How to add custom materials?

[Lancelotbronner]

I'm making a modpack and trying to add new materials. I'm using KubeJS's data folder to register a new forgero pack with the materials but it never gets registered.

I've added the following file in data/forgero/packs/halstein/materials/flint.json

{
	"type": "MINERAL",
	"name": "flint",
	"container": {
		"type": "HOST",
		"id": "minecraft:flint"
	},
	"properties": {
		"attributes": []
	},
	"palette": {
		"name": "stone"
	}
}

I've also added package.json and default.json in data/forgero/packs/halstein

{
	"name": "halstein",
	"resource_type": "PACKAGE",
	"priority": 8,
	"namespace": "halstein",
	"dependencies": [
	  "minecraft",
	  "forgero",
	  "minecraft-vanilla"
	]
  }

{
	"namespace": "halstein",
	"dependencies": [
		"minecraft",
		"forgero"
	]
}

What am I missing?

[Lancelotbronner]

I have also tried what is currently in the wiki, placing the material file in data/forgero/materials/flint.json but that doesn't seem to work either.

[SigmundGranaas]

Hi! And thanks for trying out the new data system! The docs on the wiki are outdated and should be removed not to confuse anyone. You did everything correctly it seems, but the only thing that is missing is the fact the the datapack has to be packaged as a mod, that is, inside a jar. The reason for this is that vanilla datapacks are loaded after the item registry is frozen. This means that datapacks cannot add resources that would result in new items being created. Therefore datapacks can only update the stats of currently registered resources.

It might be possible to look at if kubejs could be used as a lightweight entrypoint for adding new resources, but I haven't looked at it enough to know for sure.

Are you familiar with how to create basic mods, or would you like me to create an example for how it could be done?

[SigmundGranaas]

I will set up a demo repository with a example mod just to validate that I have a setup that works. I'll also try out a basic quilt setup as it's possible that's where the issue is coming from. I don't know when I'll have that ready, but I'll keep you updated. Hopefully in a couple of days

[Lancelotbronner]

Sounds good!

[SigmundGranaas]

I think the missing piece was adding the annotation to signal this is supposed to be used as a forgero resource. If using fabric, the fabric.mod.json file needs to contains this:
"custom": { "forgeroResource": true }

[Lancelotbronner]

Thank you! I'll try this today, first with quilt.mod.json and if that doesn't work I'll make a fabric mod!

[SigmundGranaas]

It seems like the current version has an issue with picking up the material palette in the example. This results in all parts from a material being invisible. I don't know why this happens, but I am looking into it.

[SigmundGranaas]

Here's a very simple example repo for adding custom resources: https://github.com/SigmundGranaas/forgero-example-datapack

[SigmundGranaas]

And here's the quilt example: https://github.com/SigmundGranaas/forgero-example-datapack-quilt
As expected it only works using the quilt loader.

[Lancelotbronner]

Switching loaders was my next test, thanks! I'll try the quilt solution and let you know how things go!

[Lancelotbronner]

I had tested a fabric mod on quilt but it really is specific to the loader rather than the API

[SigmundGranaas]

Also, we have started a channel on discord for creating and configuring datapacks for Forgero. If you're interested in creating extension packs, you should definitely join the discussion over there!

[Lancelotbronner]

I will!

[Lancelotbronner]

Custom materials have been added, thanks a lot! I've been trying to use the autogenerating palette feature via

"palette": {
	"name": "flint",
	"include": [
		"minecraft:textures/item/flint.png"
	],
	"exclude": []
}

but it doesn't appear to work, I've also tried removing .png from the resource location. Is this still supported?

[SigmundGranaas]

Unfortunately, palette generators were deprecated in earlier versions because creating the palette manually was more consistent, and actually quite easy. Re-importing the generated palettes, was such a hassle I preferred crating them manually. I can recreate the functionality though if it would be convenient for people making extension packs.

[Lancelotbronner]

Could you point me to the code? I could translate it into a CLI tool in a language I'm more comfortable with

[SigmundGranaas]

https://github.com/SigmundGranaas/forgero/blob/1.18.2-0.9.1/src/main/java/com/sigmundgranaas/forgero/core/texture/palette/PaletteFactoryImpl.java

The tricky part is being able to provide the factory with the correct buffered images, it used Minecraft's own asset loader to fetch the relevant images when stitching textures.