Empire Labs — v0.1.8 BETA

Build Your Empire. Control the Market. Become the Kingpin.

Minecraft 1.21.11 | Fabric | Requires Fabric API
Created by Freak4U

Welcome to the first public beta of Empire Labs, a Minecraft crime-empire simulation mod where you start with a small operation and work your way toward running an industrial empire.

Build laboratories, manufacture fictional products, recruit employees, establish businesses, secure your territory, and compete with rival players for control of the server.

From your first sale to a multimillion-dollar empire, every decision brings you closer to becoming the Kingpin.

BETA RELEASE: This is an early public build. Bugs, multiplayer issues, and balancing changes are expected. Back up your worlds before installing and report any issues you encounter.

VERSION HIGHLIGHTS

• 14 laboratory machines across four production tiers.

• Empire People: Custom NPCs with personalities, outfits, animations, and dialogue.

• Six front businesses for generating income and laundering money.

• Complete economy system with cash, contracts, reputation, and employees.

• Kingpin PvP system featuring bounties, rivalries, and leaderboards.

• Base raiding and land claims inspired by Rust.

• Advanced security systems with working CCTV, alarms, and hacking.

• Extensive 3D Blockbench models for machines, furniture, equipment, and decorations.

• Higher Harvest, Smokeables, and JEI integration.

01 — LABORATORIES & PRODUCTION

Build your operation from a makeshift workstation into a fully equipped industrial Super Lab.

Four Laboratory Tiers

Tier I — Improvised

• Chemistry Table

• Drying Rack

• Packaging Station

Tier II — Professional

• Mixing Station

• Heating Station

• Cooling Station

• Filtration Unit

• Condenser

• Industrial Dryer

Tier III — Industrial

• Industrial Reactor

• Pressure Chamber

• Industrial Separator

• Auto Packager

Tier IV — Super Lab

• Super Lab Core

Multi-Stage Manufacturing

Products move through several fictional processing stages, including mixing, heating, cooling, filtration, refining, drying, and packaging.

Product Quality System

Every batch is assigned one of five quality grades:

Poor → Average → Good → Premium → Perfect

Higher-tier machines offer faster production, improved safety, and better product quality. Mistakes can result in ruined batches.

Machine Upgrades

Improve production efficiency with six upgrade types:

• Speed Core — Faster processing.

• Efficiency Core — Improved resource efficiency.

• Quality Core — Higher-quality output.

• Yield Core — Increased production yield.

• Batch Core — Improved batch handling.

• Automation Core — Expanded automation capabilities.

Fictional Products & Ingredients

Produce fictional substances such as Azure Crystal, Crimson Resin, Frost Shard, Industrial Concentrate, and Crystal Prism.

New resources include:

• Prism Salt, including naturally generated ore and deepslate variants.

• Duskroot crops and seeds.

• Catalyst Shards.

• Clearwater Solvent.

Laboratory recipes are data-driven, allowing customization through datapacks.

02 — ECONOMY, MONEY & STORAGE

Your empire runs on money. Earn it, store it, transport it, and protect it.

Physical Currency

The economy features tangible money items:

• Cash Stack

• Cash Brick

• Wallet

• Money Bag

• Briefcase

• Duffel Bag

• Money Pile

Packaging System

Five packaging methods provide different sale bonuses:

Bag | Sealed | Premium | Bulk | Crate

Storage & Warehousing

Organize large-scale operations with:

• Pallets and Wooden Crates

• Chemical Drums

• Warehouse Shelves and Industrial Racks

• Shipping Containers

• Lab Cabinets and Lockers

• Filing Cabinets

• Hidden Compartments disguised as White Lab Tile

Vaults & Safes — Redesigned

All three primary money-storage systems have received detailed Blockbench models.

Safe: Green steel construction, gold pinstripes, a chrome combination dial, T-handle, keypad, and brass detailing.

Vault: A heavy octagonal vault door with a spoked wheel, eight locking bolts, reinforced hinges, and a side-mounted keypad.

Wall Safe: A recessed steel design that blends into Lab Wall Panel walls.

Money Counter — Redesigned

The money counter now resembles a real desktop bill-counting machine with a feed hopper, visible bills, a front collection pocket, and green LCD display.

Its collision box has also been corrected.

03 — FRONT BUSINESSES & MONEY LAUNDERING

Turn your operation into a legitimate-looking commercial empire.

Six Available Businesses

1. Convenience Store

2. Laundromat

3. Repair Shop

4. Car Wash

5. Restaurant

6. Smoke Shop

Each business becomes available through reputation progression and can convert dirty money into clean money.

