Guide: Pre-Nuclear
Petrochemicals
With oil refinement completed, we are ready to continue progress. The next step is to learn about Petrochemicals, products made from petroleum, as they are one of the most useful materials in this mod.
Polymer/Bakelite
Polymer is a type of plastic used in various crafting recipes, similar to rubber. This can be confusing as multiple polymers exist in the mod, this specific polymer is distinct from latex, which is also a polymer but has different properties.
Polymer bars can be produced in a chemical plant using petroleum gas, fluorite, and coal. Alternatively, they can be obtained by smelting plastic scraps, making this method particularly useful in the early game.
Bakelite is an alternative plastic to polymer, utilizing aromatic hydrocarbons instead of fluorite.
To produce Bakelite, mix aromatic hydrocarbons with petroleum gas in a chemical plant. Another method involves using laboratory glassware to mix two tanks—one containing aromatic hydrocarbons and the other with petroleum gas—yielding two units of Bakelite powder. This powder must be smelted to obtain Bakelite bars.
Rubber/Latex
Rubber is a synthetic polymer with elastic properties, distinguishing it from plastic. It is used in various crafting recipes, including hazmat suits, machines, missile fuselages, and machine upgrades.
Rubber can be synthesized in a chemical plant by combining sulfur with unsaturated hydrocarbons.
Latex, in contrast, is a natural and inexpensive organic polymer that serves as an alternative to rubber in specific recipes. Unlike rubber, latex does not require an oil refinery to obtain, making it accessible early in the game. However, it lacks insulation properties, meaning it cannot be used in all rubber-based recipes.
Latex can be obtained by placing four dandelions in a crafting grid, producing a latex ball. This ball must be smelted to obtain a latex bar. Alternatively, latex can be extracted by pressing jungle wood logs using a flat stamp. This method becomes preferable once automated presses and jungle tree farms are established.
Desh
Main page: Desh
Desh is a highly durable, fictional material with exceptional blast resistance, heat resistance, corrosion resistance, and overall stability. It has a deep red color and emits no radiation or particles. In fact, Desh acts as a radiation shield. This material also is crucial for progression, being a key component in many crafting recipes, as well as in the creation of powerful tools such as the steam suit, which grants various buffs.
Desh ingots are refined and processed in a chemical plant using Desh blend, Mercury, and Light oil. While this may seem costly at first, you'll get used to it soon.
Desh blend is obtained from the Rare Earth ore, which must be centrifuged or crystallized, then centrifuged again for extra Rare Earth Chunks. If your mining without a Silk Touch-enchanted pickaxe, the fragments dropped must be shredded which will give you desh blend. Mercury is extracted by centrifuging redstone ore, and light oil is obtained through an oil refinery.
Desh Anvil
The Desh Anvil is the third-tier of the anvils which unlocks additional crafting recipes. It is crafted by combining a standard iron anvil with ten Desh ingots in an anvil.
Silicon
Main Page: Silicon
Silicon is an essential material at this stage since it is required to make higher tier digital circuits such as the integrated circuit board and the military grade circuit board which are required in advanced machines. To make your first silicon boules you need an electric arc furnace and some sand, nether quartz or flint (there are other materials that can be used but the aforementioned are the most abundant), you can choose to either operate it in solid mode or liquid mode with the red button on the top corner of the GUI; solid mode directly deposits the silicon nuggets in the arc furnace's inventory, while liquid mode liquifies the silicon nuggets and outputs them through a crucible output at the side of the arc furnace (for some inputs it also gives you a bonus of a few nuggets/quanta), you can then setup a foundry basin with a billet mold to produce silicon wafers.
The silicon wafers should then be pressed with a circuit stamp to actually make printed silicon wafers to be used in circuits as shown in the recipe below.
Uses
One core feature of the arc welder is welded plates. They are made out of two cast plates which are three ingots each, thus 6 ingots for each welded plate. Welded plates are used in machines that are important to the progression of the mod, such as the oil refinery, the Watz Power Plant and the fusion reactor.
Besides its use for welded plates, it also has simplified recipes for frequently used components, such as circuits and motors.
It is also the main machine used in the assembly of generic missiles.
Machine Upgrades
Main Page: Machine Upgrades
Different machines have specific areas in their interface. known as upgrade slots. Not all machines accept every upgrade, and some have unique upgrades that are exclusively theirs. You can install upgrades in these slots, which enhance performance based on the upgrade you choose. The three upgrades that are most frequently utilized are compatible with the majority of machines.
- (Red) Speed: Increases the operation speed of a machine. Sometimes increases the power usage as a takeback.
- (Blue) Power Saving: Decreases the power usage of a machine. Sometimes decreases the speed as a takeback.
- (Black) Overdrive: Most powerful of them all, increases the operation speed and some other properties by a huge amount.
All upgrades require the Machine Upgrade Template, which can be crafted in 2 different ways:
Silex & FEL
Main page: Laser Isotope Separation Chamber, FEL
The Laser Isotope Separation Chamber (or SILEX) is a machine that separates isotopes and elements from compounds or other materials via the SILEX. It's kind of like a centrifuge. It needs to be used with another machine, the FEL. Using our newly acquired Desh, rubber and other materials, we can craft both the FEL and Silex.
