Super Factory Manager in FTB Skies 2: Aero

Same as in the All the Mods 10 2.12 guide

Super Factory Manager is a mod for moving stuff around in Minecraft, and it does that with a programming language. You write a script that describes what should move and where, and the mod runs it for you. Version 4 of the mod replaced the old flowchart-style GUIs with this scripting language.^[1]

This pack includes Super Factory Manager 4.19.0 for Minecraft 1.21.1. It has been in the pack since version 0.32 or earlier, so it is a long-standing part of the modpack.^[2]

Who it is for

It suits you if you want to automate item movement between inventories and are happy to write or paste a short script instead of wiring up pipes. The project page describes it as a scripting approach, so some trial and error is part of the fun.^[1]

What you need to get started

• A Factory Manager, which is the block that runs your program.^[1]
• A Program Disk, which goes inside the Manager's GUI and holds your script.^[1]
• A Label Gun, which you use to tag the blocks your script refers to.^[1]
• Optionally, Inventory Cables to connect the Manager to your inventories.^[1]

The basic flow is to place the manager, connect your inventories, put the disk in, and paste in your script. Then you load the labels from the script with the label gun, apply them to your blocks, and save them to the disk.^[1]

Where it fits in progression

Unverified The sources I was given do not show any quests, ATM Star path steps or in-jar guidebook entries for this mod, so I can't say where it sits in the pack's progression. Treat it as an optional automation tool that you bring in whenever you want it.

Super Factory Manager is a programming language for moving stuff around. In this version you write a script instead of using flowchart GUIs, so the first job is getting four things together: a Factory Manager, a Program Disk, a Label Gun and some cables. Here's the order I'd make them in.^[1]

What to craft, in order

Start with Inventory Cable. These connect the manager to your inventories, and one craft gives you 16, so you won't need to make them again for a while.^[1][3]

16× Inventory CableMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any black dye	Light Weighted Pressure Plate	any black dye
Iron Bars	any chest	Iron Bars
any black dye	Light Weighted Pressure Plate	any black dye

Recipe id: sfm:cable

Next is the Factory Manager, the block that actually runs your script. Place it in the world and link it to your chests and machines with the cables.^[1][3]

Factory ManagerMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any chest	Inventory Cable	any chest
Inventory Cable	Repeater	Inventory Cable
any chest	Inventory Cable	any chest

Recipe id: sfm:manager

Then make a Factory Manager Program Disk. Your program lives on the disk, and it goes into the manager's GUI.^[1][3]

Factory Manager Program DiskMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Paper	any green dye	Paper
any red dye	Redstone Block	any blue dye
Redstone	Repeater	Redstone

Recipe id: sfm:disk

Last is the Label Gun. It tells the manager which blocks in the world match the labels in your script.^[1][3]

Label GunMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Empty slot	any blue dye	any sign
Empty slot	any wooden rod	any black dye
any wooden rod	Empty slot	Empty slot

Recipe id: minecraft:tunnelled_manager_vertical

Getting your first program running

1. Place the Factory Manager and connect it to your inventories with Inventory Cables.^[1]
2. Put the Program Disk inside the manager's GUI.^[1]
3. Paste your script into the manager GUI, either with the buttons or with Ctrl+V. The manager tells you when the script has loaded.^[1]
4. Hover over the disk to see any warnings and errors in your program.^[1]
5. Shift-right-click the manager with the Label Gun in your hand to load the labels from your program.^[1]
6. Hold shift and use the scroll wheel to change the active label, then right-click blocks in the world to apply or remove it.^[1]
7. Right-click the manager without holding shift to save the labels to the Program Disk. Your program should now be running.^[1]

Cable upgrades for later

Once the basics work, you can turn Inventory Cables into other kinds. Tough Inventory Cable resists explosions, and Tunnelled Inventory Cable passes capabilities through to the opposite side. Fancy Inventory Cable is a cosmetic variant that you can turn back into a plain cable.^[3][4]

Tough Inventory CableMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Obsidian	Empty slot	Obsidian
Obsidian	Inventory Cable	Obsidian
Obsidian	Empty slot	Obsidian

Recipe id: sfm:tough_cable

Super Factory Manager 4 doesn't use flowchart screens. You write a short script in a text editor, and a Factory Manager runs it to move things between your inventories. Everything else in the mod (cables, labels, disks) exists to support that one idea.^[1]

Getting a manager running

The basic kit is a Factory Manager, a Factory Manager Program Disk and a Label Gun. Inventory Cable blocks are optional, but they are how the manager reaches inventories that aren't touching it.^[1]

