Foxegory5's Desert Assist

Disclaimer: Most features of this mod will only be useful in specific circumstances. Sandstone rods are not 100% interchangeable with vanilla sticks, and may need to be replaced for vanilla recipes. Some of the features in this mod are unbalanced for most other scenarios such as using sand in place of wool for a bed, so use this mod with that in mind.

There is an oversight with v3.0.0 that prevents the secret chest in the Desert Tomb from accessing its loot table. This has been fixed in v3.1.0, so it is recommended that you update if you use v3.0.0.

v5.0.0 updates the mod from 1.15.2 to 1.16.5, adds some balancing changes and features some blocks and item only obtainable in creative mode. See changelog for full details. 

v4.0.0 renames Sand Sticks to Sandstone Rods, improves Desert Tomb secret chest loot generation, and adds a few balancing fixes. See changelog for full details (for those in the Overwolf app, you'll now have to go to the website and click on the name of v4.0.0 to see the changelog).

v3.1.0 fixes an oversight with Desert Tomb generation and makes Desert Assist recipes learnable in the vanilla recipe book. See changelog for full details (for those in the Overwolf app, you'll now have to go to the website and click on the name of v3.1.0 to see the changelog).

v3.0.0 updates the mod from 1.14.4 to 1.15.2, adds Sandstone Supports and Lanterns, removes some unbalanced crafting recipes and introduces the Desert Tomb. See changelog for full details (for those in the Overwolf app, you'll now have to go to the website and click on the name of v3.0.0 to see the changelog).

v2.1.0 relocates the Sandstone Door in the creative inventory, adds a red sandstone variant for it as well as one for the Sandstone Crate, renames the "Sand" tools to "Sandstone" tools, and updates the textures for them as well as the Block of Cacti. See changelog for full details (for those in the Overwolf app, you'll now have to go to the website and click on the name of v2.1.0 to see the changelog).

v2.0.0 adds Sand Stick compatibility for stone tools, Sandstone Doors, Sandstone Crates, which function identical to barrels except they don't act as villager workstations, and Blocks of Cacti, crafted from nine cactus, deals damage when stepped on - I promise, I tried making it damage from the sides and underneath as well, my knowledge is just too limited - and eight can be crafted with a bucket to fill it with water. See changelog for full details (for those in the Overwolf app, you'll now have to go to the website and click on the name of v2.0.0 to see the changelog).

Have you ever started a new survival world, only to spawn in the middle of a desert? You can't get wood tools, which means you can't get the stone below you, which means you can't get stone tools, a furnace, torches, and so on, and so on...

Never again! Thanks to Desert Assist, that's one more biome you can start your game in!

The Desert Assist mod allows you to make sand-based items to help you get by in the early game! You can craft sticks from sandstone, then turn those sand sticks into a crafting table!

Why stop at a crafting table? You can use sandstone in place of wooden planks to make slightly more durable versions of the wooden equivalents. Makes sense, since they're made entirely out of sandstone. There's even armor made of sandstone! It doesn't provide much protection, even less than leather, but it's better than nothing! You can smelt rotten flest to leather if you'd rather have that, because it's a VERY original idea.

But what if sandstone isn't your style? No worries, craft nine sand to get nine dirt, then craft either a normal stick or a sand stick with one block of dirt to get either an oak or birch sapling respectively. Or alternatively, grow grass by crafting dirt with bonemeal!

Desert Assist also makes crafting beds, torches and arrows, a whole lot easier. You can craft beds with sand instead of wool, torches and arrows can be made with sand sticks, and even get feathers made of sand (no longer craftable as of v3.0.0)! You can even turn sand and dirt into gravel, which, of course, can be mined for flint or used for any other purpose!

Don't think that sand is the only thing that a use has been added for, though! What about food? Don't worry, Desert Assist is once again here to... well, assist you! If you don't have a bottle on hand, you can turn that cactus block into three pieces of dragonfruit! ...I know it's not accurate, but it's food in the desert, just go with it.

This is my first mod and was made with MCreator, and is very limited with what I can include. If there is anything else I can do to improve the mod, please let me know in the comments.

Recommended mods to work alongside Desert Assist and their authors (with shared Minecraft versions):

Cactus Juice by disgusted_aardvark (1.14-1.15 - while available for 1.16.4, Desert Assist is for 1.16.5 and therefore cannot be used in conjunction with this mod)

Tumbleweed by konwboj (1.14+)

Sand Shards by Slimation (1.15) (No longer publicly available)

Easter Rabbits by bl4ckscor3 (1.14+)

Sandy Ores by pewidot (1.14-1.15)

Diamond Glass [Forge] by Kreezxil (1.15+)

Glasscutter by MrCrayfish (1.15)

Backpacked by MrCrayfish (1.14+)

Pane in the Glass by MongoTheElder (1.15+)

Comforts (Forge) by TheIllusiveC4 (1.14+)

Feel free to Support Foxegory5 on Ko-Fi