Pipe Connector in FTB Skies 2: Aero

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.

The first thing to make in this pack for piping is the Pipe Connector from Pipe Connector. It is a tool that connects pipes between blocks at a depth you choose, so you don't have to dig a trench, lay the pipes and fill it back in.^[1]

Step 1: craft the tool

Pipe ConnectorMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Empty slot	String	Iron Ingot
Empty slot	String	Empty slot
Copper Ingot	String	Empty slot

Recipe id: pipe_connector:pipe_connector

This is the in-pack recipe, so check it here rather than relying on memory.

It is a single crafting table recipe, so you can make it as soon as you have the materials. The mod's own text says a list of the pipes it can place is in JEI.^[3][4]

Step 2: lay your first pipe run

1. Hold a supported pipe in your off-hand and the Pipe Connector in your main hand. Without a valid pipe in the off-hand, the Place Pipes button stays disabled.^[1][4]
2. Hold Shift and use the mouse wheel to set how deep the pipe run goes.^[1][4]
3. Sneak and Right-Click a block to set the first position, then do the same on another block for the second. A preview of the path is shown once the positions are chosen.^[1][4]
4. Sneak and Right-Click on an air block to open the GUI, then click Place Pipes. Reset Positions in the same GUI clears your picks if you are unhappy with them.^[4]

You also need enough pipes in your inventory. The GUI shows Required Pipes and Available Pipes, and tells you how many you are missing if you come up short.^[4]

Settings worth knowing early

• Pathfinding: A* tries to go around ores, while Manhattan will go through ores and void them. If you care about what is in the ground, pick A*.^[4]
• Chest Guard prevents the destruction of blocks with inventories, and Avoid Inventories tries to route around inventory blocks if possible.^[4]
• Pipes cannot be connected to the top of a block.^[4]

Limits in this pack

This pack leaves every Pipe Connector setting at the mod default. You can choose up to 8 positions ([[config:config/pipe-connector.toml#Pipe Connector Configurations.maxNodesAllowed]]) and place up to 640 pipes at once ([[config:config/pipe-connector.toml#Pipe Connector Configurations.maxPipeAllowed]]).^[5]

The maximum depth is 50 ([[config:config/pipe-connector.toml#Pipe Connector Configurations.maxDepth]]), and the A* search is capped at 20,000 iterations ([[config:config/pipe-connector.toml#Pipe Connector Configurations.maxAStarIterations]]). Higher iteration counts take longer to calculate but reach longer distances.^[5]

Pipe Connector has no machines, multiblocks or power of its own. It is a single tool, the Pipe Connector, that lays a run of pipes between blocks you pick, at a depth you choose. That saves you digging a trench and filling it back in by hand.^[1]

Pipe ConnectorMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Empty slot	String	Iron Ingot
Empty slot	String	Empty slot
Copper Ingot	String	Empty slot

Recipe id: pipe_connector:pipe_connector

This is the pack's crafting recipe for the tool.

Picking positions and depth

1. Hold the Pipe Connector in your main hand and a valid pipe item in your off-hand. Without a valid pipe in the off-hand, the tool warns you and the Place Pipes button is disabled.^[1][4]
2. Sneak and Right-Click a block to set a position. The first and second positions are confirmed in chat. In this pack you can chain up to 8 positions, set by [[config:config/pipe-connector.toml#Pipe Connector Configurations.maxNodesAllowed]], which is the mod default. If you hit the limit, Sneak and Right-Click an existing node to remove it.^[4][5]
3. Sneak and scroll the mouse wheel to change the pipe depth. The pack caps depth at 50 with [[config:config/pipe-connector.toml#Pipe Connector Configurations.maxDepth]], the same as the mod default.^[4][5]
4. Once your positions are set, a preview of the path is shown. You can switch the preview between Outline and Solid in the GUI.^[4]
5. Sneak and Right-Click an air block to open the GUI, then click Place Pipes. If you are unhappy with a position, click Reset Positions instead.^[4]

