Live Villages makes Minecraft villages and outposts feel less like static scenery and more like settlements with their own needs, workers, projects, and trade networks.
Villages track shared stock, population, housing, wealth, routes, comfort, security, construction projects, and profession support. Instead of micromanaging individual villagers, you influence the settlement by placing infrastructure, donating or trading materials, helping staged build sites, creating roads and harbors, defending the area, and solving shortages through the Trade Board.
The Trade Board is the civic heart of a settlement. It shows what the village needs, what it has in surplus, which routes and projects matter, and how you can trade with or support the settlement's shared stock. When villagers start construction, the build appears as a real staged project in the world instead of instantly popping into existence. You can preview planned blocks, bring missing materials, and help finish the structure yourself.
Loaded villages perform visible representative work: Farmers tend crops, Bakers stock counters and display cases, Foresters work trees, Gardeners beautify and manage chickens, Beekeepers maintain hives, Masons and Carpenters support construction, Guards patrol and defend, Shepherds manage sheep, and other professions contribute to the settlement economy. When chunks unload, the settlement continues through abstract simulation and catch-up rules.
The mod also adds infrastructure for broader settlement growth: bakeries, glass display cases, carpenter benches, forester tables, gardener workstations, honey separators, scribe desks, guard posts, mileposts, harbors, portmaster anchors, lighthouses, housing shelters, staged profession buildings, and route support over land and water.
Live Villages is currently in active development. It already has a playable foundation, but balance, art, structures, worker action polish, hostile outposts, and later-tier settlement progression are still evolving.
Feature Highlights
- Persistent settlement state for population, housing, stock, wealth, security, comfort, growth, projects, and routes.
Trade Board UI for village wants, surplus stock, projects, workforce, route status, and settlement trade.- Staged construction with in-world previews (press default key 'O' to toggle), blockers, missing-material tracking, and player assistance.
- Expanded profession behavior for Farmers, Bakers, Foresters, Gardeners, Beekeepers, Guards, Shepherds, Butchers, Fishermen, Masons, Scribes, Smiths, Fletchers, Clerics, Librarians, and more.
- Bakery storefronts with
Baker's Counter, display cases, visible baked goods, ingredient bounties, and local bakery sales.
- Route and trade systems over land and water, including
Milepost, Portmaster's Anchor, and Lighthouse support.
- Custom craftable tools and weapons:
Sling, Crooked Staff, Scythe, and special arrow types.
- Loaded-world work for visible activity plus abstract catch-up simulation when settlements are unloaded.
- First-pass hostile outpost systems, player standing, raid planning, and martial/logistics stock behavior in active development. Players can befriend an outpost and take part in raids on nearby villages.
Player Pitch
If you like building villages, Live Villages gives those builds a reason to matter. A new workstation can become the anchor for a profession structure. A missing pile of glass can explain why a bakery is stuck. A dock and lighthouse can make water trade practical. A road or guard post can make the settlement safer and more connected.
The village will not become a perfect city on its own, but it will push, ask, build, trade, and adapt. Your job is to make the place possible.
Current Development Note
Live Villages is a work in progress. Expect active tuning, occasional rough edges, and visible playtest features. The goal is a deep settlement simulation that stays compatible with normal Minecraft play instead of replacing it with a separate management game.
