A new modpack version is up! 0.3.13 fixes the Nether crash. Since the crash was built on top of some work intended for the next release, you get those nice improvements as well! Some highlights:
Brand-spanking new LWGL2 build! Thanks to the awesomeness of MultiMC, I am allowed to do this. This should make the gameplay experience more pleasant, particularly for Linux users. Windows users should not experience any difference. For more information about how you can use this updated LWJGL version in your own MultiMC modpacks, see my comment on this MultiMC issue: https://github.com/MultiMC/MultiMC5/issues/2669#issuecomment-586794835
The Potion of Water resistance has been added, craftable with the new Drowned Ender Pearl. No entry for this in the guidebook just yet as I wanted to get this hotfix out, but should be pretty self-explanatory!
Particles disabled for your morph in first person! Another nice improvement for blaze players
Some morphs no longer have to eat
As has been the case for the past few releases, users with limited bandwidth are encouraged to just update the capstone mod.
It's official, Hardcore Alchemy Modpack version 0.4.0: Call of the Nether, is released, with, among other things, a new Nether homesickness instinct, a morph configuration overhaul, and helpful guidebook tips! This marks the conclusion of the instinct work. Onward to 0.5.0!
I am pleased to announce version 0.4.1 of the Hardcore Alchemy modpack, which includes the new small features slated for the 0.5.0 release, as well as some bugfixes. Here are some of the changes:
A small improvement to Nether Exploration - Players traveling between dimensions are now affected by a new Dimensional Flux effect, which provides a bit of safety from being unexpectedly ambushed at your Nether destination.
A small improvement to morphing - While human, you can now type "CHANGE" in chat to instantly and permanently transform into a nearby creature. Beware, as the result of the incantation is unpredictable!
Changeling has been updated, introducing a new survival morph menu and a few new morph abilities
Some mobs from Deadly monsters will no longer attack you through walls
The intent with the 0.5.0 release was to not commit myself to any majorly ambitious features. This release concludes the features, so only the bugs remain, including some new bugs introduced with the update to Changeling.
Hardcore Alchemy 0.5.0 has released! And there are a couple new features after all. The most notable changes are the new nutrition overlay and the upgrade guide system.
I have struggled to figure out how to best communicate important survival changes to players. Updating the guidebook is important, but having players re-read the guidebook each update is not sustainable. These upgrade guides address this problem; they help existing players keep abreast of changes that may affect their playstyle. A free copy of the 0.5.0 Upgrade Guide (which is also cheaply craftable) will be given to all players when they join a world for the first time. New upgrade guides will likely be distributed in the future as needed.
The hope is that this system liberates me more to make gameplay changes if I so desire. It's also worth noting that an upgrade guide won't be a substitute for the changelog, which is still the best place to get all the juicy details about what has changed in a release.
Aside from these two notable features, there were a considerable number of bug fixes, for example players and mobs now properly play death sounds on death, and nutrition lost from the thirst effect is now synced properly.
0.6.0 will be an unscheduled release where I select things to work on one at a time.
0.6.0 has been released! Heads up: Embers has been updated! There are a few new gadgets to play with, but Embers items and blocks in your world will be converted. Consider copying your most recent backups from your backups/ folder to a temporary location, as a precaution against the (hopefully) rare case of a world corrupting crash or the need to downgrade. Please report bugs!
In combination with the above, the Thaumcraft and Embers metal systems have been unified.
Also, spells from Ars Magica will no longer be viable outside the overworld, due to the unique properties of dimensional auras.
Unlike in the past, 0.6.0 is the first version in the 0.6 series. So, hopefully more random features and fixes are to come!
The notable new feature in this release is Dimensional Flux Crystals, which can be used to craft Potions of Voidfade. The crafting mechanic for creating Dimensional Flux Crystals is simple, but something you will have to discover. I will be interested to see what people think of it!
There are a few quality-of-life fixes as well. The bottom blocks of reeds no longer uproot due to ice, which should hopefully make reeds easier to find in new chunks. This should hopefully make it easier to purify water in earlygame. As a tradeoff, reeds and cacti no longer grow in winter (they may still grow if there are heating coils from Tough As Nails nearby, although I haven't tested this). Also, modded wood types are new usable in more crafting recipes.
On the bugfix side, there were crash fixes for Embers and Keyboard Wizard, and Ars Magica 2 should no longer stall load time.
This isn't a modpack update, but nevertheless a notable change.
The Hardcore Alchemy capstone mod has been split into a bunch of smaller mods. The capstone mod was very broad in scope and integrated with over a dozen different mods. The split aims to make things a bit more maintainable, so that one mod interacts with survival mods, one mod interacts with Changeling/mob mods, etc.
