[Minecraft SC #185] yjgfhjfmmukdkrimd6876097d69oc t p7ofrm6709o 8yf

[*** The Age Of Wood ***]

The Age of Wood is where most of the functionality of Better Than Wolves currently resides. It is separated into several distinct Tiers that represent various stages of development that you will need to achieve to fully progress through the Age.

Overall, the Age of Wood represents the player's first attempts to automate various aspect of his existence through the construction of wood-based mechanisms.

[*** The Age Of Wood Tier 1: Basic Mechanical Power***]

Entry Requirements to this Age: Construct a Hand Crank and Mill Stone.

Primary Goals of This Tier: Collect Hemp Seeds. Plant a Hemp farm. Collect and grind enough Hemp to construct a Wind Mill.

Secondary Goals of This Tier: Construct a Cauldron and heat it with burning netherrack. Improve Hemp production through the use of Light Blocks. Find wolves and begin collecting Dung.

Requirements to move to the next Tier: Construct a Wind Mill.

Block And Item Descriptions:

Gear: The fundamental building block of all mechanical devices, the gear is used in every mechanical recipe in the Age of Wood.

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Hand Crank: The very basis of mechanical power-generation devices. Place a Hand Crank to the sides, or sitting on top of, most mechanically operated devices (all those that do not require a continuous source of power to function properly), and you can power it through Steve's own muscle power. Note that attempting to power more than one mechanical device simultaneously with the Hand Crank, will cause it to break.

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Mill Stone: The Mill Stone grinds raw resources into a more usable form through the use of mechanical power. At present, the Mill Stone can be used to convert Wheat into Flour, Hemp into Hemp Fibers, and to scour leather.

Note that the Mill Stone can only be powered by an axle (in later tech tiers) if it is going directly into the top or bottom of the block, and that all processed material it produces is immediately ejected to the sides of the Mill Stone (meaning you should leave all sides around it free of other blocks to avoid loss of material).

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Hemp: At long last you have a reason to farm! Hemp is a crop that may be planted like wheat, but it has a number of growing requirements. First, bone meal does not act as fertilizer on it. Secondly, it can only grow in direct sunlight or with a Light Block (see below) up to 2 spaces directly above it (torches or other artificial light sources don't help it grow). Thirdly, it can only grow on hydrated soil. Hemp can be ground into Hemp Fibers using a Mill Stone, and those fibers can then be fashioned into rope, fabric, and other items.

Hemp seeds can be found by using a hoe on grass. The rate at which Hemp seeds appear when hoeing grass is also affected by the quality of hoe that you use (i.e. using a diamond hoe will produce far more seeds than using a stone one). Hemp seeds may also occasionally drop when you destroy tall grass (just like wheat seeds), but generally it is far more efficient to use the hoe method described above, particularly if you are using a high-quality hoe.

Hemp is a crucial ingredient in many crafting recipes as the player progresses through the mods tech-tree. It can be extremely useful to plant Hemp crops early on in the game so that you can take advantage of a working farm later on.

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Flour: Produced by grinding Wheat in the Mill Stone, flour is much simpler to cook with than raw wheat. A single unit of flour may be baked in a furnace to produce bread, or in a Cauldron to produce donuts.

Anchor: The Anchor acts as a point to which you can attach ropes. Stick it to any surface, and you can then hang a rope from it by feeding the rope through one bit at a time. If you right click on an anchor with anything other than a rope in your hand, any rope hanging from it will be retracted into your inventory one segment at a time.

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Rope: Ropes may be attached to an anchor (or another rope) to create a portable climbing device that will drop downwards until it hits a block. This is incredibly useful for cave exploration and for generally descending from heights without having to first tunnel your way down, or plummet to your potential death. It is crafted out of Hemp Fibers.

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Cauldron: Sick and tired of having to burn coal to cook food when a simple fire would do fine? Me too. This is a block that functions like a chest unless it is directly above a fire block. If it is, it slowly cooks any food items in its inventory, one at a time (the effect of the fire is hot enough to cook, but not enough the smelt). This allows the player to dump any uncooked food in his inventory whenever he passes by the Cauldron, and come back later to collect it in its cooked form as needed. Note that while a fire directly below the Cauldron is required for any cooking to take place, additional fires below the pot (as in the blocks neighboring the fire underneath the Cauldron, diagonals included) will provide additional heat and decrease the cooking time substantially. The recipe includes a bucket of water, and a bone to create a soup stock which any food can then be cooked in. Unfortunately, the only source of bone in the Minecraft world is from reanimated human skeletons. A Steve's gotta do, what a Steve's gotta do...

The Cauldron has many other additional uses at later tech levels, other than the cooking of food in Bulk. At start, it may also be used to mass-dye wool, with one unit of dye placed in a heated Cauldron being capable of dying 8 units of wool. Cooking spider silk (string) in the Cauldron also causes it to clump together into wool blocks without having to manually craft them, sand along with gunpowder will cook into TNT (with explosive results if the Cauldron is overheated), and Filaments for the creation of Light Blocks (see below) may also be formed. It's thus extremely useful in automating the production of goods produced by mob-traps and in creating various objects that could not be crafted through other means.