Fully Remodeled Business Equipment

Cash Register: Modern POS station with a cash drawer, keypad, receipt printer, touchscreen, pole display, and card terminal.

Laundromat Washer: Commercial front-loading washer with visible clothes, animated sudsy water, coin slot, timer, and detergent drawer.

Repair Bench: Detailed wooden workbench with a vise, tools, toolbox, red tool chest, and illuminated work lamp.

Car Wash Controller: Standing payment terminal with wash selection buttons, payment slots, card reader, display, signage, and spray wand.

Restaurant Fryer: Commercial stainless-steel fryer with twin oil wells and baskets that lower into bubbling oil while operating.

Smoke Shop Humidor: Mahogany-and-cedar display cabinet with cigar boxes, a hygrometer, glass doors, and interior lighting.

Business machines feature appropriately sized models, corrected hitboxes, and illuminated active states.

Customer Shop System

Stock a Shop Counter, open for business, and let customers approach and purchase your goods.

04 — EMPIRE PEOPLE: CUSTOM NPC SYSTEM

One of the biggest additions to Empire Labs.

Buyers, suppliers, and employees are no longer ordinary villagers wearing different outfits. They now use a dedicated human-style NPC system.

59 New Character Looks

• 24 buyer appearances.

• 8 supplier appearances.

• Additional job-specific worker outfits.

Characters feature varied heights, body builds, hairstyles, headwear, backpacks, respirators, glasses, and more.

Workers automatically change clothing depending on their assigned job.

NPC Animations & Behavior

Empire People can now:

• Wave when greeting you.

• Make phone calls.

• Cross their arms when impatient.

• Dance.

• Count money.

• Inspect merchandise.

• Operate laboratory machinery.

• Stand guard.

• React when attacked.

• Walk away naturally after completing an interaction.

Speech bubbles appear above NPCs during conversations.

Six Buyer Personalities

Haggler: Rejects initial offers and expects negotiation.

Big Spender: Shows off their money and has a different purchasing profile.

Connoisseur: Inspects product quality and comments on the merchandise.

Regular: Remembers previous interactions.

Nervous: Avoids crowds and may flee when threatened.

Party Animal: Displays energetic, animated behavior.

Buyers have individual patience levels, preferences, and purchase behavior.

A new Buyer Profile Screen displays what each customer likes, dislikes, and is willing to pay.

Supplier Personalities

Suppliers approach players, offer products, and open a dollar-based purchasing interface with limited stock and change handling.

• Professional: Standard business behavior.

• Shady: Lower prices but limited inventory.

• Paranoid: Cheaper offers, but may flee crowded situations.

• Friendly: Higher prices with occasional extras.

Hire Your Own Crew

Recruit employees using an Employment Contract.

Available roles:

• Warehouse Worker

• Lab Worker

• Packager

• Transporter

• Security Guard

• Dealer

• Distributor

• Cashier

Control workers using the Manager Clipboard with Work, Follow, and Stay modes.

Villagers recruited through contracts are converted into Empire People crew members.

Worker Personalities

Employees can be Hard Working, Lazy, Chatty, Grumpy, or Loyal.

Personality affects productivity and reactions to missed payments.

Workers also speak during important moments, including completed batches, supply shortages, missed wages, and payday celebrations. They can open wooden doors while completing their routines.

Random Empire Events

Dynamic events include premium customers, demand spikes, competitor price cuts, major contracts, staff breakthroughs, and employee complaints.

05 — EMPIRE PROGRESSION

Start with nothing. Build a reputation. Take control.

Seven Reputation Ranks

Unknown → Street Seller → Dealer → Supplier → Distributor → Kingpin → Empire

Progress through sales, contracts, and successful business operations.

Management Tools

Contract Board: Accept jobs to earn money and reputation.

Empire Ledger: View and manage your growing operation.

Burner Phone: Access important empire functions while on the move.

20 Advancements

Track milestones from your first sale and initial production batch to building a Super Lab and reaching a $1,000,000 empire.

06 — KINGPIN & MULTIPLAYER PVP

NEW — Compete for control of the server.

Empire Labs introduces a competitive multiplayer system centered around wealth, notoriety, and rival empires.

Become the Kingpin

• Compete for the highest position on the server.

• The current Kingpin is identified by a visible crown.

• Gain notoriety through PvP eliminations and successful raids.

• Anti-farming protections reduce reputation exploitation.

Player Bounties

Place a bounty on a rival:

/bounty <player> <amount>

The current Kingpin automatically accumulates an increasing bounty.

Use /kingpin to view rankings and rival statistics.

