AllTheCompressed guide for All the Mods 10: To the Sky 1.6 to 1.9.1

AllTheCompressed adds compressed versions of common blocks, so you can store huge amounts of materials without filling your base with chests. The pack includes version 4.3.0, and the mod has been here since the first release of the pack or earlier.^[1][2]

It's for anyone who expects to gather a lot of materials in this pack. That means just about everybody, since the quest book itself says you'll need lots of them.^[2]

How the pack introduces it

The quest "Compressed Blocks" quest in Chapter 1 is your first meeting with the mod. It asks you to obtain Gravel 1x. The quest explains that you can combine 9 blocks into 1 compressed block. This works with many different blocks, and each compressed block can be compressed even further.^[2]

A surprising use in Chapter 2

Compressed blocks are also useful as a stand-in for other materials. In "Crushing for Flux Dust" quest, you make Flux Dust by crushing Redstone against Bedrock with Obsidian. Since you don't have Bedrock, the quest has you use Obsidian 1x instead, and it calls the 1X version close enough.^[3]

To set it up, place the compressed Obsidian down, then put normal Obsidian above it with a 1 block gap. Throw the Redstone Dust between them and left click the top Obsidian to crush it.^[3]

Unverified The sources don't show this mod on the ATM Star quest path, so don't assume it is a required step for ATM Star.

AllTheCompressed adds compressed versions of blocks, so you can store huge amounts of materials in very little space. In this pack the compressed tiers are called 1x, 2x and so on. The recipes shown here go up to 9x, for example for Acacia Logs and Acacia Planks. Your first two compressed items are Gravel and Obsidian, and the pack's quests push you to make both.^[2][3][4]

Step 1: Compressed Gravel

The quest "Compressed Blocks" quest in Chapter 1 asks you to make Gravel 1x. The quest explains the idea: you combine 9 blocks into 1 compressed block, it works with a ton of different blocks, and each compressed block can be compressed even further. You'll need lots of materials in this pack, and this saves you from filling the world with chests.^[2]

Gravel 1xMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

9 × Gravel

Recipe id: allthecompressed:compress/gravel_1x

This shaped crafting recipe turns plain Gravel into your first compressed block.

Changed your mind? You can turn Gravel 2x back into Gravel 1x with a shapeless crafting recipe.^[4]

9× Gravel 1xMod recipe

Crafting Shapeless

• Gravel 2x

Recipe id: allthecompressed:decompress/gravel_2x

Step 2: Compressed Obsidian for Flux Dust

Next up is Obsidian 1x. The quest "Crushing for Flux Dust" quest in Chapter 2 uses it as a stand-in for Bedrock. Flux is made by crushing Redstone against Bedrock with Obsidian, and the quest says compressed 1x Obsidian is close enough.^[3]

Obsidian 1xMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

9 × Obsidian

Recipe id: allthecompressed:compress/obsidian_1x

1. Place the 1x Obsidian.^[3]
2. Place normal Obsidian above it, leaving a 1 block gap.^[3]
3. Throw the Redstone Dust into the gap between them.^[3]
4. Left click the top Obsidian to crush the Redstone. This gives you Flux Dust.^[3]

Step 3: Feed your gravel supply

The pack adds crushing recipes that turn compressed Cobblestone, Granite, Andesite and Diorite (all 1x) into Gravel 1x. Each one has a Mekanism crushing version, a Create crushing version and an Ex Deorum compressed hammer version. Here is the Create one for Cobblestone.^[4]

Gravel 1xAdded by the pack

Crushing (create)

• Cobblestone 1x

Recipe id: create:kjs/76ph95xkzyzfvdlqckz6036z5

This Create crushing recipe was added by the pack and turns Cobblestone 1x into Gravel 1x.

Same as in the All the Mods 10: To the Sky 2.0.4 guide

Here's the honest picture for this one: in this pack, the sources I have only show AllTheCompressed as a set of compressed blocks made by hand in a crafting grid. There are no machines, multiblocks, power, fluids or item automation described anywhere in them.^[5]

Compression happens in the crafting grid

Every compression recipe I can see is a shaped crafting recipe, so you don't need any special machine. They all live under the compress recipe path of the mod and are named after the tier they produce, from 1x up to 9x.^[5]

The tiers form a chain. The 1x item is made from the plain base block, and every tier after that is made from the tier directly below it. So to get a 9x block you have to build every step from 1x to 8x first. You can't skip tiers.^[5]

Acacia is a good example. The first step turns a vanilla acacia log into Acacia Log 1x, and the next step turns that into Acacia Log 2x.^[5]

Acacia Log 1xMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

9 × Acacia Log

Recipe id: allthecompressed:compress/acacia_log_1x

The first step of the chain starts from the vanilla acacia log.

