🧟 Horde Intelligence [v1.3 Evolution & Rebalance Update]

📌 Official Discord Server: https://discord.gg/3bMRfVDSgu

Horde Intelligence is a complete, server-optimized AI overhaul that links vanilla monsters, Nether entities, and overworld farm animals into a terrifying, unified hivemind. Entities no longer act as brainless individuals — they listen, communicate, dynamically build bridges/scaffolds, and execute coordinated tactical breaches as a single organism.

📡 Core System: The Evolutionary Phase Engine (New in v1.3)

The mod now features a persistent, world-bound progression system tracked via server NBT data. The threat level automatically scales over time (every 10 in-game days) or increases when players take damage or die from monsters.

The system features a strict cap at Phase 12 (END) and includes an optimized Dynamic Audio Matrix. Evolutionary warnings are no longer locked to a fixed world block; instead, they hook directly into the player's real-time position with dynamic volume scaling, ensuring environmental horror indicators follow you seamlessly.

🔊 Phase Progression & Auditory Brackets

To prevent auditory fatigue, each phase bracket utilizes a randomized pool of 3 unique sound variations:

Phases 1–3 (Low Threat Ambient): Triggers subtle, low-frequency localized tension. Uses randomized selection between AMBIENT_CAVE, AMBIENT_CRIMSON_FOREST_MOOD, and AMBIENT_WARPED_FOREST_MOOD.
Phases 4–6 (Medium Threat Proximity): Indicates close-range tracking and creeping danger. Emits randomized heavy breathing and whispers via ENDERMAN_STARE, GHAST_WARN, and ILLUSIONER_PREPARE_BLINDNESS.
Phases 7–9 (High Threat Aggressive): Signals distant structural tremors and giant threats. Uses randomized selection between WITHER_SPAWN, RAVAGER_ROAR, and ENDER_DRAGON_GROWL.
Phases 10–11 (Extreme Threat Pre-Boss): High-intensity harbinger of boss combat. Features dual-layered audio with forced low-pitch manipulation for heavy acoustic mass, pulling randomly from WARDEN_EMERGE (layered with WITHER_DEATH), WARDEN_ROAR, and ENDER_DRAGON_FLAP.
Phase 12 (END - The Swarm): Active siege state. Triggers overlapping high-decibel death-wails using ENDER_DRAGON_DEATH, WARDEN_DEATH, and RESPAWN_ANCHOR_DEPLETE. This phase locks point progression and serves as the foundation for global horde mechanics.

🧠 Advanced AI Refactor & Tactical Behaviors

🧟 Zombies & Zombified Piglins (The Logic Matrix)

Pathfinding routines have been completely rewritten to eliminate erratic movement loops and jittery tracking.

Engineering Capabilities: Units execute coordinated tactical routing, dynamically cut off player escape paths, build cobblestone/netherrack bridges across vertical ravines, and deploy scaffolding towers to breach complex defenses.
Portal Migration Matrix: Zombified Piglins scan for Nether Portals, dividing into Migrators (invading the Overworld) and Guards (holding defensive perimeters). Built-in anti-grief filters prevent them from damaging critical structures like obsidian frames or bedrock layers.
Sub-Class Equipment System:
- Miners: Equipped with Iron Pickaxes, clearing blocks at a 9× speed factor.
- Lumberjacks: Equipped with Iron Axes, clear-cutting Crimson and Warped structures.
- Demolitionists: Armed with volatile TNT reserves to open defensive walls.

💥 Creepers (Structural Breaching)

Rebuilt tactical demolition behavior. Creepers operate with an awareness of structural geometry, acting as dedicated breach elements. They broadcast an alert signal to the hivemind right before detonation, allowing other monsters to flood the opening instantly.

🔮 Endermen (Intelligence Overhaul)

Overhauled teleportation and object-manipulation matrices. Endermen behaviors are integrated directly into the hivemind's tactical sweep routines, preventing random, erratic teleports and aligning their movement vectors with active horde target tracking.

🚜 Overworld Livestock (2-Hit Aggro Trigger)

Farm animals are no longer helpless targets. They tolerate warning shots, but receiving exactly two hits activates their latent hivemind programming, granting them full player tracking, FOV detection, and target memory:

Cows: Heavy shock units using advanced pathfinding memory to hunt players down and break lines of defense.
Pigs: Relentless, fast tracking scouts that refuse to lose your trail.
Chickens: Act as organic artillery, shooting weaponized eggs that burst into localized fire upon impact.
Sheep: Defensive counter-measure. When aggravated, they shear themselves, triggering a localized kinetic explosion that showers the area with lethal iron shrapnel (does not destroy blocks).

🔥 Blazes & 👻 Ghasts (Aerial Supremacy)

Blazes: Elite aerial units utilizing Hellfire Shields at low HP, executing explosive fire-dashes, and deploying Magmatic Slams for player knockback.
Ghast Class System: Divided into specialized roles: Bombers (carpet-bombing runs), Snipers (long-range anti-air support), and Electronic Warfare Units (emitting localized player debuffs). Coordinated by the Ghast Matriarch mini-boss.

🛠️ Developer & Admin Commands

Integrated server-side debugging commands (Requires Permission Level 2 / OP):

/horde add_points <amount> — Adds points to the evolution tracker. Automatically disabled once Phase 12 is active.
/horde set_stage <0-12> — Instantly forces the world into a specific phase. Hard-bounded between 0 and 12; flushes existing point overflows to 0.
/horde reset — Purges all evolution data, resetting points and stages back to baseline (0).

📦 Compatibility & Performance Notes

Mod Compatibility: Full native support for OptiFine and Sound Physics.
Performance Engine: The clone system limits the maximum duplicate spawn chance to 80% during Phase 12 to safeguard server TPS on heavy modpacks.
⚠️ PERFORMANCE WARNING FOR LARGE MODPACKS: The Nether update significantly upgrades Zombified Piglin AI. Because Nether spawn rates are high, this can impact Server TPS on heavy modpacks. If you experience performance degradation, please reach out directly via CurseForge PM for custom tick-rate configurations or specific feature toggles.
Multiplayer Note: While we are optimizing for production servers, Hivemind synchronization is still being refined. Your bug reports regarding server performance/TPS are vital to our progress.

📢 Support & Follow the Project

If you want to support development and stay updated on new evolutionary features, make sure to follow this page, leave a like, and join our community! Your engagement drives the updates and helps me bring even more advanced AI overhauls to life.

💬 Join the Conversation: https://discord.gg/3bMRfVDSgu Thank you for being part of the Swarm!