Virtual Mining & Resource Generation inside your ME Network for Minecraft 1.21.1 (NeoForge)

   

AE2 Virtual Mine is an official-style companion mod for Applied Energistics 2 on Minecraft 1.21.1 (NeoForge). It bridges digital ME network storage and virtual resource mining by introducing generative Virtual Mine Storage Cells.

Insert a configured Mining Cell into any standard ME Drive or ME Chest, supply AE power, and watch it generate real ores, raw metals, minerals, gems, and quarry stone byproducts directly into the cell every 3 seconds (60 ticks)!

• 📦 5 Tiers of Virtual Mine Cells: 1k, 4k, 16k, 64k, and 256k storage cells.
• ⚡ Scaled Production Rates: Drops per cycle scale with cell tier (1 up to 256 drops every 3 seconds).
• 🛑 Zero Network Flooding & Smart Auto-Stop:
  • Drops are generated strictly into the mining cell itself.
  • When the cell reaches full capacity (CellState.FULL or byte/type limits), production completely halts.
  • No drops ever spill over into other cells in your ME network!
• 🔋 Zero Power Waste on Overflow: When a cell is full, zero AE power is drained for unproduced drops.
• 💎 Full Vanilla Ore & Stone Coverage Out of the Box:
  • Metals & Minerals: Raw Iron, Raw Copper, Raw Gold, Coal, Redstone, Lapis Lazuli, Diamond, Emerald, Ancient Debris (Netherite), Nether Quartz, Amethyst Shards, Glowstone Dust.
  • Quarry & Stones: Cobblestone, Stone, Deepslate, Cobbled Deepslate, Granite, Diorite, Andesite, Tuff, Calcite, Dripstone, Obsidian, Crying Obsidian, Netherrack, Basalt, Blackstone, End Stone, Sand, Red Sand, Gravel, Flint, Clay.
• 🔍 Automated Modded Ore & Material Discovery:
  • Automatically detects common NeoForge ore tags (#c:ores, #c:raw_materials, #c:gems, #c:dusts, #c:stones) and block types.
  • Generates the modded raw resource along with realistic mining byproducts (Cobblestone / Cobbled Deepslate) without manual configuration.
• 📋 Datapack Extensible: Create or customize mining drop tables via standard JSON datapacks using recipe type ae2virtualmine:mine_drop.
• 🛠️ Two Configuration Methods:
  • Cell Workbench (AE2 native): Put the cell in a Cell Workbench and configure the partition filter slot with your desired ore, raw material, or stone block.
  • In-Hand Quick Config: Hold the mining cell in your main hand and the ore/raw resource in your offhand, then Sneak + Right-Click to configure instantly! (Sneak + Right-Click with empty offhand resets the cell).
• 📊 Native AE2 Tooltips: Displays byte and type usage with color coding (Green → Orange → Red), upgrade cards, and visual item preview icons with amounts.

By default, drop cycles occur every 60 ticks (3.0 seconds):

All drop counts, tick intervals, and AE energy costs (default: 10.0 AE per drop) are fully customizable in config/ae2virtualmine-common.toml.

[ Quartz Glass ] [ Redstone    ] [ Quartz Glass ]
[ Redstone     ] [ Iron Pickaxe] [ Redstone     ]
[ Iron Ingot   ] [ Iron Ingot  ] [ Iron Ingot   ]

• Combine 1x 1k ME Storage Component + 1x Raw Iron + 1x Coal.

Crafted following AE2's tier upgrade progression:

• Combine 3x previous tier Mine Cell Components + 1x AE2 Calculation Processor + Quartz Glass + Redstone.

Shapeless recipe: Combine a Mine Cell Housing with any Mine Cell Component.

The configuration file is located at config/ae2virtualmine-common.toml:

[general]
  # Base interval in ticks between virtual mining drop cycles (20 ticks = 1 second)
  # Range: 1 ~ 72000 (Default: 60)
  baseTickInterval = 60

  # Whether virtual mining cells require AE energy from the network to produce drops
  # Default: true
  requireAeEnergy = true

  # AE energy consumed per drop produced
  # Range: 0.0 ~ 100000.0 (Default: 10.0)
  energyPerDrop = 10.0

[tiers]
  # Drops produced per cycle by 1k Cell (Default: 1)
  tier1kDrops = 1
  # Drops produced per cycle by 4k Cell (Default: 4)
  tier4kDrops = 4
  # Drops produced per cycle by 16k Cell (Default: 16)
  tier16kDrops = 16
  # Drops produced per cycle by 64k Cell (Default: 64)
  tier64kDrops = 64
  # Drops produced per cycle by 256k Cell (Default: 256)
  tier256kDrops = 256

You can add custom drops or override existing drop tables using datapack JSON files in data/<namespace>/recipe/<name>.json:

{
  "type": "ae2virtualmine:mine_drop",
  "target": {
    "item": "minecraft:nether_star"
  },
  "min_tier": 4,
  "drops": [
    {
      "item": {
        "id": "minecraft:diamond",
        "count": 1
      },
      "weight": 60,
      "min_count": 2,
      "max_count": 4
    },
    {
      "item": {
        "id": "minecraft:ancient_debris",
        "count": 1
      },
      "weight": 40,
      "min_count": 1,
      "max_count": 2
    }
  ]
}

• Minecraft: 1.21.1
• NeoForge: 21.1.172+
• Applied Energistics 2: 19.2.10+

1. Clone repository:

   git clone https://github.com/GeneraBlack/AE2VirtualMine.git
   cd AE2VirtualMine

    
2. Build with Gradle:

   ./gradlew build

    
3. The built JAR file will be located in build/libs/ae2virtualmine-1.0.0.jar.

This project is licensed under the MIT License. Feel free to use this mod in any modpack!