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This page walks through setting up the Create integration step by step — stock ticker prices, the Content Observer, the Creative Crate, and managing trading posts (linking, the admin menu, sell menus, delivery). For a quick reference see the README.
Important up front: almost everything here needs AdminOp (see CobbleCompanion wiki: Setting up admin access) or, for the two block settings screens (Content Observer, stock ticker price editor), real Minecraft operator status. That's intentional — this module is set up by the server operator, regular players just use the finished system.
- Configuring the Content Observer
- Editing stock ticker prices
- The Creative Crate: unlimited stock without a real warehouse
- The AdminOp hoe: managing trading posts and NPCs
The "Content Observer" is Create's content_observer block, substantially extended by this mod:
it can track several items at once, pull prices directly from a connected stock network (and write
them back), and link up with other observers into a group, where a "subtractor" can reduce or
fully cancel a "counter"'s payout — useful for production chains where an intermediate product
sometimes gets consumed again before it's sold.
Step 1: Place a Create content_observer block somewhere in your item pipeline (e.g. on a
chute/funnel/belt).
Step 2: Hold Ctrl and right-click the block (only works as a real Minecraft OP, and only while you're NOT holding a Content Observer block in your hand — if you are, see Groups below instead). This opens the settings window, laid out in three columns: the list(s) of already-configured items on the left, the form for adding/editing one item in the middle, group settings and the stock network status on the right.
In the middle form:
-
Tracked item: the item ID to detect (e.g.
minecraft:potion). Without a namespace prefix,minecraft:is assumed automatically. Also accepted: empty or*for ANY item,minecraft:*for every item in a namespace, or#minecraft:logsfor an item tag. - Recipient: the player name whose CobbleDollars account gets charged/credited.
- CobbleDollars per item: the amount PER item passing through.
A positive value = the recipient GETS paid (classic selling). A negative value = the recipient PAYS (a cost/subscription model) — both directions use the same field.
"Add" always creates a NEW, independent entry — even if another entry is currently loaded for editing (handy for using an existing entry as a template: click it, adjust the values, then click "Add" instead of "Update" — the original stays untouched). "Update" instead changes ONLY the currently loaded entry (the button is inactive while nothing is loaded).
In the left list, click an entry to load it into the form for editing, or click the red "x" to
remove it. Each row also shows the recipient right next to the item and amount (Item Amount → PlayerName), so you don't have to open the form to check who it pays.
"Save" applies all settings, "Remove" (at the bottom) clears this block's ENTIRE configuration (the block stays, but stops counting anything), "Cancel" discards unsaved changes.
Important: as long as the observer is NOT configured yet, a normal right-click (without Ctrl) works as usual with Create's own filter setting. Once it's configured, a normal right-click is blocked for everyone except real OPs — only Ctrl+right-click (as an OP) still opens the settings window.
If a Create stock link (stock_link) or a stock ticker connected to a stock network sits directly
next to the observer, the info panel on the right shows "Connected: <price list name>" at the
bottom. In that case, two more price rows become active in the form:
- Buy price (network): this item's current buy price in the network — editable right here; the change takes effect immediately for the WHOLE network, not just this observer.
- Sell price (network): the sell price, accordingly.
The "Use buy" and "Use sell" buttons copy the respective network price ONCE into the "CobbleDollars per item" field — a one-time copy, not a permanent link: if the network price changes later, the value entered here stays as-is until you click the button again.
Multiple observers can be linked into a group. Within a group, ALL observers share ONE common item catalog, split into two lists:
- Counter list: items that should be COUNTED — when an observer detects an item from this list, it creates a "promise" (see Delayed payout below).
- Subtractor list: items that can reduce or fully cancel an already-created promise.
Real-world example: you're automatically producing create:chute blocks. A counter counts
every produced create:chute for 10 Cobbledollars. Sometimes you consume produced create:chute
again yourself in another machine before it's sold — a subtractor at that point then deducts, say,
5 Cobbledollars per consumed create:chute. Result: only the NET amount (5$ here) actually gets
paid out, always canceling the OLDEST still-open counter entry first. Enter the same price on the
subtractor as on the counter, and the payout gets cancelled completely (net 0$).
