Rediscovering Mythril and Onyx Furnaces with the Machines Mod
For players who remember the golden days of SimpleOres, the disappearance of the beloved Mythril and Onyx furnaces left a noticeable gap in the smelting lineup. The Machines mod steps in as a compact, purpose-built plugin that brings those lost workstations back to life. Whether you are running a sprawling industrial setup or just want a more efficient way to cook your food, these machines reintroduce meaningful upgrades over vanilla furnaces without overwhelming your game with dozens of new blocks.
What You Need Before Crafting
Machines does not work in isolation. The mod requires SimpleOres for Minecraft version 1.14.4 and later. If you are playing on 1.16.3 or newer, you must also install SimpleCoreLib. Players on versions 1.14.4 through 1.16.1 no longer need the old SimpleCore API, but anyone still enjoying 1.12.2 or earlier will need that legacy dependency. Always double-check your mod loader and version compatibility before assembling your workshop.
Installing and Managing Dependencies
Juggling multiple core libraries can sometimes feel tedious, but modern launchers simplify the process significantly. For a smooth experience, many builders prefer a flexible environment where mods can be downloaded and activated without manually hunting down each file. The foxygame.net launcher, for example, lets you grab the required SimpleOres and SimpleCoreLib files directly from its menu, keeping your instance clean and up-to-date. Once all dependencies are in place, the Machines plugin slots in seamlessly, adding its specialized furnaces to your crafting repertoire.
Mythril Furnace Family: Double the Fuel Efficiency
The Mythril Furnace is the cornerstone of this mod. By default, it applies a 2x multiplier to fuel burn time, meaning every piece of coal or block of lava lasts twice as long as it would in a standard furnace. This multiplier is fully customizable in the configuration file, so server owners can tweak the balance to suit their economy. The crafting recipe mirrors the original SimpleOres design, using mythril ingots and a regular furnace as the base.
Starting with the 1.14.4 and 1.15.2 updates, the mod expanded the mythril lineup with two specialized variants:
- Mythril Blast Furnace – retains the same fuel burn time multiplier and adds the vanilla blast furnace’s double smelting speed for ores, ingots, and armor.
- Mythril Smoker – keeps the fuel efficiency bonus while cooking raw food twice as fast, identical to a vanilla smoker.
Both machines are crafted similarly to their vanilla counterparts, but with mythril components replacing iron. This makes them a natural progression for miners who have already invested in mythril tools and armor.
Onyx Furnace Series: A Chance for Bonus Output
Where mythril focuses on saving fuel, the Onyx Furnace rewards you with extra ingots. By default, every smelting operation has a 33% chance to produce one additional ingot. Both the chance and the amount of extra output are configurable, letting you fine-tune the machine to feel rewarding without breaking the game’s economy. The Onyx Furnace is crafted using onyx gems instead of mythril ingots, keeping the two progression paths distinct.
The Onyx family also received blast furnace and smoker variants in later updates:
- Onyx Blast Furnace – combines the 33% extra output chance with double smelting speed, ideal for bulk processing of ores.
- Onyx Smoker – offers the same chance to double cooked food while operating at the rapid pace of a vanilla smoker. Its recipe places an Onyx Furnace in the center instead of a regular furnace.
These machines are particularly valuable on multiplayer servers where resource multiplication can give a competitive edge, or in singleplayer worlds where you simply want to stretch your mining yields further.
How These Machines Change Your Gameplay Loop
Integrating the Machines mod into your base design encourages thoughtful automation. Because the fuel multiplier stacks with hopper-fed systems, you can run a Mythril Blast Furnace for hours on a single lava bucket, drastically reducing the need for constant refueling. Meanwhile, the Onyx Smoker turns a modest chicken farm into a surprisingly efficient food supply, occasionally doubling your cooked output without any extra effort.
Both furnace types respect vanilla mechanics like comparator outputs and hopper interaction, so they fit neatly into existing redstone contraptions. The configurable nature of the mod also means you can adjust the values if you find the default settings too generous or too stingy for your playstyle.
Looking Ahead
The mod author has hinted that more machines may join the lineup in future updates, following the pattern set by the blast furnaces and smokers. While no concrete details have been shared, the modular design of the plugin suggests that any new additions will remain tightly integrated with SimpleOres materials and the same balance philosophy. For now, the mythril and onyx machines provide a satisfying middle ground between vanilla simplicity and heavily modded industrial complexes.
Whether you are a returning SimpleOres veteran or a new player curious about classic furnace upgrades, the Machines mod delivers a focused, well-balanced expansion to your smelting options. With straightforward dependencies, configurable performance, and a clear progression path, it is a worthy addition to any modpack that values quality over quantity.