shuffle and reorganize documentation

technic/doc/chests.md

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+
+chests
+------
+
+The technic mod replaces the basic Minetest game's single type of
+chest with a range of chests that have different sizes and features.
+The chest types are identified by the materials from which they are made;
+the better chests are made from more exotic materials.  The chest types
+form a linear sequence, each being (with one exception noted below)
+strictly more powerful than the preceding one.  The sequence begins with
+the wooden chest from the basic game, and each later chest type is built
+by upgrading a chest of the preceding type.  The chest types are:
+
+1.  wooden chest: 8×4 (32) slots
+2.  iron chest: 9×5 (45) slots
+3.  copper chest: 12×5 (60) slots
+4.  silver chest: 12×6 (72) slots
+5.  gold chest: 15×6 (90) slots
+6.  mithril chest: 15×6 (90) slots
+
+The iron and later chests have the ability to sort their contents,
+when commanded by a button in their interaction forms.  Item types are
+sorted in the same order used in the unified\_inventory craft guide.
+The copper and later chests also have an auto-sorting facility that can
+be enabled from the interaction form.  An auto-sorting chest automatically
+sorts its contents whenever a player closes the chest.  The contents will
+then usually be in a sorted state when the chest is opened, but may not
+be if pneumatic tubes have operated on the chest while it was closed,
+or if two players have the chest open simultaneously.
+
+The silver and gold chests, but not the mithril chest, have a built-in
+sign-like capability.  They can be given a textual label, which will
+be visible when hovering over the chest.  The gold chest, but again not
+the mithril chest, can be further labelled with a colored patch that is
+visible from a moderate distance.
+
+The mithril chest is currently an exception to the upgrading system.
+It has only as many inventory slots as the preceding (gold) type, and has
+fewer of the features.  It has no feature that other chests don't have:
+it is strictly weaker than the gold chest.  It is planned that in the
+future it will acquire some unique features, but for now the only reason
+to use it is aesthetic.
+
+The size of the largest chests is dictated by the maximum size
+of interaction form that the game engine can successfully display.
+If in the future the engine becomes capable of handling larger forms,
+by scaling them to fit the screen, the sequence of chest sizes will
+likely be revised.
+
+As with the chest of the basic Minetest game, each chest type comes
+in both locked and unlocked flavors.  All of the chests work with the
+pneumatic tubes of the pipeworks mod.