Whats the least "cheaty" engine to run

[hisagishi]

Basically the title. I mean they aren't really cheaty but they kind of might aswell be free power once you have them set up. Now don't get me wrong. I love magmatic engines and I love combustion engines but Its more or less that you either use the nether for infinite lava or you are having to carry around loads of buckets / cans / or set up a portable power station that pumps it into an ender tank or similar.

What do you guys recommend (I'm not exactly new to the mods but I haven't looked into alternate sources of energy much)

 

[MacAisling]

The absolute least cheaty is to play vanilla & do everything with hand tools & rube-goldberg hopper/minecart systems. Beyond that, the question is what kind of balance are you looking for? I just recently converted my base from a bank of magmatics to a liquid fueled high-pressure steam boiler with 32 (? maybe only 24, I can't remember if they are stacked 3 or 4 high) industrial steam engines, I've got some MFR machines hooked up to solar panels, & I still run my quarry on magmatic engines. Some people just want to get going with minimal time & fuss, for others it is all about taking the time to find clever & complicated ways to build a maxed-out automated system that is self-sustaining.

 

[Zenthon_127]

Steam Engines + Factorization Solar Boiler probably.

 

[Hoff]

Stirling engines. Fed by hand.

 

[dlord]

Railcraft steam boilers fed by a tree farm (either ethanol or charcoal). Renewable energy right there.

 

[Loufmier]

clockwork engine

 

[PierceSG]

I second clockwork engines. Work for your power.

 

[Zjarek_S]

MFR isn't officially updated for 1.6.2, but with it you could setup infinite villager breeder to slaughterhouse to get meat, package it to meat ingots, then pump it to FZ caliometric burner next to water boiler to get steam. Bonus points if you use villager children.

 

[hisagishi]

MFR isn't officially updated for 1.6.2, but with it you could setup infinite villager breeder to slaughterhouse to get meat, package it to meat ingots, then pump it to FZ caliometric burner next to water boiler to get steam. Bonus points if you use villager children.

O_O My god... Thats just.... Epic.

I think I'll go the steam route and either futz around with your idea or use a steves cart tree farm to power a boiler or something similar. If I use those apple trees, is there anything worth while using massive stacks of apples for or just void pipe the extras?

Side note, you make it seem like theres a 1.6.2 pack out... I take it theres not but just thought I'd ask around. Even if its not complete I'm no stranger to making up my own mod packs that might be a worth while route aswell.

 

[desht]

O_O My god... Thats just.... Epic.

I think I'll go the steam route and either futz around with your idea or use a steves cart tree farm to power a boiler or something similar. If I use those apple trees, is there anything worth while using massive stacks of apples for or just void pipe the extras?

Squeeze any apples you get in a forestry squeezer - you get apple juice, and mulch.

Apple juice can be used in a fermenter to get more biomass for your input, but unfortunately you won't get enough juice to keep a fermenter running continually. But it can supplement an existing supply. With a bit of trickery, it's also possible to auto-switch a fermenter between juice & water depending on what's available - http://forum.feed-the-beast.com/thr...tes-is-there-an-easier-way.10543/#post-120549

The mulch is very handy, since you can use it as fertiliser in a fermenter - better than using apatite, since it's a renewable source.

 

[Staxed]

clockwork engine

How about a bank of clockwork engines, in a room with no doors, full of angry zombies fighting each other...every now and then they should hit a crank. Now that's is free power right there!

 

[b0bst3r]

Another use (not very practical but it's a use) - You can squeeze the apples into juice and power a biogas engine from it.

 

[MigukNamja]

How about a bank of clockwork engines, in a room with no doors, full of angry zombies fighting each other...every now and then they should hit a crank. Now that's is free power right there!

Hah ! I'd love to see a video of this if it actually worked. I wonder if they randomly click on stuff ?

Steve's Carts 2 is a great mod. I love to see my little carts going around the track and their wood saws moving back and forth as they chop down trees. I give them solars + a charcoal burner and they seem to be affected by shade a lot, so they use maybe 1/2 solar and 1/2 charcoal power. I have them drop-off everything first at one station, then pick-up charcoal and saplings at the next. That was easier for me than trying to do drop-off and pick-up from the same station.

The high-end Galgadorian Wood Cutter is the only one that doesn't require maintenance and is pretty expensive, but worth it. The basic one and middle ones aren't too bad to start off with - you just can't let it run overnight chunkloaded and expect it to still be sawing away the next day. But, at least when it breaks, it waits for repair rather than violently exploding.

 

[Pokefenn]

Vinea engine
Combustion engines IMO are the "least cheaty" they have balance of not being "just plop down done" and produce a decent amount of energy too.

 

[Wekmor]

Electric engines powered by a bank of non-automated nuclear reactors that produce the least amount per tick possible



I would say steam boiler -> steam engines / biofuel production -> combustion engines

 

[Zjarek_S]

Side note, you make it seem like theres a 1.6.2 pack out... I take it theres not but just thought I'd ask around. Even if its not complete I'm no stranger to making up my own mod packs that might be a worth while route aswell.

I started to put mods together as usual (recently the only modpack I used in SSP was Mindcrack, which quickly got heavily modified), but I wanted to also check unknown to me mods, so I used Resonant Rise as a base for it, with couple of mods removed, like Metallurgy and modified configs. Most mods are already updated to 1.6 and are quite stable, big not updated ones are TC4, TE, MFR, AM and XR.

 

[namae]

I play with finite water and its biogas engines for me. Combustion engines are not really a valid option once you realize they consume 5000 water buckets pet bucket of fuel and you are trying to play fair with water.

 

[MigukNamja]

I play with finite water.

What is your source of finite water ?

The vanilla MC 'infinite water' has always seemed a bit odd/unbalanced to me as well. But, if I plop a TE acqueous accum or a BC pump into sufficiently large, natural body of water such as large stream/river or ocean/lake, the semi-realistic role-playing side of me is at peace.

I'm playing in a world where Steve can punch trees with his bare hands and skeletons can ride spiders all while having pretty good aim with their arrows.

 

[Wekmor]

I think the (only?) way to get water is a water tank from maybe railcraft. Not sure tho

 

[namae]

What is your source of finite water ?

The vanilla MC 'infinite water' has always seemed a bit odd/unbalanced to me as well. But, if I plop a TE acqueous accum or a BC pump into sufficiently large, natural body of water such as large stream/river or ocean/lake, the semi-realistic role-playing side of me is at peace.

I'm playing in a world where Steve can punch trees with his bare hands and skeletons can ride spiders all while having pretty good aim with their arrows.

I use GT standalone file to disable it. I don't use aqueous accumulator either, because it's just same infinite water even automated for no payment besides basic cost. I disabled it so water gives some management depth making you to store it or use rain tanks/weather collectors or squeeze cacti, or you may end up dry with some of your structures no longer function (notably forestry, boilers and GT). I guess I grew fond of self-imposed challenges.