Pipe Connector in FTB Skies 2

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

Pipe Connector is a simple tool that connects pipes from one block to another at a depth you choose. If you've ever dug out blocks to place energy, item or fluid pipes and then filled the hole back in so the pipes stay out of your way, this mod is made to skip that chore.^[1]

This pack includes Pipe Connector 0.5.28 for NeoForge.^[2]

How it works

1. Hold the Pipe Connector and use Shift + Mouse wheel to set the depth you want the pipe to go to.^[1]
2. Hold a pipe in your off-hand and the Pipe Connector in your main hand, then Shift + Right-Click a block to set the first position.^[1]
3. Shift + Right-Click another block to set the second position, and the pipes are placed.^[1]

Which pipes the tool supports is controlled by tags, so more pipe types can be added that way.^[1]

Where it fits in the pack

Unverified The sources here do not show a quest chapter or group for Pipe Connector in this pack's quest book, nor whether the ATM Star path uses it. Check the quest book itself for that detail.

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

Pipe Connector is a quality-of-life tool. It connects pipes between blocks at a depth you choose, so you don't have to dig trenches and fill them back in by hand. It is meant for energy, item and fluid pipes.^[1]

Step 1: Craft the Pipe Connector

Everything starts with Pipe Connector. The pack changed this recipe, so don't rely on what you remember from the mod's defaults. Here is the exact in-pack version:^[3]

Pipe ConnectorChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Empty slot	String	any iron ingot
Empty slot	String	Empty slot
any copper ingot	String	Empty slot

Recipe id: pipe_connector:pipe_connector

This is the pack's changed version of the recipe, so use this one.

Step 2: Get some pipes

The tool doesn't make pipes. It places pipes you already have. Hold a supported pipe in your off-hand and the Pipe Connector in your main hand. If the Place Pipes button is greyed out, the tooltip tells you that you must hold a valid pipe item in your off-hand, or how many pipes you are missing.^[1][4]

Not sure whether a pipe works? Check JEI for the list of supported pipes. The project page says supported pipes are added via tags.^[1][4]

Step 3: Place your first pipe run

1. Hold the Pipe Connector and use Sneak + scroll wheel to set how deep the pipes will go.^[1][4]
2. Sneak + Right-Click a block to set the first position, then do the same on another block. You need to choose at least two positions before you can place anything.^[1][4]
3. Once your positions are chosen, a preview of the path is shown. Check it before you commit.^[4]
4. Sneak + Right-Click on an air block to open the GUI, then click Place Pipes. If you are unhappy with a position, click Reset Positions in the GUI.^[4]

Pathfinding and safety options

The GUI lets you pick how the path is found. Manhattan pathfinding will go through ores and void them, while A* will try to go around ores. If ore matters to you, choose A*.^[4]

There is also an inventory guard that prevents the destruction of blocks with inventories. A separate option will try to route around inventory blocks if possible. Reusing pipes you have already placed needs A* pathfinding selected.^[4]

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

The Pipe Connector is a placement tool, not a machine. It places pipes between blocks you select at a depth you choose. That means you don't have to dig a trench, lay the pipes and fill it back in. It works for any pipe type that has been added to its supported list, such as energy, item or fluid pipes.^[1]

Getting the tool

The recipe for the tool was changed by the pack, so don't rely on what you remember from the mod's defaults. This is the in-pack recipe:^[3]

Pipe ConnectorChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Empty slot	String	any iron ingot
Empty slot	String	Empty slot
any copper ingot	String	Empty slot

Recipe id: pipe_connector:pipe_connector

Basic workflow

1. Hold the Pipe Connector in your main hand and a supported pipe in your off-hand. If you don't, the GUI button is disabled and tells you to hold a valid pipe item in your off-hand.^[1][4]
2. Sneak and scroll the mouse wheel to set the depth the pipe will run at.^[1][4]
3. Sneak + Right-Click on blocks to set positions. Once all positions are chosen, a preview of the path is shown.^[4]
4. Sneak + Right-Click on an air block to open the GUI, then click 'Place Pipes' to place them, or 'Reset Positions' if you don't like one of your choices.^[4]

You can choose several positions, not just two, up to a limit the tool shows in its tooltips. If you go over the limit, you get a message that it can't place more than that many pipes at once. The exact limit isn't given in the sources I have.^[4]

Requirements and error messages

The GUI tells you why a button is disabled. Placing needs at least two chosen positions, and resetting is disabled until you have picked at least two. You also need enough pipes in your inventory, and the tooltip tells you how many you're missing.^[4]

If the route is blocked or avoided, you'll see a 'No valid path found' message instead.^[4]

Pathfinding options

The tool tries to find the shortest path between your positions. There are two pathfinding modes, and they treat ores very differently.^[4]

