[1.12.2] Registering Entities for Projectiles (and general 'best practice')

As some background, I am working on learning 1.12 modding as this version supports all my favorite mods (some of which are no longer maintained by the creator and will not likely get support for later versions). I have a solid background in Java and programming in general, so I welcome and encourage any deeper explanation as to why something is suggested or considered a 'best practice' with regard to forge modding. I have done a lot of research on this site and elsewhere to solve the issues I'm running into, but I've seen dozens of different implementations in people's working code as well as people suggesting different ways of doing things (entity registration for example), so I decided to make an account and ask the question myself with an emphasis on generally accepted structures and best practices within the modding community.

What I'm currently working on is  adding a couple throwable weapons to the game. Right now I have gotten the base items in game with their correct textures using an Item class and an ItemInit class that passes the items to a RegistryHandler class. This naming scheme is ripped directly from a tutorial video I watched to get a quick feel for forge modding, but the same tutorial used an ItemBase class and CommonProxy, leading me to believe other conventions it used are not considered best practice, so let me know if using Item/Block init classes or registry handlers have better alternatives.

Item class:

package com.qeeqse.signcraft.objects.items;

import com.qeeqse.signcraft.SignCraft;
import com.qeeqse.signcraft.init.ItemInit;
import com.qeeqse.signcraft.objects.entity.projectile.EntityKunai;

import net.minecraft.entity.player.EntityPlayer;
import net.minecraft.init.SoundEvents;
import net.minecraft.item.Item;
import net.minecraft.item.ItemStack;
import net.minecraft.stats.StatList;
import net.minecraft.util.ActionResult;
import net.minecraft.util.EnumActionResult;
import net.minecraft.util.EnumHand;
import net.minecraft.util.SoundCategory;
import net.minecraft.world.World;

public class ItemKunai extends Item
{
	public ItemKunai()
	{
		this.maxStackSize = 16;
		setRegistryName( "kunai" );
		setUnlocalizedName( "kunai" );
		this.setCreativeTab( SignCraft.SIGNCRAFT_TAB );
		ItemInit.ITEMS.add( this );
	}
	
	public ActionResult<ItemStack> onItemRightClick(World worldIn, EntityPlayer playerIn, EnumHand handIn)
    {
        ItemStack itemstack = playerIn.getHeldItem(handIn);

        if (!playerIn.capabilities.isCreativeMode)
        {
            itemstack.shrink(1);
        }

        worldIn.playSound((EntityPlayer)null, playerIn.posX, playerIn.posY, playerIn.posZ, SoundEvents.ENTITY_ARROW_SHOOT, SoundCategory.NEUTRAL, 0.5F, 0.4F / (itemRand.nextFloat() * 0.4F + 0.8F));

        if (!worldIn.isRemote)
        {
            EntityKunai entitykunai = new EntityKunai(worldIn, playerIn);
            entitykunai.shoot(playerIn, playerIn.rotationPitch, playerIn.rotationYaw, 0.0F, 3.0F, 0.5F);
            worldIn.spawnEntity(entitykunai);
        }

        playerIn.addStat(StatList.getObjectUseStats(this));
        return new ActionResult<ItemStack>(EnumActionResult.SUCCESS, itemstack);
    }
}

ItemInit class:

package com.qeeqse.signcraft.init;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

import com.qeeqse.signcraft.objects.items.ItemBase;
import com.qeeqse.signcraft.objects.items.ItemKunai;

import net.minecraft.item.Item;

public class ItemInit
{
	public static final List<Item> ITEMS = new ArrayList<Item>();
	
	// Armor
	
	// Items
	
	// Materials
	
	// Tools
	
	// Weapons
	public static final ItemKunai KUNAI = new ItemKunai();
	public static final Item SHURIKEN = new ItemBase( "shuriken" );  //TODO: create class, remove ItemBase
	
}

RegistryHandler class:

package com.qeeqse.signcraft.util.handlers;

import com.qeeqse.signcraft.SignCraft;
import com.qeeqse.signcraft.init.BlockInit;
import com.qeeqse.signcraft.init.EntityInit;
import com.qeeqse.signcraft.init.ItemInit;

import net.minecraft.block.Block;
import net.minecraft.item.Item;
import net.minecraftforge.client.event.ModelRegistryEvent;
import net.minecraftforge.event.RegistryEvent;
import net.minecraftforge.fml.common.Mod.EventBusSubscriber;
import net.minecraftforge.fml.common.eventhandler.SubscribeEvent;
import net.minecraftforge.fml.common.registry.EntityEntry;