Therefore, I introduce version 0.7.0 of the Hardcore Alchemy mod suite, with the following mods:
Hardcore Alchemy (Core)
Hardcore Alchemy Tweaks
Hardcore Alchemy Creatures
Hardcore Alchemy Magic
Hardcore Alchemy Survival
Hardcore Alchemy Modpack (for things specific to the modpack like the guidebooks)
Most of these mods only depend on Core, so in principle they can now be used independently. That being said, there are no new config options, as this mod suite is still intended mainly for use by the modpack. The new gradle build setup may be of interest to mod developers.
Because these mods are just the same features as the capstone mod but split out into smaller mods, there was no reason for a new modpack release. You will see this collection of smaller mods in the next modpack release.
Edit: Version 0.7.1 of the mod suite has been released, mainly fixing some bugs introduced in 0.7.0
I am pleased to announce version 0.7.2 of the Hardcore Alchemy modpack has been released!
The most notable change: there is a brand new health upgrade mechanic! You will acquire broken hearts by performing various tasks. These can be used to craft health upgrades. Unlike the Tough As Nails mechanic, these upgrades are temporary, with a chance for you to lose one heart upgrade upon death. Gameplay feedback is welcome, especially with regard to difficulty and ideas for new hearts.
Also in this release, some unfair death bugfixes: Wither skeletons can no longer apply the wither effect through your shield. Also fixed were cave spiders, husks, and fire arrows.
Be sure to check the 0.7.2 Upgrade Guide this time, as it has some especially useful info.
Version 0.7.3 of the Hardcore Alchemy modpack has been released! This fixes a bug where the player could rarely get stuck as a morph after switching dimensions. This release also updates some mods! As such, updating the modpack is recommended!
You all should expect to see some mod changes in the coming months, but hopefully not as drastic as this update. With Curseforge piloting Linux support, I have been exploring the possibility of making Hardcore Alchemy available on the Feed the Beast launcher. So, I'll be busy doing a bunch of administrative stuff in the meantime. If you're curious about the details, there is more info here.
Edit: FTB launcher plans have been canceled, so the modpack will stay MultiMC-only for now.
Hardcore Alchemy's presence on Modrinth is currently experimental. However, it is highly likely that the upcoming Hardcore Alchemy modpack version 0.8 will be on Modrinth. The MultiMC version of the modpack, as posted on the Hardcore Alchemy wiki, is still first priority.
The upcoming 0.8 modpack release is a work in progress, and focuses mainly on improvements to survival morphing.
A new craftable item will be added, the Seal of Form, to allow you to store your knowledge of a morph. Changeling will also be updated with some bug fixes.
Last but not least, there is a more ambitious, experimental morphing mechanic in progress. It involves a block which is unofficially called a morphing apparatus (final name subject to change). By using a Seal of Form on the apparatus, you can stay in a morph for much longer without getting permamorphed. The downside is that your activated apparatus is tied to a specific location, so you will have to return to that location to regain your shapeshifting abilities.
I am pleased to announce that version 0.8.1 of the Hardcore Alchemy modpack: An Alchemist's Gamble, has been released!
This release adds the Seal of Form, an item that stores knowledge of a morph. It also adds a new block crafted using Dimensional flux crystals, that allows you to stay in a morph for up to 10 times longer without long-term consequences. However, you will need to backtrack to the block in order to demorph again.
Anyway... as you may know, I broke timefrozen crafting, so you couldn't actually timefreeze things. Sorry, it's fixed now.
The combat damage system has also been overhauled, so player attack no longer depends on experience levels, and instead depends on what morphs you have acquired. Player defense is no longer impacted anymore, so armor is more important. Since the new combat system doesn't depend on experience points, you can now store experience points using the Tome of Peritia from Blood Magic.
Another nice QOL feature is that when you break Harvestcraft gardens, they will no longer clutter your inventory with a bunch of seeds. It was previously possible to prevent this by sneaking, but it is easy to forget to do that by accident. Now, you can use the sieve from Ex Nihilo to break the gardens down into seeds on demand. Seed drop rates have been increased as well, to keep the grind from sifting to a minimum.
Aside from that, there's a lot of other nice tweaks and fixes in this release. Feedback is welcome, particularly on the new block. Is it balanced? Is it too hard to use? Are there any bugs?
I hope you enjoy this new release! And as always... don't forget to drink water.
