Advanced Structure Settings

In the previous chapter, we exported a file successfully to the config. Now, we want to customize everything a bit more.

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The Main Spawn Island

The mainSpawnIsland option is null by default. That means, there is no dedicated spawn structure selected. In that case, the first entry of templateList will be used. Otherwise, you may define it exactly as an entry in that list. For more information about the specific options, read next chapter.

templateList Entry Options

At the moment, we're just using the config value templateList and only added one entry. In that entry, we didn't even use all the available settings. Here is everything you can configure in each entry.

info

Island templates are located in config/skyblockbuilder/templates/islands/.

Key	Description	Default Value
name	The name is either a string or a translation key. For being a translation key, you need to add { and } around the string. That way, you can translate it in multiple languages by providing a resource pack with language files.	❌
desc	This is the description for the template, shown in the customize screen for single player. By wrapping it with curly brackets, it converts into a translation key, same as the name.	""
file	The file name with extension. Look closely if you have a .nbt or .snbt file.	❌
spawns	Either a string as reference from spawnPointReferences or a direct object. For more detailed information, read Spawn Point Definitions	❌
offset	The offset is useful if you want your structure to be generated slightly off from your 0 ~ 0. This is applied on top of the defaultOffset.	[ 0, 0, 0 ]
surroundingBlocks	Either a string as reference from surroundingBlockReferences or a direct object. For more detailed information, read Surrounding Block Definitions	{}
spreads	Either a string as reference from spreadReferences or a direct object. For more detailed information, read Spread Definitions	[]
allowPaletteSelection	This allows the user to select a palette for this template. If there's no second block palette, this will have no effect. Read more about palettes in Add Palettes	true

Default Offset

This value is the default offset from 0 ~ 0 to generate the islands. This is applied to all the templates, no matter what the template-specific offset is. This may be used to generate the islands in the middle of a .mca file. For that, you want to use a value of 256.

Spawn Point Definitions

The spawn point definitions are pretty simple. You have a key, and a JSON object. The key may be used as reference in the templateList. In this example, there are two possible keys where you could use exactly one. Available keys are default and definition_2. Using key default will add exactly one spawn point at position X=6, Y=3, and Z=5, relative to 0, 0, 0 of the structure. This spawn point was added to south, so you would look in south direction. Using definition_2 would add one spawn point at 0, 0, 2 is west direction and one at 2, 4, 6 in north direction. In this case, a random spawn point will be used whenever a player will be teleported to that team/island.

spawnPointReferences

{
  "default": {
    "south": [
      [ 6, 3, 5 ]
    ],
    "west": [],
    "north": [],
    "east": []
  },
  "definition_2": {
    "south": [],
    "west": [
      [ 0, 0, 2 ]
    ],
    "north": [
      [ 2, 4, 6 ]
    ],
    "east": []
  }
}

Surrounding Block Definitions

The surrounding block definitions allow you to define blocks that will be placed around your structure. This is useful for creating a border or safety barrier around your island. Like spawn points, you can define these either directly in the template or reference them from the surroundingBlockReferences configuration.

Here's an example of how to define surrounding blocks:

surroundingBlockReferences

{
  "default": {
    "margin": 1,
    "blocks": [
      {
        "block": "minecraft:stone",
        "weight": 1
      }
    ]
  },
  "varied_border": {
    "margin": 2,
    "blocks": [
      {
        "block": "minecraft:cobblestone",
        "weight": 3
      },
      {
        "block": "minecraft:mossy_cobblestone"
      },
      {
        "block": "minecraft:stone_bricks",
        "weight": 2
      }
    ]
  }
}

The configuration has two main components:

Key	Description	Default Value
margin	The amount for how many layers around the structure will be placed. Must be a positive integer.	1
blocks	An array of block definitions, each with a block (resource location) and optional weight. Blocks with higher weights are more likely to be chosen during random selection.	[]

Block Definition Properties

Each block in the blocks array can have the following properties:

Key	Description	Default Value
block	The resource location of the block (e.g., "minecraft:stone"). Must be a valid block ID registered in the game.	❌
weight	The relative chance of this block being selected. Higher numbers mean higher chance.	1

You can reference these definitions in your template list by using the key as a string:

Reference and Direct example

{
  "templateList": [
    {
      "name": "Basic Island",
      "file": "basic_island.nbt",
      "surroundingBlocks": "default"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mountain Island",
      "file": "mountain.nbt",
      "surroundingBlocks": {
        "margin": 3,
        "blocks": [
          {
            "block": "minecraft:stone",
            "weight": 1
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

As shown in the example above, you can either reference a predefined configuration using a string (like "default"), or provide the configuration directly in the template entry. If no surrounding blocks are defined, an empty configuration will be used (margin: 0, no blocks).