Blockbuster Mod Wiki

Blockbuster is a powerful filmmaking tool for Minecraft (specifically versions 1.12.2 and 1.11.2) that transforms the game into a virtual movie studio. It allows a single creator to record their own movements and play them back on NPC entities called Actors, effectively allowing one person to play every role in a movie cast.

The mod is built upon a frame-based recording system, ensuring that every movement, item use, and block interaction is captured with precision. It integrates deeply with Metamorph for character morphing and Aperture for advanced camera control. Blockbuster is primarily designed for creative use and single-player environments, though it supports basic multiplayer functionality for collaborative filming.

The heart of Blockbuster is its recording engine. Unlike standard video recording, Blockbuster records the data of your actions within the Minecraft world.

Recording Actions

Players can initiate a recording by using the /bb record command or through the Scene/Director GUI. Once recording starts, a countdown appears. During the recording session, the mod tracks:

• Movement (Walking, jumping, sneaking, flying)
• Head rotation and body orientation
• Item usage (Eating, swinging tools, firing bows)
• Block placement and destruction
• Morph changes (via Metamorph)
• Emotes (if compatible mods are installed)

Playback

Once a recording is saved (assigned a unique Recording ID), it can be assigned to an Actor. When the playback is triggered, the Actor will perfectly replicate the recorded actions. Multiple recordings can be played simultaneously to create complex scenes with dozens of characters interacting at once.

Actors are the entities that perform your recordings. They are not standard NPCs; they are highly configurable shells that can take on any appearance.

Actor Properties

Using the Actor Configuration Device, players can modify the following attributes of an Actor:

To manage multiple actors and synchronize them with cameras and redstone, Blockbuster provides the Director Block and the Scene System.

Director Block

The Director Block is a physical block placed in the world that acts as the 'brain' of a scene. By right-clicking it, players can add multiple actors, assign them recordings, and set their starting positions.

• Redstone Integration: The block has 'Play' and 'Stop' sides. Powering the 'Play' side starts the scene; when the scene ends, it can emit a redstone pulse to trigger other events.
• Commands: You can specify commands to run automatically when a scene starts or finishes.

Scene System (Modern Workflow)

In later versions of the mod, the Dashboard (Default Key: 0) introduces the Scene System. This allows creators to manage scenes globally without needing to place physical blocks. Scenes can be organized into folders, duplicated, and edited through a comprehensive timeline-based interface.

Blockbuster adds several utility items to facilitate movie production. Most are found in the Blockbuster Creative Tab.

The mod includes specialized blocks for scene management and visual effects.

Blockbuster features a robust custom model engine. It supports importing external 3D models to be used as Actors, props, or equipment.

• Supported Formats: OBJ (Wavefront), JSON (Minecraft standard), and MagicaVoxel (VOX).
• Model Editor: Accessible via the Dashboard, the Model Editor allows players to adjust limb rotations, scale, textures, and animations for custom models.
• Skin Manager: A built-in tool to manage and assign skins to models without restarting the game. Skins are stored in the config/blockbuster/skins/ directory.

Commands are essential for managing recordings and scenes via the chat or command blocks.

The mod's behavior can be fine-tuned in the blockbuster.cfg file. Key configuration options include:

• Recording Frequency: Adjusts how many ticks occur between recorded frames (default is 1 for maximum smoothness).
• Actor Despawning: Toggles whether actors should disappear immediately after their recording finishes.
• Green Screen Colors: Allows customization of the hex codes for chroma key blocks.
• Folder Paths: Customizes where skins, models, and recordings are stored on the hard drive.