Getting Started (Logistics Pipes)

''This guide is currently being written by. Please don't touch anything yet!''

Introduction
You have probably heard about it. Maybe you are currently playing Infinity Evolved Expert Mode, or Infinity Evolved Skyblock, and you want to autocraft items because doing 20 crafting steps manually just to get a Hardened Jetpack becomes boring after a while. But Applied Energistics is so expensive! You will need something to automate crafting a long time before you can afford the required wrench. So people have been telling you to use Logistics Pipes.

Or maybe you're just bored of using AE all the time and want to try something different for a change?

But this mod seems daunting. So many different pipes and modules with strange names - what is a "polymorphic item sink"? Or a "satellite pipe"? And you don't know how anything works either. How do you even get items out of a machine to transport it to a chest? How can you autocraft items with it? How do I use modules and upgrades? What pipes do you have to use for what? This guide will teach you the most important things you should know to use Logistics Pipes effectively.

''This guide assumes that you are using the latest version of Logistics Pipes, as it is currently used in 1.7.10 FTB modpacks. Logistics Pipes depends on BuildCraft. Other mods used in this guide include Thermal Expansion and Dynamics, Storage Drawers, Iron Chests, and MineFactory Reloaded.''

About the mod
Logistics Pipes (LP) is an add-on to BuildCraft. The original aim of the mod was to greatly improve the functionality and usefulness of BuildCraft's various transport pipes. However, after many continuous improvements, LP now only uses BuildCraft pipes in crafting recipes anymore. It can still be used together with BuildCraft pipes, of course, but in most cases that is not optimal.

The mod is a solid item transport and routing system with many neat tricks. You can use it to automate crafting and machines, keep certain items stocked, and remotely order items from your storage. It can handle items as well as fluids, can transport RF and EU power, and it even has special handling for Forestry's bees and Thaumcraft!

Everything in LP is about automating item transport. The transport and sorting works with both the push and pull principles. Push means that items can be simply inserted into the LP network and it will find a suitable destination; pull means that an item is requested at a specific destination, and the LP network will try to find an inventory which contains the item, then send it on its way. The automated crafting systems can handle both regular crafting recipes and machines well.

LP can also be very compact. Almost all of the functional pipes that the mod offers are also available as a module which can be used in a Logistics Chassis, a special type of pipes with varying amounts of module slots. With these modules it is possible to fit up to 8 pipes into one! There are also some modules that don't have a pipe equivalent, so their function can only be used in a Chassis.

Preparations
Before you begin with LP, you should get some power. Whether you want to use RF or EU does not matter, LP accepts both - but it will definitely require some power.

It is highly recommended to also make an Assembly Table and a few Lasers (and enough power to run them), as you can save resources by using chipsets instead of ingots or gears to craft functional Logistics Pipes. Later you will learn how to keep a few chipsets stocked so you don't have to wait so long for the chipsets to finish.


 * BuildCraft-compatible wrench
 * Logistics Power Junction
 * Unrouted Transport Pipe
 * Basic Logistics Pipe

A wrench is necessary to do almost anything with Logistics Pipes (LP). A Crescent Hammer or Buildcraft's own Wrench will do the job nicely. Unlike other mods, to open the GUI of the mod's special pipes you will need to right-click it with the wrench - be sure to keep it handy!

Like an ME Network, a Logistics Pipes network will not simply work as it is. It requires power, which is supplied with a Logistics Power Junction. As mentioned, this device accepts either RF or EU power and will convert it to Logistics Power, which is transported and used by most pipes. An LP network does not need much power and can be used quite early, but power requirements rise together with the size of the network. You will only need one Logistics Power Provider as long as everything is connected to it.

Unrouted Transport Pipes are the simplest and cheapest pipes. They serve only to transport items and Logistics Power; they do not have any special functions. They do not connect to machines or inventories.

