[WIP] Undergrowth [GitHub]

[Neuromancer]

I was watching a documentary on spirituality, and thought it might be a cool idea to create a spirituality mod, but then I realized that this mod, and the other mods that bring natural beauty bring a spirituality to Minetest. I find myself wandering the landscape just reveling in the beauty of it all.

[Neuromancer]

Idea: Once I finish the cavestuff, I'll start working on "beach". ;)

Cool! Looking forward to it. Makes me wonder what wonderful ideas you have in mind.

[Neuromancer]

What do you guys use to create your nodeboxes? Do you use blender, or something else?

[Evergreen]

What do you guys use to create your nodeboxes? Do you use blender, or something else?

I use ruben's nodebox editor, you can't use blender to create nodeboxes you know. :P

[Neuromancer]

@MM: I like what you are doing with the twigs, laying them on top of the ground as a flat texture. I think this would be a great idea for adding moss, fungus and decay to rotting logs. But there is something wrong with the twigs, they are too regular. I think you need at least 1 more variation slightly off the 45 degree angle that the current twig is at, and at a different length. Otherwise the pattern is too predictable and looks fake.

Also: thanks for fixing the allsides optional in the bushes mod!

[VanessaE]

Idea: match on apples and on moretrees _ongen apple tree saplings (both at mapgen time). Generate a few "overripe" ones on the ground around/under those trees. Not sure what to DO with them if the player picks one up, maybe they can be cooked or something to make them edible.

Might be a good idea to use the signlike draw type so that the apple appers to be flat on the ground, or do like you're doing with the fallen leaves.

[Neuromancer]

Idea: match on apples and on moretrees _ongen apple tree saplings (both at mapgen time). Generate a few "overripe" ones on the ground around/under those trees. Not sure what to DO with them if the player picks one up, maybe they can be cooked or something to make them edible.

Might be a good idea to use the signlike draw type so that the apple appers to be flat on the ground, or do like you're doing with the fallen leaves.

Good idea. As far as what to do with the rotten apples, when asked to clean them up, get out your dad's set of golf clubs and hit them into your neighbor's yard. Not that I have ever done anything like that.

The more I think of it the more I like moss. It can grow on the side of fallen logs, trees, natural stone, stone monuments, ruins, etc.

[Neuromancer]

I often feel guilty about how I always point out the flaws in MM's creations, or how I come up with an endless supply of ideas for him to implement while I barely have the time to implement anything myself. Then I play the game with all of his mods and I think to myself I'm so glad I have done this! It was worth it! He has achieved something absolutely incredible! I used to look at Minetest as something fun and addictive but fairly clunky looking, but MM has turned it into something that goes beyond anything I have imagined possible. MM, we all owe you a huge debt of gratitude.

[VanessaE]

This modpack is now supported by HDX :)

(or at least, it supports what was present as of a few hours ago. :D )

[Neuromancer]

I know we're supposed to fork, and I will if you want me to, but I added a moss texture and node to the trunks mod because it seems to make sense that moss would most likely grow on the side of fallen logs. Feel free to rip it out if you want. It probably needs variations on the texture to make it look more realistic. I decided to go with signlike just to see how that looked and worked. Whats cool as you can stick it on top of or on the side of just about anything.

[Neuromancer]

There's something odd about this Modpack and other Modpacks. Even when it appears I have all dependencies satisified, this Modpack won't work. If I enable it and save it, and come back in, I see that it isn't saved, or if I just go hit play and go into the world the modpack isn't enabled. But if I throw this modpack into my game, then it works just fine. My guess is that there is a hidden dependency that is met by my game, but I'm not sure what it is.

[Evergreen]

There's something odd about this Modpack and other Modpacks. Even when it appears I have all dependencies satisified, this Modpack won't work. If I enable it and save it, and come back in, I see that it isn't saved, or if I just go hit play and go into the world the modpack isn't enabled. But if I throw this modpack into my game, then it works just fine. My guess is that there is a hidden dependency that is met by my game, but I'm not sure what it is.

I think it is a glitch, it seems that modpacks disable themselves every time I quit the game. It is very strange.

[Mossmanikin]

Idea: Once I finish the cavestuff, I'll start working on "beach". ;)

Sounds like a good idea.

I was watching a documentary on spirituality, and thought it might be a cool idea to create a spirituality mod, but then I realized that this mod, and the other mods that bring natural beauty bring a spirituality to Minetest. I find myself wandering the landscape just reveling in the beauty of it all.

^! Spirituality is all about experiencing nature, at least for me.

What do you guys use to create your nodeboxes? Do you use blender, or something else?

I just use a text editor and minetest. I love when lines of code become "alive".

@MM: I like what you are doing with the twigs, laying them on top of the ground as a flat texture. I think this would be a great idea for adding moss, fungus and decay to rotting logs. But there is something wrong with the twigs, they are too regular. I think you need at least 1 more variation slightly off the 45 degree angle that the current twig is at, and at a different length. Otherwise the pattern is too predictable and looks fake.

