Mekanism: Ponders in FTB StoneBlock 4

Mekanism: Ponders is a small add-on that adds Ponder scenes for Mekanism. If you've used Create's Ponder screen, it works the same way: you get a short in-game animation showing how something is built. Here it's used for Mekanism's multiblocks, so you can see how each one is constructed instead of guessing at the layout.^[1]

The pack includes version 1.0.3-1.21.1 of the mod.^[2]

Who it's for

It's for anyone who wants help building Mekanism's big multiblock machines. It adds no machines or items of its own. It only teaches you how to build the ones that already exist.^[1]

Scenes it adds

• Induction Matrix^[1]
• Supercritical Phase Shifter^[1]
• Thermal Evaporation Plant^[1]
• Thermoelectric Boiler^[1]
• Fission Reactor, Fusion Reactor and Industrial Turbine, which are extra scenes that only appear if Mekanism: Generators is installed^[1]

Mekanism is a required dependency, and Mekanism: Generators is optional.^[1]

Unverified The sources don't confirm whether Mekanism: Generators is installed in this pack, so the Generators scenes (Fission Reactor, Fusion Reactor, Industrial Turbine) may not be available to you.

Where it fits in progression

Unverified The sources don't place this mod anywhere in the pack's progression. No quests or ATM Star path steps for it are confirmed, so treat it as an optional reference tool to open whenever you're stuck on a Mekanism multiblock.

This mod doesn't add machines, items or ores. It adds Ponder scenes: short in-game animated demos that show you how Mekanism multiblocks are built and set up. It works through the Ponder mod, and it's there to make multiblocks much easier to understand.^[1]

What the scenes cover

The project lists scenes for the Fission Reactor, Fusion Reactor, Industrial Turbine, Induction Matrix, Supercritical Phase Shifter, Thermal Evaporation Plant and Thermoelectric Boiler. The Fission Reactor, Fusion Reactor and Industrial Turbine scenes are marked as coming from Mekanism: Generators, and that mod's scenes only appear if it is installed.^[1]

Where to start

There's no crafting order to follow here, because there's nothing to craft for this mod. The best first step is to open the scene for whichever multiblock you want to build and follow it before you place any blocks. Here are a few things the scenes teach you.^[1][3]

• Dynamic Tank: it's a multiblock that stores a large amount of either fluids or chemicals. You build it from Dynamic Tank blocks, and a Dynamic Valve handles inserting and extracting.^[3]
• Fusion Reactor: every side is built the same way from Fusion Reactor Frames. It needs a Fusion Reactor Controller in the center of the top side to form a complete multiblock. Once it's assembled correctly, it emits Redstone particles to show it's done.^[3]
• Fission Reactor ports: they have 3 modes (Input Only, Output Waste and Output Coolant). You switch them by shift-right-clicking the port with a Configurator.^[3]
• Fission Reactor cooling: you can cool it with water or with sodium. Sodium gives double the cooling capacity of water, so the reactor can handle double the Burn Rate it could with water.^[3]

Unverified Whether this pack changes any Mekanism recipes or values that the scenes describe is unverified. No recipes, quests or in-pack configs for this mod were available, so check the in-game recipes for the machines themselves. This site does hold FTB StoneBlock 4's own recipes, read from the pack itself: look the item up in the item browser.

Unverified How to open the Ponder scenes in game (which key or button) isn't covered by the available sources, so it is unverified here.

This mod doesn't add machines of its own. It adds Ponder scenes that show how Mekanism's multiblocks are built and configured, and Mekanism: Generators adds extra scenes if it's installed. Everything below comes from the text of those scenes, so it covers how these multiblocks work, not every machine in Mekanism.^[1]

How multiblocks form

The multiblocks in these scenes follow the same pattern. You build a cuboid from the matching casing or frame block, then swap some inner sections for functional blocks such as ports, valves or glass. When the structure is complete, it emits Redstone particles so you know it formed.^[3]

Dynamic Tank

The Dynamic Tank is a hollow cuboid built from Dynamic Tank blocks. It stores a large amount of either fluids or chemicals. It can be anywhere from 3x3x3 up to 18x18x18, and a bigger structure holds more. Chemicals have larger capacities than fluids.^[3]

• Inner sections can be replaced with Structural Glass, Reactor Glass or Dynamic Valves.^[3]
• Right-click anywhere on the tank to open its UI. It shows the stored amount and the total capacity, and it lets you fill containers.^[3]
• In the UI you can set the tank to only fill itself, only empty itself, or do both.^[3]
• To move fluids or chemicals in or out, attach a transmitter to a Dynamic Valve. To extract, set that transmitter to pull from the valve.^[3]

