This is a small, subjective mod that aims to improve the overall balance of item sorting and transportation.
Fully server-side — players won't need to install anything if you put it on your server. Safe to remove — it won't break worlds, and no Fabric API required.
Despite Allay's primary purpose being to deliver items to the player, few people actually used it that way — instead, players found it more useful for item sorting. Now, however, that job falls to a new mob — Copper Golem — leaving Allay with even fewer reasons to exist. I don't find the companion mob concept particularly compelling, but I do think there's real potential in turning it into a transport mob — an alternative to hopper minecarts. That said, I don't want to replace hopper minecarts; every method should have "equal balance". And I think I've found the perfect solution — let Allay keep its note block, permanently linked to it. That way, Allay could fly around players' builds, making the world feel more alive, much like Copper Golem does. One works inside builds, the other—outside. I understand this goes against the developers' core vision, but as time has shown, it simply doesn't work (see https://youtu.be/1UL1MaWatIg?si=LVgJgXzjGv_nV0lu&t=207).
Main Changes
- Allay stays linked forever instead of for just 30 seconds. You can unlink it by breaking the Note Block or moving it with a piston. No more stupid redstone clocks
- Allay can be re-linked to a Note Block even if it is already linked to another one
- Copper Golem picks up a full stack instead of just 16 items
Small Tweaks
- A Note Block sound forces Allay to start collecting items immediately, resetting the 3-second delay. This also has its own sound 🎶
- Allay now prefers to pick up the oldest nearby item instead of just the closest one. This fixes situations where Allay gets stuck and ignores other items (for example, when hoppers are full)
- Allay delivers the item one block above the Note Block if its top surface is occupied (for example, by a hopper). This improves delivery accuracy
- Copper Golem can fall from a height of 6 blocks without taking damage and will do this to shorten the path
- Allay d a n c e particles! 🎵🕺✨
Future Improvements
The mod could be expanded a bit further to better reflect my vision for gameplay, and I'd be happy to discuss every little detail of Minecraft's game design on my Discord server!
Backports / NeoForge
If I see enough interest, I'll backport the mod to older versions of the game and add support for NeoForge. Again, please ask about any features on my Discord server so I can keep track of them.
If You Found a Bug / For Developers
Please report any bugs or incompatibilities in the mod's public repository (GitHub).
The Inanimate Friendship Team
