Table of Contents

Expedition Template Authoring

Expedition arenas can be built from structure templates in:

src/main/resources/data/lanteacraft/structure/expedition/

Structure block names include the expedition/ folder. For example, the gate room loads as:

lanteacraft:expedition/gate_room

Required template names:

Optional template names:

# can be any positive number. Examples:

If any required template is missing, the Java fallback arena is used.

Coordinate Convention

Preferred authoring should use vanilla Jigsaw Blocks for connected rooms. Orange wool connectors are a legacy/debug shortcut kept only so older test rooms still work while the expedition generator moves to vanilla jigsaw pools.

For gate_room.nbt, the blue glazed terracotta marker defines the generated Stargate base position. You can move it inside the gate room; the generator uses that marker as the anchor for the whole trial layout.

Recommended module sizes are no longer strict. The generator reads each template's actual size and orange connector positions from the NBT.

Java still places the Stargate, DHD, reward chest contents, and mobs after template placement. Templates should provide room geometry, cover, lighting, doors, decorations, and containment blocks.

Do not include real Stargate or DHD blocks in the template NBT. The generator injects the functional blocks so it can assign the expedition address, set ancient power, install the DHD crystal, and register the gate correctly.

The legacy generator builds a seeded-random main path using the available halls, turn halls, filler rooms, intersections, combat rooms, and final reward room. It chooses which numbered halls/rooms/combat rooms to use per expedition, and may use different counts per expedition. It uses roughly tier + 1 combat rooms, with a minimum of two. Each next piece is rotated and placed by matching a connector to the previous connector.

Jigsaw Authoring

Use Jigsaw Blocks for new connected expedition rooms. This is the same vanilla system used by villages, bastions, trail ruins, and other modular structures.

/lanteacraft spawn_trial tries vanilla jigsaw generation first when lanteacraft:expedition/start exists. The old Java fallback room is disabled for the debug command, so a broken jigsaw setup reports an error instead of silently spawning the old room.

The bundled .nbt structure files belong here:

src/main/resources/data/lanteacraft/structure/expedition/

The jigsaw pool JSON files belong here:

src/main/resources/data/lanteacraft/worldgen/template_pool/expedition/

Jigsaw pieces need:

Recommended expedition pool layout:

The starter pool already exists at:

src/main/resources/data/lanteacraft/worldgen/template_pool/expedition/start.json

That pool points at:

lanteacraft:expedition/gate_room

So gate_room.nbt must contain at least one Jigsaw Block that can start generation. If it has no matching jigsaw, vanilla placement fails and /spawn_trial will spawn nothing.

For jigsaw connectors, use a consistent connector name such as:

lanteacraft:expedition/door

Set doorway jigsaw blocks to replace themselves with air unless you intentionally want a cap block:

final_state: minecraft:air

Vanilla jigsaw placement rejects partial intersections. If a candidate child piece would partially overlap another piece, it is not placed; fallback pools can be used to close that doorway instead.

Jigsaw Block Fields

Put the Jigsaw Block inside the doorway/opening where another piece should attach. The block's front-facing arrow should point out of the current room toward the next room. For normal horizontal doorways, use Joint: Aligned.

Use these values for a normal expedition doorway:

The parent jigsaw's Target must match the child jigsaw's Name. Using lanteacraft:expedition/door for both sides makes all expedition doorways compatible.

Use these target pools:

For a simple straight hallway:

  1. Put one Jigsaw Block at the north doorway, facing north.
  2. Put one Jigsaw Block at the south doorway, facing south.
  3. Set both Name and Target to lanteacraft:expedition/door.
  4. Set the north/entrance side's Pool to lanteacraft:expedition/terminators unless you intentionally want it to branch backward.
  5. Set the south/exit side's Pool to the next category, such as lanteacraft:expedition/rooms or lanteacraft:expedition/combat_rooms.
  6. Set Final State to minecraft:air.
  7. Set Joint to aligned.

For a tee or cross room, put Jigsaw Blocks in each valid doorway. Point each block outward from the room. Set the pool on side exits to whatever can legally attach there. If a side branch is optional, use a pool with terminators as its fallback so failed branches become sealed/empty instead of overlapping.