Yeah, I thought about adding moss in a similar way. I wasn't sure if it would be too complex if I added another twig shape. It's the compromise between pixel game and nature... Will try to make another texture.

Also: thanks for fixing the allsides optional in the bushes mod!

You're welcome, wasn't sure if I had the "right" to do so. :)

Idea: match on apples and on moretrees _ongen apple tree saplings (both at mapgen time). Generate a few "overripe" ones on the ground around/under those trees. Not sure what to DO with them if the player picks one up, maybe they can be cooked or something to make them edible.

Might be a good idea to use the signlike draw type so that the apple appers to be flat on the ground, or do like you're doing with the fallen leaves.

Like that idea. Maybe we could introduce compost as an alternative to bone meal.

The more I think of it the more I like moss. It can grow on the side of fallen logs, trees, natural stone, stone monuments, ruins, etc.

Yeah, moss and fungi should be there. Still didn't have the time to take a close look at all the, old and new, mods featuring these, but we should make sure the forest is alive.

I often feel guilty about how I always point out the flaws in MM's creations, or how I come up with an endless supply of ideas for him to implement while I barely have the time to implement anything myself. Then I play the game with all of his mods and I think to myself I'm so glad I have done this! It was worth it! He has achieved something absolutely incredible! I used to look at Minetest as something fun and addictive but fairly clunky looking, but MM has turned it into something that goes beyond anything I have imagined possible. MM, we all owe you a huge debt of gratitude.

I'm glad you have all these ideas. Often similar ideas already crossed my mind, but it's a different thing when someone else, who knows the game and is willing to look at the real life examples, has those ideas. No matter if I have the time to code the stuff, those ideas won't die, and yes they help a lot. Even if you wouldn't code a single line, it would still be our(!) work.
Nobody owes me anything. If I don't release my stuff in vain, even if there's only one person on this planet whom can use it for whatever, I got my salary. ;)

This modpack is now supported by HDX :)

(or at least, it supports what was present as of a few hours ago. :D )

Absolutely great!

I know we're supposed to fork, and I will if you want me to, but I added a moss texture and node to the trunks mod because it seems to make sense that moss would most likely grow on the side of fallen logs. Feel free to rip it out if you want. It probably needs variations on the texture to make it look more realistic. I decided to go with signlike just to see how that looked and worked. Whats cool as you can stick it on top of or on the side of just about anything.

We're supposed to...
We all need rules, but exceptions make the rule. ;)
I'll take a closer look after I got some sleep.

[twoelk]

I think compost is a great idea, I never liked the bones approach. Something that sticks, twigs and leaves could be used for. (Leaves could really need more uses) Maybe you could add a rainworm to start the process, similar to the queen bee from the "Bees and Beekeeper" mod. Rainworms could could be obtained randomly when tiling with a hoe, or digging dirt.

[Mossmanikin]

I added a moss texture and node to the trunks mod because it seems to make sense that moss would most likely grow on the side of fallen logs. Feel free to rip it out if you want. It probably needs variations on the texture to make it look more realistic. I decided to go with signlike just to see how that looked and worked. Whats cool as you can stick it on top of or on the side of just about anything.

Looks great, fits very well to logs and soil.
Will certainly not rip it out, instead write a few lines for spawning. :)
Maybe mossy rocks would also look nice.

[Evergreen]

I added a moss texture and node to the trunks mod because it seems to make sense that moss would most likely grow on the side of fallen logs. Feel free to rip it out if you want. It probably needs variations on the texture to make it look more realistic. I decided to go with signlike just to see how that looked and worked. Whats cool as you can stick it on top of or on the side of just about anything.

Looks great, fits very well to logs and soil.
Will certainly not rip it out, instead write a few lines for spawning. :)
Maybe mossy rocks would also look nice.

I could do that. Sorry for not working on it, I am just lazy. :P

[Mossmanikin]

I could do that.

Cool, I think it would add a lot of athmosphere.

Sorry for not working on it, I am just lazy. :P

The right to be lazy is a fundamental right. ;D

[Neuromancer]

I added a moss texture and node to the trunks mod because it seems to make sense that moss would most likely grow on the side of fallen logs. Feel free to rip it out if you want. It probably needs variations on the texture to make it look more realistic. I decided to go with signlike just to see how that looked and worked. Whats cool as you can stick it on top of or on the side of just about anything.

Looks great, fits very well to logs and soil.
Will certainly not rip it out, instead write a few lines for spawning. :)
Maybe mossy rocks would also look nice.

I think mossy rocks would look great! I was considering trying some other textures for rocks rather than just the standard gray, but I wasn't sure what. I think the moss textures need more variety or need to be tweaked. Oddly enough on logs moss seems to go in straight bands down the length of the log. In my walks in the woods I noticed that the moss (especially) and fungus seem to go more towards the top of the log rather than the bottom.

[Evergreen]

I added a moss texture and node to the trunks mod because it seems to make sense that moss would most likely grow on the side of fallen logs. Feel free to rip it out if you want. It probably needs variations on the texture to make it look more realistic. I decided to go with signlike just to see how that looked and worked. Whats cool as you can stick it on top of or on the side of just about anything.