How to link two observers into a group (works like Create's own frequency tuning for stock networks):
- Hold a Content Observer block item (from your inventory, not an already-placed block) in your hand.
- Ctrl+right-click an already-placed observer — your held item gets "tuned" to that block's group (if the clicked block had no group yet, a new one is created automatically). The held (and any dropped) item gets a green glint effect, and every block in the group gets highlighted in-world with a pulsing green outline for as long as you hold the tuned item.
- Place the tuned observer — it automatically joins the group. A different/fresh observer item elsewhere in your inventory is NOT affected ("differentiated" tuning).
- Right-clicking empty air with the tuned item removes the tuning again.
Once an observer is part of a group, the left column of the editor shows TWO lists at once (top: counter, bottom: subtractor, both scrollable). A catalog entry can appear in NEITHER, ONE, or BOTH lists — you control that in the form with the "In counter list" and "In subtractor list" checkboxes.
Every row in both lists also has its OWN small checkbox on the far left: it decides whether THIS SPECIFIC block should detect that item. A catalog entry can sit in the list without every block in the group actively using it — handy when several observers share the same catalog but each watches different items at different points in your build. A single block can count some items and subtract others at the same time.
The group panel on the right has a "Role" button (Counter/Subtractor). It doesn't restrict any checkbox — it only decides which blocks the "Set active (all)" and "Set inactive (all)" checkboxes in the form actually affect: for a counter-list item, "Set active/inactive (all)" only touches blocks with the "Counter" role, for a subtractor-list item only blocks with the "Subtractor" role. This saves you from having to click through every single block manually in a bigger build.
The "Delayed payout" button sets how long a promise created by a counter waits for a matching subtractor before it gets paid out: 30 seconds, 1 to 31 minutes, or "∞" (never expires — left-click increases the stage, right-click decreases it). If no subtractor detects the same item within that time, the full counter amount gets paid out.
The "Leave group" button carries over every item currently enabled for THIS block (whether from the counter or subtractor list) into its own independent list — the block then keeps working like a completely normal, ungrouped observer, without losing anything. Catalog entries not enabled for this specific block are NOT carried over.
Hold Ctrl and right-click a Create stock ticker (real Minecraft OP only) opens this mod's own price editor instead of Create's normal order menu. There you enter the sale prices for the items available at the ticker — these sync live with the CobbleDollars balance of players buying at the ticker.
Right of the price list is where a linked Creative Crate shows its connection status and its "Use creative crate" toggle — see the next section.
Normally, a network can only ever sell what's physically sitting in its inventories. A Create Creative Crate, once linked, lets specific items be sold as if the network held an effectively unlimited amount of them — no real warehouse needed for those items.
Linking a crate (AdminOp, wooden hoe required — see The AdminOp hoe below):
- Left-click a placed Creative Crate with the hoe — starts link mode (confirmation in chat). Left-clicking the same crate again cancels it.
- Left-click a stock ticker that's part of the network you want to feed — completes the link. One crate links to one whole network (freq-ID), shared by every merchant/NPC on it.
- A real Create Packager still has to be built on the crate and connected to the network — the crate only fakes the CONTENTS, Create's own logistics still need a real packager to move them.
Marking items as "infinite" happens in the stock ticker price editor (above): each price row has an "∞" column — click it to flag that item as crate-covered. A flagged item then always reports a huge quantity (999,000, shown as "999k" almost everywhere and as Create's own "+" symbol once a display would otherwise show a billion or more) as long as the crate is properly connected.
Connection status (shown in the price editor, next to the crate's position):
- "No item set to 'infinite' yet" — nothing to verify.
- "Connected (real packager detected)" — at least one flagged item is genuinely being reported by a real Create packager scanning the crate, i.e. the setup actually works.
