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Kittychanley

TFC Myths

65 posts in this topic

I thought it might be interesting to create a master list of all of the myths about TFC mechanics that are commonly spread throughout the community, and include definite answers on if they are true or not, especially since much of the information passed around as fact outside of the forums and wiki isn't actually true. Feel free to post any common misconceptions that you've seen shared as fact that are actually false, as well as any rumors about mechanics you've heard that you aren't sure if it's true or not. I'll also update this post to keep an easily referable master list of everything discussed.

 

Common TFC Myths

 

True

  • Livestock will never respawn. (True)
    • Chickens, Cows, Horses, Pigs and Sheep will never respawn. Once you kill them, they are gone forever. Wild animals such as Bears, Deer, Pheasants and Wolves will respawn, but they use the vanilla passive mob respawning mechanic, which doesn't spawn new animals very often.
  • Player placed dirt has no nutrients when tilled. (Partially False)
    • There is no tracking of player placed versus world generated when it comes to blocks. Doing this would either require that we make all of the blocks non-ticking tile entities (which would cause a lot of lag), or create duplicates of all the blocks in the block registry. All dirt has no nutrients when tilled, and all grass has full nutrients when tilled.
  • The different bronzes have different durability and efficiency. (True)
    • Just like stone tools, this difference is primarily added as just a "this is neat" feature. The difference in durability from the middle to either the better or worse bronze is less than 2 stone tool's worth. The difference in efficiency from the middle to the better or worse bronze is just 1 point. It's also important to note that no bronze is completely better than another. The bronze with the highest durability has the slowest efficiency. The bronze with the lowest durability has the middle efficiency. The bronze with the middle durability has the highest efficiency.

False

  • ​Large vessels slow decay. (False)
    • ​Only the small ceramic vessel item has the 50% decay modifier. The only time that a large vessel will have an effect on decay is if you are using it the same way you would use a barrel, to store the food in some sort of preservation liquid.
  • Ore veins are larger and more likely to be rich quality if it's deep underground. (False)
    • With the exception of tier 0 and tier 1 metals, the size of veins is not influenced by the y-level of the vein. These starter metals have additional entries in the TFCOre.cfg configuration file that generates "surface" veins of these metals that are smaller than traditional veins. So ignoring these special surface veins, the size of a vein is going to be roughly the same regardless of if it is up at the surface or it is down at bedrock.
    • The quality of a vein is decided completely at random, and is not influenced by the y-level of the vein. A vein is just as likely to be rich quality up at the surface as it is down at bedrock.
  • Gems are more likely to be higher quality if deep underground. (False)
    • ​The quality of a gem is decided completely at random, and is not influenced by y-level. You are just as likely to get an exquisite gem up at the surface as you are down at bedrock.
  • Gold pans are the best way to get starting metals. (False)
    • ​The gold pan has been specifically balanced to discourage players from using it. We've done the math, and unless there is no copper-bearing stone types for thousands of blocks in each direction, or you are on a server where all of the nuggets in the area have already been picked up, it is way more efficient to go explore for nuggets on the ground than it is to pan for them.
  • Rock Type and Ore Generation is dependent on Z coordinate. (False)
    • ​The choice of rock type on the surface is completely random and is not influenced by anything.
    • Ore generation is based on rock type and nothing more.
  • Mobs will always spawn in dark spots. (False)
    • ​There is a spawn protection system that prevents mobs from spawning in areas that have been occupied for extended periods of time. In these areas, light level has absolutely no effect on mob spawning, because mobs aren't going to spawn regardless of it is light or dark.
  • Winters are extremely harsh and you must stock up on preserved food and fresh water to prevent dying of hunger or thirst. (False)
    • ​The severity of winter is entirely dependent on your z-coordinate. As you get closer to z=0, which is the equator, the climate is warmer and it is less likely to even reach freezing temperatures during the winter months.
    • Just like in vanilla, you can break an ice block to turn it back into a water source block, so there's absolutely no need to stock up on fresh water to drink.
    • The food decay system is based on the current temperature of the area, so if it's freezing temperatures outside the decay rate is already greatly slowed since it's similar to storing your food in a traditional freezer.
  • For general food storage, sealing the barrel/large vessel slows decay. (False)
    • ​Unless it is a single stack of food that is sealed in liquid, sealing the barrel/large vessel has absolutely no affect on food decay. A small vessel full of food has the exact same decay regardless of if it is placed on the ground, in a chest, in an unsealed barrel, or in a sealed barrel.
  • Using a bellows speeds up the rate of smelting and heating items. (False)
    • ​Bellows speed up the rate at which the device itself heats up (such as the forge), but it does not speed up the rate at which the items inside of that device heat up.
  • Bellows must be pumped the entire time that a blast furnace is running in order for it to smelt ore. (False)
    • The bellows only needs to be pumped when the items inside the blast furnace have reached the maximum temperature that is possible without the use of the bellows. At that point, a few pumps of the bellows increases the maximum temperature, and the items inside are will melt relatively quickly.
  • A cave-in cannot happen when mining a block that is within range of a support beam. (False)
    • ​Support beams only prevent blocks within its range from being the epicenter of a cave-in. Raw stone that is within this area can still cause cave-ins that originate outside the area when mined. Raw stone that is mined, regardless of if it is supported or not, will randomly scan a 9x9x5 area centered on the broken block and if it finds raw stone or ore that is unsupported, the unsupported block will become the epicenter of a cave-in that will then spread outwards.
  • Some logs are better than others for charcoal production. (False)
    • All logs are created equal in regards to charcoal pits. It does not matter what type of log you put into the pit, you will always get the same average charcoal yields.
  • Knives are better than fists for breaking leaves. (False)
    • ​The drop rate of saplings and sticks is exactly the same for anything that is not a scythe. The only tool besides scythes that can break leaves faster than a fist is a pair of iron shears. Using a knife to break leaf blocks does nothing more than use up its durability, and provides absolutely no advantage.
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Do gems rise in quality with depth, though?

