The BlockEntity Class

In addition to a Block class, we need a BlockEntity class to so that custom rendering can be performed for the block.

note

This tutorial is specifically for GeckoLib implementation. For information on general-modding block features, seek a tutorial or community support.

Creating the class

💻Additive Code Section

All code snippets in this section add onto the previous code snippets, using a step-by-step approach to build the complete code.
Green highlights show added or modified lines of code for each step.

First, we create the base BlockEntity class:

public class ExampleBlockEntity extends BlockEntity {

}

Then, we will implement the GeoBlockEntity interface and override the getAnimatableInstanceCache and registerControllers methods:

public class ExampleBlockEntity extends BlockEntity implements GeoBlockEntity {
    @Override
    public void registerControllers(final AnimatableManager.ControllerRegistrar controllers) {
        // We can fill this in later
    }

    @Override
    public AnimatableInstanceCache getAnimatableInstanceCache() {
        return null;
    }
}

Next, let's instantiate an AnimatableInstanceCache in a final field at the top of our class, and return it in getAnimatableInstanceCache:

public class ExampleBlockEntity extends BlockEntity implements GeoBlockEntity {
    private final AnimatableInstanceCache geoCache = GeckoLibUtil.createInstanceCache(this);

    @Override
    public void registerControllers(final AnimatableManager.ControllerRegistrar controllers) {
        // We can fill this in later
    }

    @Override
    public AnimatableInstanceCache getAnimatableInstanceCache() {
        return this.geoCache;
    }
}

Fabric

Then we add the constructor, referencing our BlockEntity type (which we will register later):

public class ExampleBlockEntity extends BlockEntity {
    private final AnimatableInstanceCache geoCache = GeckoLibUtil.createInstanceCache(this);

    public ExampleBlockEntity(BlockPos pos, BlockState state) {
        super(BlockEntityRegistry.EXAMPLE_BLOCK_ENTITY, pos, state);
    }

    @Override
    public void registerControllers(final AnimatableManager.ControllerRegistrar controllers) {
        // We can fill this in later
    }

    @Override
    public AnimatableInstanceCache getAnimatableInstanceCache() {
        return this.geoCache;
    }
}

Forge

Then we add the constructor, referencing our BlockEntity type (which we will register later):

public class ExampleBlockEntity extends BlockEntity {
    private final AnimatableInstanceCache geoCache = GeckoLibUtil.createInstanceCache(this);

    public ExampleBlockEntity(BlockPos pos, BlockState state) {
        super(BlockEntityRegistry.EXAMPLE_BLOCK_ENTITY.get(), pos, state);
    }

    @Override
    public void registerControllers(final AnimatableManager.ControllerRegistrar controllers) {
        // We can fill this in later
    }

    @Override
    public AnimatableInstanceCache getAnimatableInstanceCache() {
        return this.geoCache;
    }
}

NeoForge

Then we add the constructor, referencing our BlockEntity type (which we will register later):

public class ExampleBlockEntity extends BlockEntity {
    private final AnimatableInstanceCache geoCache = GeckoLibUtil.createInstanceCache(this);

    public ExampleBlockEntity(BlockPos pos, BlockState state) {
        super(BlockEntityRegistry.EXAMPLE_BLOCK_ENTITY.get(), pos, state);
    }

    @Override
    public void registerControllers(final AnimatableManager.ControllerRegistrar controllers) {
        // We can fill this in later
    }

    @Override
    public AnimatableInstanceCache getAnimatableInstanceCache() {
        return this.geoCache;
    }
}

And you're done!

For information on adding animation controllers, see the Animation Controllers page.