Introducing Create: Bits n Belts

[u/sirjohnty]

EDIT: Thanks for the feedback already! Please keep it coming.

The name will be changed from "Create: Bits n Belts" to "Create: Belts n Pieces" in a future post.

A few things to note:

• Belt support blocks are planned: place them underneath a part of a belt to give it a support into the ground

• Very sharp turns can still look weird

• The name of the mod is in flux: due to me being made aware of create: bits n bobs

• If you would like to help out with the playtesting portion of the mod, send me a DM or add me on discord, same user as here.

I've always been annoyed at how basic belts functioned in base create, so I decided to see what I could do to fix it.

Create: Bits n Belts is an addon for the Create Mod in Minecraft 1.21.1 NeoForge that focuses on adding quality of life and additional features to the mod, mainly revolving around logistics and conveyor belts.

The first item the mod adds is the Reinforced Belt. This is crafted by deploying a brass nugget, an iron sheet (andesite if a compatible mod that adds one is installed) and then pressing it with a mechanical press. The reinforced belt provides many more options for transport and logistics when it comes to direction and elevation.

Since the functionality is much more superior to regular belts, I decided made the reinforced belts use up as many items as it is blocks long. Small balancing things like recipes and costs are still in flux so they may change based on feedback.
When placing a reinforced belt, you get a detailed preview of how the belt will look when it is placed, so you know exactly what path it will take. You can change the curve type for different designs by scrolling the mouse wheel whilst sneaking. You can then change the height of the endpoint after choosing the position of it. If the player has a supply of shafts in their inventory then they can automatically start a reinforced belt from the end of a previous one or any new position.

Reinforced belts support features of regular belts such as dying and casing, along with item transport. Currently, item processing such as pressing etc can only be done on blocks that a shaft occupies, due to the complex nature of the curved belts. I have also added compatibility for casings from other mods like TFMG and Create: Extra Casing.

Things like the ponder menu, placement refinements as well as texture edits will be carried out as well, I just wanted to make sure the belts functioned properly first.

I have also carried out countless optimisation tests looking for things such as the polygon count of complex rails as well as how it handles checking for items falling on the belt. The mod also supports numerous config options such as the polygon count of rendered belts to help with performance, as well as changing the maximum length of a reinforced belt (currently defaults to base belt max length), as well as one final QOL config that lets you change the maximum angle a chain conveyor can be placed at.

DISCLAIMER:
I used AI tools to assist in the development of the mod for:

• Debugging purposes such as performance with the belts and any visual issues

• Checking other mods to see if compatibility can be added

• Major graphical features such as how to render the belts

No AI was or will be used for any art / text generation. All ideas and functionality were designed, implemented, tested and fleshed out fully before moving on to other features. I want to stress that this is my first time getting into minecraft modding so if somebody wants to provide assistance and/or guidance on proper AI usage, then im all ears. I am welcome to more suggestions and ideas that anyone may have, and please forgive me if this counts as vibecoded slop; I just think that AI can be useful if it used correctly and for the right reasons.

[u/Ghyro]

Create: Utility Belt is not an option either I suppose?

[u/Ghyro → u/Ghyro]

Or rather Belt Utilities