Do you support the suggested additions? (read topic before voting, please) 22
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Yes (7) 32%
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No (12) 55%
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Maybe (3) 14%
Poll ends on Jan 19th 2038, 3:14 am
It seems odd how an average minecraft Steve can know everything about circuitry, electricity/magnetism, quantum mechanics, nuclear engineering, etc., and be able to construct any device at any time, given the right resources. So, I have an idea to suggest - the Research and Development system.
The concept is that the player can take a part, material, item, etc., and investigate it at a research table. Notes are taken on paper, and once the research is complete and the notes make sense, the player can take those notes over to a development table. At the development table, several research note papers are used (NOT consumed) to construct a "blueprint" for a machine/part/item. This blueprint is then taken to a Worktable, where the blueprint is inserted into a slot, and the necessary materials in other slots, and the materials consumed to make a device/part/item.
First, the research table. Its GUI would be relatively simple, with a slot for Paper, a slot for Ink Sacs, a slots for materials/parts/items/devices, a slot for finished notes, and a display for whatever cool effects could be added. Under the items slots row for the item(s) to be inspected, would be a button saying "inspect" or something like that.
Usage is pretty straightforward. Items are input into the slots, paper in another, etc., and the button is pressed to inspect the items and/or observe what happens with them. For example, putting Magnetite and a bar of iron into the slots, would be observable for part of, if not the entire, concept of magnetism. After the first inspection is made for a set of notes, there is produced incomplete notes, which are to be left in the Working Notes slot, or can be removed and put back in that slot later. Those notes are worked on with multiple observations, and when complete, will produce "finished notes" that can be removed from the table. Items are not consumed, except for paper and ink, one of which is consumed for a single incomplete notes-page the first time it is made, and never again throughout the progression of the research.
The development table is even simpler. Research Notes are loaded into its storage, which can hold lots of them. Then, Notes are taken from the storage and put in special slots. When there is a special combination in the slots, that is something a person would logically think of, a blueprint can be created for a machine/item/etc. that uses those concepts.
Some notes can be read to create master notes, which function just like notes, but represent a concept of two or more note-papers. For example, one might use the notes for metal, frames, etc. and the notes for electricity/magnetism to create the master notes for the block-machine concept.
The worktable is also pretty simple. At the bottom is a grid, about the size of a single-chest. This is where materials/items are loaded. At the top is a slot for some blueprints, and some slots for basic tools, like a saw, hammer/mallet, screwdriver, pliers, etc., which are damaged slightly each time something is made from a blueprint that requires them. Blueprints can be held and right-clicked for the player to see what they create, a sketch of what it looks like, some weird blueprinty-stuff under that, and off to the right, a list of stuff needed to make it, which is bolded to make it easy to find. Once the needed materials are input into the worktable, the player can craft the item/machine/whatever. Resources are consumed, tools are used, and the product is gained in the hands of the crafter.
Of course, sometimes the user might happen upon a device, item, or other piece of technology ahead of their current state. This is where a new table is useful: the Reverse-Engineering table. At this table, there are slots for research stuff like the research table, and slots for tools. A piece of technology is put into a slot, and can be dismantled into smaller pieces if possible. These pieces can be researched to learn concepts and put them on research notes. Of course, it is likely that a player may happen to find only a pert/device that can not really be dismantled without ruining the concept, so they would be able to be inspected without having to be dismantled.
After some time, the player might not want to use the old worktable and its constant need of new tools. So, there could be created a machine, that uses permanently-installed electric variants of the tools needed, to change input materials into the machine/item/whatever on given blueprints - the Assembly Machine. This machine automatically assembles a product when the needed energy/resources are available, and only does so if blueprints for something are given, because else it doesn't know what to do. It can also be automated further, with a system to input resources and extract the product, but this may be only practical for multiplayer and/or solar-spammers/RTG-spammers. It also takes time to manufacture a product, about as long as a single macerator cycle.
This would make more sense, as a player would have to research before they can build something. This would also make machines less OP, as they would be a little harder to make. Some machines would be very difficult to make, so in a multiplayer environment, one could make lots of profit selling their research or products of that research. There could even be implemented a Notebook, for holding notes pages, and those could be compatible with BiblioCraft bookshelves, which would look awesome in a library.
Of course, this is a suggestion, so you can reply with your thoughts, and it is best if you do, so that we have a good idea of what people want. It would be even better if you were to vote on the poll, as this keeps the developers from having to read all of the replies. Thank you for your consideration.