Note that within BTW, the vanilla cauldron is renamed to the "Cistern" to avoid overlap with the naming of the mod Cauldron.

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(Thanks to logorouge for coming up with the idea of this originally only working on food items, and not for smelting)

Donuts: Donuts offer a fast-food alternative perfect for the busy Steve on the go. Donuts may be made by cooking flour in a Cauldron, producing 4 for every unit of wheat.

Raw Eggs: Eggs may be cracked through the usual Minecraft methods to produce Raw Eggs when they don't hatch chickens. By cooking raw eggs in a heated Cauldron, Poached Eggs may be produced which provides a method of turning the eggs laid by chickens into an edible form. Alternatively, raw eggs may be cooked in a furnace to produce Fried Eggs. This greatly increases the value of creating a chicken farm early in the game.

Filament: Formed by heating glowstone dust, redstone dust, and either string or a Hemp Fiber (the dust requires something to cling to) in a Cauldron. the filament provides a means of converting redstone power into light. They are extremely fragile however, and usually must be built into other devices (such as Light Blocks) to function properly.

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The Light Block produces extremely bright light when powered, which is particularly useful in the growing of plants (such as Hemp). Note that they can be powered indirectly which means that if a neighboring block is receiving power, these will light up. This allow you to, for example, place them on the ceiling, and run redstone above the ceiling to give them power, without having to do any complicated wiring.

The crafting recipe includes a filament in the center, which is what produces the light when a redstone current is applied.

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[*** The Age Of Wood Tier 2: Continuous Mechanical Power***]

Entry Requirements to this Age: Construct a Wind Mill.

Primary Goals of This Tier: Learn the basics of the mechanical power system. Find wolves for Dung and kill cows for leather (used to tan leather for use in constructing a Saw).

Secondary Goals of This Tier: Power your Mill Stone using the Wind Mill as a source of mechanical energy. Have some fun with Pulleys and Platforms.

Requirements to move to the next Tier: Construct and power a Saw.

Block And Item Descriptions:

Fabric: A sturdy and resilient cloth made out of hemp fibers, Fabric is much more durable and better suited to withstanding the elements than wool.

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Sail: A gigantic mast and sail combination constructed out of Fabric and wood that is an integral component in constructing a Wind Mill.

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Wind Mill: The Wind Mill is the first continuous source of mechanical power available to the player. It is a large mechanical device capable of supplying mechanical power to the axle to which it is attached. It may ONLY be attached to an axle, and will automatically adjust its orientation to match its mount. When attempting to place a Wind Mill, you must ensure that the space it will occupy is clear of any other blocks (a warning message will be displayed if not).

The Wind Mill comes with several trade-offs. First, the Wind Mill can only be used above-ground for obvious reasons. This means that the Wind-Mill must have a clear-line of sight to the sky directly above it (overhangs or what have you will cause it not to function). Secondly, a rain or snow storm can cause the Wind Mill to spin out of control, breaking any Gear Boxes to which it may be attached (disengaging the gears in the Gear Box will allow the Wind Mill to spin freely, avoiding this problem). Thirdly, the Wind Mill is FRIGGING HUGE!

However, despite these trade-offs, it is extremely reliable when placed in desert biomes due to the lack of severe weather.

Note that it may also be customized by individually coloring each of its four sails using dyes. In this case, each dye used is sequentially applied to one "blade" of the Wind Mill at a time.

Also, a vertical configuration of the Wind Mill may be created with eight blades instead of the usual 4. This variant is the only source of mechanical power that functions in the Nether, and will consistently do so in any location due to the convection currents that are produced by the extremely hot environment found there.

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Axle: The Axle is to mechanical devices what redstone wire is to circuits. It acts as a means of transmitting mechanical power. Note that only 3 axles may be placed in a row if they are receiving power. Trying to extend them further than this will result in the Axle breaking under the strain of its own weight. If you wish to power devices further away, then a Gear Box (or several) will be required to relay the signal. Note that activating (right clicking) an Axle with an empty hand will toggle its orientation after it has been placed.

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Gear Box: The Gear Box acts as a means of relaying and distributing mechanical power. It has only one input (determined from its orientation when it is placed) to which an axle may be attached, but every other side acts as an output to which you may also attach other axles. Power supplied to the input axle is then relayed to each of the outputs. Applying a redstone current to a Gear Box will cause the output gears to disengage, effectively allowing redstone control of mechanical power. Note that activating (right clicking) a Gear Box with an empty hand will toggle its orientation after it has been placed.

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Pulley: The Pulley represents a means of converting mechanical power into vertical motion. It has an inventory into which Rope may be placed, and if left unpowered, the Pulley will slowly dispense this rope downward until it either exhausts its inventory, or until a solid object is encountered.

Conversely, when a Pulley is powered mechanically (through powered axles attached to its sides), it retracts the rope back into its inventory and raises any attached upward-facing Anchor (and in turn, any platforms it may be connected to).

Lastly, if a redstone signal is applied to a pulley, it acts as a brake, causing it to stop any motion whatsoever, whether that be upward or downward.

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Wicker: Wicker is a light-weight, but surprisingly strong, material created by weaving various kind of reeds together. Wicker may also be formed into blocks and slabs when several pieces are combined, and may be placed directly in a form that functions similar to glass panes and iron bars.

