Enter a dangerous new world, a world of mystery, wonder, and deep pits. A world of beautiful waterfalls, wondrous creatures, and long-lost civilization.
The Caverns is (are?) an upcoming mod set in a fascinating underground world. Partially inspired by Myst's world of D'ni, I'm aiming to make the world feel new again. I know a lot of people are going to see "caverns" and go "OMG! It's going to be a lame system of caves!" but I can assure you it will be much more, from waterfalls, to underground lakes, to cities built entirely underground.
...somehow...I'm not sure how I'm going to handle that just yet...
Here are a few of my goals for the mod:
- Built on the Minecraft source, as opposed to Modloader to increase compatibility and minimize issues, primarily with Survival Multiplayer.
- Strong Survival Multiplayer support.
- New mobs. Lots of them. Maybe close to two dozen, mostly of fantastical origin, though some will retain an amount of realism. Some will even be tamable and ride-able.
- A new world, generated in a way similar to The Nether (and possibly The Ender). What this means is that, as the surface world is "World 0" and The Nether is "World 1", and as The Ender may or may not be "World 2", I intend for The Caverns to be a "World 3". I also intend for it to be very compatible with the base game, and will do everything in my power to keep it compatible with other mods.
- All new items, terrains, and crafting recipes.
- Support for a second terrain image file (if needed).
- NPCs with complex interactions (still not sure how it would be done or if I've got the manpower to do so).
- Add a magic system that uses reagents.
Progress:
Finish planning mobs,
blocks,
items,
etc.
Finish any and all blocks that will be used in the open world.
Get terrain generation working.
Get all of the models
and textures for those models done.
Get all mobs
and races in-game,
spawning in the right places,
and acting correctly.
Get NPC interaction system working.
Add all new items.
Make new items functional.
Add recipes.
Get magic system working.
Add support for player race changing.
Terrain info:
I do expect for most of the terrain to be, surprise, cavernous. However, I also intend for there to be several different village types, based on the species of the NPC inhabitants there, I intend for there to be waterfalls, possibly underground beaches, including palm trees. Underground rivers are a must. I'm debating full on underground forests and oceans. I think that might make it too much like "the surface world...underground" though. However, it would be cool to have an underground "petrified forest". :smile.gif:
Here are a few conceptual mob screens done in Techne:
A griffon. The current model is ridiculously small. I intend to double/triple its size before trying to put it in the game. I also intend to make the wings look a LOT better, but to do so, I think I'm going to wait until the Enderdragon is released, and take a few cues from how its wings were done. This will also be one of the riding mounts put in.
A beaver. Yes, it will eat wood. Yes, it will make dams. Yes, that means if your house is wood, it can be eaten.
A few more mob ideas:
- Salamanders - Possibly fire-breathing. Of medium difficulty. If not fire-breathing, maybe even water or ice breathing. Possibly having the ability to freeze the player temporarily if ice breathing? Maybe even fire and ice salamanders. I'm thinking of making these ride-able, too.
- Palm Camels - Camels mixed with palm trees. To go with the "oasis" them of certain areas of the caverns. Is there anyone that seriously doesn't want to ride a "tropical camel"?
- Peacocks - Kind of like chickens, but bright and colorful, slightly larger, and drop some magic reagents.
NPC races (I might even mod in support for the player to be these. Tell me if you would want to see that!):
- Humans - Of course, there have to be some humans here. :wink.gif:
- Dwellers - Put simply, lizardmen. I'm going to attempt to make them very distinctly styled lizardmen, but they will be lizardmen. I'm thinking about making them weaker, but giving them more speed.
- Golems (need a cooler name) - Rock people. It's almost obligatory. :smile.gif: I'm thinking of making them slower, along with lowering either attack speed or taking away their ability to use bows, but giving them a natural, regenerating amount of armor.
- Kats - Cat-like humanoids. They will be an original mix of cats and humans. Thinking about raising their attack speed, and dropping health a bit.
