Spelunker's Helmet (Hands-Free Dynamic Lights)

Spelunky brings hands-free cave illumination to Minecraft. Inspired by classic spelunking adventure games, this mod gives players a dynamic light source worn right on their head—allowing you to explore dark caverns with full visibility while keeping your off-hand open for a shield, food, or tools.

Unlike traditional client-side light mods or shader-based lighting that force you to hold a torch, Spelunky uses vanilla engine light mechanics, making it lightweight, stable, and completely dependency-free.

Features

• The Spelunker Helmet: Craftable headgear that casts bright light wherever you look or walk.
• Crafting Recipe: 5 Copper Ingot (in a helmet pattern) with 1 Torch directly above it.
• Stats: Equivalent protection to an Iron Helmet, but with higher durability (220 durability).
• Durability Loss: Wears down naturally over time through active use (1 durability point per minute) rather than taking damage from mob hits.
• Repair: Easily repaired on an anvil using Coal or Charcoal.
• Visual Effects: Emits subtle ambient particle effects while active.
• Light Toggle Keybind: Press Numpad 5 (fully rebindable under its own controls category) to instantly toggle the light effect on or off whenever you need stealth.
• Spelunky Light Enchantment: Want to keep your Netherite or Diamond helmet set bonus? Apply the custom Spelunky Light Enchantment to any vanilla helmet to grant it the exact same dynamic lighting capabilities as the Spelunker Helmet.
• EN/ES Language Support: Includes native English and Spanish localizations built-in. In Spanish, the term Spelunky was deliberately preserved instead of translating it to espeleólogo, both to maintain consistency with the mod’s identity and as a stylistic choice.

Why Use Spelunky?

• Offhand Freedom: Stop holding torches in your offhand. Fight with a shield or mine with offhand torches ready to place while your path stays lit.
• Zero Dependencies: Works out-of-the-box on NeoForge without requiring additional library mods or external shader setups.
• Server-Friendly: Lightweight logic designed to run smoothly in singleplayer or dedicated multiplayer servers.

Disclaimer: This project is an original Minecraft mod inspired by the concept of spelunking helmets. The name Spelunky is used here purely as a playful homage to classic cave‑exploration games, without any claim of affiliation or ownership.

Known Issue: Because the helmet places real vanilla light blocks server‑side, logging out automatically removes them. When you log back in, Minecraft’s light engine sometimes leaves behind temporary dark spots until you walk near those blocks and the light map updates. This is a limitation of the game engine itself, not the mod. To minimize the effect, it’s recommended to toggle the helmet off with its keybind before logging out.