1. Place the Factory Manager and connect it to your inventories with Inventory Cables.^[1]
2. Put the Program Disk inside the manager's GUI.^[1]
3. Paste your script into the manager GUI with the on-screen buttons or Ctrl+V. The manager tells you the script was loaded.^[1][4]
4. Hover over the disk to see the warnings and errors for your program.^[1]

Factory ManagerMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any chest	Inventory Cable	any chest
Inventory Cable	Repeater	Inventory Cable
any chest	Inventory Cable	any chest

Recipe id: sfm:manager

Factory Manager Program DiskMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Paper	any green dye	Paper
any red dye	Redstone Block	any blue dye
Redstone	Repeater	Redstone

Recipe id: sfm:disk

16× Inventory CableMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any black dye	Light Weighted Pressure Plate	any black dye
Iron Bars	any chest	Iron Bars
any black dye	Light Weighted Pressure Plate	any black dye

Recipe id: sfm:cable

You don't have to be at the manager to edit. The disk tooltip says you can right-click a disk in your hand to edit it outside of a manager.^[4]

Labels

Labels are how your script knows which blocks to talk to. Shift-right-click the manager with the Label Gun in your hand to load the labels from your program. Then hold Shift and use the scroll wheel to change the active label. Right-click blocks in the world to apply or remove that label. There is also a right-click menu for entering a custom label that isn't in your program yet.^[1]

When the labels are assigned, right-click the manager while NOT holding Shift to save them to the Program Disk. After that, your program should be running.^[1]

The Label Gun can also pull and push. Pulling takes the labels from the manager, and releasing the pull modifier key pushes instead. The gun skips blocks that aren't touching cables, so labelled blocks need to be on the network.^[4]

Reading the manager screen

The manager screen shows a state: running, missing disk, no program or invalid program. It also shows hovered tick time and peak tick time in milliseconds, which helps you spot a script that is expensive to run. The screen has buttons to view logs, view examples, view the server config, and to copy or paste a program from the clipboard.^[4]

If your cable network ever looks wrong, the manager has a Rebuild cable network button. Reset wipes ALL disk data, program and labels included, so use it carefully.^[4]

Cable types

Besides the plain cable, the pack has Fancy, Tough and Tunnelled variants. The Tough Inventory Cable resists explosions and can be facaded as tougher blocks. The Tunnelled Inventory Cable and the Tunnelled Factory Manager pass capabilities through to the opposite side.^[4]

Tough Inventory CableMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Obsidian	Empty slot	Obsidian
Obsidian	Inventory Cable	Obsidian
Obsidian	Empty slot	Obsidian

Recipe id: sfm:tough_cable

Tunnelled Factory ManagerMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any fence	Empty slot	any fence
any fence	Factory Manager	any fence
any fence	Empty slot	any fence

Recipe id: sfm:tunnelled_manager

The Fancy and Tough cable recipes have matching recipes that turn them back into the plain Inventory Cable, so you can swap a placed network's look without losing the cable.^[3]

Item handling gotchas

The mod's container inspector warns that GUI slots don't always correspond to automation slots. It also warns in capitals that Mekanism blocks are read-only from the null direction. If a script isn't touching the slots you expect, check the inspector first.^[4]

Program limits in this pack

The pack's SFM config values match the mod defaults where the sources show a default. The same limits appear in both the common and server config files.^[5][6]

• timerTriggerMinimumIntervalInTicks is 20, the fastest a timer trigger can go in ticks.^[5][6]
• timerTriggerMinimumIntervalInTicksWhenOnlyForgeEnergyIOStatementsPresent is 1, so a trigger that only does Forge energy IO can run much faster.^[5][6]
• maxIfStatementsInTriggerBeforeSimulationIsntAllowed is 10. The number of scenarios checked is 2 to the power of the number of if statements in a trigger, so keep your triggers simple.^[5][6]
• maxDiskProblems is 10, the most problems annotated on a disk item before truncation.^[5]
• disallowedResourceTypesForTransfer is empty, so no resource types are blocked from transfer.^[5]
• disableProgramExecution is false. It exists as an emergency switch to stop managers compiling and running code.^[5]
• logResourceLossToConsole is true, so resource loss is logged to the console.^[5]

Other machines

The Printing Press works with a piston. Place it with an air gap below a downward facing piston, then extend the piston to use it.^[4]

Printing PressMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Light Weighted Pressure Plate	any black dye	Light Weighted Pressure Plate
Stone	Anvil	Stone
Iron Bars	Piston	Iron Bars

