Q. How do the pads work?
A. You attach IC2 power into the bottom of a pad and then stand on top of it. If a pad has power, it'll emit an electrical field upwards that will recharge your items and armour. You can insert upgrade modules to alter pads' functionality, too (see below). You can also insert redstone dust or single-use batteries into the charging slot of pads as minor boosts to the energy, if away from a power cable, and the fission pads will even accept and process the various types of uranium cells (with a very slight chance of creating depleted cells).
- NOTE: Running a pad off uranium cells has associated risks (since it's powered by a small nuclear reactor). Ensure you use a wrench when moving the pad!
Q. How many different pads are there?
A. There are four (4), matching IC2's general tiering system, and they're named around technology you'll find in each tier (though the fission pad is more of an extension).
- Tier 1: Static Charge Pad
- Tier 2: Crystalizor Charge Pad
- Tier 3: Lapotronic Charge Pad
- Tier 3+: Fission Charge Pad
Q. What sort of upgrades can the pads use?
A. All four (4) pads can accept and use core IC2 upgrade modules, a new efficiency upgrade module and Crystalizor, Lapotronic and Fission pads can have their emitter projectors and fields upgraded via several different modules. Higher tier pads can accept more types of upgrade at once and you can only ever use one (1) projector module and one (1) field conversion module at most, per pad.
- Overclocker (16): increases overall charge rate but also increases energy consumption
- Efficiency (16): counteracts overclocker energy consumption plus minor charge ratio bonus
- Storage (16): increases maximum energy storage capability
- Transformer (4): improves how much EU/t can be handled as input (32 > 128 > 512 > ...)
- Drain: converts an emitter to drain items instead of charge them
- Damage: converts an emitter to cause damage to anything in the field
- Armour Priority: causes an emitter field to prioritise armour before held items
- Proximity: improves the projector, simultaneously recharging items beside the held item
- Wide-Band: improves the projector, simultaneously recharging every item on the hot-bar
-
Field Expander: improves the projector range, charging things further from the pad
- NOTE: Damage and Drain emitter modules can be turned off via system configuration (in the /config folder)
Q. I have lower tier pads and want to upgrade. How can I do that?
A. There are three (3) kits that can upgrade LV, MV and HV pads into the next better. The first is the Crystalizor Upgrade Kit: it will upgrade a Static pad into a Crystalizor pad. The second is the Lapotronic Upgrade Kit - requiring a new MFS Upgrade - which will upgrade a Crystalizor pad into a Lapotronic pad. The third is the Fission Upgrade Kit: it will upgrade a Lapotronic pad into a Fission pad. You can either combine a pad and a kit in a crafting bench (as a shapeless recipe) or you can simply right-click a kit onto the power panel of a pad (the bottom) to upgrade it in-place!
- HINT: The pad will keep its existing power AND any items currently charging it!
- NOTE: Upgrading a pad that someone is using may give you a nasty shock! Be careful!
- NOTE: Upgrades can be used on any side via system configuration (in the /config folder)
- NOTE: Upgrade electrocution damage can be altered or turned off via configuration.
Q. Do pads actively require power?
A. Usually. Assuming you have power feeding into the bottom of the pad, it will not only receive that power but it will store it for later use, exactly the way a batbox, MFE or MFSU would (it's made from one, after all). Right-clicking on a pad will show its GUI, which allows you to view the current charge storage, the maximum safe input rate and manipulate upgrade modules.
- NOTE: There's no "Out" EU/t rating, as the pad only ever *accepts* power.
Q. Why does the pad run out of power when I'm not charging anything?
A. Creating an electrical field actually takes a small amount of power (it really is a very small amount) but if you're not hooked up to a constant source, you can actually use up the pad's personal storage, completely. At that point, the field will collapse.
- HINT: Open the GUI while you stand on an unpowered pad and you can see it trickle out!
- NOTE: Some upgrades cause the pad to consume more power per tick.