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Platform: Light-Weight wooden frames, the Platforms are intended to be used in conjunction with Pulleys to create elevators, moving gates, flood-control devices, etc. Platforms are attached to ropes by placing an upward-facing anchor on top of them. When a platform is connected in this manner, if it is lifted (through the Anchor, attached Rope, and a Pulley above), it will in turn transmit this motion to other platforms up to two blocks away.

This effectively allows you to lift up to a 5 X 5 block grid of Platforms through the use of a single Anchor and Pulley, along with the required Rope.

Platforms may also lift some select-block types attached to their top surface, namely, all types of minecart rails (as long as they are not sloped), and redstone wire. Note that redstone elements are non-functional while in transit and their appearance will change to reflect this.

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[*** The Age Of Wood Tier 3: Power Tools***]

Entry Requirements to this Age: Create a Cauldron (if not already done above). Tan Leather and construct a Saw.

Primary Goals of This Tier: Process wood into Panels, Corners, and Moulding, to be used in the construction of more advanced recipes.

Secondary Goals of This Tier: Use Saw in constructing a mob-trap. Construct an automated tree-farm.

Requirements to move to the next Tier: Construct a Hopper. Visit the Nether.

Block And Item Descriptions:

Scoured Leather: Leather may be scoured by placing it in a Mill Stone. This removes any remaining blood and flesh that may cause the leather to decompose with time. Scouring leather is the first step in the tanning process.

Tanned Leather: Tanned Leather is resistant to decay and is far more durable than untreated leather. As such, it is much better suited for use in the making of tools or in mechanical applications where wear and tear can quickly become a factor. To create Tanned Leather, place Scoured Leather in a heated Cauldron along with Dung.

Strap: Leather straps may be made by cutting Tanned Leather into strips. These provide a resilient method of binding other objects together.

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Belt: A series of Straps may be strung together to form a Belt which is extremely useful in mechanical applications.

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Saw: The Saw, when powered mechanically, processes any wooden block placed in front of it into other forms. Logs are converted to 4 pieces of wood (planks) and 2 units of Saw Dust. Wood planks are then converted to 2 wooden Sidings. Wooden Sidings are processed into 2 pieces of Moulding, and Moulding is converted into 2 Corners. Corners in turn may be cut into 2 Gears, which provides a far more efficient means of crafting them than through a workbench. Its primary use is for automated tree-farming and processing, but it is also capable of damaging players, animals, and monsters that come into contact with it when powered, making it an effective tool for use in traps and grinders. Capable of cutting through most forms of vegetation, it may also have various uses in automated farming.

Given that the Saw represents a more efficient means of processing wood than hacking at it with an axe, many alternative recipes exist for both vanilla and mod blocks using Siding, Moulding, and Corners. These alternative recipes are left to the player to discover, but if it is constructed with wood, it is likely to have such an alternate recipe.

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Siding: This block is similar to a wood slab, except it may face in ANY direction. It may be made by cutting a wood block with a Saw.

Moulding: Basically, this is Siding cut in half to provide a strip of wood for detailing structures. It is made by cutting Siding with the Saw.

Corner: Cutting Moulding in half with a Saw results in a Corner, which can be used for even more precise detailing work.

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Stake: The Stake is a useful tool in construction through giving you a means to measure straight lines and distance. By applying string to a Stake, the string will connect to any Stakes that are aligned with the first, assuming that enough string is available to cover the distance between. The amount of string used will then indicate how large a distance has been covered. (Thanks to BigShinyToys for the idea behind this one!)

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Saw Dust: When the Saw cuts wood logs into planks, it leaves behind Saw Dust which may then be used in turn for other applications.

Table: In addition to more practical applications, the advanced woodworking capability of the Saw can also be used to produce more decorative items such as Tables. Individual Table blocks when placed within the world will automatically adjust to each other so that the legs of the overall Table formed are in appropriate locations. This allows for the creation of large banquet tables and such out of multiple Table blocks.

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Foul Food: This is what happens to food when you dump Dung into a Cauldron with it. It may still be eaten, but is not exactly "haute cuisine".

Tanned Leather Armor: More resilient than regular leather armor, and oh so much more stylish, tanned leather armor offers an intermediate form of armor for those experiencing a shortage of iron.

Breeding Harness: Automating the breeding and slaughtering of animals is made much easier through the use of a Breeding Harness. By putting it on an animal, it will keep that animal restrained and in place, but will not prevent it from breeding with any other nearby animals. This allows for the maintaining of breeding-pairs that can be kept separated from their offspring, and from the rest of your livestock. It is created through the combining and refitting of various pieces of Tanned Leather Armor.

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[*** The Age Of Wood Tier 4: Automation and Basic Alchemy***]

Entry Requirements to this Age: Construct a Hopper. Visit the Nether.

Primary Goals of This Tier: Process Netherrack into Concentrated Hellfire.

Secondary Goals of This Tier: Automate collection of resource at your mob-traps and farms. Learn to filter these resources so they may be sorted by type.

Requirements to move to the next Tier: Build a Hibachi and Bellows.

