Create Mod

Overview

Create is a Minecraft mod by simibubi that adds a complete mechanical automation system built around rotational force, kinetic energy, and visual contraptions. Unlike many tech mods that rely on abstract energy systems and magic blocks with hidden inventories, Create makes every machine physically visible and mechanically connected. Gears spin, belts move, pistons pump, and trains roll on tracks you lay block by block.

The mod has become one of the most popular Minecraft mods on both Forge and Fabric, praised for its aesthetic integration with vanilla Minecraft and its emphasis on creative engineering over recipe grinding. Create does not add a traditional tech tree with tiers of machines. Instead, it gives you a toolbox of mechanical components and lets you build whatever automation systems you can design.

Create is suitable for both singleplayer survival and multiplayer servers. Its contraptions are server-friendly and the mod is well-optimized for multiplayer use.

Core Mechanics

Create's systems are built on Rotational Force, measured in two values: Speed (in RPM) and Stress (in Stress Units, or SU). Every generator produces a certain amount of SU at a given RPM, and every machine consumes SU to operate. If your total stress demand exceeds your supply, the network stalls and machines stop working.

Rotation is transmitted through physical connections:

• Shafts — The basic connector. Transmits rotation along a single axis at the same speed and direction.
• Cogwheels — Small and large cogwheels mesh together to change speed. A large cogwheel driving a small one doubles the speed but also doubles the stress cost. A small cogwheel driving a large one halves the speed and halves the stress cost.
• Gearboxes — Change the axis of rotation by 90 degrees. Useful for routing kinetic networks around corners.
• Gearshifts — Reverse the direction of rotation when given a redstone signal. Useful for toggling conveyor belt directions or reversing contraption movement.
• Sequenced Gearshifts — Programmable rotation controllers that execute a sequence of speed and direction changes, essential for precise contraption movement like piston doors or elevators.

The speed-versus-stress tradeoff is the central design tension. Higher speeds make machines process items faster, but the stress cost increases proportionally. You must balance your network between having enough speed for throughput and enough SU capacity from your generators.

Key Components

Create includes dozens of functional blocks. These are the most commonly used machines:

• Mechanical Press — Presses items on a belt or depot into sheets and other compacted forms. Essential for most Create recipes, as sheets are a primary crafting ingredient.
• Mechanical Mixer — Placed above a Basin, it combines ingredients using Create's mixing recipes. Used to craft alloys like Andesite Alloy and Brass, as well as doughs, foods, and other combined materials.
• Deployer — A mechanical arm that can use items, place blocks, or interact with entities. One of the most versatile blocks in the mod. It can craft items that require a crafting table, apply tools to items, and even simulate player right-clicks.
• Mechanical Saw — Cuts logs into planks, planks into sticks, and processes stone variants. When placed on a contraption, it can fell entire trees by cutting the base log.
• Encased Fans — Blow air in a direction. When placed behind fire, lava, or water, the airflow can smelt, smoke, wash, or haunt items that pass through it on a belt. Bulk Smelting with fans is far more efficient than furnaces.
• Mechanical Belts — Conveyor belts that transport items and entities. Connect two shafts at the same height or at different heights to create angled belts. Belts are the primary way to move items between machines.
• Crushing Wheels — Two large wheels that spin against each other to crush items, producing ores, gravel, dyes, and other processed materials. They function as a more powerful alternative to the Millstone.
• Trains — A full rail network system with tracks, stations, schedules, signals, and multi-car trains. See the dedicated section below.

The Train System

Create's train system is one of the most impressive features in any Minecraft mod. It adds functional, rideable trains that travel on custom tracks laid in the world. Trains are not entities — they are full contraptions built from Create blocks, which means you can design your own locomotive and wagon appearances using any blocks you want.

Key components of the train system:

• Train Tracks — Placed on the ground like rails, but with smooth curves and slopes. Tracks can span long distances and connect any points in the world.
• Train Stations — Placed adjacent to tracks, stations assemble and disassemble trains. You build your train as a physical structure on the tracks, then use the station to assemble it into a movable contraption.
• Train Schedules — Written in a Schedule item, these tell a train which stations to visit and what conditions to wait for (time of day, cargo loaded, redstone signal, etc.). Trains follow schedules automatically once given to the conductor.
• Train Signals — Standard and chain signals that manage track occupancy and prevent collisions, similar to real rail signaling. Signals divide tracks into blocks, and trains will wait at a red signal until the block ahead is clear.
• Train Observer — Emits a redstone signal when a train passes, useful for triggering station automation.

Trains can carry chests, fluid tanks, mob spawner cages, and other functional blocks. This makes them practical for long-distance item transport on multiplayer servers. A scheduled train running between a mining outpost and your base can automatically load ores, travel, unload at the destination, and return — all without player intervention.

