The Library of Babel

Published by TVFlabs on
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Downloads:
125
Upvotes: 1
Project status
Stable
License
All Rights Reserved
Modification type
Supported Minecraft versions
1.18.2

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This mod replaces the overworld with a universe of random bookshelves inspired by the short story by Jorge Luis Borges, The Library of Babel.

I recommend reading the short story, not because you need to have done so to understand this mod, but because it's really interesting.

Each room is either a library room or a resting room. Each library room contains four bookshelves, all filled with random four-page books. Each resting room contains two beds and a bathroom. Your only food source will be the glowing fruits known as Bulbs. Right-click on a potted Bulb plant to get the fruit item to eat. Right-click on a bookshelf to open it.

This mod now has an official server! To join, you'll need to have the latest version of the mod installed.
libraryofbabel.exaroton.me
Since it's hosted on exaroton, you'll most likely have to wait for it to start when you first join. It should only take a few minutes,

Issues, Inconsistencies, and Things I'd Like to Change:
 - Sometimes you spawn in the wall of the library. If this happens, wait to suffocate, then close and re-open the world once you respawn.
 - The rooms are square, not hexagonal. Hexagons are hard to get looking nice in Minecraft, so I'll leave this as-is.
 - There are 26 letters, not 22 like in the original short story. This is because I have no idea what the 22 letters Borges was talking about actually are.
 - The Library isn't that large vertically. This isn't really something I can change without making the lag way worse, so I'm keeping it 512 blocks tall.
 - The books aren't seed-based, which means that all the books will be different even in the same place on the same seed if you make another world. I wish I knew how to change this, but I don't.

That's it! Enjoy the mod.

Modification files
library_of_babel-1.0.0-1.18.2.jar - Library of Babel 1.0.0Uploaded on: 09/01/2022 - 07:52   File size: 139.1 KB
library_of_babel-1.1.0-1.18.2.jar - Library of Babel 1.1.0Uploaded on: 09/01/2022 - 20:13   File size: 142.28 KB
library_of_babel-1.2.0-1.18.2.jar - Library of Babel 1.2.0Uploaded on: 09/01/2022 - 22:26   File size: 175.19 KB
Changelog

1.0.0:
 - Initial release

1.1.0
 - Shelves will now drop their books when destroyed even if they hadn't yet been opened
 - Empty Pots will now regrow their fruits after a while
 - The player is now teleported back to the Library of Babel dimension if they ever end up in any other dimension
 - The library will no longer regenerate the first room if the world is reloaded or another player joins
 - You can now respawn in the library using the beds

1.2.0
 - Maybe fixed the lag?
 - Added Librarians, villager-like mobs that wander the library doing nothing