FTB Ultimine in All the Mons

FTB Ultimine is the mod behind the vein-mining style of breaking connected blocks in one go. This version of the pack ships FTB Ultimine 2101.1.15, and it has been in the pack since 0.3.0-beta or earlier.^[1][2]

The sources I have don't include a description or guidebook for the mod itself. The only hint comes from the quest book, which calls Mekanism's vein mining a limited FTB Ultimine. That module breaks the connected blocks along with the ore or log you mine.^[2]

Where the quest book mentions it

The pack's quest book gives FTB Ultimine a mention in "Vein Mining Unit" quest, not a chapter of its own that I can see. It asks for Module Vein Mining Unit. The quest text says that with FTB Ultimine in the pack you have both options.^[2]

That quest sits in the chapter "Mekanism: Reactors" quest, in the "Tech" group (chapter 51 of 70 in the book). It carries the "Meka-Tool" label and comes after "Modification Station" quest, which asks for the Modification Station.^[2]

Two other Meka-Tool module quests also come after the Modification Station: "Shearing Unit" quest and "Excavation Escalation Unit" quest. So the Vein Mining Unit is one of several upgrades you can pick from once you have the Modification Station.^[2]

FTB Ultimine lets you break or modify a group of blocks in a single operation. The sources here show no crafting steps for getting started, so this section covers the controls and the limits you will run into first.^[3]

Your first Ultimine

1. Open your controls and look for the FTB Ultimine category. The Ultimine key is bound there, and its default is the backtick key.^[3]
2. To change the shape, hold the Ultimine key and sneak at the same time. That shows the shape selection menu. By default the menu is shown only when you sneak as well, though that is a client option.^[3]
3. You can also cycle shapes with the up and down cursor keys by default. If the option that requires the Ultimine key for cycling is on, you have to hold the key while you do it. If it is off, shapes can be cycled at any time.^[3]
4. If you want feedback, the mod can show a hotbar message with the new shape whenever you change it. That is a client option you can switch on or off.^[3]

Things that can stop an Ultimine

The mod has server-side limits, and any of them can explain why an Ultimine did less than you expected. There is a maximum number of blocks per operation, a cooldown between uses (measured in ticks, where 20 ticks is 1 second), and optional costs in exhaustion and experience per block.^[3]

Tool rules matter too. If the tool requirement is on, you need a damageable tool or an item in the ftbultimine:tools item tag. A second option can also require that the tool is valid for the block you are mining, meaning it can harvest the dropped items. Ultimining stops when your tool has a set amount of durability or less remaining, and setting that to 0 allows tools to break.^[3]

Unverified The values this pack uses for max blocks, cooldown, exhaustion, experience and the tool requirements are set in the mod's config, and the sources here do not show them.

Crops

There is also a crop feature. When single crop harvesting is true, right-clicking a crop block without the Ultimine key held harvests it.^[3]

Where the quest book mentions it

The quest book mentions FTB Ultimine in the "Mekanism: Reactors" quest chapter, in the Tech group. The "Vein Mining Unit" quest quest comes after "Modification Station" quest and asks for Module Vein Mining Unit for the Meka-Tool. It describes Vein Mining as a limited FTB Ultimine that breaks connected blocks when you mine ores or logs, and it points out that you also have FTB Ultimine.^[2]

Same as in the All the Mods 10 8.1 guide

The sources for FTB Ultimine only cover its settings tooltips, so this section explains what those settings do. It is a set of controls and server-side rules for breaking or modifying many blocks in one operation. Anything the tooltips don't confirm is left out.^[4]

Choosing a shape

You work with Ultimining shapes through the Ultimine key, which is the backtick key by default. Shapes are cycled with the up and down cursor keys by default. A client setting decides whether you must hold the Ultimine key to cycle. If it is off, you can cycle shapes at any time.^[4]

• Shape menu: hold the Ultimine key and sneak at the same time to show the shape selection menu. A client setting controls whether sneaking is required when you press the Ultimine key.^[4]
• Menu context lines: you can set how many shape names appear above and below the selected shape in the menu.^[4]
• Hotbar feedback: you can turn on a hotbar message that names the new shape whenever you change it.^[4]
• Overlay: there are settings for the horizontal and vertical inset, which is measured toward the center of the screen and ignored when that axis is centered. The overlay scale looks best in multiples of 0.25.^[4]
• Preview lines: you can adjust the opacity of preview lines that sit inside blocks.^[4]

