Building Gadgets

## **Synopsis**

Building Gadgets is a mod all about making your life easier when it comes to placing blocks. You can use the included gadgets to place huge walls, floors, columns, or grids of blocks with a single click. You can even copy and paste your builds.

## **Keybinds:**

The first step to using the gadgets in this mod is to set your keybinds. Hit the escape key (esc), “Options”, “Controls...”,  and check the checkbox next to “Category” near the bottom left of the screen. Then type “Building Gadgets” into the bottom left bar. You will now see all of the keybinds for Building Gadgets. You can set any of them that you want, but the really important one is “Settings Menu”. You will use this quite a lot. The default is G. Set this to anything that you want, but I prefer to put it on one of my extra mouse buttons because you have to hold the button down while you are using the gadget. Now you can hit “Done” and get back to the game.

## **Gadgets:**

**Charging:**

 Every gadget needs to be charged before it can be used. There are a few chargers you can use, but my personal preference is the wireless charger. Just give it power and stand near it for a few seconds. You can see that your gadget is charged by hovering your mouse over it and looking at the text “Energy: 500.0k/500.0k”.

**Building Gadget:**

The Building Gadget is a device which can be used to place blocks in various configurations. First, select the block you want to build with. Shift right click on the block that you want to use with the gadget in hand. Now hold down the button which is bound to your Building Gadget’s settings menu (discussed above). A menu will pop up that will allow you to set your building mode. Hovering your mouse over any of the options will bring up a tooltip which tells you what each button does. Additionally, when you are in any of the modes, the gadget will show you a preview of what it will look like when you right click and place the blocks. In order to place blocks with the gadget, you must have those blocks in your inventory. If you do not have enough blocks in your inventory, the preview will show the blocks which you are missing in red. If you right click anyways, only the non-red blocks will place. Below are a list of building modes and options:

* **Build To Me:** the default selection. This mode ignores the range slider at the bottom of the GUI. Places blocks in a straight line from whatever block face you are looking at towards the player.
* **Vertical Column:** set the height of the column using the range slider in the settings menu. When looking at the top face of a block, the gadget will build a column up from that block face. When looking at the bottom face of a block, the column will be built down from that block face. Looking at the side of a block will build the column so that the halfway point of the column meets up with the block face you are looking at (half above, half below)
* **Horizontal Column:** set the length of the horizontal column (a row) using the range slider in the settings menu. Look at a block. Looking at the top or bottom of a block will cause the row to build from the block you are looking at, in the direction your character is facing. Looking at the side of a block will cause the row to build in the opposite direction of the side you are looking at.
* **Vertical Wall:** builds a wall in the same way that vertical column mode works, except instead of placing a 1 x *range* structure, it places a *range* x *range* structure.  \*\*\* in my testing, despite this documentation, only odd ranges result in a range x range wall being placed. Even ranges result in a (*range* - 1) x *range* wall being placed. This may be a bug.
* **Horizontal Wall:** builds a horizontal wall (a floor) in the opposite way that horizontal column works (it places from the block face you are looking at, rather than away from the face you are looking at). The dimensions work exactly the same as the vertical wall. The floor places a *range* x *range* platform in the case of odd ranges, and a (*range* - 1) x *range* platform in the case of even ranges.
* **Stair Mode:** set the length of the staircase with the range slider in the settings menu. If the player is looking at a block directly in front of them, builds a staircase  up from the player’s position in the direction opposite the face of the block the player is looking at. If the player is looking at a block that is far away, builds a staircase from the block the player is looking at towards the player’s position.
* **Grid Mode:** set the distance between blocks in the grid with the range slider in the settings menu. Places a grid of blocks so that the block you are looking at is the center of the grid. This mode is weird in that, when range < 7, the grid is always a 3 x 3 of your selected block, with the distance between blocks being equal to the range. Once range = 7, the grid becomes an 11 x 11 grid with one block of space between each block. Increasing the range from here keeps the 11 x 11 and increases the space between blocks until range = 13. The grid then becomes 17 x 17 with one block of space between each block. This continues all the way up to range = 25, where the grid is a 37 x 37 with one block of space between blocks.
* **Place On Top:** a sub-mode that makes it so that your build will place on top of the block you are looking at instead of inside of the block you are looking at for some buildings modes
* **Anchor:** if you hit the anchor button while the gadget is showing you a preview, the preview will stay in place and you can walk around it and look at it without it changing. Right clicking at any time while anchored will place the blocks. You can unanchor by hitting the button again.
* **Undo:** the Building Gadget stores the last 10 builds that it performed. You can undo the last 10 actions that you made with the gadget, getting all of the blocks you used back.

Mirror, Rotate and Raytrace Fluid are not used for this gadget, as far as I can tell.