The Basic Logistics Pipe is the most important pipe you will use. Unrouted Transport pipes will send items in random directions if they intersect - that's why Basic Logistics Pipes have to be placed at every intersection! They are also used to connect to machines and chests - which means that you will need to connect your Logistics Power Junction with a Basic Logistics Pipe.

Logistics Pipes' pipes show red corners when something is wrong, e.g. when you used an Unrouted pipe at an intersection, or when the system has no power:



Item storage
The first thing you want to have in your Logistics Pipes network is item storage. LP is mostly about transporting items to specific places, so it needs a place to store items - and take items out of.

You can use all normal inventories to store items. Iron Chests, JABBA's Better Barrels and MFR's Deep Storage Units are good storage options. An especially good option is Storage Drawers since you can connect dozens of drawers with the Storage Drawer Controller and thus only need one pipe to connect a large storage system.

The various ItemSink modules are used to designate storage destinations - a place to sink items into.

ItemSink
The Basic Logistics Pipe and its module equivalent for use in a Logistics Chassis, the normal ItemSink module, can be used to choose up to 9 specific items which will be sent to the connected inventory. But more importantly, you can use it to set a default route, which is used to set a place for items that don't have any other place to go to.

To set a default route with a Basic Logistics Pipe, open its GUI with your wrench and click the button on the bottom right. If you are using the ItemSink module, open your Logistics Chassis' GUI and place the module inside, then click the exclamation point button that appears next to the module slot. The same GUI that the Basic Logistics Pipe has will open. Alternatively, you can right-click while holding the module in your hand to open the GUI, then insert the module into the Chassis by right-clicking the pipe with the module.



You should always have a default route available - if there is no available destination for an item, it will get stuck and eventually drop out of the pipes! A simple chest is fine for that purpose if you check it regularly.

If you click the Import button, the first 9 items in the inventory will be inserted into the GUI as ghost items. This is useful to set a destination for specific items.

But especially if you are using chests, you probably don't want your items thrown into random places - which is what happens if you only use default routes. They need to be sorted. And using tons of ItemSink modules to set each item manually is much too tedious. There are better ways to do that.

Mod based ItemSink
Especially if you are playing with many different mods, it's a good idea to sort your items by mod. The Mod Based ItemSink module does just that. This is very useful for mods where you have a large amount of different items, but only a small amount of these items is actually stored.

The GUI of the Mod Based ItemSink looks like this:



Simply insert an item that belongs to the mod you have chosen and insert it into the item slot (it will become a ghost item), then click the Add button to add the mod to the list. I used my Crescent Hammer to add Thermal Expansion to the list - now all items that belong to Thermal Expansion will be sorted into the connected chest.

This module and all other special ItemSink modules are not available as a dedicated pipe and thus must be used in a Logistics Chassis.

Polymorphic ItemSink
It has a complicated-sounding name, but the Polymorphic ItemSink module's function is simple: It sorts items that are already present into an inventory. This is useful for inventories that keep large amounts of a single item, like Better Barrels or Deep Storage Units. If you are using Storage Drawers, you can use a Polymorphic ItemSink for the Drawer Controller, and all items that are already stored in the Storage Drawer system will be sorted into it.

This module doesn't have a GUI.

A few other ItemSink modules are available. You can sort items after Ore Dictionary aspects with the OreDict ItemSink module, sort by Creative Mode inventory tabs with the Creative Tab Based ItemSink module (despite the name, it also works in Survival), and even Thaumcraft Aspects with the Thaumic Aspect Based ItemSink module. Also, there are special ItemSinks for enchanted items (Enchantment Sink module and its MK2 version) and for Forestry's Bees (BeeSink module).

(To be continued - more images to come as well!)

Tips and tricks

 * One interesting aspect of Logistics Pipes is that you can use it together with other item transport pipes, like Thermal Dynamics' Itemducts - using Warp Itemducts instead of LP's own Unrouted Transport Pipes will greatly speed up your network!