Overview#
B.A.S.E, which stands for Basic Additions and Standard Essentials, is a foundational library mod developed by Team Acronym Coders. While primarily serving as a dependency for other popular mods like ContentTweaker, it includes a powerful built-in feature set designed to solve the common "duplicate item" problem in large modpacks.
In many modded environments, multiple mods (such as Thermal Expansion, Immersive Engineering, and Mekanism) may each add their own versions of Copper, Tin, or Lead. BASE provides a centralized Material System that can generate these items and blocks once, ensuring a clean inventory and consistent ore dictionary integration across the entire game.
The Material System#
The core of BASE is its Material System. This system allows the mod to dynamically create items and blocks for various metals and minerals if they are not already provided by other mods or if the user wishes to unify them.
How It Works
When a material (e.g., "Copper") is registered in the configuration, BASE automatically generates a suite of related items and blocks. These are all registered with the Ore Dictionary, allowing them to be used interchangeably in recipes from different mods. This prevents the player from having five different types of Copper Ingots taking up space in their chests.
Supported Materials
BASE can generate content for a wide variety of standard modded materials, including but not limited to:
- Base Metals: Copper, Tin, Lead, Silver, Nickel, Aluminum, Zinc.
- Alloys: Bronze, Steel, Invar, Electrum, Constantan, Mithril.
- Precious Metals: Platinum, Iridium, Palladium.
- Gems: Ruby, Sapphire, Peridot, Amber.
Items#
BASE adds several "Parts" for every material enabled in its system. These items are designed to cover all standard processing steps found in tech and magic mods.
| Item Type | Description | OreDict Prefix |
|---|---|---|
| Ingot | The standard refined form of a metal. | ingot[Material] |
| Dust | A ground-down version of the material, often used in advanced processing. | dust[Material] |
| Nugget | A small fragment (1/9th of an ingot). | nugget[Material] |
| Plate | A flat sheet of metal, typically used for machinery casing. | plate[Material] |
| Gear | A mechanical component used in various machines. | gear[Material] |
| Crushed Ore | A preliminary processing stage for raw ores. | crushed[Material] |
| Shard / Clump | Intermediate items used in chemical or specialized refining. | shard[Material] |
Blocks#
In addition to items, BASE provides the necessary blocks for world generation and storage.
Ores
If enabled, BASE can generate ores in the world. These blocks are designed to be compatible with standard pickaxes and drop the appropriate raw material or the ore block itself if harvested with Silk Touch.
Storage Blocks
Storage blocks are the 3x3 compressed versions of ingots or gems. They are primarily used for compact storage and as decorative building blocks.
| Block Type | Description | OreDict Prefix |
|---|---|---|
| Ore | The natural state of the material found in the world. | ore[Material] |
| Storage Block | A solid block made of 9 ingots or gems. | block[Material] |
Mechanics & Recipes#
BASE handles the logic for standard material conversions automatically. This ensures that even if you only have BASE installed, the materials are fully functional.
Standard Recipes
- Compression: 9x Ingots → 1x Storage Block.
- Decompression: 1x Storage Block → 9x Ingots.
- Nugget Crafting: 1x Ingot → 9x Nuggets.
- Nugget Assembly: 9x Nuggets → 1x Ingot.
- Smelting: Smelting an Ore block in a furnace will yield 1x Ingot.
Unification Logic
BASE acts as a "bridge." If a player picks up a "Copper Ingot" from Mod A, and a recipe from Mod B requires a "Copper Ingot," BASE ensures the Ore Dictionary tags match so the recipe works seamlessly. In advanced configurations, it can even force all dropped ores to convert into a single, specific mod's version of that item upon entering the player's inventory.
Configuration#
The mod is highly configurable via the base.cfg file located in the /config folder of your Minecraft directory. Modpack authors can use this file to fine-tune exactly which materials and parts are loaded.
- Module Toggling: You can enable or disable the entire Material System or specific parts (like Gears or Plates) globally.
- Material Selection: Each metal (Copper, Tin, etc.) can be toggled individually. If you already have a mod that provides Copper, you can disable BASE's Copper to prevent any overlap.
- Creative Tab Management: BASE creates its own creative tabs to keep its generated items organized and separate from vanilla content.
Technical Information#
As a library mod, BASE does not add any mobs, biomes, or dimensions. Its primary purpose is technical stability and content generation for other mods.
Key Features for Developers:
- ZenScript Support: Provides the backend for ContentTweaker to allow users to script their own items and blocks.
- Registry Helpers: Simplifies the process of registering new game objects in a way that is compatible with both 1.11.2 and 1.12.2.
- Color Handling: Includes a sophisticated color-tinting system that allows a single texture to be used for dozens of different metal types by applying a hex color code.
