Modding:Content Tutorial Block Variants: Difference between revisions

{{GameVersion|1.19.7}}

__FORCETOC__

The variant system has an extensive amount of uses. In this tutorial, we will create a set of blocks with independent textures, using two separate variant groups. These blocks will show you how you can mix variant groups together to create a huge number of new assets.

Before starting, it is recommended you [https://github.com/Nateonus/vsmodexamples/releases/tag/BlockVariantsTutorial download the workspace and assets] for this tutorial. The completed files can also be found here.  

This tutorial starts with the following assets:

* Mod Setup & Folder Structure

* Template advanced shiny block file

* Block texture files

This tutorial will assume you understand the following topics:

* [[Modding:Developing a Content Mod|Setting up a content mod and using an IDE.]]

* [[Modding:Content Tutorial Basics|The functions of shape, texture and lang files.]]

It is recommended to have completed the following tutorials:

* [[Modding:Content Tutorial Simple Block|3. Simple Block]] - The simple block made in this tutorial is the basis for this tutorial.

* [[Modding:Content Tutorial Item Variants|5. Item Variants]] - This tutorial gives a good beginning stage for creating variants. These tutorials will also be formatted very similarly.

It is recommended, but not necessary, to understand the following concept:

* [[Modding:Variants|Variants]]

Using the downloaded workspace, have a look at the mod assets that currently exist.

* ''blocktypes/advancedshinyblock.json'' - This blocktype file is from the finished [[Modding:Content Tutorial Simple Block|Simple Block]] tutorial.

* ''lang/en.json'' - This already contains the entries needed for the tutorial.

* ''textures/block/shiny...'' - The four texture files for our blocks. Notice that we are using gold and iron textures, and both have 'damaged' states.

All work in this tutorial will be done in the ''blocktypes''/''advancedshinyblock.json'' file. Open it in your IDE and you can get started.

Firstly, the item's code is still set to "''simplegoldblock"''. Change this to "''advancedshinyblock"''.  

Before you can utilize any variant systems, you will need to define the variants for your block. To do this, use the ''"variantGroups"'' property. This is ''usually'' placed directly below the ''code'' property, but it would work anywhere in the object.

For this block, we are going to create two variant groups.<syntaxhighlight lang="json">

"variantgroups": [

</syntaxhighlight>This example creates two variant groups - Named "''type''" and "''condition''". When you use more than one variant group, the game will create block codes using every permutation of those two groups.  

If you were to test the mod now, you will see that there exists four block objects with the codes:

* ''advancedshinyblock-gold-good''

* ''advancedshinyblock-gold-used''

Notice that the order your variant groups are defined affects the order they appear in the ID. When using variants, especially when using wildcards, this is important to remember.  

As you probably expected by now, these blocks do not have the appropriate textures.  

[[File:BlockVariantsContentTutorial Block all with same textures..png|frameless]]

As explained in the [[Modding:Content Tutorial Item Variants|Item Variants]] tutorial, there are two ways of using variants - ''ByType'' and ''Substitution''. In this tutorial, you're going to use both methods. Before continuing, it may be a good idea to refresh yourself about how both methods work in the item variants tutorial.

This is the current texture property:<syntaxhighlight lang="json">

"textures": {

</syntaxhighlight>This blocktype has a total of four variants - That's not many. Although you could create a ''byType'' entry for each variant code, it is a good idea to understand how you can use a mixture of the two methods. Keep in mind, similar to the item variants, there are a number of ways to achieve the final result. Feel free to experiment with other methods, variants are a complex but beautiful subject when used effectively.

Using the ''ByType'' suffix, you can split the texture by the condition variant:<syntaxhighlight lang="json">

"texturesbytype": {

''Anyway, back to the code.''

The given code sample doesn't actually specify a different texture for each type. Replace each texture property with a specific variant substitution.<syntaxhighlight lang="json">

"texturesbytype": {

If you are having issues getting any textures to work, it is often a good idea to create a table like this. For every ID, work out the resolved texture path, and ensure it exists.

If you now test your mod, you'll see your blocks working as expected!

[[File:ContentTutorialBlockVariants All Block Variants Working With Textures.png|frameless]]

Congratulations, you now have four variants of a single block, all within one file! After this tutorial, you should have more of an understanding of how variants can be grouped together, and how to get the most out of them.  

If you want to test your knowledge, consider doing the tasks under the ''Going Further'' section below.

Variants are pretty nifty, but they can get even better. Take a look at the next tutorial, [[Modding:Content Tutorial Complex Grid Recipes|Complex Grid Recipes]] for a demonstration on how to use variants inside recipes.

Want to make some additional changes to this mod? Try and achieve the following things!

Make the '<nowiki/>''used''<nowiki/>' blocks destroy faster than the '<nowiki/>''good''' blocks.

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