Cable Facades in FTB Skies 2

Cable Facades lets you cover cables and similar blocks with facades, so your pipe and cable runs can blend into the surrounding build instead of sitting out in the open. The mod's own description says it adds facade support for most cables and blocks in the game.^[1]

This pack ships Cable Facades 2.1.4, built for Minecraft 1.21.1 on NeoForge. The mod adds two items you will meet in the pack: Facade and Facade Wrench.^[2][3]

Who it is for

It is for you if you care how your base looks. Once your factory is full of pipes and cables, facades are how you tidy it up. It is purely a cosmetic and building tool, so you can skip it without losing any progression.^[1]

Where it fits in the pack

The pack has a quest for it, "Cable Facades" quest, in the useful_items_tips chapter. Its tasks ask you to obtain the facade and the facade wrench. The sources show no other quest for this mod.^[3]

Adding more blocks

Which blocks can be covered is controlled by a list called blocks in the cable_facades-common.toml config file. The mod's example entries use wildcards, such as pipez pipes and mekanism cables. You can also make a block coverable with the block tag #cable_facades:supports_facade.^[1]

Unverified The sources do not show which blocks are on the pack's blocks list, or whether the pack changes any of this mod's defaults, so check the config in your own instance before relying on a specific cable being coverable.

Cable Facades adds facades for pipes, cables and other blocks, so you can cover your machine wiring and keep a base looking tidy. Getting started in this pack is short: you craft a Facade, a Facade Wrench, and optionally a Directional Facade.^[1][4]

Start with the Facade

Craft the Facade first, because it is the item the whole mod is built around. This is the mod's own recipe and the pack has not changed it.^[4]

16× FacadeMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any yellow dye	Empty slot	any red dye
Empty slot	any wool	Empty slot
any red dye	Empty slot	any yellow dye

Recipe id: cable_facades:facade_item

Then the Facade Wrench

Next up is the Facade Wrench. Don't assume the mod's default recipe applies here, because the pack changed it. Use the recipe below.^[4]

Facade WrenchChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any iron nugget	any iron ingot
Empty slot	any iron ingot	Empty slot
Empty slot	any iron ingot	Empty slot

Recipe id: cable_facades:wrench

The quest book points you at these same items. Quest "Cable Facades" quest sits in the useful_items_tips chapter, and its tasks are the Facade and the Facade Wrench.^[3]

Optional: the Directional Facade

Once you have the basics, you can also craft the Directional Facade. Its recipe is the mod's own, unchanged by the pack.^[4]

16× Directional FacadeMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any green dye	Empty slot	any red dye
Empty slot	any wool	Empty slot
any red dye	Empty slot	any green dye

Recipe id: cable_facades:directional_facade_item

Good to know

• The mod has a tooltip that says a right click toggles or disables facade transparency.^[5]
• The mod also provides a block tag, #cable_facades:supports_facade, which is one of the ways blocks are marked as coverable.^[1]

Cable Facades doesn't add machines, multiblocks, power or fluid handling. It's a cosmetic mod: it lets you cover pipes and cables from other mods with facades so your builds look clean. Nearly everything you can tune lives in one config file, so that's where we'll spend most of this section.^[1][6]

What can be covered

Only blocks on the allow-list can take a facade. That list is the blocks option, and it supports '*' as a wildcard. The mod also provides a block tag, #cable_facades:supports_facade, as another way to mark blocks as coverable.^[1][6]

In this pack, the list covers the pipes, cables, ducts and conduits of many popular mods. These include Pipez, Mekanism, Mekanism Extras, Thermal, ComputerCraft, Powah, Create (fluid pipes), PneumaticCraft, LaserIO, Cyclic, Embers, ElementalCraft, GregTech (wires and pipes), Oritech, Ender IO and the AE2 cable bus.^[6]

