11 replies to this topic

[The Doctor]

Well I am new so introductions....... Hi that's pretty much it. I have played FTB for a bit and messed around with it but I need a "mentor" I guess because I am no pro but I would like to be. So it would be nice to have a couple of replies of people willing to teach me, but other than that hello, how are you. What do you want to talk about?

[ZL123]

Heya! Welcome to the FTB Forums.

 

For guidance, well... which pack are you using at the moment, and how long have you been playing FTB for ('a bit' doesn't help me )?

There are so many wonderful things, but we have to start at the basics, so I need to know what pack you're playing.

[The Doctor]

I believe I am using Unleashed

[ZL123]

Well, if you've been playing vanilla, you might feel that certain things are limited, as Unleashed is a 1.5 pack.

But if you're fine with that (a lot of 1.6 packs are still a WIP) then read on...

 

 

Normally when most people (at least that I know of) start playing on a world they begin with only one or two mods.

So here's a quick rundown of most of the mods. Pick a couple mods to start with... (recommended ones in bold, possible ones in italics)

• Applied Energistics - I wouldn't recommend using this very early-game, though great later.
• BiblioCraft - Has a few nice utility blocks, but shouldn't really be something you really concentrate on.
• Buildcraft - Can do a few cool things like build stuff for you, mine for you, transport things for you, etc. The quarry is probably what you want to get mid-game, but requires a few diamonds (11 to be exact). Buildcraft used to be quite a 'main' thing, but now there are a few other mods that do similar things (probably better) I'd say this is quite the utility mod. Buildcraft's energy is called MJ, which stands for Minecraft Joules.
  • Logistics Pipes - Addon to BC. A bit like Applied Energistics, but it's more early-game, I'd say. Transports stuff, automatically crafts, stores stuff efficiently, can use peripherals like Furnaces, etc.
• ComputerCraft - Adds computers and turtles. Really handy (if you know how to program it)! Uses the LUA programming language. Turtles can mine for you and can move around, while obviously computers can't (but they're still really great). Again, I've never really seen anyone using ComputerCraft as a primary thing anywhere.
• DartCraft - Having just had my first experiences with DartCraft recently, I think it's really cool, but rather overpowered. Has compatibility with IC2 (which can be found lower down in this list). Uses Buildcraft's MJ sometimes and IndustrialCraft 2's EU sometimes.
• EnderStorage - 'nother utility mod. Really useful (though somewhat buggy). Adds Ender Chests (these existed before vanilla ones did, and work slightly differently) and Ender Tanks and other things.
• Equivalent Exchange 3 - Transmutes things into other things (8 iron = 1 gold, 4 gold = 1 diamond, other recipes available; all these recipes require a Minium Stone). A few other things exist in this mod, but nobody really uses them (many of them are also WIP, especially in the version in Unleashed).
• Extra Utilities - Does what the name suggests. Adds blocks and items that the author thought were needed in the game.
• Factorization - Again, this mod adds barrels, and a lot of people don't use Factorization for anything else. It does, however, have a neat ore processing system.
• Forestry - Adds many blocks that do botanical-related stuff like planting and harvesting trees, wheat, carrots, potatoes, nether wart, etc. Also has a unique system involving bees. Uses Buildcraft's MJ.
  • Extra Bees - Adds more bees. A lot of these will probably be used by you if you're using Forestry's bee system.
  • Extra Trees - Adds more trees. A lot of these will probably be used by you if you're using Forestry's tree system.
  • Magic Bees - Adds magic bees. A lot of these will probably be used by you if you're using Forestry's bee system and Thaumcraft's magic system.
• ForgeMultipart - Cool microblocks.
• Gravity Gun - Adds a single item of the same name, which can pick up mobs and throw them around.
• IndustrialCraft 2 - This one is probably one of the best mods out there, and certainly one of the first. Adds industrial-type machines (notably Solar Panel, Macerator, Electric Furnace) and items (notably Copper Ingot, Wrench, Chainsaw) and things (notably Rubber Tree, Nuclear Reactor, Quantum Armor) and really does have a lot of addon mods. Worth checking out. IC2's energy is called EU, which stands for Energy Unit(s).
  • Advanced Power Management - Adds charging benches and charges IC2 armor and tools quite efficiently.
  • Advanced Solar Panels - Solar Panels that create more power than the Solar Panel. Choose between this and CompactSolars.
  • Charge Pads - Adds three blocks that charge your stuff when you stand on them.
  • CompactSolars - Combine solar panels to save space! Choose between this and Advanced Solar Panels.
  • GraviSuite - Late-game upgrades and armor and tools and stuff.
  • MFFS - Adds forcefields. 'Nuff said. Choose between this and MFFS (Calclavia).
  • MFFS (Calclavia) - Adds forcefields. 'Nuff said. Choose between this and MFFS.
  • Nuclear Control - Adds things to monitor your Nuclear Reactor.
• Iron Chests - Another widely-used utility mod. Adds Bronze Chests, Iron Chests, Silver Chests, Gold Chests, Diamond Chests, Obsidian Chests, Crystal Chests and the DirtChest 9000!.
• MineFactory Reloaded - Adds many great blocks that do nearly everything imaginable. Uses BuildCraft's MJ.
• Modular Powersuits - Adds... you guessed it. Modular armor. This armor can do nearly everything feasible that you would expect, as long as you add the upgrades you want. Not exactly early-game material.
• Mystcraft - Based on the game Myst, MystCraft adds dimensions that you can make yourself! You just need to do a lot of exploration to find the right pages and stuff, and if you're lucky the dimension (called age) you make won't be unstable.
• Natura - Bunch of bushes and trees. Berry bushes are good for you; collect them. Works well with Tinkers' Construct.
• Obsidian Pressure Plates - Adds Pressure Plates made of Obsidian, which only detect players.
• OmniTools - Adds an OmniWrench, which works as most wrenches around here! BC's wrench, IC2's wrench, Thermal Expansion's Crescent Hammer, etc...
• Portal Gun - Based on the game Portal, this mod adds, among other things, a Portal Gun, not unlike the Gravity Gun. However, this one can also create Portals which you can travel through. Other things in this mod include the Weighted Companion Cube, the Radio, the Long Fall Boots, the Aerial Faith Plate, the Sentry Turret and music discs featuring songs from Portal.
• QCraft - Nice mod that adds Quantum blocks and stuff, which sort of use quantum mechanics. Go check it out.
• Railcraft - Minecarts and tracks and minecarts and tracks. Many of them. Way too many. But in a good way.
• Soul Shards - Custom mob spawners.
• Steve's Carts 2 - Adds modular minecarts! Many modules, too.
• Thaumcraft 3 - One word sums this mod up: Magic.
• Thermal Expansion - Very popular mod that does many things IC2 does, but differently and with nice interfaces. No use putting a 'notable things' part here, as everything from Thermal Expansion 2 is notable . Uses BC's MJ (but not in 1.6!).
• Tinkers' Construct - Modular tools. When you first spawn in a world, it gives you a book called 'Materials and You by Skyla'. Read it.
• Twilight Forest - Adds a whole new dimension and everything there is different. Might seem scary and weird at first, but once you get to know it, you'll learn it really is wonderful.
• Wireless Redstone - What it says on the tin.

