Stony Cliffs Are Cool

Stony Cliffs Are Cool is a worldgen datapack by bebebea_loste that scatters stone into dirt-covered terrain across the overworld, so that exposed dirt sitting on stone-like ground turns into stone cliff patches. It adds no blocks, items, mobs, biomes, structures or mechanics. It is a terrain-appearance change. A player sees it as a different look to the surface, and as grass, trees or flowers that may not grow in some places.

The datapack has no client-side code or assets, so it runs on the server alone. It applies in every biome of the vanilla overworld biome tag, and it has no configuration options.

Overview

In Fear Nightfall the datapack is a terrain detail rather than a horror feature, and it adds nothing to the content described in Horror and Spooky Content. Its only effect on play is the change to the ground surface during world generation, described under Mechanics and Changes to vanilla below.

Content

For the other mods in the pack, see the Mod List. This datapack's contents are:

• Blocks: none added. The datapack places vanilla stone only.
• Items, mobs, recipes and loot: none added. Nothing in the datapack appears in Mobs or Loot and Chests.
• Biomes: none added. The datapack works in the existing biomes listed under Biomes.
• Structures: none added. See Structures for the pack's structure sets.
• Worldgen: one placed feature, the cliff feature, injected into every overworld biome at the underground decoration step of World Generation.
• Enchantments, effects, advancements and sounds: none added.

Mechanics

The cliff feature is a random patch placed in every chunk of the overworld.

• Attempts: each chunk gets six patch attempts. Each attempt makes up to 512 tries at random horizontal positions within about 8 blocks of the patch position.
• Search: each try starts at the top of the terrain (the motion-blocking height map) and searches downward for up to 12 blocks, looking for a block in the vanilla minecraft:dirt block tag. Dirt is the main case, and the tag may also cover grass blocks and podzol.
• Base check: the block directly below the dirt must be in the minecraft:moss_replaceable block tag, and it must not be terracotta.
• Neighbour check: at least one of 18 nearby positions one to three blocks above the candidate must hold a block from minecraft:base_stone_overworld or minecraft:moss_replaceable. The check is loose, because a single matching neighbour satisfies it. The feature is therefore not limited to steep slopes. Flat dirt resting on stone-like ground can also be converted.
• Result: the dirt is replaced with stone.

The feature runs after ore generation and before vegetation and snow are placed. The number of blocks converted depends on how much terrain meets the conditions above, and it has not been measured.

There is no progression, no item and no way for a player to turn the feature on or off.

Changes to vanilla

• Dirt on the surface of overworld terrain becomes stone in patches, which changes the appearance of the surface in every overworld biome that receives the feature.
• Vegetation that needs dirt or grass to grow may not be placed on a stone patch. Fewer trees, flowers and grass may therefore appear in those spots, and snow may be placed less often on top of them.
• Recipes, loot tables, tags, advancements, mobs and game rules are not changed. The datapack only adds the cliff feature.

In Fear Nightfall

The datapack is used as shipped. It carries no Fear Nightfall settings, and it is not tied to the pack's horror content. Horror biomes that belong to the overworld biome tag, such as the vanilla Dark Forest and Deep Dark, receive the feature in the same way as any other overworld biome. Modded biomes receive it only if they are in that tag.

The pack weights horror biomes more heavily in the biome distribution (see Biomes). That changes how often those biomes generate, and it does not change how the cliff feature works. Horror biomes that the pack weights at six times the normal rate include Ominous Woods, Spider Nest, Sleepy Hollows, Willow Swamp, Infested Caves, Frostfire Caves, Bayou, Dead Forest, Ashen Woodland, Blackwood Taiga and Ashen Savanna.