Farmore

Big fan of this style, I've made stuff like this in my world and it's always so cozy. I like the depth you added though, I'm going to consider that for my own builds... What stone is that by the way?

To me it's not about whether or not the mod is "AI slop". For someone who, because of philosophical and ethics concerns (which I won't be getting into because it's long and mostly personal), avoids gen-AI tools entirely and limits/ends use of services that add it retroactively, it's about whether it's something I can live without and what the impact on my life is. Example: It would be one thing if a big company retroactively input AI into a service you were already using and need for something like work or school, and I'm always searching for more and more alternatives to popular apps for this reason (though admittedly it's a shrinking circle). That sort of thing comes with trade-offs. Are the trade-offs something I can live without? Do I have another job I can go with instead? How do I assure I pass my class so I get a good future? Are there alternatives? In that sense, if my only choice is to use AI to avoid failing or losing out on a job I really need, then I may have to contend with unwanted AI use. What about social media, which I use to keep up with important news, my communities, and friends? If I got rid of it entirely, would I still have any friends left? What good is lost by exiting the online communities I've solidified myself in and not contributing? These answers are open-ended. It's up to you as the individual. The question is really this: Is it something I can live without? Do free optional mods for a video game made by randoms on the internet meet the same level of questioning? That's an easy answer. It's just no. It's not a service, it's not something I need to do for work or school (to put food on the table). It's a mod. It has no impact on my life, it's not requiring me to change my habits, find alternatives, or seriously weigh the impact of the service on my life to conclude whether or not I want to keep it! So the answer is... I'll just skip this one irrespective of whether or not it's "slop". It's just "I'm not engaging" to all these questions. Having said that... a more direct answer to your questions: 1. Wouldn't say it's "slop" per se. Most likely it pulled directly from a random public source? When I think of "slop" I think of something truly vibe-coded to its core. It's been AI-assisted... at the least? I just don't think this is like... SLOP, you know? 2. Again not "slop" per the definition of "vibe-coded to its core". But it is still AI use... AI-assisted? "Slop" just carries a certain connotation. I dunno. 3. Still not "slop" but if you're doing this for every other line of code, well, it's gonna turn into slop. 4. Hard to say because I don't think there's a fine rule on this. If gen-AI is so intrinsic to your mod that if you removed every instance of it, it would literally break and you couldn't fix it yourself, that's AI-slop. Everything below that is AI assisted at least, but I still personally choose not to engage. I mean really it depends, but it's teetering the line. I'm not sticking around to find out. 5. Yeah if I see an AI-disclaimer I'm just skipping lol. tldr; Gen-AI is just hella optional to me in my daily life and I'm immediately skipping out on anything that uses it if it bears no weight on my life. If that makes me a hypocrite about other things I still choose to engage in, than yeah, I'm a hypocrite. We're human beings afterall, there isn't a playbook for this sort of thing. But mods are just so insignificant to me in the grand scheme of things I'm just not going to bother with any mod with an AI disclaimer or whose creator has admitted to using AI in any capacity. Which isn't a diss at the people who make mods just me putting my energy elsewhere.

Pillows, cushions, that would be cool decor. Something along the lines of decorative items. Maybe you could use them to insulate clothing and increase their temperature...? Like a crafting upgrade?

My simple lakeside house in my VS world, year 2! Second base in this world, thinking of starting a third base elsewhere now that 1.22 stable is out! https://youtu.be/azk0Rxo-O6M

Very unique build! Love the internal decor.

LMAO CLASSIC. Been there done that. I feel like everyone has done this exact thing at least once. It's a right of passage. Every time I tell someone I burned down my house they immediately go "pit kiln?" Pit kiln. At least you're not me who built a pit kiln inside their home right before winter, and burned down their entire lawn on a previous occasion. The fire mechanics take a few disasters to figure out. Which, all things considered, is quite realistic.

VS has eclipses!?

As others have pointed out, the art's a considerable improvement but is very "stereotypical block game." My main issue is that the shadows make it difficult to tell the gears apart from the brown dirt which won't look as good scaled down. I think the shadows being front and center makes the art too dark in the wrong places and the leaves seem really bright, when the actual game palette is more muted. Also, it doesn't really fit the tone of the game. VS can be pretty grueling at times and on the slightly darker side, this logo gives off more "cartoon" elements then I think intended, which does not really highlight the Eldritch appeal and more realistic gameplay (when compared to other block based survival crafting games). I still think it's an improvement overall and would go with the new logo. I certainly like that it's a detailed logo and not the more minimalist logos you see for games these days. There is room for tweaking though.

THERE'S MORE ?????? Holy mother of chisels you have the patience of a god

LITERALLY HOW?????? WHAT. Are you an architect or something!? I'm genuinely unable to process how detailed this is

Holy crap. I'm genuinely so amazed. The wings are gorgeous, I have no idea how you even managed to keep track of all this. Talk about an impressive megabuild. The scenery also really adds to it. Great work.

Wow! What a compact but detailed build. The color scheme is delightfully earthy. Big fan of this one. Loving the thatch roof, it's not a block I use much but you really made it work with this palette. It really pops against the darker building blocks.

