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manual.md

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+Minetest technic modpack user manual
+====================================
+
+The technic modpack extends the Minetest game with many new elements,
+mainly constructable machines and tools.  It is a large modpack, and
+tends to dominate gameplay when it is used.  This manual describes how
+to use the technic modpack, mainly from a player's perspective.
+
+The technic modpack depends on some other modpacks:
+
+*   the basic Minetest game
+*   mesecons, which supports the construction of logic systems based on
+    signalling elements
+*   pipeworks, which supports the automation of item transport
+*   moreores, which provides some additional ore types
+
+This manual doesn't explain how to use these other modpacks, which ought
+to (but actually don't) have their own manuals.
+
+Recipes for constructable items in technic are generally not guessable,
+and are also not specifically documented here.  You should use a
+craft guide mod to look up the recipes in-game.  For the best possible
+guidance, use the unified_inventory mod, with which technic registers
+its specialised recipe types.
+
+ore
+---
+
+The technic mod makes extensive use of not just the default ores but also
+some that are added by mods.  You will need to mine for all the ore types
+in the course of the game.  Each ore type is found at a specific range of
+altitudes, and while the ranges mostly overlap, some have non-overlapping
+ranges, so you will ultimately need to mine at more than one altitude
+to find all the ores.  Also, because one of the best altitudes to mine
+at is very deep, you will be unable to mine there early in the game.
+
+The ores that matter in technic are coal, iron, copper, tin, zinc,
+chromium, uranium, silver, gold, mithril, mese, and diamond.
+
+Coal is part of the basic Minetest game.  It is found from altitude
++64 downwards, so is available right on the surface at the start of the
+game, but it is far less abundant above altitude 0 than below.  It is
+initially used as a fuel, driving important machines in the early part
+of the game.  It becomes less important as a fuel once most of your
+machines are electrically powered, but burning fuel remains a way to
+generate electrical power.  Coal is also used, usually in dust form, as
+an ingredient in alloying recipes, wherever elemental carbon is required.
+
+Iron is part of the basic Minetest game.  It is found from altitude
++2 downwards, and its abundance increases in stages as one descends,
+reaching its maximum from altitude -64 downwards.  It is a common metal,
+used frequently as a structural component.  In technic, unlike the basic
+game, iron is used in multiple forms, mainly alloys based on iron and
+including carbon (coal).
+
+Copper is part of the basic Minetest game (having migrated there from
+moreores).  It is found from altitude -16 downwards, but is more abundant
+from altitude -64 downwards.  It is a common metal, used either on its
+own for its electrical conductivity, or as the base component of alloys.
+Although common, it is very heavily used, and most of the time it will
+be the material that most limits your activity.
+
+Tin is supplied by the moreores mod.  It is found from altitude +8
+downwards, with no altitude-dependent variations in abundance beyond
+that point.  It is a common metal.  Its main use in pure form is as a
+component of electrical batteries.  Apart from that its main purpose is
+as the secondary ingredient in bronze (the base being copper), but bronze
+is itself little used.  Its abundance is well in excess of its usage,
+so you will usually have a surplus of it.
+
+Zinc is supplied by technic.  It is found from altitude +2 downwards, with
+no altitude-dependent variations in abundance beyond that point.  It is
+a common metal.  Its main use is as the secondary ingredient in brass
+(the base being copper), but brass is itself little used.  Its abundance
+is well in excess of its usage, so you will usually have a surplus of it.
+
+Chromium is supplied by technic.  It is found from altitude -100
+downwards, with no altitude-dependent variations in abundance beyond
+that point.  It is a moderately common metal.  Its main use is as the
+secondary ingredient in stainless steel (the base being iron).
+
+Uranium is supplied by technic.  It is found only from altitude -80 down
+to -300; using it therefore requires one to mine above altitude -300 even
+though deeper mining is otherwise more productive.  It is a moderately
+common metal, useful only for reasons related to radioactivity: it forms
+the fuel for nuclear reactors, and is also one of the best radiation
+shielding materials available.  It is not difficult to find enough uranium
+ore to satisfy these uses.  Beware that the ore is slightly radioactive:
+it will slightly harm you if you stand as close as possible to it.
+It is safe when more than a metre away or when mined.
+
+Silver is supplied by the moreores mod.  It is found from altitude -2
+downwards, with no altitude-dependent variations in abundance beyond
+that point.  It is a semi-precious metal.  It is little used, being most
+notably used in electrical items due to its conductivity, being the best
+conductor of all the pure elements.
+
+Gold is part of the basic Minetest game (having migrated there from
+moreores).  It is found from altitude -64 downwards, but is more abundant
+from altitude -256 downwards.  It is a precious metal.  It is little used,
+being most notably used in electrical items due to its combination of
+good conductivity (third best of all the pure elements) and corrosion
+resistance.
+
+Mithril is supplied by the moreores mod.  It is found from altitude
+-512 downwards, the deepest ceiling of any minable substance, with no
+altitude-dependent variations in abundance beyond that point.  It is a
+rare precious metal, and unlike all the other metals described here it
+is entirely fictional, being derived from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth
+setting.  It is little used.
+
+Mese is part of the basic Minetest game.  It is found from altitude
+-64 downwards.  The ore is more abundant from altitude -256 downwards,
+and from altitude -1024 downwards there are also occasional blocks of
+solid mese (each yielding as much mese as nine blocks of ore).  It is a
+precious gemstone, and unlike diamond it is entirely fictional.  It is
+used in many recipes, though mainly not in large quantities, wherever
+some magical quality needs to be imparted.
+
+Diamond is part of the basic Minetest game (having migrated there from
+technic).  It is found from altitude -128 downwards, but is more abundant
+from altitude -256 downwards.  It is a precious gemstone.  It is used
+moderately, mainly for reasons connected to its extreme hardness.
+
+rock
+----
+
+In addition to the ores, there are multiple kinds of rock that need to be
+mined in their own right, rather than for minerals.  The rock types that
+matter in technic are standard stone, desert stone, marble, and granite.
+
+Standard stone is part of the basic Minetest game.  It is extremely
+common.  As in the basic game, when dug it yields cobblestone, which can
+be cooked to turn it back into standard stone.  Cobblestone is used in
+recipes only for some relatively primitive machines.  Standard stone is
+used in a couple of machine recipes.  These rock types gain additional
+significance with technic because the grinder can be used to turn them
+into dirt and sand.  This, especially when combined with an automated
+cobblestone generator, can be an easier way to acquire sand than
+collecting it where it occurs naturally.
+
+Desert stone is part of the basic Minetest game.  It is found specifically
+in desert biomes, and only from altitude +2 upwards.  Although it is
+easily accessible, therefore, its quantity is ultimately quite limited.
+It is used in a few recipes.
+
+Marble is supplied by technic.  It is found in dense clusters from
+altitude -50 downwards.  It has mainly decorative use, but also appears
+in one machine recipe.
+
+Granite is supplied by technic.  It is found in dense clusters from
+altitude -150 downwards.  It is much harder to dig than standard stone,
+so impedes mining when it is encountered.  It has mainly decorative use,
+but also appears in a couple of machine recipes.
+
+subjects missing from this manual
+---------------------------------
+
+This manual needs to be extended with sections on:
+
+*   alloying
+*   electrical networks
+*   the powered machine types
+*   how machines interact with tubes
+*   the mining tools
+*   radioactivity
+*   frames
+*   templates
+*   chests