Am I Missing Something?

[Buzhwaz 17]

I've been playing TFC for a few weeks. I really like it. However, I find that I'm reaching a kind of plateau. Right now, it feels like I'm mining ore to make picks to mine ore to make picks to mine ore...etc. Is there another level to this mod that I'm not aware of? Like the nether or enchanting?

[warfighter67 124]

Thats kind of the problem with this mod currently. It's fun in the stone age and beginning metals but after that, it's just the same thing over.

[EstebanLB 183]

Because it's in development. If you read the changelogs and blog entries you will see the scope for this mod

[Buzhwaz 17]

Ah..ok...as long as i'm not just missing the whole point.

btw, it's awesome watching this mod develop. I've seen 2 or 3 updates since I started. really fun stuff.

[Paragon83 10]

You see that is part of the reason that I am more of a builder, because the adventure aspect (in both vanilla MC and TFC) eventually comes to an end, there is only so many materials, tools, weapons, and overall advancement you can do. With building you are only limited to your imagination and so there is no end. For me the metals only have any kind of value because one needs them to make the chisel, with which I can unlock the rest of the construction mechanics (at least until the construction overhaul). I am fine staying with tier 0 metal tools if I have enough of those metals to keep replacing tools I have broken from building. I never even have the urge to look for or make any of the more advanced metals, they don't matter to me, I could care less about iron, bronze, or steel, they would only give me longer lasting versions of the same tools I already use.

Everyone takes something different from the mod and finds their own enjoyment, but for me the creative aspect is the best as its the only one that can be potentially endless (not that its impossible to get tired of building), unless of course you are someone who loves endlessly mining for more metals to make more tools and on and on.

[kinjirurm 1]

I'm having a hard time making it at the early stages, so I can only imagine later on. I make a pro pick and a pickaxe, go looking for metals, find a source after I've expended half my pro pick, then burn both picks trying to actually find the ore once I know it's close by.

The pro pick just doesn't seem that helpful. I'll be next to a large source, then suddenly it's gone. I keep refining my search, but it seems like finding the ore is just persistence and luck, and unfortunately, metal is too scarce to afford the persistence part of the equation.

[Ulfengaard 44]

The propick is workable once you understand its method. This is an aspect of the mod which really requires meta-skill: skill on the human player's part. The same goes for smithing and chiseling and so forth. I know the frustration, but it isn't all luck unless you aren't trying to improve your propick skills.

[kinjirurm 1]

I don't know what that method is... to be honest, I just try to follow the vein as the pro pick seems to indicate it. If I get hits on two adjacent walls, I knock them both down and then keep going. I haven't gotten caught in a cave in so far, but it seems inevitable, with me snaking in circles following the ore vein.

Not sure what a better way is. I get forging, chiseling, etc, but the pro pick is an exercise in frustration. I try to picture a collection of 25x25x25 blocks (is that even accurate?) every time I pro pick, but it does not seem to pan out.

It seems as if that is the case, then it should be fairly easy to determine the a defined edge to the ore I'm detecting. Perhaps it's just that the pro pick is picking up many veins at once. Since TFC is meant to be a challenge, I don't necessarily expect it to be intuitive, but it's frustrating to be fighting the mechanics instead of enjoying a struggle for survival.

Of course, this is all just feedback, I love the mod. The big downside to it, right now, is that I'm missing the process of making intricate caves. That's completely impractical for actually finding ore.

[cevkiv 156]

Alright. Assuming you have dug a shaft straight down into the ground, dig a tunnel in each of the cardinal directions, using the propick as you go. These tunnels will need to be 25 blocks long each.

Eventually, you will notice that the ore seems to be concentrated more in one direction than another.

Proceed to the end of the tunnel where the concentration is highest, or to the spot in the tunnel where the concentration is highest if it tapers off before the end of the tunnel, and dig another group of tunnels to each cardinal direction. Repeat this process until you hit ore.

If you find that you seem to be where the vein should be, dig up and down.

[sdbaynham 57]

I dig around until I find a "medium" or better reading. Then I mark a spot that is a medium reading and set out in a direction. I keep going until the reading goes down. If it goes up, then I just raise my expectations and keep going until it goes down. Then I turn around and mark the two endpoints of my reading, calculate the midpoint. Then I set out from the midpoint in one of the two remaining directions, until the reading goes down. Turn around, find the other endpoint. Calculate the midpoint. Now you're at the centerpoint of the vein. If you haven't seen ore yet, it's either directly above or below you. Can't help you find which it is but I've found that people usually have a pretty good idea which it is.

[Pyrocantaes 8]

The propick is workable once you understand its method. This is an aspect of the mod which really requires meta-skill: skill on the human player's part. The same goes for smithing and chiseling and so forth. I know the frustration, but it isn't all luck unless you aren't trying to improve your propick skills.

This is true for medium and above deposits where the deposit is confined to an area of a few blocks .. but the pro-pick mechanics can give you a redaing of meduim where the ore is in 2/3/4 block clumps scattered throughout its entire 25x25x13 range. I this instance fdining any of the ore deposits is just pure luck ..

The mechanic works great for large and very large deposits .. the pro-pick definately needs at least two modes one with a 25x25x13 range and one with a 13x13x7 range at a minimum.

[eichermacher 0]

Yeah, the propick is only good when you know how to use it. If you want to learn about the mechanics of things without having to get all the equipment first, use creative mode and test things out.