FaceDeer
commented
4 years ago I think mobs will be a thing I'll focus on for the next update, there's a couple of other modders who are also interested in adding mobs to dfcaverns so I should have some good foundations to build on.
I have had a lot of fun so far with this mod and tenplus1's mobs redo monsters. Sadly, no peaceful mobs spawn due to the low light levels, and the monsters that do spawn are just too rare in the upper layers and too common around the lower caverns where there is little to no light.
I'm hoping you can add a statement that checks for Mobs Redo at startup and adds mobs if detected. I'd love to do it myself but I haven't used Minetest's codebase enough. However, if you need models and textures, I can help with that as I'm skilled with CAD and have decent experience with modeling as well.
Here are some thoughts I had as to potential mobs.
Dwarves (though this might actually ruin some of the appeal of this mod, strangely) They could live in small dugouts lined with a unique node where they would both spawn and remain for the night. During the day they would do things such as: -Kill hostile mobs near their home -Farm the moss and fungi -Build structures such as small towers or work on a central castle (Yes, this would be insanely hard) -Mine for precious minerals that they place in chests As to their behavior towards you, dwarves would be neutral unless attacked in which case all nearby dwarves (say, within 15 blocks) would become permanently hostile, even mining through the walls of your home to get at you. It also seems like a good idea to incorporate some of tenplus1's trader mod and make the dwarves offer to trade ores for rare materials like real wood, string, cotton, et cetera - basically, the things that can't be obtained in the caves and you'll need to go to the surface for.
Also, how about cap spiders? Think of a traditional Minetest spider and then replace the abdomen with a mushroom cap. Make the legs longer and skinnier, and voila! These would be hostile if you traveled within 15 or so blocks of them, climbing up walls to reach you. However, they would avoid torchlight if at all possible so it wouldn't be hard to keep them from coming too near to your home.
Furthermore, goblins are an obvious choice for mobs in the second layer. They would be hostile if you go within 5 blocks or so, but otherwise neutral. However, goblins are mischeivous creatures and could occasionaly steal blocks placed by players. Bones, chests and other containers should be off-limits but anything else is fair game, with torches and doors being high priorities.
Regarding peaceful mobs, there is currently no way to obtain string or wool in the caves, if I'm correct. It would be nice to see a six-legged neutral insect that grows fungus on its back which can then be harvested with shears and used as a substitute for wool. This 'fungus bale' could also be craftable into four 'fungus string'.
I'm thinking also of small ant-like creature which could live near tunnel tubes. Again, it would be neutral and not do anything except add some extra life to the caverns.
Another mob it would be fun to see is a spectre. These could spawn on bones near slade, and have no collision box. They would not cause damage or follow you around but haunt the underworld and add an extra degree of creepiness to it.
I do have other ideas but I think this post is long enough. I realize that already what I've described is quite an undertaking and could very well be a mod in and of itself, so thank you in advance for even considering the idea.