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| | | Minetest technic modpack user manual |
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| | | ==================================== |
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| | | # Technic User Manual |
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| | | |
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| | | The technic modpack extends the Minetest game with many new elements, |
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| | | mainly constructable machines and tools. It is a large modpack, and |
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| | | tends to dominate gameplay when it is used. This manual describes how |
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| | | to use the technic modpack, mainly from a player's perspective. |
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| | | The technic modpack extends Minetest Game (shipped with Minetest by default) |
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| | | with many new elements, mainly constructable machines and tools. This manual |
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| | | describes how to use the modpack, mainly from a player's perspective. |
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| | | |
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| | | The technic modpack depends on some other modpacks: |
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| | | |
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| | | * the basic Minetest game |
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| | | * mesecons, which supports the construction of logic systems based on |
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| | | signalling elements |
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| | | * pipeworks, which supports the automation of item transport |
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| | | * moreores, which provides some additional ore types |
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| | | |
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| | | This manual doesn't explain how to use these other modpacks, which have |
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| | | their own manuals: |
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| | | Documentation of the mod dependencies can be found here: |
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| | | |
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| | | * [Minetest Game Documentation](https://wiki.minetest.net/Main_Page) |
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| | | * [Mesecons Documentation](http://mesecons.net/items.html) |
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| | | * [Pipeworks Documentation](https://github.com/minetest-mods/pipeworks/wiki) |
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| | | * [Pipeworks Documentation](https://gitlab.com/VanessaE/pipeworks/-/wikis/home) |
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| | | * [Moreores Forum Post](https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?t=549) |
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| | | * [Basic materials Repository](https://gitlab.com/VanessaE/basic_materials) |
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| | | |
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| | | Recipes for constructable items in technic are generally not guessable, |
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| | | and are also not specifically documented here. You should use a |
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| | | craft guide mod to look up the recipes in-game. For the best possible |
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| | | guidance, use the unified\_inventory mod, with which technic registers |
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| | | its specialised recipe types. |
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| | | ## Recipes |
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| | | |
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| | | substances |
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| | | ---------- |
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| | | Recipes for items registered by technic are not specifically documented here. |
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| | | Please consult a craft guide mod to look up the recipes in-game. |
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| | | |
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| | | ### ore ### |
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| | | **Recommended mod:** [Unified Inventory](https://github.com/minetest-mods/unified_inventory) |
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| | | |
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| | | The technic mod makes extensive use of not just the default ores but also |
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| | | some that are added by mods. You will need to mine for all the ore types |
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| | | in the course of the game. Each ore type is found at a specific range of |
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| | | elevations, and while the ranges mostly overlap, some have non-overlapping |
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| | | ranges, so you will ultimately need to mine at more than one elevation |
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| | | to find all the ores. Also, because one of the best elevations to mine |
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| | | at is very deep, you will be unable to mine there early in the game. |
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| | | ## Substances |
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| | | |
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| | | Elevation is measured in meters, relative to a reference plane that |
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| | | is not quite sea level. (The standard sea level is at an elevation |
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| | | of about +1.4.) Positive elevations are above the reference plane and |
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| | | negative elevations below. Because elevations are always described this |
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| | | way round, greater numbers when higher, we avoid the word "depth". |
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| | | ### Ores |
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| | | |
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| | | The ores that matter in technic are coal, iron, copper, tin, zinc, |
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| | | chromium, uranium, silver, gold, mithril, mese, and diamond. |
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| | | Technic registers a few ores which are needed to craft machines or items. |
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| | | Each ore type is found at a specific range of elevations so you will |
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| | | ultimately need to mine at more than one elevation to find all the ores. |
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| | | |
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| | | Coal is part of the basic Minetest game. It is found from elevation |
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| | | +64 downwards, so is available right on the surface at the start of |
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| | | the game, but it is far less abundant above elevation 0 than below. |
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| | | It is initially used as a fuel, driving important machines in the early |
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| | | part of the game. It becomes less important as a fuel once most of your |
