Bose-Einstein Condensate Line

The Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) Line is a series of four UIV tier multiblocks for assembling exotic machine parts from entangled condensate. The line begins with converting regular fluids into condensate at the cost of power in the Entanglement Apparatus. The condensate is automatically pushed to any Containment Fields on the network for storage whether or not there is enough space available. Optionally, a Maxwell Gate can be used to control condensate exposure/visibility and therefore the direction of flow. Items are supplied directly to one of the Teleportation Nodes (IO Nodes) which immediately begins processing the recipe regardless of current condensate levels. The Observation Array then transfers the requested condensate from the Containment Field(s) to the IO Node(s) while covering their power cost and holding the requested nanites for recipes. The nanites in the Observation Array must be rapidly swapped out to perfectly match the requested nanite at all times and maximize the processing speed of the IO Node(s).

BEC recipes appear as Assembly Line recipes in NEI but there is no strict item or condensate order to follow. Instead, they have a certain number of equal-length steps equivalent to their number of solid inputs. The steps are not exactly hard stops but each one requests a specific nanite tier or better to run. The nanite order is constant per recipe but varies between recipes so any automation method needs to be highly precise and flexible.

The BEC Line is a series of four UIV tier multiblocks linked together by BEC conduits and BEC hatches , as seen in the following image. BEC conduits may bend and split freely, and do not need to be colored to connect. BEC conduit casings work exactly like normal BEC conduits except they are also explosion proof. Think of the conduits as connecting each multiblock to the same network rather than functioning as a fluid pipe or beam pipe. The space between the multiblocks has no effect on the operation of the machines--build them as far apart or close together as preferred. Not shown in the image is the Maxwell Gate which is completely optional and controls condensate exposure/visibility.

There is also the line-of-sight connector hatch for linking the Observation Array to up to 16 IO Node(s) around it. Each pair must face each other and form a perfectly straight line along one of the axes (no bends or diagonals), but there is no cabling in between and they can be up to 128 blocks apart if necessary. A valid line-of-sight connection creates a beacon-like animation between the hatches to signal that it is operational.

Optionally, use the following hatches to assist with the automation of the BEC Line. OpenComputers can also help gather information about the machines and dynamically change their variables and filters.

• The BEC Detector Hatch on the Containment Field emits a redstone signal if the set condition inside its GUI is true. There is a filter for specifying a particular type of condensate, a comparison operator, and a threshold value. Leave the filter blank to sum all stored condensates together.
• The Nanite Detector Hatch on the IO Node emits a redstone signal if the set condition inside its GUI is true. There is a comparison operator and a threshold value for the tier of the current requested nanite.
• The Teleportation Node Controller Hatch on the IO Node can pause the machine either immediately or upon transitioning to a new input step/nanite when it receives a redstone signal. Pausing the machine halts all recipe progress and prevents condensate from being inserted, but the IO Node can still read the nanite(s) in the Observation Array, still updates any nanite detector hatches, and still consumes power.

The BEC Line is effectively a large assembler for exotic machine parts. It is required for Eye of Harmony field generators, the T3 chassis for the Exo-Foundry, all Stargate components, and more. BEC recipes appear as Assembly Line recipes in NEI but there is no strict item or condensate order to follow. Instead, they have a certain number of equal-length steps equivalent to their number of solid inputs. The steps are not exactly hard stops but each one requests a specific nanite tier or better to run. The general workflow for processing BEC recipes is listed below and explained in much more intricate detail in the following subsections about each of the individual multiblocks.

There is also a few additional challenges that could potentially inflict penalties or void outputs if not careful. For example, if there ever more than three unrequested condensates in the network at once then any active recipes immediately fail and void. Again, these are covered in much more detail below.

The Entanglement Apparatus or BEC Generator is the first step in the BEC Line and converts fluids into entangled condensate at the cost of power. The Entanglement Apparatus does not overclock but it has unlimited parallels to process as much as possible based on the amount of power provided. Multi-amp and laser energy hatches are supported for serious throughput.

Insert fluid through an input hatch on the front of the structure. The Entanglement Apparatus can entangle different fluids simultaneously but the processing time is always going to be the max duration of the active recipes. If there is not enough power to entangle all the available fluids at once, then priority follows standard multiblock order with colored hatches, location, etc.

The entangled condensate is outputted through the BEC hatch on the back of the structure and stored in a Containment Field until the Observation Array pulls it into an IO Node for recipes. The challenge, however, is that the Entanglement Apparatus does not check if there is enough space available for the condensate before it begins processing. It could unintentionally overflow the Containment Field(s) and void the condensate if not careful. The solution is using a BEC detector hatch on the Containment Field to temporarily disable the Entanglement Apparatus if levels ever get too high, or dynamically adjusting the field strength of the Containment Field with OpenComputers.

Every recipe consists of a single input fluid, an EU quota for entanglement, and a fixed duration. The EU quota is simply the required EU/t per parallel. For example, neutronium has a quota of 7,864,320 EU which means every 7,864,320 EU/t in throughput grants an additional parallel. The durations are very long to encourage passive condensate production, and then later filtering for the correct ones with a Maxwell Gate.

The Containment Field or BEC Storage is the second step in the BEC Line and stores entangled condensate until it is requested by an IO Node for a recipe. Condensate both enters and leaves the Containment Field through BEC hatches on the sides of the structure and is exposed to all Observation Arrays on the current network.

The field strength of the Containment Field is set manually in the GUI of the controller (or with OpenComputers) and determines both the maximum capacity and passive power consumption of the machine; every 1 unit of field strength increases the maximum capacity by 1L at the cost of 1 EU/t. It is not possible to filter or partition the storage based on condensate type.