07 — BASE RAIDING & BREACHING

NEW — No empire is completely untouchable.

Raid rival operations, crack security systems, destroy defenses, and steal exposed cash.

Raiding Mechanics

• Owned security blocks have raid health.

• Attacking protected equipment can trigger alarms and owner notifications.

• Destroyed vaults and safes can spill cash that raiders may collect.

New Raiding Equipment

Code Breaker: A Mastermind-style keypad cracking minigame using hints.

Hacking Laptop: Compromise electronic security through timed hacking interactions.

Breaching Charge: Place a charge against a structure, wait for the fuse, and breach defenses.

C4: A powerful explosive with a 10-second audible fuse and a 3×3 raid blast.

Breaching Charges and C4 can attach to solid blocks.

08 — TOOL CUPBOARD & LAND CLAIMS

NEW — Rust-Inspired Territory Protection.

Protect your operation with a Tool Cupboard.

Claim Protection

• Default protected area: 16×16 blocks, extending from bedrock to sky.

• Unauthorized players cannot normally break or place blocks inside active claims.

• TNT and creepers cannot grief protected territory.

• Raiders must use the supported Breaching Charges or C4 to break through.

• Individual blocks have raid health based on hardness.

Authorization System

• Add or remove authorized users.

• Clear the authorization list to transfer ownership to the player clearing it.

• Players added using /trust are automatically authorized.

Cash Upkeep

Maintaining territory costs $200 per in-game day at the default claim size.

• Upkeep is paid using physical cash from your inventory.

• New cupboards provide no protection until funded.

• Prepay up to 30 days.

• Claims become unprotected when upkeep expires.

• Owners receive unused upkeep back when retrieving their own cupboard.

• Raiders receive half the prepaid upkeep when destroying a cupboard.

Expand Your Territory

Upgrade claim sizes:

16×16 → 24×24 → 32×32 → 48×48

Larger claims require more upkeep.

A green outline displays the claim boundary for 10 seconds after placement. The Show Area option displays it again.

Default limit: three Tool Cupboards per player.

Claim limits, upkeep, and related settings are configurable.

Detailed instructions are included in RAIDING.md.

09 — ADVANCED SECURITY & CCTV

Protect your business with a functional electronic security network.

Security Equipment

• PIN Keypads and Keycards

• Lab Doors

• Security Doors

• Rolling Garage Doors

• Security Cameras

• Security Monitors

• CCTV Monitors

• Server Racks

• Alarms

• Motion Sensors

• Laser Emitters

• Panic Buttons

• Reinforced Glass

Live Security Camera System

Cameras now render their own perspective rather than mirroring the player's view.

Live feeds include terrain, players, mobs, and items with the camera's own viewing position, eye height, sky, and fog.

Automatic Camera Movement

• Wall-mounted cameras sweep approximately ±38°.

• Ceiling and floor cameras sweep approximately ±55°.

• Sweep cycles last approximately 10 seconds.

• Manual controls override automatic movement.

Camera Controls

• WASD / Arrow Keys: Move camera.

• Q / E or Scroll: Zoom.

• [ ] or , .: Switch cameras.

• R: Recenter or return to automatic sweep, depending on the viewing mode.

Redesigned CCTV Monitors

The Security Monitor now features two 4:3 displays, a dual mounting arm, NVR recorder, keyboard, and PTZ joystick.

• Sneak + right-click a monitor screen with an empty hand to select a camera.

• Each display can show a different feed.

• Default live feed rate: 20 FPS, configurable with monitorFeedFps.

• Offline cameras display static.

• Cameras remain registered when their chunks unload.

New CCTV Monitor: A separate large screen that can be placed alongside other monitors to form a video wall. Screens automatically select additional available feeds.

CCTV Visual Effects

Camera viewing includes washed-out colors, scanlines, grain, rolling refresh effects, timestamps, vignette, and switching static.

The physical monitor displays now use clearer, full-brightness pictures without unwanted dark vignette rings or scanline overlays.

Server Rack Network

Server Racks now power the security system.

• Cameras require an online owned rack within 48 blocks.

• Each nearby rack adds +2 detection range, up to four racks.

• Racks record intruders, hostile mobs, and attacks.

• Players can right-click racks to view recorded activity.

• Raiders can hack a rack in 30 seconds to disable cameras for 60 seconds.

• Destroying a rack with 200 raid health also destroys its footage.

Additional Security Improvements

• Redesigned keycards are held upright and produce a swipe sound when used.

• Keypads support PIN protection and lockouts after incorrect attempts.

• Security doors and garage doors have sound effects.

