Hats Mod — Guide

Mechanics

Acquiring Hats

Hats are primarily acquired by defeating mobs. Both passive and hostile creatures can randomly spawn wearing a hat. When a player successfully kills a mob adorned with a hat, that hat is added to the player's personal collection.

Hat Selector GUI

Players can manage their collected hats through the Hat Selector GUI. This interface allows players to browse their inventory of hats, select one to wear, and apply various customizations. The default keybind to open this menu is typically 'H' or 'V' (in some modpacks), and it can be reconfigured in the game's control settings.

Hats Mod GUI showing hat selection and customization options

Customization

Hats offer several customization options. Players can colorize their hats using an RGB colorizer within the Hat Selector GUI. In later updates, the colorization system was enhanced to include Hue, Saturation, Brightness, and Glint settings, providing more detailed control over a hat's appearance. Some hats may also support accessories, which can be unlocked and customized separately.

The Hats Mod is designed to function effectively in both single-player and multiplayer environments:

Servers Without the Mod: If a server does not have the Hats Mod installed, clients who do have the mod will still see players and certain animals wearing random hats. This behavior is often configurable.
Servers With the Mod: On servers where the mod is installed, players can proudly display their chosen hats. The mod also features a system where custom hats installed by a client are automatically sent to the server and then shared with other players within proximity. This allows everyone to see and even use the custom hat. This custom hat sharing functionality can be disabled in the mod's configuration due to potential security considerations.

Custom Hats

Players have the ability to create and integrate their own custom hat models into the game. For older versions of the mod, custom hats could be created using tools like Techne, with .tcn files placed into the hats folder located in the root of the Minecraft directory. In more recent versions (specifically from Minecraft onwards), the mod primarily utilizes the Tabula format for hat models, though it generally maintains compatibility with older Techne formats. Tabula also includes dedicated features to assist in the creation of new hats.

Custom hats can include specific properties such as rarity and descriptions, which are displayed in the hat's tooltip. The mod also supports an advanced Head Tracker system, allowing hats to be applied to a wider range of entities, including those from other mods, by exporting JSON files with minor adjustments using Tabula.