Elementum v0.21.0 — Branched Processing Chain Update

Cumulative update since v0.14.0 Alpha. Everything added between the first public Alpha and this release is listed below.

⚗️ Catalysis System (v0.15.0 + v0.15.1)

• 10 Catalyst Elements: Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium and Tungsten (S-Tier, +30%), Vanadium, Molybdenum and Copper (B-Tier, +25%), Nickel and Cobalt (A-Tier, +20%), Iron (+15%). Catalyst in inventory accelerates nearby machines.
• 4 Supported Machines: Electrolysis, Centrifuge, Thermal and Purifier — each catalyst shows its boost and compatible machines directly on its tooltip.
• Poison & Durability (v0.15.1): Exposure to Sulfur, Chlorine, Arsenic, Lead, Alkalis and Coke poisons the catalyst and throttles boost from 30% down to 5%. Each catalyst has 1000 durability that drains with use — at 0 it stops boosting. Regenerate with Hydrogen near Lava or Furnace heat. Poison state is shown with orange vignette and glow particles.

🧬 Synthetic Elements Rework (v0.16.0)

• 28 Synthetic Elements moved out of world generation: Technetium, Promethium and Neptunium through Oganesson (93-118) no longer generate as natural ores. Natural ores are now 77 instead of 105.
• All 28 are still collectible as items, now marked Origin: Synthetic (Lab / Fusion) and obtained only through processing and synthesis — not by mining.

💡 Semiconductors, Doping & Solid-State Devices (v0.17.0)

• 17 Semiconductor Elements: 4 intrinsic (Carbon, Silicon, Germanium, Tin), 5 P-type dopants (Boron, Aluminium, Gallium, Indium, Thallium), 4 N-type dopants (Phosphorus, Arsenic, Antimony, Bismuth) and 4 compound partners (Zinc, Selenium, Cadmium, Tellurium).
• 9 Wafers with new grid-pattern designs and 5 Solid-State Devices: Silicon Diode, Germanium Diode, Silicon Solar Cell, Gallium-Arsenide Solar Cell and Bismuth-Telluride Thermoelectric Module.
• New Circuit Physics: Diodes conduct one-way only, Solar Cells generate power under open sky, and Thermoelectric Modules generate power from hot-cold gradients.
• Placement Polish (v0.17.1): All devices and cables now sit correctly on the block surface — no more sinking into the ground. Cables are centred in the block.

🔌 Dynamic Cable Connection (v0.18.0 → v0.18.3)

• Redstone-style Wiring: 6 cable shapes (Dot, End, Line, Corner, T, Cross) with 16 connection states. Connections update instantly when you place or break a cable next to them.
• Rotation Fix (v0.18.1): End, Corner and T junctions no longer face the wrong way.
• Hitbox Fix (v0.18.2): Cables now use a low rail hitbox — you can walk over them. Diodes and panels use compact half/quarter hitboxes.
• Rich Scientific Tooltips (v0.18.3): Every element, ore, wafer, device and cable now shows a clean multi-line card with category, abundance, density, pickaxe tier and hazards.

🔨 Crushing & Thermal Chain (v0.19.0)

• 77 New Dust Intermediates: Every natural element now has a Dust form with a unique granular texture and a small pile model.
• 2 New Workstations:
  • Crusher — crushes Ore into Dust. Time depends on hardness (4 to 12 seconds).
  • Kiln — smelts Dust into Bars (10 to 22 seconds). Also works in the vanilla Furnace.
• New Visuals: Both stations have full custom models with Off/On states — the Kiln glows with ember bloom when active.

🌿 Branched Processing Chain & Trace Byproducts — The Big Update (v0.21.0)

• Trace Byproduct Economy (12 host ores, real geochemistry): Bauxite → Gallium 60% + Vanadium 12% · Uranium ore → Vanadium 65% + Selenium + Thorium · Copper → Silver + Selenium + Gold · Lead → Silver + Bismuth + Antimony · Zinc → Cadmium 85% + Germanium + Gallium + Indium · Nickel → Cobalt + Palladium + Platinum · Chromium → Osmium + Iridium · Tin → Niobium + Tungsten + Indium · Tungsten → Molybdenum + Bismuth + Tin · Molybdenum → Rhenium 78% + Selenium · Cerium → Thorium + Yttrium + Uranium · Iron → Vanadium + Titanium Breaking an ore now drops its main element plus a chance at 1-2 traces. A pity system guarantees a trace after 7 unlucky breaks.
• 4 New Workstations (6 total with Crusher & Kiln):
  • Separator — fuel-free separation (Wash / Magnetic / Gravity / Inert Wash modes)
  • Purifier — fuel + Argon atmosphere refining
  • Alloy Forge — smelts alloys
  • Particle Accelerator — synthesizes heavy elements
• Kiln Evolution: Placing the Kiln at lava depth (Y ≤ 60) gives free volcanic heat. Wrong heat evaporates traces — shown on the tooltip.
• 5 Alloys (Alloy Forge, 8s): Bronze (Copper + Tin), Brass (Copper + Zinc), Steel (Iron + Carbon), Invar (Iron + Nickel), Electrum (Gold + Silver).
• 3 Syntheses (Accelerator, 12-20s): Molybdenum → Technetium, Uranium → Neptunium, Californium + Calcium → Oganesson — the intended way to obtain synthetic elements.
• Full Chain: Crush → Separate → Refine → Alloy / Synthesize

🎨 Visual & UX Polish

• Kiln completely rebuilt — firebrick, soot, iron bands and a glowing chimney.
• All 6 workstations now have paired Off/On textures and new icons.
• New textures for all 5 alloys and all 77 dusts with finer grain and sharper detail.
• Tooltips standardized across dusts, bars, workstations and alloys.

🔧 Balance & Changes

• Natural ores reduced from 105 to 77 (synthetics moved to lab-only). 11 volcanic ores remain locked to lava depth in Volcanic rock.
• Rarity distribution retuned to real crustal abundance — now Common 10 / Uncommon 14 / Rare 21 / Epic 29 / Legendary 44.

🐛 Fixes

• Fixed magnetic items jittering on the ground — now slide smoothly when grounded and only pull in 3D while airborne.
• Fixed electric shocks triggering through dry walls or over dry bridges — now correctly checks for water.
• Fixed cable junctions facing void and devices sinking into terrain.
• Lava-layer ore density frozen and documented after extensive testing — no further worldgen tweaks in this release pending new-world verification.

📦 Under the Hood

• Content generation is now fully modular and deterministic — same input always gives the same world.
• Texture pipeline upgraded to a hybrid high-quality stack for sharper, more consistent mineral veins at 32px scale.
• Performance: all new systems are event-driven with zero idle tick cost; language coverage expanded to 818 lines.
• Compatibility: Hytale Early Access 2026, >=0.5.3 <0.6.0. No dependencies — single-JAR hybrid install.

Thank you for testing the Alpha! Feedback on byproduct rates, alloy costs and Accelerator timings is especially welcome.