• A* pathfinding tries to go around ores.^[4]
• Manhattan pathfinding goes through ores and voids them. Be careful with this mode if you're tunnelling through an ore-rich area.^[4]
• The mirror option mirrors the path, but it only works with Manhattan pathfinding.^[4]
• The option to use already placed pipes to connect positions only works when A* pathfinding is selected.^[4]
• With the step path option, once you've chosen the first position, the path follows your steps at the selected depth.^[4]

Protecting inventories

There are two safety options for blocks that have inventories, such as chests or machines. One tries to route around inventory blocks if possible. The other, the inventory guard, prevents the destruction of blocks with inventories. If an inventory block is in the way, breaking it is disabled and the tooltip names the block in the path.^[4]

Supported pipes

Which pipes the tool can place is controlled by tags, so other pipes can be added to the supported list. You can see the list of supported pipes in JEI.^[1][4]

Unverified The project page says Shift + Right-Click on the air resets positions, and also that Shift + Right-Click on the same block resets them. The in-game tooltips say Sneak + Right-Click on air cancels the selection, and also that it opens the GUI. How these actions interact in this pack is not confirmed by the sources, so check it in-game.

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

For this mod, the pack's recipe data shows one craftable item: the Pipe Connector. There is only one recipe to follow, so this section is short.^[3]

The pack changes the Pipe Connector's crafting recipe, so don't rely on what you remember from the mod's defaults. Use the in-pack recipe below. It is a shaped crafting recipe.^[3]

Pipe ConnectorChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Empty slot	String	any iron ingot
Empty slot	String	Empty slot
any copper ingot	String	Empty slot

Recipe id: pipe_connector:pipe_connector

This is the pack's changed recipe for the Pipe Connector, crafted in a shaped crafting grid.

The recipe accepts any copper ingot and any iron ingot, because it uses the shared ingot tags rather than one specific mod's ingots. Whichever copper and iron ingots you already have will work.^[3]

Good news: every option in the Pipe Connector config file, config/pipe-connector.toml, is left at the mod default in this pack. Nothing was changed, so the values below are also what you get from the mod on its own.^[5]

• [[config:config/pipe-connector.toml#Pipe Connector Configurations.maxDepth]] is the maximum depth of the pipe connector. It is 50 in this pack, the same as the mod default, and the allowed range is 10 to 100.^[5]
• [[config:config/pipe-connector.toml#Pipe Connector Configurations.maxPipeAllowed]] is the maximum number of pipes that can be placed at once. It is 640 in this pack, the same as the mod default, and the allowed range is 100 to 1,280.^[5]
• [[config:config/pipe-connector.toml#Pipe Connector Configurations.maxNodesAllowed]] is the maximum number of nodes allowed to connect between. It is 8 in this pack, the same as the mod default, and the allowed range is 2 to 16.^[5]
• [[config:config/pipe-connector.toml#Pipe Connector Configurations.maxAStarIterations]] is the maximum number of iterations of the A* algorithm. It is 20,000 in this pack, the same as the mod default, and the allowed range is 10,000 to 200,000.^[5]

What they mean for you

The depth is the one you will notice in play. You pick the depth you want the pipe to go to by holding the Pipe Connector and using Shift + Mouse wheel, and the max depth option is the upper limit of the connector's depth.^[1][5]

The A* iterations option controls how much searching the tool does. Higher numbers take longer to calculate but will reach longer distances. The pack keeps it at 20,000, and the file allows up to 200,000.^[5]

FTB Skies 2 1.22.0 ships Pipe Connector 0.5.28. The mod has been in the pack since FTB Skies 2 1.0.1 or earlier, so this is the version you are playing with.^[6]

Pipe Connector 0.5.28

The mod's own changelog for 0.5.28 lists these changes:^[7]

• Pipe Vision (beta): lets you see pipes you have already placed underneath the ground, so you no longer have to guess where they are. A later fix in the same release sorted out some cases where it wouldn't render through blocks.^[7]
• Mirror Mode for Manhattan pathfinding: a setting in the GUI when Manhattan pathfinding is selected, which mirrors the current pathfinding. It works nicely when you choose 2 positions, but it can look a bit strange if you choose more than 2.^[7]
• An animation now plays while pipes are being laid.^[7]
• The Utilize Laid Pipes feature was improved for AStar pathfinding.^[7]
• Added support for modern Industrialization pipes and cables.^[7]
• Fixed a bug where it would show pathfinding of air in some cases where the offhand was empty.^[7]

The changelog also mentions a bunch of other smaller changes that the author didn't list.^[7]

Unverified No pack changelog entries for Pipe Connector were available, so what changed for this mod between individual FTB Skies 2 releases is unverified.