Create Tick Controller

Advanced Performance Optimization for Create Mod

Create Tick Controller is a powerful server-side performance optimization mod that dynamically controls the tick rate of Create mod's mechanical components. Designed for large-scale factory builds and server environments, it prevents TPS drops by intelligently throttling block entity updates while maintaining visual synchronization on the client side.

 

Table of Contents

1. Features Overview

2. How It Works

3. Performance Benchmarks

4. Installation

5. Commands Reference

6. Configuration Guide

7. Technical Deep-Dive

8. Best Practices

9. FAQ

 

Features Overview

Core Features

  Feature Description Global Tick Divisor Reduce tick frequency for ALL Create block entities at once Per-Type Divisor Fine-tune tick rates for specific machine types (e.g., only slow down Millstones) Blacklist System Protect critical machines from global throttling Dynamic TPS Control Automatic tick adjustment based on server TPS using configurable formulas Emergency MSPT Protection Safety net that activates when server is struggling Client Animation Sync Animations visually reflect the actual tick rate — no desync Network Synchronization All settings automatically sync to connected clients

Supported Block Entities (80+ Types)

  Category Examples Kinetics Belts, Gearboxes, Shafts, Clutches, Gearshifts, Flywheels… Processing Millstones, Crushing Wheels, Saws, Mixers, Presses… Logistics Funnels, Chutes, Arms, Ejectors, Packagers… Fluids Pumps, Pipes, Hose Pulleys, Spouts, Fluid Tanks… Contraptions Bearings, Pulleys, Pistons, Gantries, Elevators… Redstone Nixie Tubes, Display Links, Redstone Links… Trains Stations, Signals, Tracks, Train Controls…

 

How It Works

The Tick Divisor Concept

  Game Tick 1 2 3 4 5 6 Normal (No Divisor) TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK Divisor = 3 TICK SKIP SKIP TICK SKIP SKIP               Divisor Ticks Executed Ticks Skipped CPU Load Reduction       3 1 / 3 2 / 3 ~66%      

Key Insight: A divisor of 3 means the block entity only processes every 3rd tick, reducing CPU load by ~66% for that entity type.

Distributed Tick Scheduling

To prevent lag spikes, entities don't all tick on the same frame. Instead, they're distributed using position-based offsets:

 

Divisor = 4, Four Belt segments at different positions:

Game Tick 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Belt A TICK       TICK       TICK       Belt B   TICK       TICK       TICK     Belt C     TICK       TICK       TICK   Belt D       TICK       TICK       TICK

Result: Load is evenly distributed across all ticks!

Client Animation Synchronization

The mod uses Mixins to intercept animation calculations on the client side:

  Server: Block ticks at 1/4 speed (divisor=4) ↓ Network: Divisor synced to client
                    ↓
Client: Animation speed = originalSpeed / 4
Visual Result: Gears rotate 4x slower, matching actual processing speed

Performance Benchmarks

Test Environment

  Hardware: Intel i7-10700K, 32GB RAM, NVMe SSD Minecraft: 1.21.1 with NeoForge Create Version: 6.0.8 & 6.0.9 Test World: Superflat with controlled factory setups

Benchmark 1: Large Belt Network

Setup: 500 belt segments transporting items in a loop

Results table             Divisor MSPT TPS CPU Usage Items/sec Efficiency 1 78,5 12,7 94% 1000 100,00% 2 52,3 19,1 71% 500 50,00% 4 38,1 20,0 52% 250 25,00% 8 31,2 20,0 43% 125 12,50% 16 27,8 20,0 38% 62 6,25%    

Benchmark 2: Processing Factory

Setup: 50 Millstones + 50 Mechanical Presses + 100 Funnels

Setup: 50 Millstones + 50 Mechanical Presses + 100 Funnels           Divisor MSPT TPS Throughput Notes 1 89,2 11,2 100,00% Unplayable lag 2 58,7 17,0 50,00% Noticeable improvement 4 41,3 20,0 25,00% Full TPS restored 8 33,6 20,0 12,50% Overkill for this setup  

 

Benchmark 3: Mixed Factory (Real-World Scenario)

Setup: Complete factory with trains, processing, and logistics

• 200 Belt segments
• 30 Mechanical Arms
• 40 Funnels
• 20 Millstones
• 10 Crushing Wheels
• 5 Train stations with active trains

 

*Optimized configuration:

Configuration MSPT TPS Description No mod 125,4 8,0 Severe lag, unplayable Global divisor = 4 45,2 20,0 Playable, slow processing Optimized per-type 38,7 20,0 Best balance Emergency mode active 42,1 20,0 Auto-adjusted during stress

 

Example: Optimized per-type divisors     Component Divisor Belts 2 Arms 4 Millstones 8 Crushing Wheels 4 Funnels 2

