Sable Locator

Craft a personal locator beacon and follow it on Xaero's maps, including when it travels on a Sable creation. Unloaded beacons keep a marked last-known position.

Version choice

The feature and usage guide below describes 1.1.0-beta.1. The separate 1.0.3 compatibility Beta preserves the implementation extracted from Companion 0.1.3-beta, including its original mod ID steamsteel_beacons, registries, saved-data identifiers, network identifiers and exact dependency declarations. It does not include the newer 1.1.0 implementation.

For 1.0.3, use Minecraft 1.21.1, Java 21, NeoForge [21.1.235,21.2), Sable 2.0.3, Xaero's Minimap 26.4.2 on clients, and optionally Xaero's World Map 1.44.2 on clients. Install one compatible version only. Do not combine 1.0.3 with the full Companion, 1.1.0 or another module providing steamsteel_beacons. The standalone 1.0.3 packaging has passed local payload and dependency comparisons; separate gameplay verification remains pending.

Features

• A craftable beacon with a locator-phone inventory and held-item model.
• Private markers: the server sends a beacon's coordinates only to the player who placed it.
• Tracks ordinary placed blocks and beacons carried on Sable sublevels.
• Movement sampling every 1,200 server ticks by default: one minute at 20 TPS. Placement, removal and login also update markers.
• Unloaded targets retain a grey marker labelled "last known position". Saved records survive server restarts.
• No chunk forcing or physics changes. Existing player waypoints remain separate.

Usage

Craft one beacon using this recipe:

Iron Ingot | Copper Ingot | Iron Ingot
Glass      | Redstone    | Glass
Iron Ingot | Copper Ingot | Iron Ingot

Rename the item in an anvil, then place it in the world or on a Sable creation. Its marker belongs to the placing player. The phone is the appearance of this same placeable item; it is not a separate receiver with an extra screen.

Breaking a beacon removes its marker and drops an unowned item. Its next placement receives a fresh identity and owner.

Server configuration: serverconfig/sable-locator-server.toml inside the world folder. updateIntervalTicks defaults to 1200 and accepts 20–72000. Display visibility follows Xaero's normal third-party waypoint and map settings.

Compatibility

• Minecraft 1.21.1, Java 21.
• NeoForge 21.1.235 development baseline; metadata accepts later 21.1.x.
• Sable 2.0.3, required on server and clients.
• Xaero's Minimap 26.4.2, required on clients.
• Xaero's World Map 1.44.2, optional on clients for full-map display.
• Install the same Sable Locator version on server and clients. Singleplayer uses both sides locally.

These exact dependency releases were checked locally. Later Sable and Xaero versions are not claimed compatible. Create: Aeronautics can supply the Sable creations, but this addon does not depend on its classes. Standalone Create contraptions and train carriages do not have dedicated adapters in this release.

The internal mod ID remains steamsteel_beacons to preserve our existing block and saved-data IDs. Install one copy; do not combine it with the older Steam & Steel Beacons addon.

From Steam & Steel

The addon originated in Steam & Steel SMP, our custom Minecraft 1.21.1 NeoForge server modpack. It is available independently of the full modpack and does not require SteamSteelCore or private server configuration.

Acknowledgements

Sable is by ryanhcode and contributors. Xaero's Minimap and World Map are by xaero96. Install those mods from their official projects; they retain their own licenses.

This is an independent community addon. Its beacon and phone artwork is original project artwork, generated during development and adapted into Minecraft models and textures. No Sable, Xaero or Minecraft textures are bundled.

Beta / Feedback

This is a beta release developed for one particular server pack. The source addon has startup and distribution evidence in that environment; player confirmation of all tracking and display flows remains incomplete. This new standalone release has not been tested across other modpacks.

Local checks execute the packaged classes against the pinned libraries: coordinate projection, ownership filtering, persistence, packet codecs, Xaero marker isolation and the native container join regression. They do not replace gameplay checks for assembly, disassembly, unloading, dimension changes or rendering.

If you encounter a crash, an error or unexpected behaviour, please leave a comment with your Minecraft, NeoForge, Sable, Xaero and addon versions, plus steps to reproduce the problem. We will investigate reported bugs and work on fixes.

License

Addon code and original artwork are licensed under BSD 3-Clause. Copyright (c) 2026, DanielBasov (Steam & Steel). Forks, fixes and redistribution are permitted; retain the author attribution, license conditions and disclaimer in source distributions and in the materials accompanying binary distributions. A fork may not imply endorsement by the original author.