Super Factory Manager Retro in FTB Skies 2: Aero

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

Super Factory Manager Retro is an addon for Super Factory Manager that lets you build SFM programs as a node graph instead of typing them as text. Open a Disk or a Factory Manager and you get a canvas instead of a text box. It requires Super Factory Manager, and this pack includes version 1.0.3.^[1][2]

How the editor works

You place a trigger, chain Input and Output nodes onto it, and branch with If nodes. The SFML is written for you as you go, and a preview panel shows exactly what will be saved.^[1]

The editor covers everything the language can do: intervals and redstone triggers, amounts and retain amounts, multiple filters per node, item and tag filters, except lists, sides, slot ranges, round robin, conditions, Forget and Comment nodes.^[1]

What makes it comfortable

• Search by name: items, fluids, gases and energy are all searchable from a list with icons, so you do not need to remember ids.^[1]
• Label counts: labels come from your label gun, and the editor shows how many blocks each label covers, which helps you spot one you forgot to assign.^[1]
• Import existing programs: press Import to canvas and the program is rebuilt as a graph. The editor checks its own work and tells you whether anything was lost.^[1]
• Still normal SFM: you can copy or share the program text, or switch back to the text editor whenever you want. The node layout is saved with the program.^[1]

Turning the canvas on

The mod's project page says to set the preferredEditor option in SFM's client program editor config to retrofactorymanager:blueprint. After that, right click a Disk or press Edit in a Factory Manager and the canvas opens. Setting it back to sfm:v1 returns you to the text editor.^[1]

Where it sits in the quest book

Unverified The sources here do not show any quest involving this mod, so no chapter, group or position in the pack's quest book is confirmed for it. They also do not show it on the ATM Star path.

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

Super Factory Manager Retro is an addon for Super Factory Manager. Instead of typing SFML by hand, you build your program on a visual node canvas: drag nodes, wire them together, and the SFML gets written for you. It needs Super Factory Manager installed too.^[1]

Switch on the canvas editor

The canvas is not automatically what you see. The mod's project page says to edit the SFM client editor config file, config/sfm-client-program-editor.toml, and point the preferred editor at the Retro blueprint editor. You can set it back to the normal text editor at any time.^[1]

1. Install both mods, then open config/sfm-client-program-editor.toml.^[1]
2. Set preferredEditor to "retrofactorymanager:blueprint".^[1]
3. Right click a Disk, or press Edit in a Factory Manager, and the canvas opens.^[1]
4. To go back to the text editor, set the same option to "sfm:v1".^[1]

Build your first program

Start by placing a trigger, then chain Input and Output nodes onto it. You can branch with If nodes. A preview panel shows exactly what will be saved, so you can check the generated SFML as you go.^[1]

When you pick items, type a few letters and choose from a list with icons. Items, fluids, gases and energy are all searchable, so you don't need to remember ids. Labels come from your label gun, and the editor shows how many blocks each label covers. That makes it easy to spot a label you forgot to assign.^[1]

Controls worth learning first

• Right click the canvas to add a node. You can also drag from a pin and release on empty space to add a node that is already connected.^[1][3]
• Drag from one pin to another to connect nodes. Alt click a pin or a wire to disconnect.^[1][3]
• Drag with the middle or right mouse button to move around, and use the scroll wheel to zoom. Press Home to frame everything.^[1]
• Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y undo and redo. Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V and Ctrl+D copy, paste and duplicate. G snaps to the grid.^[1][3]

Already have programs?

Open an existing program and press Import to canvas. It is rebuilt as a graph, and the editor checks its own work and tells you whether anything was lost. Your programs stay normal SFM programs, so you can copy the text, share it, or switch back to the text editor. The node layout is saved with the program.^[1]

Unverified The sources here do not show any quests or crafting recipes involving this mod in the pack, so there is no in-pack recipe to point you to.

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

Retro Factory Manager doesn't add machines, multiblocks or its own power system. It's an addon for Super Factory Manager that replaces the text box for writing SFM programs with a visual node canvas. All the actual item, fluid, gas and energy movement is done by SFM running your program. This section covers how the editor works.^[1]

Switching the editor on

You need both mods installed. Then open config/sfm-client-program-editor.toml and set preferredEditor to retrofactorymanager:blueprint. After that, right click a Disk, or press Edit in a Factory Manager, and the canvas opens instead of the text editor. Set the value back to sfm:v1 whenever you want the text editor again.^[1]

How a program is built on the canvas

You place a trigger, chain Input and Output nodes onto it, and branch with If nodes. The SFML is written for you as you go, and a preview panel shows exactly what will be saved.^[1]

