Lord of the Rings Mod Renewed

• General

Lord of the Rings Mod Renewed
Basic Information
Mod type	Adventure & RPG
Features	Adds the world of Middle-Earth to Minecraft 1.15
Download
Latest version	Renewed Snapshot 5.5
Status
Developed by	Mevans
In development	Yes

The Lord of the Rings Mod Renewed is a version of the Lord of the Rings Mod that is being ported to run on Minecraft 1.15, as opposed to the 1.7.10 version that the mod currently runs on. Over the next several months (following the completion of Update 36 for the Legacy version) Renewed updates will be released on a regular basis, either weekly or biweekly. Glflegolas covers the major changes in each update in his video playlist.

Why the move to 1.15?

For many long years, Mevans, the developer of the mod, had been reluctant to move the mod to a newer version of Minecraft, as seen in a blog post in 2015, and his long-running forum thread.

However, in 2020, he changed his mind on the matter, as seen in a comment on the mod's Facebook page when asked why he moved to 1.15:

“	A few mishaps with 1.7.10 forge/gradle which temporarily made it impossible to build the mod, and had us worried that it might spell the end of development for the mod. Luckily I managed to fix them by updating to newer versions of the support software, but it did make me think about what would happen if support for some aspect of 1.7.10 forge/gradle were ever withdrawn in a way that wasn't fixable. That, and some newfound appreciation for the newer versions.	”
–Mevans

In a nutshell, the mod is being updated to 1.15 because it currently runs on a version of Minecraft that dates back to mid-2014, for which Forge has long since ended support, and which may therefore stop working at some point for reasons beyond our control (though we do hope not). Furthermore, the code changes between 1.15 and 1.16 are only minor, so updating to future versions of Minecraft should not be excessively difficult.

Why does it take so long to update the mod?

The entire workings of the mod are essentially nothing more than a giant set of mathematical equations.

“	In case anybody is curious, the estimations made for the Mod to be translated 1:1 would be about 4 Lord of the Rings trilogies worth of characters, but then all of it is math equations, and if 1 answer is wrong, the entire thing fails. And then imagine you are basically translating math homework worth of 4 LOTR collections, which you have already made once.	”
–Boyd on the Facebook page

Since 1.7.10, the changes to the game's code have been enormous and far-reaching, some rewriting the very deepest of its workings. Most of these are for the best - it is much cleaner codebase. However this does mean that adding a new Block or Item, for instance, shares nothing in common with the respective 1.7.10 code.

And the Lord of the Rings Mod is an enormous mod. As has been said a lot over the past few years, updating it to a newer version is no small or easy task. Furthermore, this mod interfaces with almost all parts of the game, in many complex ways. Attempting to directly update the whole codebase would mean fixing hundreds of thousands (yes!) of compile errors before the mod could even start, let alone checking for bugs. Again, we cannot overemphasise how complex some parts of this mod are, and how many areas of the game it interfaces with. Updating this mod will follow much the same path as the mod's initial creation, but will proceed considerably faster.

What gameplay features will be added?

See also: Mevans' post here.

Most of the gameplay features of 1.15 will be present in the mod. These include, but are not limited to:

Mobs

• Polar bears will spawn in Forodwaith.
• Foxes will likely spawn in most forests.
• Parrots will be found in the jungles of Far Harad.
• Turtles and dolphins will both be found in the Sea.
• Pillagers and Shulkers won't spawn in Middle-earth, for obvious reasons (who needs pillagers when you have bandits and invasions?)

A house built by Glflegolas, showing some of the mod's features as of version 1.2

Combat

The combat system of Vanilla will likely be tweaked to act somewhat like that in the mod. Shields will also be added, and they will actually work to block attacks, though the cosmetic shields of the mod will likely also remain available, possibly as skins for the functional shields.

Water mechanics

The mechanics for water flow in vanilla will be present in the mod.

Note the vertical slabs in this bridge, and how they don't cause air pockets around them.

Will it be compatible with 1.7.10 worlds?

As of now, the new mod will not be compatible with 1.7.10 worlds, however, it is hoped that there will be a way to import worlds created in the original mod into the new mod.