There is a new report of a modded server exploit affecting versions 1.7.10 through 1.12.2 . There are currently conflicting claims of how to fix the issue. At this time I am not able to verify that either suggested fix is adequate or safe for the Hardcore Alchemy modpack, or 1.10.2 more generally. At this time, I strongly advise that Hardcore Alchemy players do not play multiplayer until I personally confirm the issue is fixed.
Looks like there was a bug with Blood Magic rituals getting diabled on relog. If this bug affects you, you can quickly fix it by downloading version 0.8.3 of the mod suite, and replacing the respective mods in your mods folder.
A new modpack version is up! 0.3.13 fixes the Nether crash. Since the crash was built on top of some work intended for the next release, you get those nice improvements as well! Some highlights:
As has been the case for the past few releases, users with limited bandwidth are encouraged to just update the capstone mod.
Read the full changelog here:
https://github.com/asanetargoss/HardcoreAlchemy/wiki/Changelog-0.3.13
It's official, Hardcore Alchemy Modpack version 0.4.0: Call of the Nether, is released, with, among other things, a new Nether homesickness instinct, a morph configuration overhaul, and helpful guidebook tips! This marks the conclusion of the instinct work. Onward to 0.5.0!
I am pleased to announce version 0.4.1 of the Hardcore Alchemy modpack, which includes the new small features slated for the 0.5.0 release, as well as some bugfixes. Here are some of the changes:
The intent with the 0.5.0 release was to not commit myself to any majorly ambitious features. This release concludes the features, so only the bugs remain, including some new bugs introduced with the update to Changeling.
Hardcore Alchemy 0.5.0 has released! And there are a couple new features after all. The most notable changes are the new nutrition overlay and the upgrade guide system.
I have struggled to figure out how to best communicate important survival changes to players. Updating the guidebook is important, but having players re-read the guidebook each update is not sustainable. These upgrade guides address this problem; they help existing players keep abreast of changes that may affect their playstyle. A free copy of the 0.5.0 Upgrade Guide (which is also cheaply craftable) will be given to all players when they join a world for the first time. New upgrade guides will likely be distributed in the future as needed.
The hope is that this system liberates me more to make gameplay changes if I so desire. It's also worth noting that an upgrade guide won't be a substitute for the changelog, which is still the best place to get all the juicy details about what has changed in a release.
Aside from these two notable features, there were a considerable number of bug fixes, for example players and mobs now properly play death sounds on death, and nutrition lost from the thirst effect is now synced properly.
0.6.0 will be an unscheduled release where I select things to work on one at a time.
0.6.0 has been released! Heads up: Embers has been updated! There are a few new gadgets to play with, but Embers items and blocks in your world will be converted. Consider copying your most recent backups from your backups/ folder to a temporary location, as a precaution against the (hopefully) rare case of a world corrupting crash or the need to downgrade. Please report bugs!
In combination with the above, the Thaumcraft and Embers metal systems have been unified.
Also, spells from Ars Magica will no longer be viable outside the overworld, due to the unique properties of dimensional auras.
Unlike in the past, 0.6.0 is the first version in the 0.6 series. So, hopefully more random features and fixes are to come!
Hardcore Alchemy 0.6.1 has been released!
The notable new feature in this release is Dimensional Flux Crystals, which can be used to craft Potions of Voidfade. The crafting mechanic for creating Dimensional Flux Crystals is simple, but something you will have to discover. I will be interested to see what people think of it!
There are a few quality-of-life fixes as well. The bottom blocks of reeds no longer uproot due to ice, which should hopefully make reeds easier to find in new chunks. This should hopefully make it easier to purify water in earlygame. As a tradeoff, reeds and cacti no longer grow in winter (they may still grow if there are heating coils from Tough As Nails nearby, although I haven't tested this). Also, modded wood types are new usable in more crafting recipes.
On the bugfix side, there were crash fixes for Embers and Keyboard Wizard, and Ars Magica 2 should no longer stall load time.
This isn't a modpack update, but nevertheless a notable change.
The Hardcore Alchemy capstone mod has been split into a bunch of smaller mods. The capstone mod was very broad in scope and integrated with over a dozen different mods. The split aims to make things a bit more maintainable, so that one mod interacts with survival mods, one mod interacts with Changeling/mob mods, etc.
Therefore, I introduce version 0.7.0 of the Hardcore Alchemy mod suite, with the following mods:
Most of these mods only depend on Core, so in principle they can now be used independently. That being said, there are no new config options, as this mod suite is still intended mainly for use by the modpack. The new gradle build setup may be of interest to mod developers.
Because these mods are just the same features as the capstone mod but split out into smaller mods, there was no reason for a new modpack release. You will see this collection of smaller mods in the next modpack release.
