Sign Plates: Letters & Symbols

v1.2.0 - MAJOR UPDATE

v1.2.0 completely reworks Sign Plates to finally include all the features planned from the start, while making room for more customization options in future updates.

Sign Plates now use a single block type with independently editable backgrounds, frames, symbols and effects, instead of registering separate blocks for every single design.

World compatibility: Existing Sign Plates are automatically converted to the new system when loading an older world.

Performance note: This changes my earlier approach of avoiding block entities. However, they don’t tick and render as part of the chunk, like normal blocks. They also retain backside culling, most symbols now use small 8×8 textures, and most backgrounds reuse vanilla Minecraft textures. This allows customization to keep growing without multiplying registered blocks and combined textures for every possible design.

Added

• Sign Plate Designer GUI: Right-click a placed Sign Plate to customize its appearance.
  • Background: Choose backgrounds and frames independently.
  • Symbols: Choose from over 80 letters, numbers and symbols, with no material cost for changing symbols.
  • Style: Choose the symbol’s color, enable emission and adjust the plate’s light output.
• Live 3D preview, with front-facing and angled viewing modes.
• Copy and Paste to transfer designs between plates.
• Search, symbol categories and scrollable selection grids.
• Apply button with a preview of all required materials. Changes are only applied and paid for when confirmed.
• Three new frame designs: Copper, Gold and Coal.
• Expanded background selection to 35 designs, including all concrete colors, wood and stem textures, and several brick types.
• Added 26 new symbol designs.
• None options for symbols, backgrounds and frames, allowing each element to be hidden individually.
• Separate symbol emission and block lighting:
  • Emission makes the symbol appear bright without making the frame or background emissive. Costs one glow ink sac to enable.
  • Glow offers four settings producing light levels 0, 8, 12 and 15, costing 0, 1, 2 or 3 glowstone dust when changed.
• Two visual themes for the Sign Plate Designer, selectable through the in-game config. The vanilla-style theme is enabled by default
• Dye Depot compatibility: Its additional dye colors now appear in the Designer when installed.

Changed

• Replaced individual Sign Plate blocks with one customizable block: **sign_plates:sign_plate**.
• Removed individual variant stonecutter recipes.
• Reworked symbol textures, dyeing and emission for cleaner results.
• Creative pick-block preserves the plate’s complete design, including colors and effects.
• Creative inventory and supported recipe viewers retain a set of symbol variants for browsing.
• Simplified item tooltips, with additional information revealed while holding Shift.
• Added sponge cleaning to remove color, emission and block light, accompanied by splash particles and sound.

Version Support

• Added Fabric and NeoForge versions for Minecraft 26.2.x and 26.3.x.
• Combined development into one multi-version source project to make maintenance and future additions easier across supported versions and loaders.

More design options are planned now that new additions no longer require separate blocks and combined textures for every variation.

Suggestions and requests are welcome in the comments!