The pack also sets added_blocks, the list of extra blocks added in this version. It contains the Refined Storage cable, importer and exporter, the Industrial Foregoing Souls network pipe and soul surge, and the Modern Industrialization pipe.^[6]

auto_update_config is on, so new blocks for the config can be fetched from the network. not_allowed_blocks, the list of blocks explicitly banned as covers, is empty in the pack.^[6]

Rendering tweaks

Some modded blocks render oddly under a facade, so the config has a few fix-up lists. Here is how the pack sets them:^[6]

• scale_up_blocks lists blocks that need a slight scale-up when covered. The pack uses a wildcard that matches anything with "create" in its id, so Create blocks are handled.^[6]
• z_fighting lists blocks that need z-fighting fixes. As set in this version of the pack, that's the AE2 cable bus.^[6]
• hidden_when_facaded lists blocks that should not render when covered. As set in this version of the pack, it's empty.^[6]

Facade items and the wrench

consumeFacade is true in the pack, so a facade item is used up when you place it.^[6]

The mod's facade items are the Facade and the Directional Facade. Both use shaped recipes built from dyes and wool.^[4]

16× FacadeMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any yellow dye	Empty slot	any red dye
Empty slot	any wool	Empty slot
any red dye	Empty slot	any yellow dye

Recipe id: cable_facades:facade_item

16× Directional FacadeMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any green dye	Empty slot	any red dye
Empty slot	any wool	Empty slot
any red dye	Empty slot	any green dye

Recipe id: cable_facades:directional_facade_item

The Facade Wrench recipe is changed by the pack, so don't assume it matches the mod's default. Here is the exact in-pack version:^[4]

Facade WrenchChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any iron nugget	any iron ingot
Empty slot	any iron ingot	Empty slot
Empty slot	any iron ingot	Empty slot

Recipe id: cable_facades:wrench

The mod's tooltip text says you can right click to toggle or disable facade transparency.^[5]

Config housekeeping

configVersion is the config version, and you increment it to apply changes. lastConfigVersion holds the previous config version, and last_version_blocks stores the previous version's block list. The file marks both of those as "do not modify manually", so leave them alone.^[6]

Cable Facades is a small mod in this pack, and the pack data covers the Facade, the Directional Facade and the Facade Wrench. Here is how they fit the quest and the recipes.^[3][4]

The quest

The mod shows up in the quest "Cable Facades" quest, in the useful_items_tips chapter. It has no title, and its tasks are to obtain the Facade and the Facade Wrench. The Directional Facade is not a task there, so you can skip it for quest progress.^[3]

Start with the Facade

Begin with the Facade. This is the mod's own recipe, and the pack has not changed it.^[4]

16× FacadeMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any yellow dye	Empty slot	any red dye
Empty slot	any wool	Empty slot
any red dye	Empty slot	any yellow dye

Recipe id: cable_facades:facade_item

Then the Facade Wrench

Next comes the Facade Wrench, the other item the quest asks for. The pack changed this recipe, so don't rely on what you remember from the mod's defaults. Use the recipe below.^[3][4]

Facade WrenchChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any iron nugget	any iron ingot
Empty slot	any iron ingot	Empty slot
Empty slot	any iron ingot	Empty slot

Recipe id: cable_facades:wrench

This recipe is changed by the pack.

Optional: the Directional Facade

The Directional Facade is a separate craft with its own recipe. It uses the mod's recipe, unchanged by the pack.^[4]

16× Directional FacadeMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any green dye	Empty slot	any red dye
Empty slot	any wool	Empty slot
any red dye	Empty slot	any green dye

Recipe id: cable_facades:directional_facade_item

Cable Facades shows up in the "useful_items_tips" quest chapter in this pack. It's a small appearance, so there's no long questline to follow.^[3]

The quest that involves the mod is "Cable Facades" quest, which has no title in the pack files. Its tasks ask for the Facade and the Facade Wrench.^[3]

Since this is the only quest for the mod, there's no order to follow. Grab both items and you're covered.^[3]

Everything for Cable Facades lives in one file, config/cable_facades-common.toml. Here is what this pack has set in it, so you know which cables and pipes you can cover and how the mod handles them.^[6]

What can be covered

blocks is the list of blocks that are allowed to be covered, and it supports '*' as a wildcard. In this pack's version of the file, the list allows patterns such as pipez:*_pipe, mekanism:*_cable, thermal:*_duct, gtceu:*wire, gtceu:*pipe, oritech:*_pipe and ae2:cable_bus. It also has mekanism_extras, powah, pneumaticcraft, laserio, cyclic, embers, elementalcraft and enderio entries, plus computercraft:cable and create:fluid_pipe.^[6]

added_blocks lists extra blocks added in this version: refinedstorage:cable, refinedstorage:importer, refinedstorage:exporter, industrialforegoingsouls:soul_network_pipe, industrialforegoingsouls:soul_surge and modern_industrialization:pipe.^[6]

On the mod's project page, the block tag #cable_facades:supports_facade is listed as available for blocks.^[1]

Behaviour options

• In this pack's config, consumeFacade is true, so the facade is consumed when you place it.^[6]
• In this pack's config, scale_up_blocks is set to *create*. Blocks matching that pattern get a slight scale-up when facaded, which the config describes as being for Create blocks.^[6]
• In this pack's config, z_fighting is set to ae2:cable_bus, so that block is listed for the z-fighting fix.^[6]
• In this pack's config, hidden_when_facaded is empty, so no blocks are listed to stop rendering when covered.^[6]
• In this pack's config, not_allowed_blocks is empty, so no blocks are explicitly banned from being used as a cover.^[6]
• In this pack's config, auto_update_config is true, which the config describes as whether new blocks for the config should be fetched from the network.^[6]

Leave these alone

In this pack's config, configVersion is 1, which is the mod default. lastConfigVersion is 0, also the mod default, and the config says not to edit it by hand. The same goes for last_version_blocks, which is empty here.^[6]

FTB Skies 2 1.22.0 ships Cable Facades 2.1.4, and the mod has been in the pack since 1.0.1 or earlier. The notes below come from the mod's own changelogs, newest first.^[2]

2.1.x: rendering and cleanup fixes

• 2.1.4 fixed a crash when rendering facades of some blocks with Sodium 0.8 (Create Deco catwalks on directional facades and covers).^[7]
• 2.1.4 also fixed facades of some blocks rendering as invisible with Sodium 0.8 and CodeChickenLib installed (Create Deco supports).^[7]
• 2.1.3 fixed a world freeze when loading chunks containing structures with facades, such as jigsaw villages and structure block placements during worldgen.^[8]
• 2.1.0 fixed facades persisting as ghost blocks when switching dimensions, changing worlds, or disconnecting from servers.^[9]
• 2.1.0 fixed individually placed directional facades not being cleaned up when their chunk unloads.^[9]
• 2.1.0 fixed a bug where removing a directional facade face from a position with a full-block facade accidentally deleted the full-block facade.^[9]
• 2.1.0 fixed directional facades from Fusion/Rechiseled rendering as invisible.^[9]

2.0.2

This release improved handling for structures that use facades.^[10]

1.6.x: wrench and offhand behavior, performance

• 1.6.5 fixed a crash involving little tiles.^[11]
• 1.6.4 halved the server-side performance cost, added a Japanese translation, and fixed an occasional Air crash.^[12]
• 1.6.3 made it possible to disable the automatic config update.^[13]
• 1.6.3 also stopped blocks from being placed from the offhand while you hold a wrench item.^[13]
• 1.6.3 added a new behavior for empty facades: holding a block in your offhand uses that block as the facade material, which matches how Create's copycats work.^[13]
• 1.6.1 fixed a bad usage of getBlockstate for a small server-side performance boost. Its changelog also notes that the previous version was not numbered properly.^[14]