Little Logistics for Minecraft

Review Little Logistics

LITTLE LOGISTICS 

LITTLE LOGISTICS is a small but interesting mod that adds water barges and tugs to the game. It is currently available for two versions of the game: 1.16.5 and 1.18.1. The mod is without a tab in the menu, so all the few new items thereof can be found in the 'Transport' tab.

The mod includes a manual, but for it to become available, you will need to install an additional mod called Patchouli.

The manual is crafted from an ordinary chest, a usual book, and a compass. It describes all the innovations in English and also lists all the crafting options.

The first innovation is related to tugboats. They are something without which other objects and mechanisms will not be able to function. There are two types of tugboat: steam and energy. These tugs are needed to transport various barges. To place a steam tug, go to a reservoir and click the RMB on the water. After that, a steam tug will appear on the water. A tug can also be installed on the ground, but it will not be able to move. You can remove a tug from the ground or water in a similar way — it will be enough to click the LMB on it. To access a tug's control panel, click the RMB on it. The interface features two slots: fuel (coal, wood, lava) is placed in the left one.

But so that a tug start working, it is necessary to specify a path along which it can move — the mod adds a special radio station for that purpose (to determine the route of a tug).

To set the route, take such a device in your hand and click the RMB. A special beam column will appear, indicating the initial point of the route. It is the first place where a tug should go. Then you can set the next point. In this way, you can set any number of points so that a tug moves along the necessary route. When you have marked all the points of a route, go back to the tow and put the radio inside (in the right slot). Done. The tugboat begins its journey. It will move along the route, following all the marked nods, and you will notice smoke above it. After a tug reaches the last point, it will immediately sail to the initial point, and so on again and again until the fuel runs out. To delete accidentally marked route points or just to change them, hold SHIFT and click the RMB. After that, the radio interface will be shown, where all the points are specified. You can select any point with a mouse and then click on the cross located at the bottom. Besides, the points can be swapped by clicking the 'Up' and 'Down' buttons next to the cross. You can also rename the points with the last button in the interface, located to the left. But a point can be removed in another way — just go to and stand on it, and then click the RMB.

An energy tug is more expensive, but it justifies the resources spent. After such a tug on the water and entering the interface, you will notice that it requires FE energy as fuel. Therefore, so that it works, you will need to install a third-party mod related to energy generation, such as SOLAR ENERGY. You can charge an energy tug in two ways — by putting an energy battery in the left slot or by charging it on a special station. The second way implies the creation of a special charging station. Then you will need to place it in such a way that the pipe located at the station is connected to the energy tug. Further, you will have to connect a wire from solar batteries (of the SOLAR ENERGY mod) so that the device itself begins to accumulate energy. You can check the amount of energy by clicking the RMB on the station, and the respective information will be shown in the chat. The station's capacity is 10,000 FE. If you place an energy tug next to it, it will start charging. A route for it is created in exactly the same way as for a steam tugboat by applying a radio station. If you test this mod in creative mode, you can use the infinite battery without having to install extra add-ons. But you cannot create such a battery.

The next innovation is barges. At the moment, the mod adds five types thereof: a barge with a seat, a barge with a chest, a barge with a liquid container, a fishing barge, and a chunk loader barge.

A barge with a seat is created quite simply and is used exclusively for transporting players.

The next kind is the barge with a chest. After placing such a barge, it will be possible to put various objects inside and transport them anywhere on the water. Its storage capacity is equal to a chest.

The next kind is the liquid container. It is created quite simply. Such a barge will be able to transport any liquids. Its storage capacity equals ten buckets, be it of lava or water.

A fishing barge is highly useful because it can be used for automated fishing. To start applying it, it is enough to put it in the middle of a reservoir and occasionally check the catch by looking at the inventory by pressing the RMB. The inventory has nine slots. But you should keep in mind that such a fishing barge has the same restrictions as an ordinary fishing rod, so it is recommended to attach fishing barges to a tug and transport them along a route, thereby effectively catching fish. The longer the route, the more fish you will obtain.

However, all these barges and tugs would be useless without the chunk loader. This barge allows one to keep chunks loaded. Indeed, all the in-game activities take place only in those locations where chunks are loaded; that is, in places far from you, the devices will not work. That is why it is necessary to attach this chunk loader barge to other barges. The radius of such a barge is 3x3, regardless of the player's location. That is, this barge simulates their presence.

To connect barges with tugs, the mod adds a boat chain to the game. Six chains are crafted at once. To attach a barge with a tug, take a chain in your hand, click the RMB on the barge, and then on the tug. If they are standing side by side, everything will work. Subsequent barges should be attached to the previous ones. You can create whole water trains in this way. A tug can only be one, but there can be a huge number of barges.

The next innovation is special blocks. The mod features two types of rails: straight and angular. They are created quite easily and needed only to avoid getting stuck in narrow single-block places. You should install guide rails under the place where a barge can potentially get stuck. But it has to be installed in such a way that just one block of water remains between the barge and the guide rail; otherwise, nothing will work. The red arrows on these blocks indicate the directions; that is, if a tug touches such a working block, it will accelerate in the respective direction. That will not work in the opposite direction, and the tug will stop. If you need to change a block's direction, just hold SHIFT and click the RMB.

The next new block is the vessel detector. This device will issue a redstone signal when a tugboat or barge enters its radius. The latter is equal to three blocks; it is easy to check by clicking the RMB — the radius will be marked with orange particles. It is important to install a vessel detector correctly, namely, so that the yellow sensor in the middle looks in the direction in which a tug is expected to arrive. Otherwise, nothing will happen. Unfortunately, it does not react to ordinary vanilla boats.

Another innovation is related to the fact the loading of fuel into tugs can be automated. To do this, you will need to use a tow dock. It should be installed at the water level so that the orange slit looks in the direction where a barge will float. On its top, you will need to install a usual funnel, where the fuel will be loaded. Done. Now, when a tug floats nearby, it will stop and start getting fuel. It will not move further until it is completely refueled. You should take into account that the route of a tug must pass right next to a dock. If there is a distance of at least one block, then nothing will happen. Energy tugs are charged similarly, but you need to install chargers instead of funnels. An energy tug will also stop until it is fully charged. The main thing is not to forget to connect the charger to a source, say, to a battery.

There is a similar block used for loading and unloading barges. It is accordingly called the barge dock. For a barge dock to work, you will still have to install a tow dock; otherwise, a convoy will not stop. So, you will need to place a tow dock in front and barge blocks next to it (the latter can be of any number). It is important that the holes on top touch and connect. Their direction can be switched to the side — it will be enough just to press SHIFT and the RMB. If there is a connection, everything will work fine. Barge docks can be placed in any quantity, provided there is no gap between them. Next, funnels need to be installed on top. Then all the docks need to be set to the loading mode. To do this, hold SHIFT and click the RMB. Done. Now the barge docks will load items. The orange arrows indicate readiness for loading, while the blue ones for unloading. When a tug comes to a dock, the entire unloading or loading process will immediately start. Liquids can be loaded or unloaded in the same way, but you need to use the liquid container barges described above and liquid funnels. The latter should be installed instead of the usual ones. The capacity is ten buckets of any liquid. To automate the process, you may connect pipes taken from other mods. The unloading of objects differs only in that it is related to the blue arrows. It is necessary to install funnels exactly under the passing barges and then chests under them.

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