Zippy's Sky Steel

[Zippy Wonderdust]

Zippy's Sky Steel allows meteoric iron to be shaped using copper-age tools.

I am aware that another meteoric iron mod has already existed since version 1.19.4 called Meteoric Iron Overhaul created by Squonk.  Feel free to check it out.  It's a very nice content-only mod.  I try to avoid "reinventing the wheel" if possible, but I made this mod because it handles the refining and forging steps in a slightly more immersive way that could only be achieved through writing a C# code mod.  Also, Squonk's mod may be abandonware at this point as the author has not communicated for over a year now (as of May 2025).

The object of this mod is to transform meteoric iron from a mere curiosity only obtainable with iron-age tools to an "Oh Goody!" windfall for players in the early game. The crafting mechanics attempt to remain as true as possible to real life, albeit in a somewhat simplified and optimistic form.  This mod gives an incentive for players in the early game to keep an eye out for meteorite impacts!

More details in the mod description.

[Zippy Wonderdust]

Version 1.1.0 changes

-Slightly de-buffed meteoric iron chunk drop rate when mining meteorite blocks (dist invexp => strongerinvexp). Blocks will almost always drop only 1 meteoric iron chunk. On rare occasions they will drop 2 or even 3 chunks, but only *very* rarely.
-Increased the required heating time for meteorite shards and meteoric iron bits.  They now take longer to process.
-Changed temperature handling so that leaving a newly created meteoric iron chunk in the firepit will cause it to fairly quickly heat up to working temperature so it can immediately be transferred to an anvil.
-Added chiselling recipes that allow meteoric iron chunks and meteorite shards to be broken into meteoric iron bits.  This is a *lossy* process which does not return the full amount of materials. This has been done on purpose as a way to partially recover materials from an item that the player has smithed improperly.
-Changed all metalbit grid recipes to require both a hammer and chisel when breaking items down into metalbits (because it just makes sense).

[Zippy Wonderdust]

Version 1.2.0 changes

-Added compatibility with Smithing Plus (hopefully no more crashes!)
-New graphic assets; meteorite shards
-New texture for meteoric iron anvil
-New drops; meteorites now occasionally drop crystallized nickel

[Zippy Wonderdust]

Version 1.2.1 changes

-One extra change to support Smithing Plus; mark meteoric iron metal bits as smithable on a copper anvil

 

Edited June 10, 2025 by Zippy Wonderdust

[StCatharines]

I love that you've taken the initial concept from Squonk and absolutely run with it! Kudos.

[StCatharines]

Thanks for updating this for 1.21.1! 

Also: for anyone else longing for the vanilla VS meteoric texture but finding this mod essential, remove the assets/game directory in the mod entirely. It's a replacement of two textures, for meteoric iron and for the anvil. Without them, all of the mechanics remain as modded, but all of the vanilla textures stay.

[Zippy Wonderdust]

On 9/17/2025 at 7:51 AM, StCatharines said:

Thanks for updating this for 1.21.1! 

Also: for anyone else longing for the vanilla VS meteoric texture but finding this mod essential, remove the assets/game directory in the mod entirely. It's a replacement of two textures, for meteoric iron and for the anvil. Without them, all of the mechanics remain as modded, but all of the vanilla textures stay.

Thanks for being so patient!

I actually intend to add a configuration option for the textures via ConfigLib/IMGUI that can be toggled on or off by the server admin. Coming soon...  ish... 

[StCatharines]

I wouldn't worry about hurrying such a config along, it really is trivial to remove the texture from the mod itself.

Thanks again for the update, what I felt was so lacking in my 1.21 world has now been remedied. The other players on my server are enjoying the excitement of finding meteoric iron (without it being as easy as the mod which made meteoric iron blocks drop ingots!) once again.