- "NOT properly connected" — items are flagged, but no packager is reaching the network yet (check the packager placement/connection). Until this turns green, flagged items behave like completely normal, real stock — nothing gets artificially inflated.
"Unlink crate" removes the link (and clears every "infinite" flag for that network).
The 999k figure is meant for CobbleCompanion's own sell menus (Creative Menu, Stockpile Switch) — it's not something you'd want regular players noticing when they open Create's native Stock Keeper order screen directly at the physical ticker. Two independent toggles hide it there (GUI only — the real stock/extraction logic never changes):
- "Use creative crate" in the stock ticker price editor controls the physical ticker only — right-clicking the real block directly.
- "Use creative crate: On/Off" in a trading post's own admin options menu (only shown when its sell menu is "Stockpile Switch") controls that trading post's own sessions — independently of the ticker's setting.
Turned off, flagged items simply show their real (crate-excluded) count in Create's native menu instead of 999k/"+".
A plain wooden hoe, held by an AdminOp player, is the universal admin tool for CobbleMerchants (and, with the CustomNPCs module installed, CustomNPCs traders too — see the CustomNPCs wiki for the NPC-specific first steps). It's the same tool everywhere, with three distinct actions:
- Right-click a trading post → opens its admin options menu.
- Left-click (attack) a trading post → starts/cancels linking it to a stock ticker or chest.
- Left-click a block while linking is pending → completes the link to that block.
Regular players (or an AdminOp not holding a hoe) never see any of this — they just get the trading post's normal buy menu.
A trading post must be linked to a stock ticker before its price list/network stock features do anything — without a link, it behaves like a completely normal, unmodified CobbleDollars trading post.
- Left-click the trading post with the hoe — starts link mode (confirmation in chat).
- Left-click a stock ticker — links the price source, or left-click a chest — links the payout target inventory for sale proceeds, or left-click a linked Creative Crate — links that crate's network directly.
- To cancel without linking anything: left-click the same trading post again.
Right-click a trading post with the hoe opens its options menu. Rows that don't apply to the current settings are hidden automatically (e.g. "Prioritize stock" only shows up for "Create items", not "Network stock"):
- Price list: which price list this trading post uses — cycles through every list you've created plus "Network default" (whatever list is assigned to the linked network).
- Item source: Create items (spawned out of thin air on sale) or Network stock (pulled from the linked network's real inventory, sale blocked if there isn't enough).
- Prioritize stock (Create items only): if a matching real stock item happens to be available too, sell that first instead of creating a fresh one.
- Unlimited crate access (Network stock only): whether THIS trading post is allowed to use a linked Creative Crate's "infinite" items at all — off by default, opt-in per trading post.
- Delivery: see below.
- Sell menu: see below.
- Use creative crate (Stockpile Switch only): see Hiding the crate from Create's own menus above.
- Edit own price list...: opens an editor for this trading post's OWN item selection, separate from (and overriding) the network's shared offer.
The sell menu setting picks which shop screen opens for regular players:
- CobbleMerchant: the classic CobbleDollars buy/sell menu, driven by the price list above.
- Stockpile Switch: opens Create's REAL Stock Keeper order screen directly, exactly as if the player had walked up to the linked ticker themselves — plus a clipboard panel next to it, so holding a Create clipboard lets players order everything on it in one click.
- Creative menu: a creative-inventory-style browsing screen listing every item on the network's price list, with prices and stock shown per item, out-of-stock items crossed out, and the same clipboard "order everything" support.
- Direct: sold items simply drop at the trading post (the linked chest from the linking step is only for the payment the trading post receives, not for outgoing sold items).
- Shipping: a REAL Create package gets sent through the logistics network (same mechanism as Create's own "Order" button), addressed to whatever destination text the player enters — matched against Create's own Frogports/postboxes in the world. Only works for "Network stock" trading posts (there needs to be a real source inventory to ship from); "Create items" trading posts fall back to direct delivery automatically, with a heads-up message.
- Both: the player picks per order.