Diving Into Powered Thingies: Automation and Mayhem in Minecraft
Minecraft mods have a way of transforming the familiar blocky world into something entirely new. One mod that takes the concept of automation and runs with it—sometimes in delightfully strange directions—is Powered Thingies. If you’ve ever wanted a farm that breeds, shears, and packages animals for transport, or a machine that literally exploits critters for electrical power, this mod delivers. It’s a tech-focused addition that leans heavily on Tesla power (or its own internal logic) and brings a whole suite of quirky, useful, and occasionally overpowered machines to your base.
Before you jump in, you’ll need a few supporting libraries. The mod requires Tesla Core Lib and, depending on your Minecraft version, Forgelin (a Kotlin adapter for 1.12+). For older builds prior to 1.0.6, the Tesla Power API is necessary. You’ll also want Just Enough Items (JEI) to easily browse recipes. A recommended companion is Bush Master Core, which expands the farming possibilities even further.
Farming Animals Like Never Before
The animal husbandry machines in Powered Thingies are where the mod really shines—and gets a bit weird. The Animal Farm is a multi-tool marvel. It automatically breeds, shears, and milks animals placed inside, but its real party trick is packaging. Based on configurable filters, it can box up animals into portable items, ready for transport or other dubious purposes. To release those packaged critters back into the wild, you’ll use the Animal Releaser, which unpacks them in a chosen area. If you need meat and leather without the manual clicking, the Electric Butcher handles killing efficiently. And because all those animals produce... well, waste, the Sewer collects sewage that can be processed later. It’s a closed-loop system that feels both industrial and slightly unhinged.
Automated Crop and Tree Management
On the green side of things, the Crop Farm is a workhorse. It can hoe untilled land, plant seeds, harvest mature crops, and even apply bonemeal-style fertilizers—all within a defined radius. If you’ve ever wanted to clone a specific plant without breeding, the Crop Cloner is almost overpowered: it grows a plant inside itself, duplicating it rapidly. Tree farming gets the same love with the Tree Farm, which plants saplings and chops down full-grown trees, collecting wood and saplings automatically. These machines make large-scale agriculture a breeze, and they integrate nicely with item transport systems from other mods.
Power Generation With a Twisted Sense of Humor
Generating energy in Powered Thingies isn’t always straightforward—and that’s the fun part. The Animal Gym is a standout: it takes a packaged animal and puts it to work on a treadmill or similar contraption, generating electrical power. Sometimes the animal survives the ordeal, adding a layer of dark comedy to your power grid. For more conventional solid fuel, the Incinerator burns any burnable item to produce energy. If you prefer liquids, the Fluid Burner consumes liquid fuels, making it a great partner for mods that add oil, ethanol, or other combustible fluids. Managing these generators becomes a puzzle of resource flow and ethical quandaries.
Quadruple Ore Processing and Fluid Alchemy
One of the mod’s most rewarding chains is its ore processing, which lets you achieve a 4x output. The process is multi-step and satisfying: first, collect Tesla plant seeds (added by the mod), then liquefy them into molten Tesla using the Item Liquefier. Combine that molten Tesla with raw ore in the Item Compound Producer to get two Teslified Ore Lumps. Grind those lumps in the Powder Maker to produce two Ore Powder per lump. Finally, smelt the powder in the Powered Kiln—a souped-up furnace—to receive four ingots per original ore. It’s a chain that rewards infrastructure building and pairs beautifully with any automated mining setup.
While setting up this processing line, you might find yourself juggling multiple mods and dependencies. If you’re looking for a smoother experience, the foxygame.net launcher offers a modern, flexible way to manage your modpacks. You can browse and install Powered Thingies directly from its menu, eliminating the need to manually hunt down every required library. It’s a convenient shortcut that keeps your modded world running without the usual folder-diving headaches.
Miscellaneous Machines and Liquid XP
Beyond the core categories, Powered Thingies throws in a few extra tools. The Fluid Solidifier combines two liquids to create solid blocks—currently, it can turn water and lava into cobblestone, stone, or obsidian, which is perfect for infinite building material setups. The Liquid XP Storage is a dedicated tank for liquid experience, a fluid that some animal farm machines can collect. Instead of letting experience orbs vanish, you can store them in liquid form and use them later for enchanting or other modded purposes.
Getting Started and Final Thoughts
Powered Thingies is a mod that doesn’t take itself too seriously while still delivering genuinely useful automation. The Tesla power requirement means you’ll need to generate energy early, but the internal generators give you plenty of options. Start small with a Crop Farm and an Animal Farm, then work your way up to the ore processing chain. The machines are well-documented through JEI, and the progression feels natural.
Whether you’re a veteran modded player looking for a fresh twist on farming and power, or a newcomer who enjoys a bit of absurdity alongside efficiency, this mod fits right in. The blend of practical automation and bizarre concepts—like animal gyms and crop cloning—makes every session unpredictable. Just remember to keep those packaged animals away from the gym unless you’re prepared for the consequences.