What Not to do When Modding

[SourC00lguy]

I feel like I'm abusing this sub-forum but it's what I'm really into so here it goes!

What are some definitely don't do's in minecraft modding?

I hope this will reduce irritation for others who are learning. And it seems like an easier question to answer. Why ask what should I do when modding. There are so many answer, better to ask what shouldn't I do, because I feel that list is shorter.

 

[Darkhax]

Don't disregard naming conventions. They are conventional for a reason. Oracle has a thing on that here. I can't recall how many times this has solved obscure issues for others on the minecraft forums. It's also a horrible idea to copy and paste code from others. Not because of copyright reasons, but rather, it prevents you from understanding the code you are using, meaning you won't be capable of fixing it when it breaks, or adapting it to better suit your needs. This is also an issue for those who are new to development, as it hinders the process of familiarizing yourself with the java syntax, and developing your own coding style.

 

[ratchet freak]

These are more mechanics based but still good to follow:

Leaving some mechanics untweakable/not configurable; at least make sure that other mods (like modtweaker) can add/remove recipes in your machines or just make a config setting to add them yourself. Pack builders will love you for it.

Making you machines automatable is also a major plus.

improperly balanced power uses vs. generation; if you create a home grown energy system (like botania's mana) or just plug into the RF API at least make sure that it doesn't take a (RL) month to generate enough power to do some mid-tier crafting and then you have to let the buffers refill again.

 

[VapourDrive]

Some donts

• Don't hardcode variables. If you have an array always refer to it's length as the proper array.length() or getLength() not sure. If you think you may need something more than one place definitely give it a variable, makes life a lot easier.
• Don't needlessly use up block id's - don't be that modder who ends up having 300 logicless decorative blocks that all have different ids, people end up paying for it.
• Everything Darkhax said, learn how everything you implements actually works, if you don't you will not learn, also the naming conventions extends to build naming too.

Some do's

• Do release things, some projects that I have worked on have been big enough I hit a rut and lose motivation. Even if it is a small alpha to a group of your fiends you will get a lot of drive to continue from it.
• Do make versatile util functions. It makes life a lot easier, especially when you want to implement something new and you realize you have all the foundation there already.
• Do try to make foundation classes for things you may have a lot of. I find itemblocks are the best example of this, keeps you from having 20 different itemblock classes just so you can have a tooltip for every block.
• Do continue to look for help when you need it. Obviously this shouldn't be "heyu, muy thing broked, someonebody fix it fur me plskthnksbai", but people are generally willing to help, and sometimes the most creative minds, which may produce the greatest mods, aren't the best at coding. We want nothing more than to see the modding scene fill with more cool things to test, break and explore.

 

[SpitefulFox]

Don't name your mod after yourself. Makes you look like a massive, flaming narcissist. Giving a mod a descriptive name will give people a good idea of what the mod is about while just naming it "Blah's Mod!" will provoke a lot of "Who is Blah and why should I care?"

Vazkii wrote a nice blog post on her thoughts on things to not do:
http://vazkii.us/uncategorized/what-not-to-when-starting-off-with-modding/

I'll double the "Don't make something you don't want" bit. It's easy to get caught up in the euphoria of "Holy crap I made a thing and it is totally a thing" when you successfully mod in your first block or item, but it's important to make an actual mod you'd want to play and not just something you're proud of because you made it. Everyone starts off somewhere with learning to mod, but if your mod's only selling point is that you made it and it technically works, it's not going to be a mod people will use.

 

[SatanicSanta]

Don't name your mod after yourself. Makes you look like a massive, flaming narcissist. Giving a mod a descriptive name will give people a good idea of what the mod is about while just naming it "Blah's Mod!" will provoke a lot of "Who is Blah and why should I care?"

it is also annoying if you decide to give it to someone else

 

[Strikingwolf]

If you don't know how to do something utility wise don't reinvent the wheel. Use a gradle repository or similar to do it. Know the basics of how it works, but don't burden yourself with something that isn't design and that won't help you understand programming more