OreSpawn 4 Biomes and World Materials

Biomes And World Materials

OreSpawn 4 documentation: OS4 index | Player guide | Legacy OS3 documentation

Exact fields for the installed build are documented in config/orespawn-guide/.

OreSpawn can place provider biomes and replace their visible world materials. It does not register biomes for a child mod: the provider still registers ordinary Forge Biome objects, then supplies declarative placement and material rules to OreSpawn.

This feature is optional. Ore-only providers and existing Mineralogy profiles with no biome palettes use Minecraft's original biome source unchanged.

How Placement Composes

OreSpawn waits until a server level has its final ChunkGenerator, then wraps the biome source already selected for that dimension. Vanilla or another installed biome source therefore runs first. OreSpawn reads the source biome once and applies pre-baked palette rules.

The wrapper is native to OreSpawn. This keeps simple child mods small and lets OreSpawn compose with the biome source already selected by the pack.

Each palette has:

• dimension: the full dimension ID;
• mode: augment keeps the source as a weighted fallback, while replace chooses only provider biomes when a rule applies;
• scope: minecraft_only, selected_namespaces, or all;
• region_size: tiny, small, average, large, or huge, corresponding to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 block regions;
• coverage: the proportion of eligible regions touched by the palette;
• fallback_weight: source-biome weight in augment mode;
• namespace include/exclude lists and weighted output biome entries.

Biome entries may restrict temperature/downfall and list similar source biomes. similar_biomes is optional compatibility: missing IDs are ignored. required_similar_biomes is strict: if one is absent, the output is disabled and OreSpawn warns once while baking.

Provider JSON Example

{
  "schema_version": 4,
  "provider_modid": "cakeworld",
  "provider_revision": 1,
  "biome_palettes": {
    "cakeworld:overworld": {
      "dimension": "minecraft:overworld",
      "enabled": true,
      "mode": "replace",
      "scope": "minecraft_only",
      "region_size": "large",
      "coverage": 1.0,
      "fallback_weight": 0.0,
      "include_namespaces": [],
      "exclude_namespaces": [],
      "biomes": {
        "cakeworld:candy_plains": {
          "enabled": true,
          "weight": 3.0,
          "similar_biomes": ["minecraft:plains"],
          "required_similar_biomes": [],
          "min_temperature": 0.2,
          "max_temperature": 1.2,
          "min_downfall": 0.0,
          "max_downfall": 0.8,
          "surface": {
            "top_block": "cakeworld:icing",
            "filler_block": "cakeworld:chocolate_sponge",
            "underwater_block": "cakeworld:biscuit_sand",
            "filler_depth": 3
          }
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "dimension_materials": {
    "cakeworld:overworld": {
      "dimension": "minecraft:overworld",
      "enabled": true,
      "default_fluid": "cakeworld:lemonade",
      "deep_aquifer_fluid": "cakeworld:hot_fudge",
      "deep_aquifer_max_y": -40,
      "snow_block": "cakeworld:icing",
      "ice_block": "cakeworld:frozen_lemonade"
    }
  }
}

Provider-owned rule IDs use the provider namespace. Output biomes and blocks must be installed registry IDs. Fluid material IDs must resolve to blocks whose default states contain real fluids.

Registration Helper

OreSpawnBiomes.copyAndRegister copies a known biome's complete builder before applying small changes. This is useful for a simple content mod:

RegistryObject<Biome> candyPlains = OreSpawnBiomes.copyAndRegister(
    BIOMES, "candy_plains",
    () -> ForgeRegistries.BIOMES.getValue(new ResourceLocation("minecraft", "plains")),
    builder -> builder.temperature(0.8F).downfall(0.4F));

blankAndRegister starts from an empty builder and is intended for advanced providers that deliberately supply every required climate, effects, spawn, and generation field. Both helpers only register content; placement belongs in the provider declaration.

Surfaces And Materials

Biome surfaces support:

• top_block: exposed ground;
• filler_block: material below the top;
• underwater_block: exposed ground below sea level;
• ceiling_block: optional underside material;
• filler_depth: 0-16 blocks.

Dimension materials support the ordinary aquifer fluid, a deep aquifer fluid and threshold, and replacements for vanilla snow and ice. OreSpawn converts weather products in loaded chunks and around players; it does not replace every water or lava block after generation.

Templates And Total Conversions

A total-conversion mod may bundle an automatic template:

"templates": {
  "cakeworld:cake_world": {
    "required_mods": ["cakeworld"],
    "auto_select": true,
    "auto_select_priority": 100,
    "profile": {
      "selected_template": "cakeworld:cake_world"
    }
  }
}

Automatic selection occurs only for fresh worlds when no explicit global default_template exists. Existing world profiles never change automatically. If several providers request automatic selection, the highest priority wins, then lexical template ID order.

World-Creation Editor

Biomes & World Materials is visible even when rock strata are disabled. It lists palettes and materials by dimension, uses installed-registry pickers, and validates IDs before world creation. The editor is creation-only in 4.0.0; existing worlds remain editable through their self-contained server profile.

Performance Boundaries

OreSpawn resolves dimensions, biomes, blocks, fluids, namespace filters, climate ranges, and surfaces while the profile is baked. Runtime biome selection uses the delegated source result, integer region hashing, primitive weights, and cached holders. It performs no provider callback, JSON access, registry lookup, tag lookup, logging, or per-column allocation.