Spawns is a plugin for Bukkit and Minecraft that allows you to fully customize the spawning behaviour of mobs on your server.

Features

tweak the default Minecraft spawns or replace them completely
set mobs to spawn under conditions they never normally would
block certain mobs from ever spawning
cause mobs to spawn with potion effects, equipment, saddles, etc.
cause mobs to spawn in different variants, like powered creeper, wither skeleton, etc.
mobs appear in the world in the same way as they do normally, so are compatible with all other plugins

Dive right in here to see how to make config files or keep reading for an overview of Minecraft spawning.

Default spawning

Minecraft spawning works like this:
Every spawn cycle (1 tick or 1/20 second by default for hostile mobs) the game makes a list of all the chunks around each player, up to a radius of seven chunks. Each chunk will only be counted once, even if that chunk is around several players.

Once this list is complete a mob limit is calculated. The limit is higher the more chunks are in the list. If the limit is lower than the current amount of a mob type in the world then the cycle will be cancelled.

If the limit is not yet reached a random block from each chunk in the list will be calculated and this chunk will be used as the centre point for a pack of mobs to spawn around. In order to continue, this block must be water for water mobs (only squid so far) and air for any other type of mob.

If this block is suitable then a maximum of 12 random blocks are chosen from up to 20 blocks away, but always at the same height as the centre block.

Lastly, The individual blocks are checked that they can physically fit the mob, so they need to be air, have air above and an opaque block below. The type of mob is chosen based upon the matching conditions (biome, height, floor block type, etc.) and the final mob is chosen randomly from all mobs that are eligible to spawn there. All other mobs in the pack will be the same type.

Permissions

spawns.can-reload-config, which allows the user to reload the config. Default is Op.

spawns.can-count-mobs, which allows the user to display a summary of mob amounts in a world. Default is Op.

Commands

/reload-spawns, or /rs, which reloads the config without having to reload the server. Any mobs already in the world will be unaffected by any changes in the config.

/count-mobs, or /cm, which displays a list of mob numbers in the world. Add a world name argument to specify a world (optional if run as a player) and / or a mob type argument to choose one type of mob to count.

Update checking

If you like, you can set the plugin to check for any newer versions that get released. To do this add an element to the config.xml file, like this:

&lt;check-for-newer-version/&gt;

When this element is present the plugin will report if it finds a newer version. This only works for release builds so you won't be bothered by any beta or dev builds. To disable this checking simply remove the element.

Note that no update will be downloaded even with this set.

Examples

I would love to get any example config/packs/mobs files you have created to add to the docs, so if you have one you're proud of send it in and I'll add it.

spawns took a lot of work, so if your server is enriched by it please consider sending some love my way!

If you're penniless or like spawns but not that much I'm also partial to TF2 items. Send any you don't want my way! STEAM id: coldntired

If you don't know what TF2 is, then start playing! It's free and fun!

For other projects, links, help, etc. please visit the main website.

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