Block And Item Descriptions:

21)Hopper: While it appear deceptively simple (it's basically a box with a hole in it), the Hopper allows the construction of many advanced mechanisms. Any items that fall into the top of the Hopper are added to its inventory. Arrows fired from a bow, or by a skeleton may also be collected in this manner. If the Hopper receives Mechanical Power through axles mounted to its sides, it will begin to eject items from its inventory (and stop when power it cut) out the spout below. Items may be ejected into the air, or directly into any other Block that has an inventory (chest, dispenser, etc.), and it is also capable of eject its contents into a storage minecart parked beneath it. Also, if all the slots in its inventory contain items, it will send out a redstone signal warning that it is getting full (the signal will stop when there is an empty slot in the inventory).

The Hopper also contains an extra inventory slot in which you may place various items that act as a "filter" on which items it will swallow. The most basic filter is a ladder, with items passing through the rungs while blocks are unable to (except for sand and gravel which pass through all filter types). Next, a hatch can be used to filter "narrow" items such as bones, arrows, and sticks. As with all filters, blocks are also prevented from passing through. A Grate used as a filter will only swallow smaller items (like feathers, but not arrows), while Wicker can be used to only consume powdery substances like gunpowder and flour. Wicker filters also have the additional effect of separating gravel into sand (which passes), and flint (which remains behind). In combination, these filters effectively allows you to sort the items produced by a mob trap or farm.

Additionally, soul sand may also be used as a filter in the Hopper specifically for the processing of Ground Netherrack into Hellfire Dust through the removal of the souls contained within (caution must be used when doing so however, as the souls will accumulate within the Hopper if no exit is provided). Dragon Orbs may also be converted into XP through the use of such a filter. No other substances will pass through or be processed by the Hopper when it has this kind of filter in place.

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Grate: A grate may be used as a primitive filter in determining what items a Hopper can or can not swallow. Only smaller items will pass through a grate (like feathers, but not arrows). Grates may also be placed into your world as decorative blocks, and they behave similar to window panes and iron bars in that capacity.

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Slats: When used as a filter in the Hopper, Slats allow for the filtering out of fibrous (such as string and Hemp fiber) or thin flexible materials (such as paper and leather). Like all other filters, it also allows powdery substances to pass through unobstructed. Slats may also be placed in a fashion similar to iron bars or glass panes.

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Ground Netherrack: This substances is produced by grinding Netherrack down in a Mill Stone to prepare it for further processing.

Hellfire Dust: Hellfire Dust is the highly-flammable bi-product left behind when Ground Netherrack is passed through a Hopper containing a soul sand filter. It is an incredibly unstable substance that may react violently when excessive heat is applied.

Concentrated Hellfire: Slowly distilling Hellfire Dust within a heated Cauldron (be careful not to overheat it during this process) will purify, stabilize, and concentrate it into this more practical form.

Carbon Powder: Produced by grinding down either coal or charcoal in the Mill Stone, Carbon Powder is used as a component in various alchemical processes.

Nethercoal: By combining Hellfire Dust and Carbon Powder in the Cauldron, an alternative form of fuel is created in the form of Nethercoal. The Hellfire serves to both increase the total amount combustible material and increase the burn-time of the carbon allowing the player to effectively quadruple the amount of furnace fuel in his possession by combining the two.

[*** The Age Of Wood Tier 5: Fire Mastery***]

Entry Requirements to this Age: Build a Hibachi and Bellows.

Primary Goals of This Tier: Master the use of stoked fire. Collect clay to create Pottery.

Secondary Goals of This Tier: Render animal bi-products into other forms. Start using Water Wheels as an alternative for powering your mechanical devices.

Requirements to move to the next Tier: Build a Turntable.

Block And Item Descriptions:

Element: Whereas a Filament primarily produces light when a redstone signal is introduced to it, an Element produces heat. It is created through combining Hemp Fibre or string, redstone dust, and blaze powder in a heated Cauldron, and is an integral component in making a Hibachi.

Hibachi: Through providing the means to power Concentrated Hellfire and channel the resulting heat, the Hibachi provides a method of producing fire via a redstone current. The top surface of this block ignites when it receives power, and extinguishes when power stops.

Due to the high temperature at which Concentrated Hellfire burns, The Hibachi also generates the only form of fire that may be stoked through the use of Bellows.

(Thanks to GunboatDebater for the initial block idea)

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Bellows: The Bellows act as a bladder that expels air when compressed, and draws it in when it expands. This is extremely useful in stoking a fire above a Hibachi to produce increased heat. Used in combination with a Cauldron and one or more Hibachis, this effectively allows for the Cauldron to be turned into a rendering device. The Bellows acts to stoke any fire in a 9 block square-pattern directly in front of it. They contract when they first receive mechanical power (and remain contracted for as long as it is applied), and expand when not receiving said power. They only expel air when first contracted, so a timing circuit (the Turntable is very useful in this regard) is required to alternate the Bellows between these two states to keep a fire stoked.

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Glue: Various kinds of leather (regular, scoured, tanned, pieces such as belts, or finished goods such as armor), may be rendered down into glue within a Cauldron. Glue dries into a permanent waterproof adhesive in recipes that require such a bond to be formed (like with the Wood Blades used in constructing Water Wheels). A single piece of leather will be rendered into a single unit of glue. Note that rendering requires a stoked fire, through the use of Bellows, beneath the Cauldron.