@EventBusSubscriber
public class RegistryHandler
{
	@SubscribeEvent
	public static void onItemRegister( RegistryEvent.Register<Item> event )
	{
		event.getRegistry().registerAll( ItemInit.ITEMS.toArray( new Item[ 0 ] ) );
	}
	
	@SubscribeEvent
	public static void onModelRegister( ModelRegistryEvent event )
	{
		for( Item item : ItemInit.ITEMS )
		{
			SignCraft.proxy.registerItemRenderer( item, 0, "inventory" );
		}
		
		for( Block block : BlockInit.BLOCKS )
		{
			SignCraft.proxy.registerItemRenderer( Item.getItemFromBlock( block ), 0, "inventory" );
		}
	}
	
	@SubscribeEvent
	public static void onBlockRegister( RegistryEvent.Register<Block> event )
	{
		event.getRegistry().registerAll( BlockInit.BLOCKS.toArray( new Block[ 0 ] ) );
	}
	
	@SubscribeEvent
	public static void onEntityRegister( RegistryEvent.Register<EntityEntry> event )
	{
		event.getRegistry().registerAll( EntityInit.ENTITIES.toArray( new EntityEntry[0] ) );
	}
	
	
	public static void preInitRegistries()
	{
		
	}
	
	public static void initRegistries()
	{
		SignCraft.proxy.render();
	}
	
	public static void postInitRegistries()
	{
		
	}
	
	public static void serverRegistries()
	{
		
	}
}

Next I created an Entity class for the item and essentially copied over a majority of the original code from the EntityArrow class because it deals with things like NBT read/write to render arrows embedded in the block they hit, member methods like .shoot, and the 'physics' used for an arrows trajectory. I originally tried to make an EntityInit class so that I could register the entity with my current RegistryHandler class as I did with the items, but all my constructors for the entity class require a World object as a parameter.

Entity class: (probably not worth combing through as it is essentially EntityArrow with a few things renamed)

package com.qeeqse.signcraft.objects.entity.projectile;

import java.util.List;

import javax.annotation.Nullable;

import com.google.common.base.Predicate;
import com.google.common.base.Predicates;

import net.minecraft.block.Block;
import net.minecraft.block.material.Material;
import net.minecraft.block.state.IBlockState;
import net.minecraft.enchantment.EnchantmentHelper;
import net.minecraft.entity.Entity;
import net.minecraft.entity.EntityLivingBase;
import net.minecraft.entity.MoverType;
import net.minecraft.entity.monster.EntityEnderman;
import net.minecraft.entity.player.EntityPlayer;
import net.minecraft.entity.player.EntityPlayerMP;
import net.minecraft.entity.projectile.EntityThrowable;
import net.minecraft.init.Enchantments;
import net.minecraft.init.SoundEvents;
import net.minecraft.item.ItemStack;
import net.minecraft.nbt.NBTTagCompound;
import net.minecraft.network.datasync.DataParameter;
import net.minecraft.network.datasync.DataSerializers;
import net.minecraft.network.datasync.EntityDataManager;
import net.minecraft.network.play.server.SPacketChangeGameState;
import net.minecraft.util.DamageSource;
import net.minecraft.util.EntitySelectors;
import net.minecraft.util.EnumParticleTypes;
import net.minecraft.util.ResourceLocation;
import net.minecraft.util.datafix.DataFixer;
import net.minecraft.util.math.AxisAlignedBB;
import net.minecraft.util.math.BlockPos;
import net.minecraft.util.math.MathHelper;
import net.minecraft.util.math.RayTraceResult;
import net.minecraft.util.math.Vec3d;
import net.minecraft.world.World;
import net.minecraftforge.fml.relauncher.Side;
import net.minecraftforge.fml.relauncher.SideOnly;

public class EntityKunai extends EntityThrowable
{
	private static final Predicate<Entity> KUNAI_TARGETS = Predicates.and(EntitySelectors.NOT_SPECTATING, EntitySelectors.IS_ALIVE, new Predicate<Entity>()
    {
        public boolean apply(@Nullable Entity p_apply_1_)
        {
            return p_apply_1_.canBeCollidedWith();
        }
    });
	
