Bit-Factory

Mekanism-style processing meets Refined Storage-style networking. Tell your factory what you want, and it figures out how to make it.

Bit-Factory is a digital automation mod for NeoForge 1.21.1. Instead of building long chains of pipes between machines, you connect everything to one Bit-Network and set production targets in the Factory Mainframe. For example, set "Keep 640 Iron Ingots" and the Mainframe routes ore through wash, crush and smelt on its own, always choosing the route with the highest yield.

Features

• Factory Mainframe Core: the brain of your network. Set targets like "Maintain 1000 Iron Ingots" and it plans and dispatches every processing step automatically.
• Bit-Network: cables connect machines, storage and racks to the Mainframe. No item routing needed. Cables come in 3 tiers with increasing range (64 / 256 / unlimited).
• Bit Storage & Bit Fluid Storage: digital storage that keeps its contents when broken.
• Processing machines: Bit Washer, Bit Crusher, Bit Smelter and Bit Grower (crops, including Mystical Agriculture seeds). They work for the Mainframe or standalone with their own input/output slots and Mekanism-style side configuration.
• Server Racks & Compute: racks turn FE into Compute, the second resource every job needs.
• Virtual Factories: shift-right-click a machine with a Blank Processor Card to turn it into a Processor Card, then slot it into a Server Rack. It now works without a block in the world.
• Bit Assembler: autocrafting from network storage.
• Bit Simulator (endgame): record a hostile mob on a Mob Data Card and simulate kills. Drops go straight into your network using the mob's real loot table, so modded mobs and datapacks work too. No entities are spawned.
• Logistics: Item Pipes, Fluid Pipes and Energy Cables, plus Bit Importer and Bit Exporter with filters, and a Wireless Router.
• Bit Tablet: access your network remotely.
• Bit Display: shows item counts from your network on a screen block.
• Bit Generator: burns fuel to make FE.
• Configurator: opens side configuration directly and toggles pipe ends.
• Tiers everywhere: upgrade blocks in place with Upgrade Kits (Tier 2 gold, Tier 3 teal). Kits drop back when you break the block.

Getting started: your first automated wheat farm

You need: 1 Factory Mainframe Core, 1 power source (Bit Generator with coal, or Creative Power Cell), 1 Server Rack, 1 Bit Storage, 1 Bit Grower, a few Network Cables, some wheat seeds and 1 wheat.

1. Place the Factory Mainframe Core.
2. Power it. Place the power source directly next to the Mainframe. Fill a Bit Generator by right-clicking it with coal.
3. Lay Network Cables starting at the Mainframe, for example 4 in a row.
4. Connect your blocks. Place the Server Rack, Bit Storage and Bit Grower so that each one touches a cable. Diagonal does not count.
5. Check the network. Right-click the Mainframe with an empty hand. The box in the top right should be green and show "1 storage, 1 machine, 1 rack". If a count is 0, that block isn't touching a cable. If the box is red, the Mainframe has no power.
6. Store the seeds. Right-click the Bit Storage while holding the wheat seeds.
7. Set a target. Right-click the Mainframe while holding wheat (the product, not the seeds). This sets the target to 64. In the Mainframe screen, left-click a target slot to add 64 and right-click to remove 64.
8. Watch it work. Right-click the Bit Grower to see its progress. Wheat and the returned seeds land in your Bit Storage until the target is reached.

No wheat yet? Use /bitfactory target <x> <y> <z> set minecraft:wheat 64 with the Mainframe's coordinates.

Iron works the same way: store iron ore, set Iron Ingot as the target, and add a Bit Washer, Bit Crusher and Bit Smelter to the network. The Mainframe chains them for the best yield.

Troubleshooting

Right-click any machine or rack to see its status.

• "Not connected to a Mainframe": the block doesn't touch the network, or it is out of cable range. Upgrade the cables or use a Wireless Router.
• "No power": the Mainframe needs FE. A Server Rack uses 40 FE/t, and a Tier 1 Bit Generator produces 80 FE/t.
• "Ready: Compute storage full": that's fine. The rack resumes as soon as jobs need Compute.
• Nothing happens: check that a target is set and not already reached.

Requirements

• Minecraft 1.21.1
• NeoForge 21.1.x

The mod is in early development (0.1.0). Bug reports and ideas are very welcome!