And that's it so far. Scrutinize it, pick it apart. Constructive criticism is welcome. :smile.gif:
-Matt
EDIT: Edited in some more info.
EDIT2: New race.
EDIT3: Updated beaver picture to textured version.
Noooooo! Not beavers!
Maybe they should only eat logs?
I was thinking that would probably be the smart way to do it, but I also thought having your house eaten by beavers would just be too ridiculous to get mad at. :tongue.gif:
However, in the end, it probably will be logs only, though it will probably happen that they will refine the logs into planks (or maybe I'll make a beaver-friendly "sticks" block) for sake of keeping them from destroying ALL of the trees in an attempt to create housing. To that end, I will also make sure that they can fit in single-block high tunnels, in an attempt to further reduce log usage.
- Shaman's Staff. Changes the weather (might heal things).
- Nementium (tentative name).
- Copper
EDIT: Decided to add a magic system to the design, as implied by the Shaman's Staff. It'll be heavily regulated by reagents, and will take several different tools, but it'll be pretty neat, I'm hoping. Said magic system will be more "tribal" than, say, "wizard-like".
Not to be a hater or anything but this forum is for released mods under version 1.0 not mod discussion. :/
Oh? I was under the impression "WIP Mods" was for...well, Work-in-Progress Mods, regardless of their release status. Especially having seen a few posts consisting of nothing but "Mod under construction", I must admit your choice of posting on my mod's thread perplexes me a bit, as well.
However, if that's how it is, if it gets moved, it gets moved. As long as it doesn't get deleted. :smile.gif:
Not to be a hater or anything but this forum is for released mods under version 1.0 not mod discussion. :/
This forum is for Work in Progress mods. Half the threads on here are unreleased because they are still working on them. Mod discussion is for technical mod-coding related issues. Try reading the section rules. Here is a quote:
WIP Mods.
Incomplete mods only. If the main features of the mod are not complete, it belongs in here.
-Requires information.
-Does not require a download/images.
This should be used to create your final thread easier though. Add images as you can and an early release download if you would like.
When your mod is complete, and the title is formatted correctly, download link and pictures are in the thread, you can report it to be moved to "Minecraft Mods".
Anyways, back on track, my girlfriend did a texture for the beaver:
Also, I think I've decided for sure that they will be able to eat logs and planks, and then they'll be processed into "stick" blocks (4 for logs, 2 for planks), which the beaver will then use to create a dam. So, yes, stick blocks are going to be a new block. Probably going to make them like the tree leaves, with a fast and a fancy version.
You are going to need to explain the "Not using ModLoader to increase compatibility" statement.
I don't remember what went through my head when I wrote that, but I think I meant more "convenience" than "compatibility". While it works, it's not "ideal" to download 2-3 mods (ModLoader, AudioMod, and/or GuiAPI), just to run a single mod.
Anyways, my poor choice of bullet points aside, I'd love to hear opinions on the concept, the current planned content, etc.
EDIT: That sound better?
EDIT2: No, you know what, here's my experience with it. Yes, ModLoader works, and generally works well. For singleplayer. The SMP support for ModLoader seems to be fragmented and works rarely, on a case by case basis with different mods, DESPITE several people having worked on it. Overall, I feel NOT using ModLoader will increase compatibility.
However, I DO see your opinion, in that using/not using ModLoader barely has any effect on singleplayer gameplay, other than said overly complicated install process.
In the end though, I want a really SMP-friendly mod.
Nice reply! But could you please make it ModLoader Compatible
To be honest, it's not in my overall plan. Like I said, I'll do my best to keep it compatible (read: able to run side-by-side) with other mods, ModLoader included, but I can't guarantee anything. I don't know how much I'm going to have to modify yet, or if I'm going to modify anything that ModLoader uses.
On the flipside of things, I can pretty much assure it won't be written using ModLoader.
