[Tutorial] First mining run checklist & build steps

1st Official Post

    If you're like me, you want to make exactly one mining trip in to the depths of the underworld and then be done with it. You want to know exactly what to build, and what you need to build it the first time while wasting as little as possible.

    Based on recent forum discussions and undocumented redstone powering of machines, this is my optimal list of required items to get started (after you have, you know, shelter, food, and a place to store all this crap). It ignores food, ladders/platforms and fuel for furnaces, but lists exactly where you should switch over to the proper methods of doing things. There are some extras, but this is what I want to /start/ with (and dropping the electronic furnace only saves you 5 iron ore and nothing else you'd be scarce on)

    Edit:
    I've also uploaded a video form of this:
    http://youtu.be/GSEmKdRODss Episode 1.1 - the first machines
    http://youtu.be/UalrpoTHfzo Episode 1.2 - tier 1 completed


    (iron quoted instead of refined iron glitch still present, does not effect mining need totals.)
    Since I'll be a few more hours without being able to upload stuff, here's the table of directions and the totals the formula reached, in CSV format (copy, paste, save as file.csv use in the spreadsheet of your choice).

    http://mproj.net/img/ic2-startup.xls :: XLS link version now uploaded.

    http://pastebin.com/uDF0CSnn (save the file as something.csv not using *.txt mode)

    or

    Display Spoiler


    Resource use log,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    ,Copper,Tin,Iron,Refined Iron,Redstone Dust,Sticky Resin,Rubber,Iron Ore,Tin Ore,Copper Ore,Gold (dust),Flint,Coal
    15 Iron,,,,,,,,15,,,,,
    6 Copper,,,,,,,,,,6,,,
    1 Bucket,,,3,,,,,,,,,,
    1 Iron Pick,,,3,,,,,,,,,,
    14 Rubber,,,,,,14,,,,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Machine Block,,,,8,,,,*,,,,,
    Electronic Circuit,3,,,1,2,*,6,*,,*,,,
    1 Macerator,,,,,,,,,,,,3,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Coal Dust (Hydrate this),,,,,1,,,,,,,,1
    2 InsCu wire + 4 Copper Wire,3,,,,,*,2,,,*,,,
    8 Single Use Battery,,,,,1,,,,,,,,
    ,"Now you macerate everything for your generator (you have 8000 eU and <= 10 operations (6500), it's a no-brainer)",,,,,,,,,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Reusable Battery,*,4,,,2,,,,2,,,,
    Generator (Iron Furnace method),,,5,3,,,,4,,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Optional: Upgrade to Windgen,,,4,,,,,2,,,,,
    Optional: Windgen tin cable,,3,,,,,,,1.5,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Electronic Circuit,3,,,1,2,*,6,0.5,,1.5,,,
    Machine Block,,,8,,,,,4,,,,,
    Extractor,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    ,Now you extract all your rubber,,,,,14,,,,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Electronic Circuit,3,,,1,2,2,6,0.5,,1.5,,,
    Iron Furnace,,,5,,,,,4,,,,,
    Electronic Furnace,,,,,2,,,,,,,,
    ,Better cooking (you might still want to use your charcoal for cooking if you built a windgen),,,,,,,,,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    2 Electronic Circuit,6,,,2,4,4,12,1,,3,,,
    Machine Block,,,,8,,,,4,,,,,
    72 = 9 * 8 Pipe,,,,54,,,,27,,,,,
    Miner,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Electronic Circuit,3,,,1,2,2,6,0.5,,1.5,,,
    Reusable Battery,*,4,,,2,*,1,,2,,,,
    Mining Drill (won't do obsidian),,,,5,,,,,,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    1 Glowstone,,,,,5,,,,,,4,,
    Reusable Battery,*,4,,,2,*,1,,2,,,,
    2 Electronic Circuit,6,,,2,4,4,12,1,,3,,,
    ,At this point you have one uninsulated copper wire left (at max) and must make more... that's factored in next,,,,,,,,,,,,
    OD Scanner,3,,,,,1,3,,,1.5,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Electronic Circuit,3,,,1,2,2,6,0.5,,1.5,,,
    Machine Block,,,,8,,,,4,,,,,
    16 Cells (4 for recipe),,4,,,,,,,2,,,,
    Pump (also uses 2 drill pipe),,,,,,,,,,,,,
    ,At this point you can risk a mining operation if you don't have sufficient resources to build the last pieces of equipment.,,,,,,,,,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    6 Bronze,*,*,,,,,,,1.5,4.5,,,
    Electronic Circuit,3,,,1,2,2,6,0.5,,1.5,,,
    Reusable Battery,*,4,,,2,*,1,,2,,,,
    Electric Wrench,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Reusable Battery,*,4,,,2,*,1,,2,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    ,,,,,Redstone dust,,Sticky Resin (can be equivilent value in other sources if > G7's number),Iron Ore,Tin Ore,Copper Ore,Gold Ore,Flint,Coal
    Initial mining goal:,,,,,39,,37,69,15,26,2,3,1
    ,Redstone dust MIGHT be traded for more iron; but the total is already quite high and iron isn't that abundant. Eat it up and go find more redstone in the depths.,,,,,,,,,,,,

    If you 'download' the linked file from pastebin (copy and paste from the spoiler in to a text file should work too provided...) and save as a *.* type .csv file (manual extension) then Excel 2010 knows how to open it and recover everything but the formulas.

    Quote from MJEvans

    If you 'download' the linked file from pastebin (copy and paste from the spoiler in to a text file should work too provided...) and save as a *.* type .csv file (manual extension) then Excel 2010 knows how to open it and recover everything but the formulas.


    any chance of an xls or other spreadsheet format? LibreOffice mangles the heck out of it upon import.

