This week I introduced a new system to the Butterfly mod. Since butterflies like to pollinate flowers in real life, I’ve added a system where they can do the same in Minecraft. A lot of thought went into this system so it doesn’t unbalance the game too much.
Development
Writing about software development.
Very Intelligent Butterflies
Butterflies aren’t very smart in real life. But they are smarter than the butterflies currently implemented in the Butterfly Mod. So I’ve started implementing new goals for the butterfly’s AI to make them behave just a bit smarter than they have been so far.
Butterflies Float Like a Bee
Butterflies aren’t smart. At least in the Butterfly mod they aren’t. Minecraft has an AI system that I haven’t taken advantage of so far. However, I’m planning on introducing some new behaviour to the butterflies, so it’s time to evolve.
Removing Boiler Plate Code
Currently adding a new butterfly to the Butterfly Mod requires writing too much boiler plate code. This week I looked into simplifying things to the point where we can generate a java file and have the rest of the code automatically register any new butterflies.
Generating Butterfly Advancements
I’m still on a mission to reduce the amount of work needed to add new butterflies to the mod. This week I looked at advancements, with the goal of being able to generate their requirements without having to manually edit each one.
Generating More Butterfly Data
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.
Adding the Peacock Butterfly
I plan to add more butterflies in the future, so I wanted to gauge how much work that would be. This can also serve as a step-by-step to adding new butterfly species to the mod. So I’m adding a 17th variant: the Peacock Butterfly.
Upgrading Butterflies to NeoForge
Changes are on the horizon for the Minecraft Modding community. While I don’t fully understand all the drama, Forge may be on its way out, making NeoForge the new way of making mods. In order to prepare for this new world, I’ve decided to create a 1.20.
It’s Not Intelligent, It’s an LLM
With all the controversy around AI, there’s one thing that people don’t seem to be talking about. And when they do, they talk about it the wrong way. There is a problem with AI we seem to have missed, and it isn’t with the AI itself.
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.