[WIP] Undergrowth [GitHub]

[Mossmanikin]

uNDeRGRoWTH

Modders (in alphabetical order):

• Evergreen
• Mossmanikin
• Neuromancer
• VanessaE

This mod/modpack contains the following smaller mods:

• along_shore
• bushes
• cavestuff
• molehills
• trunks
• woodsoils
• youngtrees

Dependencies: default (minetest), plants_lib
Supports: ferns, moretrees, stoneage, sumpf, trees


Screenshots

+ bushes

+ woodsoils

+ cavestuff

GitHub: https://github.com/Mossmanikin/undergrowth

License: everything CC-BY 3.0 (some parts also WTFPL)


Prehistory

+ Some older quotes

For example in a woods or forest, no grass grows. Instead you see dirt with roots and decaying leaves, with sporadic plants here and there. We should try to do this. If there are a bunch of tree trunks and leaves around, replace "dirt with grass" with "dirt with roots".

There should also be large bushes 3x3x2tall and some even larger than this. I like the idea of experimenting with using both plantlike textures for branches and leaf nodes for bush leaves.

I have an idea for forest roots. At first I was thinking they would be like grass on dirt, just the top of a regular block. But then I thought wouldn't it be cooler to create really short plant like nodes on top of them to make the roots stick out of the ground. Also I thought that it might also be good to use regular block nodes with roots drawn along 1 or 2 edges in an "L" shape and everything else transparent. This could create a nice 3-d effect for roots.

I'm thinking the ground in a forest would be darker because of the richness of the soil caused by the rotting leaves.

Here's the concept for Bushes:

Did some testing with grass variation. The result (unintentionally) looks a bit like dry leaves on grass.

[Neuromancer]

I just went walking in a woods and boy was I suriprised, yes there was dirt, roots, seeds, and lots of dried leaves on the ground, but there were many more broken sticks on the ground than roots. What surprized me was a ton of green. At first I thought they were plants, but then realized they were all kinds of seedlings and saplings of every size from 1 foot tall to 15 feet tall. A sea of green leaves and skinny trunks of all sizes. (I also saw some moss on the ground, not a ton of it, but there was more than I realized. There were some fallen rotting logs as well. There was as I suspected very few plants or grasses.

But mostly sticks, dried leaves, and seedlings and saplings everywhere.

[Inocudom]

Will this support VanessaE's moretrees and Bas080's tiny_trees as well? Will jungles be supported?

[Mossmanikin]

I just went walking in a woods and boy was I suriprised, yes there was dirt, roots, seeds, and lots of dried leaves on the ground, but there were many more broken sticks on the ground than roots. What surprized me was a ton of green. At first I thought they were plants, but then realized they were all kinds of seedlings and saplings of every size from 1 foot tall to 15 feet tall. A sea of green leaves and skinny trunks of all sizes. (I also saw some moss on the ground, not a ton of it, but there was more than I realized. There were some fallen rotting logs as well. There was as I suspected very few plants or grasses.

But mostly sticks, dried leaves, and seedlings and saplings everywhere.

Looks like we have a lot of work to do. ;)

Will this support VanessaE's moretrees and Bas080's tiny_trees as well? Will jungles be supported?

Would be nice to have different soil near different trees.
Guess you can take that as a "yes". :)

[Evergreen]

I think it would be a good idea to put this project on github. That way, it is much easier to collab, and make testing branches and such.

[Mossmanikin]

I think it would be a good idea to put this project on github. That way, it is much easier to collab, and make testing branches and such.

Absolutely agree.
Sadly enough I still don't get how to do it.

[Neuromancer]

I think it would be a good idea to put this project on github. That way, it is much easier to collab, and make testing branches and such.

Absolutely agree.
Sadly enough I still don't get how to do it.

Best thing to do is to download the client and use that. Are you on windows?

http://windows.github.com/

[Mossmanikin]

I think it would be a good idea to put this project on github. That way, it is much easier to collab, and make testing branches and such.

Absolutely agree.
Sadly enough I still don't get how to do it.

Best thing to do is to download the client and use that. Are you on windows?

http://windows.github.com/

Yes I'm on windows, maybe that explains why I'm having trouble to understand how to use github :D

[Neuromancer]

Yes I'm on windows, maybe that explains why I'm having trouble to understand how to use github :D

They have a bunch of tutorials for command line git on their site but I never use that as the windows github client is much easier to use.

