Good Prompts vs Bad Prompts
The mod you get is only as clear as the prompt you type. Eight real before-and-after prompts for items, commands, mobs, loot, and game rules, and the three rules behind them.
The difference between a mod that works and one that doesn't usually comes down to the prompt. "Make a powerful weapon" means something different to everyone. "A diamond sword that applies Slowness II for 3 seconds on hit" means one thing.
Three rules cover most of it:
- Name the exact feature. The item, the command, the mob, the rule.
- Use numbers. Chances, timers, cooldowns, health, damage, distances.
- Describe the trigger, the behavior, and what the player sees. When does it fire, what happens, and what message, sound, or particle tells the player it worked.
#Before and after
Each pair below is a prompt people actually typed, next to the version that gets a build you can use.
Custom items
Bad Prompt
“Make a powerful weapon”
Good Prompt
“Create a diamond sword called 'Frostbite' that applies Slowness II for 3 seconds when hitting mobs, and has a 10% chance to freeze enemies in place for 1 second”
Why it works: Base item, name, exact effects with durations, and the chance. Nothing left to guess.
Player join events
Bad Prompt
“Give players stuff when they join”
Good Prompt
“When a player joins for the first time ever, give them a stone pickaxe, 16 torches, and 8 cooked beef. Returning players should just get a welcome back message in chat”
Why it works: First-time and returning players are different cases. Exact items, exact counts, and the message.
Custom commands
Bad Prompt
“Add a teleport command”
Good Prompt
“Add a /spawn command that teleports the player to world spawn with a 5-minute cooldown. Show a countdown message and play an enderman teleport sound on arrival”
Why it works: Command name, what it does, the cooldown, and the feedback. Commands need clear edges.
Mob behavior
Bad Prompt
“Make zombies stronger”
Good Prompt
“Zombies should have 30 health instead of 20, move 20% faster, and have a 25% chance to spawn wearing iron armor at night”
Why it works: 'Stronger' could mean health, damage, speed, or armor. Say which, with numbers.
Loot and drops
Bad Prompt
“Better drops from mobs”
Good Prompt
“When a player kills a zombie with a sword, there's a 5% chance to drop a 'Zombie Heart' item that can be eaten to gain 30 seconds of Strength I”
Why it works: The mob, the kill condition, the drop chance, the item name, and what the item does. A complete loop.
Game rules and balance
Bad Prompt
“Make survival harder”
Good Prompt
“Players lose hunger 50% faster, hostile mobs spawn in light level 9 or below instead of 0, and players drop all items on death instead of keeping inventory”
Why it works: 'Harder' broken into three measurable changes, each one something the game can actually be told to do.
Outside what a mod should do
Bad Prompt
“Ban players who use hacks”
Good Prompt
“When a player breaks more than 50 blocks in 5 seconds, send a warning message to all online operators with the player's name and coordinates”
Why it works: A mod can detect and notify. Banning, anti-cheat, and server administration are jobs for your staff and your admin tools.
Realistic scope
Bad Prompt
“Add a whole new dimension with custom biomes, mobs, and bosses”
Good Prompt
“Create a custom boss mob called 'The Corrupted Guardian' with 200 health that spawns when a player places 4 end crystals in a square pattern. It should shoot fireballs and summon zombie minions”
Why it works: A whole dimension is dozens of features at once. One boss fight is one feature, and it will come out right.
#The shape of a good prompt
You don't need a template, but this order works:
- What it is. "A server plugin that adds a /home system."
- The trigger. "When a player runs /sethome..."
- The rules. "...save their location. /home teleports them there after a 3-second warmup. Moving cancels it. 60-second cooldown."
- The feedback. "Show 'Teleporting in 3...' in the action bar and play a portal sound on arrival."
- The limits. "One home per player. OPs can have five."
That's five short sentences, and it produces a plugin you can put on a server tonight.
Numbers beat adjectives
Replace "stronger", "faster", "rare", and "a bit" with a value: 30 health, 20% faster, 5% drop chance, 5-second cooldown. If you don't know the number, guess. You can change it in the next message.
Close the loop on items
If you add an item, say how the player gets it (recipe, drop, command) and what it does. An item with no way to obtain it is a bug you asked for.
One feature per project
Ask for one well-defined feature, get it working, then add the next one in the same thread. Ten systems in one prompt come back half finished.
#What mods can't do
Mods and plugins change gameplay. They do not run your server for you. Keep these out of your prompt:
- Banning, anti-cheat, and moderation decisions
- Anything that connects to an outside website or bot you haven't set up
- "Make it good" with no definition of good
If your idea is about running the server rather than changing the game, that's what Warp is for.
Before you hit generate
Build it yourself
Turn an idea into a working Minecraft mod
Describe it in plain English. Download the build. Drop it in your mods folder. No coding.
Start building