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Variant Reference

TL;DR

variants/<name>.json is a named, reusable weighted block list. A palette entry reaches it through its variant key. The same 128-slot rule applies as for an inline blocks list. code review game test

Keys

Key code review Required Meaning
blocks yes A list of {random, block} entries. See the 128-slot rule

Example

variants/stonebrick.json, shipped with the mod
{
  "blocks": [
    { "random": 9, "block": "minecraft:cracked_stone_bricks" },
    { "random": 8, "block": "minecraft:mossy_stone_bricks" },
    { "random": 1000, "block": "minecraft:stone_bricks" }
  ]
}

That gives mostly plain stone bricks, with the occasional cracked or mossy one. A palette reaches it like this: 

{ "char": "θ", "variant": "stonebrick" }

Why a variant beats an inline blocks list

Ten palettes can name stonebrick instead of repeating the same weighted list ten times, and changing the variant changes all ten.

A variant name that does not resolve throws

CompiledPalette throws Invalid palette entry for '<char>'! when the named variant is missing. The character, not the variant, is what the message names, so the file to look at is the palette rather than the variant. A wrong namespace fails the same way as a misspelling. code review

The weights are slots, not odds

A variant's random numbers fill a 128-entry table. Once the table is full the remaining entries are unreachable, and nothing is logged. The 1000 above is not a probability, it is "take every slot the first two did not". game test

See also