Iskandert's Utilities
A NeoForge utility / tech-QoL mod for modpacks. It mixes farm & logistics helpers, machines, storage for unstackables, rubber processing, and an entropy / artifact progression path — most of it highly configurable, with an in-game GuideME book.
Requires Iskandert's Library (match versions to your Minecraft / NeoForge line).
What the mod does
- Mob farms & motion — vector plates, trap plates, modular fans, soils, Entropised Spawner, Mob Reaper, Collecting Crate.
- Machines — Factory, Pattern Crafter / Improved Pattern Crafter, Knowledge Compressor, Hellfire Igniter, Smart Timer, weather & time tools.
- Storage & tools — Deep Drawer family, Swiss Wrench orientation menu, Scanner, dollies, structure placer tools.
- Rubber & materials — rubber trees, sap extraction, plastic chain, dye bushes.
- Entropy & artifacts — Suspicious Delivery loot, Ancient Tablet / Table, Arcane Dictionary, entropic gear and modules.
- Shops — team shop, portable shop, Auto Shop (items / fluids / gases / RF), datapack currencies via the Library.
- PackDev hooks — datapack-driven macros, command items, stages, structures, plates, shops, and more.
Vector motion & plates
Vector Plates push entities in the plate’s facing direction. There are Mobfarm and Player families at several speeds (slow → ultra / extreme). Useful for sorting lanes, killing floors, and conveyor-style farms; works well with cursed-earth style setups.
Trap plates apply damage, fire, freeze, poison, slowness, or weakness (including improved / lethal damage variants). Custom potion / status plates can be declared via datapack.
Vector Charm / Fanpack and vector modules extend motion tools for players. The Modular Fan moves entities in a configurable area and accepts upgrade modules.
Mob farms
| Block / item | Role |
|---|---|
| Entropised Spawner | Configurable spawner: set the mob with a spawn egg, upgrade with Production Modules, Entropic Clock Modules, and optional entropy fuel. |
| Mob Reaper | It deal damage to mobs on contact and has various modules to increase damage and loot drop. |
| Collecting Crate | Collects items in range into its inventory. |
| Entropic Soil | Dark spawn soil that spreads and can empower hostiles; light decays it. |
| Druidic Podzol | Light animal-spawn soil that spreads on dirt / podzol. |
| Graveyard Soil | Heals undead standing on it. |
| Agglomerations | Instant patch conversion (override natural spread rules). |
| Entropic Egg | Capture a mob into a spawn egg. |
Nullifiers (Ender / Soul / Wander) and related blocks help tame farm side-effects (teleports, souls, traders).
Machines
Factory
Converts materials with a remembered output choice per input. Acts as an automated Stonecutter-style cutter for compatible blocks, and handles mod-only recipes (e.g. dye berries → dyes, recycling Suspicious Deliveries into Drop of Entropy). Redstone modes include Pulse (one craft per rising edge).
Pattern Crafter
Automated crafting from letter patterns mapped to item filters (“variables”). Feed ingredients, supply RF/FE, and it crafts matching recipes in a loop.
- Multi-pattern pages, Forbidden lists, JEI transfer, Save / Discard pending patterns.
- Resource modes: Smart / Keep / Dump.
- Production Module for stacked multi-craft cycles; Logic Module expands variable slots; Settings Copier for Forbidden lists.
- Improved Pattern Crafter (or in-place upgrade with the Improver) for a larger upgrade budget.
Other world machines
- Knowledge Compressor — compresses experience / knowledge workflows (see in-game guide).
- Hellfire Igniter — lights fire in front on a redstone pulse.
- Smart Timer — configurable delay and signal duration.
- Weather Alterer / Time Alterer / detectors — control or read weather and day–night cycle.
- Sound Muffler — dampens nearby sound.
- Angel Block — placeable in mid-air.
Deep Drawer
Storage built for large amounts of unstackable items (tools, armor, unique gear).
- Deep Drawer — main storage block.
- Extender — expands capacity / layout.
- Interface — access the drawer network like a storage interface.
- Extractor — automated pull from the system.
Tools
| Item | Use |
|---|---|
| Swiss Wrench | Universal rotate / orient. Default R opens an orientation menu with BlockState previews, nested steps for multi-property blocks, and ← / → quick-rotate. Shift+RMB passes through for other mods. Legacy left-click modes are off by default (config). Compatible with common wrench tags. |
| Scanner | Find ores / mobs (and related scan blocks); range keybind configurable. |
| Portable Dislocator | Teleport with Nature’s Compass / Explorer’s Compass when those mods are present. |
| Dollies | Move tile entities without breaking them. |
| Structure tools | Place / manage datapack multiblock structures and monouse structure items. |
| Rubber Boots | Negate fall damage (rubber progression). |
| Treetaps / Sap Extractor | Extract sap from rubber logs. |
Rubber & materials
Grow Rubber Trees, tap sap, process into rubber and plastic, plus decorative rubber wood set (doors, stairs, buttons, …). Sacred Rubber variants and dye bushes feed further crafting. Many intermediates are documented under Materials / Rubber in GuideME.
Entropy, artifacts & progression
Suspicious Delivery — weighted loot packages (Wandering Trader and optional Artifacts Mimic pool). Open for artifacts; recycle leftovers in the Factory into Drop of Entropy.
Related systems:
- Ancient Tablet / Ancient Table — datapack recipe list with optional chaos fuel and entry gates.
- Arcane Dictionary (Arcane Tome) — trait pool, luck, catalysts, rerolls.
- Entropised gear — tools, armor, ring, smithing template, crystals, overclockers, modules (Capacitor, Ghost, Range, Production, Logic, …).
- Calling Bell, Runic Dice, Blazing Altar / Brazier, and other delivery artifacts — see the in-game guide.
Shop system
- Shop — team shop UI with categories, search, and currency filters.
- Portable Shop — same UI from inventory.
- Auto Shop — automates a selected offer for items, fluids, gases, and RF.
- Currencies live in Iskandert's Library as datapack
iska_lib:shop_currency(legacyiska_utilstype prefixes still accepted). Optional FTB Teams sync when that mod is installed.
In-game Shop Editor (OP) for nested categories and live editing.
Modules (machines & farms)
Installable upgrades shared across machines (where supported), including:
Temporal Overclocker, Production Module, Logic Module, Range Module, Capacitor Module, Ghost Module, Entropic Clock Module, and vector speed modules.
Exact sockets and caps are per machine and often config / datapack tunable.
Soft compatibility
Works fine alone (plus Library). Optional extras when the other mod is present, for example:
| Mod | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Nature’s Compass / Explorer’s Compass | Portable Dislocator targets |
| Artifacts | Mimic loot tag pool for Suspicious Delivery |
| FTB Teams | Shop team mapping |
| JEI | Pattern Crafter transfer and ghost interactions |
| Curios | Equippable artifacts / charm slots where applicable |
| GuideME | Full in-game documentation |
Modpack makers
Almost everything interesting for packs is datapack-driven under data/*/load/ (macros, command items, stage items / actions, potion plates, structures, factory recipes, Suspicious Delivery, Ancient Tablet, Arcane Dictionary, shop categories / entries, currencies on Library).
- Player guide: in-game GuideME book.
- Developer wiki: Iskandert Utilities wiki (commands, JSON types, gates, shop, structures).
- Quick reload in-game:
/iska_lib_debug reload(OP) for most Utils dynamic configs without a full/reload.
Balance, recipes, and feature availability are meant to be overridden — defaults are a starting point, not a fixed progression.