Wood Blade: Used in constructing Water Wheels, the Wood Blade is a sturdy structure reinforced by its use of Glue as a water-resistant adhesive.

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Water Wheel: The Water Wheel is a more advanced device for generating mechanical power than the Wind Mill. While it requires the precision crafting represented by the Saw to create, and the ability to render leather into Glue, it does not suffer the same disadvantages as the Wind Mill in that it can be used both below ground and reliably under any weather conditions. However, given its dependency on water, it can not be used in the Nether.

When attempting to place a Water Wheel, you must ensure that the space it will occupy is clear of any other blocks, other than water. When water flows along the bottom or side of the Water Wheel, it will cause the Wheel to spin, and that motion will be translated to the axle on which it is mounted.

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Composite Bow: A Composite Bow provides much greater draw strength for its size relative to a regular bow. As such, it can both fire arrows a greater distance, and fire heavier arrows than a regular bow (such as the Broadheads available at a later tech level).

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Tallow: Tallow is a processed form of fat that may be obtained through the rendering of various kinds of meat and other fatty animal products (like eggs) within the Cauldron. Rendering requires a stoked fire, through the use of Bellows, beneath the Cauldron. Note that not all animal products contain the same amount of fat, and thus are equally efficient when producing Tallow. Items like eggs will have to be rendered in large volume to produce a single unit of Tallow, while pork in particular is extremely efficient in this capacity due to its high fat content.

Potash: Potash is a substance produced by "cooking" various forms of wood in a Cauldron over a stoked fire. Its uses include the bleaching of colored wool (at an 8 to 1 ratio in a heated Cauldron), and the production of soap when it is cooked with Tallow.

Soap: A clean Steve is a happy Steve! Soap is produced by combining Tallow and Potash in a stoked Cauldron. At present it can be used to convert sticky pistons back into regular pistons when it is heated along with them in a Cauldron. Every bar of soap will "clean" 4 sticky pistons in this manner.

Candle:

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Dynamite: An explosive formed by soaking the highly volatile mixture produced from Tallow and Hellfire Dust, in Saw Dust, and then wrapping in Paper. Individual sticks of Dynamite act as a small portable explosive which may be ignited using a flint and steel, and then thrown as desired.

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Mining Charge: Mining Charges are a controlled directional explosive that are extremely useful in mining, and offer several advantages over TnT. When affixed to a surface, and primed, the resulting explosion will be directed towards that surface, which results in increased efficiency while carving out mining shafts. Its controlled nature also results in the hollowing out of precisely sized areas, allowing for the creation of straight shafts. Finally, the resulting explosion will *never* destroy any ores that may reside within the affected area, allowing for 100% lossless mining operations.

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Nether Sludge: By combining Hellfire Dust along with Potash (8 to 1 ratio) in a heated Cauldron, a thick sludge is formed.

Nether Brick: When fired in a furnace, Nether Sludge may be cooked into individual Nether Bricks, which may then be used to create Nether Brick blocks in the same manner as with regular brick.

Kibble: Beginning to stockpile a large quantity of creature parts that you have no idea what to do with? Take a lesson from history and convert it into animal feed! Kibble may be created through combining rotten flesh, bone meal, and just a pinch of sugar within a stoked Cauldron. It then may be fed to wolves and pigs, leaving the more tasty morsels that you produce for Steve alone!

[*** The Age Of Wood Tier 6: Pottery***]

Entry Requirements to this Age: Build a Turntable.

Primary Goals of This Tier: Learn how to use the Pottery system and create a Crucible to be used in making Steel.

Secondary Goals of This Tier: Experiment with other forms of Pottery such as the Vase and Planter.

Requirements to move to the next Tier: Create a Crucible.

Block And Item Descriptions:

Turntable: When mechanical power is supplied through an Axle to the bottom of the Turntable, it rotates any blocks placed on top of it by fixed 90 degree increments, and performs this rotation on up to 2 blocks above. Any items attached to blocks (like torches) rotated in this fashion are also rotated along with them. This device has several uses ranging from creating multi-way minecart intersections (by rotating the rails themselves), to creating redstone-based timers by attaching redstone torches to the sides of rotated blocks and using them to power wires leading away from the overall assembly.

A switch on the side of the Turntable allows for 4 different delay settings on the rotation. Note that you must click on the Turntable *with an empty hand* in order to adjust the switch (to avoid confusion when attempting to place blocks on it). This allows for configuration of how long it takes for the Turntable to perform each 90 degree rotation, with the lowest setting representing a delay of 1/2 second, and each increment above that multiplying the previous delay by 2 (1 second, 2 seconds, 4 seconds). Note that applying a redstone signal to the Turntable will cause its rotation direction to reverse, providing additional control over its behavior. (Thanks to Brothulhu for coming up with the idea of the Turntable acting as a redstone timer!)

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Unfired Pottery: When a clay block is placed on top of a Turntable, it may slowly be spun into other forms. It will transition through several stages as it continues to rotate, sloughing off clay at certain points, and should be removed from the Turntable when the desired shape is obtained. Note that Unfired Pottery needs to rest on a solid surface in order to stay in place, and this attribute can be extremely useful in automating its production, especially if used in combination with a piston pushing it off the Turntable when it is at the desired stage.

