RecursiveAE2PatternProvider in FTB Evolution 2

RecursiveAE2PatternProvider is an add-on for Applied Energistics 2 that saves you from hand-encoding every sub-recipe. You encode one recursive pattern for the item you want, and the mod generates patterns for the missing ingredients in your network for you.^[1][2]

This pack includes version 1.1.0 of the mod.^[3]

How you use it

1. Open the Pattern Encoding Terminal, pick the Crafting Pattern tab and switch the Recursive Pattern toggle on, then encode your recipe. This is the method the in-game guide recommends.^[4]
2. Or take an already encoded AE2 pattern and craft it in a crafting table with the configured recipe item, which defaults to Iron Ingot. Crafting a recursive pattern on its own turns it back into a normal one.^[1][4]
3. Put the recursive pattern into a Pattern Provider connected to a Molecular Assembler. The missing dependency patterns are then generated automatically.^[4]

Take an Iron Pickaxe. Normally you would encode the pickaxe, sticks, planks and an iron smelting pattern separately. With this mod you encode just the pickaxe as a recursive pattern and the rest is traced down the crafting tree for you.^[5]

It only builds patterns for items that have valid recipes. How deep it goes is set by the recursionDepth option in config/recursiveae2patternprovider-common.toml: -1 is unlimited, 0 turns it off, and 1 or more limits the depth. The Pattern Encoding Terminal button can be turned off with enableEncodingGuiToggle.^[1][4][6]

Unverified The sources here do not show where this pack's quest book places the mod, including any chapter or group, or whether the ATM Star path uses it.

Good news: there is nothing to build from scratch here. RecursiveAE2PatternProvider is an add-on for Applied Energistics 2 that generates the dependency patterns for complex recipes inside your network, so you encode one pattern instead of one for every sub-recipe. Your first steps are all about the Pattern Encoding Terminal you already use.^[1][2]

The mod is switched on in this pack, since enableRecursiveAE2PatternProvider is true. The terminal button is also on, since enableEncodingGuiToggle is true.^[8]

Your first recursive pattern

1. Open your Pattern Encoding Terminal and select the Crafting Pattern tab.^[4]
2. Next to the substitute buttons, toggle the Recursive Pattern button ON. You will see a green checkmark, and the button reads "Recursive Pattern: ON".^[4][9]
3. Put your recipe in the crafting grid and click Encode Pattern. The encoded pattern gets the recursive flag automatically.^[4]
4. Place the pattern in a Pattern Provider that is connected to a Molecular Assembler.^[4][7]

That is the whole setup. The mod then generates the missing intermediate patterns for you. The guide's example is an Iron Pickaxe: encode that one pattern and the sticks and planks patterns appear on their own, instead of you encoding each one by hand.^[4][5]

What this pack sets

• recursionDepth is -1, which means no limit, so the mod can trace the whole dependency tree. The allowed range is -1 to 100, and 0 turns recursion off.^[7][8]
• maxAlternativesPerItem is 1, so only the best recipe is generated for each dependency item.^[8][9]
• defaultAllowSubstitutes and defaultAllowFluidSubstitutes are both false. They are only the default for auto-generated patterns when the parent pattern has no substitute info. Otherwise generated patterns inherit the substitute settings of their parent.^[7][8][9]
• skipSelfReferentialRecipes is true, so recipes that consume their own output (like NBT-wipe recipes) are ignored. recipeBlacklist is empty.^[8]

The crafting table method

You can also turn an already encoded pattern into a recursive one in a crafting table by adding the configured recipe item. In this pack that item is Iron Ingot, set by recipeItem. To undo it, craft the recursive pattern on its own and you get the normal pattern back. If you would rather force players to use this method, set the terminal toggle option to false.^[4][7][8]

Unverified The sources here do not show an in-pack crafting recipe entry for converting a pattern into a recursive one, so no recipe is displayed for it. The item it requires is set in config/recursiveae2patternprovider-common.toml.

