Talent Competition Highlights

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GrayNightz wrote:

A PoE mod for Minecraft would be pretty goddamn cool, if done well.

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crunkatog wrote:

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GrayNightz wrote:

A PoE mod for Minecraft would be pretty goddamn cool, if done well.

Mojang is already working on an RPG module using native Minecraft code and physics but all-new items, mechanics, puzzles, mobs, and skills.

It's probably going to be moddable and open-ended using datapacks just like regular Minecraft is.

So the different player models and kits available could be expanded to 7 classes and however many skills you want, by using custom models and particles/effects to denote say, lightning arrow vs. toxic rain, mines, traps, glacial cascade, etc.

For instance, the Evoker is a hostile mob that already has a Glacial Cascade-type attack that raises contrails of spikes out of the ground to maim and damage players. It can also summon phantasms.

Skeletons have a variety of weapons, and hostile mobs can set you on fire if they are burning.
It would be very easy to make a JSON file for all the usable weapons for a particular mob, character sprite, or NPC; add in vari-coloured particles to denote a skill's major type of damage; apply potion effects on hit to mimic ailments or temporary buffs (flasks); or create phased bosses (the wither and enderdragon already have built-in phases, it's right there in the code).

Custom terrain would be a bit more challenging, because you would need to create maps and zones using both procedural terrain scripts, and generate structures that have a predetermined form and constraints, seamlessly.

Some years ago, custom terrain mods and plugins were popular for servers. One in particular (Terrain Control, created by Khoorn and Rutger Kok from Bukkit) had a function that allowed you to create terrain by probability bins.

This was most useful for creating custom nethers and Ends, because you could specify the floor and ceiling of the Nether to be almost solid blocks of some sort, but have the middle altitudes be open and cavernous, traversed by thin stalactites or stalagmites, or mostly massive, solid berms of material wormholed with connecting passages and clefts (or even overworld-style mineshafts with spider spawners).

Now imagine this sort of algorithm applied to a Delve mechanic - monster damage vs. altitude vs. presence of lava vs. a large set piece like a vaal city that you build in a side script and seed into the underworld where its gates will reliably open onto a great chasm or a tiny narrow passage.

Adventure mode has come a long way as well, with procedural blocks (they are inert and lag-free until a player approaches, then they "trigger" and transform into an encounter, a structure, or even a strongbox-type thing), command blocks, datapacks, random drop generators, and ez Python scripts to create NPC decision trees and dialogue options.