Kiln: A Kiln is actually a combination of other block-types used to fire Pottery. It consists of brick blocks which are used to surround Unfired Pottery on 4 sides (two sides may be left open if so desired for access and automation), over a stoked fire which will serve to heat the overall assembly and "cook" the Pottery contained within. A Kiln may also be used to smelt ore-blocks placed within it, as well as convert wood into charcoal.

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Vase: A Vase may be created by cooking a correctly shaped piece of Unfired Pottery in the Kiln. It is an extremely fragile decorative block which may be colored to one's tastes using dyes, and which has the unique property of being able to store a single object within its small inventory. Once the Vase is placed, it may not be removed without breaking it (which will also dispense any object contained within), and will also be broken when struck by arrows.

Planter: A Planter is another form of Pottery that may be created in the manner described above. When first created, it has limited use, but by placing earth within it, it becomes an object on which any form of plant may grow without regard for surrounding conditions, such as the presence of water or other requirements an individual plant may normally have. This can be extremely useful in automating farming (since there is no need to re-till the earth contained after harvesting, and space-restrictions on growth rate don't apply), and makes it possible to grow various plants in the Nether which you wouldn't be able to otherwise. For Nether-specific vegetation (netherwart & Blood Trees), an alternate form of the planter may also be created by filling it with Soul Sand (Thanks to KriiEiter for the idea for this one).

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Urn: A small pottery container, the Urn may be used to contain various substances in a portable manner, or may be placed as a decorative block.

Soul Urn: When filtering Ground Netherrack through soul sand in a Hopper, the souls building up within can become rather...problematic. However, if an Urn is placed beneath a powered Hopper the souls are drawn into it, creating a Soul Urn when a sufficient number have accumulated. The souls may then be transported and used in the crafting of other items. Due to its small size, the soul urn may also be thrown.

Blood Wood Trees: Representing a cross-breed between various overworld trees, netherwart, and souls, Blood Trees are an incredibly virulent life-form which can only effectively grow in the nether, and only on soul sand. While they tend to spread in an uncontrollable manner, if properly contained they can be incredibly useful in constructing automated tree-farms as they will grow virtually anywhere without being adversely affected by being placed in tight spaces (unlike regular overworld trees). Note that the residents of the nether may not appreciate having such a dangerous life-form introduced to their already torturous environment.

Blood Wood Trees represent a crossbreed between several forms of overworld and Nether-based vegetation, and the saplings may be created by combining each of the different overworld sapling types (4 types total, including the new jungle trees), netherwart, and eight Soul Urns within a heated Cauldron.

Soul Dust: When Blood Wood logs are cut using a saw, this substance is produced instead of Saw Dust. It may be used as a substitute for Saw Dust in any recipe involving it, but it may also be first filtered using a soul sand filter to extract and contain the souls within, much in the same way as Ground Netherrack. This can be a very useful property when constructing automated soul-bottling plants.

Nether Groth: Similar to Blood Wood Trees, Nether Groth is a nether-specific organism that you may create by combining all the different fungus of the Minceraft world (netherwart, mycelium, red & brown mushrooms) along with eight Soul Urns in a heated Cauldron. When fully matured, it is hostile towards any organism that walks upon it, making it incredibly useful (if a bit dangerous) in covering over large sections of the nether to prevent creatures from spawning on it, which in turn can facilitate the creation of nether-based mob traps.

[*** A New Age Dawns: The Return To Home ***]

Very little is known about this new age. All that is clear is that Steve is on the cusp of a new era of technological advancement based on all the strides forward he has made.

[*** Tier 1: Steel ***]

Entry Requirements to this Tier: Create a Crucible.

Primary Goals of This Tier: Unknown.

Secondary Goals of This Tier: Create Steel and Refined Tools.

Requirements to move to the next Tier: Unknown.

Block And Item Descriptions:

Crucible: Similar in function to a Cauldron, but made out of ceramic, the Crucible is capable of withstanding much higher heats without melting. As a result, it is extremely useful in melting and generally working with metals. It is used both in the creation of Steel, and for melting down pretty much anything made out of metal to salvage the iron, steel, or gold, that the item contains. As such, it can act as an effective means of repairing worn tools, weapons, or armor, made out of these substances as they can be melted down into their base components, and then reforged. Note that the Crucible may also be used to covert sand into glass, and cobble into smooth stone. It may also be used to synthesize redstone dust by melting down gold nuggets with Concentrated Hellfire.

Haft: A sturdy shaft created by wrapping wood with a Leather Strap and using Glue to keep the leather in place.

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Soulforged Steel: Created by combining iron, Carbon Powder and a Soul Urn in a Crucible over stoked fire, Soulforged Steel is both far more durable than iron, and far easier to craft into desired shapes than diamond, making it an excellent material for the creation of advanced tools, armors, and mechanisms. Also, due to the inherently magical nature of Soulforged Steel, it makes it an excellent material for receiving enchantments when crafted into tools, weapons, and armor. Note that Soulforged Steel can be crafted into a block form by filling all 16 slots of the Anvil, and that block can be melted back down into bars in a Crucible, to provide for mass storage.