RecursiveAE2PatternProvider is an add-on for Applied Energistics 2 with one job: you encode a single pattern, flag it as recursive, and the mod generates the dependency patterns for missing crafting ingredients inside your network. No more hand-encoding every sub-recipe in a chain.^[2][9]

The mod is switched on in this pack through enableRecursiveAE2PatternProvider, which is set to true.^[8]

Making a pattern recursive

There are two ways to do it. The recommended one is the toggle built into the Pattern Encoding Terminal.^[4]

1. Open your Pattern Encoding Terminal and select the Crafting Pattern tab.^[4]
2. Next to the substitute buttons, switch the Recursive Pattern button ON. The button reads "Recursive Pattern: ON" and its description says automatic dependency pattern generation is enabled.^[4][9]
3. Put your recipe in the crafting grid and click Encode Pattern. The encoded pattern gets the recursive flag automatically.^[4]

The second way is a crafting table: you convert an already encoded AE2 pattern by crafting it together with the configured recipe item. In this pack recipeItem is Iron Ingot, which is also the mod's default. To undo it, craft the recursive pattern on its own and you get a normal pattern back.^[1][4][8]

The terminal toggle is controlled by enableEncodingGuiToggle, which is true here. The toggle only shows for Crafting Patterns and hides itself in Processing or Smithing modes. If you set the option to false, players can only make recursive patterns with the crafting table method.^[7][8]

If you re-open a recursive pattern in the Pattern Encoding Terminal to edit it, the recursive tag is kept when you re-encode. You only touch the toggle if you want to turn recursion off. Recursive patterns also show a "Recursive" label in their tooltip.^[4][6]

What happens in the Pattern Provider

Put the recursive pattern into a Pattern Provider that is connected to a Molecular Assembler. From there the mod generates dependency patterns in real time for the intermediate components your network is missing.^[4][7]

Take the Iron Pickaxe example: you encode one pickaxe pattern, and the mod traces the crafting tree down through sticks and planks, so you do not encode those yourself. It only builds patterns for items that have a valid, solvable recipe.^[4][5][6]

The mod's project page says recursion works on all AE2 pattern types: crafting, processing, smithing table and stonecutting. For a pattern that is not a crafting pattern, it must sit in a provider attached to a Molecular Assembler. The terminal toggle itself is only for crafting patterns.^[1][7]

Recursion depth

recursionDepth sets how far down the dependency tree the mod goes. The mod's guide describes it like this:^[7][9]

• Depth 1 only generates direct ingredients, for example planks for a chest.^[7]
• Depth 3 generates ingredients, their ingredients and logs, and is recommended for most setups.^[7]
• -1 is unlimited and solves the whole dependency tree down to raw materials.^[7]
• 0 disables recursion and restores vanilla AE2 behaviour.^[7]

This pack leaves the value at -1 (unlimited), which is also the mod default. The allowed range is -1 to 100.^[8]

Substitutes and recipe choice

Auto-generated patterns inherit the item and fluid substitute settings of their parent pattern. The defaults only apply when the parent pattern has no substitute info. In this pack defaultAllowSubstitutes and defaultAllowFluidSubstitutes are both false, so generated patterns do not accept equivalent items or fluids unless the parent allows them.^[7][8][9]

maxAlternativesPerItem controls how many crafting recipes are generated per dependency item. It is 1 in this pack, which means only the best recipe. The config notes that higher values (up to 64) bring back alternative recipes that AE2 may pick instead of the expected one.^[8][9]

• skipSelfReferentialRecipes is true: recipes that consume their own output, such as clear settings or NBT-wipe recipes, are ignored when generating dependency patterns.^[8][9]
• recipeBlacklist is empty. It takes an exact recipe id or a prefix ending in '*', and anything listed is never used for auto-generated patterns.^[8][9]

Compatibility notes

The mod's guide lists Extended AE2, Advanced AE and ExtendedAE-Plus as compatible. The project page adds that Extended AE is not compatible with its Assembler structure, and that Advanced AE's Advanced Processing Pattern is not supported.^[1][6]

This one is a bit different from the big tiered mods, you. RecursiveAE2PatternProvider has no tiers of its own in the sources I have. What you get is a workflow plus a recursion depth setting, so progression here means learning the steps in order and then choosing how deep you want the automatic pattern generation to go.^[2][4][7]

