Vanilla Backport guide for FTB Skies 2 1.11.0 to 1.15.0

Vanilla Backport does what the name says: it takes features from newer versions of Minecraft and backports them to older ones, while trying to stay as accurate to vanilla as possible. If you are stuck on one Minecraft version but don't want to miss out on newer updates, this mod is for you.^[1]

The pack ships Vanilla Backport 1.1.5.4.2, the NeoForge build for Minecraft 1.21.1. It was first included in version 1.5.1 of the pack or earlier, so it has been part of the pack for a long time.^[2]

What it focuses on

The developer says the scope is mainly content features such as blocks, entities and even world generation. Technical features are not a priority. The example given is data components on 1.16, which are not going to happen.^[1]

The mod aims to make almost anything toggleable, so if you don't like a backported feature there is most likely a config value to turn it off.^[1]

Where it fits in progression

Unverified The sources I have don't say which specific features Vanilla Backport adds in this pack, or where it fits into the pack's progression. I also found no in-jar guidebook, no quests that involve the mod, and no sign that it is on the ATM Star path, so treat it as a background content mod rather than a progression step.

Vanilla Backport brings features from modern Minecraft, such as blocks, entities and even world generation, to older versions while trying to stay as accurate to vanilla as possible. It has no required first step, so you can play the pack normally and pick up its content as you find it.^[1]

The one pack recipe for this mod

The pack's recipe dump lists one recipe that makes a Vanilla Backport item: a Farming for Blockheads Market entry for a pale oak sapling. The pack added this entry itself, and the dump shows no item inputs for it. The block below is the exact in-pack entry.^[3]

Turning features off

The developer says the mod aims to make almost anything toggleable. If you don't want a feature, there is most likely a config value to disable it. The sources here don't show the option names or this pack's settings, so look in the mod's config file before changing anything.^[1]

Heads up: this mod isn't a tech mod. It backports content from newer Minecraft versions, mainly blocks, entities and world generation, and the developer says technical stuff doesn't have a priority. So this section is about how each feature behaves and which toggles the pack has set, not about machines or pipes.^[1]

The mod aims to make almost anything toggleable, and the pack's common config is where those switches live. Everything below is set to true in this pack unless noted.^[1][4]

Bundles

• [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Bundles of Bravery.has_updated_bundles]] is on, so bundles use the updated controls and UI. The bundle tooltip describes it as able to hold a mixed stack of items.^[4][5]
• [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Bundles of Bravery.bundle_loot]] is on, so bundles can appear in chests at villages.^[4]

Ghasts and music discs

• Dried ghasts can be obtained through nether fossils and piglin bartering ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Chase the Skies.dried_ghasts]]).^[4]
• Happy ghast speed when ridden is controlled by [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Chase the Skies.happy_ghast_speed_modifier]]. It's set to 1 here, which is the default speed.^[4]
• [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Chase the Skies.leash_drop_connections]] decides whether leashes drop their connections when you boost with a firework rocket. It's on in this pack.^[4]
• Ghasts can drop the tears music disc ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Chase the Skies.tears_music_disc]]).^[4]
• Chicken jockeys can drop the lava chicken music disc ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Hot as Lava.lava_chicken_music_disc]]), which the lang file titles Hyper Potions - Lava Chicken.^[4][5]

The pale garden, creakings and resin

• The pale garden can generate in the overworld ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.pale_garden]]).^[4]
• Creakings can spawn from creaking hearts ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.creaking]]), and resin can be obtained from creaking hearts ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.resin]]).^[4]
• Resin can also show up in woodland mansion chests ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.resin_loot]]), and features from this update can be obtained through wandering traders ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.pale_trades]]).^[4]
• The creaking heart trail particle color is 6250335 (gray by default), and the reverse color is 16545810 (orange by default). See [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.creaking_particle_color]] and [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.creaking_particle_reverse_color]].^[4]

Spring to Life world features

These world generation toggles are all enabled, so the overworld can generate bushes, firefly bushes, cactus flowers, dry grass, fallen trees, leaf litter and wildflowers. See [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.bushes]], [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.firefly_bushes]], [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.cactus_flowers]], [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.dry_grass]], [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.fallen_trees]], [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.leaf_litter]] and [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.wildflowers]].^[4]

• Camels can spawn outside of villages ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.camel_spawns]]).^[4]
• Pigs, cows and chickens can generate with variants ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.farm_animal_variants]]), and wolves can have sound variants ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.wolf_sound_variants]]).^[4]
• Lodestones can appear in ruined portal chests ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.lodestone_loot]]), and features from this update can be obtained through wandering traders ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.spring_trades]]).^[4]

Pale oak sapling in the market

The pack adds its own way to get a pale oak sapling: a recipe in the Farming for Blockheads market.^[3]

Client-side options

• [[config:config/vanillabackport-client.toml#Spring to Life.falling_leaves]] is on, and [[config:config/vanillabackport-client.toml#Spring to Life.falling_leaves_frequency]] is 0.01, which matches the mod default. The range is 0.0 to 1.0, so raise it for more leaf particles or lower it for a lighter effect.^[6]
• [[config:config/vanillabackport-client.toml#Spring to Life.use_legacy_spawn_eggs]] is off, so you get the new spawn egg textures. [[config:config/vanillabackport-client.toml#Spring to Life.use_sheep_wool_undercoat]] is on, so the colored sheep wool undercoat shows.^[6]

