Why do people like Thermal Expansion so much?

[immibis]

I see a lot of posts saying how good TE3 is, and personally it seems no better than any other mod. What's so good about it?

(Even though this post is almost exactly the same as this one, it is a real question)

 

[ewsmith]

It's intuitive. The recipes follow a specific pattern. The blocks describe themselves. Everything runs how you expect. Someone who's never played modded minecraft can use it without much difficultly.

 

[fleutius]

The fact that it has a very low impact on your system is very important for me at least.
Other than that, easy energy storage for BC machines, Very efficient piping and microblock support also makes me very happy.

I am perfectly aware, that many mods add the same sort of options, but most of the time it is a bit too complicated for my personal liking.

I still enjoy the other mods though, and i really like the fact that there is so many different ways to solve a problem.

 

[b0bst3r]

1. It's a beginners mod, meaning it's a good starting point.
2. It's not complicated.
3. The machines are easy to make and understand.
4. It has probably the best automation for it's own machines and ducts than all the other mods (maybe AE aside).
5. It does not require you to make A to make B to make C to make D meaning it's not tedious, frightening or daunting to build or use.
6. Because of point 1 and the moving away of a lot of mods into an intermediate-end game play state a lot of people start with TE because there's not much else choice wise.
7. Because King Lemming!!

 

[Yosomith]

It does not require you to make A to make B to make C to make D meaning it's not tedious, frightening or daunting to build or use.

It does get a little bit that way in later parts of the mod, resonant ender in particular, well at least I think so, but overall I'd agree with your points. It has a difficulty increase as you need/want to make more things but it's not too steep. It doesn't have many recipes that are nested in 20 different things.

 

[Celestialphoenix]

Mostly because its an intuitive design and isn't a resource hog (computer resources that is).

 

[King Lemming]

I see a lot of posts saying how good TE3 is, and personally it seems no better than any other mod. What's so good about it?

(Even though this post is almost exactly the same as this one, it is a real question)

That is nowhere near the same post. You are implying that IC2 and TE3 can't both be liked at the same time. Way to prime the pump there. You should work for Gallup.

I have some guesses as to what the responses will be here, but it'd be self-serving to post them. If TE3 isn't your cup of tea, that's fair. It definitely isn't for everyone.

EDIT: On another note, why in the world do you not have a mod dev tag?!

 

[Jadedcat]

EDIT: On another note, why in the world do you not have a mod dev tag?!

Cause I am a lazy moderator and missed him in the search for mod devs to give banners to.. and he didn't poke me and go "I wants my banner"

 

[Nooska]

One of the major things for me with TE3 is the configurable output/input, being able to place my pulverizer next to my redstone furnace and have it output in a chest. It makes for a great compact build, and also less chance at screw ups.
Its also a lot easier to explain to my kid and GF.
A second major point is energy storage and transportation.
When I first came into modded MC it was via Tekkit/Technic, and the guide was IC2, and golly it took a LOt of work to just get my first macerator (then it went rather quickly thereafter) - which is something that almost put me off modded MC again (and I see the same with the kid if he wants to do something in survival for real, rather than just span in the stuff) - mind I haven't played around with IC2 in the new setup yet, I learned from my last server that TE is a better starting option, so not comparing to current IC.

In other words, low entry barrier and easier/compact setting up than the other "starting" mods. (biggest hurdle is getting some redstone)

Mind, I do, generally, want a grindstone frmo AE first when I have that, to waste as little ressources as possible, but I think I could skip that easily enough if I didn't have AE.

 

[xbony2]

I'm not a fan myself. None of the machines really seem to be usefully without other mods. A redstone furnace isn't really necessary because coal is pretty cheap, and it isn't much faster. The pulverizer and sawmill seem too cheap, they increase your resources with little cost. Otherwise, do you really need an infinite amount of water/snowballs/cobblestone? That just seems over-powering to me.

To me, it seems like TE is a gateway to making things over cheap and making a lot of resource almost free.

Just my opinions, no need for anyone to yell at me or be offended

 

[Vasa]

TE3 recipes are much more easy to craft than IC2 recipes.

 

[Jadedcat]

As a start I am not the type player that likes to make a machine to make a machine that makes a machine that makes a part for an item that makes a machine that does what I need.

With that in mind for me TE3 is intuitive , easy to use, does what I need without having the feel of moving too fast that the last generation of overclockers in IC2 gave me. It costs a bit more than IC2 or BC takes less time and space to assemble than IC2 or RC and while it might take a little longer for pulverizing etc it adds some fun mini-games. For me I want ore doubling, something that can do tasks when I am not around like farming, some form of sorting/transport and some interesting side quests.

I can get the pulverizer and furnace and have my ore doubling done. Add a few opaque item ducts and I am set. I won't have the resource output of RC or IC2 but it'll do the job at the beginning level. If I want more output I can use the induction smelter. For even more output I can silk touch redstone pulverize it and with a combination of cinnabar and/or rich slag get a higher resource output. The parts I need at the beginning are simple enough. The more advanced tiers and upgrades take more work and more resources for more rewards. And its lightweight on my computer which means I can throw in some heavier mods like TC4 and Forestry and have fun with magic and bees.