Hope that helped!

 

(Gosh, it better. Took me an hour to write this post )

[hannoman]

Woah ZL, that really is a nice post! You should make it sticky somewhere or better yet put it in the wiki as kind of a tutorial.

Perhaps one could group the mods a bit more, listing utility mods - which are more or less always helpful -  (like: IronChests, OmniTools, EE3, ...) or mods that just add a single/few mechanics (like: GravityGun, PortalGun, Soul Shards, Obsidian Pressure Plates ...), apart from mods that are bigger or have their own progression (like: Forestry, Industrial Craft 2, Thaumcraft).

 

@Ender Chests: Woah, didnt know it preceded even the original ones, that's cool. But is it bugged? Never had any issues with them.

 

@Equivalent Exchange 3: Is there really _anything_ usable apart from the Minium Stone in EE3? ^^

 

@ComputerCraft: Yep, don't think most people would start off with that, although i suppose it offers the fastest way to push up your ressources in a fresh world if you have the right programs at your fingertips. And if you own in this mod, you've learned a pretty useful thing, namely programming.

 

Regarding the question what to start off with, my recommendation would probably be Thermal Expansion + Buildcraft. As Buildcraft knowledge can be helpful on a lot of occassions and you get a nice simple ore processing setup with TE. In my head at least, buildcraft takes the place of _the_ basic mod.

 

So that's for my 5 cents.. Really useful overview, will pass this on to my apprentice-level FTBer friends.

[TehRawrz]

To be honest I always use my first three diamonds on a mining turtle and use the built in quarrying and strip mining programs. Really easy way to avoid the afk mining start of worlds.

[ZL123]

@Ender Chests: I meant that the mod itself was kinda buggy sometimes. I've read in many places that they reset the chunk if they're in the same chunk as a ChunkLoader, though I don't know if that's immibis or chickenbones. Also there have of course been many, many threads posted on this forum pertaining to crashes due to EnderStorage.

 

@EE3: Ehm, not in this version, no xD (although you can store stuff in Glass Bells, and they look neat; don't know if they have a crafting recipe).

 

BC and TE, yes, I'd say that's good.

 

Actually, now I'd say probably start off with one mod in bold and one - maybe two - italicized mod(s).

[DiamondDoctor]

Someone needs to 

-give zl a medal

-give zl a cookie

-sticky that post

-really, do that one

-and maybe ill make some for the other mods! 

 

GREAT job zl. Wow, quite good. Maybe we should make a beginners forum section, or a wiki page with a tutorial for beginners. But, seriously. That was good. 

wow.

[hannoman]

@EE3: Hrhrhr, yes the glass bells. They are actually craftable. And they teach a valuable lesson: That one should appreciate the beauty of collision detection with blocks

 

Someone needs to 

-give zl a medal

-give zl a cookie

[...]

 Would a medal made out of a cookie do? Like a cookie on a nice ribbon?

[DiamondDoctor]

No a cookie and a medal, separately. lol.

[TehRawrz]

Why not this? Sounds deliciously rewarding :3

 

http://www.sweetsuga.../2012/07/16.jpg

[ZL123]

Why not this? Sounds deliciously rewarding :3
 
http://www.sweetsuga.../2012/07/16.jpg

That WOULD be nice...