However, on a final note, if the mod does start to come to completion, and it starts to get popular, and it WON'T work with ModLoader, I will see what I can do to make a ModLoader-friendly version.
EDIT: I also realized "bite-sized" play-by-play updates are kinda time consuming. I'll probably start updating maybe once a week, answering questions in-between, and something like that, unless it's something really cool.
IMPORTANT INFO ABOUT COLLABORATIONS, TEAM MEMBERS, ETC.
I've had several people message me about helping out with the mod or collaborating on it already.
Right now, the mod is JUST coming out of conceptual phases. There are two mobs that are slowly coming to fruition, more planned, all the races planned, a few new items planned, a few new textures, etc. However, due to the how extensive 1.9 seems to be, I'm afraid to commit changes to items and recipes just yet. As such, I'm going to be working exclusively on mobs and world generation soon (in hopes that 1.9 won't bring a whole new terrain generation system).
Anyways, the point is, I'm not at a point in development where I'm entirely sure what I'm going to end up needing help with yet.
On the other side of things, though, I am taking note of the offers I receive in case I do need extensive help in the future. :smile.gif:
IMPORTANT INFO ABOUT COLLABORATIONS, TEAM MEMBERS, ETC.
I've had several people message me about helping out with the mod or collaborating on it already.
Right now, the mod is JUST coming out of conceptual phases. There are two mobs that are slowly coming to fruition, more planned, all the races planned, a few new items planned, a few new textures, etc. However, due to the how extensive 1.9 seems to be, I'm afraid to commit changes to items and recipes just yet. As such, I'm going to be working exclusively on mobs and world generation soon (in hopes that 1.9 won't bring a whole new terrain generation system).
Anyways, the point is, I'm not at a point in development where I'm entirely sure what I'm going to end up needing help with yet.
On the other side of things, though, I am taking note of the offers I receive in case I do need extensive help in the future. :smile.gif:
Blah. You know what, this is a mod. This is the modding community. I can't be like that.
Here, I retooled the forum on my site to work for the mod. Contributions welcome. Team not hiring (yet). :smile.gif:
EDIT: Here's the deal with that "hiring" thing. Right now, I'm coding and modeling and my girlfriend is texturing. Right at this very moment, I want to get at LEAST 3 mobs completed, and the generation to "working" before I bring more people in. However, if you C.B.A. to check the forum above, I have said that I'm open to bringing in people that are making regular, well-done contributions. In the end, this is going to be a massive project, and I don't expect in the least to be able to do it with just the two of us. In the meantime, sit back, enjoy, and if you're interested in joining the team, you've seen the level of art I'm interested in (except the gryphon's tail...that needs fixed badly, and I know it), and for code contributions, I expect quality code that works and (hopefully) won't break anything, and I expect it to be done on the vanilla Minecraft code.
Thanks, and here's to hoping the mod makes it somewhere.
-Matt
The Caverns is (are?) an upcoming mod set in a fascinating underground world. Partially inspired by Myst's world of D'ni, I'm aiming to make the world feel new again. I know a lot of people are going to see "caverns" and go "OMG! It's going to be a lame system of caves!" but I can assure you it will be much more, from waterfalls, to underground lakes, to cities built entirely underground.
Here are a few of my goals for the mod:
- Built on the Minecraft source, as opposed to Modloader to increase compatibility and minimize issues, primarily with Survival Multiplayer.
- Strong Survival Multiplayer support.
- New mobs. Lots of them. Maybe close to two dozen, mostly of fantastical origin, though some will retain an amount of realism. Some will even be tamable and ride-able.
- A new world, generated in a way similar to The Nether (and possibly The Ender). What this means is that, as the surface world is "World 0" and The Nether is "World 1", and as The Ender may or may not be "World 2", I intend for The Caverns to be a "World 3". I also intend for it to be very compatible with the base game, and will do everything in my power to keep it compatible with other mods.
- All new items, terrains, and crafting recipes.
