Bry

This pack is essentially an updated version of FTB Infinity but for 1.12.2 instead of 1.7.10.

Whilst the visuals look dated today (due to the texture pack changes introduced to the vanilla game with the release of 1.13), you can download a resource pack (search for "Jappa Texture Backport") that updates most of the textures to give it that more modern feel. With the addition of the resource pack, the aesthetics are vastly improved.

The modpack includes most of the popular mods of the day, with a good mix of tech and magic, so should be suitable for most players. There's no progression that forces you in to using certains mods, so it's quite easy to simply ignore mods that don't match your play style.

With regards to difficulty, playing on 'Normal' is quite easy to progress very rapidly through the game. For example, obtaining an Angel Ring from Extra Utilities 2 to get creative flight within the game can be accomplished in very little time, as all the items can be obtained with ease. The hardest part to obtain is the cursed lasso with a Ghast, but there is a simple trick to obtaining this easily, which involves an Ender IO vial and a jetpack to capture a ghast, then dig out a 6x6x6 space at the bottom of the overworld, with a player sized 2x1 opening and release the ghast. You then simply strafe left/right past the 2x1 opening, whacking the ghast with your hand and avoiding the ghast attacks, but each time you've whacked it, try popping it in the lasso, if it's still to strong whack is again, then try to capture again, but be careful, because if you whack it too hard it will die before it's weak enough to be captured in the lasso, then you'll have to start again. The whole concept of Grid Power in Extra Utilities 2 was technically flawed in my opinion, but that's another story. With an Angel Ring, defeating the end dragon is about as simple as it can be, but introduce Draconic Evolution weapons and armour, and you could defeat the ender dragon with your hands tied behind your back if you wanted to.

On of my favourite tech mods is Ender IO, and as you might expect this mod was included, though there was a change to Ender IO with the 1.12 release that introduce a new mechanic into the mod, meaning you needed to collect organic material to build a machine frame. It seemed very strange having to collect grass "clippings and trimmings" to create a machine. If like me you don't like this change to Ender IO, you could easily revert to the pre-1.12 version behaviour by moving the template 'legacy recipes' file around in the config folders.

Whilst most of the 'tech' ores in the game were from those native to the Thermal Series, and duplicates had been removed from world generation, the FTB team didn't deal with the loot tables, as loot obtained from loot chests in the various worlds contained ores from Industrial Craft, RailCraft and others, meaning you ended up with different types of Tin, Copper and other metals in your inventory. I found the lack of attention to detail here a little disappointing, but easily rectified, because if you dropped a IC/RC loot ingot into a crafting table, you got 9 nuggest of the Thermal mod, which you could then craft back into the Thermal ingots.

It's a shame that FTB didn't provide any further updates to correct the loot tables, but despite this, FTB Revelation is probably my favourite of all the FTB kitchen sink style mods packs, despite being 7 years old at the time of writing this review, closely followed by FTB Infinity Evolved, another classic that feels very dated today.

Whilst FTB Revelation felt like an updated version of FTB Infinity, I've been hoping to play the next evolution in the series from FTB, unfortunately, I haven't seen this happen yet. There have been a number of FTB kitchen sink style modpacks released by the =team, but none have come close to FTB Revelation, not a failing of the FTB team, but unfortunately because the planets have not aligned to allow all of the mods that I consider 'critical' to such a pack to be available in the same version of the game, for example, EnderIO has only just made it's first appearance since 1.12 in the current version of the game (1.20), whilst this mod is still not feature complete it is playable, however we are still missing other essential mods (e.g. Tinkers' Construct, to name just one).

In summary, with the updated graphics resource pack, FTB Revelation is still a modpack worthy of being played today in single player and feels as good today, as it did when it was in its prime, though if you are looking for a multiplayer experience, I get the impression you might struggle to find a server you can join today, as the most popular packs, tend to be the newest packs, despite them being (subjectively) inferior.

This pack is basically the same as the original StoneBlock, but with some updates.

The quests in StoneBlock 2 are much better than the original game, as there are more of them, and FTB team replaced the previous questing system with the much improved FTB quests mod. Whilst the number of quests have increased, I felt there was a huge gap between some of the quests in certain mods, but other mods had many more mods covering the progression.

One key mod removed that was in the original version of the game was Refined Storage, though the pack still contains Applied Energistics 2. Whilst this might seem like a poor choice for the players who prefered the simplicity of Refined Storage, there was a valid reason for this, and this was down to the fact that Refined Storage had known performance problems, especially on multiplayer servers, so this would be a welcome change for players who joined servers and server owners.

Unfortunately, this is where the improvments stopped for me.

FTB introduced some new game mechanics, which seemed a little questionable to me.

Firstly, they added a mining world. You gained access to the mining world by ascending to the top of the stonefilled overworld. Reaching this mining world could be accomplished very early game by digging and pillaring up (or building a staircase upwards). Once you hit the magic Y level, you were teleported to a few blocks above the bedrock of the mining world. To return, simply drop down a block or two, and you were back at the top of the overworld. It might have been a great concept to include in a modpack, but it doesn't really work in a ex-nihlo ("from nothing") style of modpack where you are expected to perform some grind to start obtaining rare ores and drops. This mining world instantly felt "cheaty" allowing you to bypass early game progression. Perhaps this is a good thing if that's how you like to play, but would you be playing an ex-nihlo style of pack if you didn't like that early game grind? On my first play through, I did "cheat" using the mining world, and very quickly obtained resources required to build mid-to-late game items. This "cheaty" feel to the game though gave me an overwhelming feeling of having cheated and I lost the desire to play along any further, so I restarted in a new world, and avoided the superfluous mining world all together.

FTB introduced The End into this pack, which wasn't present in the original game, though the experience was kind of strange. The end matched the overworld, in that it was larged a world filled with End Stone, with no Ender Dragon to be seen, however there was instead a "End Chicken" boss. The boss was very easy to defeat and my entire experience of The End felt like it added nothing to the game compared to the original.

Overall, it was a half-decent pack, and if you enjoy this style of gameplay, I'd recommend playing it through, though if you are looking for an experience that was an improvment over the original version of Stoneblock, then you may leave disappointed.