To edit a Jigsaw Block in-game:

  1. Give yourself one with /give @s minecraft:jigsaw.
  2. Place it in the doorway.
  3. Face the direction the next piece should spawn, then rotate the block until its front arrow points out of the room.
  4. Right-click the Jigsaw Block in creative mode.
  5. Fill in Name, Target, Pool, Final State, and Joint.
  6. Save the room with a Structure Block.

Converting Existing Orange Wool Rooms

If an old room already uses orange wool doorway markers, load that room into the world with a Structure Block, then run:

/lanteacraft expeditions convert_orange_jigsaws <from> <to> <pool>

<from> and <to> are the opposite corners of the loaded structure's bounding box. <pool> is the target pool every converted doorway should use.

Example:

/lanteacraft expeditions convert_orange_jigsaws 100 64 100 124 76 124 lanteacraft:expedition/rooms

The command treats each connected orange wool patch as one doorway marker. A 5×5 orange panel becomes one Jigsaw Block at the bottom center of the doorway edge, row 1 block 3, and the remaining orange wool is replaced with air.

Each generated Jigsaw Block is configured as:

It infers the Jigsaw Block direction from the closest structure edge, so an orange patch on the north edge becomes a north-facing jigsaw, south edge becomes south-facing, and so on.

After conversion, inspect the Jigsaw Blocks. If a specific doorway should lead to a different pool, edit that one block manually. Then save the structure again with the Structure Block.

Path Pieces

All path pieces are authored once in the same south-facing orientation. The generator rotates each placed piece to match the current connector direction.

You do not need north/east/south/west copies of a hall. Build one canonical version and let the generator rotate it.

Marker Blocks

Markers are ordinary blocks placed in templates and replaced after the template is placed:

Place orange wool on the outside edge of every doorway that can connect to another module. Any orange wool in a placed template is replaced with air. Multiple orange connectors in a room are allowed. The generator treats them like lightweight jigsaw sockets: it matches the next piece to a socket, checks that the next piece does not overlap any already placed piece, and then removes the marker.

For south-facing templates, north-edge orange is preferred as the entrance and south-edge orange is preferred as the main-path exit. East/west connectors are valid for turns, tees, crosses, and side paths when they fit without overlapping existing rooms.

For gate_room.nbt, put the blue glazed terracotta wherever the Stargate base should appear. The generator reads its local position before placement and keeps the reward door, chest, and combat-room offsets lined up with the rest of the trial.

The reward room entrance connector is locked with Ancient Containment Blocks until all tracked combat rooms are clear.

You can use multiple trapped chest markers; each one becomes a normal filled reward chest. If none is present, the generator places one reward chest in the default reward-room spot. Multiple normal chests, barrels, and decorated pots are also supported.

Testing

Server Editing Workflow

To edit templates live on a server:

  1. Run /lanteacraft expeditions export_templates.
  2. Place a Structure Block and set it to Load.
  3. Use names like lanteacraft:expedition/gate_room, not lanteacraft:gate_room.
  4. Load the structure, edit it, then switch the Structure Block to Save.
  5. Save with the same name, or a numbered module name like lanteacraft:expedition/combat_room_1.
  6. Run /reload before testing the expedition generator.

The command exports bundled templates to the world's generated structure folder:

generated/lanteacraft/structures/expedition/

Structure Blocks save there too. Once templates are good, import them back into the mod resources and regenerate pools:

.\gradlew.bat importExpeditionStructures

For a different local/server world:

.\gradlew.bat importExpeditionStructures -PexpeditionGeneratedDir=“E:\LanteaCraftServer\world\generated\lanteacraft\structures\expedition”

Server-saved templates in generated/lanteacraft/structures/expedition/ are valid for testing immediately after /reload; you do not have to copy them into the repo before using /lanteacraft spawn_trial.

Use this command to spawn a trial directly in front of you:

/lanteacraft spawn_trial

It prints the generated seed. Reuse that seed to spawn the same layout again:

/lanteacraft spawn_trial 123456789

The debug spawner does not pre-clear the test area by default. If you really want to wipe a large clean area before spawning, use:

/lanteacraft spawn_trial clear

/lanteacraft spawn_trial 123456789 clear