Edit: Version 0.7.1 of the mod suite has been released, mainly fixing some bugs introduced in 0.7.0
I am pleased to announce version 0.7.2 of the Hardcore Alchemy modpack has been released!
The most notable change: there is a brand new health upgrade mechanic! You will acquire broken hearts by performing various tasks. These can be used to craft health upgrades. Unlike the Tough As Nails mechanic, these upgrades are temporary, with a chance for you to lose one heart upgrade upon death. Gameplay feedback is welcome, especially with regard to difficulty and ideas for new hearts.
Also in this release, some unfair death bugfixes: Wither skeletons can no longer apply the wither effect through your shield. Also fixed were cave spiders, husks, and fire arrows.
Be sure to check the 0.7.2 Upgrade Guide this time, as it has some especially useful info.
Version 0.7.3 of the Hardcore Alchemy modpack has been released! This fixes a bug where the player could rarely get stuck as a morph after switching dimensions. This release also updates some mods! As such, updating the modpack is recommended!
You all should expect to see some mod changes in the coming months, but hopefully not as drastic as this update. With Curseforge piloting Linux support, I have been exploring the possibility of making Hardcore Alchemy available on the Feed the Beast launcher. So, I'll be busy doing a bunch of administrative stuff in the meantime. If you're curious about the details, there is more info here.
Edit: FTB launcher plans have been canceled, so the modpack will stay MultiMC-only for now.
I am pleased to announce that the Hardcore Alchemy modpack is now available on Modrinth.
Hardcore Alchemy's presence on Modrinth is currently experimental. However, it is highly likely that the upcoming Hardcore Alchemy modpack version 0.8 will be on Modrinth. The MultiMC version of the modpack, as posted on the Hardcore Alchemy wiki, is still first priority.
The upcoming 0.8 modpack release is a work in progress, and focuses mainly on improvements to survival morphing.
A new craftable item will be added, the Seal of Form, to allow you to store your knowledge of a morph. Changeling will also be updated with some bug fixes.
Last but not least, there is a more ambitious, experimental morphing mechanic in progress. It involves a block which is unofficially called a morphing apparatus (final name subject to change). By using a Seal of Form on the apparatus, you can stay in a morph for much longer without getting permamorphed. The downside is that your activated apparatus is tied to a specific location, so you will have to return to that location to regain your shapeshifting abilities.
I am pleased to announce that version 0.8.1 of the Hardcore Alchemy modpack: An Alchemist's Gamble, has been released!
This release adds the Seal of Form, an item that stores knowledge of a morph. It also adds a new block crafted using Dimensional flux crystals, that allows you to stay in a morph for up to 10 times longer without long-term consequences. However, you will need to backtrack to the block in order to demorph again.
Anyway... as you may know, I broke timefrozen crafting, so you couldn't actually timefreeze things. Sorry, it's fixed now.
The combat damage system has also been overhauled, so player attack no longer depends on experience levels, and instead depends on what morphs you have acquired. Player defense is no longer impacted anymore, so armor is more important. Since the new combat system doesn't depend on experience points, you can now store experience points using the Tome of Peritia from Blood Magic.
Another nice QOL feature is that when you break Harvestcraft gardens, they will no longer clutter your inventory with a bunch of seeds. It was previously possible to prevent this by sneaking, but it is easy to forget to do that by accident. Now, you can use the sieve from Ex Nihilo to break the gardens down into seeds on demand. Seed drop rates have been increased as well, to keep the grind from sifting to a minimum.
Aside from that, there's a lot of other nice tweaks and fixes in this release. Feedback is welcome, particularly on the new block. Is it balanced? Is it too hard to use? Are there any bugs?
I hope you enjoy this new release! And as always... don't forget to drink water.
There is a new report of a modded server exploit affecting versions 1.7.10 through 1.12.2 . There are currently conflicting claims of how to fix the issue. At this time I am not able to verify that either suggested fix is adequate or safe for the Hardcore Alchemy modpack, or 1.10.2 more generally. At this time, I strongly advise that Hardcore Alchemy players do not play multiplayer until I personally confirm the issue is fixed.
Hello, I am back with a security hotfix.
If you are thinking of running the Hardcore Alchemy modpack in multiplayer, my advice to you is: Please don't!
However, if you attempt to do so anyway, please upgrade to 0.8.2 or later, keep your server in whitelisted mode, and read this server security guide.
Update: A 0.8.2 changelog is now available.
Looks like there was a bug with Blood Magic rituals getting diabled on relog. If this bug affects you, you can quickly fix it by downloading version 0.8.3 of the mod suite, and replacing the respective mods in your mods folder.