MSPT Reduction Chart

  MSPT Improvement by Divisor (200 Block Entities) 125 ─┤ ██████████████████████████████████████████ Baseline │ 100 ─┤ ██████████████████████████████████ Div=2 (-20%) │  75 ─┤ ████████████████████████████ Div=3 (-40%) │  50 ─┤ ██████████████████████ Div=4 (-56%) │  40 ─┤ █████████████████ Div=6 (-68%) │  30 ─┤ █████████████ Div=8 (-76%) │  25 ─┤ ██████████ Div=12 (-80%) │  20 ─┤ ████████ Div=16 (-84%)          ├────────────────────────────────────────────── 0 25 50 75 100 125 MSPT


Divisor MSPT Note 1 125 Baseline 2 100 Div=2 (-20%) 3 75 Div=3 (-40%) 4 50 Div=4 (-56%) 6 40 Div=6 (-68%) 8 30 Div=8 (-76%) 12 25 Div=12 (-80%) 16 20 Div=16 (-84%)

CPU Time Distribution

 
Without Mod vs With Divisor=4       Category Without Mod (%) With Divisor=4 (%) Create Block Entities 45% 12% World Tick 22% 22% Entity Processing 18% 18% Other 15% 15% Headroom 0% 33%

 

Installation

Requirements

• Minecraft 1.21.1
• NeoForge 21.1.x or higher
• Create Mod 6.0+

Installation Steps

1. Download the latest release from CurseForge

2. Place the .jar file in your mods folder

3. Launch the game - configuration file will be auto-generated

4. Use /tickcontrol commands to configure (requires OP level 2)

Commands Reference

Basic Commands

  /tickcontrol status

Displays current tick controller status including:

• Global tick/sync divisors
• Active type-specific divisors
• Blacklisted types
• Dynamic/Emergency system status
• Current TPS/MSPT readings

Global Control

  /tickcontrol global <1-200> Set global tick divisor /tickcontrol sync <1-200> Set global sync divisor (network updates) /tickcontrol reset Reset all settings to defaults

Per-Type Control

  /tickcontrol type <TypeName> <1-200> Set divisor for specific type /tickcontrol type <TypeName> reset Reset type to use global divisor /tickcontrol list [dimension] List all block entities by type

Example - Slow down only Millstones:

  /tickcontrol type MillstoneBlockEntity 8

 

Blacklist Management

  /tickcontrol blacklist add <TypeName> Protect type from global divisor /tickcontrol blacklist remove <TypeName> Remove protection /tickcontrol blacklist list Show all blacklisted types /tickcontrol blacklist clear Clear entire blacklist

Example - Protect Train Stations:

  /tickcontrol blacklist add StationBlockEntity

 

Dynamic TPS Control

  /tickcontrol dynamic pause Pause automatic TPS adjustment /tickcontrol dynamic resume Resume automatic adjustment

Configuration Guide

Configuration file location: config/createtickcontroller-server.toml

Dynamic TPS System

  [dynamic]     # Enable formula-based tick divisor calculation     enabled = false
    # Formula using TPS variable (0-20)     # Examples:     #   "3 * (21 - tps)"        - Aggressive scaling     #   "(20 - tps) * 2"        - Moderate scaling     #   "tps < 15 ? 10 : 1"     - Binary threshold     #   "max(1, (20-tps) * 5)"  - With minimum cap     formula = "3 * (21 - tps)"
    # Check interval in ticks (20 = 1 second)     updateInterval = 20
    # Divisor bounds     minDivisor = 1     maxDivisor = 50
    # Target TPS for calculations     targetTps = 20.0

Formula Examples

Formula Behavior 3 * (21 - tps) At 18 TPS → divisor 9, at 15 TPS → divisor 18 (20 - tps) * 2 At 18 TPS → divisor 4, at 15 TPS → divisor 10 tps < 15 ? 10 : 1 Binary: divisor 10 below 15 TPS, else 1 min(20, max(1, (20-tps)*3)) Clamped aggressive scaling

Formula Variables:

• tps - Current server TPS (0-20)
• targetTps - Configured target (default 20)
• mspt - Current milliseconds per tick

Supported Functions:

• min(a, b), max(a, b), abs(x)
• floor(x), ceil(x), round(x)
• sqrt(x), pow(base, exp)
• Ternary: condition ? valueIfTrue : valueIfFalse

Emergency MSPT System

  [emergency]     # Enable MSPT-based safety system     enabled = true
    # MSPT threshold to trigger (50ms = 20 TPS)     msptThreshold = 55.0
    # MSPT level to start recovery     recoveryMspt = 45.0
    # How much to increase divisor per step     increment = 2
    # How much to decrease during recovery     decrement = 1
    # Check interval in ticks     updateInterval = 10
    # Maximum emergency divisor     maxDivisor = 100  

Emergency System Behavior

  MSPT Timeline Example:
Step MSPT Divisor Threshold Recovery Note 1 56 1 55 45 Above threshold 2 58 3 55 45 Peak (above threshold) 3 55 5 55 45 At/above threshold 4 50 5 55 45 Descending 5 44 4 55 45 Below recovery (decrement) 6 40 3 55 45 Recovering low 7 56 5 55 45 Peak (above threshold) 8 50 5 55 45 Descending 9 44 4 55 45 Below recovery (decrement) 10 40 3 55 45 Recovering low 11 35 2 55 45 Lowest point 12 40 1 55 45 Stabilizing             Divisor: 1 → 3 → 5 → 5 → 4 → 3 → 5 → 5 → 4 → 3 → 2 → 1 Actions: Increment when MSPT > 55, Decrement when MSPT < 45

 

The gap between threshold (55) and recovery (45) prevents oscillation.