Looks great, fits very well to logs and soil.
Will certainly not rip it out, instead write a few lines for spawning. :)
Maybe mossy rocks would also look nice.

I think mossy rocks would look great! I was considering trying some other textures for rocks rather than just the standard gray, but I wasn't sure what. I think the moss textures need more variety or need to be tweaked. Oddly enough on logs moss seems to go in straight bands down the length of the log. In my walks in the woods I noticed that the moss (especially) and fungus seem to go more towards the top of the log rather than the bottom.

If you could make some textures, that would be great.

[Neuromancer]

I have an idea for the twig textures. The existing one looks great, but I would add additional textures that maybe have multiple twigs on one node and/or have twigs that when the nodes are oriented the right way combine to make one long twig, otherwise make 2 short twigs when not oriented toward each other.

[Neuromancer]

I changed the nodebox for the bush branches to instead of being 2 nodeboxes standing next to each other in the middle, to be 3 nodeboxes stacked on top of each other, each one above the last branching out further. The old look was much more predictable. The new one looks radically different based on the angle you take, but may look more natural. Guys, please let me know your opinion, have I improved the look of the bush branches or have I made them worse?

[VanessaE]

That's looking better, Neuro, but the bottom portion of the "branching out" side is being cut off:



Also, don't forget to make textures/nodeboxes to handle the adjacent viewing angles (e.g. from the left/right in the image).

For the twig textures, I'd recommend making say 6 different sticks textures and just let facedir handle the rest. No need to try to make joinable ones, as they'll look cut off when not joined.

Side note: Could you change the filename of the texture being used for the "leaves" in these bushes, so I can texture them separately in HDX?

Side note: When the player digs dirt/grass with leaves, it should split the leaves off first and give those to the player (perhaps dead leaves), and then the dirt node next. Perhaps have some code that allows the leaves to be re-joined with on-ground dirt/grass nodes. See the behavior of homedecor's signs-on-posts to see what I mean.

[Mossmanikin]

I have an idea for the twig textures. The existing one looks great, but I would add additional textures that maybe have multiple twigs on one node and/or have twigs that when the nodes are oriented the right way combine to make one long twig, otherwise make 2 short twigs when not oriented toward each other.

I'll make some more twig textures with different sizes and shapes.

For the twig textures, I'd recommend making say 6 different sticks textures and just let facedir handle the rest. No need to try to make joinable ones, as they'll look cut off when not joined.

Yeah, makes sense. Six might be too much, but I'll play with different ones.

I changed the nodebox for the bush branches to instead of being 2 nodeboxes standing next to each other in the middle, to be 3 nodeboxes stacked on top of each other, each one above the last branching out further. The old look was much more predictable. The new one looks radically different based on the angle you take, but may look more natural. Guys, please let me know your opinion, have I improved the look of the bush branches or have I made them worse?

IMO the bushes look better now. But it looks as if there's something missing. The branches selected on Vanessa's screenshot look a bit like they're floating.

Side note: When the player digs dirt/grass with leaves, it should split the leaves off first and give those to the player (perhaps dead leaves), and then the dirt node next. Perhaps have some code that allows the leaves to be re-joined with on-ground dirt/grass nodes. See the behavior of homedecor's signs-on-posts to see what I mean.

Interesting idea. On one hand I like it, it would support the idea of compost. On the other hand I'm not sure if it would be a good thing to let it become default dirt and then grass. I'll have to think about it. Other opinions and ideas to what the nodes should change are very welcome.

[jojoa1997]

Maybe you might want to change the (no download yet) to (github)

[Mossmanikin]

Maybe you might want to change the (no download yet) to (github)

Good idea.

[Neuromancer]

@VanessaE: Thanks for the suggestions. The nodeboxes were oriented the wrong way, branching inward instead of outward. This has been fixed so the bottom is no longer cut off. Also the side image used to be a blank image. This has also been fixed. I'll work on the leaf names. Also I wonder if I should name this mod something else, since as you pointed out there already was a "classic" bushes mod. What was this mod called? Bushes, right? What did you call it when it got moved into your modpack? Won't there be conflicts if someone wants to use both of these bush mods at the same time with no modpacks?

[VanessaE]

Originally it was called 'bushes' but I've since renamed it in Plantlife to bushes_classic. It still uses the original node names, but there's no conflict with your mod. Keep yours the way it is, it is a better use of the word anyway (as bushes_classic never got expanded beyond providing wild strawberries and some related items).

Meanwhile, I suggest using a flat nodebox for the moss. The signlike drawtype makes it "float" above the object it sits on, which looks kinda odd on the trees.

The rest is looking very good.

[Neuromancer]

I'm not sure sticks float on water. I'm pretty sure they sink, and the big ones "stick" out of the water. However Leaves do float on water. So do these little green circles.

[jojoa1997]

The circles are lily pads

[BrandonReese]

I'm not sure sticks float on water.

Most wood floats.