    private static final DataParameter<Byte> CRITICAL = EntityDataManager.<Byte>createKey(EntityKunai.class, DataSerializers.BYTE);
    
    private int xTile;
    private int yTile;
    private int zTile;
    private Block inTile;
    private int inData;
    protected boolean inGround;
    protected int timeInGround;
    public EntityKunai.PickupStatus pickupStatus;
    public int arrowShake;
    public Entity shootingEntity;
    private int ticksInGround;
    private int ticksInAir;
    private double damage;
    private int knockbackStrength;
	
	public EntityKunai( World worldIn )
    {
        super( worldIn );
        this.xTile = -1;
        this.yTile = -1;
        this.zTile = -1;
        this.pickupStatus = EntityKunai.PickupStatus.DISALLOWED;
        this.damage = 2.0D;
    }

    public EntityKunai( World worldIn, EntityLivingBase throwerIn )
    {
    	this(worldIn, throwerIn.posX, throwerIn.posY + (double)throwerIn.getEyeHeight() - 0.10000000149011612D, throwerIn.posZ);
        this.shootingEntity = throwerIn;

        if (throwerIn instanceof EntityPlayer)
        {
            this.pickupStatus = EntityKunai.PickupStatus.ALLOWED;
        }
    }

    public EntityKunai( World worldIn, double x, double y, double z )
    {
        super( worldIn, x, y, z );
        this.setPosition( x, y, z );
    }
    
    @SideOnly(Side.CLIENT)
    public boolean isInRangeToRenderDist(double distance)
    {
        double d0 = this.getEntityBoundingBox().getAverageEdgeLength() * 10.0D;

        if (Double.isNaN(d0))
        {
            d0 = 1.0D;
        }

        d0 = d0 * 64.0D * getRenderDistanceWeight();
        return distance < d0 * d0;
    }

    protected void entityInit()
    {
        this.dataManager.register(CRITICAL, Byte.valueOf((byte)0));
    }
    
    public void shoot(Entity thrower, float pitch, float yaw, float p_184547_4_, float velocity, float inaccuracy)
    {
        float f = -MathHelper.sin(yaw * 0.017453292F) * MathHelper.cos(pitch * 0.017453292F);
        float f1 = -MathHelper.sin(pitch * 0.017453292F);
        float f2 = MathHelper.cos(yaw * 0.017453292F) * MathHelper.cos(pitch * 0.017453292F);
        this.shoot((double)f, (double)f1, (double)f2, velocity, inaccuracy);
        this.motionX += thrower.motionX;
        this.motionZ += thrower.motionZ;

        if (!thrower.onGround)
        {
            this.motionY += thrower.motionY;
        }
    }

    public void shoot(double x, double y, double z, float velocity, float inaccuracy)
    {
        float f = MathHelper.sqrt(x * x + y * y + z * z);
        x = x / (double)f;
        y = y / (double)f;
        z = z / (double)f;
        x = x + this.rand.nextGaussian() * 0.007499999832361937D * (double)inaccuracy;
        y = y + this.rand.nextGaussian() * 0.007499999832361937D * (double)inaccuracy;
        z = z + this.rand.nextGaussian() * 0.007499999832361937D * (double)inaccuracy;
        x = x * (double)velocity;
        y = y * (double)velocity;
        z = z * (double)velocity;
        this.motionX = x;
        this.motionY = y;
        this.motionZ = z;
        float f1 = MathHelper.sqrt(x * x + z * z);
        this.rotationYaw = (float)(MathHelper.atan2(x, z) * (180D / Math.PI));
        this.rotationPitch = (float)(MathHelper.atan2(y, (double)f1) * (180D / Math.PI));
        this.prevRotationYaw = this.rotationYaw;
        this.prevRotationPitch = this.rotationPitch;
        this.ticksInGround = 0;
    }

    @SideOnly(Side.CLIENT)
    public void setPositionAndRotationDirect(double x, double y, double z, float yaw, float pitch, int posRotationIncrements, boolean teleport)
    {
        this.setPosition(x, y, z);
        this.setRotation(yaw, pitch);
    }

