Fix the headache that is processing times in GregTech (and reduce lag that way!)

Much support, nothing to add.

 

I support this. We can probably set the times for the assembler to like 3 seconds or something. Blast furnace times are also way too long in my opinion.
The extruder idea sounds interesting.
The only minor annoyance in reducing the processing times is that Greg keeps changing the default processing times from time to time, which causes new configs to appear that need to be fixed every time.

 

I finally got my GregTech machines setup and have been working through processing all the ore. You must also speed up the Thermal Centrifuge as that's a key middle requirement that's been added by GregTech. Also speed up the Universal Macerator as well.

My last four days of play have been taking up entirely of waiting for GregTech machines to process endless count of dusts and piles and ingots. ANYTHING that can shorten that and let me get back to playing the game would be greatly welcome.

 

I strongly support this.

 

While we are on the subject, I would like to know you guys's opinion on:
- GregTech's hammers being required over the IC2 Forge Hammer;
- The requirement of steel in machines and/or tools.

 

I do not mind the steel requirement. Greg Hammers piss me off. :C

 

Anything that cuts down on the bullshit and tedium that machines nowadays are causing is A-Ok in my book. Challenge should stem from WHAT to make, not HOW to make it.

 

Agreed, have not gone into gregtech yet but those changes are reasonable.

 

Agree, and the thermal centrifuge, and universal macerator should be added to the list.

 

Maybe 5 ticks?

 

Anything that reduces processing time, I am all for. I just get annoyed with the way GT interacts with all these other mods.

 

Greg, Ic2 is as far as you go. Stop messing with other mods, or face the dire consequences!

 

Amen!

 

Absolutely none of these changes will reduce lag to any significant amount.

I have been thinking a lot about how MC/Forge/mods currently handle item processing and to an extent relieving most of the lag they cause. Our problem is the sheer amount of operations. We need to reduce the number of operations in mod's machines. Increasing the speed of the machines does not help, and can in fact make the situation much worse. Slowing them down does not help either, as you just put more machines.

Here is my idea. High efficiency batch processing. Processing a stack of items in a single go is pretty much code wise the same as processing a single item. So if a hypothetical machine can process one item a tick, swap that and make it wait for a full stack (or having a timeout and only doing an operation at timed intervals so there is no need to constantly check the inventory state) and have it perform the action on the stack taking a longer delay.

I would want to make this a toggle in the machine's GUI so it could be turned on or off.

How would this benefit the player and how would we get them to use this mode? Well for starters we can reduce the time for the whole stack to process. If it took 64 ticks to process 64 items, we could give them a bonus, say it only takes 50 ticks to process a whole stack at a time in HE mode.

Maybe even take it further with the advanced machines, or frogcraft machines that have multiple inputs. Say it can process 4 stacks in one go, if done item by item, tick by tick that would take 256 ticks, with our single slot machines that would take 200 ticks, possibly with a 4 slot machine that would be reduced to 150 or 175 ticks.

Pretty much we need to find a way to get machines and players to process stacks instead of single items. For every stack that is processed as a whole stack it saves the server from needing to perform 63 other operations. Savings like that can add up quickly.

I don't think there are any mods that can currently do this, and I am not that good with code yet, so for now it is just a thought.

**edit**

I just thought that maybe this outcome can be achieved with some recipe kung-fu rather than modding the back end of the code and GUIs

 

That's assuming a 1 to 1 ratio of input to output. Many items in gregtech need more than one to make another item. like processing a stack of rubber, its I think 3:1 so you would be outputing 192, which the interface doesn't support and you would need to have an internal buffer to hold those items since not everyone can use an AE system or if the system goes down ect... If you allow it to partial process, well your bonus isn't much of a bonus. you'd have to have code to split the stack size input/output. Then you'd have to have all the combo's of the ratio.

 

only a couple of the machines have SIMO mode, not many do though. The major ones that need to be reduced and put the most stress on the server are mostly SISO mode, like the macerator, furnace. etc.