Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-31507215-20170725152437

Notes:
 * I do acknowledge that this is just a game.
 * Most of this is based on my knowledge of my great-grandmother's grapes, so it may not be 100% accurate.
 * As with many of my suggestions, I do not know what of this is possible to add.
 * This should not be a high priority.

Grapes. They are delicious, nutritious, and can be made into the wonderful drink we call wine. Grapes are great, but the way they are grown in the mod does not seem quite right. So, here are my ideas on how their growth might be changed to be a little more realistic.

Status Quo
Right now, grapes can only grow straight up, because of how the posts are designed. No matter where they are placed, they are always pointing straight up.

New
Instead of always pointing upwards, the posts' shape and orientation will be defined by what side of the block they are placed on. You will also be able to make "grapevine (post) corners", which are crafted with five sticks in a cross on a crafting table. These special posts will act like grapevine posts, but will also change shape, like redstone, to connect themselves to adjacent posts. (More on this will be explained soon.)

Status Quo
Right now, seeds are dropped when the grapes are harvested, like when wheat is harvested.

New
Seeds will no longer be dropped when the grapevines are harvested. Instead, the (a single set of) seeds can be crafted by putting two(?) (bunches of) grapes in a crafting table. (This would make it possible to grow grapes without visiting Dorwinion. I realize that this would probably make an aspect of the game lose its value, and therefore am working on, and open to suggestion for, a remedy for this problem.)

Growth
Here is where those changes come into play!

Status Quo
The current way of growing grapes is fully explained on the Grapes page, and so I will only give a brief overview, for convenience's and consistency's sakes. Right now, you must hoe a block of dirt, put water near it, and then place a grapevine post on top of it. Then, you need to plant seeds directly on the post (no higher than three blocks above the ground), wait for a while, and viola, you have grapes!

New
The way of growing grapes will be almost completely redone. It will end up sort of like a combination of the current grape mechanics, berry bushes, cornstalks, and the [Vanilla 1.9+ Chorus Plants].

Planting: To start a vine, you would begin the same way as you do now, by hoeing the dirt where you want it, placing a post on top of it, and irrigating the hoed soil. Then you would plant a set of seeds on the grapevine post. Unlike before, however, you can only plant seeds on the bottom-most post. When you have done so, a vine will appear on the post. It would look like it does now, right after being planted.

Vine Growth: This vine would ultimately grow into the rest of the grape vine. Every once in a great while - specified by the mod team, if this is implemented - the vine would make a "growth check" (or something like that). When it does this, it will check to see if there are any adjacent, connected grapevine posts (or corners). If it finds any, there will be a chance (presumably about 50%, but to be decided by the mod team) that it will create a new vine on an adjacent post. If there is more than one adjacent post, it will check seperately for each one.

Age: Once it has finished the growth check, (whether it succeeded or not) there will be a chance (specified by the mod team) that it will "get older". When it gets older, a grapevine will grow out a little (like when you use bonemeal on one now) and will turn slightly brown-er. Something (presumably in the NBT-data) will keep track of how old the vine is, and there will be levels of age, going from 0 (just planted/grown) to 5. Once the vine has aged to the highest level (5), it will not make any growth checks, will not grow any grapes, and will be very brown, probably a color close to that of spruce planks.

Grape Growth: Grapes will grow on existing vines, more commonly than a growth check occurs, but still relatively uncommonly. When they do, the vine itself will not grow, but will just have grapes added to its texture. To grow grapes, a vine must be at least two blocks above the ground, and must be of age 3 or lower.

Status Quo
Right now, right-clicking on a grape vine removes it. If the vine is mature, it yields 1-3 grapes and 1-3 grape seeds.

New
When you right-click on a grape vine that has no grapes, it will do nothing. If the vine does have grapes, it will yield 2-4 bunches of grapes, and the grapes will be removed from the vine's texture, but the vine will remain.

If you left-click on a vine it will be destroyed. If the vine is of age 3 or younger, it will drop nothing, but if it is older than 3, it will drop 1-3 sticks.

That's all for now folks! Thank you for taking the time to read through all that!

As always, I appreciate your suggestions and support!

 