Bringing Bullet Hell to Minecraft with DanmakuBattleAPI
If you have ever played a Touhou game, you know the thrill of weaving through intricate patterns of glowing bullets while returning fire. Now imagine that same heart-pounding action inside Minecraft. DanmakuBattleAPI is a powerful server plugin that transforms ordinary PvP and PvE into a full-scale danmaku (bullet curtain) battle. Whether you are a server owner looking for a unique minigame or a developer eager to craft custom shot types, this API opens a new dimension of combat.
What Exactly Is DanmakuBattleAPI?
DanmakuBattleAPI is a Spigot/Paper plugin that overhauls the damage system to make projectiles the star of the show. It disables normal melee and mob damage, reworks health regeneration, and introduces a scoring system straight out of classic shoot-’em-ups. Instead of swinging swords, players fire complex patterns of snowballs, eggs, ender pearls, or custom projectiles, all governed by shot types that can change with power level and focus mode.
How It Works for Server Owners
If you run a Minecraft server and stumbled upon this plugin because another addon requires it, installation is straightforward. Just grab the latest version and drop it into your plugins folder. Once loaded, the plugin automatically disables non-projectile entity damage, stops eggs from hatching, prevents ender pearls from teleporting, and turns off natural health regeneration. All of these can be tweaked in the configuration, so you are never locked into a single playstyle.
For those who want a hassle-free way to manage mods and plugins, the foxygame.net launcher offers a modern, flexible solution where you can download server packs and client mods directly from its menu. This makes it incredibly easy to jump into a danmaku server without digging through files manually.
Commands and Permissions
Controlling who can use which shot type is simple. The permission node follows a clear pattern:
- danmaku.shot.<shot type> – grants access to a specific shot type. Replace
with the name of the shot (for example, danmaku.shot.ball).
Players with the appropriate permission can then rename an item to the shot type name and left-click to unleash its effect. This system allows server admins to gate powerful patterns behind ranks or achievements.
Configuration Options
The plugin’s config.yml gives you full control over how danmaku battles behave. Here are the key paths:
- enabledworlds – list of worlds where danmaku mechanics are active. Any world not listed remains vanilla.
- enable.other-damage – if false, players can only be hurt by projectiles. Set to true to allow fall damage, lava, etc.
- enable.egg-hatch – disable this when using egg-based danmaku to prevent accidental chicken spawns.
- enable.enderpearl – turn off ender pearl teleportation so they work purely as projectiles.
- enable.regen – controls whether players can heal naturally. Usually left false because health is managed through collectible items.
- update-type – choose between notify (alerts admins), auto (downloads updates automatically), or none.
Understanding Shot Types and Items
In the Touhou universe, different characters wield unique shot patterns. DanmakuBattleAPI mirrors this by letting other plugins define shot types that players can use. A shot type might fire a spread of snowballs, launch a bomb that clears enemy projectiles, or even do something unexpected like explode the player. The behaviour often changes when you sneak (focus mode) or as you collect power items.
Items play a crucial role. Red dye increases your power, shown on the experience bar. Blue dye boosts your score and point count, visible as your experience level. Yellow dye triggers full power mode, and purple dye restores health. Every 100 blue items also grant a health boost. Since projectiles deal a fixed half-heart of damage, managing these pickups becomes essential to survival. Mobs can only be harmed by projectiles or environmental damage, so traditional sword fights are out.
Starter Kit: Ball and Bomb
To help you get started, the developer created a sample plugin called DanmakuBattleStarterKit. It adds two shot types that demonstrate the API’s potential:
- Ball – fires a cluster of snowballs that expand into a sphere. Normal shots spread wide but travel a short distance. Focused shots fly farther with a tighter spread. As your power increases, each ball contains more snowballs.
- Bomb – inspired by the tenth Touhou game, this destroys all projectiles within a 20-block radius and converts them into point items, giving you a quick score boost and a moment of safety.
The starter kit plugin is available for download from the project’s resource page, and you can use it as a template for your own creations.
For Developers: Building Your Own Shot Types
The true strength of DanmakuBattleAPI lies in its extensibility. Developers can hook into the API to design completely original shot types, custom item behaviours, and even unique power-up systems. The API handles all the heavy lifting—damage overrides, item collection, health management—so you can focus on crafting beautiful bullet patterns. Whether you want to recreate iconic Touhou spell cards or invent something never seen before, the API gives you the tools.
Statistics and Privacy
This plugin uses Metrics to collect anonymous server data such as player count, server version, and plugin version. The information is sent to mcstats.org and helps the developer understand how the plugin is used. If you prefer to opt out, simply navigate to plugins/PluginMetrics/config.yml and set opt-out to true.
Conclusion
DanmakuBattleAPI is a game-changer for anyone who wants to inject fast-paced, skill-based projectile combat into Minecraft. Server owners get a fully configurable bullet hell framework, while developers receive a clean API to craft the next great danmaku experience. With the starter kit as a launching pad and a growing community of creators, the only limit is your imagination. So grab your favourite shot type, collect those power items, and dive into a storm of colourful bullets—the Minecraft sky has never looked so alive.