This week I focused on improving data generation for the mod. This doesn’t add any new features to the mod, however it does mean that adding new features to the mod will be much easier in the future. And being able to iterate new features faster is always a bonus.
Forge
A mod development kit for Minecraft.
Improving Quality of Life
This week I add a lot of quality of life improvements to the mod, as well as a bug fix. There aren’t really any major new features, but the mod is now a little easier to use, and is now compatible with mods that add custom biomes to Minecraft.
200 Files and Nothing New
This week I merged a change consisting of over 200 files. It’s probably the largest change I’ve made since the project began, and yet it doesn’t actually introduce anything new. Instead, it fixes a mistake I made when I first created the mod.
Keeping Their Numbers Down
Butterflies have been taking over. There have been reports that thousands have been spawning, overwhelming servers and lagging out game worlds. So I have spent a large portion of this week working to reduce the butterfly population and ensure that Minecraft servers remain safe.
Syncing the Butterfly Data
After releasing version 3.0.0 of the mod, I got a bug report in very quickly. Butterflies were no longer spawning in server games. I hadn’t really been testing servers up to that point, but as it turns out that didn’t mean people weren’t using the mod on servers.
Let’s Bottle Caterpillars!
I’ve been focusing a lot on caterpillars these last few weeks, and a thought occurred to me. Wouldn’t it be cool to have bottles with caterpillars in as well.
Naturally Spawning Caterpillars
Originally the butterfly mod was supposed to be a simple mod that adds butterflies to the world. It’s growing a little beyond that, with the butterflies actually having a complete life cycle. Unfortunately it’s actually pretty rare that a player will stumble upon a caterpillar right now.
Improving Caterpillar Interaction
This week I’ve been focusing on improving caterpillars. Right now they are very hard for players to come across. However, with a few extra features and tweaks, caterpillars will be just a little bit more interesting.
Data Driving the Butterflies
Finally! Butterfly data can now be loaded or modified via a JSON file. Now if we decide to change how butterflies work we don’t need to change any code. Even a data pack could be used to change butterfly behaviour.
Small Eggs and Better Buckeyes
I’ve talked about how details matter before. So this week I’ve focused on a couple of things that have been bugging me for a while now. These aren’t major features, but they do help to make the mod feel like it’s been crafted by someone who cares.