What is "Too Much Grinding?"

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epidemia78

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Yes I consider wood a bit too easy which is why I dont use automated tree farms. Chopping down a tree isnt hard with certain tools. An auto planting setup would be more my style. But I wouldnt install something like "wood chopping overhaul" either because its my choice whether or not to exploit something I think is easy, I can resist the temptation on my own without being forced.
 

kittle

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Jul 29, 2019
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Some people actually like grinding. I find most do not.
I don't like it.

To me "grinding" is doing the same task many times over with a small reward. Yet when you look at how far one task got you towards your overall goal, the progress is a subjective "very small"

Making a hv-solar by hand is a very "grindy" process to me.
Spending 10-15mins in a battle, which nets you 150xps towards your goal of 150,000 to get that upgrade.. which is 1 upgrade of 6. This is another very "grindy" process to me (and its not minecraft).


But this is not the same thing as "tedius"..
Chopping down a Natura redwood -- including all the leaves is very tedius to me.. but its not grindy to me because im moving around, and chopping different blocks of wood in different spots.
(yes I know there are automated ways to harvest a Natura redwood - but thats not the point of this post)
Compare that to making the same solar panel with the same recipe, 512x in a row.
 

1SDAN

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Time is very expensive for most people who must work for leaving. I am looking for new things in games that help me experience something different. In a moded minecraft it is fun to go thru new staff or explore world, I like to find nice place to set my base and start building what my imagination might tell. I enjoy taking risk when I want. In the same time when I need to "cook" virtual food during all time I can afford for game without any hope to escape from such burden or to spend a few evenings clicking mouse button for sifting this is clear very indication of grinding. I do not buy stories about progression or mysterious reward, especially when authors enforce appealing to the most basic instincts such as Hunger Overhaul or stealing basic tools. And of course they "forget" removing such burden by introducing alternative to escape from tedious repeating what has been done hundreds times already. Usually this is claimed as hard or challenging. Taking away freedom of making decision is the most pronounced indication of too much grinding.

A very good point. That's really the problem I am facing: I want my pack to be enjoyable and hard, but I also want servers to have reasons for trading other than just to "make money." I want the servers to have a community where players depend on each other to progress faster and more efficiently.

But there's the problem. There's no RPG Class mod to make certain players only able to do certain things, and I don't really think that'd be a good idea in the first place. And there's nothing to really force co-operation to fight mobs because they can't break into your base.

So really, the only thing I can do to bring them together is make certain areas hold certain exclusive resources, add in a large disparity of resources and make the more valuable jobs take longer to balance jobs out and make servers unique.


That brings up a problem though, Single Player. And that's where my whole dilemma stems: Making an experience that's possible by yourself, but rewarding to work together.
 
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LukeWUK

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Some people actually like grinding. I find most do not.
I don't like it.

To me "grinding" is doing the same task many times over with a small reward. Yet when you look at how far one task got you towards your overall goal, the progress is a subjective "very small"

Making a hv-solar by hand is a very "grindy" process to me.
Spending 10-15mins in a battle, which nets you 150xps towards your goal of 150,000 to get that upgrade.. which is 1 upgrade of 6. This is another very "grindy" process to me (and its not minecraft).


But this is not the same thing as "tedius"..
Chopping down a Natura redwood -- including all the leaves is very tedius to me.. but its not grindy to me because im moving around, and chopping different blocks of wood in different spots.
(yes I know there are automated ways to harvest a Natura redwood - but thats not the point of this post)
Compare that to making the same solar panel with the same recipe, 512x in a row.

I see the tree task as tedious and the solar panel task as a 1 off challenge to build a semi compex auto factory :)
 

kittle

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Jul 29, 2019
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I see the tree task as tedious and the solar panel task as a 1 off challenge to build a semi compex auto factory :)
Automating the task isnt the point. The point is making them by hand was very grindy to me.
 

ScorpioOld

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Jul 29, 2019
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That brings up a problem though, Single Player. And that's where my whole dilemma stems: Making an experience that's possible by yourself, but rewarding to work together.