    @SideOnly(Side.CLIENT)
    public void setVelocity(double x, double y, double z)
    {
        this.motionX = x;
        this.motionY = y;
        this.motionZ = z;

        if (this.prevRotationPitch == 0.0F && this.prevRotationYaw == 0.0F)
        {
            float f = MathHelper.sqrt(x * x + z * z);
            this.rotationPitch = (float)(MathHelper.atan2(y, (double)f) * (180D / Math.PI));
            this.rotationYaw = (float)(MathHelper.atan2(x, z) * (180D / Math.PI));
            this.prevRotationPitch = this.rotationPitch;
            this.prevRotationYaw = this.rotationYaw;
            this.setLocationAndAngles(this.posX, this.posY, this.posZ, this.rotationYaw, this.rotationPitch);
            this.ticksInGround = 0;
        }
    }

    public void onUpdate()
    {
        super.onUpdate();

        if (this.prevRotationPitch == 0.0F && this.prevRotationYaw == 0.0F)
        {
            float f = MathHelper.sqrt(this.motionX * this.motionX + this.motionZ * this.motionZ);
            this.rotationYaw = (float)(MathHelper.atan2(this.motionX, this.motionZ) * (180D / Math.PI));
            this.rotationPitch = (float)(MathHelper.atan2(this.motionY, (double)f) * (180D / Math.PI));
            this.prevRotationYaw = this.rotationYaw;
            this.prevRotationPitch = this.rotationPitch;
        }

        BlockPos blockpos = new BlockPos(this.xTile, this.yTile, this.zTile);
        IBlockState iblockstate = this.world.getBlockState(blockpos);
        Block block = iblockstate.getBlock();

        if (iblockstate.getMaterial() != Material.AIR)
        {
            AxisAlignedBB axisalignedbb = iblockstate.getCollisionBoundingBox(this.world, blockpos);

            if (axisalignedbb != Block.NULL_AABB && axisalignedbb.offset(blockpos).contains(new Vec3d(this.posX, this.posY, this.posZ)))
            {
                this.inGround = true;
            }
        }

        if (this.arrowShake > 0)
        {
            --this.arrowShake;
        }

        if (this.inGround)
        {
            int j = block.getMetaFromState(iblockstate);

            if ((block != this.inTile || j != this.inData) && !this.world.collidesWithAnyBlock(this.getEntityBoundingBox().grow(0.05D)))
            {
                this.inGround = false;
                this.motionX *= (double)(this.rand.nextFloat() * 0.2F);
                this.motionY *= (double)(this.rand.nextFloat() * 0.2F);
                this.motionZ *= (double)(this.rand.nextFloat() * 0.2F);
                this.ticksInGround = 0;
                this.ticksInAir = 0;
            }
            else
            {
                ++this.ticksInGround;

                if (this.ticksInGround >= 1200)
                {
                    this.setDead();
                }
            }

            ++this.timeInGround;
        }
        else
        {
            this.timeInGround = 0;
            ++this.ticksInAir;
            Vec3d vec3d1 = new Vec3d(this.posX, this.posY, this.posZ);
            Vec3d vec3d = new Vec3d(this.posX + this.motionX, this.posY + this.motionY, this.posZ + this.motionZ);
            RayTraceResult raytraceresult = this.world.rayTraceBlocks(vec3d1, vec3d, false, true, false);
            vec3d1 = new Vec3d(this.posX, this.posY, this.posZ);
            vec3d = new Vec3d(this.posX + this.motionX, this.posY + this.motionY, this.posZ + this.motionZ);

            if (raytraceresult != null)
            {
                vec3d = new Vec3d(raytraceresult.hitVec.x, raytraceresult.hitVec.y, raytraceresult.hitVec.z);
            }

            Entity entity = this.findEntityOnPath(vec3d1, vec3d);

            if (entity != null)
            {
                raytraceresult = new RayTraceResult(entity);
            }

            if (raytraceresult != null && raytraceresult.entityHit instanceof EntityPlayer)
            {
                EntityPlayer entityplayer = (EntityPlayer)raytraceresult.entityHit;

                if (this.shootingEntity instanceof EntityPlayer && !((EntityPlayer)this.shootingEntity).canAttackPlayer(entityplayer))
                {
                    raytraceresult = null;
                }
            }

            if (raytraceresult != null && !net.minecraftforge.event.ForgeEventFactory.onProjectileImpact(this, raytraceresult))
            {
                this.onImpact(raytraceresult);
            }

