Saturday, December 24, 2016

Reindeer are Here (new Version, 1.5.8)!

I released version 1.5.8 yesterday afternoon, which includes the new Reindeer breed, as well as some bug fixes and extra configuration options.  See the list of changes here.  Download it here.

Reindeer spawn naturally in some cold and forest biomes.  They can be tamed like horses, and if you name one after one of Santa's reindeer, it will gain the ability to fly.  Its flying behavior is like that of a Nightmare - run fast and jump, and you'll be running on air.  Once airborne, you can jump again to fly higher.  However, due to their lack of flight maneuverability, if you turn too fast, your reindeer will float to the ground.

Reindeer can breed with all other types of magical horses.  Baby reindeer are very cute.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you! :)

Here are some pictures of my reindeer, Prancer:




Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Custom Unicorn Code and Looking Forward

In the latest update, 1.5.7, I put in a feature that I've been wanting to include for a while: New custom unicorns are downloaded by the mod automatically when they are created, instead of requiring a new release. This feature lets people get their custom unicorns quicker, and makes it so I don't need to put out a release every time I get a new order.

Looking forward, I definitely want to include new horse breeds, and at some point I will likely put up another poll to see what people want (although I already have an idea what the favorite(s) will be). 

I'm also thinking in other directions. Of course, a boss would be cool. A new dimension would also be cool. There are two ideas that really grab me, though, but both are a lot of work:

Idea 1: Multiplayer Games
Multiplayer games could be really fun.  You can already see some of my efforts in this direction with the lance items, and how you can use them to joust.  I'd like to create a mini-game in which players are positioned in the jousting lane and points are awarded for unhorsing your opponent.  Such a thing (as well as other types of mini-games) could lead to some fun competition on a dedicated server.

Idea 2: Quests
I like games with stories, and I like to tell stories.  Adding in a series of quests would be a great way for me to do this.  Some of the basics are already in place, including the Oracle, and some underlying code that will let you talk to magical horses and other non-player characters.

Anyway, just throwing some ideas out there.  The last few months I've been pretty busy with other parts of my life, but I'd like to get some new and interesting features into the mod now that things are returning to normal.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Ultimate Unicorn Mod Coming for MineCraft 1.9.4 and 1.10.

Good news - Just did some multiplayer testing on my current build of The Ultimate Unicorn Mod for version 1.9.4 of MineCraft, and things appear to be working as they should.  I had to change around some code for flying and swimming horses, which took a bit of time to figure out, but it appears to be working now.  I'm hopeful I will be able to release the 1.9.4 version next Friday.

As for 1.10, I haven't gotten very far in porting it yet, but from my understanding it's not that different from 1.9.4, so I have my fingers crossed that it will be an easy port.  I'll get it out as soon as I can.

Moving forward, after the porting is done, there's a lot of clean up and document updating I want to do.  One big change I want to make is to fix custom unicorns so that I don't need to make a new release every time someone orders one.  This would also make it so that new custom unicorns would become available in the mod within minutes of being ordered, which I see as a big plus.

Another thing I need to fix in the short term is that I host some of the mod's assets (like the mod files you download) on Google Drive.  Google Drive is disabling web serving at the end of August, which means I need to find a new place to put some of my files.  This either means I need to find another free service, or start paying for a service to host files.  If you have suggestions, let me know!

After that, I'm looking forward to new breeds and other exciting features.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

New Kirin Info Available

I have updated the web pages to add additional information about the Kirin breed and Kirin DNA.

I am working on some additional pages to give out more detailed information about the mod, including an in-depth dive into how DNA is formatted at the binary level (for tool makers).  These new pages are not ready yet, but they are coming soon!

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Well, This is Embarrassing (New Version: 1.5.1)

Hey gang, if you downloaded the 1.5.0 version of the Ultimate Unicorn Mod for Minecraft version 1.7.10 yesterday, you likely saw all of your magical horses spewing fire non-stop, ALL THE TIME.  I hope they did not cause any permanent damage!  My apologies if they did!

I have put out a new version that fixes that bug, 1.5.1.  Please download it and replace the defective 1.5.0 version!  I also added a few minor performance improvements into the build that I had put in during my porting efforts to MC 1.8.x.  This bug only affects the MC 1.7.10 version, so if you're using 1.9, you don't need to re-download unless you want those performance improvements (which again, are pretty minor).