There is cool example when people might work together is building Tokamak from Reactor Craft. The energy you get is sufficient for everyone and for everything, but coming to the point you get there requires a lot of work without real tedious, i.e. it is normal game but the overall amount of resources and energy that is staggering for single player. This is without doubts Mega project. Making super spell from Ars Magic is another example, Thaumcraft facility and research is good point to work together. I believe positively motivating people without punishing is more fun way of building team effort. Just to build MFFS quarry working with full speed might require effort of a few people.
 

YX33A

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Oh, and in case anyone else wasn't clear, a grind isn't bad. Grinding isn't objectively bad either. Grinding with no signs of progress and no idea how close we may be? Bad form, but not a bad grind. Think of it as a Trope for Video Games. And we all know that Tropes are not Good and Tropes are not Bad. Because Tropes are Tools.

See, like almost everything, if one can describe it via a trope, it is Objectively subjective. And most of real life can be described with Tropes.
 
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Nfrance

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For me the worst part of minecraft is the early game. I find nothing more tedious then the progression from wood tools to iron. Branch mining to me isn't to to bad either, but ridding myself of the junk materials that abound annoy me, and frankly I find by the time I have a tool that atuo destroys that junk stuff its some "mining speed 5000" thing and it feels like I'm in creative.

My enjoyment for minecraft comes from the aspect of combat though, that's why I have HardcoreEnderExpansion installed. If I were to play a server I would be overjoyed to know that there is someone who is willing to do all my mining for me, and I would gladly trade him any mob related stuff. So if you really want a good economy based server things like auto farms, auto mob killers, etc should be disabled because then you lose the ability for people to do what to love with out being outclassed by some machine. Maybe one guy loves to build farms, that feel like a real farm and not some super auto thing. Then you have you combat guys like me who love to fight through hordes of zombies and such, who would be willing to trade a rare drop for some diamonds or such, or some powerful gear created by that guy who loves Botania or something.

TLDR: To create a community while also avoiding grind you have to take out auto machines and let the players do what they love, and from there interact with each other.
 
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YX33A

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If you do, I beg that you not specify anyone's names in particular. Teasing's fun but don't want things taken outta context! :)
I added the quotes proper. It's not so much out of context as the context can be found by just clicking the links in my sig. I try to do that when possible.

...Plus it's been in there for a few hours now...
 
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Beeze23

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Okay, so now that I have a good reference consensus to work with I'll continue with a question:

Do you find that, in a normal survival world, wood is too easy to get and grow in comparison to it's uses and do you think the added grind of making it take longer and more dangerous would be too much, or a well-balanced idea?

Well, I think the MFR harvester/planter tree farm is a bit OP. Not that I let that stop me from using it. I needs muh charcoal when I'm just getting started :p

MFR aside, even with the TiCo woodcutter axe and finding a dungeon with a skeleton spawner, it's fairly easy to get in quantity.

Not sure I'd want it nerfed though, cutting down trees with a stone axe and dirt nerd-pole wasn't exactly the highlight of Vanilla MC.
 

Golrith

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Okay, so now that I have a good reference consensus to work with I'll continue with a question:

Do you find that, in a normal survival world, wood is too easy to get and grow in comparison to it's uses and do you think the added grind of making it take longer and more dangerous would be too much, or a well-balanced idea?
I personally nerf wood via minetweaker. 1 Wood crafts to 2 Planks. Plus I then say 1 stick and 1 charcoal makes one torch. 2 sticks and 1 piece of coal makes 2 torches.
That really eats up your wood reserves early game, makes a mod sawmill vital, and slows down your mining from lack of torches.

Only other big problem with trees is sapling drop rate, it's very high. Would love to see it reduced.
 

1SDAN

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I personally nerf wood via minetweaker. 1 Wood crafts to 2 Planks. Plus I then say 1 stick and 1 charcoal makes one torch. 2 sticks and 1 piece of coal makes 2 torches.
That really eats up your wood reserves early game, makes a mod sawmill vital, and slows down your mining from lack of torches.

Only other big problem with trees is sapling drop rate, it's very high. Would love to see it reduced.

Puhleaz!

