The Familiar — 0.9.0-beta.11

Final Intelligence Beta

This beta is the largest AI and behavioral update to The Familiar so far.

Adaptive Intelligence

• Added long-term tactic effectiveness tracking.
• The Familiar can learn which stalking behaviors successfully affect a player.
• Repeated or ineffective tactics become less attractive over time.
• Successful scares can cause longer intentional quiet periods instead of immediate follow-up encounters.
• Added hidden player confidence and fear modeling.

Smarter Player Research

The Familiar now pays greater attention to:

• Repeated travel routes
• How often you check behind yourself
• Lighting and torch habits
• Flashlight usage
• Combat confidence
• Healing and eating while vulnerable
• Sleeping habits
• Repeated locations
• Passive and hostile mob kills
• Player reactions to previous encounters

Route Prediction

• Added repeated-route recognition.
• The Familiar can occasionally predict where the player is going.
• Route interception can place it ahead of frequently traveled paths instead of always following from behind.

Cave Intelligence

• Major cave-stalking improvements.
• Better distinction between genuine caves and surface areas beneath trees or overhangs.
• Dedicated underground encounter pacing.
• Increased use of corners, intersections, distant tunnels, silhouettes, behind-player observation, and sound-based pressure.
• Deep caves can produce different stalking choices from surface exploration.

Psychological Behavior

• Expanded sound-only events where no creature is revealed.
• Improved use of silence and Dead Air.
• More contextual environmental manipulation.
• Better flashlight-dependent stalking behavior.
• Vulnerable players may be studied instead of immediately attacked.
• Confident combat-focused players encourage more deception instead of simple aggression.

Home & Routine Intelligence

• Improved use of existing home memory.
• Home behavior remains intentionally rare and mostly observational.
• Repeated routines and locations influence future decisions.

Multiplayer

• Expanded per-player behavioral profiles.
• Added ownership safeguards so the intelligence director does not intentionally control another player's Familiar.

Preserved Systems

This update does not change:

• The Ridgeback model
• Rig
• Textures
• Existing animation library
• GFBS rendering foundation
• Existing production audio assets

Beta Notice

This build is being released for broader testing.

Feedback is especially helpful for:

• Repetitive encounters
• Cave activity
• Multiplayer behavior
• Encounter pacing
• AI decisions that feel unnatural
• Performance issues
• Crashes or errors

Please include latest.log or a crash report when reporting technical issues.

Minecraft 1.20.1 | Forge 47.4.x | Java 17