Tectonic v3 Beta 1

This is the first beta of Tectonic v3, the second rewrite in Tectonic's history.

Please take note of the following missing features:

• Terrain Blending (will be introduced later)
• Terralith compatibility (will return later)
• Large Biomes compatibility (will return later)
• Continents compatibility (may not return later)
• Lava Rivers (may not return later)

New Features

Continents and Islands

Terrain in v2 was split roughly 50/50 between land and ocean, with no coherent shape for either. In v3, terrain now forms into more coherent "continents". Continents will generate thousands to tens of thousands of blocks wide to account for the massive mountain ranges and new terrain types.

In the oceans between continents you'll find relatively smaller "islands", ranging up to around a thousand blocks across. These islands use vanilla's mountain terrain shaping, now making it possible to find traditional mountain rings.

New Terrain Types

Tectonic now features several new terrain shaping types to spice up your travels.

• Plateaus

While Tectonic v2 did feature three-tiered plateaus, v3 polishes this feature up significantly. There are now both two and three-tiered plateaus, with both sometimes having smoother slopes to climb up them in survival more easily.

• Valleys

While plateaus usually elevate plateau biomes, some Cherry Groves and Pale Gardens have the plateaus surround the biome, turning the biome into a valley.

• Wetlands

Some forest, jungle and taiga biomes generate very close to sea level and generate frequent ponds and lakes.

• Canyons

Some badlands form massive canyons with rivers running through them.

• Buttes

Badlands that don't generate canyons will instead have low terrain with occasional isolated plateaus.

• Hills

Some plains, flower forest and ice spike biomes will feature smooth rolling hills.

• Dunes

Dunes have been overhauled in v3, looking much closer to the new rolling hill terrain.

• Pillars

Some jungles feature massive pillars that can extend upwards of a hundred blocks tall, reminiscent of the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in China.

• Oceans

Deep oceans are much more varied than before, having dynamic heights and sometimes generating overhangs and deep trenches.

Config Overhaul

The config has gotten another overhaul, with several new options. On top of that, there is finally a config screen!

Changes

Improved Underground Rivers

Underground rivers have received a full rewrite, largely based off of my standalone Underground Rivers mod.

• Terrain inside of rivers varies significantly more. This includes varying sizes and shapes.

• Transitions between normal and underground rivers have been improved. The transition point has been moved further from mountains to make the terrain drop less steep, and the varying sizes mean the ceiling is no longer consistently super flat at entrances.

• Entrances are significantly taller than before, usually being more blocks tall than wide.

• Pillars are significantly more common.

• [Mod Only] Increased glow lichen rates from Tectonic v1 have returned.

Seaside Cliff Changes

• Oceanside cliff overhangs have been removed.

Less Smooth Terrain

Vanilla's noise used to roughen up terrain that has the inadvertent affect of making sloped terrain "staircase" has been reintroduced. This has been done for a few reasons:

• Windswept terrain better integrates with the rest of the world.

• Slopes are easier to build on, with median areas at each staircase step.

• The underlying noise that makes Tectonic work is better obfuscated, making terrain less predictable.

Improved Windswept Savannas

Windswept Savannas have received a significant upgrade. While in previous versions you could find sizable areas of flat areas of the biome, that should no longer happen.