Get a mob to have random texture when spawned?

[HappleAcks]

So if I have a mob and a few possible textures, how would I make it have a random texture [from my list] each time it spawns.

 

I've tried doing a switch and generating a random int, but both times it determined the texture for all of them upon startup.

[coolAlias]

Make sure your texture field is not static, and also that the field is visible / updated on the client. Personally, I use DataWatcher to store an integer that I can retrieve using a method such as 'entity.getType()', and place the switch in my render class as 'switch(((MyEntity) parEntity).getType())'

[HappleAcks]

Make sure your texture field is not static, and also that the field is visible / updated on the client. Personally, I use DataWatcher to store an integer that I can retrieve using a method such as 'entity.getType()', and place the switch in my render class as 'switch(((MyEntity) parEntity).getType())'

I haven't worked with the Data Watchers much before, so I got lost a little bit. So I'll create the method, but how do I save and read from the watcher [in order to call from  1 of my 6 possible textures].

[SanAndreaP]

Make sure your texture field is not static, and also that the field is visible / updated on the client. Personally, I use DataWatcher to store an integer that I can retrieve using a method such as 'entity.getType()', and place the switch in my render class as 'switch(((MyEntity) parEntity).getType())'

I haven't worked with the Data Watchers much before, so I got lost a little bit. So I'll create the method, but how do I save and read from the watcher [in order to call from  1 of my 6 possible textures].

 

First, you need to register a field ("object") inside the DataWatcher with the

DataWatcher#addObject(id, initialValue)

method, preferably inside the

entityInit()

method in your entity.

id

is an unique object id which you need to reference the object. Please note that there are pre-occupied IDs already, so if it crashes with the ID, try another one. Also there's a cap of max. 32 objects within a DataWatcher.

initialValue

is pretty self-explanatory. Possible data types can be:

ItemStack, String, Integer, Short, Byte, Float, ChunkCoordinates

. Either use new DataType() (e.g.

new ItemStack(...)

) or, for primitive datatypes, cast it (e.g. to have a short, use

(short) 10

)

 

Second, to get an object from the DataWatcher, use

DataWatcher#getWatchableObject[DataType](id)

, where

[DataType]

is the datatype you've defined previously (e.g. for integer, use getWatchableObjectInt(id)). The only exceptions where you can't use this is ChunkCoordinates.

Here's a list of datatypes and getters:

ItemStack : getWatchableObjectItemStack
String    : getWatchableObjectString
Float     : getWatchableObjectFloat
Integer   : getWatchableObjectInt
Short     : getWatchableObjectShort
Byte      : getWatchableObjectByte

 

Third, to write to the defined object, use

DataWatcher#updateObject(id, newValue)

, which follows the same rules as the in initialValue from the registration for the newValue. Also make sure to only update values on the server (worldObj.isRemote == false), or you get discrepancies with client and server.

[HappleAcks]

Make sure your texture field is not static, and also that the field is visible / updated on the client. Personally, I use DataWatcher to store an integer that I can retrieve using a method such as 'entity.getType()', and place the switch in my render class as 'switch(((MyEntity) parEntity).getType())'

I haven't worked with the Data Watchers much before, so I got lost a little bit. So I'll create the method, but how do I save and read from the watcher [in order to call from  1 of my 6 possible textures].

 

First, you need to register a field ("object") inside the DataWatcher with the

DataWatcher#addObject(id, initialValue)

method, preferably inside the

entityInit()

method in your entity.

id

is an unique object id which you need to reference the object. Please note that there are pre-occupied IDs already, so if it crashes with the ID, try another one. Also there's a cap of max. 32 objects within a DataWatcher.

initialValue

is pretty self-explanatory. Possible data types can be:

ItemStack, String, Integer, Short, Byte, Float, ChunkCoordinates

. Either use new DataType() (e.g.

new ItemStack(...)

) or, for primitive datatypes, cast it (e.g. to have a short, use

(short) 10

)

 

Second, to get an object from the DataWatcher, use

DataWatcher#getWatchableObject[DataType](id)

, where

[DataType]

is the datatype you've defined previously (e.g. for integer, use getWatchableObjectInt(id)). The only exceptions where you can't use this is ChunkCoordinates.

Here's a list of datatypes and getters:

ItemStack : getWatchableObjectItemStack
String    : getWatchableObjectString
Float     : getWatchableObjectFloat
Integer   : getWatchableObjectInt
Short     : getWatchableObjectShort
Byte      : getWatchableObjectByte

 

Third, to write to the defined object, use

DataWatcher#updateObject(id, newValue)

, which follows the same rules as the in initialValue from the registration for the newValue. Also make sure to only update values on the server (worldObj.isRemote == false), or you get discrepancies with client and server.

This was very helpful, but I can't seem to get it to work at all. I've run into a lot of things such as:

1) It won't let me access the value from the render class because it wants it to be static to do that, but a this.x cannot be static [in this case, x is the datawatcher].