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Anvil: An "advanced crafting table" that allows you to craft advanced mod recipes through the use of a 4X4 crafting grid. It should be noted that the Anvil consists of a work area with various steel-based tools allowing you to precision craft materials in ways not otherwise possible. Also, due to the Soulforged Steel used in its creation, the Anvil is also capable of allowing you to work with various "magical" elements.

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Battle Axe: Combining elements of both a weapon and a tool, allowing you to maximize your inventory usage, the Battle Axe is an ideal implement for both waging war and cutting through wood like butter.

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Mattock: Taking advantage of the precision crafting capable with an Anvil and through the use of Soulforged Steel, the Mattock functions both as a normal pick, and through use of its specially shaped reverse end, as a shovel as well. Due to its sturdy construction, it is also capable of blocking incoming enemy attacks. No more having to awkwardly switch tools while digging a tunnel!

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Refined Tools: For those (known as "evolutionary throw-backs" or just plain "weirdos") that prefer to be able to enchant individual tools with specific uses as opposed to using the multipurpose Mattock and Battle Axe described above, refined tools provide an alternative to cater to their degenerate tastes.

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Padding: Feathers wrapped in Fabric, padding is an effective means of cushioning a blow and is a crucial component in creating Plate Armor.

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Armor Plate: Used as a component in crafting Plate Armor, individual plates represent pieces of said armor that can then be strapped onto you for enhanced protection.

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Plate Armor: An advanced form of armor forged from Steel, Plate Armor has a far greater durability than other forms.

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Broadheads: Viciously designed to cause a great deal of damage upon impact with a living target, Broadhead arrow heads are crafted on an Anvil using Steel.

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Broadhead Arrows: Far heavier and capable of causing far more damage than regular arrows, Broadhead Arrows may only be fired from a Composite Bow due to the increased pull strength necessary to effectively propel them. Broadhead Arrows also require Moulding to craft, representing the precision tools necessary to create an effective shaft (through use of the Saw).

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Stone Siding, Moulding, and Corners: Produced by crafting "smooth stone" on the Anvil, these decorative blocks function almost identically to the wooden varieties available at earlier tech levels. Note that similar blocks may also be crafted out of Stone Brick.

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Block Dispenser: Functions like an item dispenser, but dispenses blocks and entities in front of the dispenser instead. With regular blocks, when the dispenser receives power, the block is placed in front, then removed once the dispenser is powered down. Also varies from a typical dispenser in that it places fully functional minecarts and boats in front of it, rather than the items. The Block Dispenser also fires its contents in order (complete with an indicator in the inventory displaying which item will be fired next), rather than randomly, allowing for the selection of a sequence of blocks to be dispensed.

Why is this useful? How about self-loading cannons? Water/lava/gravel/sand/bomb traps? Minecart dispensers that actually place the minecart on the tracks? Trap doors? Secret passages? Self-extending draw-bridges? A boat dispenser that drops a ready to use boat? Self-modifying circuits (this thing works on all redstone elements)? Animated displays? Up to a 16 bit ROM? Oh my Posted Image

In terms of the crafting recipe, the logic behind it is that with time the mossy cobble absorbs some of the attributes of the spawner around which it exists, while the souls contained within are capable of activating those properties when redstone current is applied.

Note that the Block Dispenser tends to "view" the world around it in terms of blocks. As a result, it has a tendency to convert some of the things it processes into a more blocky form. Sometimes, this can be extremely useful (like in converting clay balls into clay blocks, or in picking up blocks that normally can only be collected with a silk touch enchantment), while at other times...it can have unexpected results.

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Redstone Eye: A mechanism capable of "seeing" the world around it, the Redstone Eye is a crucial component in any advanced device capable of sensing change within its environment. The precision crafting necessary in creating it requires the Anvil.

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Detector Block: Isn't it rather annoying that redstone circuitry lacks the ability to "see" the world around it and react to changes in it? Well, the detector block is capable of seeing just about anything that is placed *directly* (up to one block away) in front of it, whether it be a block, a fluid, a player, a mob, a dropped item, what have you. Upon seeing something it turns on and produces a redstone current. This has a wide range of uses from simple archery targets to complex redstone applications.

Note that orienting the Detector Block to face upwards will also allow it to see rain and snow, effectively turning it into a weather sensor (particularly useful in avoiding Gear Box breakage due to an overpowered Wind Mill). Also, the Detector Block has the ability to "see" fully grown wheat in the block directly below it, opening up the possibility of fully automated wheat farms.

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Buddy Block: As the name suggests, the Buddy Block is a BUD (block update detector). It reacts to changes in neighboring blocks and outputs a short redstone pulse to a single side (determined during placement) when they occur. Buddy has a wide range of uses including everything from detecting events such as doors being opened, to detecting the various growth stages of plants, to aiding in counting the number of Turntable rotations that have occurred when automating the production of Pottery. Note that Buddy will NOT react to changes in redstone elements (redstone dust, repeaters, and redstone torches) to help prevent creating feedback loops as Buddy powers these same elements on and off.