The SILEX requires the materials to be in a liquid compound state in order to be processed, this means it can take in uranium or plutonium hexafluoride, but it doesn't require them to enrich either material. It can use hydrogen peroxide to liquefy any material to be processed, the material may even be in a powder state. The processed items come out into the right side collection of slots.
The FEL or Free Electron Laser is a large (7x3x3) multiblock utilized with the SILEX to produce various laser wavelengths needed for all SILEX recipes. To start it up, simply place a laser crystal inside the marked slot, and supply it with power, then just click the switch to activate it. You must place the SILEX at least 2 blocks away from activated FEL laser, or else Its going to melt, you can power up to 5 SILEX'es with one FEL, which is probably more than enough for all of your needs. In order to "cut" the laser (and perhaps protect the chests if you placed it in front of them for some reason), you have to use place any type of concrete on the laser. Glass on the other hand is going to let the laser through, while reinforced not, resulting in it being melted. Any other block other than concrete is replaced by fire, except for Digamma, which replaces it with Digamma Fire, and the block under it with Ash.
Ore Acidizer
Main page: Ore Acidizer
The Ore Acidizer (also referred to as a crystallizer or just acidizer) is a useful machine, used for processing various items for utility, ore multiplication, and more. It is powered by electricity and requires various solvents depending on the item.
The acidizer represents a hike in power consumption, requiring improved generation or the use of upgrades to counteract. However, its recipes tend to be superior alternatives to other methods. You can insert a Effectiveness upgrade into this machine which increases the output but increases the fluid usage as a takeback.
Bedrock Ore Processing
Main Page: Bedrock Ore / Bedrock Ore Processor
Note that this is a optional thing to do, you don't HAVE to make a bedrock ore facility.
Are you tired of running with low resources and mining with low resources? What do you know, you can automate it and get an endless amount of iron, copper, gold, thorium, uranium and whatever you need! It's not easy as it takes a lot of resources to create your first basic bedrock ore processing setup. This setup also requires a lot of space depending on how you build it. You can produce a large quantity of basic resources very fast making things much easier. Even materials such as Techetium Steel, Uranium, Thorium, Radium, and more can be produced. You don't always get all the resources you want from it, but you'll get some. Visit the Bedrock Ore Main Page and learn about it.
Schrabidium
Main page: Schrabidium
Related page: Guide: Schrabidium Creation
Schrabidium is a rare, fictional super-actinide in NTM and plays a key role in progression. It is mainly used for crafting powerful tools and armor. There are two main ways to obtain it: using a Schrabidium Transmutation Device or exposing uranium to strong radiation. However, the transmutation device requires magnetized tungsten, which, in turn, needs Schrabidium—creating a problem. To work around this, we first need to get Schrabidium by bombing uranium.
It is used mainly for crafting recipes but you can use it for other things like making tools and equipment with it. Schrabidium tools and armor are very strong and great for early to mid-game. However, each piece of armor requires a full Schrabidium block, making it quite expensive. Despite the effort needed, Schrabidium gear is well worth the investment.
Getting Schrabidium by Bombing Uranium
Main page: Guide: Schrabidium Creation
To obtain your first Schrabidium ingots, you must expose uranium ore to radiation. You will need the following materials:
- 10 uranium ores
- 1 radioactive barrel
- 1 det cord
- 1 detonator (or TNT and flint and steel if det cord was unsuccessful)
Procedure
- Place 10 uranium ores in a square on the ground.
- Build 10 blocks up from the center of the square.
- Place the radioactive barrel at the top, attach the det cord, and connect it to the detonator. If det cord does not work, TNT and flint and steel can be used instead.
- Move far away to avoid radiation, then detonate. To reduce radiation spread, you can also cover the barrel with concrete before detonating.
- After the explosion, at least one or two Schrabidium ores should appear among the uranium.
A More Efficient Method
Main page: Guide: Schrabidium Creation
Related page: Schraranium, Schrabidium Transmutation Device
Bombing uranium is a good way to get Schrabidium at first, but it is not practical in the long run. A Schrabidium Transmutation Device will be needed later to create Schraranium Ingots, which is then processed through Crystallizing flowed by centrifuging to produce Schrabidium Nuggets. This method is slower, but much more efficient over time.
Preparations & Tips
You can use various machines to make your work easier or do some stuff. Either it be automating, making everyday tasks easier or just efficiency in he thing we already built.
- Make a Desh or to craft some more stuff and plates easily.
- Make a Servo Set or the Desh one and put it in your armor as it improves your movement and speed which is useful.
- Start using Electric Tools like the Impact Drill and Electric Chainsaw as they are much faster and better. Desh Tools are also a great option as they also provide many abilities, don't need electricity and have infinite durability.
- If you haven't already, make a builder's jetpack as it allows you to fly and helps in building. It's not that expensive!
- You can replace your oil derrick with a pumpjack, it does the same job but the difference is that the pumpjack is faster and uses more electricity.
- M1TTY Environment Suit is a great early-game power armor at this stage of your progression. Alternatively, Steel Ranger is also pretty good. These power armor sets are a million times better then vanilla type armors as they provide buffs.
- Noticed that dirt blocks are turning into dead or oily dirt near your oil refinery? This is known as pollution. You can connect your machines to asmokestack using exhaust pipes to reduce the amount of pollution made.
Now you should be pretty much prepared for the Nuclear Age, true pain.