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| | | machines are electrically powered, but burning fuel remains a way to |
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| | | generate electrical power. Coal is also used, usually in dust form, as |
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| | | an ingredient in alloying recipes, wherever elemental carbon is required. |
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| | | Elevation (Y axis) is measured in meters. The reference is usually at sea |
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| | | level. Ores can generally be found more commonly by going downwards to -1000m. |
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| | | |
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| | | Iron is part of the basic Minetest game. It is found from elevation |
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| | | +2 downwards, and its abundance increases in stages as one descends, |
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| | | reaching its maximum from elevation -64 downwards. It is a common metal, |
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| | | used frequently as a structural component. In technic, unlike the basic |
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| | | game, iron is used in multiple forms, mainly alloys based on iron and |
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| | | including carbon (coal). |
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| | | Note ¹: *These ores are provided by Minetest Game. See [Ores](https://wiki.minetest.net/Ores#Ores_overview) for a rough overview* |
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| | | |
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| | | Copper is part of the basic Minetest game (having migrated there from |
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| | | moreores). It is found from elevation -16 downwards, but is more abundant |
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| | | from elevation -64 downwards. It is a common metal, used either on its |
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| | | own for its electrical conductivity, or as the base component of alloys. |
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| | | Note ²: *These ores are provided by moreores. TODO: Add reference link* |
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| | | |
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| | | #### Coal ¹ |
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| | | Use: Fuel, alloy as carbon |
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| | | |
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| | | Burning coal is a way to generate electrical power. Coal is also used, |
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| | | usually in dust form, as an ingredient in alloying recipes, wherever |
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| | | elemental carbon is required. |
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| | | |
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| | | #### Iron ¹ |
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| | | Use: multiple, mainly for alloys with carbon (coal). |
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| | | |
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| | | #### Copper ¹ |
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| | | Copper is a common metal, used either on its own for its electrical |
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| | | conductivity, or as the base component of alloys. |
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| | | Although common, it is very heavily used, and most of the time it will |
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| | | be the material that most limits your activity. |
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| | | |
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| | | Tin is part of the basic Minetest game (having migrated there from |
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| | | moreores). It is found from elevation +8 downwards, with no |
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| | | elevation-dependent variations in abundance beyond that point. |
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| | | It is a common metal. Its main use in pure form is as a component |
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| | | of electrical batteries. Apart from that its main purpose is |
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| | | as the secondary ingredient in bronze (the base being copper), but bronze |
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| | | is itself little used. Its abundance is well in excess of its usage, |
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| | | so you will usually have a surplus of it. |
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| | | #### Tin ¹ |
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| | | Use: batteries, bronze |
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| | | |
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| | | Zinc is supplied by technic. It is found from elevation +2 downwards, |
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| | | with no elevation-dependent variations in abundance beyond that point. |
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| | | It is a common metal. Its main use is as the secondary ingredient |
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| | | in brass (the base being copper), but brass is itself little used. |
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| | | Its abundance is well in excess of its usage, so you will usually have |
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| | | a surplus of it. |
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| | | Tin is a common metal but is used rarely. Its abundance is well in excess |
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| | | of its usage, so you will usually have a surplus of it. |
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| | | |
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| | | Chromium is supplied by technic. It is found from elevation -100 |
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| | | downwards, with no elevation-dependent variations in abundance beyond |
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| | | that point. It is a moderately common metal. Its main use is as the |
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| | | secondary ingredient in stainless steel (the base being iron). |
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| | | #### Zinc |
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| | | Use: brass |
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| | | |
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| | | Uranium is supplied by technic. It is found only from elevation -80 down |
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| | | to -300; using it therefore requires one to mine above elevation -300 even |
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| | | though deeper mining is otherwise more productive. It is a moderately |
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| | | common metal, useful only for reasons related to radioactivity: it forms |
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| | | the fuel for nuclear reactors, and is also one of the best radiation |
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| | | shielding materials available. It is not difficult to find enough uranium |
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| | | ore to satisfy these uses. Beware that the ore is slightly radioactive: |
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| | | it will slightly harm you if you stand as close as possible to it. |
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| | | It is safe when more than a meter away or when mined. |
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| | | Depth: 2m, more commonly below -32m |
