Item Processor Basics
The Item Processor code is a highly customizable system to create machines (Buildings) that can take from 1 to 3 inputs and produce a given output. Everything can be configured via XML, so whoever uses the code doesn't need to understand even a bit of code.
Examples of machines that we have created using this code:
- The cheese press in Vanilla Cooking Expanded: takes 1 type of milk (with added support for many mod's milks) and turns it into cheese. Cheese increases in quality over time, and the user can choose the desired quality level at which the cheese is extracted. Needs no electricity and doesn't care about room conditions.
- The electric pot in Vanilla Cooking Expanded: takes simple, fine, lavish or gourmet unfinished soup and in three days produces soup. Requires electricity.
- The whiskey barrel in Vanilla Brewing Expanded: takes either whiskey mash or finished whiskey, and turns it into either whiskey or double-aged whiskey. It's light dependent and temperature dependent.
- Fully automatic component building machine for Vanilla Factions Expanded - Mechanoids: takes 4 inputs (components, uranium, gold and plasteel) and turns it after some time into advanced components. Grabs inputs from adjacent hoppers. Pushes output into interaction spot.
All the functionality of the mod is handled by three classes, that are accessible via XML:
- The CompProperties class, CompProperties_ItemProcessor, that is added to the building you want to add as an item processor.
- A new Def, ItemAcceptedDef, that assigns products to buildings, and slots. This file is not always needed, since in some machines you can specify output instead of inputs.
- A new Def, CombinationDef, that defines a list of items as ingredients, and the resulting product, as well as yield. They are the "recipes" of this system.
Inside the framework, the namespace to access all the Item Processor classes is "ItemProcessor"