My Modded Play Diary
Day 103
I tried to make an auto-fisher. I'm usually intimidated by auto-farm setups and redstone, so this was a way to get out of my comfort zone. Unfortunately, it didn't work. I don't know if it's a mod causing it or what, but holding down right click didn't cause me to continually recast the rod, no matter where I aimed. Oh well.
Instead, I've set up this Water Strainer. It requires bait, so it's a bit more balanced than a vanilla auto-farm, but it will over time produce fishing loot for me, outputting into that chest below.
Day 108
Getting logs manually was a pain, so I made a Forestry multifarm! It'll automatically plant saplings and chop trees. It runs on solar power, and a Thermal Expansion Aqueous Accumulator provides hydration. All I have to do is supply the farm with dirt and fertilizer!
There are actually other methods of tree farming in this pack, but they're a ways off. Glad I at least have a steady supply of wood for now.
Day 111
I have a helper! Her name is Cecilia, and she's from the LittleMaid mod. After befriending her with a piece of cake, she agreed to work for me. She can do all sorts of things, depending on what items I give her, but for now her duty will be shearing the sheep. She gets paid in sugar, so I'll have to be sure I'm producing plenty--maybe I'll set up a farm for that.
(Is this a weeb mod? Oh yeah. But look how cute she is!)
Day 114
The farm does have one small snag. Those spruce trees grow tall and thick, and their leaves can end up blocking the solar panels. I may have to relocate them a ways from the farm itself, and run fluxducts to the power input. But other than that, things are going great.
In fact, the farm's been so successful that I already have nearly a double-chest's worth of wood! So I decided to feed the excess into an automatic charcoal generator, which I built following this tutorial. I have future plans to make use of the fuel.
Day 124
I've been busy these past few days getting into Botania.
Depending on who you ask, Botania is either a magic or a tech mod about manipulating a substance called Mana.
Mana can be generated in a variety of ways. I'm using the charcoal generated by my farming setup to feed a group of Endoflame flowers, which burn the fuel to make Mana, which is then fed into a series of pools.
There's lots of things I can do and make with Mana, but the first thing I wanted to make is a Rod of the Skies. This staff, with a little bit of mana, can send me flying up high into the air.
Next, I made a hang glider from the OpenBlocks mod. By combining these two items, I can glide over long distances!
This will help a lot for exploration, especially in places like the Nether.
Day 126
I found a village! Right next to a big scary Chocolate Quest castle, but it seems safe enough. The village has a Waystone, and I've already got one set up at my base, so getting back and forth will be easy. Found a few good trades already, so this will be a great source of emeralds.
Day 133
I've just been puttering away. During the day, my Forestry bees are at work in their hives, and I'm slowly amassing a supply of drones for future breeding. Meanwhile, I've been filling my crop fields with plants from the Sakura mod, which adds Japanese foods, decorations and more.
At night, I head out into the darkness and hunt Endermen. Those pearls are always in short supply early game. It'll take me a while to get a sufficient supply for all my vanilla and modded needs.
Day 147
The Apotheosis mod lets me pick up mob spawners with silk touch. So I nabbed one of the skeleton spawners I found while mining and made a farm (following this tutorial).
I know it's not much to look at, but this is one of those vanilla farms that I've never actually made before. I'm pleased to see it working well. Lots of experience and bonemeal for me.
Day 154
I've been getting good use out of my mob farm. With the experience gained, I've been upgrading my abilities with the Improvable Skills mod. For now, I'm pumping up my melee attack skill, so I can do more damage. Each level takes more experience, though; the higher levels will take either take a long time or a more efficient experience farm.
And while I've been gaining levels, my bees have been hard at work! I finally managed to mutate a Common bee. This is a small step, but it's the first new species on my long bee journey! Eventually, I'll have access to easier ways of mutating bees, but for now, I just want as many types as possible.
Day 167
I built a wizard tower! This is where I'll study Thaumcraft. I've never gotten very deep into that mod, partly because I've heard stories of the damage it can cause when used carelessly. But this time, I'll be diving in! Just, a little ways away from my main base. Convieniently, there's a magical forest here, which will be the perfect environment for my thaumaturgical studies.
Day 167
Made a little pavilion for my Botania setup. It's not a big build, but I'm trying to get out of a bad habit I think a lot of modded players suffer from of just strewing things around in the grass outside the base. Even small themed builds make the place look a lot more lived-in. And I can always add details and decor later.
Day 177
I'm a thaumaturge!
I'm slowly unlocking more of my Thaumonomicon. The research has been cool so far, and it's fun reading each new entry. From what I understand, Thaumcraft really pioneered the in-game manual. It's always a struggle between a usuable mod guide and a flavorful one-- on the one hand, a lot of documentation written by programmers ends up really dry. A bit of flavor can add a lot of immersion! On the other hand, if a mod manual is so flowery I have to tab out and read a wiki to understand the mechanics, the effect is lost. So far, Thaumcraft is striking a good balance.
I'm a little worried about those purple clouds that come out of my crucible, though...
Day 187
After days of throwing myself into thaumaturgy, I decided it was time for a change of pace.
The Angel of Vengeance mod adds several skill trees for RPG-like classes, from healers, to casters, to paladins and druids. The classes complement each other and have a lot of party-based utility. Since I'm on my own, though, I decided to take the Cleric class. Being able to heal myself is always handy.
For now, all I have access to is a Cure Light Wounds spell, which I can cast 11 times per day-- my spell stocks recharge when I rest. As I level up, I'll gain access to better healing. I can reset my skill tree and even class selection, at the cost of all progress I've currently made.
I have a feeling I'm going to need some of that healing, soon...
Day 187
Welp, I put it off for nearly 200 days, but I'm starting to really need those Nether materials. I'm pretty nervous. This is pre-Nether update, but I happen to know there's some pretty nasty modded mobs in this pack. Here's hoping I don't get a terrible spawn...!
Day 190
I've been to the Nether and came back alive. My first priority on entering was to construct a small building around my portal. It's nothing more than a brick cube, but it'll keep me and the portal safe from ghasts and the like. Eventually, I intend to build a proper Nether base.
So far, so good. There's quartz and glowstone nearby. I fought some nasties and got some loot. Best of all, there's a Nether fortress not far away! I'll need to explore that later.
Day 198
I've been making a basement for my Thaumcraft tower. This will be my essentia smeltery and infusion room! Hope to do lots of mad wizard science in here.
Day 200
I've made a lot of progress in the past hundred days, from making several types of farms, to diving deeper into mods, to finally reaching the Nether. There's so much more to explore; in the next hundred days, I hope to venture into some of the other strange and exciting new worlds in this pack. The journey continues!