Fuel Tanks, Spawnpoints, Hoses, and Station Behavior

fuel_tanks.yml is where Vehicle MC becomes a world-infrastructure plugin instead of only a vehicle plugin.

This file controls:

• tank types
• spawnpoints
• service mode
• hoses
• leaks
• collision behavior
• respawn and explosion behavior

Tank types are reusable station definitions

The file is built around tankTypes.

tankTypes:
  basic_tank:
    displayName: "&eFuel Tank"
    modelItem: minecraft:barrel
    scale: 1.0
    hitbox:
      halfExtents: [0.8, 1.2, 0.8]
      offset: [0.0, 1.0, 0.0]
    health: 500

That means each tank type is not a one-off placed object. It is a reusable station definition that many spawnpoints can share.

Service mode

Service mode is the first important decision:

• FUEL
• REPAIR
• BOTH

Use:

• FUEL for a standard refill point
• REPAIR for a workshop or repair bay
• BOTH for a combined service station

That one setting changes how the whole station reads in-world.

Visual scale vs hitbox scale

Vehicle MC separates display alignment from the real hitbox.

Useful fields:

• scale
• displayScale
• displayOffset
• hitbox.halfExtents
• hitbox.offset

This is a very important split:

• display fields fix how the station looks
• hitbox fields fix how the station is targeted and collided with

Do not try to solve every station problem by moving the hitbox.

Interaction behavior

Stations can already define how close the player must be and how the service action behaves.

interaction:
  maxUseRange: 4.0
  allowPour: true
  allowInstant: false
  pour:
    everyTicks: 2

This decides whether a station feels:

• physical and grounded
• quick and arcade-like
• strict or forgiving on range

Spawnpoints

Spawnpoints place tank types into the world.

Example shape:

spawnpoints:
  - id: example_station_1
    enabled: true
    world: world
    x: 100.5
    y: 64.0
    z: -20.5
    yaw: 90.0
    tankType: basic_tank

Important fields:

• id
• enabled
• world
• x, y, z
• yaw
• tankType

This makes it easy to reuse one station definition in many different places.

Per-spawnpoint overrides

Spawnpoints can also override parts of the base tank definition.

This is very useful when:

• one outpost uses the same base station with a different model item
• one location needs more health
• one station needs idle particles or leak behavior while another does not

That keeps your shared tank type clean while still allowing location-specific polish.

Hose visuals

Hoses are one of the main realism lanes in the station system.

hose:
  enabled: true
  modelItem: minecraft:black_concrete
  scale: 0.2
  segments: 16
  maxLength: 8.0
  lingerTicks: 20
  extendTicks: 10
  curveHeight: 0.35

These fields decide:

• how dense the hose looks
• how far it can reach
• how long it lingers
• whether it feels rigid or naturally curved

This is one of the easiest ways to make a station feel finished.

Idle FX, leak FX, and impact FX

Fuel tanks can already carry a lot of station personality.

That includes:

• idle particles
• health-threshold leaks
• projectile-triggered leak points
• flame leak behavior
• impact hit particles and sounds

This lets you build very different station roles:

• quiet depot props
• dangerous explosive objectives
• visibly damaged service points

Collision behavior

Stations can also react to vehicle impact.

Useful fields:

• collision.enabled
• collision.minSpeed
• collision.damageToVehicle
• collision.damageToTank
• collision.cooldownTicks
• collision.blocks.*

This means a station can be:

• decorative only
• physically solid
• a mild driving hazard
• a serious combat-objective hazard

Respawn and persistence

Tank state is not only visual. Vehicle MC tracks real station state like:

• health
• remaining supply
• destroyed status
• respawn timing

That is why respawn settings matter:

respawn:
  enabled: true
  respawnSeconds: 300

If a station is part of a live battlefield or server economy, this is one of the most important policy choices in the file.

Explosion stages

Fuel tank explosions are not limited to one flat blast.

explosion:
  enabled: true
  stages:
    - delayTicks: 0
      radius: 12.0
      maxEntityDamage: 0.0
    - delayTicks: 8
      radius: 35.0
      maxEntityDamage: 6.0
      vehicleDamage: 120.0

Staged explosions let you build:

• warning flash first
• delayed main blast
• better dramatic readability
• more vehicle-heavy damage than player-heavy damage

This is much more useful than a single undifferentiated explosion when you want stations to feel cinematic and understandable.

Suggested order

1. Build one safe fuel-only station first.
2. Add a clean spawnpoint and confirm it persists.
3. Tune hose reach and use range.
4. Add repair mode second, if needed.
5. Add leak, collision, and explosion behavior only after the basic station feels solid.

Related pages

• fuel Containers, Repair Tools, and Service Sessions
• fuel Tanks, Repair Stations, and World Service
• combat Components, Duck Shot Bridge, Projectiles, and Loadouts