Differences from Minecraft

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Minetest

• Minetest is a work-in-progress, there is still much work ahead
• World size is ca. 60000 blocks in all dimensions (including height)
• Built-in modding capability based on Lua (considered one of the core features of Minetest)
• Mods work server-side, you can join any random server and it will work out of the box, no matter what amount of crazy mods the server is using
• Crafting recipes are not automaticlly mirrored unless there's an explicit recipe definition for it
• Smelting time of items can differ on a per-item basis
• No dual wielding
• Built-in minimap and radar (press F7 to view)

Gotchas

• The Sneak Glitch (does not apply to all subgames)
• No game modes (damage and creative mode are treated seperately)

Minetest Game

Major gameplay concepts

• Different blocks, items, trees, biomes, etc. (obviously)
• No mobs
• No redstone or redstone-like mechanisms (but there's Mesecons)
• No enchanting, experience, hunger, status effects, potions, armor or brewing
• Eating food heals instantly
• No “dimensions” or portals
• Maximum build height of ca. 30000
• Can dig as low as ca. 30000 blocks

Note: Keep in mind that Minetest Game does not want to be an exact clone of Minecraft, but it is still heavily influenced by it. If you feel many features are missing Minetest Game, you might either try out a different subgame or add mods. Remember that Minetest Game is only one of many subgames for Minetest.

Gotchas

• Falling into Water and liquids in general does not protect you from fall damage if still hit the floor
• When a player dies, Bones are created and all items are stored inside
• Torches can be attached to the ceiling
• Water does not make other blocks like torches drop (but it can destroy Snow)
• The top row, not the bottom row in your inventory represents the hotbar
• Dropped item stacks must be leftclicked to be collected, the player is not a magnet ;-)
• When mining, items directly go into the player's inventory, unless the inventory is full
• Hoes can be used on Desert Sand
• Wheat and Cotton don't grow at all when the soil is dry (→Soil, Desert Sand Soil
• Some tools or items are used on left click instead of right click (for example: Bread)
• The Sneak Glitch

Crafting and smelting

• The crafting grid acts like an inventory; the items don't drop when you close your inventory
• No crafting table
• Players have a 3×3 crafting grid in their inventory at all times
• The furnace has 4 output slots instead of 1
• Very different burning and smelting times, see Smelting

Blocks

• Water and Lava have a flowing distance of 8 blocks
• Some blocks can be owned by players: Locked Chest, Steel Door, Steel Trapdoor; with Skeleton Keys player can share access.
• Rails can have T-junctions and crossings

Inventory

• Players have 32 inventory slots
• Chests have 32 inventory slots
• The item stack size is 99 for most items and 1 for tools

Mods which add Minecraft-like behaviour

• Redstone mechanisms: Mesecons (Mese is then considered to be the redstone equivalent)
• (There are many more mods, someone should write it down here)