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Do gems rise in quality with depth, though?

 

Nope, I'll add that as a separate entry.

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Might want to add something about how supports don't prevent blocks from caving in if a cave-in starts outside the supported area, and then propagates back into it.  I think that's a common misconception.

 

I have another mining related question though.  Recently I've had a few incidents where ore disappeared, and cobble appeared below.  This was not ore below unsupported stone - I scrupulously avoid that.  But I had previously thought that ore was A: not in itself affected by cave-in mechanics (only by falling cobble), and B: acted as support for a raw stone block directly above it.  At first I thought my B assumption was wrong, and the raw stone directly above the ore was caving down through it, meaning ore does not act as support, but that didn't really make sense as all ore blocks, exposed or not, would be in danger.  Then, the most recent time it happened I'm almost certain there was no raw stone blocks above the ore, and it was the ore block itself that spontaneously turned to cobble as a result of my nearby mining.  Was this a new feature of 79.24, along with the nerfing of cobble farming, or has it always been this way?  It's not a rumor or myth I've heard elsewhere, just my own observations, so sorry if it doesn't belong here.

Edited by Darmo
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Only mining a raw stone block can trigger a cave in, but other than that both ore blocks and raw stone blocks behave exactly the same in that they can turn into cobble if a cave-in spreads to them, and they both can be the epicenter of a cave-in if they are not supported. So mining ore will never trigger a cave in, but mining raw stone next to ore can cause the ore blocks to cave in.

 

0.79.16 Change Log

  • Cave ins now properly propagate to ore blocks, turning them into falling cobblestone. Ore blocks will also now be destroyed by falling blocks, so cave ins that happen above an ore vein that fall onto it will DESTROY the ore. Note that in both of these cases, no ore items will be dropped, as the ore has been destroyed. This behavior can be changed in the configs.
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Ore veins are bigger near bedrock.

Rock Type and so ore/mineral generation is effected by z coordinate.

Those are 2 I hear a fair bit.

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Gold panning is the safest way to gather metal at night... where you can stay close to your spawn protected chunk.

 

Another myth, light level affects mob spawning, which is why everyone hates that torches go out.  :mellow:

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When your first winter comes, you should stock up water because everything will freeze and you risk dying of thirst.

