I’ve always struggled to get my head around modern day rendering code. There’s a reason I became a network and server programmer. Still, I managed to get this working in the end. Though I’m sure my computer knows many more swear works now.
Development
Writing about software development.
Forks, Branches, and Scrolls
I’ve finally released the butterfly mod, but I’m still not done. Now I’m working on the next release which will have a few extra features. This week I’ve been working on Butterfly Scrolls – a new way to create a collection of butterflies.
Releasing the Butterflies
We are on the road to release! This week I finally finished the first version of the mod and have pushed an official version of my mod out to the world. It’s taken me a while, but I finally have this simple butterfly mod out in the wild.
Cats: The Butterfly’s Natural Enemy
I wanted to have some interaction between butterflies and vanilla entities to make them feel like part of the Minecraft world. An easy way to have an entity interact is to make butterflies the target of a predator. Our furry friends seemed like the best candidate for this.
Google Knows How to Skip Properly
Now that RTO is in full flow I’ve been getting the bus to work a lot more. I get travel sick if I read, so I’ve been listening to podcasts on the hour-long trips to and from the office. Then I noticed something interesting about the app I was using.
Chrysalis: Completing the Cycle
We finally implement the chrysalis and complete the life cycle of the butterfly. Butterflies lay eggs. Eggs hatch into caterpillars. Caterpillars create a chrysalis. Butterflies hatch out of a chrysalis. The circle of life is complete.
Multi-Directional Caterpillars
Caterpillars will always spawn on top of a leaf block. We want to give a bit more variety in our caterpillar behaviour. So we modify caterpillars so that they can crawl on any side of a leaf block.
Cleaning Out the Butterflies Backlog
During any development it’s inevitable that you introduce bugs or leave minor tasks behind. The Butterflies Mod is no exception. We have a list of small details that are incomplete, as well as some bugs we’ve picked up on while testing. This week we try to clear out that list.
Modelling and Animating Caterpillars
Everyone knows that butterflies come from caterpillars. The next stage in the life cycle is for butterfly eggs to hatch into caterpillars. So we will add caterpillars to our mod that will hatch from the eggs we created last time.
Laying Butterfly Eggs in Leaves
Butterflies lay eggs that eventually become caterpillars. Caterpillars then feed on leaves until they are fat enough to become a chrysalis. Finally, they morph into a butterfly before breaking out of the chrysalis. The next step for our mod is to implement butterfly eggs.