genchadt
commented
1 year ago Or a small core with only the essential code required by a loose collection of optional 'add on' mods people can install as they wish?
As someone who practically never uses Hydrocraft features but still puts up with the headache of troubleshooting it for the sake of server members, this seems like the best way forward.
My opinion: the core of Hydrocraft (the bit I might actually want to play) is the carpentry, mining, smithing, the realistic(ish) rebuilding of technology in the post apocalypse. I'm more interested in the low end tech - that might be an area where add on mods come in, e.g. advanced technology is an add on that people can use if they want to. Certain parts can definitely be deleted altogether as they are done MUCH better by a variety of mods, such as HCguns, tobacco items, and other things I'm sure.
I'm right there with you. Medieval tech/stone age tech is pretty much the number one use HC sees from our members. With that in mind seeing the mod split up into multiple parts would to me make the most sense. It would make it easier for new contributors to join in and focus on one bit instead of being overwhelmed by the convoluted mess that HC as a whole currently is. Maybe the core mod would be the low-end tech and the addons could be things like the meds/chem/drug system, electrical items and recipes, etc.
First, I should make it clear that I am not in charge of anything, this isn't an official Hydrocraft post. I used to help in maintaining it but when I got bored of playing it I stopped updating it as well.
Part of me would quite happily kill Hydrocraft, its a bloated mess of a mod and has some awful code (I should know, I wrote some of it). That said, I did enjoy playing it for a time - and maybe will again at some point in the future.
However, I think Hydrocraft in its current form does need to die; it either needs to be broken up into smaller optional mods, or remade as one focussed mod that does a few things well rather than trying to do everything.
With Build 42 coming soon (hopefully), now might be a good time to plan for what the future of Hydrocraft looks like and maybe start working on a B42 version. (Which I realise isn't entirely rational given that we don't know what B42 is going to break).
Does anyone have any thoughts on how Hydrocraft should be split up? Which parts should be in a 'core' set of features? Should it be a big core of features? Or a small core with only the essential code required by a loose collection of optional 'add on' mods people can install as they wish?
A simple mechanism for deciding what to jettison could be: Is there another mod that does this better? If the answer is yes, it doesn't need to be done by Hydrocraft. (Guns would seem an obvious candidate).
My opinion: the core of Hydrocraft (the bit I might actually want to play) is the carpentry, mining, smithing, the realistic(ish) rebuilding of technology in the post apocalypse. I'm more interested in the low end tech - that might be an area where add on mods come in, e.g. advanced technology is an add on that people can use if they want to.
What do you want Hydrocraft to be? Comment below - especially if you want to contribute in some way.
PS: On a related note, I've been thinking about making a mod that has a degree of overlap with Hydrocraft - I'll give some details on what I had in mind as this could perhaps form part of a new Hydrocraft. The idea is inspired by the Minecraft mod TerraFirmaCraft (which is a bit odd, as I've never played Minecraft).
Stone weapons rely on a Knapping skill, your knapping level is stored as mod data on the knapped item, the quality of the weapon is then based on the quality of the knapped item. It would take months to make the best stone weapons, you couldn't just make one of the best weapons in the game on day 1. A Stone Axe with a level 10 Knapped Stone Axe Head being would be the same as a vanilla Stone Axe.
Metal weapons would rely on a Smithing skill, with higher skill unlocking better equipment (e.g. pitkiln > kiln > blast furnace) and better metals (copper > bronze > iron > steel). At the highest level you would be able to make weapons of the same quality as vanilla weapons, but that would take a long time.
I was thinking of having 5 quality levels for each weapon (awful, poor, normal, good, excellent), with your skills determining the quality of the weapons you can craft.
Tools would be of type Drainable, so would lose condition from use, as your smithing skill increases you can make better tools, using better metals.
I've got some very basic code that generates small ore deposits buried around the map, so you have to move around searching for them - you can't just dig infinite iron & coal mines in your garden.
No books, all recipes are known from the start - but some are locked behind skills.
Thoughts?