TheBytemaster

I'll put this in the KJ. Thanks for the heads up!

First I'd try updating your graphics drivers. (Assuming you're using windows!)

Ah, I see. Thanks! If I get the time today, I'll mock up some of the ideas in here to see how they look.

I'm not sure about this, but I would imagine that each arm would have a "base" that it retracts into. I'd imagine them to be a block in size. (Maybe it has a small invintory too? Along with upgrade slots?) The bases would be the only thing allowed to move; the arms would have to retract into their bases before moving. Poof, no weird collisions with terrain, and no huge moving entities to worry about. Now, while I'm here, maybe I can ask a technical question. What is a tile entity exactly? And how does it differ from a regular entity/a block? I keep hearing people refer to them but I don't really understand what they are.

They just...collide and declare that movement invalid or something? Maybe some sort of junction track ? I don't know. That was just a brainstorm idea anyways, it would certainly look cool to have multiple arms zipping around in a factory.

That's kind of what I meant by "stationary" mining mech. RiM and Redpower frames aren't what I meant, but I suppose they sort of apply apply. You could have an extendable crane "arm" that zips around on a multiblock rail system, reaching down to do stuff. But giving it more flexibility would be really cool, and give it a much more unique role. You could even use it like a 3D printer. If that is done though, I'd like to put in a vote for a system like the IC2 miner, where the pipes to reach down weren't free, you had to craft them. Interesting idea; how about different progressive types of heads for the crane thing instead of one omni-head? You could have multiple arms zipping around on shared tracks or something. Or maybe modules for heads. I dunno.

See, that's kind of along what I had in mind. Building a big multi-block quarry with rails, motors, and such would be a ton of fun if done right, in my opinion. And far more balanced/interesting than the any-size-is-free BC quarries. Programming it or some kind of industrial control machine for it would be fun too, and it would encourage learning a bit of programming in a more focused/incentive-led way than the blank slate that is computercraft. An extension to FORTH could be used, maybe? Some kind of industrial control block for the various motors/pneumatics and such? Maybe it would have an API for both Computercraft and forth? Pneumatics as computer/industrial control block controlled pistons with up-gradable lengths/properties? That could be a fun way to manage the movement of the quarry. Ooh, pneumatic pistons with embedded pipes in their arms. Maybe even with inventory manager things on the end. Imagine it, a frame with pistons in the edges, all working together to push a downward facing piston with an embedded tube in it around, which then pushes down a drill. All managed via computer. Glorious. I don't really know about feasibility or the scale of this project at this point, just throwing out random ideas/wouldn't-it-be-amazing-if for now.

Ooh! Shiny! This looks like it has a great deal of potential! I think I'll be following this closely. I like buildcraft, but it feels kind of bloated/old to me. I like AE, but it feels kind of cheaty/OP to me. I like my items to have a physical location, not be stored in some ethereal magic techno-ether somewhere. I have wanted to figure out logistic pipes, but the learning curve, (or at least, apparent learning curve), turned me off. (Or maybe I was just lazy at the time.) This feels like it could be something quite interesting, perhaps a smattering of all of these flavors, but more refined and focused, as well as a taste of the redpower tubes I loved so much. Do you already have an idea of what direction you're going to take this in? One of the few ideas I have for the moment would be to perhaps implement some kind of FORTH dictionary/starting guide via either book or terminal into the game, for those of us who never bothered to learn it before. With a few extra/more complex script examples, like a basic string sorting program or something. The other idea I have for now would be some sort of auto-mining mechanism that isn't quite as cheaty/ham-handed/simple as BC's almighty quarry. Maybe some sort of multi-block mining mech/crane type thing you have to design and build/program yourself? That could be an interesting way to improve on buildcraft. I've never quite come across a mod that did in-place auto-mining in a very interesting way. More power compatibility for it, (BC, EU, TE, etc,), would be nice too. Question, do you have plans to re-implement/re-use any of the buildcraft power functions? Or is this more of a tubes-only thing?

Wow. Nice picture you have there.. Imagine having an eye-tooth pulled or drilled by a dentist.

Yes. I am 1337 RU551@n hax0r. 60йся м3|-|я /saracasm

Necro-ing or Necroing. Pronounced Nee-crow-ing. Verb. The act of performing a "necro". The term is derived from "Necromancer"/"Necromancy" as far as I am aware. The hyphen is optional, but I personally prefer to use it. Being mainly an internet-use term, it does not have a centrally authoritative figure to define its spelling. Usage: You necro'd/necroed this thread. Necro-ing things without being on topic is bad. A "necro" is when you bring an old thread with no recent replies "back to life" by posting in it, much like a Necromancer would do to a dead body. (Esp. when done without a very good reason, like a solution to a problem that was being discussed.) It is frowned upon almost universally on the internet. Many forums have rules against the act, some even automatically lock any threads/topics that are not replied to within a set amount of time. While necro-ing in and of itself is not technically against the rules here, it is usually somewhat disliked by moderators, and many people have been issued warning points by moderators for doing so without a good reason or being on topic.

Your argument there is completely invalid. "They", (whatever you mean by that, I assume you mean threads suggesting updates to packs), may not be super popular, but they tend to get far more attention than dead threads like this one. Do you see anyone other than me checking/replying to this thread? That should tell you about how effective your plan was. Go make a thread in the appropriate location. Also, I doubt the maintainers of the packs have much inclination to listen to someone necro-ing an old thread/making a thread in the wrong place to make his/her point anyways.

Then why not start a thread in the appropriate location to discuss such matters instead of necro-ing a marginally related thread?