View source for Guide:Mob Farming

{{Hatnote|{{Icon|notice}} This guide intends to make the construction of mob farms easier for its players. Be advised that AFK farming is still against Network [[Rules]].}}

{{SITENAME}} allows players to build [[mc:Tutorials/Mob_farm|mob farms]] on its [[Survival]] server, including those with complicated designs working around Minecraft's mob spawn mechanics. Like most larger servers, {{SITENAME}} modifies the core mechanics of mob AI and spawning behaviors to remain performant even across higher player loads. However, as a result of this alteration, many mob farm designs will require modification in order to work efficiently on the server.

Most farm designs, especially those found on YouTube, assume that the player is building them under singleplayer conditions, or on an unmodified Minecraft server. Often, this leads to players expressing confusion as to why farms claimed to be highly efficient fail to perform as expected on servers with plugins. This guide serves as a {{SITENAME}} specific tutorial on the changes that may be required in order to increase the efficiency of mob farms.

== Core concepts ==
In order to build efficient mob farms, you must understand the underlying mechanics dictating mob spawning and despawning, as well as how {{SITENAME}}'s modifications to these rules potentially impact farming.

{{Component/section|
{{Component/group|
{{Component
|port     = {{Item|clock}}
|title    = '''Ticking'''
|subtitle = Minecraft processes game events on an internal loop that completes 20 times per second, with each singular cycle referred to as a "tick". During a tick, existing mobs can either perform actions (such as moving or interact with the world), or despawn if far enough away from a player (or, for new mobs, spawn if its conditions are met). If a mob is far enough away from a player, the server stops ticking that mob (thus rendering its AI "paused"), or allows it to despawn if it is able to. In moments of heavy load, the server may stop ticking certain mobs even if they are nearer to the player than would usually be expected. 
}}
{{Component
|port     = {{Item|spyglass}}
|title    = '''View distance'''
|subtitle = This is the distance, in [[mc:chunk|chunks]], that the server sends world data to the player's client. On {{SITENAME}} this value is set to {{Home/settings|viewDistance}} chunks in the [[Survival/Overworld|Overworld]]. Even if the client has a higher render distance than this value, they will not see beyond the server's configured view distance.
}}
{{Component
|port     = {{Item|compass}}
|title    = '''Simulation distance'''
|subtitle = This is the distance, in [[mc:chunk|chunks]], that the server processes game events within (or ticks). On {{SITENAME}} this value is set to {{Home/settings|simDistance}} chunks in the [[Survival/Overworld|Overworld]]. Chunks extending beyond the simulation distance, but before the view distance, are still rendered to the player's client but do not process game events. Players may notice that mobs don't move, or crops don't grow, in these chunks even if they can still be seen.
}}
}}
{{Component/group|
{{Component
|port     = {{Item|spawner}}
|title    = '''Mob spawn range'''
|subtitle = The number of chunks away from the player that mobs are allowed to spawn within. On {{SITENAME}} mobs are not allowed to spawn more than {{Home/settings|spawnRange}} chunks away from players.
}}
{{Component
|port     = {{Item|slime_block}}
|title    = '''Soft despawn range'''
|subtitle = This is the range, in blocks, away from the player where mobs have a chance of despawning. More specifically, mobs within this range for more than 30 seconds have a 1⁄800 chance each game tick to despawn. (2.5% chance per second). On {{SITENAME}}, this value is {{Home/settings|softDespawn}} blocks.
}}
{{Component
|port     = {{Item|honey_block}}
|title    = '''Hard despawn range'''
|subtitle = This is the maximum distance, in blocks, away from the player that a mob is allowed to exist without instantly despawning. On {{SITENAME}}, this value is {{Home/settings|hardDespawn}} blocks.
}}
{{Component
|port     = {{Item|redstone_torch}}
|title    = '''Entity activation range'''
|subtitle = This is the range, in blocks, around the player wherein entities will become "activated" (begin ticking at a normal rate). Entities outside of this range may begin ticking at a reduced rate, or not tick at all (becoming "frozen"). On {{SITENAME}}, this value is {{Home/settings|mobActivation}} blocks.
}}
}}
}}

===Comparison of values===
{{Hatnote|This is a comparison of the aforementioned settings on {{SITENAME}} to Vanilla Minecraft.}}
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 100%;"
!
!{{SITENAME}}
!Vanilla
|-
|View distance
|{{Home/settings|viewDistance}}
|10
|-
|Simulation distance
|{{Home/settings|simDistance}}
|10
|-
|Spawn range
|{{Home/settings|spawnRange}}
|8
|-
|Despawn range (Soft)
|{{Home/settings|softDespawn}}
|32
|-
|Despawn range (Hard)
|{{Home/settings|hardDespawn}}
|128
|-
|Entity activation range
|{{Home/settings|mobActivation}}
|32
|}

== Adjusting your farms ==
The specific modifications players will need to make to their farms will depend on the type of farm considered. For most farms that utilize mob spawning platforms, players will need to move the spawning platform closer to account for {{SITENAME}}'s lowered simulation and despawn ranges. 

For instance, if a farm design dictates that a player should build their spawning platform 128 blocks away from where the player stands, on {{SITENAME}} players should instead build it only {{Home/settings|hardDespawn}} blocks away. Failing this, farm drop rates will be severely diminished.

Farms with spawning areas larger than the server's simulation distance of {{Home/settings|simDistance}} chunks may need to be scaled down to work properly. But note that mobs are not allowed to spawn within 24 blocks around any given player, both horizontally and vertically.

== Other considerations ==
Due to the number of gameplay modificaitons {{SITENAME}} employs over Vanilla Minecraft, players building complex mob farms may need to consider more than just the altered spawn ranges.

{{Rules
| title     = Custom biomes
| body      = <nowiki></nowiki>
The [[Survival/Overworld|Overworld]] and [[Survival/The End|The End]] dimensions feature custom biomes not present in Vanilla terrain generation. As such, mob behaviors that are tied to specific biomes may not function properly. For example, frog farms that use the current biome to determine frog color will not function in the Overworld as the frog spawning behavior is hard-coded.
}}
{{Rules
| title     = Nether scale
| body      = <nowiki></nowiki>
The [[Survival/Nether|Nether]] dimension on {{SITENAME}} does not use the 8× dimensional scaling modifier present in Vanilla Minecraft. As a result, traveling through a Nether Portal in the Overworld will always take you to the same pair of coordinates in the Nether. Farms that utilize the difference in dimensional scaling will need to be modified.
}}
{{Rules
| title     = Lag compensation
| body      = <nowiki></nowiki>
In an effort to save server resources, large collections of mobs may stop being ticked by the server. This effect is even more pronounced during moments of heavy load, as the server attempts to free up resources as not to impede the majority of gameplay. As a  result, some farms may experience disruption during periods of heavy load.
}}
{{Rules
| title     = Redstone changes
| body      = <nowiki></nowiki>
{{SITENAME}} attempts to maintain compatibility with most redstone contraptions, however this may not always be possible due to the server's more efficient redstone logic. Some redstone behaviors, especially sand-dupers and zero-tick operations, are known not to function on the server.
}}

== Notes ==
* {{SITENAME}} does not tick villagers outside of a special activation range of 32 blocks. This means that iron farms and trading halls will work at a reduced rate unless a player is within 32 blocks.

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