 

If you break an ice block, it turns into water, like in vanilla, so you don't have to fill up thousands of barrels of water

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Gold panning is the safest way to gather metal at night... where you can stay close to your spawn protected chunk.

 

Another myth, light level affects mob spawning, which is why everyone hates that torches go out.  :mellow:

 

There's so many other things you can do to occupy your time at night to prepare for exploration during the day though, so that really doesn't matter.

 

I'll add the light level one to the list.

 

When your first winter comes, you should stock up water because everything will freeze and you risk dying of thirst.

 

If you break an ice block, it turns into water, like in vanilla, so you don't have to fill up thousands of barrels of water

 

Huh, I've never heard that variation of the myth, I'll add it in combo with food worries to the list. I've seen many players freak out about having enough food for the winter, and then realize they're living at the equator and the temperature is 15 in the middle of January.

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do foods recognized warm of forges, torches and inside house's walls?

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do foods recognized warm of forges, torches and inside house's walls?

 

Short Answer: No.

 

Long Answer:

 

There's no way to figure out "inside house's walls" in Minecraft without doing some sort of explicitly stated multi-block structure that is predefined.

 

The warm of forges is only for the unimplemented body temperature system.

 

Torches don't provide heat, they provide light. Dark areas are cooler than bright areas. This temperature change due to light level is factored into the food decay calculation.

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Animals have a timed re-spawn or never respawn? (deers, bears, cowns, pigs, chickens, horses)

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Animals have a timed re-spawn or never respawn? (deers, bears, cowns, pigs, chickens, horses)

 

http://wiki.terrafirmacraft.com/Animal_Husbandry

 

Chickens, Cows, Horses, Pigs and Sheep will never respawn.

 

Bears, Deer, Wild Wolves and Pheasants will respawn using the vanilla passive respawn mechanic, which generally doesn't respawn animals very often.

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I heard that supports beams make it so that a cave in will not happen if you are mining in the 9 x 9 x 3 area around a horizontal beam.

But When I was mining right next to a beam, I had a small cave in. Is this a bug or is it just a myth that they protect 100%?

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I heard that supports beams make it so that a cave in will not happen if you are mining in the 9 x 9 x 3 area around a horizontal beam.

But When I was mining right next to a beam, I had a small cave in. Is this a bug or is it just a myth that they protect 100%?

 

You misunderstood. Blocks within the 9 x 9 x 3 area cannot be the epicenter of a cave-in. But if you mine a block in that area, it can still scan outside that area and create the epicenter of a cave-in elsewhere. That's why you always always always have to make sure that every nearby block that has air underneath it is within range of a support beam.

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You misunderstood. Blocks within the 9 x 9 x 3 area cannot be the epicenter of a cave-in. But if you mine a block in that area, it can still scan outside that area and create the epicenter of a cave-in elsewhere. That's why you always always always have to make sure that every nearby block that has air underneath it is within range of a support beam.

What is the range? I know of a reavine (IDK how so spell) near my mine. And I noticed that the blocks had collapse in it.

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But I mean, the search range for cave ins and how far they can propagate. What is the range?

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"The white blocks represent a cross section of the top half of the area that is scanned if the chert block was broken (it also goes 2 blocks down). They grey blocks represent overlap."

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"The white blocks represent a cross section of the top half of the area that is scanned if the chert block was broken (it also goes 2 blocks down). They grey blocks represent overlap."

 

So it is a relatively small area then?

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...

 

I don't think I can make it any clearer.

 

If you think the white and grey blocks in the picture (4 out, 2 up/down) is a relatively small area, then yes.

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...

  • ​Large vessels slow decay. (False)
    • ​Only the small ceramic vessel item has the 50% decay modifier. The only time that a large vessel will have an effect on decay is if you are using it the same way you would use a barrel, to store the food in some sort of preservation liquid.

...

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, but is that true even when they're sealed?

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Large vessels are 100% the same as barrels. There is no way to use a large vessel to get the 50% decay modifier of small vessels.

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Large vessels are 100% the same as barrels. There is no way to use a large vessel to get the 50% decay modifier of small vessels.

Thanks for the clarification. Again, sorry if that was a stupid question.

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