Flower's Dev Diary (Week of December 3rd)

[william711]

Precisely. After thinking long and hard about some of MC's design issues, I think my current catch-phrase for the early development of RTH is "materials matter" :)

I feel like your taking some of the challenges that come with playing in a multiplayer anarchy server and putting them into single player as well.

[FlowerChild]

Just wanted to say one thing about cramming BlockIDs full of different block types based on metadata:

Does it ever get fucking annoying when you want to change how they work! :)

This sub-block update is really dragging on for me based on that, and it's admittedly not a lot of fun at the moment.

Almost done though...just needed to vent a bit :)

[Ulfengaard]

FLOW-ER! FLOW-ER! FLOW-ER!

>.>
<.<

Just a little cheering from the sidelines.

[FlowerChild]

Thank you :)

[Mikko_blu]

One of the underlying problems with MC, that you may have noticed yourself, is that various materials are pretty much functionally equivalent. Whether you build out of dirt, wood, or stone, it all amounts to pretty much the same thing (fire aside). The three little pigs would be ashamed ;)

Now, this becomes a major problem if you're aiming towards aggressive mob behavior that will attack structures as opposed to just players (I don't think it's any secret that has been a long term goal of mine for a very long time now). It also makes creating or finding shelter a trivial process when IMO, it should be a major problem for the player (at least initially).

I think most mods that attempt to address this issue have tried to do so this through modifications to mob behavior, whereas from my standpoint, I want to instead address the underlying issue that's responsible for it at the core. As I've said many times before, complex AI is really not what MC needs.

Anyways, that should give you an idea why basic materials such as dirt are so important to me and why I will be devoting so much time to them. To me, they represent the foundation upon which everything else in the mod will be built (literally and figuratively), and as a result, I want to make sure to spend the time to get it just right.

omg this makes my head tickle. I'm so excited for RTH, I'm looking forward to a game where I'm more challenged cognitively.

[FlowerChild]

Yay! I thought the following looked cool, so I wanted to share:

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Those would be the new Benches I mentioned, and decorative builds like the above are the reason I wanted to include them as one of my two remaining sub-blocks ;)

[RezDev]

Those would be the new Benches I mentioned, and decorative builds like the above are the reason I wanted to include them as one of my two remaining sub-blocks ;)

Wow, that's cool.

Wait...we can place things on tables...hmmm, wooden trestle minecart bridges?!?!?

Oh my greatgoodgod...

[FlowerChild]

Wait...we can place things on tables...hmmm, wooden trestle minecart bridges?!?!?

Hehe...indeed!

Yeah, I'm sure the combination of Tables, Benches, and fences for all blocks with sub-blocks is going to result in some very cool looking builds :)

Hence why I was so keen on these couple of remaining sub-block types (Benches & fences). I find they round out the aesthetic options for the mod very nicely.

Anyways, I'm almost done. The big items I have left are all the fence types (hence why I'm using netherbrick above, which has a vanilla fence), and then integrating the Benches & fences with the wood sub-blocks, which are a little more complicated due to the different colors available.

Oh! And I also have one new material type left to add as well, but that's a very quick job. Part of why this has been taking me so long is that I've been refactoring the code involved for sub-blocks to make it super easy to add new ones. I won't be adding anymore after this as I don't want to consume any more blockIDs, but if someone decides to make an add-on mod with a bunch of new sub-block materials, it should be a breeze to do.

[Battlecat]

That looks amazing! The new low tables have some fantastic potential!

[MrLemon]

Looks nice!! It's neat that your spending so much time on these kinds of aesthetic blocks. It's funny how Mojang is just adding netherbrick slabs, while your finishing up building furniture out of them. :)

[Sarudak]

So benches are like half high tables?

[FlowerChild]

So benches are like half high tables?

No, they're kinda like starships...except smaller, and don't travel to the stars.

You been drinking man? :)

[RezDev]

Yeah, I'm sure the combination of Tables, Benches, and fences for all blocks with sub-blocks is going to result in some very cool looking builds :)

Hence why I was so keen on these couple of remaining sub-block types (Benches & fences). I find they round out the aesthetic options for the mod very nicely.

And they say you don't care about aesthetic builders... ;)

Oh! And I also have one new material type left to add as well, but that's a very quick job.

Why, I do declare! My heart's all a-flutter! :D

I won't be adding anymore after this as I don't want to consume any more blockIDs, but if someone decides to make an add-on mod with a bunch of new sub-block materials, it should be a breeze to do.

That's very cool. I've noticed recently that you've been adding a lot of things for add-on authors (hooks, or whatever the right term is). Mad props for taking the time to do this--it just reinforces the feeling that BtW is the base game and others should be modding it rather than striving for some bland hodge-podge of universal plug-ins, or whatever.

[FlowerChild]

Oh! The mention of the trestle thing above actually gave me an idea:

Tables and Benches should probably auto-connect by "deploying" legs when placed on top of a fence of the same material type, regardless of whether they have neighboring tables, as it will facilitate those kinds of builds.

Will add that to the todo list ;)

[RezDev]

Tables and Benches should probably auto-connect by "deploying" legs when placed on top of a fence of the same material type, regardless of whether they have neighboring tables, as it will facilitate those kinds of builds.

Will add that to the todo list ;)

Have I told you lately how awesome you are? :)

[Stormweaver]

Whooo!

Much sexier stairs than could be done with half slabs. Brilliant!

[FlowerChild]

Have I told you lately how awesome you are? :)

Maybe, but it's always nice to hear :)

[dawnraider]

Nice job, man! Those loook amazing!

[Gears]

Like the others said, this looks awesome! I can't wait to incorporate it with my house!

[Detritus]

Can we expect to be able to sit on benches?

I really don't care if we can or can't, but it might be a nice thing to know.

[FlowerChild]

A little further along:

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Got the fences in for all the sub-block types, and did the auto-connect between table legs and fences that I mentioned :)

I don't have the wood fences and benches in yet (that's next), but I thought the above was a nice little demo of the whole trestle idea proposed above. It sure does look purty ;)

Can we expect to be able to sit on benches?

Don't be a rule #1.

[Sarudak]

So benches are like half high tables?

No, they're kinda like starships...except smaller, and don't travel to the stars.

You been drinking man? :)

Well yes now but not when i posted. I have not heard of these benches. They are new right? It's true i don't pay much attention to aesthetic features... :-/

[FlowerChild]

Well yes now but not when i posted. I have not heard of these benches. They are new right? It's true i don't pay much attention to aesthetic features... :-/

Yup, they're new, but I detailed my plans for them earlier in the thread, and it's pretty obvious what they are from the pic ;)

[Splee999]

A little further along: AWESOME PICTURE

Suddenly I find my motivation to build extensive railways has approximately quintupled. *wipes off drool*

[Ulfengaard]

A little further along: epicosity

This... is going to make THE... PERFECT... bridge into my Dwarf Fortress! MANSQUEE!