Induction Matrix

The Induction Matrix stores large amounts of energy. You build it from Induction Casings as a cuboid from 3x3x3 to 18x18x18. Inner sections can be Structural Glass, Reactor Glass or Induction Ports. To store power it needs an Induction Cell of any tier.^[3]

Click anywhere on an assembled matrix to open its UI. It shows the stored power, the total capacity, and how much energy is going in and out.^[3]

Use a Configurator to switch an Induction Port between modes. In Input mode it receives power from any source. In Output mode you can extract power from the matrix.^[3]

Fission Reactor

The Fission Reactor is a multiblock that processes Fissile Fuel into Nuclear Waste. Its cuboid frame uses Fission Reactor Casings and ranges from 3x4x3 up to 18x18x18. Inner frame sections can be Reactor Glass, Fission Reactor Ports or Fission Reactor Logic Adapters.^[3]

Inside, you add Fission Control Rods. Each one is built from one or more Fission Fuel Assemblies with a single Control Rod Assembly on top. Cooling is penalized if control rods touch each other, so keep them apart.^[3]

Ports and the Logic Adapter

Fission Reactor Ports have three modes. Shift-right-click a port with a Configurator to switch between them.^[3]

• Input Only: the port exclusively accepts fluids and chemicals.^[3]
• Output Waste: the port exclusively outputs the Nuclear Waste the reactor produces.^[3]
• Output Coolant: the port exclusively outputs the Heated Coolant the reactor produces.^[3]

The Fission Reactor Logic Adapter lets a Redstone signal control the reactor, or emits a Redstone signal based on the reactor's state. That makes it useful for fail-safes. The scene shows two examples: set to Activation, the reactor runs, and set to Insufficient Fuel, it outputs a Redstone signal.^[3]

Reactor UI

Click anywhere on the completed structure to open the UI. The main tab shows Status, the configured Burn Rate, the Heating Rate, the current Temperature and the Damage percentage. It also has a button to activate or deactivate the reactor. The Fission Reactor Statistics tab shows Heat Statistic and Fuel Statistics, and it's where you set the Current Burn Rate.^[3]

Cooling the fission reactor

There are two ways to cool the reactor. Water cooling produces steam, and the amount of Water the reactor uses is based on its Burn Rate. You can run that steam through a Turbine for energy, or turn it back into Water with Saturating Condensers.^[3]

Sodium cooling produces Superheated Sodium. A Thermoelectric Boiler can turn that into Steam, and it also returns the Sodium to a cooled state so it can be reused as coolant. Sodium gives double the cooling capacity of Water, so the reactor can handle double the Burn Rate it could with Water.^[3]

Fusion Reactor

The Fusion Reactor starts from a base made of Fusion Reactor Frames, and each side is built the same way. Inner sections can be replaced with Fusion Reactor Ports, Fusion Logic Ports, Reactor Glass or a Laser Focus Matrix. To complete the multiblock, put a Fusion Reactor Controller in the center of the top side.^[3]

Use a Configurator to toggle a Fusion Reactor Port between Input and Output. In Input mode the reactor can accept chemicals, fluids and heat. In Output mode it can output chemicals, heat and energy.^[3]

The Fusion Logic Port emits Redstone based on the reactor's state. Right-click it to choose when it outputs a signal. Right-click the Fusion Reactor Controller to set the Fuel Injection Rate. The controller also shows various statistics and has a slot for a Hohlraum.^[3]

FTB StoneBlock 4 1.21.0 ships Mekanism: Ponders 1.0.3-1.21.1. The pack's mod list says the mod was first included in FTB StoneBlock 4 1.14.0 or earlier, so it has been part of the pack for a good while.^[2]

Changes in 1.0.3

Here is what the mod's own changelog lists for the version you get in this pack:^[2][4]

• Fix: the TEP renderer is now disabled in the ponder level, which was causing console spam.^[4]
• Feature: registry entries and dependencies for MekEvolved and MekExtras were added, but there are no ponders for them yet.^[4]
• Chore: the updater ponder was changed, and the JarJar implementation was changed too.^[4]
• Chore: the version was bumped to v1.0.3.^[4]

Unverified No pack changelog entries for this mod were available, so what changed between StoneBlock 4 releases, and which exact pack version added the mod, is unverified.