BioChronicles

BioChronicles is a Bionicle-inspired Minecraft mod focused on bringing elements of the Bionicle universe into Minecraft. This mod is currently in early development and is being released primarily for public playtesting. Many features are incomplete, unbalanced, or otherwise subject to change in future updates.

Current Features

Blocks

The mod currently includes a full Protodermis ore and block set, along with several new building materials such as Smoking Blackstone, Cobbled Sandstone, and Packed Snow (which includs slab and stair variants). These blocks are already fully usable and are planed to be more fully integrated in the future.

A new cave biome, Lightstone Caverns, has also been added. This biome features Lightstone Core blocks, which grow Lightstone clusters in a way similar to vanilla amethyst.

A selection of Bionicle-themed paintings has been added for decoration.

Weapons

So far this mod introduces one new ranged weapon, the Bamboo Disk. These are craftable, stack to 64, and can be thrown and retrieved.

Mobs

Several new mobs have been added each with several variants.

Matoran (Ta, Ga, Le, Po, Onu, and Ko) currently spawn in place of villagers in existing villages (Including the jungle which currently spawns Savanna villages). This is all a temporary implementation; they are planned to receive their own Koro-style villages in a future update. Matoran currantly also use villager behaviors and trades, though there is not yet a way to visually distinguish the matoran's profession.

Infected Matoran spawn occasionally at night and act as a hostile Matoran variant.

Other included rahi creatures:

• Propeller Fish: Small aquatic Rahi that is an almost direct replacement of the vanilla tropical fish.
• Manog Fish: As seen in the Mata Nui Online Game. This rahi has no official cannon name, as far as I can determine. Online it is most known as "the MNOG fish" so I went with that. Currently drops raw cod when killed.
• Shore Turtle: An ambient creature that spawns along beaches and rocky shorelines. Normally it is non-hostile. However, if it spawns with an infected Kanohi mask, it becomes aggressive and will attack nearby players.
• Fikou Spider: Equivalent to the vanilla spider mob, though a bit smaller.
• Nui-Rama: A flying insect-like Rahi that attacks with claws.
• Nui-Jaga: A large scorpion Rahi with both ranged and melee attacks. At a distance, it attacks by launching poison at the player. When close, it switches to a high-damage melee attack using its stinger.
• Tarakava: An amphibious Rahi that prefers to remain in water. It becomes hostile toward players who enter its realm.

Rahi may occasionally spawn wearing an infected Kanohi mask, which increases their aggression and makes otherwise neutral creatures dangerous.

Kanohi Masks

All 12 original Kanohi masks are included, each available in all 18 Bionicle colors, along with golden and infected variants. Masks are currently obtained from defeating certain Rahi, which have a chance to drop them. An infected kanohi can be cleansed by holding it in the player's off-hand and while using a brush in the main hand, revealing a random kanohi color. (This system was intended to make Kanohi mask colors collectable, similar to how the real Lego collectables are obtained.)

Kanohi powers are not yet implemented and golden masks are currently only obtainable through creative mode or commands.

Element System

When joining a world for the first time, players are prompted to choose an element. Each element provides passive bonuses which stack with their vanilla equivalents:

• Fire (Ta): minor fire resistance (similar to Fire Protection II)
• Water (Ga): extended underwater breathing (similar to a turtle helmet) and improved speed while in water (similar to Depth Strider I)
• Air (Le): equivalent to Jump Boost I and Feather Falling I
• Stone (Po): slightly increased movement speed and some knockback resistance
• Earth (Onu): faster mining speed (similar to Efficiency I) and improved low-light visibility
• Ice (Ko): ability to walk on powdered snow and immunity to powdered snow damage

The selected element also affects eye color when wearing a Kanohi mask.

Gameplay Settings

By default, the mod disables natural spawning of vanilla mobs. This setting can be disabled, or specific mobs can be reenabled, in the Mod Settings menu.

Some vanilla mobs may still spawn with certain structures. If playing in survival, it may currently be necessary to re-enable some vanilla mobs for access to certain resources such as wool or leather.

Commands

A number of admin and testing commands have been included to assist with development and experimentation. These commands all use the "bio_" prefix.

Planned Features

Planned future additions include:

• Kanohi mask powers
• Active elemental abilities and combat mechanics
• Koro villages and other structures
• Additional biomes
• More Rahi creatures

Known Bugs

The currently existing hostile mobs spawn too frequently; partially due to nothing else filling the mob cap, and partially due to simple number imbalance. Both of these issues will be adressed in future updates.

This version is intended for testing and feedback. Expect ongoing changes as development continues.