Difference between revisions of "Games"

Latest revision as of 12:28, 27 December 2023

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Minetest itself is not a game but an engine or platform for other voxel games to be built on top of. Minetest can run and play games, which are complete playable interactive experiences. This is considered to be one of the core features of Minetest; without it, Minetest would fall.

Introduction

Description

The general definition of “game” in Minetest is “what you put into the ‘games directory and launch from the main menu”. As such, what is called a “game” in Minetest can, in practice, be all sorts of things: It could be a game with goals, or a sandbox, a puzzle, a mix of those or something completely different. Games can be selected and launched from the main menu directly and stand on their own. Minetest further allows all such games to be extended and modified by the use of mods.

A game is extremely simple from a technical level: Internally, a game itself a collection of (pre-packaged) mods and a few extra files (mostly for the main menu images), but packaged together to provide a complete interactive experience. which can be used out-of-the-box. When a player starts a game, all the mods packaged with that game will be used.

Screenshots

To give you an impression about the variety of possible games in Minetest, here's a screenshot gallery of many games:

This is not all, though. There are many different games for Minetest, which you can browse between on ContentDB.

User manual

Using a game

If you already have a game installed, here's how to use it:

Start Minetest
On the gamebar at the bottom of the "Start game" tab, click on the game you want to play
Create a new world by clicking on “New”
Enter a world name, select a Map generator and hit “Create”
Click “Play Game”

Finding games

Minetest comes with no games by default, so you have to install some first.

The main place to find and install games is ContentDB, which can be accessed in the main menu by pressing the 'Plus' icon in the main menu gamebar. Installing games from the Content tab is as easy as:

1. Searching for the game on the search bar.
2. Clicking/tapping the install button in front of it.

Another place to find games is in the Minetest forums.

Installing games

Games installed using the Content tab are automatically set up and installed.

However when installing games manually, they usually are distributed in Zip archives (other archive formats such as .tar.gz are of course possible, too). Follow these steps to install a game from an archive:

Get the archive which contains the game
Extract (or unzip) the archive into the the games sub-directory of Minetest. The location of this directory depends on your operating system:
- GNU/Linux: $HOME/.minetest/games, where “$HOME” refers to your home directory.
- Mac OS: $HOME/.minetest/games, where “$HOME” refers to your home directory.
- Windows: into the games directory found in the main program folder in which you have installed Minetest. It is the directory containing the directories like bin (which in turn contains minetest.exe), builtin, client, doc, fonts, games, locale, mods, textures, etc.

The game should now be installed, and will be shown up the next time the main menu gamebar refreshes.

Playing on servers

You can also “find” games by just joining a highly customized server. While many servers host Minetest Game or (most likely) a modded variant of it, some servers host other games as well. Because of the nature of Minetest, every server can be unique. Joining a server is a good way to quickly explore the possibilities of Minetest without needing for a manual game installation.

Making a game

Technically speaking a game is essentially a collection of mods developed to work well with eachother, that is accessible from the main menu. The mods are put in a mods/ folder inside the root of the game's directory. For more information about what can go into a game see the Minetest API documentation.

