Overview#
Familiar Fauna is a wildlife-focused mod designed to populate the Minecraft world with a diverse array of animals and insects. Created by the team behind Biomes O' Plenty, it aims to enhance the game's atmosphere and exploration by adding creatures that feel native to their respective environments. The mod features high-quality models, unique behaviors, and native integration with major biome mods, ensuring that new creatures spawn naturally in appropriate climates without additional configuration.
Mobs#
The mod adds six primary entities, ranging from large mammals to small ambient insects. Each mob features unique AI, such as skittishness or specific breeding requirements.
Deer
Deer are passive, skittish mammals found in temperate and cold forest biomes. They serve as a replacement for cows in these regions to provide a more immersive wilderness feel. Deer appear as either Bucks (males with large antlers) or Does (females without antlers).
- Health: 10 (5 hearts)
- Behavior: They will flee from players who approach too quickly. To approach them, players must sneak while holding an Apple.
- Breeding: Can be bred using Apples. Both a male and female are required.
- Drops: 1–3 Raw Venison, 0–2 Leather.
Turkey
Turkeys are passive birds that spawn in forests and colder climates, often replacing chickens in these areas. They feature distinct plumage differences between males and females.
- Health: 6 (3 hearts)
- Behavior: Passive and social; they often wander in small rafters.
- Breeding: Can be bred using any vanilla seeds (Wheat, Beetroot, Pumpkin, or Melon seeds).
- Drops: 1–2 Raw Turkey Legs, 1–2 Feathers.
Butterfly
Butterflies are ambient, flying insects that appear in warm, lush biomes like Plains and Jungles. They come in a wide variety of colors and patterns.
- Health: 2 (1 heart)
- Behavior: Purely ambient; they fly erratically through the air.
- Interaction: Can be caught using a Bug Net if the player has a Bug Habitat in their inventory.
Dragonfly
Dragonflies are ambient insects found near water sources, particularly in Swamps and River biomes. Like butterflies, they feature multiple color variations.
- Health: 2 (1 heart)
- Behavior: They hover over water and damp areas.
- Interaction: Can be caught using a Bug Net.
Snail
Snails are slow-moving, passive creatures found in Swamp and Wetland biomes. They are primarily decorative but provide a unique resource.
- Health: 4 (2 hearts)
- Behavior: Extremely slow movement; they often cluster on lily pads or mud.
- Drops: 0–1 Snail Shell.
Pixie
Pixies are rare, magical flying creatures found in enchanted biomes such as Flower Forests or Mystic Groves. They emit a soft glow and produce whimsical sounds.
- Health: 10 (5 hearts)
- Behavior: Passive; they flutter around magical flora.
- Drops: 1–2 Pixie Dust.
Items#
Familiar Fauna introduces several new food items, mob drops, and specialized tools for insect collection.
Food Stats
| Item | Hunger Restored | Saturation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw Venison | 3 (1.5 shanks) | 1.2 | Dropped by Deer |
| Cooked Venison | 8 (4 shanks) | 9.6 | Smelted from Raw Venison |
| Raw Turkey Leg | 3 (1.5 shanks) | 1.2 | Dropped by Turkeys; causes Nausea |
| Cooked Turkey Leg | 6 (3 shanks) | 7.2 | Smelted from Raw Turkey Leg |
Tools and Drops
- Bug Net: A tool used to catch Butterflies, Dragonflies, and Pixies. It has 64 points of durability. To successfully catch a creature, the player must have an empty Bug Habitat in their inventory.
- Snail Shell: A decorative drop from Snails. In the base mod, it has no specific crafting use but is often utilized by other mods or for aesthetic purposes.
- Pixie Dust: A rare magical resource dropped by Pixies. It is used in advanced brewing (such as Potions of Flight) or for crafting Ambrosia when Biomes O' Plenty is installed.
Blocks#
Bug Habitat
The Bug Habitat is a specialized container used to store and display caught insects.
- Function: When a player catches a butterfly or dragonfly with a net, the creature is automatically placed into a Bug Habitat in the player's inventory. The habitat item then changes its appearance to show the contained insect.
- Release: Right-clicking with a filled Bug Habitat will release the insect back into the world.
- Naming: If a butterfly is named with a Name Tag before being caught, it will retain its name even while inside the habitat.
Recipes#
The following recipes are used to craft the essential tools for the mod.
Crafting Recipes
| Result | Ingredients | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Bug Net | 2 Sticks, 3 String | String in top-left, top-middle, and middle-left; Sticks in middle-center and bottom-right |
| Bug Habitat | 1 Glass Block, 1 Glass Pane | Glass Block over a Glass Pane in the crafting grid |
Smelting Recipes
- Raw Venison → Cooked Venison (via Furnace/Smoker)
- Raw Turkey Leg → Cooked Turkey Leg (via Furnace/Smoker)
Mechanics and Integration#
Biomes O' Plenty Support
Familiar Fauna features native, hard-coded support for Biomes O' Plenty (BOP). This means mobs will automatically spawn in appropriate BOP biomes:
- Deer: Boreal Forest, Coniferous Forest, Redwood Forest, Seasonal Forest, Shield, etc.
- Turkeys: Orchard, Meadow, Woodland, etc.
- Snails: Bayou, Bog, Fen, Quagmire, Wetland, etc.
- Butterflies: Lavender Fields, Mystic Grove, Cherry Blossom Grove, etc.
Mob Replacement
To maintain balance and realism, the mod modifies vanilla spawn tables in specific biomes. In biomes where Deer spawn, Cow spawns are significantly reduced or removed. Similarly, Turkeys often replace Chicken spawns in forested and cold regions.
Configuration#
The mod's behavior can be customized via the familiarfauna.cfg file located in the /config folder.
Key Config Options:
- Spawn Toggles: Enable or disable specific mobs (Deer, Turkey, Snail, Butterfly, Dragonfly, Pixie) individually.
- Biome Whitelists: Define specific biome IDs where each mob is allowed to spawn. This allows for compatibility with other biome mods like Traverse or Geographicraft.
- Spawn Rates: Adjust the weight and group size for mob spawns to control population density.
