Support NeoGAF

[bengraven]

Notch:

The plan for mods


After some internal discussion and general anxiety, we’ve arrived at a
plan for supporting mods. It’s still a bit vague and the details might
change after we’ve run it by our lawyers, but here’s what we want to
do:

* Let players sign up as “mod developers”. This will cost money, and
will require you agreeing to a license deal (you only need one per
mod team).
* Mod developers can download the source code from our SVN repository.
As soon as we commit a change, it will be available to all mod
developers, unobfuscated and uncensored.
* Mod developers get a unique certificate for signing their mods. This
means players can see who made what mod and choose to trust individual
developers. The cost of signing up makes sure only serious developers
have access to this certificate.

The rules of the license deal will contain:

* Mods must only be playable by people who have bought Minecraft
* You can’t sell your mods or make money off them unless you’ve got a
separate license deal with us
* The mods must not be malicious (obviously)
* We retain the right to use your mod idea and implement it ourselves
in Minecraft. This is to prevent the situation where we have to avoid
adding a feature just because there’s a mod out there that does
something similar. It’s also great for dealing with bug fixes provided
by the community.

In the long term, we hope this means people will do awesome new things
with the Minecraft engine and play around with it. We want to buy
and/or license good mods and/or total conversions and sell them
ourselves. It’s possible we might have a mod marketplace for selling
and buying mods that fans have written, or we might purchase and
integrate nice mods that fit the main theme of Minecraft.

[edit:]

Just to clear up two things:

The access cost won’t be prohibitively expensive, and if you make a good mod or something else based on the source code, it’s highly likely we will want to license it.

He's going to have detractors for this, but then again he has detractors for everything. I for one think this is a good way to go, as long as the fee isn't too expensive.

 

[DangerousDave]

Definetively, I'm gonna sign up as "mod developer".

 

[Chinese Electric Batman]

Lazy money sucker.

 

[ZZMitch]

It won't cost money, he edited it!

The plan for mods
After some internal discussion and general anxiety, we’ve arrived at a
plan for supporting mods. It’s still a bit vague and the details might
change after we’ve run it by our lawyers, but here’s what we want to
do:

* Let players sign up as “mod developers”. This will cost money (edit: no longer costs money!), and
will require you agreeing to a license deal (you only need one per
mod team).
* Mod developers can download the source code from our SVN repository.
As soon as we commit a change, it will be available to all mod
developers, unobfuscated and uncensored.
* Mod developers get a unique certificate for signing their mods. This
means players can see who made what mod and choose to trust individual
developers. The cost of signing up makes sure only serious developers
have access to this certificate.

The rules of the license deal will contain:

* Mods must only be playable by people who have bought Minecraft
* You can’t sell your mods or make money off them unless you’ve got a
separate license deal with us
* The mods must not be malicious (obviously)
* We retain the right to use your mod idea and implement it ourselves
in Minecraft. This is to prevent the situation where we have to avoid
adding a feature just because there’s a mod out there that does
something similar. It’s also great for dealing with bug fixes provided
by the community.

In the long term, we hope this means people will do awesome new things
with the Minecraft engine and play around with it. We want to buy
and/or license good mods and/or total conversions and sell them
ourselves. It’s possible we might have a mod marketplace for selling
and buying mods that fans have written, or we might purchase and
integrate nice mods that fit the main theme of Minecraft.

[edit:]

Just to clear up two things:

The access cost won’t be prohibitively expensive, and if you make a good mod or something else based on the source code, it’s highly likely we will want to license it.

 

[DangerousDave]

Lazy money sucker.

Because of overwhelming feedback, the cost of the mod api access will be 0 dollars.

Our intention wasn’t to make money off selling the access, only to ensure some level of quality. Obviously that wasn’t the most popular idea in the world.

Can I go back to working on the maps now?

The price is fair.

 

[mrklaw]

hmm, how will mod devs finance their development if they can't make money off them? Not even a donate button on their web pages?

I like the idea of mods being integral to minecraft though - sounds like you'd check off which ones you want on/off. the current method is very techy

 

[Mik2121]

Jeez.. why is nobody playing in the vanilla server? Come on guys!!

Here's the server adress.. (quote to see it)



(bolded so more people can see it)

 

[Grinchy]

Jeez.. why is nobody playing in the vanilla server? Come on guys!!

