Overview

Better Ecology provides APIs for:

• Accessing entity ecology data
• Registering custom behavior handles
• Modifying entity configurations
• Querying spatial data

Core Interfaces

EcologyAccess

Access ecology components from entities:

EcologyComponent component = ((EcologyAccess) entity).getComponent();

EcologyHandle

Interface for implementing custom behavior systems:

public interface EcologyHandle {
    boolean supports(EcologyProfile profile);
    void registerGoals(Mob mob, GoalSelector goals, GoalSelector targets);
    void tick(Mob mob);
    void readNbt(CompoundTag tag);
    void writeNbt(CompoundTag tag);
}

EcologyComponent

Per-entity data storage:

// Read handle data
CompoundTag hungerTag = component.getHandleTag("hunger");
float hunger = hungerTag.getFloat("current");
 
// Write handle data
CompoundTag tag = component.getOrCreateHandleTag("hunger");
tag.putFloat("current", newValue);

Registering Custom Handles

Register handles during mod initialization:

EcologyHandleRegistry.register("my_handle", new MyCustomHandle());

Custom handles are automatically enabled for entities whose profiles include the handle’s configuration keys.

Spatial Queries

Query nearby entities efficiently:

List<Entity> neighbors = SpatialIndex.getNeighbors(
    entity.position(),
    radius,
    entity.getType()
);

Events

Better Ecology fires events at key lifecycle points:

• Profile reload
• Goal registration
• Entity tick
• NBT save/load

Further Documentation

• Architecture - System design overview
• Ecology Component - Component details
• Behavior System - Goal and steering system