How (un)stable current version of IC2 is?

1st Official Post

    <disclaimer>This post is not a question about release date, nor a complaint nor anything similar. Don't read more into it that is written below.</disclaimer>


    I would really like to start a new world with MC 1.5.1. All my favorite mods are out, except for IC2. But I was thinking, I could use the current-in-development version just as a placeholder, so it generates all it's ores, claims it's blocks and items ids etc. So when a stable (or beta or whatever playable) version comes out, I just substitute and go on playing.


    So, my question is: how stable is the mod as long as I don't actually use any mod-specific items? Just gather the ores (and lots and lots of lava, hehe), build the house and do some other boring things to prepare a nice map for me to play?


    (I'm also thinking about adding GregTech. Used to play it, then got annoyed by constant changes, but maybe I should try it again? The same question goes.)


    And please, spare me the suggestions about tools that can prune chunks, so they regenerate with new ores. I know they exists. I don't like to use them. If I dig a tunnel, I want it to stay there :P

    • Official Post

    Gregtech is much more stable then IC2, but i would wait a bit for IC2 to become.. uh... More stable :P

    i don't know if it's just me, but at the moment all the textures for the blocks are missing (except for the personal safe. I haven't tested useabilit. all I know is that the 4x HV cable works and the night vision goggles don't, all of the items and the boats work though (except for above mention)

    I'm going to say stable enough that you can be sure that it won't utterly destroy your world, but you might want to wait a bit longer ;)

    I've been experiencing various problems with updates since around build 294. I've actually pulled IC2 and all it's addons until things are better. Hopefully things stabilize soon.

    Around build 289 or so they started making compatibility-breaking changes to the API. Using a more-recent version of IC2, with a mod that includes the old API, will lead to problems ... and using a older version of IC2 with a mod that uses the updated API will probably lead to problems too.


    Aside from that, your initial premise - include IC2 in the world, but not interact with it aside from worldgen, and *maybe* harvesting ores - seems sound to me. That's what I did, personally - for a long time in 1.5.1, IC2 was just for worldgen. I've since started using many more of the features (each slowly tested, with world backups in advance for when things break horribly) - though I still avoid some of the more classically dangerous areas (crops, nuclear reactors) since something being stable in Build Y does not mean it will be stable in Build Y+1.


    For the mods I use, most managed to update their IC2 APIs within a couple days, so that problem didn't last long for me personally. ymmv.


    If you just want worldgen, you might want to largely pick one version of IC2 that seems to work for you and mostly just stick with it until you want to start messing with IC2's actual content. That way, you don't need to cautiously re-approach each new release, when you're not interacting with it. But once you do start using the actual content, then staying updated becomes much more important - but you do need to pay attention to the changelogs, and consider whether the changes mentioned seem more likely to fix things or (in the short term) break things.


    Since you're on a server, you need to make sure everyone's on the same page about this, though - if *you* know no to mess with X system, but one guy is going to brazenly go after it anyway, that could lead to a lot of problems. And it needs to be clear that when problems do come up (for whatever reason), its largely up to you all to manage and deal with them on your own - support here is going to pretty much be limited to hoping for a kind samaritan in the stickied 1.4.7 beta thread.

    Of course, I post that, then run into Forestry needing a more up-to-date copy of IC2 in order to recognize its presence ... and then the updated IC2 brings back the ClassNotFound ic2.api.core.item.ElectricItem NEI crash :p


    So it just re-emphasizes that it works, but it takes more active involvement on your part to keep it working.

    Same, last time I tried I keep getting crashes (besides no textures being rendered). This is the only mod that I'm waiting to get started playing on 1.5.1

    Thank you all for answers. It seems, if I want to try, I have to be careful. And patient. Luckily, I am :D


    The server thing is not an issue - it's only for my family and they know not to mess with something when I say they shouldn't. And we don't actually have a server - one of us is just hosting the local game.


    (I was thinking about installing a server, I even have some spare parts that only need a case to became an actual computer, but I was always too lazy to do that. Since the local thing is working... ;) )

    Us redpower-using admins still have to wait another 2-3 weeks for eloraam. If I updated my server and dropped redpower, we would have some mad members. I am already having to drop the "New map" bomb on them.