The workflow, step by step

1. Open a Pattern Encoding Terminal, pick the Crafting Pattern tab and switch the Recursive Pattern toggle on (it shows a green checkmark). The toggle only appears for crafting patterns and hides itself in Processing or Smithing modes.^[4][7]
2. Put your recipe in the crafting grid and click Encode Pattern. The pattern gets the recursive flag automatically.^[4]
3. Place the pattern in a Pattern Provider connected to a Molecular Assembler.^[4][7]
4. Let the mod do the rest. It generates dependency patterns for missing intermediate parts in real time, for example sticks and planks when you are crafting an Iron Pickaxe.^[4][5]

If you edit a recursive pattern later by putting it back into the terminal, the recursive tag is kept when you re-encode, so you do not need to toggle it again unless you want it off.^[4]

Recursion depth levels

The closest thing to tiers in this mod is how deep the dependency tracing goes. The in-game guide describes these levels:^[7]

• Depth 1: only the direct ingredients, such as planks for a chest.^[7]
• Depth 3: ingredients, their ingredients, and logs. The guide recommends this for most setups.^[7]
• Unlimited (-1): solves the whole dependency tree down to raw materials.^[7]
• Disabled (0): back to vanilla AE2 behavior.^[7]

Generated dependency patterns inherit the item and fluid substitution settings of the parent pattern, so set those on the pattern you encode.^[7]

The guide also says the terminal toggle can be switched off with the enableEncodingGuiToggle option, if you want players to make recursive patterns through the crafting table route only.^[4][7]

Unverified The sources here show no quest chapter and no crafting recipe for this mod's items, so where it sits in the pack's progression, and how you obtain it, is not confirmed here.

The mod has a small config file, and this pack leaves the two options that have a documented mod default at that default. Everything below is how the pack sets it in config/recursiveae2patternprovider-common.toml.^[8]

Turning recursion on and choosing how deep it goes

• enableRecursiveAE2PatternProvider is true in the pack. With it on, the mod automatically generates dependency patterns for missing crafting ingredients, and it works with all AE2 pattern types.^[8]
• recursionDepth is -1 in the pack, which is the mod default. -1 means no limit, 0 disables recursion, and positive values set a maximum depth. The allowed range is -1 to 100.^[8]
• maxAlternativesPerItem is 1 in the pack, which is also the mod default. It sets how many crafting recipes get generated per dependency item, and the allowed range is 1 to 64. The config comment recommends 1, which keeps only the best recipe. Higher values bring back alternative recipes that AE2 may pick instead of the one you expected.^[8]

Making patterns recursive

recipeItem is Iron Ingot in the pack, matching the default named in the config. You craft any AE2 pattern together with that item to make it recursive. Crafting a recursive pattern on its own, without the item, turns it back into a normal pattern.^[1][8]

enableEncodingGuiToggle is true, so the recursive pattern toggle button is shown in the Pattern Encoding Terminal GUI.^[8]

Substitutes in generated patterns

Both substitute defaults are false in the pack. defaultAllowSubstitutes and defaultAllowFluidSubstitutes only apply to auto-generated patterns whose parent pattern has no substitute info. With them false, generated patterns do not accept equivalent items (such as different wood types) or equivalent fluids in that case.^[8]

Filtering out recipes

• skipSelfReferentialRecipes is true in the pack. Recipes that consume their own output, such as 'clear settings' or NBT-wipe recipes, are ignored when generating dependency patterns.^[8]
• recipeBlacklist is an empty list in the pack, so no recipes are blocked. If you add entries, use an exact id like 'modid:recipe_name' or a prefix ending in '*' like 'modid:*'.^[8]

There isn't much history to cover yet. RecursiveAE2PatternProvider 1.1.0 is the version in FTB Evolution 2 1.3.1, and its own changelog has a single entry: "first porting".^[3][10]

The pack's mod list shows the mod was first included in FTB Evolution 2 1.3.1 or an earlier release. It doesn't say which earlier release.^[3]

Unverified Any mention of this mod in the FTB Evolution 2 release changelogs is not shown in the sources here. Check the pack's own changelogs for that detail.