"How did this happen?!" you may ask.  The answer is pretty simple: I was testing the mod at the last minute, tweaking some values to make sure all kinds of kirins (destrier versions, Typhon version, normal version, versions with horse bodies instead of kirin bodies, etc.) looked good while breathing fire.  To do that, I added in a line of code to make them breathe fire all the time - otherwise you have to trigger the fire breathing while you're riding one, and you can't see the horse's neck and head very good when you're doing that.

Anyway, I somehow neglected to take that one line of testing code out before release.

I have removed it, and released a new version: 1.5.1.

Again, I apologize for the goof, and thank you for your patience!  :)

Saturday, August 6, 2016

The Kirin is Here!

Late Morning Release Today

There is a release coming out this morning.  I wanted to get it out last night, but I'm still doing some last minute testing on the 1.7.10 version.  Release should be out before noon.

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Secret Code!

For those of you who have downloaded the 1.4.18 version of the mod for Minecraft 1.9, here's a secret code for you.

Use this command when close to a plain unicorn to get a surprise:

/changeHorse ~ 3840

Note: This only works in Minecraft 1.9, with the 1.4.18 version of the mod, and only on vanilla unicorns (it actually works on any magical horse with unicorn hide, but will remove other features you might like, such as the hippocamp tail).

The changeHorse command can be used to modify nearby horses easier than using the entitydata command.  It's basically a better way to use cheat codes.  You can find out more here.

P. S. -- I injured my arm and hand this past week, so development has stopped for the moment (typing is painful).  I'll get back to it when I get better.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Kirin Ultimate Unicorn Breed?

Creating the kirin breed and getting it just right is taking a little longer than I planned.  Usually, I would just go ahead and add the secret Ultimate Unicorn breed that's related to the kirin, because compared to creating the new breed, it's not that much extra effort.

I figured some of you are pretty excited about the kirin breed, however, and not wanting to wait any extra time for me to get the new Ultimate Unicorn breed ready.  How do you feel about it?  If you have an opinion, I'd like to hear it!  Let me know in the comments!

If a lot of people want me to get the mod out faster, I'll save the UU breed for one of the next updates.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Kirin Model Updates and Video

I've been making more progress on the new kirin breed.  The last update I showed you wasn't the end point, and what I'm going to show you here isn't quite where I want it yet, but it's a lot closer.  I think with a few more tweaks and additions, I'll have the model ready.

I created a video showing the current version of the kirin model.  I edited the texture I was using to have some placeholder colors for some of the new body features, just so it is easier to see what is new.  When the model is how I want it, I'll make the texture more flashy.  :)




If you didn't notice in the video above, you'll see that the kirin is starting to get a little more dragon-like.  His beard is fuller, and I like the spiky look over what I had before.  He has moving whiskers, and fur on the back of his legs.  Unlike horses, his tail is long and snakelike, with a tuft at the end.

What's in the video is a purebred kirin, but be aware that since you can breed kirins with other magical horses, and since the kirin introduces a number of new body features, you'll be able to get some interesting hybrid crossbreeds.

New to YouTube

You'll notice this is my first YouTube video.  I'm planning to create more videos, including some with me narrating, going over all the features of the mod, including all the little secret things you may have missed while playing.  Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you are interested in seeing these future videos as they come out!  Any Thumbs Ups (or likes) you put on my videos are also greatly appreciated.

Thank you!  :)

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Kirin Development Progress

Kirin development is moving along nicely.  I estimate that the new Kirin magical horse breed is about 50-60% complete.  New Kirin DNA code is in place, as well as some new refactoring to improve how the DNA code works in general.  I'm most of the way through the model development, though there are some things I need to change, and a few visual features still to add.

Crafting the model and getting it just right is probably the hardest part to developing a new mob.  I debated posting a screenshot of what the Kirin currently looks like, but I thought you'd like to see it, even if it's unfinished.  Now, please keep in mind that this model is unfinished, and also that this guy is still wearing the unicorn texture, with unfinished pieces for the antlers and beard (he will get his own texture, and his beard won't look like it came from a wooden chest).



Here is a unicorn pic for comparison:



As you can see, the kirin looks kind of deer-like at the moment.  Even though you can't see it well in this pic, his tail is pretty much done, and I'm happy with it.

