rivencraft/docs/SERENE_SEASONS_COMPATIBILITY.md

# Serene Seasons 1.21.1: automatic Age whitelist (issue #38)

Serene Seasons has a [NeoForge 1.21.1 release, 10.1.0.8](https://modrinth.com/mod/serene-seasons/version/B6nTjh4b), with GlitchCore required ([2.1.0.2 for NeoForge 1.21.1](https://modrinth.com/mod/glitchcore/version/S2TfWrZR)). Its [1.21.1 source](https://github.com/Glitchfiend/SereneSeasons/tree/1.21.1) shows that each `ServerLevel` gets its own `SeasonSavedData` in that dimension's data storage. Season progress is keyed to the level's day time and saved separately, so an enabled Rivencraft Age can have a season independent of the Overworld and other Ages. The public [`SeasonHelper`](https://github.com/Glitchfiend/SereneSeasons/blob/1.21.1/common/src/main/java/sereneseasons/api/season/SeasonHelper.java) can read a level's current season; it does not provide a method to register a dimension or set its season.

The activation point is Serene Seasons' [`dimension_settings.whitelisted_dimensions`](https://github.com/Glitchfiend/SereneSeasons/blob/1.21.1/common/src/main/java/sereneseasons/config/SeasonsConfig.java). Its default contains only `minecraft:overworld`. On the server, GlitchCore [reloads and synchronizes](https://github.com/Glitchfiend/GlitchCore/blob/1.21.1/common/src/main/java/glitchcore/config/ConfigSync.java) this config when a player connects. Rivencraft adds successfully loaded Age IDs to Serene's in-memory list **and** its saved config so later logins retain them. Rivencraft also sends each newly added ID to players already connected. No restart is needed for a newly generated Age.

Serene Seasons 10.1.0.8 has no public dynamic-dimension registration hook, so the adapter uses its config object and GlitchCore's config writer directly. This is version-sensitive: verify this path when upgrading either mod. Rivencraft checks that Serene is installed before loading the adapter; neither dependency is required to run Rivencraft.

## Real-client test path

1. Install matching NeoForge 1.21.1 builds of Serene Seasons and GlitchCore on the server and client. Keep Rivencraft's `Weather: Normal` for this first test, so its own fixed/accelerated weather controller does not compete with seasonal weather timing.
2. While the client stays connected, create an Age. Run `/rivencraft age list` as an operator and note its ID (for example `rivencraft:age/winter_garden`). Confirm this ID appeared in `config/sereneseasons/seasons.toml` under `dimension_settings.whitelisted_dimensions`, with existing entries intact.
3. Without restarting or reconnecting, travel into the Age and check `/season get`; change its season with `/season set mid_winter` and check the Overworld and another Age separately.
4. Reconnect another client and confirm it receives the same whitelist. Restart the server and confirm both the whitelist entry and the Age's season persisted.
5. Build separate Ages with No Seasons, Seasons, and each Eternal page. Confirm No Seasons stays absent from Serene's whitelist, Seasons advances, and each Eternal Age remains in its named mid-season across several in-game days, a reconnect, and a server restart. Verify the Overworld still advances normally. The Eternal page should not stop the Age's sun or moon. With Serene removed, No Seasons should still bind, but the other five pages should refuse to bind with a clear message.
6. With Serene installed and `auto_whitelist_ages=true`, create several new Link-Panel-only Ages and Ages with symbols but no season page. `/rivencraft age list` shows each saved random `season:` choice. Check that No Seasons is absent from Serene's whitelist, Seasons advances, and each Eternal choice holds its season. Reopen the world and confirm the listed choices do not change. Without Serene, create another unpaged Age and confirm the list has no saved season choice for it.

For a local development run, `./gradlew runClient -PwithSereneSeasons=true` adds these two mods only to that run. The published Rivencraft jar does not include or require them.

The server config `rivencraft-server.toml` has `serene_seasons.auto_whitelist_ages=true` by default. Set it to `false` to manage Serene's whitelist manually. Disabling it does not delete Age IDs previously added to Serene's config. On startup, Rivencraft also enrolls existing Ages that successfully load, so installing Serene after creating Ages does not require editing IDs one by one.

