Dustpunk - The Desert World Mod
Dustpunk is a NeoForge mod for Minecraft 1.21.1 that aims to completely reimagines the world's surface as a vast, geologically diverse desert planet. Say goodbye to forests, plains, and swamps – everything is sand, sandstone, and colorful badlands, each with unique properties, loot, and crafting potential. (WIP)
The World of Dustpunk
The entire overworld is transformed into a collection of 16 distinct sand types, each representing a real-world geological formation. From iron-rich red deserts to volcanic ash wastelands and fossilized guano islands, every biome tells a story.There is the Sands, but not the Worldgen! (WIP)
Sand Types & Origins
| Sand |
Color |
Real-World Inspiration |
Key Loot |
| Anthrosol |
Dark Gray |
Anthropogenic soils (ancient settlements) |
Food, wood, wool, leather |
| Ferric |
Deep Red |
Iron oxide deserts (red sands) |
Iron nuggets, raw iron, flint |
| Loess |
Golden Yellow |
Wind-blown silt deposits |
Coal, gravel, flint, cactus |
| Ochre |
Brown-Orange |
Limonite/goethite (tropical deserts) |
Terracotta, honey, pumpkin |
| Volcanic Tephra |
Deep Purple |
Volcanic ash and pyroclasts |
Basalt, obsidian, netherite scrap |
| Phosphatic |
Sage Green |
Guano deposits (fossilized bird droppings) |
Bone meal, lapis lazuli, vines |
| Glauconitic |
Forest Green |
Marine glauconite sands |
Copper, prismarine, moss, emerald |
| Calcic |
Light Beige |
Calcium carbonate (coral sands) |
Quartz, sugar, bone meal, skeleton skull |
| Diatomite |
Turquoise |
Diatomaceous earth (ancient lakes) |
Kelp, glass, prismarine shards, sugar cane |
| Sodalite |
Deep Blue |
Sodalite-rich rocks |
Lapis lazuli, heart of the sea, diamond |
| Rhodochrosite |
Pink |
Manganese carbonate (hydrothermal veins) |
Amethyst, redstone, totem of undying (rare) |
| Basaltic |
Medium Gray |
Basalt erosion (Hawaii/Iceland black sands) |
Basalt, magma cream, netherite scrap |
| Carnelian |
Orange |
Chalcedony (carnelian agate) |
Quartz, gold nuggets, orange dye |
| Chrysocolla |
Light Blue |
Copper silicate (arid zones) |
Copper, lapis, heart of the sea, diamond |
| Halite |
Salmon Pink |
Salt desert sands (halophilic bacteria) |
Sugar, pink dye, honey |
| Zircon |
Pearly White |
Zirconium silicate (beach/desert placers) |
Amethyst, diamond, flint |
🧱 Stone Variants
For each sand type, the mod adds a full suite of decorative and functional blocks:
Sandstone
- Sandstone
- Cut Sandstone
- Chiseled Sandstone
- Sandstone Stairs (full stair behavior)
- Sandstone Slabs (full slab behavior)
All 16 sandstone variants are fully craftable following vanilla patterns:
- 4 sand → 1 sandstone
- 4 sandstone → 4 cut sandstone
- 2 cut sandstone (vertically) → 1 chiseled sandstone
- 3 sandstone (horizontal) → 6 slabs
- 6 sandstone (L-shape) → 4 stairs
Crafting & Smelting
Glass Production
All 16 sand types can be smelted into vanilla glass (not stained glass), ensuring compatibility with all existing glass recipes (bottles, panes, beacons, etc.), and this won't change, because most IRL Sands can be melted to the same color of Glass, they are tinted afterwards.
Color Coding
If you need colored glass or stained glass, use vanilla dyes on regular glass – the sand itself only produces clear glass to maintain recipe compatibility.
Mining Mechanics
Different sand types require different tool tiers, creating natural progression:
| Tier |
Sands |
| Any tool |
Anthrosol, Calcic, Diatomite, Halite |
| Stone tier |
Ferric, Loess, Phosphatic, Glauconitic, Rhodochrosite, Chrysocolla |
| Iron tier |
Ochre, Volcanic Tephra, Sodalite, Basaltic |
| Diamond tier |
Carnelian, Zircon |
All sands are mined with shovels; sandstones require pickaxes.
Creative Tab
All blocks are organized in the "Dustpunk Sands" creative tab for easy access.
Technical Details
- Mod ID:
dustpunk
- Minecraft Version: 1.21.1
- NeoForge Version: 21.1.106+
- Data Generation: Fully datagen-compatible (textures, models, loot tables, recipes, tags)
- GIT:Has Github Page.
Compatibility
- Separate World Preset for only playing with the mods biomes + Lush Caves and Deep Dark
- Compatible with other mods that add minerals/ores since (existing deepslate/cave layers remain). This mod WON'T BE adding new ores/minerals, but feel free to Datapack according to your pack. (Otherwise, it would be a nightmare to make it compatible)
Credits
- Author: Wendy (Dustpunk Mod)
- Geological inspiration: Real-world sand formations from Pfeiffer Beach (CA), Papakolea Beach (HI), Namibian desert deposits, and ancient loess plateaus