The maximum capacity is only a soft cap since excess condensate can still enter the machine, but 11% of all condensate is voided each second until it falls back below the maximum capacity. This penalty applies evenly to all stored condensates and never prioritizes any one over the others. Avoid this penalty by setting the field strength really high, or by using an unfiltered BEC detector hatch to disable the Entanglement Apparatus with a machine controller cover when condensate levels get too high.

The Maxwell Gate or BEC Diode is an optional step in the BEC Line and controls condensate exposure/visibility, like an ME storage bus. The Maxwell Gate may be placed anywhere on a BEC network and effectively splits it into two separate subnetworks that connect to the BEC hatches on either side of the structure. Everything on the left network is exposed to the right network, but not the other way around. The Maxwell Gate does not push, pull, or buffer any condensate itself and consumes a fixed 1A UIV while active regardless of either network's status.

For the Entanglement Apparatus to push condensate to a Containment Field through a Maxwell Gate, the Entanglement Apparatus must be on the right network and the Containment Field must be on the left network. For the Observation Array to pull condensate from a Containment Field through a Maxwell Gate, the Observation Array must be on the right network and the Containment Field must be on the left network

The Maxwell Gate allows all condensate through by default but it can also filter for specific condensates. Set the filter manually in the GUI of the controller or by filling input hatches with the original fluid of the desired condensate. Filtering is particularly useful for passive condensate production and prevents contaminants from being exposed to the Observation Array. Without it, condensate would have to be requested on-demand which could take a very long time since the Entanglement Apparatus cannot be overclocked.

The Observation Array or BEC Assembler is the third step in the BEC Line and supplies power, condensate, and nanites to any connected IO Nodes. The Observation Array is really just a large router rather than an assembler because it does not process any recipes or hold condensate itself. It only ever stores nanites locally for IO Nodes to read from and transfers condensate from the Containment Field to IO Nodes upon request.

Up to 16 IO Nodes may connect to the same Observation Array via line-of-sight connector hatches , but it is not recommended to run different recipes at the same time because that could introduce penalties and potentially void outputs. IO Nodes do not have their own energy hatches so their individual power costs are summed together and covered by the Observation Array, which supports multi-amp and laser energy hatches for serious throughput.

Nanites are stored in one or more nanite containment buses around the structure and are never actually consumed but they do need to be rapidly swapped out of the Observation Array to perfectly match the requested nanite at all times and maximize processing speed. The nanite containment bus can hold up to 2,147,483,647 nanites at once and the fastest way to move them all is by placing an ME storage bus on its face side and using an ME IO Port. The effect of nanites on recipes is discussed more in the following subsection.

The IO Node is the fourth and final step in the BEC Line and inserts/extracts items in the BEC Line. However, in practice the items never actually leave the IO Node and recipes are processed locally instead of in the Observation Array; the IO Node is technically the assembler and the Observation Array is really just a large router for power, condensate, and nanites.

BEC recipes appear as Assembly Line recipes in NEI but there is no strict item or condensate order to follow. The items may all be inserted through the same input bus on the IO Node while the power, condensate, and nanites are pulled from the linked Observation Array. Condensate does not have to be present for a recipe to start processing but the recipe will fail and void if there is still some missing by the end.

Optionally, configure the number of parallels and speed divisor in the GUI of the controller. Parallels do not actually increase the total throughput of the machine because they are inversely proportional to the processing speed, but they can help process larger batches at once. The speed divisor manually slows down recipes if absolutely necessary for automation without reducing the overall EU/t.

Condensate is produced in the Entanglement Apparatus and stored in the Containment Field. The Observation Array does not hold any condensate itself and only ever transfers it from the Containment Field to the IO Node upon request.

Any condensate in the network that is not requested by the current recipe is considered a contaminant or slowdown. Each contaminant significantly reduces the processing speed of the IO node and if there are ever more than three contaminants in the network at once then the recipe immediately fails and voids. Condensate supplied to an IO Node is no longer considered in the network and therefore does not affect other IO Nodes processing other recipes on the same Observation Array. However, it is still recommended to process only one recipe at a time to avoid these penalties altogether.

The following tables list every BEC recipe by their voltage, duration, steps, requested nanites, and required condensates. The nanite order is constant per recipe but varies between recipes, even if they are the same number of steps. Nanite tiers highlighted BLUE are the maximum for that recipe. The IO Node has unlimited tier skips which means it can run any recipe regardless of voltage as long as there is enough power. However, the total duration may only be reduced by supplying more nanites to the Observation Array since the IO Node cannot overclock.

The challenge in using the BEC Line effectively is rapidly swapping out nanites to perfectly match the requested nanite at all times while simultaneously following all the other limitations such as not overflowing the Containment Field or having too many contaminants in the network at once. All IO Nodes connected to the same Observation Array also need to be synced to avoid slowdowns.

The core mechanic behind this approach is designating one IO Node to be the master and the rest as proxies. The master always receives its items first and is the only one that requires nanite detector hatches to signal the requested nanite tier. The nanites themselves are swapped out using ME IO Ports but only if all the condensate is ready and there are no remaining items in the BEC subnetwork (blue). However, patterns must include a single dummy item such as cobblestone to block subsequent recipes from entering the BEC subnetwork until the current recipe has finished processing. This approach is robust, flexible, and scalable, but it does take some time to setup and makes pattern handling slightly more difficult.

GTNH BEC Controller contains a guide showing how to setup the BEC Multiblocks using an OpenComputers script in addition to some simple AE2 automation.