🧍 BetterModel Integration

Animated Blockbench models as TypeWriter NPCs, with a different look for each player.

A TypeWriter extension by BTC Studio

✨ What it does

You design a model and its animations in Blockbench and install it in BetterModel. In TypeWriter, a definition says which model to use and an instance places it in the world.

The usual TypeWriter entity machinery then works on it: audiences, activities, interactions and dialogue speakers.

Models are rendered with packets, per player. Two players can look at the same NPC and see other bones, another glow or another tint.

🎥 Watch the demo

🧍 Model entities

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• Definition and instance: the definition holds what is shared (model, animation names, hitboxes, data). The instance holds the position and an activity. An instance can override data from its definition.
• Automatic animations: idle, walk, strafe, jump, fly, attack, hurt and interact animations play from the entity state. You can change the animation names to match your model.
• Named NPCs: a model with a display name shows an interaction indicator above it, driven by interact objectives and interaction entries.
• Dialogue speaker: use the model as the speaker of any TypeWriter dialogue.

🦴 Per-player bone control

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• Show or hide bones: hide a hat or a weapon from players who do not match your criteria, for example until a quest step is done.
• Bone appearance: set glow, tint, enchant glint and brightness per bone, depending on criteria.
• Attachment: swap a bone with one from another model, to change an outfit without making a second model.
• Passenger: attach a passenger entity to a bone.
• Per-player rendering: because each player gets their own packets, one NPC can show different states to different audiences.

🖱️ Hitboxes

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• Click areas on bones: a Hitbox entry binds an interaction box to a bone, so players click the part of the model you choose.
• Automatic hitboxes: bones named hitbox in Blockbench become click areas with no extra entry.
• Fallback box: without either, one box covers the whole model, so the NPC can always be clicked.

⚡ Animation actions

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• Play an animation on a placed model from any trigger, for example a wave when the player clicks the NPC.
• Stop an animation when the moment has passed.
• Player animations: play a BetterModel player-limb animation on the player, such as a custom emote.

🎬 Cinematics

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• Entity cinematic: drive an animated model from a recording on the cinematic timeline.
• Animation cinematic: play a model animation at a precise moment of a cutscene.
• Player animation cinematic: animate the player's limbs during a cinematic.
• Bone camera: attach the cinematic camera to a bone of a model, so the audience watches the scene from the creature's point of view.

🧩 Entries

All 15 entries

Entities

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• bettermodel_definition: a BetterModel entity definition
• bettermodel_instance: an instance of a BetterModel entity

Entity data

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• bettermodel_bone_visibility: show or hide bones with criteria
• bettermodel_bone_appearance: per-bone glow, tint, glint and brightness
• bettermodel_hitbox_data: hitbox on a specific bone
• bettermodel_attachment: replace a bone with one from another model
• bettermodel_passenger: attach a passenger entity to a bone
• bettermodel_indicator_config: interaction indicator of a model entity

Actions

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• play_bettermodel_animation: play an animation on a BetterModel entity
• stop_bettermodel_animation: stop an animation on a BetterModel entity
• play_player_animation: play a player animation from the BetterModel players folder

Cinematics

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• bettermodel_entity_cinematic: use an animated BetterModel entity in a cinematic
• bettermodel_animation_cinematic: play a model animation during a cinematic
• player_animation_cinematic: play a player animation during a cinematic
• bettermodel_bone_camera_cinematic: attach the cinematic camera to a bone of a model

🚀 Set up in a few minutes

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• Install BetterModel with your models, install the TypeWriter Quest, Basic, Entity and RoadNetwork extensions, drop the jar in plugins/Typewriter/extensions/ and restart.
• On a static page, add a BetterModel Definition: set modelId to your model name, enable named and set a display name.
• On a manifest page, add a BetterModel Instance that uses the definition, and capture its spawn location with the position tool.
• Add a Play Entity Animation action behind an entity interact event, publish, and click the NPC. The full walkthrough is in the documentation.

📋 Requirements

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• TypeWriter 0.9.0-beta-177 or newer, with the Quest, Basic, Entity and RoadNetwork extensions
• Paper server
• BetterModel (built against 3.3.0; the bone camera needs 2.1.0 or newer)
• Players must accept the resource pack generated by BetterModel to see the models