Recipe id: sfm:printing_press

The Water Tank requires two adjacent water sources. It is more effective when it is also adjacent to other active water tanks.^[4]

Water TankMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Iron Bars	Water Bucket	Iron Bars
Iron Bars	Light Weighted Pressure Plate	Iron Bars
Iron Bars	Water Bucket	Iron Bars

Recipe id: sfm:water_tank

levelsToShards is set to JustOne in the pack. Converting an Enchanted Book to Experience Shard always gives 1 shard, whatever enchantments are on the book.^[5]

Super Factory Manager has no big tech tree in this pack. Progression is a crafting chain: you start with cables and a manager, add the tools and program disks that let you set it up, and then upgrade the cables and the manager into sturdier variants. Everything below uses the in-pack recipes.^[3]

The core setup

Everything starts with Inventory Cable. One craft gives you a batch of cables, so you will not run out quickly.^[3]

16× Inventory CableMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any black dye	Light Weighted Pressure Plate	any black dye
Iron Bars	any chest	Iron Bars
any black dye	Light Weighted Pressure Plate	any black dye

Recipe id: sfm:cable

This recipe makes 16 Inventory Cables per craft.

Next comes the brain of the system, the Factory Manager. It is crafted using one cable from the step above.^[3]

Factory ManagerMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any chest	Inventory Cable	any chest
Inventory Cable	Repeater	Inventory Cable
any chest	Inventory Cable	any chest

Recipe id: sfm:manager

The manager runs from a Factory Manager Program Disk. Craft one to hold your program.^[3]

Factory Manager Program DiskMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Paper	any green dye	Paper
any red dye	Redstone Block	any blue dye
Redstone	Repeater	Redstone

Recipe id: sfm:disk

Tools and helpers

Once the basics work, these items make building and managing a network easier. They are all separate crafts, so you can pick them up in any order.^[3]

• Network Tool is crafted on its own, with no cables needed.^[3]
• Label Gun is a separate craft too.^[3]
• Printing Press is crafted from common vanilla parts.^[3]
• Water Tank is another standalone craft.^[3]

Network ToolMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Empty slot	Redstone Lamp	any sign
Empty slot	Iron Ingot	Heavy Weighted Pressure Plate
Iron Ingot	Empty slot	Empty slot

Recipe id: sfm:network_tool

Label GunMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Empty slot	any blue dye	any sign
Empty slot	any wooden rod	any black dye
any wooden rod	Empty slot	Empty slot

Recipe id: minecraft:tunnelled_manager_vertical

In this pack's recipe list, this recipe id produces the Label Gun.

Printing PressMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Light Weighted Pressure Plate	any black dye	Light Weighted Pressure Plate
Stone	Anvil	Stone
Iron Bars	Piston	Iron Bars

Recipe id: sfm:printing_press

Water TankMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Iron Bars	Water Bucket	Iron Bars
Iron Bars	Light Weighted Pressure Plate	Iron Bars
Iron Bars	Water Bucket	Iron Bars

Recipe id: sfm:water_tank

Cable upgrades

Cables come in several variants: Fancy Inventory Cable, Tough Inventory Cable, Tunnelled Inventory Cable, Tough Fancy Inventory Cable and Tunnelled Fancy Inventory Cable. The recipes below show how each one is made.^[3]

Fancy Inventory CableMod recipe

Crafting Shapeless

• Inventory Cable

Recipe id: sfm:fancy_cable

Tough Inventory CableMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Obsidian	Empty slot	Obsidian
Obsidian	Inventory Cable	Obsidian
Obsidian	Empty slot	Obsidian

Recipe id: sfm:tough_cable

Tunnelled Inventory CableMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any fence	any fence	any fence
Empty slot	Inventory Cable	Empty slot
any fence	any fence	any fence

Recipe id: minecraft:tunnelled_cable_horizontal

Tough Fancy Inventory CableMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

Obsidian	Obsidian	Obsidian
Empty slot	Fancy Inventory Cable	Empty slot
Obsidian	Obsidian	Obsidian

Recipe id: minecraft:tough_fancy_cable_horizontal

Tunnelled Fancy Inventory CableMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any fence	any fence	any fence
Empty slot	Fancy Inventory Cable	Empty slot
any fence	any fence	any fence

Recipe id: minecraft:tunnelled_fancy_cable_horizontal

You can also go back. These shapeless recipes convert variants back down:^[3]

• Fancy cable back to plain cable.^[3]
• Tough cable back to plain cable.^[3]
• Tough fancy cable back to fancy cable.^[3]