Here's the server adress.. (quote to see it)

Didn't even realize this server was still up!

I was collecting materials and it sounded like everyone wanted to do a new world, so it felt kind of pointless to keep strip mining...

 

[crowphoenix]

Jeez.. why is nobody playing in the vanilla server? Come on guys!!

Here's the server adress.. (quote to see it)

I thought it was down as well. I'll be on later tonight.

 

[Jasoco]

So he is working on the maps. Can't wait to see how it works.

 

[Ark]

Any suggestions for a server name?

Aiming to order a 10-slot server by Friday, and I'll probably slap it up on the official MC forums since I've seen like 5 people from GAF saying they'll play.

I wouldn't mind using GAFland, but that was taken for the first GAF server, wouldn't want to step on other peoples feet.

 

[mrklaw]

updated our family server to 1.5 with bukkit and worldedit.

Anyone know why cylinders and spheres are created based on your position, whereas most other commands refer to the 'wand' area selection tool? eg creating a sphere uses you as the centre - so you make a solid sphere you will be killed because it spawns a block in your space too. You can 'raise' it but it still appears at your feet so your head is still inside.

I don't understand how those particular commands are usable at all?

 

[Jasoco]

So I failed in finding a list of all the stuff that doesn't work in SMP but does work in SSP. Since I'm so used to SSP, what stuff can I count on not working when I am on a server?

 

[Kalnos]

So I failed in finding a list of all the stuff that doesn't work in SMP but does work in SSP. Since I'm so used to SSP, what stuff can I count on not working when I am on a server?

The Nether is the big one.

 

[Stitch]

Anyone tried Optimine? It seems to give better performance.
http://www.minecraftforum.net/viewtopic.php?t=264418&f=1032

My performance was already pretty good anyway but the lag seems to be gone.

 

[Jasoco]

The Nether is the big one.

That seems to be the most well known. Is there anything else?

 

[ahoyhoy]

Any suggestions for a server name?

Aiming to order a 10-slot server by Friday, and I'll probably slap it up on the official MC forums since I've seen like 5 people from GAF saying they'll play.

I wouldn't mind using GAFland, but that was taken for the first GAF server, wouldn't want to step on other peoples feet.

The GAF of Rohan
NeoCraft
MineGAF
The Legend of GAF

 

[Mik2121]

Any suggestions for a server name?

Aiming to order a 10-slot server by Friday, and I'll probably slap it up on the official MC forums since I've seen like 5 people from GAF saying they'll play.

I wouldn't mind using GAFland, but that was taken for the first GAF server, wouldn't want to step on other peoples feet.

If you put it on the MC forums, be sure to have a whitelist going on, or else we will get lots of jerks..

Though I'd rather have mostly gaffers around, but if not many people can support the servers, I guess letting people from elsewhere would be nice.

Anyway, we can play somewhere else meanwhile. Kalnos' server seems to work just fine!.

 

[Grinchy]

It's a shame.. The Kalnos server was gaining some momentum before everyone thought it was unplayably laggy (before we figured out the spawn issue). I plan to jump on it later tonight though.

 

[Mik2121]

It's a shame.. The Kalnos server was gaining some momentum before everyone thought it was unplayably laggy (before we figured out the spawn issue). I plan to jump on it later tonight though.

Yep. We should get in there.

I started building something on the top of a mountain and some nice guy placed a couple lights around it. I'm at work now so I'll jump in for a bit during the lunch break.

 

[Flizzzipper]

I've been playing on Kalnos a bit. Built a cabin on a cliff. I'll make a path to it back to spawn.

 

[Mik2121]

I've been playing on Kalnos a bit. Built a cabin on a cliff. I'll make a path to it back to spawn.

Oh, it was you the guy I saw there, huh?

BTW, I noticed someone had built a house inside the cliff below the top of the mountain where I built mine.. lol.

 

[Grinchy]

I'm on it right now, checking stuff out and then I'll find somewhere to build.

 

[Ranger X]

I swear, the cave I've been spelunking since 3-4 days is so huge and so complex that it's getting me an headache. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel though. *phew*

God I love this game.

 

[Grinchy]

I really need to try spelunking. Strip mining is so boring but it seems to net a lot of diamonds.

I made a sword stuck in the ground on the Kalnos server. I need to go on a wool spree so I can make things with color.