If I want to get really crazy the item ducts sorting system allows me incredibly detailed control over my sorting system. I almost prefer it to AE. There's no flight which is fine by me since I can add that with plenty of other mods. The autonomous activator makes a really nice farm option though it takes a lot more work and resources than Forestry or MFR.

For me it balances time and resources required vs output and reward very well while keeping optimization in mind. If I want higher resource output I have to put a bit more effort in. But if I just want basic doubling its fairly straightforward.

For my playstyle it does exactly what I want/need; processing, crafting,sorting and power which allows me time to go play with all the tiny mini-games like bees or build epic structures (once I learn to build).

 

[Dylan4ever]

I love TE for the customization, the various interesting machines that are amazing for automated setups (getting water, snowballs and cobblestone can be very useful), basically most things. Also, the textures look fabulous, and that is something that I care about very much.
Ofcourse, the low impact on your computer is amazing too. Makes the mod available for so much more people.

The only thing I don't like is the easy progression. Getting Invar can be done with only a Pulverizer. The Redstone tier requires Electrum and Hardened Glass, both of which are very easy to get. The only tier that is hard to get is Resonant, but that is because Shiny Ingots are hard to get in an unreliable way. You need to either grind up Ferrous with a rare chance to get Shiny Dust, or use Cinnabar which can only be gotten from Redstone Ore (or TC4 Cinnabar), which, unless used with other mods, is unrenewable. It's fully dependant on luck, which isn't a good thing either.
I'd also like more config options to make stuff harder to craft. Steel is good, but what if I don't use a mod with Steel?
The progression system could use some work, but overall it's an amazing mod. Convenient to use, easy to configure, I love it.

 

[Jadedcat]

I love TE for the customization, the various interesting machines that are amazing for automated setups (getting water, snowballs and cobblestone can be very useful), basically most things. Also, the textures look fabulous, and that is something that I care about very much.
Ofcourse, the low impact on your computer is amazing too. Makes the mod available for so much more people.

The only thing I don't like is the easy progression. Getting Invar can be done with only a Pulverizer. The Redstone tier requires Electrum and Hardened Glass, both of which are very easy to get. The only tier that is hard to get is Resonant, but that is because Shiny Ingots are hard to get in an unreliable way. You need to either grind up Ferrous with a rare chance to get Shiny Dust, or use Cinnabar which can only be gotten from Redstone Ore (or TC4 Cinnabar), which, unless used with other mods, is unrenewable. It's fully dependant on luck, which isn't a good thing either.
I'd also like more config options to make stuff harder to craft. Steel is good, but what if I don't use a mod with Steel?
The progression system could use some work, but overall it's an amazing mod. Convenient to use, easy to configure, I love it.

TE makes steel.... 1 iron 4 coal or 2 pulverized coal in an induction smelter if you have steel on and no steel mod available.

 

[DREVL]

I think the proper description for why I like TE in one word, is that it is elegant. Extremely user friendly. And puts concepts into a 1x1 machine. Aqua Accumulator and Extruder take the complex and make it available as a stand alone. It doesn't kill my computer. There are far more interesting ways of doing the same tasks. If your badass, I'd say use them. If your not or don't want to be, TE is your keystone.[DOUBLEPOST=1389193287][/DOUBLEPOST]

TE makes steel.... 1 iron 4 coal or 2 pulverized coal in an induction smelter if you have steel on and no steel mod available.

wow. was that always there, or is that TE3? I've never seen that anywhere. That's a big deal

 

[Jadedcat]

I think the proper description for why I like TE in one word, is that it is elegant. Extremely user friendly. And puts concepts into a 1x1 machine. Aqua Accumulator and Extruder take the complex and make it available as a stand alone. It doesn't kill my computer. There are far more interesting ways of doing the same tasks. If your badass, I'd say use them. If your not or don't want to be, TE is your keystone.[DOUBLEPOST=1389193287][/DOUBLEPOST]
wow. was that always there, or is that TE3? I've never seen that anywhere. That's a big deal

TE3.

 

[Dylan4ever]

TE makes steel.... 1 iron 4 coal or 2 pulverized coal in an induction smelter if you have steel on and no steel mod available.

I know, but when turning on the config option to use Steel for Machine Frames, you can't make an Induction Smelter or Pulverizer without Steel. I'd love to be able to turn it on in the config, but unfortunatly, I have no mod that reliably provides Steel. I have TConstruct, but there is no real way to get Chain armour, other than finding it in loot chests from the Better Dungeons mod.

 

[DREVL]

oh and what do you mean by steel on? Is that a TE config? Is it set to true or false by default?

 

[Jadedcat]

I know, but when turning on the config option to use Steel for Machine Frames, you can't make an Induction Smelter of Pulverizer without Steel. I'd love to be able to turn it on in the config, but unfortunatly, I have no mod that reliably provides Steel. I have TConstruct, but there is no real way to get Chain armour, other than finding it in loot chests from the Better Dungeons mod.

ooo thats a good point... someone should point that out to @King Lemming

 

[KurShedir]

I just want to double my ores and have some basic automation, before and after a proper AE system. Thermal Expansion offers the right machines to do that and is self sufficient. Also, worldgen options suits my needs.

Having a crazy amount of resources, maximized quarries or endless crafting chains is not my thing. I have different goals, I want to focus on something else and TE helps me a lot.