Meta-Tools (GregTech 6)

GregTech 6 like many mods, adds several tools for mining or block manipulation. However, GregTech tools are not like the tools from other mods. GregTech tools are known as Meta-Tools, as they are generated as a part of the GregTech material dictionary Meta-Item system. Meta-Tools, in general, are tools that save the particular material(s) used to create them in their NBT, and calculate their traits, i.e. durability, attack damage, and enchantments based on those materials. Each tool has base traits which are combined with the traits of the materials.

Properties
The first notable thing about all Meta-Tools is that they do not follow the conventional item damage system. The tooltip-listed durability of all Meta-Tools is hundreds of times higher than would be expected of normal tools; even the weak Flint Tools have a durability of 4800. There is a purpose to this: GregTech Meta-Tools take damage from breaking blocks proportional to the hardness of the broken block. The damage taken is roughly equal to 100 * Hardness. For tools used in crafting recipes or other non-block breaking actions, in most cases 100 Durability is used.

Trait Combinations
The final...
 * Mining Tier is the sum of the material's tier and the tool's tier (usually 0)
 * Durability is the product of the material's durability and the tool's durability
 * Mining Speed is is the product of the material's speed and the tool's speed
 * Attack damage is the sum of the tool's base damage and the material's base damage
 * Enchant level is the sum of the tool's level and the material's level, for each enchant

Traits
The Enchantments on a Meta-Tool are locked on construction to those of the material (and tool type).

Although the API specifies enchantments for armors also, no meta-armor has been implemented as of GT6.08.04, except by the QwerTech addon. As part of the greater material system, there are many tool materials registered in the API that rely on the source mod to generate or produce them, and a few included expressly as targets for MineTweaker or custom ore generation.

Crude Tool Materials
Only the simplest tools can be made from these materials: Picks, Hammers, Clubs, Axes, Shovels, and Hoes.

Basic Tool Materials
These materials can be made into most hand tools, but not overly complex ones nor electrical tools.

Advanced Tool Materials
These materials can be used to make any appropriate tool.

Rotation and Connection
If CodeChickenLib is installed, pointing the crosshair at a rotatable or connectable GregTech block while holding a tool applicable to that block will show a grid similar to the one below. In addition, if the block is connectable some of the sections will have 'X'es over them if the block is connecting in that direction.



The machine face is divided into nine sections. Each section represents a different side of the machine:



Each section may be right-clicked to move the output to a given face of the machine: For example, when pointing at the front of the machine and right clicking on Section 2, the tool will be used on the block's top face.
 * Section 5 (the center) will use the tool on the side that is clicked on.
 * Sections 1,3,7,9 (the corners) will use the tool on the side opposite the one that is clicked.
 * Sections 2,4,6,8 (the sides) will use the tool on the side corresponding to the direction indicated by the section.