👻 v0.1.4 - Livelier, Fairer Companions

"Your Ghast Soul now truly travels with you: it leaves and returns when you do, moves like a living creature, and fights fair."

🌍 Three Minecraft Versions

• 26.1, 26.2 & 26.3: This release is available for Minecraft 26.1, 26.2 and 26.3. Download the file that matches your game version; all three have the same features.

🔒 Multiplayer Security

• Companion Slot Protection: The server now only accepts companion slot updates sent by the client while in Creative mode. In Survival, the slot is fully managed by the server, so modified clients can no longer create Ghast Souls of any level out of thin air.
• Operator-Only Test Command: The /companion debugging command now requires operator permissions. Regular players can no longer use it to give themselves free Ghast Souls on servers.

🚀 Performance & Stability

• Creative Mode Companion Sync: Fixed the companion slot getting out of sync between Creative and Survival when another mod replaces the Creative inventory screen. Souls equipped or removed in Creative no longer reappear, or swap with a different soul, after switching game mode.

• Memory Leak Fix: Fixed a small memory leak where the game kept animation data for every Ghast Soul ever summoned during a play session. Long sessions with frequent summoning now stay light.

• Faster Soul Keepers: Soul Keepers no longer use slow internal lookups every tick to check their swelling state, reducing their performance cost.

• Quieter Logs: Companion slot changes are no longer written to the game log every time, keeping server logs clean.

• Safer Registration: Companion entities are now registered using the standard game API, making the mod more robust against future Minecraft updates.

🤝 Harmonize Compatibility

• Essences No Longer Stack: Water, Wither and Ender Essences stacked up to 64 while every other essence was limited to one. All essences are now consistent: one per slot.
• Shift-Click Everywhere: Shift-clicking a Ghast Soul now equips it from any screen that shows the companion slot (such as mount inventories), and shift-clicking the slot sends it back to your inventory.
• Plays Nicely With Harmonize: With Harmonize installed, the companion slot, your companion's preview and the Soul Smithing Table are integrated into Harmonize's interface. Other mods can now also place the companion slot in their own screens.

🧩 Internal Refinement

• Ready For New Companions: The companion system (following, lifecycle, health, slot rules) no longer assumes the pet is a Ghast Soul. It is now a generic foundation that future creatures can plug into.
• Unified Elemental System: All 9 elemental Ghast Souls, Essences, renderers and slot checks now share a single, unified system instead of separate copies. Everything looks and plays exactly the same, but the foundation is now ready for new elements and features.

👻 Companion Fixes

• Your Companion Leaves With You: When you log out, your Ghast Soul now leaves with you and comes back when you return, instead of staying behind floating in the world. Leftover souls from earlier sessions clean themselves up.
• No More Lost Souls in Portals: Fixed a serious bug where changing dimension could make the game believe your companion had died and destroy the equipped Ghast Soul. It now simply follows you to the new dimension.
• Ender, Wither & Water Souls Open Their Mouths: These three souls now switch to their open-mouth look when using their power, like the other elements. Ender and Wither souls also aim first and fire their projectile from the mouth instead of from the middle of their body.
• Livelier Companions: Ghast Souls no longer sit rigidly glued behind your shoulder. They now follow you with a slight delay and a gentle sway, so they feel like a small floating creature tagging along.
• Leaning Into Movement: A Ghast Soul's body now leans gently in the direction it is moving, instead of staying perfectly upright while only its tentacles trail behind.
• Cleaner Arrival: A companion now appears directly at its spot beside you (for example after a portal), instead of popping up inside your head and sliding away.
• Ender & Wither Effects Land on Hit: Levitation, Void Shift and the Wither effect are now applied when the projectile actually hits its target, instead of the moment it is fired. Missed shots no longer affect enemies.
• Fair Ender Bullets: Ender Soul bullets previously gave 10 seconds of Levitation at every level (a vanilla leftover). Levitation now follows the soul's level as described in its tooltip.
• Wither Skulls No Longer Explode: Skulls fired by a Wither Ghast Soul no longer cause an explosion that could break blocks around you. They also lead moving targets.
• Friendly Fire Off: Ender and Wither Soul projectiles no longer harm you or your pets.
• New Particles: Ender and Wither souls now have their own ambient, firing and impact particles.
• Ice, Poison & Wind Effects Land on Hit: These souls also apply their damage and effects only when their projectile actually reaches the enemy. The Poison Soul now spits a real projectile instead of poisoning its target instantly.
• Fire Soul No Longer Burns Your Base: Fireballs from a Fire Ghast Soul could set blocks on fire where they landed. They no longer do. The burn time of enemies now also grows with the soul's level, as intended.
• Friendly Fire Off For Every Soul: No companion projectile can hit you or your pets anymore.
• Souls Feel More Alive: Your companion now reacts to what you are doing. While you play, it follows you calmly. Stop, and it gently drifts in to float right beside your head; stay still a little longer and it lazily loops around you and peeks at your face. Sneak along slowly and it dips down beside your head every now and then. It also flinches and sheds a few soul wisps when it gets hurt.
• Keeper Loot: Soul Keepers now only drop a Soul Shard when killed by a player.
• Safer Test Command: /companion equip no longer overwrites a soul that is already equipped, and /companion unequip returns the soul to your inventory instead of deleting it.
• A Little More Breathing Room: When you stand still, your Ghastling now settles slightly above your head height instead of right at eye level, so it no longer feels crowded against your face before it starts its idle routine.