 

[Ark]

The GAF of Rohan
NeoCraft
MineGAF
The Legend of GAF

Chosen!

 

[onken]

I downloaded the demo of this but the performance is all over the place. It's generally very smooth but every 10 seconds or so the picture freezes for a few seconds and I just have to wait for it to come back. The fact it runs smooth most of time makes me think it's not a performance issue (rocking an i7). Any ideas?

 

[Mik2121]

I downloaded the demo of this but the performance is all over the place. It's generally very smooth but every 10 seconds or so the picture freezes for a few seconds and I just have to wait for it to come back. The fact it runs smooth most of time makes me think it's not a performance issue (rocking an i7). Any ideas?

i7 mbp? If so, I have an i7 mbp 15" and it works great. I'd suggest you to set the game to full screen (F10 on Windows, Ctrl+Cmd+F10 in MacOS). It works better that way.

 

[onken]

i7 mbp? If so, I have an i7 mbp 15" and it works great. I'd suggest you to set the game to full screen (F10 on Windows, Ctrl+Cmd+F10 in MacOS). It works better that way.

If I press f10 the mouse cursor just shows up on screen and nothing happens till I click again. As I said, performance is fine except for the intermittent freezing :/

e~ same problem as this, no solution though
http://www.minecraftforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=89333

 

[Mik2121]

Errrr... sorry. I meant F11.

 

[onken]

Errrr... sorry. I meant F11.

Ah thanks. Screen just goes black, then crashes if I try to do anything. Man I sure love Java.

 

[Mik2121]

Ah thanks. Screen just goes black, then crashes if I try to do anything. Man I sure love Java.

Are you using a 64bit os? If so, did you download the 64bit version of java? To do so you need the 64bit version of whatever browser you use.

 

[NukeDukem]

Ah thanks. Screen just goes black, then crashes if I try to do anything. Man I sure love Java.

you're using the web browser? why? just download the minecraft.exe and run that to play.

 

[CrunchyFrog]

I downloaded the demo of this but the performance is all over the place. It's generally very smooth but every 10 seconds or so the picture freezes for a few seconds and I just have to wait for it to come back. The fact it runs smooth most of time makes me think it's not a performance issue (rocking an i7). Any ideas?

Chalk it up to the odd decision to program the game entirely in JAVA, a horribly inefficient coding method for 3d engines.

 

[Mik2121]

Chalk it up to the odd decision to program the game entirely in JAVA, a horribly inefficient coding method for 3d engines.

That's the thing that bothers me the most. But I guess Notch wanted to have a game playable via browser, and maybe he only knows Java or is the language he dominates..

 

[strata8]

Chalk it up to the odd decision to program the game entirely in JAVA, a horribly inefficient coding method for 3d engines.

Yep, just look at Eihort. Loads the chunks incredibly quickly and the view distance + FPS is insane.

 

[onken]

Are you using a 64bit os? If so, did you download the 64bit version of java? To do so you need the 64bit version of whatever browser you use.

Yeah 64-bit. I just downloaded/installed the 64-bit JRE from java.com but exactly the same issue.

you're using the web browser? why? just download the minecraft.exe and run that to play.

As I said I'm running the demo exe.

 

[mrklaw]

Yeah 64-bit. I just downloaded/installed the 64-bit JRE from java.com but exactly the same issue.



As I said I'm running the demo exe.

are you running the 64-bit version of java? on OSX you can have multiple versions of Java installed, and adjust their priorities. You want to make sure you have the 64-bit version (and 1.6 or greater) at the top of the priority list.

it runs fine on my C2D 2008 MBP so there should be no issues with an i7

 

[Ranger X]

Yep, just look at Eihort. Loads the chunks incredibly quickly and the view distance + FPS is insane.

OMFG. Thanks alot for this link!!
I was looking for a decent 3D world viewer since forever man!

 

[Mik2121]

are you running the 64-bit version of java? on OSX you can have multiple versions of Java installed, and adjust their priorities. You want to make sure you have the 64-bit version (and 1.6 or greater) at the top of the priority list.

it runs fine on my C2D 2008 MBP so there should be no issues with an i7

Exactly. I have a 2011 March i7 MBP and the game works flawlessly full screen with fancy graphics, both as an executable (forgot the extension in OSX) and in the browser.