The editor covers everything the language can do: intervals and redstone triggers, amounts and retain amounts, multiple filters per node, item and tag filters, except lists, sides, slot ranges, round robin, conditions, and Forget and Comment nodes.^[1]

Wiring nodes and branches

Nodes have pins, and you connect them by dragging from one pin to another. Dragging from a pin and releasing on empty space adds a new node that's already connected. To remove a link, Alt click the pin or the wire.^[1][3]

An If node has different pins for different outcomes. One pin runs when the condition is true, another runs when it's false, and an after pin runs after the branch finishes, either way. That makes the after pin a good place for steps that should run whichever way the condition went.^[3]

Picking items, fluids and labels

Type a few letters and choose from a list with icons. Items, fluids, gases and energy are all searchable, so you don't need to remember ids.^[1]

Labels come from your label gun. The editor shows how many blocks each label covers, so you can spot a label you forgot to assign.^[1]

Importing and sharing programs

If you already have a program, open it and press Import to canvas. It's rebuilt as a graph, and the editor checks its own work and tells you whether anything was lost.^[1]

Your programs stay normal SFM programs. You can copy the text, share it, or switch back to the text editor at any time. The node layout is saved with the program, so reopening the editor gives you your graph back.^[1]

Canvas controls

• Add a node: right click the canvas.^[1][3]
• Add a connected node: drag from a pin and release on empty space.^[1]
• Connect nodes: drag from one pin to another. Disconnect with Alt click on a pin or wire.^[1][3]
• Move around: drag with the middle or right mouse button. Zoom with the scroll wheel.^[1]
• Select: click, shift click, or drag a box. Press Delete to remove the selection.^[1]
• Undo and redo: Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y.^[1][3]
• Copy, paste, duplicate: Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+D.^[1][3]
• Snap to grid: press G. Frame everything: press Home.^[1][3]

There is only one option here that really matters, and it lives in the client config. setBlueprintAsDefaultEditor decides whether the node canvas (the Blueprint editor) is SFM's preferred program editor.^[4]

This pack sets it to true. That means the Blueprint editor is made SFM's preferred program editor every time the game loads, so you get the visual node canvas instead of the plain text box without any setup.^[4]

The mod's own setup instructions take a different route: you open the SFM client program editor config and set preferredEditor to "retrofactorymanager:blueprint". In this pack the option above already handles that on load, so you shouldn't need to do it by hand.^[1][4]

Unverified The mod's default value for setBlueprintAsDefaultEditor is not shown in the available sources, so it is unconfirmed whether the pack changed it.

FTB Skies 2: Aero 1.10.0 ships Super Factory Manager Retro 1.0.3 (the retrofactorymanager-1.21.1-1.0.3.jar file). The mod was already in the pack by Aero 1.4.0 or earlier, so every release below is covered by the version you are playing.^[5]

1.0.3 (the version in this pack)

• Fixed: timer nodes with global align on and an offset set now generate valid SFML. The alignment keyword used to be written after the offset, which SFM rejects. It now comes first, like EVERY 20 GLOBAL + 11 TICKS.^[6]
• Fixed: the side panel now scrolls far enough to read the whole SFML preview while a node is selected.^[6]
• Fixed: the item suggestion dropdown and the add-node menu now draw above everything else, so text from the panel underneath no longer shows through.^[6]
• Changed: timer node labels list the alignment before the offset, matching the generated program.^[6]
• Changed: the timer offset hint reads "Offset (+ seconds)" when the interval is set to seconds, because SFM scales the offset by 20 in that mode.^[6]
• Changed: the timer inspector now warns you when the offset is at or above the interval, since that combination stops the timer from ever running.^[6]

1.0.2

• Fixed: the item suggestion dropdown, the add-node menu and the inspector panel no longer let the text behind them show through.^[7]
• Fixed: placeholder hints in text fields disappear as soon as you start typing instead of overlapping your text, and come back when you clear the field.^[7]

1.0.1

• The editor switcher in the blueprint editor is now provided by the mod itself, so you can swap between the Blueprint, V1, V2 and Draw editors on current SFM releases.^[8]
• Added English display names for SFM's built-in editors in the switcher.^[8]
• Backported to Minecraft 1.21.1 / NeoForge, which requires SFM 4.34.0 or newer.^[8]
• SFM's Program Editor Config screen now lists every registered editor, including Blueprint, instead of only V1 and V2.^[8]

1.0.0

The initial release. It adds a visual node editor to Super Factory Manager: you build your factory logic on a canvas and the mod writes the SFML program for you. It is fully translatable, with English included.^[8]