Inventory CableMod recipe

Crafting Shapeless

• Fancy Inventory Cable

Recipe id: sfm:fancy_to_cable

Inventory CableMod recipe

Crafting Shapeless

• Tough Inventory Cable

Recipe id: sfm:tough_to_cable

Fancy Inventory CableMod recipe

Crafting Shapeless

• Tough Fancy Inventory Cable

Recipe id: sfm:tough_fancy_to_fancy

The tunnelled manager

The top of the chain is the Tunnelled Factory Manager, an upgrade of the regular manager. You can also turn it back into a normal Factory Manager with a shapeless recipe.^[3]

Tunnelled Factory ManagerMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any fence	Empty slot	any fence
any fence	Factory Manager	any fence
any fence	Empty slot	any fence

Recipe id: sfm:tunnelled_manager

Factory ManagerMod recipe

Crafting Shapeless

• Tunnelled Factory Manager

Recipe id: minecraft:uncraft_tunnelled_manager

Experience items

The pack also has a recipe that compresses Experience Shard into Experience Goop. It sits outside the cable and manager chain.^[3]

Experience GoopMod recipe

Crafting Shapeless

• Experience Shard
• Experience Shard
• Experience Shard
• Experience Shard
• Experience Shard
• Experience Shard
• Experience Shard
• Experience Shard
• Experience Shard

Recipe id: sfm:xp_goop

It takes 9 Experience Shards to make one Experience Goop.

Same as in the FTB Skies 2 1.22.0 guide

Good news: everywhere the pack's config files list a mod default for Super Factory Manager, the pack's value is identical to it. Nothing there has been changed. Here are the options you're most likely to touch, with the exact values this pack uses.^[7][8]

Timer trigger speed

• timerTriggerMinimumIntervalInTicks is set to 20 ticks, which is the mod default.^[8]
• timerTriggerMinimumIntervalInTicksWhenOnlyForgeEnergyIOStatementsPresent is set to 1 tick, also the mod default. It is the interval option for triggers that only contain Forge Energy IO statements.^[8]
• The common config repeats both options, timerTriggerMinimumIntervalInTicks and timerTriggerMinimumIntervalInTicksWhenOnlyForgeEnergyIOStatementsPresent, with the same values, 20 and 1, and both match the mod default.^[7]

If statement limit

maxIfStatementsInTriggerBeforeSimulationIsntAllowed is 10, the mod default. The number of scenarios SFM checks is 2^n, where n is the number of if statements in a trigger, so the cost grows quickly as you stack conditions. The common config has the same option at the same value, maxIfStatementsInTriggerBeforeSimulationIsntAllowed.^[7][8]

Server-side safety and logging

• disableProgramExecution is false, so factory managers compile and run code normally. It exists as an emergency switch, and the file notes that it is shown to clients.^[8]
• disallowedResourceTypesForTransfer is an empty list, so no resource types are blocked from being moved.^[8]
• logResourceLossToConsole is true, so resource loss is logged to the console.^[8]
• maxDiskProblems is 10, the mod default. It caps how many problems get annotated on a disk item before the list is truncated.^[8]

Enchanted book conversion

levelsToShards controls how Enchanted Books convert to Experience Shards, and this pack uses JustOne, so a book always gives 1 shard regardless of its enchantments. The other allowed values are EachOne, SumLevels and SumLevelsScaledExponentially.^[8]

Client overlays

Both reminder overlays are on: showLabelGunReminderOverlay and showNetworkToolReminderOverlay are set to true.^[9]

FTB Skies 2: Aero 1.10.0 ships Super Factory Manager 4.34.0, and the mod has been in the pack since Aero 1.0.3 or earlier. So the latest mod changelog is the one that applies to you here.^[10]

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

What's new in 4.34.0

• Fancy cables can now be waterlogged.^[11]
• Falling anvil items no longer spawn in the corner of the block.^[11]
• The JEI catalyst display for the falling anvil experience shard now uses the configured tag instead of a hardcoded obsidian.^[11]
• There is now a configurable keymapping for opening the label gun GUI.^[11]
• The label gun clear modifier tooltip is fixed.^[11]
• Label gun text and the label gun and network tool highlights no longer render slightly offset at large world coordinates.^[11]
• Using /sfm config edit server now invalidates the program cache properly.^[11]
• The zh_cn localizations were updated, and uk_ua localizations were introduced.^[11]

The same changelog also lists two fixes written for 26.1.2: the SFM Classic resource pack not loading, and the invisible Ctrl+I container inspector overlay text. The jar in this pack is built for Minecraft 1.21.1, so don't count on those two affecting your game.^[10][11]