Thank you for downloading BetterStructures!

Made with caffeine by MagmaGuy thanks to the Patreon supporters at https://www.patreon.com/magmaguy !

The following covers basic information about the plugin. If the information seems outdated, try deleting this file - it only updates when you delete it!

Index:
a) Basic information
b) Normal users
    1) Plugin requirements
    2) Installing pre-made content
c) Advanced users
    1) Debugging
        1.1) Commands
        1.2) Permissions
    2) Customizing content
        2.1) Editing schematics
        2.2) Editing schematic configuration files
        2.3) Editing generators
d) Creators
    1) Creating schematics
        1.1) Special blocks
        1.2) Chests
        1.3) Mobs
    2) Creating generators
        2.1) Creating chest content
        2.2) Creating mobs

a) Basic information

BetterStructures is a plugin which aims to fit custom pre-made structures in any world generation. These builds can be downloaded, edited and created by anyone. Premade structures are provided in https://magmaguy.itch.io/ and https://www.patreon.com/magmaguy . At the time of writing this there is a pack of 100 free builds you can download from itch right now, on top of premium ones.

These builds can be put in the air, on liquids (regular oceans and lava oceans), fit on terrain surfaces and placed underground. BetterStructures divides the underground into two sections - shallow underground and deep underground. It also works for any generator - normal, end and nether, and most "normal" minecraft world generators (skygrid is the only known exception).

The inner workings of the plugin are described on section c.2) Customizing content.

b) Basic users

1) Plugin requirements

BetterStructures relies on WorldEdit in order to paste builds (in a schematic file format) into your world. When downloading WorldEdit make sure you download the correct version for your server - it is very picky about which version you use!

That is the only requirement.

2) Installing pre-made content

Due to the size of schematic files, BetterStructures does not come with builds pre-packaged. However, default builds are distributed for free on https://magmaguy.itch.io/ (there is a 100 default BetterStructures pack), and further builds are distributed not only there but also on https://www.patreon.com/magmaguy .

You can also use other existing schematics (you may want to customize them a bit, refer to section C of this guide) or download unofficial packages - or even make your own!

To install the content, unzip the folder you download and move its contents to the schematics folder in ~/plugins/BetterStructures/schematics . You should be able to do /betterstructures reload in order to get it running!

c) Advanced users

1) Debugging

BetterStructures has two main commands and one optional permission which help with debugging.

1.1) Commands

The only commands on BetterStructures are /betterstructures reload (or /bs reload) and /betterstructures place <schematicname> (or /bs place <schematicname>).

Reloading allows you to add or remove structures after modifying the files in the schematic folder, or apply generator edits to the generators folder.

Placing allows you to see how a build gets placed in the world. This can be useful to see how well it fits, if it has any specific issues and to test chest loot or mob spawning, among other things.

1.2) Permissions

Currently, there is only one permission in BetterStructures - betterstructures.warn . This permission is made for admins and notifies admins when a build gets placed by the plugin. Admins can click on this notification to teleport to the build. This is the best way of testing generator settings and build placement.

2) Customizing content

Everything distributed in BetterStructures is editable. You are able to modify any schematic files and generator settings to your liking.

Before you edit content, it is important you understand how the plugin fundamentally works.

BetterStructures fundamentally has three types of files: schematic files, schematic configuration files and generator files.

Schematic files contain the blocks in a build (you can think of it as containing the entire build) and are generated by WorldEdit using their schematic system.

Schematic configuration files contain the configuration settings for the build. This determines basic things about the build such as whether the build is enabled (if it will be used), the build's weight (how frequently it will appear) and the generator it uses. More on that later.

Generators contain advanced settings about where the build should spawn. This is where you set if you want the build to be placed in the air or underground or on liquids (like oceans) or on the surface of the world, what kind of biome, lists of valid worlds, world types (nether / end...) and so on. Generators also have the settings for the chest loot that gets randomized. More on these later.

Pro-tip: The reason generators contain all of this advanced data is because you can use the same generator for several builds, and this is recommended. It is very easy to create a few generators for hundreds or even thousands of builds.