Power Generation

Create offers several ways to generate rotational force, each with different SU outputs and practical considerations:

• Hand Crank — Manually operated by right-clicking. Generates 32 SU at low RPM. Useful only for testing and very early setups before you have passive generation.
• Water Wheels — Placed in flowing water, they generate SU passively. A single water wheel produces 64 SU. Multiple water wheels on the same shaft stack their output. A common early-game setup is a line of water wheels powered by an infinite water source and bucket-placed flow. Large Water Wheels produce up to 128 SU each.
• Windmill Bearings — Attached to a structure of sail blocks, they generate rotation from wind. The output depends on the number of sail blocks attached (up to 128 sails). Windmills are a reliable mid-game power source because they require no fuel or flowing water — just a tall structure in open air.
• Steam Engines — Added in Create 0.5, steam engines are the highest-output power source. A Boiler heated by Blaze Burners converts water into steam, which drives a steam engine attached to a shaft. A fully upgraded steam engine setup with multiple boilers and burners can produce thousands of SU, enough to power massive factories.

The Create: Steam 'n' Rails addon extends the train system with additional track types, custom bogeys, and more locomotive options, and is a popular companion mod.

Automation Examples

Create's open-ended design makes it possible to automate nearly any process in Minecraft. Here are common examples:

• Automated Tree Farm — A Mechanical Bearing rotates a contraption with Mechanical Saws attached. The saws break logs on contact, and Mechanical Drills or Deployers replant saplings. Items are collected by Brass Funnels into chests or belt systems.
• Cobblestone Generator — A Mechanical Drill breaks cobblestone as it forms from lava and water. The cobblestone is picked up by a belt or funnel and can be processed further through Crushing Wheels to extract ores and minerals.
• Item Sorting — Brass Funnels with filters, combined with Mechanical Belts, can sort items from mixed inventories into separate storage. Smart Chutes and Brass Tunnels add splitting and round-robin distribution.
• Crop Farms — A Mechanical Harvester on a moving contraption breaks mature crops, while a Deployer or Plough replants. The harvested items are funneled into onboard storage or ejected onto belts.
• Automated Smelting — Encased Fans blowing through lava or fire can bulk-smelt items on belts. This is faster and more resource-efficient than traditional furnace arrays, and scales easily by adding more belt lanes.
• Ore Processing — Crushing Wheels process raw ores into crushed ore, which can then be washed by Fans blowing through water to yield additional nuggets and secondary materials, effectively multiplying ore yield.

Installation

Create is available for both Forge and Fabric. To install:

1. Install the appropriate mod loader: Minecraft Forge or Fabric Loader for your Minecraft version.
2. Download Create from CurseForge or Modrinth. Make sure the version matches your Minecraft version and mod loader.
3. Download the Flywheel library mod (required dependency). On Fabric, you also need Fabric API and the Create Fabric port.
4. Place all downloaded .jar files into your .minecraft/mods folder.
5. Launch Minecraft with the mod loader profile. Create will generate its config files on first launch.

Create supports Minecraft 1.18.2, 1.19.2, and 1.20.1+ depending on the version branch. Check the mod page for the latest supported Minecraft version. The Forge version is the primary development target, while the Fabric port is maintained separately and may lag slightly behind.

Tips for Beginners

• Start with Water Wheels. They are cheap to build, produce consistent power, and require no fuel. Set up a row of water wheels on a river or create your own waterfall with buckets. This gives you enough SU to run your first few machines.
• Use the Ponder system. Create has a built-in tutorial system called Ponder. Hold W while hovering over any Create item in your inventory or JEI to see animated, step-by-step explanations of how that block works. Ponder is one of the best in-game documentation systems in any Minecraft mod — use it before looking up external wikis.
• Read the tooltips. Create items have detailed tooltips that explain their function, stress cost, and speed requirements. Hold Shift for additional details. These tooltips are accurate and well-written; skipping them is the most common cause of confusion for new players.
• Use the Engineer's Goggles. Wearing these or holding them in your offhand shows stress values, RPM, and network status on every connected block. They are essential for diagnosing why a machine is not working — usually the answer is insufficient stress capacity or zero RPM.
• Build small, then scale. Start with a single belt, press, and mixer setup before attempting large factories. Create rewards iterative design. Get one process working, then duplicate it.
• Andesite Alloy is your first milestone. Mixing iron nuggets and andesite in a Basin with a Mechanical Mixer produces Andesite Alloy, the base material for most early Create components. Automate this early.
• Experiment with contraptions. Attach blocks to a Mechanical Bearing or Linear Chassis and see what happens. Many of the best Create builds come from experimenting with what blocks do when they move on a contraption.

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