From 706e880f05dd03a276c2639c11a35e836766e3fd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Zefram Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 00:01:39 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Manual sections on miscellaneous powered machines --- manual.md | 165 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-- 1 file changed, 159 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-) diff --git a/manual.md b/manual.md index f859e1f..57ff8f0 100644 --- a/manual.md +++ b/manual.md @@ -895,6 +895,165 @@ can accept inputs from tubes. Items arriving through the bottom of the furnace go into the fuel slot, and items arriving from all other directions go into the input slot. +### music player ### + +The music player is an LV powered machine that plays audio recordings. +It offers a selection of up to nine tracks. The technic modpack doesn't +include specific music tracks for this purpose; they have to be installed +separately. + +The music player gives the impression that the music is being played in +the Minetest world. The music only plays as long as the music player +is in place and is receiving electrical power, and the choice of music +is controlled by interaction with the machine. The sound also appears +to emanate specifically from the music player: the ability to hear it +depends on the player's distance from the music player. However, the +game engine doesn't currently support any other positional cues for +sound, such as attenuation, panning, or HRTF. The impression of the +sound being located in the Minetest world is also compromised by the +subjective nature of track choice: the specific music that is played to +a player depends on what media the player has installed. + +### CNC machine ### + +The CNC machine is an LV powered machine that cuts building blocks into a +variety of sub-block shapes that are not covered by the crafting recipes +of the stairs mod and its variants. Most of the target shapes are not +rectilinear, involving diagonal or curved surfaces. + +Only certain kinds of building material can be processed in the CNC +machine. + +### tool workshop ### + +The tool workshop is an MV powered machine that repairs mechanically-worn +tools, such as pickaxes and the other ordinary digging tools. It has +a single slot for a tool to be repaired, and gradually repairs the +tool while it is powered. For any single tool, equal amounts of tool +wear, resulting from equal amounts of tool use, take equal amounts of +repair effort. Also, all repairable tools currently take equal effort +to repair equal percentages of wear. The amount of tool use enabled by +equal amounts of repair therefore depends on the tool type. + +The mechanical wear that the tool workshop repairs is always indicated in +inventory displays by a colored bar overlaid on the tool image. The bar +can be seen to fill and change color as the tool workshop operates, +eventually disappearing when the repair is complete. However, not every +item that shows such a wear bar is using it to show mechanical wear. +A wear bar can also be used to indicate charging of a power tool with +stored electrical energy, or filling of a container, or potentially for +all sorts of other uses. The tool workshop won't affect items that use +wear bars to indicate anything other than mechanical wear. + +The tool workshop has upgrade slots. Energy upgrades reduce its power +consumption. + +It can work with pneumatic tubes. Tools to be repaired are accepted +via tubes from any direction. With a tube upgrade, the tool workshop +will also eject fully-repaired tools via one side, the choice of side +depending on the machine's orientation, as for processing machines. It is +safe to put into the tool workshop a tool that is already fully repaired: +assuming the presence of a tube upgrade, the tool will be quickly ejected. +Furthermore, any item of unrepairable type will also be ejected as if +fully repaired. (Due to a historical limitation of the basic Minetest +game, it is impossible for the tool workshop to distinguish between a +fully-repaired tool and any item type that never displays a wear bar.) + +### quarry ### + +The quarry is an HV powered machine that automatically digs out a +large area. The region that it digs out is a cuboid with a square +horizontal cross section, located immediately behind the quarry machine. +The quarry's action is slow and energy-intensive, but requires little +player effort. + +The size of the quarry's horizontal cross section is configurable through +the machine's interaction form. A setting referred to as "radius" +is an integer number of meters which can vary from 2 to 8 inclusive. +The horizontal cross section is a square with side length of twice the +radius plus one meter, thus varying from 5 to 17 inclusive. Vertically, +the quarry always digs from 3 m above the machine to 100 m below it, +inclusive, a total vertical height of 104 m. + +Whatever the quarry digs up is ejected through the top of the machine, +as if from a pneumatic tube. Normally a tube should be placed there +to convey the material into a sorting system, processing machines, or +at least chests. A chest may be placed directly above the machine to +capture the output without sorting, but is liable to overflow. + +If the quarry encounters something that cannot be dug, such as a liquid, +a locked chest, or a protected area, it will skip past that and attempt +to continue digging. However, anything remaining in the quarry area +after the machine has attempted to dig there will prevent the machine +from digging anything directly below it, all the way to the bottom +of the quarry. An undiggable block therefore casts a shadow of undug +blocks below it. If liquid is encountered, it is quite likely to flow +across the entire cross section of the quarry, preventing all digging. +The depth at which the quarry is currently attempting to dig is reported +in its interaction form, and can be manually reset to the top of the +quarry, which is useful to do if an undiggable obstruction has been +manually removed. + +The quarry consumes 10 kEU per block dug, which is quite a lot of energy. +With most of what is dug being mere stone, it is usually not economically +favorable to power a quarry from anything other than solar power. +In particular, one cannot expect to power a quarry by burning the coal +that it digs up. + +Given sufficient power, the quarry digs at a rate of one block per second. +This is rather tedious to wait for. Unfortunately, leaving the quarry +unattended normally means that the Minetest server won't keep the machine +running: it needs a player nearby. This can be resolved by using a world +anchor. The digging is still quite slow, and independently of whether a +world anchor is used the digging can be speeded up by placing multiple +quarry machines with overlapping digging areas. Four can be placed to +dig identical areas, one on each side of the square cross section. + +### forcefield emitter ### + +The forcefield emitter is an HV powered machine that generates a +forcefield remeniscent of those seen in many science-fiction stories. + +The emitter can be configured to generate a forcefield of either +spherical or cubical shape, in either case centered on the emitter. +The size of the forcefield is configured using a radius parameter that +is an integer number of meters which can vary from 5 to 20 inclusive. +For a spherical forcefield this is simply the radius of the forcefield; +for a cubical forcefield it is the distance from the emitter to the +center of each square face. + +The power drawn by the emitter is proportional to the surface area of +the forcefield being generated. A spherical forcefield is therefore the +cheapest way to enclose a specified volume of space with a forcefield, +if the shape of the space doesn't matter. A cubical forcefield is less +efficient at enclosing volume, but is cheaper than the larger spherical +forcefield that would be required if it is necessary to enclose a +cubical space. + +The emitter is normally controlled merely through its interaction form, +which has an enable/disable toggle. However, it can also (via the form) +be placed in a mesecon-controlled mode. If mesecon control is enabled, +the emitter must be receiving a mesecon signal in addition to being +manually enabled, in order for it to generate the forcefield. + +The forcefield itself behaves largely as if solid, despite being +immaterial: it cannot be traversed, and prevents access to blocks +behind it. It is transparent, but not totally invisible. It cannot +be dug by ordinary tools, but (a bug) can be removed by special digging +tools such as the mining drills. + +The forcefield occupies space that would otherwise have been air, but does +not replace or otherwise interfere with materials that are solid, liquid, +or otherwise not just air. If such an object blocking the forcefield is +removed, the forcefield will quickly extend into the now-available space, +but it does not do so instantly: there is a brief moment when the space +is air and can be traversed. + +It is possible to have a doorway in a forcefield, by placing in advance, +in space that the forcefield would otherwise occupy, some non-air blocks +that can be walked through. For example, a door suffices, and can be +opened and closed while the forcefield is in place. + administrative world anchor --------------------------- @@ -956,12 +1115,6 @@ subjects missing from this manual This manual needs to be extended with sections on: -* powered machines - * CNC machine - * music player - * tool workshop - * forcefield emitter - * quarry * power generators * hydro * geothermal