Transitions

So the title of this one has a couple of meanings, and it’s mostly going to be me rambling rather than putting up cool mod preview stuff. Let me state up front though that I’m not leaving. It’s not one of those kinds of posts, but I will touch on that subject.

Progress-wise, the “1.13-pre” rewrite has been coming along a lot slower than I’d like, but as the title would suggest - it’s a transitionary period. I recently moved across the country for a new job (well, new position) and I think it’ll be a pretty fantastic opportunity. I’ll probably have slightly less time to code due to having a commute, but I’ll definitely have a lot more compared to the past few weeks of driving / camping / being a tourist all day. So that’s one transition, and it’s been a good one.

As far as 1.13 itself, how’s that looking? Still no official Forge release, but it’s definitely happening. For those who maybe aren’t following as closely - and I admit I’m a somewhat distant observer myself as of late - Lex, cpw, and everyone else is doing a fantastic job of making the Forge that eventually emerges the best platform that it’s ever been. I’m feeling quite a bit of guilt for not having helped with it more these past weeks / months, but I hope to rectify that. It’s been a busy time.

Keeping with the transition theme, I do have to turn to a sad note - Azanor. As much as people joke about Thermal Expansion being full of magic blocks, it obviously has nothing on the glory that is Thaumcraft. Even though TC and TE are really nothing alike, something that I feel they do have in common is a willingness to completely overhaul the gameplay, while keeping the overall theme. Azanor probably does this better than I do, but I’d like to think that I have at least something in common with such a fantastic author. You’ll be missed, Azanor. Just know that I’ve been there, and it’s possible to come back. I certainly hope you’re able to, if in the future you still have the drive and find the joy in modding.

So with those somewhat disjointed topics covered, here’s the current plan for mod releases. Buckle up - this is probably going to sound confusing. I have some bugfixes and QoL coming for 1.12.2. Nothing weird there - modpacks can update freely and there shouldn’t be any issues. These files will all be marked as “release” on CurseForge / Twitch.

Before I get into the other stuff, let me clarify something - the Thermal rewrite means that all mods will have the same version number moving forward. So while Thermal Expansion is 5.3.x right now, and Thermal Foundation is 2.6.x, they’ll both have the same version number under the new framework.

In the hopefully near future, I’ll also have some transition builds for CoFH Core and the Thermal Series. These will be marked as “beta” on CurseForge / Twitch, and will probably be version 5.9.x or something like that. Ideally, these will be sort of a halfway point between the current mods and the new Core framework and supporting mods. I hope to release Ensorcellment, Enstoragement (yes really), and Quartermastery along with these, while stripping the duplicate parts from other mods. I might be able to do a combo jar here but these really aren’t built for it, so no promises. Essentially if you’re starting a new world in 1.12.2, then you’ll be able to use these for a full experience. Upgrading from existing worlds will be very much not recommended.

In the mid-term, I expect to release the new framework on 1.12.2 before porting it fully to 1.13. These mods will be version 6.x and will be marked “alpha” on CurseForge / Twitch. These are really going to be for players who want to see where things are going. Initially, you’re going to see removal of a LOT of content. Seriously, TE might be like 4 machines and 2 dynamos - I’m just going to get the systems in place and then re-add a few blocks at a time. Also, be aware that this is written for 1.13+, so block and item ID usage will be insane compared to the current framework. For anyone unaware - the ID limit in 1.13+ is being removed along with metadata, so it necessitates and also allows this change. It’s far more elegant, but it’s not the kind of thing that you can do in 1.12.2 and have a kitchen sink modpack.

And naturally, when 1.13 releases, I’ll port. Depending on scheduling, it may be straight to 1.14. I personally have the feeling that 1.14 will be the next “big” modded version, and 1.13 will end up like 1.11 - a stepping stone of sorts.

Here’s the TL;DR version of all that.

The Plan:

QoL / bugfix 1.12.2 mods (release).

Create transition (“new world safe”) 1.12.2 mods (beta)

Develop 1.13-pre “backport” for 1.12.2 (alpha)

Port to 1.13/1.14 - whichever makes sense.

If you have any thoughts on this, please drop by our Discord.