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The Lens: The Lens is a multipurpose block that functions through focusing a light source into a coherent beam similar to a spot-light. When a light source is placed directly next to its input (the dark side), a beam is created from its output (the diamond side) which can extend up to 128 blocks away if uninterrupted. While the beam is normally invisible, if it intersects with an object, the light within the beam is reflected off of it, and lights up the area around the object. If the beam collides with a solid block, light will also be projected onto that surface. Detector Blocks can "see" this beam as well, which can be very useful in redstone applications.

The Lens has many and varied uses: it can be used for long-distance and vertical redstone signal transmission when paired with a Detector Block. When many Lenses are used in combination, they can be used to project images onto distant surfaces, which can be very useful is creating redstone displays. It can be used to effectively extend the range of a Detector Block as anything crossing the beam will interrupt it, creating a state change in any Detector Blocks that were previously "seeing" the beam. It can also be used as a light-level detector by pointing it *directly* (in the neighboring block) at the detection surface of a Detector Block, causing any ambient light in the area to be focused to a sufficient degree for the Detector Block to "see" it.

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Infernal Enchanter:

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Screw: A precision crafted iron spiral, the Screw is an integral component in the creation of the Screw Pump. It also serves a dual purpose in role-playing on SMP servers, especially when used in combination with Tanned Leather Armor.

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Screw Pump:

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Ocular Of Ender: By shaping and framing an eye of ender, an eye-piece may be formed that may be used in the creation of other devices.

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Ender Spectacles: Endermen possess the natural ability for intra-dimensional travel, and along with it the ability to sense weak-points in the very fabric of reality. While wearing Ender Spectacles, the player may also gain a portion of this ability, and be able to see the cracks in space and time through which creatures may enter the world:

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Obsidian Pressure Plates: How many times have you designed a circuit containing a pressure plate, only to realize it wouldn't work right because passing cows, creepers and even chickens would accidentally trigger it? Well, these pressure plates are triggered by the player, and the player only. These are also used in the crafting recipe for obsidian detector rails.

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Cement Buckets: Flows like a liquid, but solidifies into a solid block of smooth stone with time. Unlike water or lava Cement does not flow infinitely, but rather spreads to a fixed range from the point it is placed. If a redstone signal is applied to a source block of cement placed in the world, it keeps it in its liquid state until the signal is turned off (useful for cement traps + synchronizing flow for mass simultaneous construction).

Cement is created by combining gravel, sand, a Soul Urn, and a bucket in a heated Cauldron.

Column: In addition to aiding in working with metals, the precision tools that are part of the Anvil also aid in stone working and creating masonry. The Column is an example of one such application, and may act as a decorative block within your world.

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Pedestal: Another form of masonry, the Pedestal may be placed to face either upwards or downwards and acts as an excellent "cap" for the top and bottom of Columns

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Canvas: Using Fabric and wood Moulding, Steve is able to express himself and decorate his home with a larger form of painting, that may even hint at his thoughts, hopes, and desires for the future.

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[*** Miscellaneous Mod Features ***]

The following block, items, and functionality do not fit in any particular age, but rather are general additions to Minecraft accessible to the player at any time:

Dragon Orbs: When monsters or animals are killed by something other than Steve, they will drop glowing red orbs, similar to XP, upon death. These Dragon Orbs may not be interacted with directly, but if passed through a Hopper with a Soul Sand filter, will be converted into XP orbs for your use. This facilitates the collection of XP through mob traps and through other methods that would not normally be available to the player.

Vine Traps: One of the simplest forms of traps is to simply cover a pit with some foliage to disguise it. Vine Traps allow you to employ vines for just this purpose, as monsters and animals will think they are about to step on a solid block, only to fall right through them. These effectively replace the use of signs in drop-based mob traps providing a stackable, easier to place, and more intuitive alternative.

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Wool Slabs: Wool Slabs may be created out of any color wool for all your decorating needs. In addition to providing aesthetic versatility, they may also come in very handy when using the Block Dispenser as a ROM by providing 16 color-coded off-bits. Wool Slabs may also be recombined into wool blocks either by placing one on top of the other, or by placing 2 in the crafting grid.

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Dirt Slabs: The ultimate landscaping tool! Dirt slabs may have grass may grow over them just like with regular dirt blocks, allowing you to sculpt the perfect lawn. Like Wool Slabs, they may be recombined into regular dirt blocks at will by placing 2 of them in the crafting grid.

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Detector Rail Variants: While the detector rails were a nice addition to the game, one common complaint is that they can't detect the contents of a minecart. These variations on the detector rail allow you to do just that. The wood version detects all carts passing over. Stone (the regular ones) have been modified to detect carts containing *something*, whether that be a chest, furnace, mob, or what have you. Obsidian rails *only* detect a cart containing a player. This can be extremely useful in routing carts to various locations in an automated rail network.

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Wolf Chops: Finally! A use for wolves! I guess I lied about never adding any features to them Posted Image

Dung: Another use for wolves! Wolves periodically produce dung as the result of a mysterious biological process. While they tend to only output occasionally, they will only do so if they have been fed since their last production cycle. Wolves, being shy creatures by nature, also prefer to produce dung in the dark. Wolf Dung is extremely valued for its many uses, and is the substance many wars have been fought over in ancient civilizations.