- Support for a second terrain image file (if needed).
- NPCs with complex interactions (still not sure how it would be done or if I've got the manpower to do so).
- Add a magic system that uses reagents.
Progress:
items,
etc.
spawning in the right places,
and acting correctly.
Terrain info:
I do expect for most of the terrain to be, surprise, cavernous. However, I also intend for there to be several different village types, based on the species of the NPC inhabitants there, I intend for there to be waterfalls, possibly underground beaches, including palm trees. Underground rivers are a must. I'm debating full on underground forests and oceans. I think that might make it too much like "the surface world...underground" though. However, it would be cool to have an underground "petrified forest". :smile.gif:
Here are a few conceptual mob screens done in Techne:
A griffon. The current model is ridiculously small. I intend to double/triple its size before trying to put it in the game. I also intend to make the wings look a LOT better, but to do so, I think I'm going to wait until the Enderdragon is released, and take a few cues from how its wings were done. This will also be one of the riding mounts put in.
A beaver. Yes, it will eat wood. Yes, it will make dams. Yes, that means if your house is wood, it can be eaten.
A few more mob ideas:
- Salamanders - Possibly fire-breathing. Of medium difficulty. If not fire-breathing, maybe even water or ice breathing. Possibly having the ability to freeze the player temporarily if ice breathing? Maybe even fire and ice salamanders. I'm thinking of making these ride-able, too.
- Palm Camels - Camels mixed with palm trees. To go with the "oasis" them of certain areas of the caverns. Is there anyone that seriously doesn't want to ride a "tropical camel"?
- Peacocks - Kind of like chickens, but bright and colorful, slightly larger, and drop some magic reagents.
NPC races (I might even mod in support for the player to be these. Tell me if you would want to see that!):
- Humans - Of course, there have to be some humans here. :wink.gif:
- Dwellers - Put simply, lizardmen. I'm going to attempt to make them very distinctly styled lizardmen, but they will be lizardmen. I'm thinking about making them weaker, but giving them more speed.
- Golems (need a cooler name) - Rock people. It's almost obligatory. :smile.gif: I'm thinking of making them slower, along with lowering either attack speed or taking away their ability to use bows, but giving them a natural, regenerating amount of armor.
- Kats - Cat-like humanoids. They will be an original mix of cats and humans. Thinking about raising their attack speed, and dropping health a bit.
And that's it so far. Scrutinize it, pick it apart. Constructive criticism is welcome. :smile.gif:
-Matt
EDIT: Edited in some more info.
EDIT2: New race.
EDIT3: Updated beaver picture to textured version.
Maybe they should only eat logs?
I was thinking that would probably be the smart way to do it, but I also thought having your house eaten by beavers would just be too ridiculous to get mad at. :tongue.gif:
However, in the end, it probably will be logs only, though it will probably happen that they will refine the logs into planks (or maybe I'll make a beaver-friendly "sticks" block) for sake of keeping them from destroying ALL of the trees in an attempt to create housing. To that end, I will also make sure that they can fit in single-block high tunnels, in an attempt to further reduce log usage.
- Shaman's Staff. Changes the weather (might heal things).
- Nementium (tentative name).
- Copper
EDIT: Decided to add a magic system to the design, as implied by the Shaman's Staff. It'll be heavily regulated by reagents, and will take several different tools, but it'll be pretty neat, I'm hoping. Said magic system will be more "tribal" than, say, "wizard-like".
Oh? I was under the impression "WIP Mods" was for...well, Work-in-Progress Mods, regardless of their release status. Especially having seen a few posts consisting of nothing but "Mod under construction", I must admit your choice of posting on my mod's thread perplexes me a bit, as well.
However, if that's how it is, if it gets moved, it gets moved. As long as it doesn't get deleted. :smile.gif:
This forum is for Work in Progress mods. Half the threads on here are unreleased because they are still working on them. Mod discussion is for technical mod-coding related issues. Try reading the section rules. Here is a quote:
Heh, we'll see how it goes.
