basics done, now what

[crusaderkvw]

hey there guys,

 

so i finally got around to playing technic again(latest stable build) and i have my basic resource production all set up and working(reactor, pulverizer, redstone furnace).

now the thing is: there is soooooo much stuf to build and to do, i just don't know where to go from here on. trying to get some MFR systems up and running to automate my breeding/killing cow farm and i'm trying to figure out how the planter and harvester work.

 

could anyone give me a short breakdown on how they work? and yes, i have looked at the wiki . my main question would be however: do i need to place my harvester above my crops and if so, how did you guys install all that machinery?

 

greetz,

*wild Mankey stole signed name!*

Edited June 5, 2014 by Munaus

[SirLappy]

for the harvester setup: you'll require harvester and planter, and optionally a fertilizer.  all can be sized with upgrades to increase the area of the farm, so decide how big you want it first, and then build 2 or 3 of the same upgrade so all the machines are working the same size area.  planter goes directly in the center of the area, below the block of dirt (assuming dirt, can also farm netherwart on soul sand).  planter needs power and a supply of things to plant.  you can supply with logistics pipes or ME, but I'm guessing you haven't set those up yet, so you'll probably just filter the output from the harvester into a diamond pipe, and send the seeds back around to the planter.

 

Harvester should be placed right on top of the dirt (if planter is at height: 70, dirt should be height: 71 and planter should be at height: 72), in the center of one of the sides, facing the farm.  It requires power and item output.  The harvester will also generate sludge, which you can process with a sludge processor, or just leave in the harvester.  It won't hurt anything.  If you do choose to process,  you will obviously need a liquid pipe out of the harvester as well.  Personally, I don't user a fertilizer, but if you want to, you'll have to power it and feed it supplies as well.

 

For the cow breeding, I prefer a two-chambered pen enclosing back-to-back 5x5 areas.  The first chamber is for breeding, and the second chamber is for processing.  on the breeding side, you have a breeder, which you feed wheat.  in the middle, you have a chronotyper, set to pick out baby cows from the breeding side, and move them to the processing side.  Then in the processing side, you put a grinder or a slaugherhouse, which will kill the babies when they turn into adults.  You can also throw sewers underneath if you want, to create fertilizer.

Edited June 5, 2014 by SirLappy

[crusaderkvw]

alright, that upgrades increase the working range i do wonder this: if a machine starts with a 3x3 work space, and i upgrade it once: wil it then have a space of like.... 4x4? or can you choose it manually?

[SirLappy]

alright, that upgrades increase the working range i do wonder this: if a machine starts with a 3x3 work space, and i upgrade it once: wil it then have a space of like.... 4x4? or can you choose it manually?

 

there are different upgrades; each increases the range by a different amount, and each machine can only take 1 upgrade at a time (but they are removable).  http://wiki.technicpack.net/Range_Upgrades_(MFR)

[Curunir]

The most basic MFR upgrade is Lapis, at 1. It will expand a 3x3 area to either 4x4 or 5x5 (no idea if that is radius or diameter increase). Look at the other upgrades, all of them have (higher) numbers, all the way up to Emerald. With Emerald, you will likely only ever need a single Planter. As SirLappy said, you can swap them out anytime, as often as you want, but only one will ever fit per machine. And some MFR machines, particularly the ranching ones, cannot be upgraded.

 

As for ranching, I like to have a three-pen setup, where one pen holds the "seed" of adults that are not touched and are used for breeding exclusively. The first Chronotyper pulls the offspring out of that pen into the "growing up" pen. If you feel fancy, you can have a Vet Station with Growth Syringes at that point, but it is usually not worth the resource cost. The second Chronotyper then pulls adults from that pen into the processing pen, with the Slaughterhouse or Grinder.

Not really necessary, but I didn't like the idea of putting all the baby animals in front of the Slaughterhouse until they grow up. Even when they live and die inside a heartless machine, at least they should live in peace... or something.

 

P.S.: As for further progress, it's a sandbox. Try getting resources rolling in by the ton (Laser Drills), then craft a Modular Powersuit. Make it as light as possible, build yourself a road (with the MFR blocks of that name) and sprint across it at hyperspeed. You might set up skill races where the goal is to stay on a narrow road circuit at breakneck speed to win.

Or spill Pyrotheum over a desert, to bake its whole surface to glass. Or Cryotheum over the ocean, for pretty much the same effect with ice. Or add Cryotheum to the Nether and make yourself a nice winter cottage "in hell", complete with auto-forming snow and pine trees (bring dirt and bonemeal to grow those).

It's all up to your creativity.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Curunir

[crusaderkvw]

 

P.S.: As for further progress, it's a sandbox. Try getting resources rolling in by the ton (Laser Drills), then craft a Modular Powersuit. Make it as light as possible, build yourself a road (with the MFR blocks of that name) and sprint across it at hyperspeed. You might set up skill races where the goal is to stay on a narrow road circuit at breakneck speed to win.

