasting resources and extra playing time. Don't forget to splash in all the fancy decorations you've provided yourself.

All in all, it seems like you have your bases covered in all the important areas. You have a few redundancies, but they provide options for different builds. You've covered everything on the aesthetic side well enough. The Everlasting Abilities and various leveling mods have the flair of RPG, without having to commit to questing. There should be enough late game content to keep you entertained for a while, and if you build in some gates, it should really delay the end game.

Sorry for the delay and the giant wall reply. Life's been crazy.

 

[Drbretto]

Thank you Inaeo! I have been waiting for your response and I appreciate the depth!

First off, I've opted to leave EnderIO out of my pack. As much as I enjoy what it brings to the table, it does have a tendency to take over packs (much like AE can if not careful). Out of the Sprout mods, I felt like EnderIO was least fitting to how I viewed the world, so it didn't make sense to use it in the pack inspired by said pack. Obviously, I can't hate on it being in your pack, since it does add some very nice options for doing... Well, everything.

Literally, for me it's only in there for 3 things. Invisible blocks, the XP wand and the SAG mill. AA has an answer for the SAG mill. It's not as interesting, but it'll work. But I don't know of any other invisible block options and I need that. I can live without the XP wand, too. Do you or anyone else know of another option for an invisible block, though? Otherwise, I totally agree.

AA has me torn. It's still on the brink of being added back to my pack after getting the early axe. I know it's your Binky, so I'll just say that it both fits and it doesn't fit what I'm looking for. It provides a range of options that are useful, but occasionally come off as almost cheating (maybe that's just how I use those tools though). As I said, still debating it for my pack.

I totally get what you're saying here. the AA farms and whatnot are automated in a way that, kind of defeats the purpose. I *mostly* have this in for the drill. It's the drill that's my binky, not AA. There is that third-party drill option in sprout, though... I wonder if that may be a viable alternative. I'll keep this one on my mind, but I tihnk my other peeps are too into this mod to cut it. New guy loves that laser.

PSI was an add for me as well, which I find amusing that it's the closest thing to magic in either case. It's a mod I've been meaning to use in every pack I've played since I left 1.7, but for whatever reason, I've yet to scratch the surface. Looking forward to seeing what I can do with it.

Yeah, I'm really intrigued by this one. I haven't even touched it yet, I just popped over to the site. Something about it being a tech based magic makes it feel more fitting.

I've decided to try my pack without Storage Drawers.

I wanted to. It was vetoed It makes building a sorting machine a little *too* easy. And it's gone past the stage where it's interesting and it's becoming a chore. It has to stay, but I dont' intend to use it the same way I did before (ie,no more one big system that just does everything for me, but I might set up little shelves for specific things)

I'm not a big fan of most of your Biology section, it seems. Animania was interesting for what little I needed it, and between it and the changes in animal behavior that LIT (Little Insignificant Things) adds, ranching takes on a new scope.

Me neither. I'm not sure what else to add. Animania is on the fence already, but what I liked about Mo' Creatures was the ability to create new species with breeding, and I like the idea of a zoo. But, you hit on the thing that worries me the most. I was assuming I could easily make the creatures far more rare because the default values choke out the server. If it's a huge PITA, I may need to find an alternative. This one is in the category of "if I can get it to work, I'd love to have it in there, but if it can't, everyone is aware that this will be the first thing to get cut"

Would LOVE to hear anyone's recommendations for better wildlife and/or agriculture. I'd just prefer it not to be anything that's too overwhelming.

I'm not certain you will need Flint Instead of Wood, as Silent's Gems has it's own flint tools.

OK, I thought that might have come from Silent's Gems because I could easily just repair them by crafting them with flint. If I don't need that, I'll bump it.

Interesting to see Level Up and Levels in your pack. I'm curious how easily and flexibly they can be configured. I dropped them from.my list due to the system limitations and lack of other RPG style mods.

Honestly, I just miss the run speed from Level Up and the void proc from Levels. If I use the scaling health mod, and I still kinda want that in there, I need that void proc to do any legitimate damage. I also kept the Everlasting Abilities mod because of that sweet, sweet step assist. Playing in this temporary mini-pack world, I really miss that. REally, really miss that.

Waystones are nice for early game, but Silent's Gems and RFTools both have teleportation methods. I like the flavor of Waystones, but you already have more powerful options.

I'll have to look into Silent's Gems method. I was not aware that existed. I want to avoid Waystones this time since I've used it three packs in a row. If Silent's Gems option is more interesting, I'll be happy to bump this one. The RF tools option is likely too complicated for one of my players, though. So there needs to be a relatively simple option for her.

I really liked Colorful Portals. That was perfect.

I've been trying my pack with RTG, because I love how it looks, but I've noticed that the MineColonies Lumberjack doesn't handle the way RTG modifies trees very well. This makes me curious if he works with BoP trees (and can they be filtered in the sawmill like other saplings can). He seemed happy with ATG, and I know he works in Vanilla.

I noticed that BoP generation has evolved since the last time I used it without any of the bonus terrain generation options on top of it. It's a bit smoother like ATG and RTG are, but still kinda maintains the fantasy-looking nature of vanilla minecraft generation. I thought about getting hard and heavy into OTG and I think I almost certainly will some day, but for right now that's just too much. I think just BoP by itself will cover it for this pack if I find a decent seed. The half slab grass generation should help, too.

I really liked RTG and ATG. They both make some really gorgeous looking mountains, but those mountains get repetitive. They all look gorgeous in the same ways. I miss the wierd looking rock formations you get with vanilla generation. It feels like they have a bit more personality.