            if (this.getIsCritical())
            {
                for (int k = 0; k < 4; ++k)
                {
                    this.world.spawnParticle(EnumParticleTypes.CRIT, this.posX + this.motionX * (double)k / 4.0D, this.posY + this.motionY * (double)k / 4.0D, this.posZ + this.motionZ * (double)k / 4.0D, -this.motionX, -this.motionY + 0.2D, -this.motionZ);
                }
            }

            this.posX += this.motionX;
            this.posY += this.motionY;
            this.posZ += this.motionZ;
            float f4 = MathHelper.sqrt(this.motionX * this.motionX + this.motionZ * this.motionZ);
            this.rotationYaw = (float)(MathHelper.atan2(this.motionX, this.motionZ) * (180D / Math.PI));

            for (this.rotationPitch = (float)(MathHelper.atan2(this.motionY, (double)f4) * (180D / Math.PI)); this.rotationPitch - this.prevRotationPitch < -180.0F; this.prevRotationPitch -= 360.0F)
            {
                ;
            }

            while (this.rotationPitch - this.prevRotationPitch >= 180.0F)
            {
                this.prevRotationPitch += 360.0F;
            }

            while (this.rotationYaw - this.prevRotationYaw < -180.0F)
            {
                this.prevRotationYaw -= 360.0F;
            }

            while (this.rotationYaw - this.prevRotationYaw >= 180.0F)
            {
                this.prevRotationYaw += 360.0F;
            }

            this.rotationPitch = this.prevRotationPitch + (this.rotationPitch - this.prevRotationPitch) * 0.2F;
            this.rotationYaw = this.prevRotationYaw + (this.rotationYaw - this.prevRotationYaw) * 0.2F;
            float f1 = 0.99F;
            if (this.isInWater())
            {
                for (int i = 0; i < 4; ++i)
                {
                    this.world.spawnParticle(EnumParticleTypes.WATER_BUBBLE, this.posX - this.motionX * 0.25D, this.posY - this.motionY * 0.25D, this.posZ - this.motionZ * 0.25D, this.motionX, this.motionY, this.motionZ);
                }

                f1 = 0.6F;
            }

            if (this.isWet())
            {
                this.extinguish();
            }

            this.motionX *= (double)f1;
            this.motionY *= (double)f1;
            this.motionZ *= (double)f1;

            if (!this.hasNoGravity())
            {
                this.motionY -= 0.05000000074505806D;
            }

            this.setPosition(this.posX, this.posY, this.posZ);
            this.doBlockCollisions();
        }
    }

    @Override
    protected void onImpact(RayTraceResult raytraceResultIn)
    {
        Entity entity = raytraceResultIn.entityHit;

        if (entity != null)
        {
            float f = MathHelper.sqrt(this.motionX * this.motionX + this.motionY * this.motionY + this.motionZ * this.motionZ);
            int i = MathHelper.ceil((double)f * this.damage);

            if (this.getIsCritical())
            {
                i += this.rand.nextInt(i / 2 + 2);
            }

            DamageSource damagesource;

            if (this.shootingEntity == null)
            {
                damagesource = DamageSource.causeThrownDamage(this, this);
            }
            else
            {
                damagesource = DamageSource.causeThrownDamage(this, this.shootingEntity);
            }

            if (this.isBurning() && !(entity instanceof EntityEnderman))
            {
                entity.setFire(5);
            }

            if (entity.attackEntityFrom(damagesource, (float)i))
            {
                if (entity instanceof EntityLivingBase)
                {
                    EntityLivingBase entitylivingbase = (EntityLivingBase)entity;

                    if (!this.world.isRemote)
                    {
                        entitylivingbase.setArrowCountInEntity(entitylivingbase.getArrowCountInEntity() + 1);
                    }

                    if (this.knockbackStrength > 0)
                    {
                        float f1 = MathHelper.sqrt(this.motionX * this.motionX + this.motionZ * this.motionZ);

