BackSlot Mod Wiki

BackSlot is a functional and aesthetic mod designed to enhance the player's appearance and inventory management. Inspired by the character Dai from the Dragon Quest series, the mod adds two specialized slots to the player's inventory: the Back Slot and the Belt Slot.

Unlike standard inventory slots, items placed in these positions are rendered directly on the player's character model. This allows for a 'heroic' look where weapons like swords, tridents, and bows are visible even when not actively held in the hand. The mod is purely focused on utility and rendering; it does not introduce new blocks, entities, or items to the game world, ensuring high compatibility with vanilla-plus and overhaul modpacks.

The mod functions by extending the player's inventory capabilities and utilizing the head item model renderer to display items.

Equipment Slots

Two new slots are added to the player's inventory screen, typically located near the armor or off-hand slots:

• Back Slot: Designed for primary or heavy weaponry. Items placed here appear vertically or diagonally across the player's back.
• Belt Slot: Designed for secondary weapons or tools. Items placed here appear attached to the player's waist/hip area.

Controls and Hotkeys

While items can be manually dragged into the slots via the inventory UI, the mod provides default keybinds for seamless transitions during gameplay:

BackSlot is designed to work with almost any item that has a 3D or 2D model representation. By default, the mod is optimized for the following vanilla items:

• Swords: Can be placed in either the Belt or Back slot.
• Tridents: Best suited for the Back slot.
• Bows and Crossbows: Rendered on the back.
• Tools: Pickaxes, Axes, and Shovels can be holstered for a survivalist aesthetic.
• Shields: Can be placed on the back when not in use.

BackSlotAddon

For players using other equipment mods, the BackSlotAddon is an optional component that expands compatibility. It provides specific rendering logic for items from popular mods, ensuring they sit correctly in the holsters without clipping into the player model or armor.

The mod utilizes the Cloth Config API to allow players to fine-tune the visual experience. Through the configuration menu, users can adjust how items are displayed to account for custom skins or bulky armor sets.

Visual Offsets

Players can modify the following parameters for both the Back and Belt slots:

• Translation (X, Y, Z): Adjust the horizontal, vertical, and depth position of the holstered item.
• Rotation: Change the angle at which the item sits (e.g., making a sword hang vertically or at a 45-degree angle).
• Scale: Increase or decrease the size of the rendered item on the player's back or belt.

Datapack Integration

Server administrators and modpack creators can use datapacks to define which items are allowed in which slots. BackSlot uses standard Minecraft tags located at:

• data/backslot/tags/items/back.json - Defines items allowed in the back slot.
• data/backslot/tags/items/belt.json - Defines items allowed in the belt slot.

By adding an item's ID to these tags, any modded weapon can be made compatible with the BackSlot system.

BackSlot is built exclusively for the Fabric mod loader. It leverages the vanilla head item model renderer, which is the same system used to render pumpkins or skulls on a player's head, but redirected to the torso and waist bones of the player model.

Requirements

To function correctly, the mod requires the following environment:

• Fabric API: Essential for the mod to interface with the base game.
• Cloth Config API: Required for accessing the in-game configuration menu.

Because the mod relies on standard rendering hooks, it is generally compatible with shader packs and performance mods like Sodium, though specific '3D Skin' mods may require offset adjustments in the config to prevent visual clipping.