ResearchCube

A Minecraft NeoForge mod (1.21.1) that adds a research-gated crafting system. Perform research at a Research Station to unlock special recipes that can be crafted using imprinted drives.

Full documentation → GitHub Wiki

Features

• Tiered Research System — 7 tiers from Unstable to Self-Aware, each requiring matching drives and cubes
• Research Station — Animated GeckoLib block where research is performed
• Drive Crafting — Special recipes unlocked through research, crafted at the Drive Crafting Table
• Fluid System — Four research fluids (Thinking, Pondering, Reasoning, Imagination) consumed during research
• Team Sharing — Players on the same scoreboard team share research progress
• JEI Integration — Full recipe support showing requirements and unlocking research
• Datapack Support — Fully customizable research trees and recipes via JSON

Quick Start for Players

Getting Started

1. Craft a Research Station — The central block for all research
2. Obtain Drives and Cubes — Each tier has matching drive and cube items
3. Create Research Fluids — Craft fluid buckets using the progression recipes:
   • Water Bucket + 2 Redstone → Thinking Fluid Bucket
   • Thinking Fluid Bucket + 2 Glowstone Dust → Pondering Fluid Bucket
   • Pondering Fluid Bucket + 2 Blaze Powder → Reasoning Fluid Bucket
   • Reasoning Fluid Bucket + Ender Pearl + Chorus Fruit → Imagination Fluid Bucket

Using the Research Station

1. Place a Drive in the drive slot (left side, top)
2. Place a Cube in the cube slot (left side, bottom)
3. Fill the fluid tank by placing fluid buckets in the bucket slot
4. Add any required item costs in the cost slots
5. Select a research from the list and click Start
6. Wait for the progress bar to complete
7. The drive is now imprinted with a recipe!

Using the Drive Crafting Table

1. Place your imprinted Drive anywhere in the 3×3 grid
2. Add the required ingredients in the remaining slots
3. Take the result from the output slot
4. The drive is returned intact — use it for multiple crafts!

Key Items

Item	Purpose
Research Station	Perform research to unlock recipes
Drive Crafting Table	Craft recipes using imprinted drives
Drives (7 tiers)	Store recipe IDs from research
Cubes (6 tiers)	Required to perform research of that tier or lower
Research Book	Encyclopedia showing all research and completion status
Research Chip	Transfer completed research between players
Fluid Buckets	Fill the Research Station's tank

Commands

All commands require OP level 2. See the Commands Reference for full details.

Command	Description
/researchcube unlock <player> <research> [force]	Unlock a research for a player
/researchcube unlockAll <player>	Unlock all research for a player
/researchcube lock <player> <research>	Lock a completed research
/researchcube getDrive <player> <research>	Give an imprinted drive for a research
/researchcube addToDrive <research> [force]	Add research recipes to held drive
/researchcube help	Show in-game help

Quick Start for Pack Developers

Adding Custom Research

Create a JSON file in data/<your_pack>/research/:

{
  "name": "My Research",
  "description": "Description shown in tooltips",
  "category": "my_category",
  "tier": "BASIC",
  "duration": 1200,
  "item_costs": [
    { "item": "minecraft:iron_ingot", "count": 4 }
  ],
  "fluid_cost": {
    "fluid": "researchcube:thinking_fluid",
    "amount": 1000
  },
  "recipe_pool": [
    "mypack:my_recipe"
  ]
}

Adding Drive Crafting Recipes

Create a JSON file in data/<your_pack>/recipe/:

{
  "type": "researchcube:drive_crafting",
  "recipe_id": "mypack:my_recipe",
  "ingredients": [
    { "item": "minecraft:iron_ingot" }
  ],
  "result": {
    "id": "minecraft:iron_block",
    "count": 1
  }
}

Full Documentation

See the GitHub Wiki for the complete guide:

• Research Tiers
• Research Definition Schema — prerequisites (AND/OR trees), weighted recipe pools, fluid costs
• Drive Crafting Recipe Schema
• Datapack Guide — examples and troubleshooting

Example Datapack

An example datapack with a 3-research tree is included in the example_datapack/ folder.

Configuration

Edit config/researchcube-common.toml:

# Research duration multiplier (1.0 = normal)
researchDurationMultiplier = 1.0

# Item cost multiplier (1.0 = normal)
researchCostMultiplier = 1.0

# Team sharing enabled
enableTeamSharing = true

Building from Source

# Build the mod
./gradlew build

# Run the client
./gradlew runClient

# Run the server
./gradlew runServer

Requirements

• Minecraft 1.21.1
• NeoForge 21.1.x
• GeckoLib 4.7.x (bundled)
• JEI 19.21.x, EMI 1.1.x, Jade 15.x, Patchouli 1.21.x (all optional)

License

See LICENSE.md