                        if (f1 > 0.0F)
                        {
                            entitylivingbase.addVelocity(this.motionX * (double)this.knockbackStrength * 0.6000000238418579D / (double)f1, 0.1D, this.motionZ * (double)this.knockbackStrength * 0.6000000238418579D / (double)f1);
                        }
                    }

                    if (this.shootingEntity instanceof EntityLivingBase)
                    {
                        EnchantmentHelper.applyThornEnchantments(entitylivingbase, this.shootingEntity);
                        EnchantmentHelper.applyArthropodEnchantments((EntityLivingBase)this.shootingEntity, entitylivingbase);
                    }

                    this.kunaiHit(entitylivingbase);

                    if (this.shootingEntity != null && entitylivingbase != this.shootingEntity && entitylivingbase instanceof EntityPlayer && this.shootingEntity instanceof EntityPlayerMP)
                    {
                        ((EntityPlayerMP)this.shootingEntity).connection.sendPacket(new SPacketChangeGameState(6, 0.0F));
                    }
                }

                this.playSound(SoundEvents.ENTITY_ARROW_HIT, 1.0F, 1.2F / (this.rand.nextFloat() * 0.2F + 0.9F));

                if (!(entity instanceof EntityEnderman))
                {
                    this.setDead();
                }
            }
            else
            {
                this.motionX *= -0.10000000149011612D;
                this.motionY *= -0.10000000149011612D;
                this.motionZ *= -0.10000000149011612D;
                this.rotationYaw += 180.0F;
                this.prevRotationYaw += 180.0F;
                this.ticksInAir = 0;

                if (!this.world.isRemote && this.motionX * this.motionX + this.motionY * this.motionY + this.motionZ * this.motionZ < 0.0010000000474974513D)
                {
                    if (this.pickupStatus == EntityKunai.PickupStatus.ALLOWED)
                    {
                        this.entityDropItem(this.getItemStack(), 0.1F);
                    }

                    this.setDead();
                }
            }
        }
        else
        {
            BlockPos blockpos = raytraceResultIn.getBlockPos();
            this.xTile = blockpos.getX();
            this.yTile = blockpos.getY();
            this.zTile = blockpos.getZ();
            IBlockState iblockstate = this.world.getBlockState(blockpos);
            this.inTile = iblockstate.getBlock();
            this.inData = this.inTile.getMetaFromState(iblockstate);
            this.motionX = (double)((float)(raytraceResultIn.hitVec.x - this.posX));
            this.motionY = (double)((float)(raytraceResultIn.hitVec.y - this.posY));
            this.motionZ = (double)((float)(raytraceResultIn.hitVec.z - this.posZ));
            float f2 = MathHelper.sqrt(this.motionX * this.motionX + this.motionY * this.motionY + this.motionZ * this.motionZ);
            this.posX -= this.motionX / (double)f2 * 0.05000000074505806D;
            this.posY -= this.motionY / (double)f2 * 0.05000000074505806D;
            this.posZ -= this.motionZ / (double)f2 * 0.05000000074505806D;
            this.playSound(SoundEvents.ENTITY_ARROW_HIT, 1.0F, 1.2F / (this.rand.nextFloat() * 0.2F + 0.9F));
            this.inGround = true;
            this.arrowShake = 7;
            this.setIsCritical(false);

            if (iblockstate.getMaterial() != Material.AIR)
            {
                this.inTile.onEntityCollidedWithBlock(this.world, blockpos, iblockstate, this);
            }
        }
    }

    public void move(MoverType type, double x, double y, double z)
    {
        super.move(type, x, y, z);

        if (this.inGround)
        {
            this.xTile = MathHelper.floor(this.posX);
            this.yTile = MathHelper.floor(this.posY);
            this.zTile = MathHelper.floor(this.posZ);
        }
    }

    protected void kunaiHit(EntityLivingBase living)
    {
    }

    @Nullable
    protected Entity findEntityOnPath(Vec3d start, Vec3d end)
    {
        Entity entity = null;
        List<Entity> list = this.world.getEntitiesInAABBexcluding(this, this.getEntityBoundingBox().expand(this.motionX, this.motionY, this.motionZ).grow(1.0D), KUNAI_TARGETS);
        double d0 = 0.0D;

        for (int i = 0; i < list.size(); ++i)
        {
            Entity entity1 = list.get(i);

            if (entity1 != this.shootingEntity || this.ticksInAir >= 5)
            {
                AxisAlignedBB axisalignedbb = entity1.getEntityBoundingBox().grow(0.30000001192092896D);
                RayTraceResult raytraceresult = axisalignedbb.calculateIntercept(start, end);

                if (raytraceresult != null)
                {
                    double d1 = start.squareDistanceTo(raytraceresult.hitVec);

                    if (d1 < d0 || d0 == 0.0D)
                    {
                        entity = entity1;
                        d0 = d1;
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        return entity;
    }

