Dev news : new ores and massive improvements to AO (Patreon)

I revisited the ores while designing the deepslate blocks, based on the experience I gained from Vanillaccurate. I also wanted to improve the ambient occlusion maps in current blocks to make them more significant (and remove even more baked-in details from the albedo maps).

The first screenshots showcase the changes to ores. I completely revisited the way I design the ore chunks to get a more natural-looking shape. I also added more variety to the edges of the "sockets" and used some chipping on the ores themselves. All this while retaining an pattern somewhat similar to the new 1.17 ores. Those changes include a whole new design of AO maps of course.

Next you can see dirt and grass, where the AO is much more prominent. The pebble/stones are more contoured and grass is more defined while having less occlusion baked in its color map.

I also made some changes to planks, they look much more consistent now. I also adjusted the edges of the individual planks and, again, redid AO maps completely to use more details.

The trunks were also improved with regards to AO, and I slightly adjusted some of their heightmaps to remove some high-frequency noise that was a bit distracting.

Lastly you can see the changes to cobblestone and stone bricks, where AO is much more detailed and prevalent than before. See how the interstices and nooks and crannies feel naturally obscured without using the colormap.

Shaders used: BSL v8.0.02.14d, Spectrum, Continuum 2.1 alpha build 12, KappaPT P8