Acacia Log 2xMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

9 × Acacia Log 1x

Recipe id: allthecompressed:compress/acacia_log_2x

Later steps use the tier directly below as the input.

Planks work the same way, running from Acacia Planks 1x up to Acacia Planks 9x.^[5]

Recipes the pack changed

Not every chain is a plain mod default. The pack changed the recipes for the Allthemodium and Aluminum chains, while the acacia recipes are shown as the mod's own.^[5]

The Allthemodium chain starts from the Block of Allthemodium (Block of Allthemodium) and produces Allthemodium Block 1x. Each later tier, up to Allthemodium Block 9x, is built from the previous one.^[5]

Allthemodium Block 1xChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

9 × Block of Allthemodium

Recipe id: allthecompressed:compress/allthemodium_block_1x

This recipe is changed by the pack and starts from the Block of Allthemodium.

The Aluminum chain is a bit more flexible at the start. Aluminum Block 1x accepts any block from the common aluminum storage block tag, so it isn't tied to one mod's aluminum block. After that it continues with Aluminum Block 2x and the higher tiers.^[5]

Aluminum Block 1xChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

9 × any aluminum storage block

Recipe id: allthecompressed:compress/aluminum_block_1x

This recipe is changed by the pack and accepts any block in the aluminum storage block tag.

Unverified Anything beyond crafting-table compression is unconfirmed: whether the compressed blocks have special properties, whether they can be uncompressed again, how they behave with automation, and whether any config options exist. The sources here show no guidebook, tooltips or config files for this mod.

There's no tech tree to climb with this mod. Progression here means compression tiers. You start with a normal block, turn it into the 1x version, and keep compressing it step by step. Every tier is a separate item, so you can see exactly how far a stack has been squeezed.^[2][4]

How the tiers work

The first tier takes the normal block and gives you the 1x version. Every tier after that takes the previous one. In the recipes I can see, the chains run from 1x up to 9x: Acacia Log, Acacia Planks, Allthemodium Block, Aluminum Block, Block of Amethyst, Ancient Log and Ancient Stone. For example, Acacia Log 1x leads to Acacia Log 2x, and so on up to Acacia Log 9x.^[4]

The pack's first quest on this topic explains the idea: you combine 9 blocks into 1 compressed block, and each compressed block can be compressed even further. It works with a lot of different blocks.^[2]

Tier 1x: your starting point

Gravel is the first block the pack asks you to compress. The "Compressed Blocks" quest quest in Chapter 1 has you get Gravel 1x, and it points out that compressing beats using a billion chests for all your gravel.^[2]

Gravel 1xMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

9 × Gravel

Recipe id: allthecompressed:compress/gravel_1x

Obsidian follows the same pattern, and this one has a real use in the Chapter 2 quest.^[4]

Obsidian 1xMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

9 × Obsidian

Recipe id: allthecompressed:compress/obsidian_1x

If you compress too far or want a lower tier back, there are decompress recipes. The ones I can confirm go from Gravel 2x to Gravel 1x, and from Obsidian 2x to Obsidian 1x.^[4]

9× Gravel 1xMod recipe

Crafting Shapeless

• Gravel 2x

Recipe id: allthecompressed:decompress/gravel_2x

9× Obsidian 1xMod recipe

Crafting Shapeless

• Obsidian 2x

Recipe id: allthecompressed:decompress/obsidian_2x

Feeding the gravel supply

The pack adds extra ways to get Gravel 1x without crafting it from plain gravel. Compressed 1x Cobblestone, Andesite, Diorite and Granite can each be turned into it. The pack added these recipes for Mekanism crushing, Create crushing and the Ex Deorum compressed hammer.^[4]

• Mekanism crushing: Cobblestone 1x, Andesite 1x, Diorite 1x or Granite 1x into Gravel 1x.^[4]
• Create crushing: the same four 1x blocks into Gravel 1x.^[4]
• Ex Deorum compressed hammer: the same four 1x blocks into Gravel 1x.^[4]

Pack-changed tiers

The pack changes the compression chains for Allthemodium Block, Aluminum Block, Ancient Log and Ancient Stone. Don't assume the mod's default recipes apply to these four, and check the recipe viewer. For Aluminum Block, the first tier accepts any block from the aluminum storage block tag. The Acacia and Amethyst chains are the mod's own recipes.^[4]

Quest tie-in: Crushing for Flux Dust

In Chapter 2, the Crushing for Flux Dust quest gives Obsidian 1x a job. Flux normally comes from crushing redstone against bedrock with obsidian. You don't have bedrock, so the quest tells you that 1x Compressed Obsidian is close enough. Place the 1x Obsidian down, put normal obsidian above it with a one-block gap, and throw redstone dust in between. Then left-click the top obsidian to crush it, and you get Flux Dust.^[3]

