Applied Energistics in Minecraft – ME Network and Storage
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The Applied Energistics 2 (AE2) mod is a comprehensive technological expansion that fundamentally changes the approaches to storing items, fluids, and automating production processes. It solves one of the main problems of large-scale survival in Minecraft - chaos in chests, offering in return an elegant and powerful system for digital storage and crafting. Instead of dozens of chests, the mod allows you to create a single, centralized, and expandable database for all resources.
The main idea of the mod is the transformation of matter into energy and back. Items placed in the system cease to exist in physical form and are stored as digital data on special drives. This opens up almost limitless possibilities for sorting, searching, and automated item creation, turning resource management from a routine task into a fascinating engineering process.
Key Features
Centralized Digital Storage: Create a single ME (Matter-Energy) Network to store millions of items and thousands of buckets of fluids in a compact form.
Advanced Automation: The ability to "teach" the system to create almost any item on demand, from simple tools to complex components from other mods.
Wireless Access: Manage all resources and start crafting jobs from a distance using wireless terminals.
New Resources and World Generation: Search for unique crystals and materials, including meteorites that have fallen to the world's surface, which are necessary for developing the mod's technologies.
Complex but Logical Mechanics: The system requires planning, energy and channel management, which adds depth to the gameplay and presents the player with interesting engineering challenges.
ME Network Basics
The heart of the mod is the ME Network. It is not a single block, but a collection of interconnected devices that work as a single unit. To function, any network, even the simplest one, requires three basic elements: an energy source, a place to store data, and a way to interact with that data.
Key Components
ME Controller: The brain and center of any large network. It is the source of channels and connects all devices attached to it. Small networks can operate without a controller, but their capabilities are severely limited.
ME Drive: A block that serves as a "housing" for storage cells. It does not store anything by itself but provides slots for installing storage cells.
Storage Cell: The "hard drive" of your system. There are different tiers of cells, which differ in capacity (number of items) and the number of item types that can be stored on them.
ME Terminal: The main interface for interacting with the network's contents. It allows you to view all stored items, search, and manually retrieve them.
Cables: Used to connect all network components and transmit energy and channels. There are different types of cables that can carry a different number of channels.
Energy and Channels
An ME Network requires a constant supply of energy, typically in the Forge Energy (FE) format used by most tech mods. Power consumption depends on the number and type of active devices.
A key mechanic that distinguishes AE2 from many other mods is the channel system. Each component that performs a function (terminal, import/export bus, interface) occupies one channel. A regular cable can only carry 8 channels. To create more complex systems, you must use an ME Controller, which generates 32 channels on each of its sides, and more advanced types of cables. This forces careful planning of the network architecture.
New Resources and How to Obtain Them
Creating ME Network components requires unique resources that the mod adds to the world.
Resource | Source | Notes |
Certus Quartz Ore | Generates underground at various heights, most commonly found between Y-levels 17 and 60. | The primary resource for creating most components. Can be grown artificially using a Certus Quartz Seed. |
Charged Certus Quartz Ore | A rare variant of Certus Quartz Ore. Found at the same heights. | Is a source of Charged Certus Quartz Crystal. When mined with a regular pickaxe, it drops regular Certus Quartz. A pickaxe with the Silk Touch enchantment is required to obtain the charged crystal. |
Fluix Crystal | Does not generate in the world. Created by dropping a Charged Certus Quartz Crystal, Redstone, and Nether Quartz into water. | A key component for creating cables, storage cells, and processors. |
Sky Stone | The main material that makes up meteorites. | Meteorites generate randomly on the world's surface. In the center of each meteorite is a Sky Stone Chest containing Inscriber press schematics. |
Processors and the Inscriber
A special device, the Inscriber, is used to create advanced electronic circuits. It "presses" circuits onto silicon plates.
Printed Silicon: Created by placing Silicon, obtained from smelting Certus Quartz Ore, into an Inscriber with the corresponding press.
Printed Circuits:Gold Ingots and Diamonds are used to create the Printed Logic Circuit and Printed Engineering Circuit, respectively.
Processors: The final step is to combine Printed Silicon, a printed circuit, and Redstone in a crafting table to get finished processors, which are the basis for all of the mod's "smart" devices.
Key Mechanics and Devices
Storage
In addition to standard storage on disks in an ME Drive, the network can be taught to see the contents of regular chests, barrels, and other storage containers. This is done using a Storage Bus. When connected to a container, this bus makes all of its contents available on the general network. This allows for a smooth integration of an existing storage system into a new ME Network.
Crafting Automation
Automation is one of the most powerful features of AE2. It is built on three components:
Molecular Assembler: A block that instantly performs crafts for which it knows the recipes.
ME Interface: A device that stores crafting patterns and provides ingredients to the Molecular Assembler.
Blank Pattern: An item onto which a recipe is encoded. This is done in an ME Pattern Encoding Terminal. The finished Crafting Pattern is placed in the ME Interface.
After setup, you can order the creation of any item (e.g., 1000 pistons) through the terminal. The network will automatically check for available resources, create intermediate components (planks, cobblestone) if necessary, and deliver the finished product to the storage system.
Wireless Access
Using an ME Wireless Access Point, you can extend the network's range. While within its radius, a player with an ME Wireless Terminal in their inventory gets full access to their ME network. The terminal requires energy to be recharged.
Working with Fluids
AE2 allows you to work not only with items but also with fluids. With a Fluid Storage Cell and an ME Fluid Terminal, you can store, view, and extract any fluids, from water to lava or oil from other mods.
Compatibility and Integration
The mod is designed for close interaction with other mods.
Energy: Full support for Forge Energy (FE), making AE2 compatible with almost any popular technology mod (e.g., Thermal Expansion, Mekanism, Industrial Craft).
Items and Fluids: With an Import Bus and Export Bus, you can set up automatic loading and unloading of resources from any furnace, crusher, farm, or other machine. This allows you to create fully automated production chains spanning dozens of machines from different mods.
Conclusion
Applied Energistics 2 is a fundamental technology mod that is an ideal choice for players who love order, automation, and solving complex engineering problems. It doesn't just add new items, but offers a new approach to gameplay, shifting the focus from manual resource management to designing and optimizing complex systems.
The mod is especially valuable in large modpacks where the number of different items and resources runs into the thousands. For players who plan to build giant factories, automatic farms, and complex production lines, AE2 is an almost indispensable tool that turns a logistical nightmare into an orderly and efficient system.
Published by: TNT