Costs and limits

The server controls how much Ultimining can do and what it costs you. If FTB Ranks is installed, its matching nodes take priority over these settings when present.^[4]

• Max blocks: the maximum number of blocks that can be broken or modified in one operation. FTB Ranks can override it with the ftbultimine.max_blocks node.^[4]
• Exhaustion per block: the hunger exhaustion each block costs. It can be a fractional amount, and FTB Ranks can override it with the ftbultimine.exhaustion_per_block node.^[4]
• Experience per block: the experience each block costs. It can also be fractional, and FTB Ranks can override it with the ftbultimine.experience_per_block node.^[4]
• Cooldown: the time in ticks required between uses of Ultimine, where 20 ticks is 1 second. FTB Ranks can override it with the ftbultimine.ultimine_cooldown node.^[4]

Tool rules

Several server settings decide which tools can Ultimine. One requires you to have equipped either a damageable tool or an item in the ftbultimine:tools item tag. Another requires the equipped tool to be valid for the block being Ultimined, meaning it must be able to harvest dropped items.^[4]

Tool protection is a separate setting. Ultimining stops once the equipped tool has this much durability or less remaining, and setting it to 0 allows tools to break.^[4]

Which blocks get included

The merge-tag settings widen what counts as the same kind of block. In shapeless digging mode, any block in the listed tags that shares a block tag with the block you mined is a valid candidate. Shaped digging modes have their own list that works the same way, and its default of '*' means any block is a valid candidate.^[4]

An advanced setting controls what happens when the dig meets unbreakable blocks. It can stop digging there instead of skipping over them.^[4]

Extra features

• Single crop harvesting: when enabled, right-clicking a crop without the Ultimine key held harvests it.^[4]
• Right-click crystals: this harvests vanilla Amethyst and other modded crystals. It requires the FTB Ez Crystals mod and is NeoForge only.^[4]

Unverified The pack's actual values for the settings above (max blocks, cooldown, exhaustion and experience costs, tool protection, and which options are enabled) are not shown in the sources here, because no config files for this mod were available. They are set in the mod's own config files, so check them in game before relying on any default.

FTB Ultimine doesn't get its own tier path in this pack's quest book. The only place it comes up in the quests I have is the "Vein Mining Unit" quest quest, which sits in the "Mekanism: Reactors" chapter ("Mekanism: Reactors" quest). That chapter is in the Tech group, chapter 51 of 70 in the book.^[2]

That quest asks for Module Vein Mining Unit and is labelled Meka-Tool. It comes after the "Modification Station" quest quest. The quest text calls it a limited FTB Ultimine: when you mine ores or logs, the same blocks connected to it break with it. It then points out that you also have FTB Ultimine, so you're covered either way.^[2]

The Modification Station is how you put module units into tools and armor, and it needs energy to run. The "Meka-Tool" quest quest says the Meka-Tool uses modules instead of modes, and it follows the "Atomic Dissambler" quest quest.^[2]

17 of the 92 quests in the Mekanism: Reactors chapter aren't covered here, so check the quest book for those.^[2]

In the quest source for this pack, FTB Ultimine appears only in the text of one quest, in the Mekanism: Reactors chapter. That chapter is in the Tech group and is chapter 51 of 70 in the quest book. No task in that quest asks for an FTB Ultimine item.^[2]

The Vein Mining Unit quest

The quest is "Vein Mining Unit" quest, filed under the Meka-Tool label in the chapter. Its task is to submit one Module Vein Mining Unit. It comes after "Modification Station" quest, which asks for a Modification Station.^[2]

The quest text calls the module a limited FTB Ultimine. It says that when you mine ores or logs, the same blocks connected to the one you hit are broken with it. It then adds that the pack also has FTB Ultimine.^[2]

Where it sits in the chapter

1. "Modification Station" quest asks for the Modification Station. The quest text describes it as how you put Module Units into your tools and armor.^[2]
2. "Vein Mining Unit" quest lists the Modification Station as its prerequisite and asks for the Vein Mining Unit. Other Meka-Tool module quests have the same prerequisite, such as "Excavation Escalation Unit" quest and "Silk Touch Unit" quest.^[2]

The Meka-Tool has its own quest, "Meka-Tool" quest, which asks for the Meka-Tool and comes after "Atomic Dissambler" quest. Its text says the Meka-Tool uses Modification Units instead of modes, and it points you to their own quests.^[2]