 

2)I don't know how data watchers will help me get any more of a random number than it did before. Because I understand I can generate a random number, saved it in the data watcher and then use it, but I can just do that without a data watcher by generating a random number and using that directly.

[delpi]

It depends.  Do you want he mob to look different on each client or would you like each client to see the same thing?

 

If its the first, then skip the datawatcher.  If its the 2nd, how do you think Joe Smith's PC's client is going to see Betty Joe's PC's client information?  Each one will have a different random texture.  One will say "Look a creeper" and the other will see an enderman or somethign else.

 

 

What they are describing to you is how to sync them all up.  The datawatcher is the easiest.  You could do it with a custom packet system, but I wouldn't suggest it.

 

 

SanAndreasP,

any suggestions on safe # ranges for datawatchers.  I'm always worried I'm going to grab something used elsewhere.  so far above 16 seems safe.

[coolAlias]

@OP The render class' getEntityTexture method has an Entity parameter, which is your entity - you can cast it to your custom entity class to access your entity class methods:

protected ResourceLocation getEntityTexture(Entity entity) {
// cast to your entity
YourEntityClass blah = (YourEntityClass) entity;

// now you can access class methods, such as my hypothetical getType() which
// returns the integer value from datawatcher used to store the mob's type, i.e. texture

switch(blah.getType()) {
case 1: return texture1;
case 2: return texture2;
etc;
}
}

 

DataWatcher is just for storing a single value, in this case an integer, that is synchronized between server and client - you set the value on the server, and all of the player clients will see the same value, in this case texture.

 

@delpi DataWatcher ranges vary from Entity to Entity - players use the most of any, and I tend to start mine at around 21 or 22 just from habit, but if you really need to know exactly which indices are still available, the most sure method of finding out is to open up all the parent classes of the entity in question and look at the constructors and entityInit methods to see which values are used. This page lists some of them, but it may be outdated.

 

@OP - you may want to check out that link as well, it's a tutorial on DataWatcher, though I think SanAndreasP pretty much covered it all

[HappleAcks]

@OP The render class' getEntityTexture method has an Entity parameter, which is your entity - you can cast it to your custom entity class to access your entity class methods:

protected ResourceLocation getEntityTexture(Entity entity) {
// cast to your entity
YourEntityClass blah = (YourEntityClass) entity;

// now you can access class methods, such as my hypothetical getType() which
// returns the integer value from datawatcher used to store the mob's type, i.e. texture

switch(blah.getType()) {
case 1: return texture1;
case 2: return texture2;
etc;
}
}

 

DataWatcher is just for storing a single value, in this case an integer, that is synchronized between server and client - you set the value on the server, and all of the player clients will see the same value, in this case texture.

 

@delpi DataWatcher ranges vary from Entity to Entity - players use the most of any, and I tend to start mine at around 21 or 22 just from habit, but if you really need to know exactly which indices are still available, the most sure method of finding out is to open up all the parent classes of the entity in question and look at the constructors and entityInit methods to see which values are used. This page lists some of them, but it may be outdated.

 

@OP - you may want to check out that link as well, it's a tutorial on DataWatcher, though I think SanAndreasP pretty much covered it all

I'm still having the same problem as before where it only does whatever is the 'default:' in the switch, and without default there it has an error as it thinks it has a chance of not returning anything and thus would want void on the function.

 

My related code:

 

 

 

In Entity File:

protected void entityInit()

    {

        super.entityInit();

        this.getDataWatcher().addObject(12, Byte.valueOf((byte)0));

        this.getDataWatcher().addObject(13, Byte.valueOf((byte)0));

        this.getDataWatcher().addObject(25, 5);

    }

 

    public int getTextureType()

    {

        return this.dataWatcher.getWatchableObjectInt(25);

    }

 

 

 

In Render File:

 

 

 

@Override

protected ResourceLocation getEntityTexture(Entity entity) {

EntityRider thisentity = (EntityRider) entity;

switch(thisentity.getTextureType()){

case 0:

return EntityTexture1;

case 1:

return EntityTexture2;

case 2:

return EntityTexture3;

case 3:

return EntityTexture4;

case 4:

return EntityTexture5;

default:

return EntityTexture3;

}

 

}

 

 

[delpi]

I don't see where you are setting your value.

 

DataWatcher#updateObject(id, newValue) from previous post.  not sure the exact syntax and I don't have my code handy right now.

 

You need to set this value initially with a random.

 

 

 

 

[HappleAcks]

I don't see where you are setting your value.

 

DataWatcher#updateObject(id, newValue) from previous post.  not sure the exact syntax and I don't have my code handy right now.

 

You need to set this value initially with a random.

 

My bad..

 

So now it works. I forgot that I removed my random number generator at one point when I implemented the data watcher methods.