AllTheCompressed is mostly about other mods' blocks. In this pack, nearly every compressed block is a 1x version of a block from another mod, and every one of those recipes is marked as changed by the pack. So the links below come from in-pack recipes and two quests, not from guesses about the mod's defaults.^[4]

How the connection works

Each supported block has two recipes. A shaped compress recipe turns the other mod's block into its 1x version. A shapeless decompress recipe turns the 1x block back into the original. The quest text says the idea is combining 9 blocks into 1 compressed block, and that each one can be compressed even further.^[2][4]

Fluix Block 1xChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

9 × Fluix Block

Recipe id: allthecompressed:compress/fluix_block_1x

Compressing a Fluix Block from the ae2 namespace into its 1x version.

9× Fluix BlockChanged by the pack

Crafting Shapeless

• Fluix Block 1x

Recipe id: allthecompressed:decompress/fluix_block_1x

Turning the 1x block back into the normal Fluix Block.

Which mods are covered

• Allthemodium: Block of Allthemodium, the raw Allthemodium, Unobtainium and Vibranium blocks, the alloy blocks such as Block of Vibranium - Allthemodium Alloy, plus Ancient Log, Ancient Stone and Block of Piglich Hearts.^[4]
• AllTheOres: blocks such as Aluminum Block, Bronze Block, Iridium Block, Lead Block and Salt Block have 1x versions.^[4]
• Applied Energistics 2 and its addons: Certus Quartz Block, Fluix Block and Sky Stone, plus Entro Block, Block of Silicon, Charged Redstone Crystal Block and the MEGA Cells blocks Sky Bronze Block, Sky Osmium Block and Sky Steel Block.^[4]
• Ender IO: the conductive, copper, energetic, pulsating, redstone, vibrant and other alloy blocks, including Dark Steel Block, End Steel Block and Soularium Block.^[4]
• Powah: Block Of Blazing Crystal, Block Of Energized Steel, Block Of Niotic Crystal, Block Of Nitro Crystal, Block Of Spirited Crystal and Block Of Uraninite.^[4]
• Ex Deorum: Crushed Netherrack, Crushed Deepslate, Crushed Blackstone, Crushed End Stone and Dust.^[4]
• AllTheTweaks: ATM Star Block, GregStar Block, Nether Star Block and Ender Pearl Block.^[4]
• XyCraft: Kivi and the five Xychorium gem storage blocks, such as Blue Xychorium Gem Storage.^[4]
• Single blocks from other mods: Block of Compressed Iron from PneumaticCraft, Darkstone from Forbidden Arcanus, and Wax Block from Productive Bees.^[4]

Mekanism is a small special case. Antimatter Block is crafted from the Antimatter Pellet item rather than from a block, and decompressing it gives the pellet back.^[4]

Quests that use compressed blocks

The early quest "Compressed Blocks" quest introduces compression with Gravel 1x. Its pitch is that you will need lots of materials, so compressing beats filling a billion chests.^[2]

"Crushing for Flux Dust" quest gives a compressed block a real job. Flux Networks makes Flux Dust by crushing Redstone against Bedrock with Obsidian. You don't have Bedrock, so the quest uses Obsidian 1x as a stand-in, calling it close enough.^[3]

1. Place the 1x Obsidian down.^[3]
2. Place normal Obsidian above it, leaving a 1 block gap.^[3]
3. Throw Redstone Dust into the gap between them.^[3]
4. Left click the top Obsidian to crush it and get Flux Dust.^[3]

Two quests in the pack involve AllTheCompressed. One is in Chapter 1: Starting out, and the other is in Chapter 2: The Cool Parts.^[2][3]

Chapter 1: Starting out

"Compressed Blocks" quest is your first look at compressed blocks. It unlocks after another quest, and its task is to hand in Gravel 1x.^[2]

The quest text explains why this matters in an ATM pack: you need lots of materials, and instead of filling a billion chests you can combine 9 blocks into 1 compressed block. It works with many different blocks, and each compressed block can be compressed even further.^[2]

Chapter 2: The Cool Parts

"Crushing for Flux Dust" quest puts a compressed block to practical use. It unlocks after The Cool Parts, and its tasks are normal obsidian, Obsidian 1x and redstone.^[3]

The idea is to make Flux Dust for Flux Networks. Flux normally comes from crushing redstone against bedrock with obsidian. You don't have bedrock here, so the quest uses compressed obsidian at 1x as a stand-in.^[3]

1. Place the 1x obsidian block.^[3]
2. Place normal obsidian above it, leaving a 1 block gap.^[3]
3. Throw the redstone dust into the gap between them.^[3]
4. Left click the top obsidian to crush it. That gives you Flux Dust.^[3]