SKCraft Community

Thermal Generators can be crafted again, and the recipes for turning Thermal Generators into Advanced Solars and for turning Advanced Solars into Hybrid Solars have been removed. Because of all this, the Advanced Solar recipe has also been reverted to what it was before.

Running Alice with the number of people that we do has become more difficult with increasing Minecraft versions due to increasing CPU usage and the greater prevalence of memory leaks ("bad code"). While we're waiting to upgrade to a better Intel Haswell CPU, the timeline on that is currently uncertain. In the meantime, and because ultimately Minecraft is only capable of using one CPU at one time, we're going to consider splitting Alice into two separate but connected servers.

This would allow us to use other CPUs and other systems and "split the load," giving everyone a performance boost and reducing lag. As the plan goes,

• Player inventory and details would be shared between servers. You would still be able to perform trades with other Alice players on other servers.
• Chat and player list would appear as if you were on the same server (similar to how our James and Vincent servers were run years ago).
• Worlds would be exact mirrors of each other, as far as the seed goes.
• You would be allowed to transfer chunks between servers (occasionally) so you could switch servers as conditions changed.
• Certain players would be shuffled to other servers in order to balance out the load.
• Ender chests and other cross-world items would not work across servers, but we could add a "cross-server chest" in the future.
• You'd be allowed to build in other servers, such as to place a portal that sends users to the right server for your home.

Right now, we haven't implemented this, but we're deeply considering it.

The server has been updated:

• Fixed a number of server crashes with various mods.
• Fixed ComputerCraft network cabling not working properly.
• Fixed OpenPeripherals causing a deadlock.
• Reduced the default portal open time of Enhanced Portals to 5 seconds.
• Restored a feature from Alice 1.2.5 where IC2 fueled jet packs give you creative fly.

We've been having issues with ComputerCraft's cables and third-party peripherals that result in occasional server lockups. In the mean time, you may find that the cables are nonfunctional, but we're going to figure out a way to fix the bug and restore the cables.

Unfortunately, as some of you may have learned unexpectedly, the Camping Mod was removed without the usual two week advance notice that you may have been used to in the past. There have also been fairly frequent and sudden balance and recipe changes that rarely ever occurred on previous versions of Alice. The older members of the server may know that, as of Minecraft 1.5, I no longer handle the modpack myself and the responsibility has been shifted to the Mod Pack Team. We expect that these issues are merely growing pains as we get the gears rolling, and so things should run more smoothly as time goes on. Sorry for the trouble.

If you have lost items as a result of the Camping Mod change, please post in the Ask-A-Moderator forum and someone will assist you.

With the addition of Enhanced Portals, you can now create portals that other players can teleport to if they punch in the code of your portal!

Making an Enhanced Portal

Building the Destination

First, you'll want to make a nether portal like you would normally, with obsidian surrounding a portal area, with one crucial difference: it can be any shape! Portals can actually be made out of more than obsidian too, but let's keep it simple for now. Since we're not actually making a real Nether portal, don't light it up with flint and steel.



Before you place all the obsidian blocks, note that block at the bottom. It's a "Portal Modifier" block (#1346, see NEI for the recipe). It has to face where the glowy see-through portal material would be, which means that you can either put it below, on the side, or even behind. Make two of these portal modifier blocks, and place one in this portal.

Once you've done that, you also will want to make two Dialling Upgrades, as well as one Dimensional Upgrade. Right click the modifier block with one of the dialling upgrades to install it. Right click the modifier block again without an upgrade in your hand to open its GUI.


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You'll be asked to set an identifier, which is the code that you will need later on to teleport here. In the screenshot above, the identifier consists of two blaze rods in that exact order and number, but you can and use something unique.

This portal is ready.

Making the Dialler

Let's make a dialler portal. First, you need to make either a Basic Dial Device, or a Dial Device. The basic one does not have a "bookmarks" function so you have to type in a code every time, so make the non-basic one if you can afford it.



