Modular multicopter drones is a mod about making multicopters that can automate a bunch of things for you. It is currently under development, and has no public release yet.
So this mod adds a number of drones which are made up of different parts:
A frame
Motors
Batteries
Modules
Chests
Frames can be made of different materials: sugarcane, wood and aluminium. There's also different size frames quad, hexa and octa. All combinations are possible except one, a sugarcane octacopter does not exist. Every combination then has the capacity for a number of Batteries, Modules and Chests. More batteries make it fly longer before having to recharge; every module gives it the ability to do a task and chests add inventory space in the drone. If for example a drone has a planting module then having more chests would allow him to carry more seeds to plant. Aluminium drones can have 'free' slots which can contain any of the other expansions. By default every drone can carry 1 stack of items with it, every chest added to the drone gives an additional stack of items.
Weak Cane Quadcopter
Batteries: 1
Modules: 1
Chests: 0
Free: 0
Weak Cane Hexacopter
Batteries: 1
Modules: 1
Chests: 1
Free: 0
Medium Wood Quadcopter
Batteries: 1
Modules: 1
Chests: 1
Free: 0
Medium Wood Hexacopter
Batteries: 1
Modules: 1
Chests: 2
Free: 0
Medium Wood Octacopter
Batteries: 2
Modules: 1
Chests: 2
Free: 0
Strong Wood Quadcopter
Batteries: 1
Modules: 1
Chests: 2
Free: 0
Strong Wood Hexacopter
Batteries: 2
Modules: 1
Chests: 2
Free: 0
Strong Wood Octacopter
Batteries: 2
Modules: 1
Chests: 3
Free: 0
Medium Aluminium Quadcopter
Batteries: 1
Modules: 1
Chests: 0
Free: 1
Medium Aluminium Hexacopter
Batteries: 1
Modules: 1
Chests: 0
Free: 2
Medium Aluminium Octacopter
Batteries: 1
Modules: 1
Chests: 0
Free: 3
Strong Aluminium Quadcopter
Batteries: 1
Modules: 1
Chests: 0
Free: 2
Strong Aluminium Hexacopter
Batteries: 1
Modules: 1
Chests: 0
Free: 3
Strong Aluminium Octacopter
Batteries: 1
Modules: 1
Chests: 0
Free: 4
Drone Base
Every drone has a base, this is where the drone will restock and recharge. You can just put a chest next to the drone base containing the resource it needs and the drone will restock automatically once it's out of resources. You will also be able to hook up a source of RF power for recharging.
Work Marker
This block will tell drones where to do their automation. You'll be able to specify a radius, which will determine how big an area needs to be worked.
Milling Machine
Will be able to create the aluminium frames.
Assembler
Will make assembling the drones easier. You'll be able to choose all the components you want and configure them as you want in one interface. This machine could for example also be used to create an automated battery swapping system. Normally your drone will have to recharge itself in the dronebase, but I imagine it landing being transported to the assembler(which will besides the GUI also be controllable with computercraft) and a charged battery will be assembled into it.
Modules
This will be an item added by this mod and will decide what automation a drone will do. There will be basic and advanced modules. Basic modules will continuously fly over the specified area around a work marker checking the block they're above if work can be done there. Advanced modules will check where they can do their job and then go there and do it. As a result advanced modules can be combined with each other. I don't know what the recipes will be yet.
Batteries
You'll be able to choose from a small, medium or large battery. (But any item that exposes its energy with the use of IEnergyContainerItem in cofh will also work.)
Chests
Just chests.
Frames
The sugarcane frames will be a lilypad and 4 sugarcanes.
The wood frames will probably be a combination of wood planks and sticks.
The aluminium frames will be craftable with the milling machine.
This mod is still very much in development.
What needs to be done:
The advanced module AI;
Implement most type of drones;
Add textures for some items;
Make different textures for different drones;
Implement RF energy and make drones recharge if they are near to empty.
What is working:
Currently you can add a module to a drone, put it in a dronebase, launch it and it will perform its task. It will in also restock its resources when it runs out. Currently I have modules for tilling, planting seeds, bonemealing, harvesting, mining.
I am a 20 year old dutch computer science student and this is my first mod.
Current contributors:
Stefanof - Developer
Anton99 - Modeler
Help Wanted:
A person who can create the textures for everything.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask them.
This is definitely something that I'm going to keep an eye on. I hope you don't make this dependent on UE or other such mods; I must say they're overused and overrated in my opinion.