**Exchanging Gadget:**

The exchanging gadget is very similar to the building gadget, except it does not place blocks, it replaces already placed blocks with a different block. Select the block type you want to replace with by shift right clicking a block with the gadget in hand. When you replace blocks with the gadget, the blocks which you replaced will be put into your inventory as if you had broken them with their respective tool. For example, if you replace stone, you will be given cobblestone. Interestingly enough, you can enchant this tool with silk touch so that when you replace stone, you are given stone. You cannot enchant the Exchanging Gadget with fortune. Like the Building Gadget, before you finalize a replacement, the gadget will highlight the blocks that would be changed if you were to right click. You also need to have the blocks which you are going to use to replace in your inventory. If you do not have enough blocks to complete the replace action, the blocks you are missing will be shown in red in the preview. If you right click without enough blocks, only the non-red blocks will be replaced.

* **Surface:** set the size of the area to be replaced using the range slider in the settings menu. The area that will be replaced is *range* x *range*. This mode only supports odd ranges; setting the range to an even value will cause the gadget to round up (range = 2 will be treated like range = 3. The block you are looking at will always be the center of the area being replaced. The gadget will only replace blocks in 2 dimensions at once; the two dimensions will be those not including the face of the block you are looking at. For example, if you look at the top of a block (which is on the y axis - so is the bottom of the block), the Exchange Gadget will replace blocks in the x and z dimensions.
* **Vertical Column:** set the height of the area to be replaced using the range slider in the settings menu. The area that will be replaced is 1 x *range*. This mode only supports odd ranges; setting the range to an even value will cause the gadget to round down (range = 4 will be treated like range = 3). The center of the column will always be the block you are looking at. The column will always be oriented vertically, not with respect to the ground, but with respect to the player’s cursor. Looking at the ground, for example, will replace blocks that are on the same y level as the blocks you are looking at in a straight line away from/towards the player.
* **Horizontal Column:** set the length of the area to be replaced using the range slider in the settings menu. The area that will be replaced is 1 x *range*. This mode only supports odd ranges; setting the range to an even value will cause the gadget to round down (range = 4 will be treated like range = 3). The center of the row will always be the block you are looking at. The row will always be oriented horizontally, not with respect to the ground, but with respect to the player’s cursor. Looking at a wall, for example, will replace blocks on the same y level to the right and left of the player’s cursor.
* **Grid:** the mechanics of the area where blocks are replaced are exactly the same as the grid mode of the Building Gadget (see above). For some reason, the grid will only place horizontally with respect to the ground with this tool. For example, with the range set to 3, right clicking while looking at the ground will replace blocks at the block where your cursor is, and at positions 3 blocks away in all directions (creating a 3 x 3 grid where each block is separated by 3 blocks). When you right click on a wall, however, it will replace blocks at your cursor, and at positions 3 blocks to the right and to the left (creating a 1 x 3 grid where each block is separated by 3 blocks).
* **Fuzzy:** a sub-mode. When Fuzzy is set to true, the Exchanging Gadget will replace any type of block with the selected block. When Fuzzy is set to false, the Exchanging Gadget will only replace the type of block that the player is looking at with the selected block.
* **Connected Surface:** a sub-mode. When Connected Surface is set to true, the Exchanging Gadget will replace blocks as long as they are within range of the block the player is looking at. When Connected Surface is set to false, the Exchanging Gadget will only replace blocks if they are within the range of the block the player is looking at AND are connected (directly or via other blocks) to the block the player is looking at.
* **Anchor:** if you hit the anchor button while the gadget is showing you a preview, the preview will stay in place and you can walk around it and look at it without it changing. Right clicking at any time while anchored will place the blocks seen in the preview. You can unanchor by hitting the button again.

Mirror, Rotate, and Raytrace Fluid are not used for this gadget, as far as I can tell. There is also no undo button.

The Copy-Paste Gadget can be used to… Copy and Paste builds. To copy a build, make sure you are in Copy mode by pressing your Settings Menu hotkey and pressing the Copy button. The tool can only copy and paste rectangular prism volumes (a rectangular area with some height ie. 3 x 3 x 2). The mod’s documentation says that the max copy area is 125 x 125 x 125. I have not tested this. Right click one of the lower corners of your area with the gadget in hand and shift right click the upper corner of your area opposite the previous corner. The gadget will now highlight the area you have copied. The block which you right clicked will be the block that is placed at your cursor position when you right click.

There is an alternative way to copy an area. Shift right click nothing (the air) with the gadget in hand. A GUI will come up allowing you to move around the bounds of your copy area.

You cannot copy tile entities. For example, chests will not be copied. If a block in your build was not copied, you will get a notification in yellow text across your screen about the number of blocks not copied.

**Paste:**

To paste your copied area into the world, enter your Settings Menu again and press the Paste button. You will now be shown a preview of your copied build wherever you look. If you right click, your copied build will be placed as the preview shows. In order to paste builds, you need to have all of the required blocks in your inventory. If you hover your mouse over the gadget and press shift, you can see a list of all the blocks you need for one paste.

