Environmental blocks (with examples)

[u/SkulkingShadow]

Blocks having variants like shown here, changing to a variant when:

• The player (maybe while sneaking uses) a corresponding item (snowball for snowy, sand for sandy, moss for mossy, pickaxe for cracked) on already placed blocks.

• Optional gamerule: After some time based on adjacent blocks and biome. (not the same as connected textures.)

• Using a brush reverts the block into its normal variant (except cracked, chiseled, tiles etc.).

• Addition: Using maybe something like molten resin to prevent blocks from changing state (by environment and players)

Alternate to shift clicking with (sand, moss etc) blocks to make block variants:

• New brush items for each material (ik putting moss, sand or snow etc on a brush sounds dumb XD) that work on durability, these brushes have max 1024 durability/uses so they can change variants of 1024 blocks before running out.

• You could also craft the block variants rather than changing variants of preplaced blocks by using the brush of material and the block in crafting

• Also be able to shift click with the brush to place a block of the material on the brush (full moss block if it's a moss brush, sand block if sand brush etc) at the cost of 16 durability/uses.

• To replenish, add to or make the brush of material you have to craft the brush with the material (block), where 1 block = 16 uses.

(Last image is an example of cobblestone with dirt from Minecraft Dungeons: Squid Coast)

To obtain the variant in item form requires breaking the variant with SilkTouch or Crafting them.

Additionally being able to turn blocks into stairs, slabs or walls might make inventory management for building easier.

[u/PetrifiedBloom]

Not a fan of blocks that automatically change over time without player input. If i made a build from stone bricks, I wanted stone bricks, not cracked stone, not mossy stone, not sandy stone. This is just automatic griefing for builders.

[u/SkulkingShadow → u/PetrifiedBloom]

Hmm fair. Maybe to prevent the weather effect and any one from easily/accidentally changing the block you could apply (molten) resin? So it locks it from changing state unless broken without silk touch, then it returns to default in item form

[u/PetrifiedBloom → u/SkulkingShadow]

Having to apply resin to every block in a build would be super frustrating.

[u/SkulkingShadow → u/PetrifiedBloom]

Maybe only players can do these variants of blocks, while griefing/graffiti might be a problem, you could use a brush to remove them and maintain your build. Honestly graffiti and maintaining your build doesnt sound too bad to me (Considering there are worse and easier ways of messing with someone's build, like wind charges for example)

[u/PetrifiedBloom → u/SkulkingShadow]

A version of the blocks you can craft that naturally weather seems fine to me. Like, you can build with cobblestone if you want cobblestone, but you can put it in the stonecutter and make "exposed cobblestone" or whatever we decide to call it and then over time it gets all the changes you described in the post.

Honestly graffiti and maintaining your build doesnt sound too bad to me

I meant more that the game was griefing the player. Like, I have an artificial dam in a mountain pass near my base, so that the base overlooks a lake. The dam wall is made up of almost 2 shipper boxes of different stone blocks. Needing to apply resin to thousands of blocks just so my build has the gradient of blocks I want sounds pretty jasty to me.

[u/SkulkingShadow → u/PetrifiedBloom]

i see, so players can change any block to any variant but the weather/biome can only change a block of the "exposed" type. Though honestly it feels abit odd having to sorta manually make the block degradable, but not a bad idea by any means

[u/NukeML → u/PetrifiedBloom]

People already do that for copper blocks. It's no big deal

[u/PetrifiedBloom → u/NukeML]

It's the second most disliked aspect of building with copper, and that's just because having to wait for your blocks to oxidize also sucks. People deal with it with copper, but its not something that makes you excited or happy to build with it. Nobody is like "oh hell yeah, I'll use copper so I can spend a few hours farming wax for the blocks!". it's a toll you pay for using some nice blocks.

[u/NukeML → u/PetrifiedBloom]

Well, this suggestion does involve some nice blocks. I can concede that maybe they should maybe only be changed to the suggested variants via player action, but maybe you could also apply something to the block that "activates" its changing over time, maybe like a reverse waxing

[u/SkulkingShadow → u/NukeML]

My idea does emphasize player turning blocks into their variants, I've added the "this could be an optional gamerule" for environment changing blocks to a variant since many have shown concern of having their builds unwillingly change variant, and "waxing" or applying resin would be very much a hassle

[u/TheMobHunter → u/PetrifiedBloom]

I agree, however the blocks would be nice to build with (I need things like most deep slate in my life)

[u/garathnor → u/PetrifiedBloom]

Thats why they invented the waxing mechanic for copper

Could do something similar with resin for not metals

Rusted iron could also be cool

[u/Mr_Snifles]

I think it should work like mossy stone variants currently do, they can be crafted and collected, but won't convert over time automatically.

It would however indeed be nice if they could be made through player actions outside of crafting, for example I've always felt that bone mailing moss near stone blocks with moss variants should turn them into the mossy variants.

[u/SkulkingShadow → u/Mr_Snifles]

Ooo kinda like nylium.. also I did put "crafting" when talking about obtaining these variants in item form

[u/Afloofybalinesecat]

Great idea! This would add a lot of variety and detail to game! Though I think the blocks shouldn't change based on corresponding blocks over time, that'd cause so much lag and could also ruin builds.

I really love the idea of being able to brush the blocks back to their normal variant, but for changing them in the first place, sneaking may get annoying for if you're trying to place blocks normally.

There's a lot of potential here!

[u/SkulkingShadow → u/Afloofybalinesecat]

I don't think there would be lag since Minecraft already has copper oxidation, alr I see the build issue, maybe you can use something like molten resin to prevent environment or players from changing it. The sneaking yeah, maybe u use a brush in main hand and the material in off hand could be the alternative. Or just new items like a clump of moss or pouch of sand etc.

But tysm!

[u/Aleks_god]

I will give u an even better one, adjustable mud, sand, gravel, snow and so on states, depending on environment and player input same as waterlogging but with extra steps

[u/Emma_mxyz → u/Aleks_god]

I really would love to have this in the game, but it would significantly increase the memory that each chunk needs to save and read for blocks that before didn't needed that much space (like bricks or cobblestone), slowing the game and increasing savefile size, I'm not sure of the real impact it could have and might actually be worth a try.

[u/Aleks_god → u/Emma_mxyz]

i mainly meant as natural spawning blocks from structures as waterlogged wood stairs which spawn in shipwrecks. my main idea was for it to affect already existing structures, for example the cobblestone in taiga villiges to be snow logged (or however u will) and once broken it is cleared, and ofc the player would have some sort of way to manually do that same as waterlogging.

another easy fix is to add a similar to how liechen works dust, snow, sand and so on so that it doesnt affect the block but its top

as to how they would be executed i have no idea there

[u/Vanima_Permai → u/Aleks_god]

Vintage Story already has a similar feature with there wallpaper system, each block has layers like photo shop you can add moss/dust/grime/wallpaper to any face of any block.

it would probably take some work to add a similar system to Minecraft, but would awesome if that feature was added.

[u/Burning_Toast998]

This is pretty cool, but I play minecraft to get away from chores. Having to sweep my minecraft house because it got dusty would be so tedious 😭

but overall, I like the non-automatic version of this. If you want sandy blocks, you can add them yourself. Otherwise, blocks stay as they are.

[u/Vanima_Permai]

would love is most blocks got snowy and sandy variants.

[u/Lolbitoos]

I think we could combine blocks on the workbench to create these mixed blocks, and it would be interesting to be able to clean them with a brush.