There are lots of structure mods out there, as well as plenty of terrain mods. I for one like using Terraforged, along with the repurposed structures mod, Lost Cities, etc. Frankly, I would use Terraforged simply for the forests. The improvements are small- it adds quite a few slightly more realistic tree models to each biome, replaces the forest floor with a combination of grass, coarse dirt, and podzol, and adds a bit more undergrowth. However, when combined with shaders and the improved terrain, it looks fantastic.
My idea for an ideal structure/terrain mod- one that could get plenty of downloads- would be one that adds a bunch of simple, atmospheric structures and tweaks to terrain generation. This is really more of several ideas in one- any one of these could work for a standalone mod, but could also work as a single thing. Mostly just bouncing ideas off the wall, but I thought this might be cool. The problem with many such mods I've seen thus far is that they either aren't simple enough to have a Vanilla feel to them, or are for outdated versions of minecraft. (The former, of course, is pretty subjective- however, pretty much any big changes don't feel vanilla.)
Atmospheric Structures ~ One issue with Vanilla structures, (In my opinion), is that once you've seen one you've seen them all. The structures themselves generate randomly- but they're all identical. More recent additions- such as shipwrecks and improved villages- have changed this by having a bit of modularity to them. For the most part, however, this isn't the case. Furthermore, without many smaller structures, many structures- such as woodland mansions- really sort of stand out. They're meant to stand out of course- but sometimes they seem a bit abrupt.
One way to make these structures feel less random would be to add smaller structures & ruins based on the Vanilla structures. This could consist of everything from generating creepy ruins around a woodland mansion, to old overgrown brick ruins in jungles, occasional old wells in forest, old broken bridges or shattered arches that look like they must have once been part of a vast road network ...etc. The key being that such ruins would be somewhat modular, and would fit with the sort of apocalyptic steampunkish medieval arcane vibe that's so hard to place when talking about 'Vanilla.'
Bigger Structures could be added, but if so they ought to be really, really rare. If there's one thing I can't stand it's a structure mod that puts things all over the place. It wrecks part of the fun of actually finding something rare. (I go on about cities in this thread.) If so, such ruins could complement these structures by providing context, and/or leading players towards them.
Enhanced Wilderness ~ Enhancing Minecraft's wilderness doesn't actually require too much work... (I say this on a whim, I'm not really a programmer.) This is partly because much of the terrain generation is already quite good. It's just a few simple tweaks that can add more detail and make places feel more alive- without adding any new blocks, materials, creatures, etc. (Though I appreciate Alex's Mobs as my favorite creature mod.) Namely:
Trees: Slightly more realistic tree models go an enormous way to improving things. Terraforged's forests are fantastic, and feel... nice? Nice sort of sounds like an understatement. Dead trees in certain areas- such as on the borderline between a desert/tundra and a wooded area, tree stumps around villages, the occasional clearing, etc. I think Terraforged actually places trees based on the altitude and climate, but I'm not entirely sure. This would include changes to undergrowth and trees in the Nether.
Undergrowth: Prairies can always use a bit more grass, occasional patches of flowers. In forests, more bushes/plants, as well as a forest floor that isn't just solid grass. Occasional fallen logs or rocks, small patches of mushrooms or flowers, etc.
Biome Variants for Creatures: This is just a personal pet peeve of mine- It'd be nice if certain creatures had different cosmetic variations depending on which biome they spawned in, if not actual new creatures. Such as zombies looking frozen in cold areas, pigs looking muddy in swamps, Iron Golems having some variation depending on their biome, etc.
...That's really about it. A few simple changes to flora, along with more ruins and small, atmospheric structures would go a long way to improving the game's exploration aspect, and would fit well with other Vanilla style mods.
There are lots of structure mods out there, as well as plenty of terrain mods. I for one like using Terraforged, along with the repurposed structures mod, Lost Cities, etc. Frankly, I would use Terraforged simply for the forests. The improvements are small- it adds quite a few slightly more realistic tree models to each biome, replaces the forest floor with a combination of grass, coarse dirt, and podzol, and adds a bit more undergrowth. However, when combined with shaders and the improved terrain, it looks fantastic.
My idea for an ideal structure/terrain mod- one that could get plenty of downloads- would be one that adds a bunch of simple, atmospheric structures and tweaks to terrain generation. This is really more of several ideas in one- any one of these could work for a standalone mod, but could also work as a single thing. Mostly just bouncing ideas off the wall, but I thought this might be cool. The problem with many such mods I've seen thus far is that they either aren't simple enough to have a Vanilla feel to them, or are for outdated versions of minecraft. (The former, of course, is pretty subjective- however, pretty much any big changes don't feel vanilla.)
Atmospheric Structures ~ One issue with Vanilla structures, (In my opinion), is that once you've seen one you've seen them all. The structures themselves generate randomly- but they're all identical. More recent additions- such as shipwrecks and improved villages- have changed this by having a bit of modularity to them. For the most part, however, this isn't the case. Furthermore, without many smaller structures, many structures- such as woodland mansions- really sort of stand out. They're meant to stand out of course- but sometimes they seem a bit abrupt.
One way to make these structures feel less random would be to add smaller structures & ruins based on the Vanilla structures. This could consist of everything from generating creepy ruins around a woodland mansion, to old overgrown brick ruins in jungles, occasional old wells in forest, old broken bridges or shattered arches that look like they must have once been part of a vast road network ...etc. The key being that such ruins would be somewhat modular, and would fit with the sort of apocalyptic steampunkish medieval arcane vibe that's so hard to place when talking about 'Vanilla.'
Bigger Structures could be added, but if so they ought to be really, really rare. If there's one thing I can't stand it's a structure mod that puts things all over the place. It wrecks part of the fun of actually finding something rare. (I go on about cities in this thread.) If so, such ruins could complement these structures by providing context, and/or leading players towards them.
Enhanced Wilderness ~ Enhancing Minecraft's wilderness doesn't actually require too much work... (I say this on a whim, I'm not really a programmer.) This is partly because much of the terrain generation is already quite good. It's just a few simple tweaks that can add more detail and make places feel more alive- without adding any new blocks, materials, creatures, etc. (Though I appreciate Alex's Mobs as my favorite creature mod.) Namely:
Trees: Slightly more realistic tree models go an enormous way to improving things. Terraforged's forests are fantastic, and feel... nice? Nice sort of sounds like an understatement. Dead trees in certain areas- such as on the borderline between a desert/tundra and a wooded area, tree stumps around villages, the occasional clearing, etc. I think Terraforged actually places trees based on the altitude and climate, but I'm not entirely sure. This would include changes to undergrowth and trees in the Nether.
Undergrowth: Prairies can always use a bit more grass, occasional patches of flowers. In forests, more bushes/plants, as well as a forest floor that isn't just solid grass. Occasional fallen logs or rocks, small patches of mushrooms or flowers, etc.
Biome Variants for Creatures: This is just a personal pet peeve of mine- It'd be nice if certain creatures had different cosmetic variations depending on which biome they spawned in, if not actual new creatures. Such as zombies looking frozen in cold areas, pigs looking muddy in swamps, Iron Golems having some variation depending on their biome, etc.
...That's really about it. A few simple changes to flora, along with more ruins and small, atmospheric structures would go a long way to improving the game's exploration aspect, and would fit well with other Vanilla style mods.
Cooking with Mindthemoods ~ Biomes ~ Archeology
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