If you need I could set up a repository, but it's probably best for you to do that, and you would have to learn the basics anyway just to contribute to the repository.

It is totally worth the time investment to learn as not only can you collaborate easier, but you can version and rollback yoru code much easier as well.

Here's how to get started.

https://help.github.com/articles/getting-started-with-github-for-windows

[Mossmanikin]

Yes I'm on windows, maybe that explains why I'm having trouble to understand how to use github :D

They have a bunch of tutorials for command line git on their site but I never use that as the windows github client is much easier to use.

If you need I could set up a repository, but it's probably best for you to do that, and you would have to learn the basics anyway just to contribute to the repository.

It is totally worth the time investment to learn as not only can you collaborate easier, but you can version and rollback yoru code much easier as well.

Thanks for the link. :)

I tried the command line a few times and didn't work. I'll check this one out.

I almost asked if one of you guys wanted to set something up, but I'll have to learn how to do it anyway.

[Mossmanikin]

Here's the Git link.
Nothing there yet, exept license.

[Neuromancer]

Here's the begnining of a bushes mod.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f0lmbaz4njscajf/bushes.zip


You can place a single plant like node, 2 larger half nodes next to each other, or 4 larger half nodes in the following pattern (as seen from above

*
* *
*


then just put leaves on top.

[spoiler=Bushes Image] [/spoiler]

[Evergreen]

Here's the Git link.
Nothing there yet, exept license.

Would you mind if I changed it to a CC BY-SA 3.0 license? I prefer it because it requires that the person gives you credit if they use your code/textures.

[Mossmanikin]

Here's the begnining of a bushes mod.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f0lmbaz4njscajf/bushes.zip


You can place a single plant like node, 2 larger half nodes next to each other, or 4 larger half nodes in the following pattern (as seen from above

*
* *
*


then just put leaves on top.

[spoiler=Bushes Image]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1ckrwbbjk1xyhol/multiBush.jpg [/spoiler]

Those bushes look nice. I'd say we use them :)

Would you mind if I changed it to a CC BY-SA 3.0 license? I prefer it because it requires that the person gives you credit if they use your code/textures.

If Neuromancer is ok with it, feel free to do so. :)

[Evergreen]

You know what, I'm just going to start working on something for this. I'll see what I can make, and I'll show it to you afterwards.

[Mossmanikin]

You know what, I'm just going to start working on something for this. I'll see what I can make, and I'll show it to you afterwards.

Nice!
I'm glad the day has come we're working on a mod together. :)

[Neuromancer]

Here's the begnining of a bushes mod.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f0lmbaz4njscajf/bushes.zip


You can place a single plant like node, 2 larger half nodes next to each other, or 4 larger half nodes in the following pattern (as seen from above

*
* *
*


then just put leaves on top.

[spoiler=Bushes Image]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1ckrwbbjk1xyhol/multiBush.jpg [/spoiler]

Those bushes look nice. I'd say we use them :)

Would you mind if I changed it to a CC BY-SA 3.0 license? I prefer it because it requires that the person gives you credit if they use your code/textures.

If Neuromancer is ok with it, feel free to do so. :)

I'm ok with it we can go with CC BY-SA 3.0. Though I don't need any restrictions for my stuff. I'd be fine with WTFPL too.

[Neuromancer]

So the proof of concept bushes look really bad, but can they be refined into something good, or should we take a completely different approach?

I'm thinking we could do the following to improve them:
improve the twig/branch textures
improve the leaf textures (mainly make them smaller, and thinner)
make the leaf part 2 nodes high
bring some of the leaf texture into the branch/twig texture and and make it un-even and natural looking
make the bushes look less blocky by breaking leaf nodeboxes into 8 boxes, and randomly picking only a few of the 1/8 size boxes to be populated with leaves.

Feel free to mess with what I came up with or suggesting what approaches we could take.

[Evergreen]

So the proof of concept bushes look really bad, but can they be refined into something good, or should we take a completely different approach?