    public static void registerFixesArrow(DataFixer fixer, String name)
    {
    }

    public static void registerFixesKunai(DataFixer fixer)
    {
        registerFixesThrowable(fixer, "Kunai");
    }

    public void writeEntityToNBT(NBTTagCompound compound)
    {
        compound.setInteger("xTile", this.xTile);
        compound.setInteger("yTile", this.yTile);
        compound.setInteger("zTile", this.zTile);
        compound.setShort("life", (short)this.ticksInGround);
        ResourceLocation resourcelocation = Block.REGISTRY.getNameForObject(this.inTile);
        compound.setString("inTile", resourcelocation == null ? "" : resourcelocation.toString());
        compound.setByte("inData", (byte)this.inData);
        compound.setByte("shake", (byte)this.arrowShake);
        compound.setByte("inGround", (byte)(this.inGround ? 1 : 0));
        compound.setByte("pickup", (byte)this.pickupStatus.ordinal());
        compound.setDouble("damage", this.damage);
        compound.setBoolean("crit", this.getIsCritical());
    }

    public void readEntityFromNBT(NBTTagCompound compound)
    {
        this.xTile = compound.getInteger("xTile");
        this.yTile = compound.getInteger("yTile");
        this.zTile = compound.getInteger("zTile");
        this.ticksInGround = compound.getShort("life");

        if (compound.hasKey("inTile", 8))
        {
            this.inTile = Block.getBlockFromName(compound.getString("inTile"));
        }
        else
        {
            this.inTile = Block.getBlockById(compound.getByte("inTile") & 255);
        }

        this.inData = compound.getByte("inData") & 255;
        this.arrowShake = compound.getByte("shake") & 255;
        this.inGround = compound.getByte("inGround") == 1;

        if (compound.hasKey("damage", 99))
        {
            this.damage = compound.getDouble("damage");
        }

        if (compound.hasKey("pickup", 99))
        {
            this.pickupStatus = EntityKunai.PickupStatus.getByOrdinal(compound.getByte("pickup"));
        }
        else if (compound.hasKey("player", 99))
        {
            this.pickupStatus = compound.getBoolean("player") ? EntityKunai.PickupStatus.ALLOWED : EntityKunai.PickupStatus.DISALLOWED;
        }

        this.setIsCritical(compound.getBoolean("crit"));
    }

    public void onCollideWithPlayer(EntityPlayer entityIn)
    {
        if (!this.world.isRemote && this.inGround && this.arrowShake <= 0)
        {
            boolean flag = this.pickupStatus == EntityKunai.PickupStatus.ALLOWED || this.pickupStatus == EntityKunai.PickupStatus.CREATIVE_ONLY && entityIn.capabilities.isCreativeMode;

            if (this.pickupStatus == EntityKunai.PickupStatus.ALLOWED && !entityIn.inventory.addItemStackToInventory(this.getItemStack()))
            {
                flag = false;
            }

            if (flag)
            {
                entityIn.onItemPickup(this, 1);
                this.setDead();
            }
        }
    }

    protected ItemStack getItemStack()
    {
    	return new ItemStack( inTile );
    }

    protected boolean canTriggerWalking()
    {
        return false;
    }

    public void setDamage(double damageIn)
    {
        this.damage = damageIn;
    }

    public double getDamage()
    {
        return this.damage;
    }

    public void setKnockbackStrength(int knockbackStrengthIn)
    {
        this.knockbackStrength = knockbackStrengthIn;
    }

    public boolean canBeAttackedWithItem()
    {
        return false;
    }

    public float getEyeHeight()
    {
        return 0.0F;
    }

    public void setIsCritical(boolean critical)
    {
        byte b0 = ((Byte)this.dataManager.get(CRITICAL)).byteValue();

        if (critical)
        {
            this.dataManager.set(CRITICAL, Byte.valueOf((byte)(b0 | 1)));
        }
        else
        {
            this.dataManager.set(CRITICAL, Byte.valueOf((byte)(b0 & -2)));
        }
    }

    public boolean getIsCritical()
    {
        byte b0 = ((Byte)this.dataManager.get(CRITICAL)).byteValue();
        return (b0 & 1) != 0;
    }

