OPERATION: SNOWFUCK - or, Why you shouldn't leave your nuclear reactor unattended

As some of you might have already found out, the server has begun lagging more and more over the past week or so. Now, long story short, this was due to the fact that no-one refuelled the communal nuclear reactor. It didn't go WGGRRRHHMMM, rather the opposite; the uranium cells ran dry. Now this isn't terrible in and of itself, it just means the reactor stopped producing power. The problem is that the cooling system just kept going. A whole bank of block breakers had stored one and a half metric fucktons (that's one point twenty-three imperial fucktons) of snowballs each, which were supposed to be piped to a bank of compressors, which turned them into ice, which was being piped into the reactor for cooling purposes. Only the reactor was full to bursting with ice, and so were the compressors. The end result: laglaglaglaglag because of all the snowball entities.

Snook, Wild and myself just spent about half an hour trying to fix this. Every block breaker we broke unleashed a huge avalanche of lagballs, which only really stopped when we lit the ground underneath on fire. Even then it took a long while for the remaining snowballs to finish processing they were being burned. The block breakers have now been replaced, and the reactor is running again, so OPERATION: SNOWFUCK has been a success

The lesson you should draw from this is the following: never, ever leave complex machinery like that running on its own, and ALWAYS make sure the nuclear reactor is not just being cooled, but also fuelled.

There may or may not be repercussions for stuff like this in the future. Causing the entire server to lag up with your machinery while you're present and overseeing it, okay; but making it automated, thus causing the server to lag up all the time so long as the chunk is in memory, is definitely not cool. So make sure to keep an eye on your automated systems so they don't choke up somewhere like this did.

An excellent write up from Strategia! I just wish to stress that the post above is good natured, and more to bring awareness of some of the new issues we face with Tekkit.

I know many of our players have a desire to build complex systems and machines in our new Tekkit server taking advantage of the many new features. It's important to remember however everything you do has an impact on everyone else. We do not mind at all if your machine makes a bit of lag because of how complex it is, because you have most likely achieved something impressive. However, makers of machines need to think about the long term effective, especially if they leave them running 24/7 or while they are not ingame.

First of all, if you intend to have your machine run automatically, make sure there is some cut off systems involved. For example on pumps or automated mining systems, Use tools like Chest Full Detector to make a kill switch which will cut in once your chest is full of materials, ensuring that pipes dont get flooded with entities (blocks etc) which cannot go anywhere. This way, it can run while its useful and once your chests are full it will automatically cut off and save the server from some lag. A perfect example of this which we will be implementing with the nuclear reactors automated cooling system, when the Chest is full of ice blocks a chest full trigger will send a redstone signal killing off the block breakers which generate the snow balls to make ice. This way, if the cooling system is full, it will stop making ice blocks until the current ones are used up. Similar examples can be used with automated mining tools and pumps.

So please, continue your adventures and don't feel the need to stop. But please consider everyone else when your leaving your automated systems running to ensure they will not lag up while your gone for everyone else. If you need help with this please ask some of the more experienced players or alternatively only use the machines while your on the server and turn them off when not.

We certainly don't intend to punish anyone because of what just happened, and nor do we in the future. However its important to note we cannot really have this happen again, we won't punish mistakes but you may find Admins have had to intervene in your absence and break your machine to stop it from lagging (of which, we will do as little damage as possible, usually just breaking a few redstone to cause the system to stop, or take the fuel out and place in the chest). Of course though, if a player makes a lag machine on purpose that is another story and will be dealt with accordingly.

I'd also like to add, that power generating devices do not count on the above, they are designed to be running 24/7.
As always, we hope your enjoying the server and please do understand that this is just to make people aware of how they build.


Update: Jessenic just wanted me to also add - If your using Creative world to test designs and machines, please remember to turn it off completely before leaving (ie automated redstone, pumps, miners and so on), As there is no purpose leaving them on when they have no practical use.

I have been away from MC for some time and it seems it may be a mindfuck to actually return !
Automated miners ! sounds way cool , shame i cant even log into MC at all :-(
Slim

Oh, i didnt know there was a communal reactor? whereabouts is it

slimwadey said:

I have been away from MC for some time and it seems it may be a mindfuck to actually return !
Automated miners ! sounds way cool , shame i cant even log into MC at all :-(
Slim

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Those are actually from the Tekkit pack, not in vanilla Minecraft. As for your login issues, well..... since Mojang support's response time appear to be measurable on a geologic scale, perhaps registering a new account is the easiest way to go =/

nitvit610 said:

Oh, i didnt know there was a communal reactor? whereabouts is it

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It's in the village in Tekkit, about half the people who (used to) play often live there.

Thats nice to know, is it like a version of atlantis but in the tekkit world? How would i find it?

nitvit610 said:

Thats nice to know, is it like a version of atlantis but in the tekkit world? How would i find it?

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Sorta, it's an entirely newly-built village, not a port of Atlantis. Just ask people in the server, I don't know the coordinates.