On it's own, no! But like I said before: Keyword is or. Not being on Steam isn't really enough of a case for a game to be niche, it's just that most games that are successful without being on Steam are on console. Which is true in MC's case despite being a PC game, because many MC playerbase are bedrock/console players for the sole reason that bedrock edition is available on more platforms/devices (PC, mobile, PS, Xbox, Switch, etc.). There doesn't seem to be any exact statistic on this but I think it would be remiss to ignore the fact that accessibility on more platforms is what helps skyrocket a game into popularity if it doesn't already have the backing of a major company or investor (which in MC's case it's owned by the Microsoft overlords so it also has that going for it). I don't think not being on one singular platform (Steam) is the reason why a game can remain niche. It's just that most indie games that find success do it by becoming downloadable software for console or end up on steam; there are very few exceptions to this rule that I can think of (so I'm not saying there are not examples either). If not, they usually remain on the itch.io indie circle. And I don't think VS needs to be on more platforms to be successful (honestly I support the devs wanting to maintain control over their own game). It's just, we're comparing a niche PC/launcher-only game to a Microsoft-owned juggernaut with all the money and marketing it could ever need available on every single device. OP's post was about playerbases specifically but the former is fair to point out as a reason why some players might not make the jump AKA they don't play on PC. My point was about accessibility across multiple devices, not just Steam^^ And if VS remains a niche game compared to MC because of that, that's fine. Not everything needs to be a juggernaut.

To add onto this: Since VS is not available on Steam or console, it means that it has a smaller playerbase. MC is available on every major console via bedrock edition and java for PC players. The devs say that despite this the game has had a pretty steady influx of revenue and players, which I think is pretty cool! But it's also worth considering that some people don't want to buy games via sites like humble bundle or itch (which last I checked VS is no longer available on itch?). I think it's cool that the devs offer VS on their own site though. Either way, the game only being available on the VS site and humble bundle means it's mostly being spread through word of mouth and the occasional popular YouTube video. While most popular MC gamers are playing on java regardless, the availability of MC on more platforms and consoles means more players.

Found this cool rock formation on my travels! It's all stacked in a circle like this. Sorry it's so dark, lol.

Learning curve. VS has a very steep learning curve and a much slower progression system than MC. I've been playing MC for years and have a long-term forever world, but I can easily build everything I built in my 90hour VS run in just a day or two in MC. Everything takes significantly longer than MC and for survival let's players and streamers that just isn't viable. Would you rather spend 2 hours strip mining at Y -59 at any location and get several stacks of ore in MC, or spent 2 hours prospecting in VS only to find nothing and end up with a broken pick? As other have said, VS is also not as well known as MC. Arguably the people who play this game are playing it specifically for the survival challenge and more realistic gameplay (compared to MC). The MC community is bigger and more well-established and every feature has been optimized, not to mention nostalgia factor and cultural relevance. In terms of community creation, VS builds tend to be realistic or adjacent to that. The color palette of the game lends itself to that but MC's is a lot more colorful and blocks are overall easier to get. For some people, the ease of getting blocks for specific builds in survival might be a creative factor. Also, MC has redstone and somehow people are making calculators in vanilla. To be honest, the communities and gameplay are honestly very different. MC is fast, VS is slow, but I think VS would hit a lot of things long term MC players (like myself) are looking for which is why I switched to VS. MC and VS are similar as block based survival games with 3x3 crafting grids focused on building, but that's about where the similarities end. And if someone wants more features like chiseling in their MC world they will just mod it as @LadyWYT said. To be honest, mods are just as integral to the MC community as VS is, but they have a lot more mods than VS does on the basis of having a larger community. A lot of popular MC gamers and SMPs are running some form of mods, even if its just vanilla-style optimization mods or QOL so it's not like people are a stranger to altering their own gameplay progression. IMO, the main thing preventing more people from playing VS is still the initial learning curve (which even for MC players is still quite difficult) and the speed of progression. I highly doubt creative builders and redstoners will switch en masse to VS but I can absolutely see more survival gameplay and hardcore players falling in love with the game. But VS is a very specific playerbase.

Love the patterns! Really in depth chiseling. The gold accents really pop.

Thanks! I had to work with what material I had and it was a lot of peridot XD

Personally as an artist irl I tend to overlook anything with AI as AI conflicts with my personal worldview. I tend to view art more philosophically (how, why, when, etc) as opposed to a thing to advertise your mod/product (not that there’s anything wrong with that either). My impression of strict programmers is that they are looking for a means to an end, an image to get people to check out their product, marketing, advertising, or just a placeholder image. So a lot of them like AI because it fulfills these requirements. I don’t know how the average non-programmer/non-artist views AI and how it affects whether it not they download a mod but I know a lot of artists will just automatically overlook it, so, if someone is using AI that is something to accept. And I am speaking generally here this isn’t applicable to everyone, but it is my impression of a lot of programmers and fellow artists I’ve spoken to?

Thank you! Green was a little hard to work with but it proved to be a lot of fun!

Oh, really? I thought if there was a wall between them it would be okay. Suppose I could just chase them into another fenced area

My cottage after a year in-game of playing on my first world. It's pretty empty on the inside but I haven't needed much... the thing is, I'm not sure what I want to do now that I have a house! It's technically my 3rd house because I accidentally burned down the first one (pit kiln) and tore down the second house to build this one in its place. Might try and get some more animals. I also posted a quick walk-through on youtube.