 

[Ranger X]

This program is too fucking fantastic.
However, I don't seem to have a draw distance THAT great and I can't see torches and other sprites likes reeds and stuff. Is that normal??

Some aerial of my ranch:

 

[onken]

OK so I bought it anyway in the blind hope that the latest version has performance fixes... and it does! Runs great with all the settings on max, yay. Any pointers for a total nooby?

 

[strata8]

This program is too fucking fantastic.
However, I don't seem to have a draw distance THAT great and I can't see torches and other sprites likes reeds and stuff. Is that normal??

Some aerial of my ranch:

Torches used to work (oddly enough, I can see them sometimes, but only for half a second after they appear on the screen). You can adjust the view distance with [ and ], eg, from the thread:

I'm not sure if reeds are implemented yet.

 

[Ranger X]

OK so I bought it anyway in the blind hope that the latest version has performance fixes... and it does! Runs great with all the settings on max, yay. Any pointers for a total nooby?

I suggest you try to follow the achievements. It gives you a good basis of the main crafting receipes and then you're good to go. After you make you tools and stuff you can go on exploration trips, spelunking, building stuff, etc

 

[Enco]

Mod support will be awesome.

Depending on the mods, I might finally get back in

In built server lists would definitely make me come back. Not expecting them though.

edit: an updated to do list:

1. More mobs including humans with pre made loot (axes, swords etc.)
2. Settlements with pre made loot (axes, swords etc.)
3. Awesome built in mods
4. In built server lists
5. More common weather (as its very rare according to posters)
6. Different types of item (swords with different names and damage rates etc.)

Settlements and different item types are by far the most important in my opinion. Trying to get lots of loot with different stats would be awesome.

 

[Mik2121]

OK so I bought it anyway in the blind hope that the latest version has performance fixes... and it does! Runs great with all the settings on max, yay. Any pointers for a total nooby?

Awesome!. Just follow the achievements. The one thing you will want to know is that to get the workbench you need to put 4 wood together in the inventory. After that just use the workbench to build different stuff, including a furnace with which you can build even more stuff.

But just keep trying. There are lots of variations and it wouldn't be fun if you google'd 'em all

 

[onken]

OK so I went out, punched a sheep, dug out a cave, made a workbench, made a furnace, made some charcoal(!?) made a door to keep the monsters out. Got to sunrise, went wandering about and got blown up by a cactus. Is that it, did I lose all my stuff? What do I do at night while I'm waiting for sunrise? Wool isn't very good at carving out caves. How do I make fire? Why is this game so hard?

 

[Mik2121]

OK so I went out, punched a sheep, dug out a cave, made a workbench, made a furnace, made some charcoal(!?) made a door to keep the monsters out. Got to sunrise, went wandering about and got blown up by a cactus. Is that it, did I lose all my stuff? What do I do at night while I'm waiting for sunrise? Wool isn't very good at carving out caves. How do I make fire? Why is this game so hard?

You can go to where you died and pick up your stuff. You got 5 minutes until it disappears.

Also, I'd suggest you to either build stuff inside your house or go spelunking during the night.

 

[webrunner]

OK so I went out, punched a sheep, dug out a cave, made a workbench, made a furnace, made some charcoal(!?) made a door to keep the monsters out. Got to sunrise, went wandering about and got blown up by a cactus. Is that it, did I lose all my stuff? What do I do at night while I'm waiting for sunrise? Wool isn't very good at carving out caves. How do I make fire? Why is this game so hard?

You can use flint+coal (can you do this with charcoal? I'm not sure) to make a flint and tinder to make fire.


However, if what you want particularly is light and not burniness, pop that charcoal on the end of a stick to make torches.


If you want to carve out caves better just make a shovel or pickaxe shape in your workbench.

 

[ZZMitch]

OK so I went out, punched a sheep, dug out a cave, made a workbench, made a furnace, made some charcoal(!?) made a door to keep the monsters out. Got to sunrise, went wandering about and got blown up by a cactus. Is that it, did I lose all my stuff? What do I do at night while I'm waiting for sunrise? Wool isn't very good at carving out caves. How do I make fire? Why is this game so hard?

It is pretty easy once you get into a routine, have a house etc. Also, make a bed for sleeping through night if you have nothing to do but hide.