Build this portal like the other one, and place the dialler nearby. Install both the Dialler Upgrade and the Dimensional Upgrade (you need this if the other portal is in the same world) into the modifier.

You do not need to actually set an identifier for this portal.

Using the Dialler

Right click your Dial Device and enter the code to teleport to the destination. If you have the non-basic dialer, you can also add bookmarks as mentioned before, so you can quickly select a destination. With the non-basic dialer, you can also adjust how long the portal stays open (SHIFT and CTRL click to adjust the rate that the time changes).

You will be prompted for a client update on the next game launch.

• Fixed issues with plates as mentioned in the previous post.
• Fixed Infestation player, possibly, for some people.
• Downgraded LWJGL to 2.8.4 for Mac OS X users. This should hopefully fix issues with the "upside down game" problem that some may have had.

Note: In the updates of the past few days, a few one-off issues such as boilers exploding and MFR harvesters not working properly may have been fixed.

The current situation
The latest update of WeHatePlates had unforeseen consequences. Most pulverized versions and dusts of metals will turn into plates if you smelt them right now. To get around this before it's fixed, just smelt the plates again and it will give you the ingots.

My plans with WeHatePlates
I realized that WeHatePlates, the mod that allows for a workaround around GregTech plates, is a mod that is done in a very, very hacky way. This is why I have decided to drop the mod.

But don't worry!
Plate Bending Machines have been nearly costless and very quick to use for a while already. I plan to include Plate Bending Machines in the starter kit for players. I also plan to make an NPC at spawn that gives out 'Plate Bending Kits' for free at spawn.

What do I do with the OBSOLETE plates?
Get rid of them. Use them, smelt them or maybe try to use an Unifier with them. Next update, or the update after that, will completely remove those plates. I am not sure what will happen to the plates that have been used as covers on GregTech machines, so just try to replace those with the plates from GregTech itself.


EDIT: You can now get a free plate bending machine at spawn. Look for Gregory hidden quite near the spawn point. Plate Bending Machines are also part of the starter kit now.

You will be prompted to update your client upon launching the game.

• Added MachineMuse's Modular Powersuits, which we tried in the past, but has made a return!
• Added OpenBlocks, a few new utilities.
• Added Enhanced Portals 2, a Mystcraft-Esque portal system that lets you dial into portals.
• Added the CC Addon to accompany Enchanced Portals 2. (This may or may not work properly.)
• Re-Added Factorization.
• Updated BinnieMods.
• Updated NumiRP.
• Updated WeHatePlates.
• Updated Translocators.
• Removed the Camping Mod.
• Removed BioLock.
• Fixed LiteLoader, you can now use WECUI.
• Fixed FrogCraft Language files, no more Unnamed items!
• Disabled Thermal Gens client-sided. (Server was already disabled)
• Changed the Inventory Screen to Tinker's Construct from CustomNPCs. You can still press L to see any active quests.
• Disabled the Vajra's Precison Mode.
• Made BackTools, ChatBubbles, LightLevelOverlay, InventoryTweaks, and Mouse Tweaks optional.

Goodbye free lava, hello new recipes.

• Free lava at spawn has been disabled, but we've added a recipe to convert one Lava Generator into three Advanced Solar Panels. These recipes will only be valid until August 25, 2013, but whatever you craft will be permanent.


• Pumping in the nether has been disabled. Please report if we missed something.
• There is a new recipe to convert your lower-tier Advanced Solars into higher-tier Hybrid Solars (with equivalent output). Converting them lets you save space and reduce server lag. The recipes should work inside a crafting table, but you may have trouble using them inside your AE system.

(8 Advanced Solars surrounding 1 Electronic Circuit, to give 1 Hybrid Solar)

Addendum by Pathaleon:

• It is no longer possible to craft GregTech Lava Generators.
• The hard recipe for advanced solar panels has be re-enabled. It is now:

The additional parts for the recipe are as follows: