Fusion (Connected Textures) in FTB Skies 2

Same as in the All the Mods 10 8.1 guide

Fusion is a library mod that gives resource packs extra rendering features, with connected textures being the headline one. Other mods can also hook into it as an optional soft dependency. It doesn't add blocks or items of its own, so there's nothing to craft or collect with it.^[1]

What it adds

• Connected textures: textures with a special layout that join up with neighboring blocks when used with the connecting model type. Fusion offers 7 different connecting texture layouts for different situations.^[1]
• Scrolling textures: animated textures that scroll across an image, from any corner to any other corner, even diagonally. A conveyor belt is the example given.^[1]
• Continuous textures: textures that span multiple blocks.^[1]
• Block overlays: built using the connecting model and connecting texture features.^[1]
• Custom entity models: resource packs can change entity models and textures randomly or based on conditions such as altitude, biome, dimension and age.^[1]

Who it's for

Fusion matters most if you use or make resource packs. The mod's project page lists official packs such as Fusion Connected Glass, Fusion Connected Blocks and Fusion Emissive Ores, plus a range of third-party ones. It also says the list isn't comprehensive.^[1]

Fusion is only required on the client and does nothing when installed on a server. This pack includes version 1.3.14+a, built for NeoForge on Minecraft 1.21.1.^[1][2]

Where it fits in progression

Unverified The sources don't show any quests, in-jar guidebook or ATM Star path involvement for Fusion, so it doesn't appear to play a role in progression. Whether this pack ships any Fusion-compatible resource packs by default is also unconfirmed.

Same as in the All the Mods 10 8.1 guide

Good news: there's nothing to craft or unlock to get started with Fusion. It's a library that lets resource packs use extra texture and model types, like connected textures, and other mods can use it too.^[1]

The sources I have don't show any in-pack recipes, quests or items for Fusion, so there's no crafting order to follow. Instead, here's what it's useful to know first.^[1]

What to do first

1. Know that Fusion does nothing on its own. It only adds features that resource packs can use, so you won't see anything change until a Fusion-compatible resource pack is active.^[1]
2. Pick a Fusion-compatible resource pack. The project page lists official ones, such as Fusion Connected Glass, Fusion Connected Blocks, Fusion Block Transitions, Fusion Emissive Ores, Fusion Stacking Items and Fusion 3D Items, along with several third-party packs. It says the list isn't comprehensive.^[1]
3. Enable the resource pack in your resource pack menu. Connected textures need textures with a special layout together with the connecting model type, and Fusion supports 7 different connecting texture layouts, so the pack you choose has to be made for Fusion.^[1]

What else Fusion can do

Besides connected textures, Fusion supports scrolling textures (animated textures that scroll across an image), continuous textures that span multiple blocks, and block overlays. It also supports custom entity models, which resource packs can change randomly or based on conditions like altitude, biome, dimension and age.^[1]

Unverified I couldn't confirm which, if any, Fusion resource packs this pack bundles or enables by default, or any pack-specific settings for Fusion. Check your resource pack menu in game to see what's active.

Same as in the All the Mods 10 8.1 guide

Fusion doesn't have machines, multiblocks, power, fluids or item automation. It's a library that adds extra resource pack features, such as connected textures and custom entity models, for resource packs and other mods to use. So the core mechanics here are about how textures and models behave, not how a machine works.^[1]

What Fusion adds

• Connecting textures: textures with a special layout that connect to neighboring blocks when combined with the connecting model type. Fusion offers 7 different connecting texture layouts for different situations, including full and compact layouts.^[1]
• Scrolling textures: a type of animated texture that scrolls over an image. The scroll can run from any corner to any other corner, even diagonally. The project page uses a conveyor belt as its example.^[1]
• Continuous textures: textures that span multiple blocks.^[1]
• Block overlays: you can build these using the connecting model and connecting texture type.^[1]
• Custom entity models and entity model modifiers: these let resource packs change entity models and textures randomly or based on conditions such as altitude, biome, dimension and age.^[1]

Where it runs

Fusion is only required on the client and does nothing when installed on a server. Other mods can also integrate with it as an optional soft dependency.^[1]

Resource packs that use it

Fusion does nothing visible on its own, because the effects come from resource packs written for it. The official ones include Fusion Connected Blocks, Fusion Connected Glass, Fusion Block Transitions, Fusion Emissive Ores, Fusion Stacking Items and Fusion 3D Items. There are also several third-party packs, and the project page says its list isn't comprehensive.^[1]

Unverified Which resource packs, if any, ship with this pack, and whether this pack changes anything about Fusion, can't be confirmed from the available sources. There is also no confirmed information on any in-game items, blocks, recipes, quests or config options for this mod. This site does hold FTB Skies 2's own recipes, read from the pack itself: look the item up in the item browser.

FTB Skies 2 1.22.0 ships Fusion 1.3.14+a. The mod has been in the pack since FTB Skies 2 1.0.1 or earlier. I have no pack changelog entries for Fusion, so everything below comes from the mod's own changelogs.^[3]

Latest releases (1.3.10 to 1.3.14a)

• 1.3.14a, the version in your pack, fixed the NeoForge model render_type property making models invisible when no other custom render type was used. It also fixed modded models that use NeoForge's custom geometry being baked as regular models.^[3][4]
• 1.3.14 fixed a crash when an Iris PBR texture has empty tiles and ends up with a different number of sprites than the regular texture.^[4]
• 1.3.13 added Iris integration, so normal and specular maps for Fusion textures are intercepted and handled as Fusion textures. It also added a workaround for minimap mods that don't check geometry for different render types.^[4]
• 1.3.11 significantly reduced the memory used by Fusion models.^[4]
• 1.3.10 fixed models sometimes failing to load with ModernFix's dynamic_resources option. It also fixed models for blocks targeted by block model modifiers not receiving world context with Sodium.^[4]

Earlier releases

• 1.3.6 added a random_offset property for block model modifier model entries and improved the randomness of the random texture type. It also significantly reduced the memory footprint of MutableQuads, and so of Fusion models.^[5]
• 1.3.5 added a workaround for Sodium breaking animated texture interpolation. It also made the directional model predicates match_block and match_state rotate along with composite model entries.^[5]
• 1.3.0 was a big overhaul. Models can be made emissive and can have shading and ambient occlusion disabled. Block and item model modifiers gained a priority property, and they are now applied in order of priority, then file name, instead of randomly. It also added default_model_overwrites and append_models, plus a set of block model predicates such as match_block, match_state, biome, dimension and altitude.^[6]

Older releases

• 1.2.11 added a show_breaking_overlay option to block model modifiers, so appended models can skip the breaking overlay.^[7]
• 1.2.8 disabled ambient occlusion for emissive quads and fixed quads being emitted 7 times for base and connecting models when rendered as items.^[7]
• 1.2.7b fixed the integration with FramedBlocks.^[7]
• 1.2.6 added data providers for block model modifiers and item model modifiers.^[7]