    public void setEnchantmentEffectsFromEntity(EntityLivingBase p_190547_1_, float p_190547_2_)
    {
        int i = EnchantmentHelper.getMaxEnchantmentLevel(Enchantments.POWER, p_190547_1_);
        int j = EnchantmentHelper.getMaxEnchantmentLevel(Enchantments.PUNCH, p_190547_1_);
        this.setDamage((double)(p_190547_2_ * 2.0F) + this.rand.nextGaussian() * 0.25D + (double)((float)this.world.getDifficulty().getDifficultyId() * 0.11F));

        if (i > 0)
        {
            this.setDamage(this.getDamage() + (double)i * 0.5D + 0.5D);
        }

        if (j > 0)
        {
            this.setKnockbackStrength(j);
        }

        if (EnchantmentHelper.getMaxEnchantmentLevel(Enchantments.FLAME, p_190547_1_) > 0)
        {
            this.setFire(100);
        }
    }

    public static enum PickupStatus
    {
        DISALLOWED,
        ALLOWED,
        CREATIVE_ONLY;

        public static EntityKunai.PickupStatus getByOrdinal(int ordinal)
        {
            if (ordinal < 0 || ordinal > values().length)
            {
                ordinal = 0;
            }

            return values()[ordinal];
        }
    }
}

the only thing worth noting in the above code is that lines 45-51 throw a TypeSafety warning (Type safety: A generic array of Predicate<? super Entity> is created for a varargs parameter). It seems like this bock is designating what current (entity) objects that the spawned entity will be able to interacted with, but I am not familiar with what Predicate and p_apply_1_ are actually doing.

Just to clarify, I know none of this code reflects an attempt to register my entity anywhere. I was trying to do this in the same way as my ItemInit class that is passed to my RegistryHandler, but that does not work and the code is not notably different than the ItemInit above. As it stands, the game launches and I can access the item through the creative tab (I also have a JSON set up and can craft it but that's working fine) and when I right click it triggers the appropriate sound but obviously doesn't render anything because the entity is not registered. I'm wondering what the best way to register this type of entity would be (I'm sorry, I know this is a very open ended question that may require a lot of explanation). I also know the next thing to do will be creating the model for the entity, but I assume this can be done similar to my item models with JSON files.

A preemptive thank you for any help, guidance, or criticism you may have! I'll copy my main class below as well as this is what calls my RegistryHandler (and contains more code from the tutorial that may have gotten me started on the wrong foot, so feel free to yell at/mock me for anything that looks bad in there).

 

package com.qeeqse.signcraft;

import com.qeeqse.signcraft.proxy.CommonProxy;
import com.qeeqse.signcraft.tabs.SignCraftTab;
import com.qeeqse.signcraft.util.Reference;
import com.qeeqse.signcraft.util.handlers.RegistryHandler;

import net.minecraft.creativetab.CreativeTabs;
import net.minecraftforge.fml.common.Mod;
import net.minecraftforge.fml.common.Mod.EventHandler;
import net.minecraftforge.fml.common.Mod.Instance;
import net.minecraftforge.fml.common.SidedProxy;
import net.minecraftforge.fml.common.event.FMLInitializationEvent;
import net.minecraftforge.fml.common.event.FMLPostInitializationEvent;
import net.minecraftforge.fml.common.event.FMLPreInitializationEvent;
import net.minecraftforge.fml.common.event.FMLServerStartingEvent;

@Mod( modid = Reference.MOD_ID, version = Reference.VERSION, name = Reference.NAME )
public class SignCraft
{
	public static final CreativeTabs SIGNCRAFT_TAB = new SignCraftTab( "signcrafttab" );
	
	@Instance
	public static SignCraft instance;
	
	@SidedProxy( clientSide = Reference.CLIENT_PROXY_CLASS, serverSide = Reference.COMMON_PROXY_CLASS )  //TODO: replace common proxy with server proxy
	public static CommonProxy proxy;
	
	@EventHandler
	public void preInit( FMLPreInitializationEvent event )
	{
		RegistryHandler.preInitRegistries();
	}
	
	@EventHandler
	public void init( FMLInitializationEvent event )
	{
		RegistryHandler.initRegistries();
	}
	
	@EventHandler
	public void postInit( FMLPostInitializationEvent event )
	{
		RegistryHandler.postInitRegistries();
	}
	
	@EventHandler
	public void serverInit( FMLServerStartingEvent event )
	{
		RegistryHandler.serverRegistries();
	}
}