Standardize meanings of Forge tag prefixes, notably storage blocks

[KnightMiner]

Currently, Forge tags two things under the prefix "storage_blocks/": 3x3 storage blocks such as iron, gold, redstone, etc., and the one 2x2 decorative block quartz, which is notably not a reversible recipe (making it obviously not a storage block). With 1.17, we are also gaining copper ingots as a 2x2 block instead of 3x3, if this is tagged as "storage_blocks/copper" for "consistency" with other blocks, it means we have an incompatibly with any mod that added a 3x3 copper block recipe before 1.17.

 

We have solved this issue with other mineral types before by using different prefixes, such as there are a few different variants of plates (large plate, small plate) based on the number of ingots needed. I propose doing the same with blocks. "storage_blocks/" will be kept for 3x3 crafting, and a new prefix "decorative_blocks/" will be added for the sake of 2x2 crafting, which should include quartz blocks, the 1.17 copper blocks, and potentially brick blocks (as bricks are tagged under ingots). This will solve any potential conflict with mods adding 3x3 copper blocks as you can guarantee anything tagged "storage_blocks/copper" is worth 9 ingots, while anything tagged "decorative_blocks/copper" (which includes the vanilla block) will be worth 4 ingots. In addition, if a mod wants their metal block to be a 2x2 crafting recipe like vanilla copper, they can tag it as "decorative_blocks/" to prevent confusion with other mods adding the same metal. For the sake of migration, I propose adding a "decorative_blocks/quartz" tag into 1.16, and having it read from "storage_blocks/quartz". Then ideally we deprecate the "storage_blocks" tag for removal in 1.17, so modders can update to the correct tag before then.

 

 

On a related note, Forge's definition of a "dust" and a "gem" are very odd to say the least.  Prismarine shards are classified as a dust and prismarine crystals as a gem, but neither have that many similar properties with the other items in those tags (really, crystals behave more like a dust of the two as its dropped from lamps like glowstone dust from glowstone). Lapis is also tagged as a gem, but its relationship to its ore is different from both other gems (such as diamond) and even dusts (such as redstone). This is mainly an issue when a mod adds a new item and is trying to determine how to tag it, thus it would help in both this case and in the block case to attach a specific definition to what behavior is expected with items in those tags.

 

 

tl;dr: the main proposal here is the addition of "decorative_blocks/" tags for 2x2 crafting. In addition, this proposal suggests attaching definitions to each tag prefix to help with consistency among mod authors, and to adjust Forge tags to better fit those definitions.

Edited December 2, 2020 by KnightMiner

[Alpvax]

I would rather not use "decorative_blocks" because that doesn't really say what they are, and people may start adding other "decorative" blocks into the tag.

Maybe "small_storage_blocks" or "storage_blocks_2x2" or something similar would be better.

As for the actual blocks, there are more than just quartz and copper which would fall into the 2x2 tag:

• Glowstone
• Clay
• Snow
• Honeycomb
• Honey (reversible, but requires 4 glass bottles)
• Magma Cream
• Quartz
• Copper (reversible, but I think only if the block isn't weathered?)
• Amethyst
• Sandstone (possibly? It's a bit different being block -> block, but follows the same irreversible principle).
• Prismarine (has both a 3x3 "prismarine_bricks" and a 2x2 "prismarine" recipe. Both are irreversible).
• Purpur (probably not, the recipe produces 4 blocks, so more of a conversion like the various stone types).

Edited December 8, 2020 by Alpvax
Add more blocks

[KnightMiner]

I don't want to call anything that is not reversible "storage". Because storage implies reversible. You would not store your quartz as quartz blocks as then you lose it when you need to craft comparators. I went with decorative as all 2x2 recipes are for the sake of decoration thus far, but its a fair point that it may be a bit vague. "compressed" or "packed" are two words that come to mind, but both are used in mods or vanilla for 3x3 at this time. "bricks" is another option, but would probably hit confusion with the stone brick style blocks, so not sure what else to suggest as a prefix.

Edited December 11, 2020 by KnightMiner