Or spill Pyrotheum over a desert, to bake its whole surface to glass. Or Cryotheum over the ocean, for pretty much the same effect with ice. Or add Cryotheum to the Nether and make yourself a nice winter cottage "in hell", complete with auto-forming snow and pine trees (bring dirt and bonemeal to grow those).

It's all up to your creativity.

haha, yeah well. you know how to do all that stuf haha . i'm just stumbling around and figuring stuf out on the fly so those things probally won't be any time soon.

speaking of getting resources rolling in by the ton: do you recommend going straight for laser drill instead of quarry?

[Curunir]

I figured that stuff out one by one. Took me months, and I'm still not done.

 

Oh... that rhymed.

 

A Laser Drill will change your problems from "how do I get enough of resource X for this recipe?" to "how can I continuously power the Drill?" and "where to keep all this stuff?". Once you can afford building it and have enough power, go for it. Let it run overnight and you will not want for resources the next day. In an "optimal" game, Quarries are mostly for getting you all the stuff to build the Laser Drill, and for digging rectangular pits. MFR farms are for getting you everything the Drill cannot provide, and/or to produce non-nuclear power via wood>charcoal or biofuel.

 

But the magic here is that all of this is optional, and completely different approaches will work, too. That is why I preface answers to newbie questions with "you may want to...". There is no correct path, just a some easier and some harder ones. If you want easy, go for early Yellorium Reactor and early Laser Drill.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Curunir

[crusaderkvw]

that yellorium reactor was the first thing i build this time so hahaha.

but alright, will go down the road for the drill then. thanks!

[crusaderkvw]

hey guys, just wanted to let you all know that the help i had from all of you the last week or so really helped alot. i now have some basic automated wheat and cow farms(altough space is still a problem haha)

thanks again!

[crusaderkvw]

i hope anyone still reads this and is willing to help me with(i hope) a last single thingy here.

now: i have expanded my farms abit to include a cow farm(fully automated including chrontyper) and a sewer to composter to fertilizer system. problem is: the sewer generates mob essence aswell and i don't really know for sure how to seperate the sewage from the essence so that my composter keeps working all the time.

i suppose to put a bucket of sewage in the liquiduct with a servo would solve it, but then thing is: i don't know how to get that bucket of sewage from the machines.

 

thanks in advance!

[SirLappy]

i hope anyone still reads this and is willing to help me with(i hope) a last single thingy here.

now: i have expanded my farms abit to include a cow farm(fully automated including chrontyper) and a sewer to composter to fertilizer system. problem is: the sewer generates mob essence aswell and i don't really know for sure how to seperate the sewage from the essence so that my composter keeps working all the time.

i suppose to put a bucket of sewage in the liquiduct with a servo would solve it, but then thing is: i don't know how to get that bucket of sewage from the machines.

 

thanks in advance!

well first let's be clear, there is no 'last thingy'.  there is always more to do

 

anyhow, personally I use buildcraft pipes instead of liquiducts, but i'd think it should be the same in both cases.  all you really need is a place for both to go - just a standard tank for each should be fine.  just hook up the pipes to both tanks, and then if any sewage gets in the mob essence tank, destroy it and place it again.  once you get the right liquids in both tanks, everything should run smoothly, at least until one of the tanks fills up.

 

Eventually you can upgrade to use logistics pipes or ME, and the liquids will just automatically go to the right place in your storage.

[Curunir]

As SirLappy says, all you need are two dedicated liquid containers to receive the different liquids. Fluiduct with Pneumatic Servo and whitelist will work fine.

However, you can make the handling easier by adding an MFR Liquid Router to your setup. It has six coloured sides and accepts liquids for each colour, so it can separate up to five different liquids (sixth side will be input). Takes no power to operate.

[crusaderkvw]

ahh wonderfull . thanks for the fast reply, both of you .

anyway: i don't plan on keeping the stuf in the tanks haha, they'll get used right away. thats why i figured it would be a problem. but using a router as Curunir said could be just the thing i need .

 

and SirLappy, you are correct: there is still much to learn and much to build, altough i got the basics all covered now(and i understand how stuf works now haha) so the question frequency will go down from here on out haha.

 

again: thanks for the help guys

[crusaderkvw]

i feel it is mandatory that the technic wiki on Mob Essence(M.E. for now) is incorrect(like most others) as you can not only gain M.E. from grinders/slaughters but also from sewers... much more so from sewers then grinders if i may say so myself. i do not know if this is a feature or a bug(altough i would be a very nice bug then) but i just wanted to let you guys know, specificaly the newer people who want to try out a auto-enchanter or auto-spawner. setup a breeding ground with grinder, chronotyper, breeder etc. and then put in a sewer block aswell. hook this up to a liquid router. use the router to seperate the M.E. from the sewage and you got yourself a great supply of M.E.

also: hook up the sewage to a composter, hook that up to a fertilizer. and use that with a planter and harvester for a wheat field. and well... you get the picture from there on out

[EvilOwl]

You can also hook up a sewer to a block placer / block breaker (or transition plane) for sapphire / ruby / peridot / qcraft / coal / silicon ore blocks from laser drill and get more mob essence:

Edited June 16, 2014 by bochen415