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts! They are duly noted and you gave me some stuff to google!

 

[Drbretto]

Openblocks: I actually might still kill this one. I agree, it's all about that hang glider, elevator and gravestone and I also use Tomb Many Graves because that's just superior. And I used to want it for the sky blocks, but those completely destroy shaders on my end, so I would have to disable them anyway.

I also kinda liked that little 3D map, but doesn't McJty have something better that I could use instead if I want to build a little scale model? Is that live yet?

Also, I really like the building guide, too. Is there an alternative for that? If there's an alternative for that, I think I could easily cut Openblocks here.

Edit: Ugh, I forgot about the tanks and I like playing around with the XP shower thing. This will be a tougher call than I thought. Without this or EnderIO, how else can you store XP?

 

[Hambeau]

When you do the ores, can you change the rarity per y-level? If that sentence makes any sense.

Like, if I wanted just a few iron spawns in the diamond range, but much more iron from the copper range, could I do that? I suppose I could with the poor ores, but I'd rather not go that way because it doesn't seem like it'd make sense.

This can be done in the Vanilla Worldgen... You can set Highest/Lowest level found, cluster size and chance(s) for clusters to gen.

It's under the same option where you would select "Biomes o' Plenty", if that's your jam. There are 4 screens of settings that control "Sea level", Village spawn and other things.

 

[Nuclear_Creeper0]

I'm back what did I miss.

 

[Drbretto]

This can be done in the Vanilla Worldgen... You can set Highest/Lowest level found, cluster size and chance(s) for clusters to gen.

It's under the same option where you would select "Biomes o' Plenty", if that's your jam. There are 4 screens of settings that control "Sea level", Village spawn and other things.

No, that's not what I mean. One of the mods lets you change the ore generation rules. Schneeky went into more detail upthread. But what I was asking as whether or not I can (for example) say from y-20 to 40, iron spawns this often, but at y-40 to 60, it spawns twice as often.

 

[Drbretto]

I'm back what did I miss.

Read the thread if you're curious what you missed.

 

[Hambeau]

No, that's not what I mean. One of the mods lets you change the ore generation rules. Schneeky went into more detail upthread. But what I was asking as whether or not I can (for example) say from y-20 to 40, iron spawns this often, but at y-40 to 60, it spawns twice as often.

I see... you're thinking more a multiple-zone spawn area. Also, I just realized the Vanilla mechanic just works for Vanilla blocks. Good enough for me to remove what I don't want, Granite and Andesite, but not for the customization you want.

 

[Drbretto]

I see... you're thinking more a multiple-zone spawn area. Also, I just realized the Vanilla mechanic just works for Vanilla blocks. Good enough for me to remove what I don't want, Granite and Andesite, but not for the customization you want.

You don't like the granite and andesite??

First time I played, I was on the PS4, vanilla. And When I switched to my first modded pack, it was 1.7.10 FTB infinity. And the biggest thing I couldn't stand at first was that there was no granite, diorite and andesite. But that's probably all in what you're used to.

 

[Henry Link]

For XP storage AA has a solution that will convert player XP to solidified XP. Then just mass store the solidified XP.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

EnderIO's travel anchors act like OpenBlocks elevators if they exactly line up on the Y axis. Travel Anchors are one of the 'probably a little TOO good' things, because you put them about your base, and you can use your staff of traveling to go to whichever room you need, no walking, including up and down levels.

 

[Inaeo]

No, that's not what I mean. One of the mods lets you change the ore generation rules. Schneeky went into more detail upthread. But what I was asking as whether or not I can (for example) say from y-20 to 40, iron spawns this often, but at y-40 to 60, it spawns twice as often.

I've yet to mess with COFH world gen post 1.7, but you could do exactly what you're suggesting back then, so I assume you can still. Back then it was as simple as adding two entries for iron, then assigning the proper clump size, density, and Y-limits for each. They could even overlap, if that's what you want.

I was always a fan of larger, but more spaced out, veins of ore. It takes more time and effort to locate ores, but once you do, you can use the same mine for a large section of play, which encourages actual mineshafts and transportation. This is particularly true when ores don't spawn together, meaning you will need multiple mines running if you want all the ores. If you're still considering making quarries a later game unlock, this approach can help manual mining not seem like an endless chore and help focus back on building things. It also encourages exploratory digs, something at which the AA Vertical Digger might excel. This is also fun on servers, where one person might control a great copper mine, but they might need to trade that copper for the gold that doesn't spawn near their base. It's definitely not for everyone, but every now and again, it's a good change of pace.

 

[Hambeau]

You don't like the granite and andesite??

First time I played, I was on the PS4, vanilla. And When I switched to my first modded pack, it was 1.7.10 FTB infinity. And the biggest thing I couldn't stand at first was that there was no granite, diorite and andesite. But that's probably all in what you're used to.

Probably my eyesight... Andesite looks like regular stone and Granite looks like dirt. Also they're both useless for anything but building in a Vanilla context and need mods to be useful, at least to me

 

[Nuclear_Creeper0]

Probably my eyesight... Andesite looks like regular stone and Granite looks like dirt. Also they're both useless for anything but building in a Vanilla context and need mods to be useful, at least to me

They're good early game as a replacement for stone in recipes. Saves on coal

 

[Daihok]

Also, still interested in suggestions for UI-like upgrades and any other little conveniences

Not sure if this is what your looking for but I absolutely love this HUD. I use it in every pack i put together. So many configurable options. Its pretty much all in one but can disable or enable whatever ya like.
http://www.minecraftforum.net/forum...r-hud-1-3-9-adds-28-new-customisable-elements