Concept:
There are numerous "Brick Types" that determine the attributes of the brick in question.
Implementation:
Each Paint (Paint Colour) is a different Brick Type.
Blocks which share the same color can be cycled through with a key. (light? sit?)
Features:
Hardness, Liquidity, Damage (i.e., for lava), Collision, Raycasting, Light, Explosiveisity, Density
Block types can be mixed, crafted (with a proper system) et cetera.
Example:
//NOTE: if a value is 0 it does not have to be listed
//Preferably this would be edited with a GUI in game
//Block type of the 8th color
$BlockType[8,"."]=1;
$BlockType[8,"n"]="Sand";//name
$BlockType[8,"hard"]=50;//has 50 hardness, probably an HP value
$BlockType[8,"col"]=1;
$BlockType[8,"ray"]=1;
$BlockType[8,"grav"]=1;//Cannot float if underlying bricks are removed
//On that note, preferably gravity would be handled by raycasting down and replacing the brick.
$BlockType[8,"dens"]=5;//1x1x1 takes 5 sand to make and drops 5 sand when killed
//Mixing Stats
$BlockType[8,"mix"]=1;//mixing priority from 1 - 5. Lowest number has its base stats and color used.
$BlockType[8,"1"]="hard";//When it is mixed with another block, this is the primary trait that sand passes on (50 hardness)
$BlockType[8,"2"]="grav";//gravity is secondary trait passed on (1)
$BlockType[8,"3"]="liq";// liquidity is tertiary trait passed on (0)
$BlockType[9,"."]=1;
$BlockType[9,"n"]="Stone";//name
$BlockType[9,"hard"]=450;//has 450 hardness, probably an HP value
$BlockType[9,"col"]=1;
$BlockType[9,"ray"]=1;
$BlockType[9,"dens"]=3;//1x1x1 takes 3 stone to make and drops 3 stone when killed
//Mixing Stats
$BlockType[9,"mix"]=2;//mixing priority from 1 - 5. Lowest number has its base stats and color used.
$BlockType[9,"1"]="hard";//When it is mixed with another block, this is the primary trait that stone passes on (450 hardness)
$BlockType[9,"2"]="dens";//density is secondary trait passed on (3)
$BlockType[9,"3"]="col";// collisionity is tertiary trait passed on (1)
$BlockType[10,"."]=1;
$BlockType[10,"n"]="Coal";//name
$BlockType[10,"hard"]=75;//has 75 hardness, probably an HP value
$BlockType[10,"col"]=0;
$BlockType[10,"ray"]=0;
$BlockType[10,"dens"]=1;//1x1x1 takes 1 coal to make and drops 1 coal when killed
$BlockType[10,"fuel"]=10;//1-10 value, determines how well it can be used as a fuel, presumably for furnaces, ovens, and what have you.
//Mixing Stats.
$BlockType[10,"mix"]=5;//mixing priority from 1 - 5. Lowest number has its base stats and color used.
$BlockType[10,"1"]="fuel";//When it is mixed with another block, this is the primary trait that stone passes on (450 hardness)
$BlockType[10,"2"]="hard";//density is secondary trait passed on (3)
$BlockType[10,"3"]="dens";// collisionity is tertiary trait passed on (1)
NOTE: mixed blocks should use an FX or something.
So when Sand and Stone mix you get "Sandstone", which has sand's traits (because sand has mixing priority) with the hardness, density, gravity, and liquidity and collisionity (the traits that sand and stone have set for mixing) averaged out (and rounded up). Sandstone would look like this, statwise:
$BlockType[108,"."]=1;
$BlockType[108,"n"]="Sandstone";//name
$BlockType[108,"hard"]=250;//has 250 hardness, probably an HP value
$BlockType[108,"col"]=1;
$BlockType[108,"ray"]=1;
$BlockType[108,"grav"]=1;//Cannot float if underlying bricks are removed
//On that note, preferably gravity would be handled by raycasting down and replacing the brick.
$BlockType[108,"dens"]=4;//1x1x1 takes 5 sand to make and drops 5 sand when killed
//Mixing Stats
$BlockType[108,"mix"]=1;//mixing priority from 1 - 5. Lowest number has its base stats and color used.
$BlockType[108,"1"]="hard";//When it is mixed with another block, this is the primary trait that sand passes on (50 hardness)
$BlockType[108,"2"]="grav";//gravity is secondary trait passed on (1)
//NOTE: the third mix trait on a mixed block becomes the lower-priority block's first trait. If that trait is already a trait of this block, it becomes the second, and if that one is already a trait, it becomes the third.
$BlockType[108,"3"]="dens";// liquidity is tertiary trait passed on (0)
Which also means mixed block types could be mixed, and so on and so forth. This would allow for something along the lines of "breeding" the blocks for more profitable types.
For example, if you mix coal with sandstone in this example, you would get a block that drops more material-- 3 instead of 1--( because the density value is mixed and sand has a higher density) at the cost of a weaker fuel (sandstone's fuel value is 0 so the fuel is averaged to 5 down from 10).
However, 3*5 is 15, which is greater than the usual 10, so you'd get more fuel.
Similarly, if you keep mixing the sandstone with sand, it would become weaker and weaker.
I think this concept allows for emergent gameplay in blockland. It also would provide a basis for most RP-type stuff to work off of, at the brick level. A crafting system could use these materials to create items and objects.
Keep in mind this is a concept that greatly reshapes the world. A more successful modular approach may be one composed of many smaller concepts.
Also, I find the idea of sandyanmite amusing.