Try one log making 2 sticks while everything takes 5x longer to break! I also do the torch thing, but to make charcoal you need a RC Coke Oven while coal requires an iron pick (Tic Tweaks enabled of course)

Personally, the drop rate isn't really the problem. It's the time it takes to grow. I'd say taking a couple IRL days to grow would suffice. What I need though is a mod that makes bonemeal only speed up natural growth. Say something normally takes 4 hours to grow without bonemeal, then with it it only takes 3.
 

Celestialphoenix

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Tartarus.. I mean at work. Same thing really.
1 log->2 planks->4 sticks. shapeless recipe for 1 plank->2 sticks. (trust me- that last one is very useful)
Buttons/levers/plates/doors/gates ect all require redstone. [avoiding the recipe clash with plank-> sticks]
1 coal/charcoal-> 1 torch. Charcoal can only be made in a coke oven (smelting logs gives forestry ash).

Only other big problem with trees is sapling drop rate, it's very high. Would love to see it reduced.

Nature Overhaul should have that covered- Theres an option for that somewhere.
(updated version here.)

Does anyone know a good mod to disable insta-growth with bonemeal?
 

Golrith

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Puhleaz!

Try one log making 2 sticks while everything takes 5x longer to break! I also do the torch thing, but to make charcoal you need a RC Coke Oven while coal requires an iron pick (Tic Tweaks enabled of course)

Personally, the drop rate isn't really the problem. It's the time it takes to grow. I'd say taking a couple IRL days to grow would suffice. What I need though is a mod that makes bonemeal only speed up natural growth. Say something normally takes 4 hours to grow without bonemeal, then with it it only takes 3.
Don't see the point in nerfing wood further. It's already half the planks and 4 times less torches, going beyond that reaches the realms of pointless grinding.

Growing time is also a problem. I'd like to see deforestation be a thing, and tree farms being massive.


1 log->2 planks->4 sticks. shapeless recipe for 1 plank->2 sticks. (trust me- that last one is very useful)
Buttons/levers/plates/doors/gates ect all require redstone. [avoiding the recipe clash with plank-> sticks]
1 coal/charcoal-> 1 torch. Charcoal can only be made in a coke oven (smelting logs gives forestry ash).



Nature Overhaul should have that covered- Theres an option for that somewhere.
(updated version here.)

Does anyone know a good mod to disable insta-growth with bonemeal?
Hmm, good idea on spreading redstone around. Makes sense, since those items respond/create redstone signals. Plus interesting idea on Charcoal, going to have to borrow those ideas. :D

I tried Nature Overhaul, but couldn't see anything about sapling drop chance, just that saplings can die before they grow.
Wish there was a mod that allowed in game vanilla variables (sapling drops rates, bonemeal chance, etc, etc) to be editable via configs. You usually find some mods allow some of these to be changed, but include a load of other stuff that is of no interest. Just imagine the themed packs that could be made just by having those variables open in an easy to edit config.
 

Nfrance

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A mod in which could let you config vanilla sounds amazing. I could finally make scary zombies. And nerf the spawn rate of skeletons, because skeletons suck.
 

RedBoss

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Okay, so now that I have a good reference consensus to work with I'll continue with a question:

Do you find that, in a normal survival world, wood is too easy to get and grow in comparison to it's uses and do you think the added grind of making it take longer and more dangerous would be too much, or a well-balanced idea?
I think that depends, like everything, on the point of reference. For a modpack like you seem to want, maybe it is too easy. From a vanilla perspective, Joe Blow Builder is in the stone age, why make it he'll on him to get enough material to build a hut for the night?

I'm fine with tree growth, yield, and everything. It's even better in 1.7 with dark oak trees. But I like building with a side order of technology & magic. I don't mind the effort, but I'm not looking for a lumberjack simulation.

For me, I use mods to make building easier. In vanilla, I'd have a great idea for a mansion. But faced with finite time, I'd rarely complete it due to having to spend time gathering building materials. It got worse when I decided to get into enchanting and even more precious building time went into helping build an ender farm, grinding for levels, breaking anvils trying to get good tools. I ended up on a huge tangent of tool creation & resource gathering. My mansion still never got built.

I don't want to recreate that trap in modded Minecraft. If I want a ton of materials, I can use automated farming & mining. I'll pay the infrastructure price to admission, but I don't want it to take weeks IRL to get there.
 
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