Anyways, back on track, my girlfriend did a texture for the beaver:
Also, I think I've decided for sure that they will be able to eat logs and planks, and then they'll be processed into "stick" blocks (4 for logs, 2 for planks), which the beaver will then use to create a dam. So, yes, stick blocks are going to be a new block. Probably going to make them like the tree leaves, with a fast and a fancy version.
Lol :biggrin.gif:
I don't remember what went through my head when I wrote that, but I think I meant more "convenience" than "compatibility". While it works, it's not "ideal" to download 2-3 mods (ModLoader, AudioMod, and/or GuiAPI), just to run a single mod.
Anyways, my poor choice of bullet points aside, I'd love to hear opinions on the concept, the current planned content, etc.
EDIT: That sound better?
EDIT2: No, you know what, here's my experience with it. Yes, ModLoader works, and generally works well. For singleplayer. The SMP support for ModLoader seems to be fragmented and works rarely, on a case by case basis with different mods, DESPITE several people having worked on it. Overall, I feel NOT using ModLoader will increase compatibility.
However, I DO see your opinion, in that using/not using ModLoader barely has any effect on singleplayer gameplay, other than said overly complicated install process.
In the end though, I want a really SMP-friendly mod.
To be honest, it's not in my overall plan. Like I said, I'll do my best to keep it compatible (read: able to run side-by-side) with other mods, ModLoader included, but I can't guarantee anything. I don't know how much I'm going to have to modify yet, or if I'm going to modify anything that ModLoader uses.
On the flipside of things, I can pretty much assure it won't be written using ModLoader.
However, on a final note, if the mod does start to come to completion, and it starts to get popular, and it WON'T work with ModLoader, I will see what I can do to make a ModLoader-friendly version.
EDIT: I also realized "bite-sized" play-by-play updates are kinda time consuming. I'll probably start updating maybe once a week, answering questions in-between, and something like that, unless it's something really cool.
Yep, and I replied.
I've had several people message me about helping out with the mod or collaborating on it already.
Right now, the mod is JUST coming out of conceptual phases. There are two mobs that are slowly coming to fruition, more planned, all the races planned, a few new items planned, a few new textures, etc. However, due to the how extensive 1.9 seems to be, I'm afraid to commit changes to items and recipes just yet. As such, I'm going to be working exclusively on mobs and world generation soon (in hopes that 1.9 won't bring a whole new terrain generation system).
Anyways, the point is, I'm not at a point in development where I'm entirely sure what I'm going to end up needing help with yet.
On the other side of things, though, I am taking note of the offers I receive in case I do need extensive help in the future. :smile.gif:
Blah. You know what, this is a mod. This is the modding community. I can't be like that.
Here, I retooled the forum on my site to work for the mod. Contributions welcome. Team not hiring (yet). :smile.gif:
http://endaron.com/forum/index.php
EDIT: Here's the deal with that "hiring" thing. Right now, I'm coding and modeling and my girlfriend is texturing. Right at this very moment, I want to get at LEAST 3 mobs completed, and the generation to "working" before I bring more people in. However, if you C.B.A. to check the forum above, I have said that I'm open to bringing in people that are making regular, well-done contributions. In the end, this is going to be a massive project, and I don't expect in the least to be able to do it with just the two of us. In the meantime, sit back, enjoy, and if you're interested in joining the team, you've seen the level of art I'm interested in (except the gryphon's tail...that needs fixed badly, and I know it), and for code contributions, I expect quality code that works and (hopefully) won't break anything, and I expect it to be done on the vanilla Minecraft code.
Thanks, and here's to hoping the mod makes it somewhere.
-Matt
Or maybe go full on Forgotten Realms and make it something like the Underdark. Dwarves, Drow, Mindflayers, Beholders, Duergars, etc.
Just a thought.
Anyways, very cool concept. Will definitely be watching this for a release.