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| | | |
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| | | Silver is supplied by the moreores mod. It is found from elevation -2 |
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| | | downwards, with no elevation-dependent variations in abundance beyond |
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| | | that point. It is a semi-precious metal. It is little used, being most |
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| | | notably used in electrical items due to its conductivity, being the best |
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| | | conductor of all the pure elements. |
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| | | Zinc only has a few uses but is a common metal. |
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| | | |
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| | | Gold is part of the basic Minetest game (having migrated there from |
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| | | moreores). It is found from elevation -64 downwards, but is more |
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| | | abundant from elevation -256 downwards. It is a precious metal. It is |
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| | | little used, being most notably used in electrical items due to its |
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| | | combination of good conductivity (third best of all the pure elements) |
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| | | and corrosion resistance. |
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| | | #### Chromium |
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| | | Use: stainless steel |
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| | | |
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| | | Mithril is supplied by the moreores mod. It is found from elevation |
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| | | -512 downwards, the deepest ceiling of any minable substance, with |
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| | | no elevation-dependent variations in abundance beyond that point. |
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| | | It is a rare precious metal, and unlike all the other metals described |
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| | | here it is entirely fictional, being derived from J. R. R. Tolkien's |
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| | | Depth: -100m, more commonly below -200m |
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| | | |
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| | | #### Uranium |
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| | | Use: nuclear reactor fuel |
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| | | |
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| | | Depth: -80m until -300m, more commonly between -100m and -200m |
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| | | It is a moderately common metal, useful only for reasons related to radioactivity: |
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| | | it forms the fuel for nuclear reactors, and is also one of the best radiation |
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| | | shielding materials available. |
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| | | |
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| | | Keep a safety distance of a meter to avoid being harmed by radiation. |
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| | | |
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| | | #### Silver ² |
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| | | Use: conductors |
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| | | |
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| | | Depth: -2m, evenly common |
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| | | |
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| | | Silver is a semi-precious metal and is the best conductor of all the pure elements. |
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| | | |
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| | | #### Gold ¹ |
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| | | Use: various |
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| | | Depth: -64m, more commonly below -256m |
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| | | |
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| | | Gold is a precious metal. It is most notably used in electrical items due to |
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| | | its combination of good conductivity and corrosion resistance. |
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| | | |
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| | | #### Mithril ² |
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| | | Use: chests |
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| | | Depth: -512m, evenly common |
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| | | Mithril is a fictional ore, being derived from J. R. R. Tolkien's |
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| | | Middle-Earth setting. It is little used. |
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| | | |
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| | | Mese is part of the basic Minetest game. It is found from elevation |
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| | | -64 downwards. The ore is more abundant from elevation -256 downwards, |
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| | | and from elevation -1024 downwards there are also occasional blocks of |
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| | | solid mese (each yielding as much mese as nine blocks of ore). It is a |
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| | | precious gemstone, and unlike diamond it is entirely fictional. It is |
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| | | used in many recipes, though mainly not in large quantities, wherever |
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| | | some magical quality needs to be imparted. |
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| | | #### Mese ¹ |
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| | | Use: various |
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| | | Diamond is part of the basic Minetest game (having migrated there from |
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| | | technic). It is found from elevation -128 downwards, but is more abundant |
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| | | from elevation -256 downwards. It is a precious gemstone. It is used |
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| | | moderately, mainly for reasons connected to its extreme hardness. |
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| | | Mese is a precious gemstone, and unlike diamond it is entirely fictional. |
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| | | It is used in small quantities, wherever some magic needs to be imparted. |
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| | | |
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| | | ### rock ### |
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| | | #### Diamond ¹ |
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| | | Use: mainly for cutting machines |
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| | | In addition to the ores, there are multiple kinds of rock that need to be |
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| | | mined in their own right, rather than for minerals. The rock types that |
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| | | matter in technic are standard stone, desert stone, marble, and granite. |
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| | | Diamond is a precious gemstone. It is used moderately, mainly for reasons |
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| | | connected to its extreme hardness. |