The pack's recipe data for Vanilla Backport shows just one thing: a pale oak sapling is available as a trade in the Farming for Blockheads market. The pack added that recipe itself.^[3]

Vanilla Backport has very little cross-mod content in this pack. The only in-pack recipe that links it to another mod is a single custom recipe that the pack adds.^[3]

Resin clump and Integrated Dynamics

The pack adds a Lychee recipe of the item_inside type that uses Vanilla Backport's resin clump together with Crystallized Menril Chunk from Integrated Dynamics. The recipe below shows the exact in-pack version.^[3]

The sources here show no quests that involve Vanilla Backport, so the quest book gives no further integration steps for it.^[3]

Vanilla Backport is built so that almost any feature can be toggled in its config. If you don't like something, there's most likely a value to turn it off. In this pack, every feature toggle in the common config is set to true, so everything the mod adds is switched on.^[1][4]

World generation toggles

• [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.bushes]], [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.cactus_flowers]], [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.dry_grass]], [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.fallen_trees]], [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.firefly_bushes]], [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.leaf_litter]] and [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.wildflowers]] are all true in this pack.^[4]
• [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.pale_garden]] is true, so the pale garden can generate in the overworld.^[4]

Mobs, loot and trades

• [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.camel_spawns]] is true, so camels can spawn outside of villages. [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.farm_animal_variants]] is true too, allowing variants for pigs, cows and chickens.^[4]
• [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.creaking]] and [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.resin]] are true, so creakings can spawn from creaking hearts and resin can be obtained from them.^[4]
• Chest loot is on for bundles in villages ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Bundles of Bravery.bundle_loot]]), lodestones in ruined portals ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.lodestone_loot]]) and resin in woodland mansions ([[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.resin_loot]]).^[4]
• Wandering traders can offer features from the mod, because [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Spring to Life.spring_trades]] and [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.pale_trades]] are both true.^[4]
• Both music disc drops are enabled: [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Chase the Skies.tears_music_disc]] lets ghasts drop the tears disc, and [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Hot as Lava.lava_chicken_music_disc]] lets chicken jockeys drop the lava chicken disc.^[4]
• [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Chase the Skies.dried_ghasts]] is true, so dried ghasts can be obtained through nether fossils and piglin bartering.^[4]

Happy ghasts, leashes and bundles

[[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Chase the Skies.happy_ghast_speed_modifier]] is set to 1 in this pack, which the config describes as the default speed for ridden happy ghasts. Raise or lower it if you want faster or slower flights.^[4]

[[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Chase the Skies.leash_drop_connections]] is true, so leashes drop their connections when you boost with a firework rocket. [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#Bundles of Bravery.has_updated_bundles]] is also true, giving bundles the updated controls and UI.^[4]

Client options

• [[config:config/vanillabackport-client.toml#Spring to Life.falling_leaves]] is true. [[config:config/vanillabackport-client.toml#Spring to Life.falling_leaves_frequency]] is 0.01, which is the mod default, within an allowed range of 0.0 to 1.0. Raise it for more falling leaf particles.^[6]
• [[config:config/vanillabackport-client.toml#Spring to Life.use_legacy_spawn_eggs]] is false, so you get the new spawn egg textures.^[6]
• [[config:config/vanillabackport-client.toml#Spring to Life.use_sheep_wool_undercoat]] is true, which keeps the colored sheep wool undercoat on.^[6]

Creaking heart particles and debug

[[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.creaking_particle_color]] is 6,250,335 and [[config:config/vanillabackport-common.toml#The Garden Awakens.creaking_particle_reverse_color]] is 16,545,810. The config describes the trail colors as gray and orange by default.^[4]

Unverified The sources only list a mod default for the falling leaves frequency, which matches the pack. Whether the pack changed any other value from the mod default, including the particle colors and the debug toggle, is unverified.

FTB Skies 2 1.15.0 ships Vanilla Backport 1.1.5.4.2, and the mod was already in the pack as of 1.5.1 or earlier. Here are the notable changes from the mod's own changelogs, newest first.^[2]

Unverified No pack changelog entries for this mod were available, so this section only covers the mod's own changelogs.

1.1.5.4.2 (the version in this pack)

• Bundled tabs now show in the correct order in the creative menu.^[7]
• Fixed leaf litter being bone mealable.^[7]
• Fixed leaf litter placement.^[7]

1.1.5.1

• Fixed a cactus flower generation issue on startup.^[8]

1.1.4.3

This one was a big happy ghast polish release, plus a couple of new bits of content.^[9]

• Added the lava chicken music disc, which drops from chicken jockeys, and the dennis painting.^[9]
• Players now dismount happy ghasts once underwater, and happy ghasts are immune to fall damage.^[9]
• Ghastlings can now follow happy ghasts.^[9]
• Reworked the happy ghast rider position, added smooth movement, and made happy ghasts try to float closer to the floor or nearby structures.^[9]
• Added AgeableMobRenderer so adult and baby models render properly.^[9]
• Tweaked happy ghast collisions so they don't break with lithium/radium, leash rendering so it doesn't break with pehkui, and boat leashing so it doesn't break with small boats.^[9]
• Fixed an invalid position visiting check.^[9]