As with all other magical horses, the kirin can have children with other breeds, and make babies that share traits from both parents.  This will lead to all sorts of interesting cross-breed possibilities, as well as a new Ultimate Unicorn with a special texture.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Kirins and Hippogriffs

You voted, and in last month's poll, we had two very close competitors: the Kirin and the Hippogriff!

Up until the very end, the two breeds were within 10 votes, but the Kirin pulled away in the last few days, and is the winner of the poll!  Following these poll results, I am working on creating the new Kirin breed for inclusion in the Wings, Horns, and Hooves: Ultimate Unicorn Mod!

I already have the design worked out, as well as the powers I intend to give the Kirin breed - these will be a surprise (especially since I have to see how they work out in the code, and whether I need to change them).  I expect the Kirin to be ready in the next few weeks, but if the development turns out to be harder than I anticipate, or my schedule gets messed up, it may take a little longer.

Also, since the Hippogriff was so competitive, I am deciding to add it in as well, and I'll begin work on it as soon as I'm done with the Kirin!  I have done some thinking on its design and powers, but I still have much to finalize.  However, I'm excited!  I hope you are, too!

For your enjoyment, here's a link to the Kirin wikipedia article.


Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Poll: Hippocamps Ask You to Choose the Next Horse Breed!

Last time, you picked the hippocampus as the next horse breed you wanted to see. Since then, the hippocamps have gotten bored with their other horse friends, and want a new breed to come to the land. So, which breed do you think it should be?

Note: You can select multiple options in the poll, so if you like more than one breed, or can't decide, pick all the ones you like!

What should be the next horse breed?


Last time I ran this poll, I received a lot of really great suggestions, so I added many of them.

There are a couple notable ideas that were suggested that I decided not to add to the poll, but that's because I hope to use them as something special in the future. I'm talking about Sleipnir and the Mares of Diomedes. These are both great suggestions (and Sleipnir has a special place in my heart), but they are more properly boss creatures. When I include them, that is what they will be.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Hippocamps and Seeing Underwater

Now that version 1.4.1 is out, riding a hippocamp lets you see underwater.  This works even in the dark, because the way I currently have it implemented, going underwater while riding a hippocamp triggers the Night Vision potion effect.

Special thanks go out to Adrian, who suggested I add the Night Vision potion effect to a hippocamp's rider.  It's a nice, easy solution to a problem that others had discovered while using the hipppcamp's otherwise awesome ability to let you explore underwater!

Even though giving the rider Night Vision is a nice way to solve a tricky problem, it still feels a little hacky to me.  The potion effect doesn't turn off right away, and it flashes the screen annoyingly when it does start to wear off (at least I think it's annoying).  Writing code to turn it off immediately when you come out of water is kind of complex, and may result in turning off legitimate uses of Night Vision potions, so I haven't done it yet.

The main problem is that the Minecraft code is written in such a way as there's no easy, central place to change the code so that it provides the Night Vision effect, without also changing core Minecraft classes.  For now, I'm avoiding changing core classes, just because it increases the likelihood that The Ultimate Unicorn Mod will break something when used with other mods.  Things break often enough with other mods that don't play nice, so I want to make sure to play nice! :)

I'll keep thinking about it, and if I come up with a better way to let players see underwater, I'll jump at it.  For now, though, this is a pretty good solution.

If you have any ideas, feel free to let me know in the comments!

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Minecraft 1.8.9, Power Settings, and new Config Options

Recently, I released a new version of the Ultimate Unicorn Mod that included code to make it work with Minecraft 1.8.9.  This code was the biggest part of this release, but there were a number of new features as well.

Power Settings

Power settings for individual horses was a big deal for me, as you may have seen in my last post.  It should give you the fine-grained control over your horse's powers that you want, so you're not destroying things or hurting your friends (except when you want to!)  This is especially useful if you are using custom unicorns or the unique horses.  Here's are some screenshots:

The Power Settings Button in the upper left opens opens the Power Settings Screen

The Power Settings Screen, where you can turn magical horse powers on and off.


New Config Options

I took some pains to try to make the mod not conflict with other mods.  This effort included adding some new configuration options to change DataWatcher object IDs.  You should only have to worry about these if you are trying to get this mod to work with another mod and it's just not working.  Changing them can mess up how the mod behaves, though, so use at your own risk (and you can always reset them to default values to get the mod working again).