Sneak and Right-Click on the same block again also resets positions. Sneak and Right-Click on air is described in the item tooltip as cancelling the selection.^[1][4]

Pathfinding modes

The GUI lets you choose between Manhattan Pathfinding and A* Pathfinding. Both try to find the shortest path between your positions. The big difference is how they treat ores: Manhattan goes through ores and voids them, while A* tries to go around them.^[4]

A* is the more demanding one, and its search is capped by [[config:config/pipe-connector.toml#Pipe Connector Configurations.maxAStarIterations]]. The pack sets it to 20,000, the mod default, within an allowed range of 10,000 to 200,000. Higher numbers take longer to calculate but reach longer distances.^[4][5]

Two options depend on the mode you pick. Mirror only works with Manhattan Pathfinding and mirrors the path. Utilize Laid Pipes only works when A* is selected, and it tries to use pipes you have already placed to connect your positions.^[4]

Other path options

• Step Path: after you choose the first position, the path follows your steps at the selected depth.^[4]
• Avoid Inventories: tries to route around inventory blocks if possible. If it cannot avoid them all, you get a message saying so.^[4]
• Chest Guard: prevents the destruction of blocks that have inventories. If an inventory block is in the path, the Place Pipes button is disabled and the tooltip names the block.^[4]

Limits and error messages

The GUI shows Required Pipes and Available Pipes, so you can see before placing whether you have enough. If you are short, the button is disabled and the tooltip tells you how many pipes are missing. The pipes are taken from your inventory.^[4]

There is also a cap on how many pipes can go down in one go. In this pack [[config:config/pipe-connector.toml#Pipe Connector Configurations.maxPipeAllowed]] is 640, the mod default, within a range of 100 to 1,280. Go over it and you get an "unable to place more than" message, so split long runs into several placements.^[4][5]

• You can't connect a pipe to the top of a block.^[4]
• Pipes cannot replace certain blocks. The message names the unbreakable block that was reached.^[4]
• If the tooltip says no valid path was found, the route is blocked or avoided, for example by Avoid Inventories.^[4]
• Place Pipes needs at least two chosen positions, and Reset Positions is disabled until you have chosen at least two.^[4]

Which pipes work

The connector places supported pipes, and the list of supported pipes can be found in JEI. Supported pipes can be added via tags.^[1][4]

Pipe Connector doesn't have a tier ladder in this pack. The recipe data lists a single recipe for the mod, and it makes the Pipe Connector from Pipe Connector. There's nothing to upgrade through, so you only need to craft this one item.^[3]

Pipe ConnectorMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Empty slot	String	Iron Ingot
Empty slot	String	Empty slot
Copper Ingot	String	Empty slot

Recipe id: pipe_connector:pipe_connector

A shaped crafting recipe that comes from the mod itself. The recipe data doesn't show the pack changing it.

The recipe only uses basic materials, so you can craft it as soon as you have them. Check the recipe block above for the exact layout.^[3]

Same as in the FTB Skies 2 1.22.0 guide

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.^[6]

• [[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.^[6]
• [[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.^[6]
• [[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.^[6]
• [[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.^[6]

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][6]

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.^[6]

FTB Skies 2: Aero 1.10.0 ships Pipe Connector 0.5.28. The mod has been in the pack since version 1.0.3 or earlier. I don't have pack changelog entries for it, so everything below comes from the mod's own 0.5.28 changelog.^[7][8]

What's in 0.5.28

• Pipe Vision (beta) lets you see already placed pipes underneath the ground with the click of a button, so you don't have to guess where they are.^[7]
• Pipe Vision was also fixed in some cases where it wouldn't render through blocks.^[7]
• Mirror Mode is a setting in the GUI when Manhattan pathfinding is selected, and it 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]
• There is now an animation when pipes are being laid.^[7]
• The Utilize Laid Pipes feature was improved for AStar pathfinding.^[7]
• Support was added for modern Industrialization pipes and cables.^[7]
• A bug was fixed where it would show pathfinding of air in some cases where your offhand was empty.^[7]

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