    Quote from MJEvans

    If you 'download' the linked file from pastebin (copy and paste from the spoiler in to a text file should work too provided...) and save as a *.* type .csv file (manual extension) then Excel 2010 knows how to open it and recover everything but the formulas.

    I did 'download' it and renamed that way. I did try xls, it throws invalid format error.
    Edit: not actually renamed but "saved as"

    It's not an .xls though, it's a .csv ; of course if you use the wrong extension excel will assume it's the wrong file (it doesn't, after all, check to see if it fits other formats; why on earth would software try to do that ~.~)

    Quote from MJEvans

    It's not an .xls though, it's a .csv ; of course if you use the wrong extension excel will assume it's the wrong file (it doesn't, after all, check to see if it fits other formats; why on earth would software try to do that ~.~)


    except right now it's basically unusable. The popular free tool (LibreOffice) out there renders the thing unreadable.

    Is it /really/ that hard to import a comma separated spreadsheet and tweak the cell size to your liking?

    I spent the end of my lunch hour encoding this as base64, pastebinning that, downloading it, and converting it back. A lot of pain to avoid setting up access permissions to my private webspace while at work.

    http://mproj.net/img/ic2-startup.xls

    Actually csv is a "standard" format. It's quite commonly used as a data-exchange format for tabular data. 'xls' is a very crappy common (non-standard since there are so many versions and possible hitches) file format.

    • Official Post
    Quote from FnordMan


    except csv doesn't work well with some things. Like the file up there. Ever tried to import it? Snag a copy of Libreoffice and import the thing, it's utterly useless and *very* unreadable.
    Now either go away or post something useful.

    Hey now, I very much agree with MJEvans, .csv is a common format, and just because you can't open it with free software, doesn't mean you need to post comments like that. It works fine with Microsoft Office, and I would bet you money that OpenOffice can open it fine too. Either way he did a good job to help out new people, I took a look at it (fyi importing it took no time at all and was flawless) and its a pretty good tutorial, really sums up the materials required to get your industrial world started, so quit being a "IT DONT WRK, THIS SUX" kinda person, and just shut up if you don't have something helpful to say.

    [/rage]

    Lesson 1: Watch over your crops....

    Display Spoiler
    Quote from quantumleaf7895


    In my world, I downloaded the new IC2 version, got up a whole bunch of crossbreeders going, and thought to myself "This is going to take a while. Wasn't there an abandoned mineshaft not far from my workshop?" So I get my tools together, charge into the mineshaft, suffer many close shaves, stayed a bit longer than is probably healthy, but emerge from the experience all the wiser (literally, I gained several levels), and with oodles of melon and pumpkins seeds to boot.

    And come home to find out that weeds have destroyed my entire farm. :cursing:

    Quote from alexthesax

    [, and I would bet you money that OpenOffice can open it fine too.


    Tried it? thought not. OpenOffice is officially dead, LibreOffice is the one that's being updated now. Like I said, *horribly* broken upon import.

    also: LibreOffice is *vastly* popular so don't just discount it for being "Free software"

    Ok, Libre office 3.3.0

    Started Calc, went to open the file. It defaults to the text import process; it wants to try separated by tab and comma (comma is correct, tab shouldn't hurt here).

    Now, it does import it with the columns all a bit fat, however that is easily fixed with a few mouse-clicks. You might also complain about the headers being only at the top (you can fix that any way you like, from copy/paste to making the row a sticky header row). All of the really important information (the steps, and when you have material saving capabilities) are all on the left; that's even readable without converting the csv format. The totals are only clear in tabular form, and I did copy the column labels down for them.

    Geesh people, calm down. FWIW I downloaded the .csv on an Ubuntu machine and just let it open it with the default OpenOffice 3.0 taking the default CSV import options and the spreadsheet imported O.K. One or two columns needed resizing because they contained text notes and the columns had default sized to the width of the text comment. I don't have LibraOffice handy nor the time to install it right now just to test this, but if it imports wonky there, figure out why and post the import options to help the next guy.

    FYI, OpenOffice is not as much "dead" as renamed. Oracle gave the code to Apache so it is now called "Apache OpenOffice". I've not tried it but last I heard Apache was going to maintain it. Nothing wrong with LibraOffice either of course.

    If you want a clearer universal format you might try the Open Document Format. Any modern spreadsheet software should open that. It is XML but will probably compress by default so isn't something you can paste/copy unlike CSV.

    I started to read through this a little bit, got tired of reading complaint posts. So I went to the pastebin and downloaded it to *whateverthedefaultnameis*.csv, then I double clicked it and OpenOffice imported it fine, no errors at all. I did use optimal column width to make sure everything had enough space though.

    • Official Post

    Just noticed on here, that you can use 3 tin ore instead of 3 iron for the bucket.....

    EDIT: The extractor takes refined iron for the machine block, not just regular iron :)

    Lesson 1: Watch over your crops....

    Display Spoiler
    Quote from quantumleaf7895


    In my world, I downloaded the new IC2 version, got up a whole bunch of crossbreeders going, and thought to myself "This is going to take a while. Wasn't there an abandoned mineshaft not far from my workshop?" So I get my tools together, charge into the mineshaft, suffer many close shaves, stayed a bit longer than is probably healthy, but emerge from the experience all the wiser (literally, I gained several levels), and with oodles of melon and pumpkins seeds to boot.

    And come home to find out that weeds have destroyed my entire farm. :cursing:

    Good catch; though thankfully that just increases the number of cooking operations, not the total iron (there was a point where I wasn't tracking the difference; hence the error).