• Panic Buttons and Alarms have realistic new models, including emergency controls and flashing strobes.

10 — 3D MODELS, FURNITURE & DECORATION

A large collection of objects has been redesigned in Blockbench to make laboratories, warehouses, offices, and businesses feel more detailed.

Remodeled Equipment & Furniture

Updated models include:

• Security Camera

• Security Door

• Lab Door

• Keypad

• Rolling Garage Door

• Security Monitor

• Server Rack

• Ceiling Light

• Industrial Lamp

• Floodlight

• Office Desk and Chair

• Shipping Container

• Industrial Pipe

• Ventilation Duct

• Lab Stool

• Microscope

• Centrifuge

• Stainless Steel Block

• Shop Counter

• Lab Shelf

• Water Cooler

• Whiteboard

• Cardboard Boxes

• Cash Bundles

• Floor Scale

• Evidence Locker

• Packed Duffel

• Eyewash Station

• Biohazard Bin

• Brick Wall Panel

Many now feature small details such as labels, instruments, visible contents, and accurately matched hitboxes.

Functional Decoration

• Office Chairs and Lab Stools are sittable. Right-click to sit and sneak to stand.

• Floodlights support floor, wall, and ceiling placement.

• Brick Wall Panels include two randomized appearance variants.

• The Whiteboard includes a business plan, markers, and an eraser.

• The Water Cooler features a five-gallon jug, taps, and drip tray.

• Lab Shelves display bottles, glassware, and storage containers.

Additional Building Materials

• White Lab Tile

• Lab Wall Panel

• Stainless Steel Block

• Industrial Flooring

• Reinforced Concrete

• Hazard Stripes

• Concrete Panel

• Brick Wall Panel

• Rubber Floor

Additional Decorations

Lab Sink, Fume Hood, Warning Sign, Toxic Sign, Wall Vent, Gas Cylinder, and other laboratory and industrial props.

Visual & Inventory Improvements

• Corrected creative inventory icons to match placed 3D models.

• Improved long item descriptions with automatic wrapping.

• Updated stainless-steel textures with brushed panels, bevels, screws, and a spun-finish top.

11 — MOD COMPATIBILITY & INTEGRATION

Higher Harvest & Freak's Smokeables

Optional integration supports items from both mods.

• Additional sellable items.

• Extra laboratory recipes.

• Smoker and Lounge customer types.

• Compatible with or without either mod installed.

Just Enough Items (JEI)

Optional JEI support allows players to browse laboratory recipes.

Developer API

Empire Labs includes a public API and plugin entrypoint, allowing other mods to register their own products, buyers, and recipes.

See INTEGRATION.md for more information.

12 — COMMANDS & CONFIGURATION

Main Commands

/empire — Access money, reputation, companies, contracts, leaderboards, and administrative functions.

/kingpin — View server rankings and rival statistics.

/bounty — Create and manage player bounties.

/empire reloadconfig — Reload configuration changes without restarting the game.

Configuration

Customize empire systems, claim settings, security behavior, and gameplay balance through the mod's configuration file.

13 — BUG FIXES & POLISH

Interface Fixes

• Fixed keypad menus hiding number buttons.

• Fixed the Buyer Profile Screen overlapping its Done button.

• Improved long-description formatting.

Stability & Registry Fixes

• Fixed crashes caused by duplicate registry names.

• Renamed conflicting decorative entries to Cash Bundles and Packed Duffel.

• Removed duplicate model resources that previously caused build failures.

Model & Interaction Fixes

• Corrected hitboxes on multiple remodeled blocks.

• Corrected Money Counter and Whiteboard collision sizes.

• Improved camera positioning to prevent the camera model from blocking its own feed.

• Fixed CCTV monitors incorrectly displaying the player's perspective.

• Improved persistence and offline status reporting for unloaded cameras.

KNOWN ISSUES & BETA INFORMATION

Empire Labs v0.1.8 is still in active beta development.

• NPC Voices: The initial batch of voiced buyer greetings is available. Additional dialogue is planned.

• Multiplayer: Dedicated server and multiplayer systems are still undergoing testing.

• Balancing: Production values, product prices, business income, and other economic systems may change in future releases.

Important: Back up existing worlds before updating.

THE EMPIRE STARTS HERE

Start with an improvised laboratory. Hire your first employee. Make your first sale. Build a warehouse, open legitimate businesses, and protect your profits behind reinforced doors and surveillance cameras.

But remember: every empire creates rivals.

Build your operation. Defend your territory. Take the crown.

Empire Labs — Created by Freak4U
Version 0.1.8 Beta | Fabric 1.21.11