**Alterations:**

You can press the rotate or mirror button to rotate or mirror your build. The preview will reflect these changes. If you push the “Edit Placement” button you can offset your build so that it pastes different distances from the block you are looking at. Just add or subtract to the x, y, and z offset values.

Hitting the Anchor button will freeze the preview in place, allowing you to walk around and look at it. You can mirror or rotate while anchored. When you right click, the preview will finalize and paste your build into the world. Hit the button again to unanchor.

There is an undo button that works with the Copy-Paste Gadget. However, you have to be extremely careful. The undo button only saves the last build you pasted. You can only undo the last build done by your gadget.

**Destruction Gadget:**

 This gadget is very dangerous. It will void any blocks which you use it on. They will not be dropped. They will not be put into your inventory. They will be gone. You get 1 undo.

Shift right click with the tool in your hand. This will open a GUI that allows you to change the area that you are destroying. All of the measurements are made from the player’s cursor. Left means one block to the left of the cursor. Right means one block to the right of the cursor. Up means one block above the player's cursor. Down means one block below the player’s cursor. Depth means one block behind the block that the player is looking at. For example, when looking at the ground, depth goes into the ground, and up and down are blocks on the same y level as the block the player is looking at. While looking at the wall, depth measures into the wall, and up and down are blocks vertically higher and lower than the block the player is looking at.

**Settings and Overlay:**

When you press your Settings Menu hotkey with this tool in hand, you have some options. First of all, the upper left button is the Overlay button. This turns on and off the overlay (the bright red preview that shows what you are about to delete from the world). I cannot imagine why you would turn this off.

**Connected Area:**

The top middle button is the Connected Area button. With this button enabled, the gadget will destroy blocks in the set range only if all of the blocks are connected to each other by other blocks (no gaps/air pockets). When this is not enabled, all blocks, including floating blocks, will be destroyed in the set area.

**Anchor:**

 The anchor button works as described with all the other gadgets. When you press *Anchor*, the preview will be locked where it is and you are free to move around and do whatever you want. When you right click, it will finalize the destruction of the area. To unanchor, press the Anchor button again.

**Undo:**

You get one undo. If you accidentally delete half your base, everything should be ok. If you accidentally delete half your base twice, everything will not be ok. You have been warned. When you press undo, the last blocks that your gadget destroyed will reappear.

## **Template Manager and Construction Blocks**

**Template Manager:**

The Template Manager is a block that enables you to save your copies forever. Place down the Template Manager and right click it. In the left slot, place a Copy-Paste Gadget that has a copied build. Place a piece of vanilla paper in the right slot. You can type a name for the template you are about to create in the black bar at the top of the GUI. Now hit save. Your piece of paper will turn into a Template. The Template will store the name you gave it, and the copied build that was in the Copy-Paste Gadget. Now, you can load any template onto your Copy-Paste Gadget by placing the gadget in the left slot, placing the template in the right slot, and clicking Load. A preview of what is currently loaded on the Copy-Paste Gadget can be seen on the left side of the GUI.

If you press Copy, text will be copied to your clipboard that corresponds to creating a template for what is saved in the Copy-Paste Gadget. You can send this text to anyone in the world and other people can copy it as well. With this text copied, you, or anyone with the copied text, can hit paste to create a template that is exactly the same as if you had followed the above process.

**Construction Blocks:**

Construction blocks can be used to mimic the **look** of any block in the game. When using gadgets, the gadget will prioritize placing blocks that you have in your inventory. When you run out of a block, the gadget will then use construction paste as a substitute. One construction paste can be used to form one block. Blocks formed by construction paste will look identical to the block which it is mimicking, but not act identical. For example, a mimicked construction paste glowstone will emit no light, mimicked sand will not fall, and mimicked redstone blocks do not emit a redstone signal. Breaking these mimicked blocks will yield construction paste.

**Acquiring Construction Paste:**

Craft construction block powder using the recipe specified in the JEI. You can then either put construction block powder into water manually, or put it in a hydrator. Both methods result in Dense Construction Blocks. Crushing Dense Construction Blocks will yield 4 Dense Construction Chunks, and crushing 1 Dense Construction Chunk will yield 1 Construction Paste. Alternative, place the Dense Construction Blocks down and break them with a pickaxe to yield 1 to 3 construction paste.

**Paste Containers:**

You can craft Paste Containers to store your construction paste. When you have a Paste Container in your inventory and you right click with construction paste in your hand, the paste will go into the container. When you pick up construction paste with a container in your inventory, the paste will go directly into the container. When you build with a gadget, the gadget can automatically use any construction paste that is in your inventory, including in a Paste Container in your inventory. There are three tiers of container. The lowest tier, the Paste Container, can hold 512 Construction Paste. The middle tier, the Paste Container T2, can hold 2048 Construction Paste. The highest tier, the Paste Container T3, can hold 8192 Construction Paste. There is also a creative version with infinite capacity, but I do not believe there is a way to obtain it in survival.