I'm thinking we could do the following to improve them:
improve the twig/branch textures
improve the leaf textures (mainly make them smaller, and thinner)
make the leaf part 2 nodes high
bring some of the leaf texture into the branch/twig texture and and make it un-even and natural looking
make the bushes look less blocky by breaking leaf nodeboxes into 8 boxes, and randomly picking only a few of the 1/8 size boxes to be populated with leaves.

Feel free to mess with what I came up with or suggesting what approaches we could take.

Can either of you make me a pebble nodebox? I am working on rocks.

[Mossmanikin]

Can either of you make me a pebble nodebox? I am working on rocks.

I would give it a try.
How big should it/they be?

[Neuromancer]

I stole a bunch of code from Mossmanikin's long grass growing code, and sequoia leaves from moretrees, but I have a working bushes mod. (It looks kinda funky but it's ok.)


[spoiler=BushModPic][/spoiler]


Mod:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/f0lmbaz4njscajf/bushes.zip

[Evergreen]

Can either of you make me a pebble nodebox? I am working on rocks.

I would give it a try.
How big should it/they be?

A pebble should be fairly small, a bit less than a block in size. I also want a large rock, that is about 2 wide and 1 high.

[Mossmanikin]

So the proof of concept bushes look really bad, but can they be refined into something good, or should we take a completely different approach?

I'm thinking we could do the following to improve them:
improve the twig/branch textures
improve the leaf textures (mainly make them smaller, and thinner)
make the leaf part 2 nodes high
bring some of the leaf texture into the branch/twig texture and and make it un-even and natural looking
make the bushes look less blocky by breaking leaf nodeboxes into 8 boxes, and randomly picking only a few of the 1/8 size boxes to be populated with leaves.

Feel free to mess with what I came up with or suggesting what approaches we could take.

I don't think they look that bad. The shapes of the branches are very nice. Maybe they should be darker.
Small bushes (the plantlike branches with 1 leave node) are actually fine near trees (but not really in the field).
I tested a bit with different leaves (from default and tiny trees) and I think it's a nice variation.

[spoiler=Pic]

[/spoiler]

[Mossmanikin]

Can either of you make me a pebble nodebox? I am working on rocks.

I would give it a try.
How big should it/they be?

A pebble should be fairly small, a bit less than a block in size. I also want a large rock, that is about 2 wide and 1 high.

Ok, I'll see what I can do.

[Evergreen]

[spoiler=Testing some stalactites (not generated naturally):]

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Also some pebbles: (generated naturally, also need a better nodebox)]

[/spoiler]

[Sokomine]

The pebbles remind me a bit of mole hills. Would love to see those in the world from time to time! Hope this mod continues to develop. Bushes the size somewhere between the strawberry bushes and trees would be great.

[Neuromancer]

[spoiler=Testing some stalactites (not generated naturally):]
http://i.imgur.com/M1ZEfpg.png
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Also some pebbles: (generated naturally, also need a better nodebox)]
http://i.imgur.com/ST3r4b9.png
[/spoiler]

Stalactites look cool! But if you have Stalactites, you gotta have stalagmites. Just flip what you have and make them come out of the floor.

[Evergreen]

[spoiler=Testing some stalactites (not generated naturally):]
http://i.imgur.com/M1ZEfpg.png
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Also some pebbles: (generated naturally, also need a better nodebox)]
http://i.imgur.com/ST3r4b9.png
[/spoiler]

Stalactites look cool! But if you have Stalactites, you gotta have stalagmites. Just flip what you have and make them come out of the floor.

Well, of course. The only problem is that I am too lazy, and don't want to take the time to flip the nodeboxes.

[Neuromancer]

I'm thinking of changing the nodeboxes on the bushes from the nodebox that looks like plantlike X, to the parallel || nodebox that Mossmanikin gave me to start with. Then maybe forcing the branches to angle down into the center node by using facedir. Would make the branches look less random, but I'm not sure that's a good thing. I do like the uneven heights of the leaf nodes.

[Mossmanikin]

[spoiler=Testing some stalactites (not generated naturally):]
http://i.imgur.com/M1ZEfpg.png
[/spoiler]

They look really nice! :)

[spoiler=Also some pebbles: (generated naturally, also need a better nodebox)]
http://i.imgur.com/ST3r4b9.png
[/spoiler]

Tried to make a pebble nodebox, maybe a bit too small and too much detail, but I like the look:

[spoiler]

[/spoiler]