Q. Why can't I access the GUI of my pad? Or use a wrench on it?
A. If a pad has a drain or damage emitter conversion upgrade installed, then it also restricts access to the internals from anywhere other than the underside of the pad (where a power-cable enters it). This is to stop "enemies" from being able to quickly access and remove hostile emitter upgrades from a defensive pad before walking onto it (not to mention swiftly stealing your expensive modules!). In short: you need to activate/wrench the pad from underneath to access the pad and remove modules.
Q. Why doesn't my item/armour charge when I stand on the pad? Why does it lose charge?!
A. There are a few reasons this may happen:
- If there's no "electrical field" above the pad, it's not charging anything.
- Charge pads can only charge items of appropriate tier: your item's too high-tech!
- Normally, a pad will charge held items before starting on armour (this is reversed if an armour priority upgrade is installed, charging all armour before items)
- If the field looks yellow/orange then it has a drain module installed!
- If the field looks red, then it has a damage module installed!
Q. I have a <something> pad and it doesn't charge fast enough! Grr!
A. If you're holding several items (with a proximity or wide-band upgrade installed) or wearing multiple chargeable armour items, the electrical field will distribute the charge equally between all of them, slowing down the charge rate of individual items. High-tier items have a lot of power to recharge, so this can take a noticeable amount of time! Try upgrading to the next tier of pad or add overclocker upgrades.
- HINT: If you stand just right, you can be in the electrical field of more than one pad, at the same time!
- HINT: Pads can be upgraded with overclockers to improve charge rate
- NOTE: If multiple people stand on a pad, the energy is distributed amongst *all* of the items in the electrical field! It will not increase the field power as it cannot guarantee proper control with the limited circuitry and may, in fact, cause physical harm!
Q. My pad blew up! Whyyy?!
A. Did you feed the wrong tier of power into it? Like with most IC2 machines: that's bad!
- NOTE: BEWARE! Fission pads with installed uranium cells will explode like a nuke!!
- HINT: Pads can be upgraded with transformer modules to accept higher tiered input
Q. I hopped onto a pad and almost died! Why'd it hurt so much!?
A. Did you drop onto one? Pads are highly complex electrical devices that EMIT electrical fields! Jumping on them causes them to discharge more electricity than their systems can safely limit. In layman's terms: they give you an electric shock! The more advanced the pad: the less abuse they'll withstand (the harder you jump, the bigger a shock you'll receive)! Alternatively, if the electrical field is red, then the pad has a damage conversion module installed and the emitter causes harm, instead! Ow!
- NOTE: Jump damage and emitter upgrades can be turned off via system configuration (in the /config folder)
Q. I tried to move the pad and it electrocuted me! To death! Ooooww!
A. Shocking! Charge pads require proper technical expertise to disable and move. If this isn't done properly then the energy they contain will almost certainly discharge into the nearby environment in a rather disruptive fashion: this has, in virtually all tests, caused varying levels of physical trauma and, in some cases, death. If you're fortunate, and you're standing at a distance, the power field may not actually reach you (or won't hurt you quite as much, if it does). More advanced pads can store a significantly higher amount of energy and will cause proportionally greater levels of pain! Fission pads with installed uranium cells will rupture the cell and cause a nuclear explosion! (the bigger the cell, the greater the nuke!)
- HINT: Use a wrench!!
- NOTE: Electrocution DOES ignore armour. This is not a bug: it's a design choice!
- NOTE: This can be turned off via system configuration (in the /config folder)
Q. I want to know when someone is using my pads!
A. When pads are activated (specifically, when you stand on them), they emit a signal on a frequency that affects redstone dust! This signal is emitted from the bottom and all four sides of a charge pad with a force similar to that of a redstone repeater (it energises the whole block which will, for example, affect dust or lamps connected to it). Friction - caused by pressure on the pad - is more than enough for the circuitry to produce the signal, so it will be emitted even if the pad contains no power.
Q. Are we done, yet?
A. We are. Enjoy your new Charge Pads!