r/Minecraft • u/IplayCoDandBF • Jan 27 '12

Talking the Future of Minecraft - Interview with Jens Bergensten

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6627/talking_the_future_of_minecraft.php
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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '12

Am I the only one that feels making mods too easy would fracture the community?

9

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '12

We're already there. Having a common mod API, though, would create a sort of centripetal force that would create commonly compatible mods that anyone is likely to be using, and thus they would be supported by texture packs, perhaps a bit by Mojang.

2

u/littlexav Jan 27 '12

Maybe not fracture, but the really good ones might not get noticed as much. Lost in the tangle or something.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '12

I mean like, what about community maps or servers or something? Hell, the same thing is already kind of happening with texture packs. Some adventure maps texture specific blocks to match the creators needs, and even normal texture packs like Jolicraft have options to use the paintings as window decoration.

7

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '12

Yeah but it is not that much of a leap of an imagination that the mod API and related development could result in a system to organize them into one package. They could end up with a format similar to Doom's WAD files, something achievable back in 1993.

4

u/escherial Jan 27 '12

As everyone's already saying, the community is fractured over modding -- there are people who find them indispensable and others who won't touch them with a ten-foot pole. For the latter group, their reasons range from wanting to play the vanilla game to not being particularly tech-savvy and thus wary of running untrusted, potentially unstable software. Some people simply aren't aware that mods exist. I definitely think making mods easier to install/more trustworthy would be great for the people who aren't tech-savvy, but want to be exposed to more content.

On the other hand, speaking as a person who only uses mods that improve the performance of the game (e.g. Optifine), I play MC mostly vanilla because I'm intrigued by the balance that Notch/Jeb have created. Mojang will never be able to compete with the modding community in terms of creativity and potential, but they are still the stewards of the "canonical" minecraft experience -- I stick with vanilla because I'm genuinely curious to see their ideas continue to shape their, even if I don't necessarily agree with each and every one of them.

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u/keiyakins Jan 28 '12

Don't forget people who don't have any particular objections to mods, and know they could install them, but are just too lazy to bother. That group would love a nice, easy mod system :P

1

u/Dragon_DLV Jan 28 '12

I just recently got into modding. Once I got the modloader and forge installed (relatively pain free), it has been a piece of cake.

The first one I got was Railcraft (Wiki). I got it because I love Minecarts (and almost anything to do with trains) and this Mod adds a lot of functionality, such as Switch Tracks, and Boarding rails, along with some fun ones, like Launch Rails and TNT carts.

Next, I went and got Buildcraft (Wiki) (Creator's Site). I got it because 1) it had some intertwining functionality with Railcraft that intrigued me and that 2) the engineer inside me started salivating. You can build some pretty neat automation stuff with this thing.

Then, while working on a BC-RC project on my Superflat build map, and after much inner-debating, I downloaded Redpower2 (Wiki - Incomplete) (Creator's Site) I went for it because Redpower allows for some pretty neat shot with Redstone. One thing is Wires and Cables, which you can use to compact 16 different Redstone signals into one cable bundle, and only taking up one space. It also has some neat, fairly easy to use Redstone gates, such as AND, OR, NAND, XOR, and a good number of others that take up as much space as a vanilla repeater.

Also have some other things, such as Optifine (tripled-quadrupled my FPS of 10 after fiddling with the settings), NotEnoughItems (took TMI's core ideas and ran with it, greatly improving it), and Enderchests (a fun little thing, links chests).

Don't get me wrong, I love vanilla MC. Server I play on is just that, and I love the hell out of that place. The mods I play with are fun toys that can greatly add to the fun of the game. Well, for me at least. Not everyone would enjoy what I enjoy.

Don't close your mind off to the idea of mods. It might be confusing at first, but it's not a huge challenge. If you find something that piques your interest, Try It!
Don't forget however, always back your shit up before trying Mods. Then, if you do screw something up, it's not the end of your worlds. I'd highly recommend using a Profile Switcher/JAR Switcher.

Have fun guys!

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u/Mugiwara04 Jan 27 '12

I'd feel a lot more able to get /into/ the community if mods were easier to handle. The first time I looked up how to install a mod I got really confused. I just want to play, not need to meddle with the guts of the game file. And almost every time I want to try one it seems to either depend on something else or require an older version. :/

0

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '12

Once the community has a mod API, they'd find some other feature to whine to death about. Reddit is nothing if not an entitled community with the collective personality of a vengeful 12 year old. This subcommunity in particular.