 

Technical Deep-Dive

🧩 Architecture Overview

  SERVER SIDE                   DynamicTickController
(TPS / MSPT Monitor) → TickControllerManager
- globalTickDivisor
- typeTickDivisors
- blacklistedTypes
- shouldTick() → SmartBlockEntityMixin
(Intercepts tick calls)           TickControllerConfig
(TOML) → TickControllerManager               NETWORK SYNC   TickDivisorSyncPacket
- globalDivisor
- syncDivisor
- typeDivisors
- blacklist               CLIENT SIDE   ClientTickManager
- store divisors
- getDivisorForType()
- getAnimationSpeedMultiplier()                   ↓               KineticBE Renderer Mixin   RotatingInstance Mixin
(Flywheel)   LinearActuator Mixin
(Pulleys)           Animation Speed = originalSpeed / divisor        

 

Mixin Injection Points

 

Server-Side: Tick Throttling

Client-Side: Animation Sync

shouldTick() Algorithm

 

Memory Footprint

Component Memory Usage TickControllerManager ~2 KB (static maps) ClientTickManager ~1 KB (mirror of server state) Per-entity overhead 0 bytes (uses existing position hash) Network packet ~200 bytes per sync

Best Practices

Recommended Configurations

 

Recommended Config Snippets (TOML)       Small / Medium / Large server examples     Small Server (1–5 players, light factories) Key Value dynamic.enabled FALSE emergency.enabled TRUE emergency.msptThreshold 55 emergency.recoveryMspt 48 emergency.increment 1 emergency.decrement 1         Medium Server (5–20 players, moderate factories) Key Value dynamic.enabled TRUE dynamic.formula 2 * (20 - tps) dynamic.minDivisor 1 dynamic.maxDivisor 20 emergency.enabled TRUE emergency.msptThreshold 52 emergency.recoveryMspt 45 emergency.increment 2 emergency.decrement 1         Large Server (20+ players, mega factories) Key Value dynamic.enabled TRUE dynamic.formula 4 * (21 - tps) dynamic.minDivisor 1 dynamic.maxDivisor 50 emergency.enabled TRUE emergency.msptThreshold 50 emergency.recoveryMspt 40 emergency.increment 3 emergency.decrement 1 emergency.maxDivisor 100  

Per-Type Optimization Guide

Block Entity Type Recommended Divisor Reason BeltBlockEntity 2-4 High count, visual impact MillstoneBlockEntity 4-8 Slow processing anyway CrushingWheelController 4-8 Heavy computation MechanicalArmBlockEntity 2-4 Precision needed FunnelBlockEntity 2-4 High count in factories ChainConveyorBlockEntity 2-4 Similar to belts PumpBlockEntity 4-8 Fluid calc intensive MechanicalMixerBlockEntity 4-8 Recipe processing StationBlockEntity 1 (blacklist) Critical for trains SignalBlockEntity 1 (blacklist) Safety critical

 

What to Blacklist

Always consider blacklisting:

• Train infrastructure: StationBlockEntity, SignalBlockEntity, TrackBlockEntity
• Redstone timing: SequencedGearshiftBlockEntity, BrassDiodeBlockEntity
• Player interaction: ToolboxBlockEntity, LecternControllerBlockEntity

FAQ

Q: Will this break my contraptions?

A: No. Contraptions (moving structures) are handled differently by Create and are not affected by this mod. Only stationary block entities are throttled.

Q: Do items get lost on belts?

A: No. Items are still processed, just less frequently. With divisor=4, items move at 1/4 speed but never disappear.

Q: Why do my gears look slow?

A: This is intentional! Client animations are synchronized with the server tick rate so you can visually confirm the throttling is working. This also helps players understand why processing is slower.

Q: Can I use this on a client connecting to a vanilla server?

A: The mod is server-side required. Clients need it installed to see synchronized animations, but the server controls all throttling logic.

Q: Does this work with Create addons?

A: Yes! Any addon that extends SmartBlockEntity will automatically be throttled. You can use per-type divisors for addon-specific machines.

Q: What's the difference between Dynamic and Emergency systems?

A:

• Dynamic: Proactive, formula-based, adjusts based on current TPS
• Emergency: Reactive, threshold-based, safety net for sudden lag spikes
• Both can run simultaneously: finalDivisor = max(dynamic, emergency)

Q: How do I find the type name for a block entity?

A: Use /tickcontrol list to see all loaded Create block entities grouped by type name.

 

 

Create Tick Controller is not affiliated with the Create mod team. Create is developed by simibubi and the Create team.