## Seasonal pages

An Age may specify one of six mutually exclusive seasonal modes:

| Page | Intended Age behavior |
| --- | --- |
| No Seasons | Opt this Age out of seasonal effects and progression. |
| Seasons | Run the optional season mod's normal cycle, independently of the Overworld. |
| Eternal Winter | Hold this Age in winter. |
| Eternal Summer | Hold this Age in summer. |
| Eternal Fall | Hold this Age in fall/autumn. |
| Eternal Spring | Hold this Age in spring. |

The six pages are available in the Season creative tab and the same page feed used by JEI. The writing grammar accepts at most one seasonal page, and its choice is saved in the Age plan. No Seasons removes that Age's ID from Serene's whitelist, even if it was previously enrolled; the other explicit pages enroll it regardless of the automatic-enrollment setting. When a **new** Age has no season page and Serene Seasons is installed, Rivencraft chooses one of these six modes from the Age seed and saves that choice in the Age definition. A Link-Panel-only random Age is included. The choice does not change on reload or when the spawn moves. If Serene is absent at creation, no random seasonal modifier is assigned. Older Ages without a stored choice keep their previous normal-cycle behavior. The server's `auto_whitelist_ages=false` setting still prevents implicit (unpaged) modes other than No Seasons from enrolling the Age; explicit seasonal pages override it. If Serene Seasons is absent, No Seasons remains valid, but the other five pages reject **new** Age creation with a missing-dependency message rather than silently doing nothing. Existing Ages remain loadable with their saved pages, though their season effects are inactive until a supported season mod returns. Ecliptic Seasons integration was closed as unsupported for dynamic Ages in issue #39.

For an eternal mode, Rivencraft sets Serene's per-Age saved clock to the midpoint of the chosen season and resets it before it leaves that mid-season. Clients receive Serene's normal season sync. This does not freeze the Age's day/night cycle or change the Overworld's season. Eternal Winter does not guarantee snow in every biome.

## Current limits

- The Serene adapter uses Serene's internal saved season state because there is no public per-dimension season-freeze API. The real-client behavior above, including each eternal mode and No Seasons, still needs player verification. Serene's [temperature and precipitation hooks](https://github.com/Glitchfiend/SereneSeasons/blob/1.21.1/common/src/main/java/sereneseasons/season/SeasonHooks.java) only cool eligible biomes.
- Serene Seasons' [season tick](https://github.com/Glitchfiend/SereneSeasons/blob/1.21.1/common/src/main/java/sereneseasons/season/SeasonHandler.java) advances from a dimension's day-time changes. A Rivencraft Age with a stopped celestial cycle may also have a stopped season; this needs an in-game check.
- Rivencraft's non-Normal weather modes currently control weather in each Age independently. Their timing can conflict with Serene Seasons' weather-frequency changes. Ecliptic Seasons integration was closed as unsupported for live dynamic Ages in issue #39; simultaneous installation is not a supported target.

## Verification so far

`./gradlew build` passed for candidate 0.4.9.2, and the baseline plus archived environment GameTests passed (35 required tests). The archive now covers seasonal page visibility, exclusivity, and saved-plan persistence without Serene installed. With Serene Seasons 10.1.0.8 and GlitchCore 2.1.0.2 in the optional local runtime, the GameTest server previously crashed when Serene Seasons sent `sereneseasons:sync_season_cycle` to a GameTest mock player that had not negotiated its client payload channel. The stack trace originates in Serene Seasons' `SeasonHandler.sendSeasonUpdate`, through GlitchCore's packet handler and NeoForge's packet check. This is a GameTest mock-network limitation, not a completed absent/present compatibility check. Do not keep rerunning that suite with Serene Seasons; use the real-client test path above instead.

For candidate 0.4.10.1, `./gradlew build --offline` and the focused environment archive passed (36 required GameTests). The new regression check covers omitted-page selection, explicit-page precedence, no-Serene behavior, and save/reload. Actual Serene weather, whitelisting, and eternal-season visuals still require the real-client steps above.

The user subsequently reported an in-game pass for issue #38, recorded in its Gitea comment and release V0.4.9.2. The earlier candidate notes above describe the historical automated checks; the real-client matrix remains useful when upgrading Serene Seasons or GlitchCore.