I’m getting close to finishing version 4 of Bok’s Butterflies. I just need to cross some Is and dot some Ts. A couple of new goals and a bugfix or two, then port the mod to all supported versions, and it’s ready for release.
Entity
Anything that isn’t a block in Minecraft.
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.
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.
200 Files and Nothing New
This week I merged a change consisting of over 200 files. It’s probably the largest change I’ve made since the project began, and yet it doesn’t actually introduce anything new. Instead, it fixes a mistake I made when I first created the mod.
Butterfly Eggs Done Right
Early on in the mod’s development I made a couple of missteps. I was less experienced and didn’t fully understand how Minecraft works, so I made some design choices that have proven to be problematic.
Improving Caterpillar Interaction
This week I’ve been focusing on improving caterpillars. Right now they are very hard for players to come across. However, with a few extra features and tweaks, caterpillars will be just a little bit more interesting.
It’s All About the Little Things
It’s always worth taking some time to focus on the details. Small things can make a huge difference to a mod. I spent some time this week working on small features and little improvements. In the long run, these things will make a huge difference.
Pinning Up Butterfly Corpses
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.
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.