Thank you! I've got no clue when it will be done. I have so many ideas for possible functionality and I don't even know which of them will be part of a version 1.0. I know that for the coming month I'll be busy finishing my internship and I'll have a lot more time to work on it after that. I could post a version with what I have so far, but I think I'd rather wait until at least: everything has a texture; the energy system is implemented and everything can be crafted. When that is I don't know either.
I'm sorry I did not respond sooner.
There is definitely some progress:
Posted my source on Github: github.com/sfschouten/dronemod/
Updated to minecraft 1.7.
Started work on the advanced AI, I started creating a module to breed animals.
Here is what I am planning on doing next.
Change AI so that it will have the same structure as all the other AI in the game. (Started on it)
Implement pathfinding, until now I had been flying directly towards the point that the drone needs to be. I have now found a way to use a modified version of minecrafts pathfinding for that. I can't just use minecrafts pathfinding directly because it only works in 2D(Mobs walking on the ground instead of flying).
Finish Advanced AI.
Finish the energy system. (I've tried setting up my environment to load other mods aswell so i could debug this, but it won't work so I'll try and stop putting it off and just spend a day getting it to work)
textures and crafting recipes
release first early version
Add all different drones (with their own models and textures)
I'm sorry I did not respond sooner. There is definitely some progress:
Posted my source on Github: github.com/sfschouten/dronemod/
Updated to minecraft 1.7.
Started work on the advanced AI, I started creating a module to breed animals.
Here is what I am planning on doing next.
Change AI so that it will have the same structure as all the other AI in the game. (Started on it)
Implement pathfinding, until now I had been flying directly towards the point that the drone needs to be. I have now found a way to use a modified version of minecrafts pathfinding for that. I can't just use minecrafts pathfinding directly because it only works in 2D(Mobs walking on the ground instead of flying).
Finish Advanced AI.
Finish the energy system. (I've tried setting up my environment to load other mods aswell so i could debug this, but it won't work so I'll try and stop putting it off and just spend a day getting it to work)
textures and crafting recipes
release first early version
Add all different drones (with their own models and textures)
Modular multicopter drones is a mod about making multicopters that can automate a bunch of things for you. It is currently under development, and has no public release yet.
So this mod adds a number of drones which are made up of different parts:
Every drone has a base, this is where the drone will restock and recharge. You can just put a chest next to the drone base containing the resource it needs and the drone will restock automatically once it's out of resources. You will also be able to hook up a source of RF power for recharging.
Work Marker
This block will tell drones where to do their automation. You'll be able to specify a radius, which will determine how big an area needs to be worked.
Milling Machine
Will be able to create the aluminium frames.
Assembler
Will make assembling the drones easier. You'll be able to choose all the components you want and configure them as you want in one interface. This machine could for example also be used to create an automated battery swapping system. Normally your drone will have to recharge itself in the dronebase, but I imagine it landing being transported to the assembler(which will besides the GUI also be controllable with computercraft) and a charged battery will be assembled into it.
This will be an item added by this mod and will decide what automation a drone will do. There will be basic and advanced modules. Basic modules will continuously fly over the specified area around a work marker checking the block they're above if work can be done there. Advanced modules will check where they can do their job and then go there and do it. As a result advanced modules can be combined with each other. I don't know what the recipes will be yet.
Batteries
You'll be able to choose from a small, medium or large battery. (But any item that exposes its energy with the use of IEnergyContainerItem in cofh will also work.)
Chests
Just chests.
Frames
The sugarcane frames will be a lilypad and 4 sugarcanes.
The wood frames will probably be a combination of wood planks and sticks.
The aluminium frames will be craftable with the milling machine.
What needs to be done:
Currently you can add a module to a drone, put it in a dronebase, launch it and it will perform its task. It will in also restock its resources when it runs out. Currently I have modules for tilling, planting seeds, bonemealing, harvesting, mining.
Current contributors:
Stefanof - Developer
Anton99 - Modeler
Help Wanted:
A person who can create the textures for everything.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask them.
Wow thank you so much, it's really motivating to hear that.
I am tired of solving problems for you.
Grow up and solve them your self.
Thank you! I've got no clue when it will be done. I have so many ideas for possible functionality and I don't even know which of them will be part of a version 1.0. I know that for the coming month I'll be busy finishing my internship and I'll have a lot more time to work on it after that. I could post a version with what I have so far, but I think I'd rather wait until at least: everything has a texture; the energy system is implemented and everything can be crafted. When that is I don't know either.
I'm sorry I did not respond sooner.
There is definitely some progress:
thanks
Thank you for your support!
I'm not quite ready to release to the public yet.
Here's my rough timetable:
Are you Dutch?