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| | | |
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| | | Standard stone is part of the basic Minetest game. It is extremely |
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| | | common. As in the basic game, when dug it yields cobblestone, which can |
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| | | be cooked to turn it back into standard stone. Cobblestone is used in |
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| | | recipes only for some relatively primitive machines. Standard stone is |
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| | | used in a couple of machine recipes. These rock types gain additional |
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| | | significance with technic because the grinder can be used to turn them |
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| | | into dirt and sand. This, especially when combined with an automated |
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| | | cobblestone generator, can be an easier way to acquire sand than |
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| | | collecting it where it occurs naturally. |
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| | | ### Rocks |
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| | | |
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| | | Desert stone is part of the basic Minetest game. It is found specifically |
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| | | in desert biomes, and only from elevation +2 upwards. Although it is |
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| | | easily accessible, therefore, its quantity is ultimately quite limited. |
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| | | It is used in a few recipes. |
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| | | This section describes the rock types added by technic. Further rock types |
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| | | are supported by technic machines. These can be processed using the grinder: |
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| | | |
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| | | Marble is supplied by technic. It is found in dense clusters from |
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| | | elevation -50 downwards. It has mainly decorative use, but also appears |
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| | | in one machine recipe. |
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| | | * Stone (plain) |
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| | | * Cobblestone |
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| | | * Desert Stone |
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| | | |
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| | | Granite is supplied by technic. It is found in dense clusters from |
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| | | elevation -150 downwards. It is much harder to dig than standard stone, |
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| | | so impedes mining when it is encountered. It has mainly decorative use, |
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| | | but also appears in a couple of machine recipes. |
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| | | #### Marble |
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| | | Depth: -50m, evenly common |
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| | | |
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| | | ### rubber ### |
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| | | Marble is found in dense clusters and has mainly decorative use, but also |
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| | | appears in one machine recipe. |
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| | | |
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| | | #### Granite |
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| | | Depth: -150m, evenly common |
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| | | Granite is found in dense clusters and is much harder to dig than standard |
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| | | stone. It has mainly decorative use, but also appears in a couple of |
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| | | machine recipes. |
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| | | |
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| | | ### Rubber |
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| | | Rubber is a biologically-derived material that has industrial uses due |
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| | | to its electrical resistivity and its impermeability. In technic, it |
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| | | is used in a few recipes, and it must be acquired by tapping rubber trees. |
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| | | |
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| | | If you have the moretrees mod installed, the rubber trees you need |
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| | | are those defined by that mod. If not, technic supplies a copy of the |
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| | | moretrees rubber tree. |
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| | | Rubber trees are provided by technic if the moretrees mod is not present. |
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| | | |
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| | | Extracting rubber requires a specific tool, a tree tap. Using the tree |
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| | | tap (by left-clicking) on a rubber tree trunk block extracts a lump of |
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| | | raw latex from the trunk. Each trunk block can be repeatedly tapped for |
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| | | latex, at intervals of several minutes; its appearance changes to show |
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| | | whether it is currently ripe for tapping. Each tree has several trunk |
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| | | blocks, so several latex lumps can be extracted from a tree in one visit. |
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| | | Extract raw latex from rubber using the "Tree Tap" tool. Punch/left-click the |
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| | | tool on a rubber tree trunk to extract a lump of raw latex from the trunk. |
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| | | Emptied trunks will regenerate at intervals of several minutes, which can be |
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| | | observed by its appearance. |
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| | | |
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| | | Raw latex isn't used directly. It must be vulcanized to produce finished |
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| | | rubber. This can be performed by alloying the latex with coal dust. |
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| | | To obtain rubber from latex, alloy latex with coal dust. |
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| | | |
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| | | ### metal ### |
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| | | ### Metals |
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| | | Generally, each metal can exist in five forms: |
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| | | |
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| | | Many of the substances important in technic are metals, and there is |
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| | | a common pattern in how metals are handled. Generally, each metal can |
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| | | exist in five forms: ore, lump, dust, ingot, and block. With a couple of |
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| | | tricky exceptions in mods outside technic, metals are only *used* in dust, |
