Getting Started (ProjectE)

This is a community-written guide. It was written to help players to get accustomed to ProjectE.

Introduction
ProjectE is a remake of Equivalent Exchange 2 and is a magic mod that allows players to convert almost any item into energy, and convert that energy into almost any other item. At its core is the concept of Energy-Matter Currency, or EMC. Almost every vanilla item, and many modded items, have an EMC value (which will show up on a tooltip). If an item has an EMC value, it can be converted into EMC and stored in a Transmutation Table or created from EMC energy stored in the Table.

EMC values for base items such as Coal and Stick have been set by the mod author. EMC values for compound items, such as a Torch are calculated from their ingredient. Items from many popular mods have also been included but support is far from universal. The mod config files allow for adjustments to EMC values.

About this Guide
This guide is not an exhaustive description of items, nor a tutorial on using each item. It is a helping hand to get you started with ProjectE. Throughout this guide you'll find links to named items. Be sure to explore these links for full details, descriptions and illustrations.

The foundation

 * 1) Start by making a Philosopher's Stone. This handy-dandy item functions as a portable crafting station, portable furnace and transmutator of materials.
 * 2) Next, make a Transmutation Table and place it somewhere convenient. You get your Philosopher's Stone back. The Transmutation Table can be picked up and relocated at any time. It will not forget its contents—transmutation lists are bound to players and can be accessed through any Table placed by any player.
 * 3) Put something with an EMC value in the "flames" slot. The item will be destroyed, converted to EMC and memorised by the table (signified by "learned" popping up in the middle of the interface.) Now try putting some other things in. You'll see the table learn them and see your EMC storage increase. Items without an EMC value will not be destroyed.ProjectE-TransmutationTable-AnnotatedGUI.png
 * 4) Click on the item's icon to create one from stored EMC. Shift-click to get a whole stack (or as much as it can create with the stored EMC.)
 * 5) Do this with anything else you come across. With time, you'll build up a store of EMC and a growing list of items that you can create using EMC.
 * 6) Make yourself an Alchemical Chest and use it to make an Alchemical Bag (or two or three!) These large-capacity magical bags will help greatly in your adventuring.

Generating EMC
Now you know how useful EMC can be, you'll be wanting more of it! There are two ways of generating EMC, converting items and collecting it passively from light.

Converting items
The Energy Condenser looks like a chest but converts into EMC any items put or piped into it. It will then create a specified item from the stored EMC. Rather than simply trashing the mountains of dirt from your quarry, you might want to pipe them into an Energy Condenser. Note: Depending on your mod pack, ores may not have an EMC value. In this illustration, we see an ore-doubler / furnace chain feeding into an Energy Condenser where it is converted into an item with a high EMC value.



Passive EMC generation
The Energy Collector absorbs light energy from its environment and converts it into EMC. There are three tiers of Energy Collector, each producing a higher amount of EMC per second.

Anti-Matter Relays are used to connect Energy Collectors to an Energy Condenser.


 * 1) Start with just a single Energy Collector MK1, placed adjacent to an Energy Condenser.
 * 2) Open the condenser and put a piece of Alchemical Coal in the top-left slot.
 * 3) Wait. You'll see the EMC bar slowly climb. When it reaches 100%, a new piece of Alchemical Coal will be placed in the Condenser's inventory. Congratulations! You're now generating EMC without lifting a finger!
 * 4) Periodically clear out the Alchemical Coal and put it into your Transmutation Table.
 * 5) As you accumulate more EMC, make more Energy Collectors so you can gather EMC more quickly.



With time, your stored EMC will allow you to upgrade your machines to higher tiers, expand your setup and start producing fuels or materials with a higher EMC value. For example, start with making Alchemical Coal. Once you have a couple of MK2 or MK3 collectors, make Mobius Fuel or Aeternalis Fuel instead.

Once you have three or more Energy Collectors, you can think about building a "Power Flower".

Power flowers
A Power Flower is the most compact way of arranging Collectors, Relays and Condensers. It is not the only way to set things up, and you don't need to do it all at once. You can make just one "petal" of the flower with 3 or 4 Energy Collectors, one Anti-Matter Relay and one Energy Condenser, then add additional relays and petals as you have the EMC to expand. If you follow this pattern, you'll get the best efficiency of cost and space.

Using the following pattern, 17 Energy Collectors can be linked via 5 Anti-Matter Relays to a single Energy Condenser. Any combination of machine tiers can be used but be sure to upgrade your Anti-Matter Relays to ensure you have enough capacity to handle the EMC energy flow. For example, 5 x Energy Collector MK1 or Energy Collector MK2 produce less than an Anti-Matter Relay MK1's capacity of 64 EMC/s. However two Energy Collector MK3s produce a total of 80 EMC/s which means a MK1 relay is inadequate. Don't worry about making too many of the one thing, you can just convert it back into EMC!


 * 1) Start by placing an Energy Collector. Then place an Anti-Matter Relay on top of the collector, and an Energy Condenser on top of the relay. ProjectE-Power-Flower-Step1.png
 * 2) Next, place a relay on the top, left, right and rear face of the Condenser. Leave the front face clear so you can get to the Condenser. ProjectE-Power-Flower-Step2.png
 * 3) Now place your remaining Energy Collectors so they are in contact with the Relays. ProjectE-Power-Flower-Step3.png
 * 4) Finally, open the Energy Condenser and specify what it should create with all this EMC. ProjectE-Power-Flower-Step4.png

Afterword
ProjectE offers a wide variety of utility items, baubles, tools and armor. Be sure to explore the navbar below to explore this mod further.