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| | | ingot, and block forms. Metals can be readily converted between these |
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| | | three forms, but can't be converted from them back to ore or lump forms. |
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| | | * ore -> stone containing the lump |
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| | | * lump -> draw metal obtained by digging ("nuggets") |
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| | | * dust -> grinder output |
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| | | * ingot -> melted/cooked lump or dust |
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| | | * block -> placeable node |
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| | | |
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| | | As in the basic Minetest game, a "lump" of metal is acquired directly by |
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| | | digging ore, and will then be processed into some other form for use. |
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| | | A lump is thus more akin to ore than to refined metal. (In real life, |
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| | | metal ore rarely yields lumps ("nuggets") of pure metal directly. |
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| | | More often the desired metal is chemically bound into the rock as an |
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| | | oxide or some other compound, and the ore must be chemically processed |
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| | | to yield pure metal.) |
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| | | Metals can be converted between dust, ingot and block, but can't be converted |
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| | | from them back to ore or lump forms. |
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| | | |
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| | | Not all metals occur directly as ore. Generally, elemental metals (those |
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| | | consisting of a single chemical element) occur as ore, and alloys (those |
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| | | consisting of a mixture of multiple elements) do not. In fact, if the |
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| | | fictional mithril is taken to be elemental, this pattern is currently |
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| | | followed perfectly. (It is not clear in the Middle-Earth setting whether |
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| | | mithril is elemental or an alloy.) This might change in the future: |
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| | | in real life some alloys do occur as ore, and some elemental metals |
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| | | rarely occur naturally outside such alloys. Metals that do not occur |
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| | | as ore also lack the "lump" form. |
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| | | #### Grinding |
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| | | Ores can be processed as follows: |
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| | | |
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| | | The basic Minetest game offers a single way to refine metals: cook a lump |
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| | | in a furnace to produce an ingot. With technic this refinement method |
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| | | still exists, but is rarely used outside the early part of the game, |
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| | | because technic offers a more efficient method once some machines have |
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| | | been built. The grinder, available only in electrically-powered forms, |
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| | | can grind a metal lump into two piles of metal dust. Each dust pile |
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| | | can then be cooked into an ingot, yielding two ingots from one lump. |
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| | | This doubling of material value means that you should only cook a lump |
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| | | directly when you have no choice, mainly early in the game when you |
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| | | haven't yet built a grinder. |
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| | | * ore -> lump (digging) -> ingot (melting) |
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| | | * ore -> lump (digging) -> 2x dust (grinding) -> 2x ingot (melting) |
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| | | |
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| | | An ingot can also be ground back to (one pile of) dust. Thus it is always |
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| | | possible to convert metal between ingot and dust forms, at the expense |
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| | | of some energy consumption. Nine ingots of a metal can be crafted into |
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| | | a block, which can be used for building. The block can also be crafted |
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| | | back to nine ingots. Thus it is possible to freely convert metal between |
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| | | ingot and block forms, which is convenient to store the metal compactly. |
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| | | Every metal has dust, ingot, and block forms. |
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| | | At the expense of some energy consumption, the grinder can extract more material |
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| | | from the lump, resulting in 2x dust which can be melted to two ingots in total. |
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| | | |
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| | | #### Alloying |
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| | | Alloying recipes in which a metal is the base ingredient, to produce a |
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| | | metal alloy, always come in two forms, using the metal either as dust |
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| | | or as an ingot. If the secondary ingredient is also a metal, it must |
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| | | be supplied in the same form as the base ingredient. The output alloy |
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| | | is also returned in the same form. For example, brass can be produced |
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| | | by alloying two copper ingots with one zinc ingot to make three brass |
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| | | ingots, or by alloying two piles of copper dust with one pile of zinc |
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| | | dust to make three piles of brass dust. The two ways of alloying produce |
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| | | equivalent results. |
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| | | is also returned in the same form. |
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| | | |
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| | | Example: 2x copper ingots + zinc ingot -> 3x brass ingot (alloying) |
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| | | |
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| | | The same will also work for dust ingredients, resulting in brass dist. |
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| | | |
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| | | ### iron and its alloys ### |
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| | | |
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