Technical info

You also can use the environment variable MINETEST_SUBGAME_PATH to define additional search paths for games, if you would like to store games in another directory.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Minetest '''games''' (also called “'''subgames'''”) are essentially a pre-tested collection of [[Mods]]. After installing Minetest, “[[Minetest (game)|Minetest Game]]” and “Minimal development test” should be available on Minetest's main menu. In certain circumstances, such as after compiling Minetest, Minetest_game may not be available to play as it is not included in the Minetest engine source. If that is so, Minetest game can be downloaded [https://github.com/minetest/minetest_game from here] “Minimal development test” is used by developers and is not intended to be played. When a player starts a Minetest game, all the mods packaged with that game will be used. Most community made games are posted in the [https://forum.minetest.net/viewforum.php?id=15 games sub-forum], however [[Games#Notable Games|several notable games are also listed on this page]].
+{{Languages}}
+Minetest itself is not a game but an engine or platform for other voxel games to be built on top of. [[Minetest]] can run and play '''games''', which are complete playable interactive experiences. This is considered to be one of '''the''' core features of Minetest; without it, Minetest would fall.
-= Notable Games =
+=== Introduction ===
+==== Description ====
+The general definition of “game” in Minetest is “what you put into the ‘<code>games</code> directory and launch from the main menu”. As such, what is called a “game” in Minetest can, in practice, be all sorts of things: It could be a game with goals, or a sandbox, a puzzle, a mix of those or something completely different. Games can be selected and launched from the main menu directly and stand on their own. Minetest further allows all such games to be extended and modified by the use of [[mods]].
-== Official Games ==
+A game is extremely simple from a technical level: Internally, a game itself a collection of (pre-packaged) [[mods]] and a few extra files (mostly for the main menu images), but packaged together to provide a complete interactive experience. which can be used out-of-the-box. When a player starts a game, all the mods packaged with that game will be used.
-The following games are installed in Minetest:
-* '''[[Minetest (game)|Minetest]]''' (<code>minetest_game</code>)
+==== Screenshots ====
-This is the default game in Minetest. It covers all the [[blocks]] and [[items]] and most other stuff you find in this wiki.
+To give you an impression about the variety of possible games in Minetest, here's a screenshot gallery of many games:
-* '''[[Minimal development test]]''' (<code>minimal</code>)
+{{Game gallery}}
-This game is not intended for playing, just for testing. This game contains mods specific to testing, like the "tester tool". It also always gives items to players upon joining and uses different default textures. It only features one sound when walking on grass, no other sounds are included.
+This is not all, though. There are many different games for Minetest, which you can browse between on [https://content.minetest.net/packages/?type=game ContentDB].
+== User manual ==
+=== Using a game ===
+If you already have a game installed, here's how to use it:
-== Unofficial Games ==
+# Start Minetest
-Unofficial games do not come by pre-installed with Minetest and have to be downloaded first. Many such games can be found in the subforum “[https://forum.minetest.net/viewforum.php?id=15 Minetest Games]”.
+# On the gamebar at the bottom of the "Start game" tab, click on the game you want to play
+# Create a new [[Worlds|world]] by clicking on “New”
+# Enter a world name, select a [[Map generator]] and hit “Create”
+# Click “Play Game”
+=== Finding games ===
+Minetest comes with no games by default, so you have to install some first.
-==="Overhaul" Games:===
+The main place to find and install games is [https://content.minetest.net/packages/?type=game ContentDB], which can be accessed in the main menu by pressing the 'Plus' icon in the main menu gamebar. Installing games from the Content tab is as easy as:
-* '''[https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=3003 Dwarves]'''
+* 1. Searching for the game on the search bar.
-Tries to recreate a fantasy world look and feel.
+* 2. Clicking/tapping the install button in front of it.
-* '''[https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=7027 Eden]'''
+Another place to find games is in the [https://forum.minetest.net Minetest forums].
-This game tries to create a very detailed and diverse flora among other things. While producing very pleasing landscapes the full version is compared to others rather large and map generating can be very demanding on the hardware side.
-* '''[[Game/Lord of the Test|Lord of the Test]]'''
+=== Installing games ===
-A survival mode game that brings middle-earth to Minetest.
+Games installed using the Content tab are automatically set up and installed.
-* '''[https://github.com/PilzAdam/nodetopia Nodetopia]'''
+However when installing games manually, they usually are distributed in Zip archives (other archive formats such as <code>.tar.gz</code> are of course possible, too). Follow these steps to install a game from an archive:
-Aims to have a challenging survival gameplay with strong focus on the "voxel idea". The author has not officially release it yet.
-* '''[https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=6977 Nostalgia]'''
+* Get the archive which contains the game
-Recreates the look and feel of Minetest 0.3.1 (Classic) while using a more recent version of the Minetest-engine.
+* Extract (or unzip) the archive into the the <code>games</code> sub-directory of Minetest. The location of this directory depends on your operating system:
+** '''GNU/Linux''': <code>$HOME/.minetest/games</code>, where “<code>$HOME</code>” refers to your home directory.
+** '''Mac OS''': <code>$HOME/.minetest/games</code>, where “<code>$HOME</code>” refers to your home directory.
+** '''Windows''': into the <code>games</code> directory found in the main program folder in which you have installed Minetest. It is the directory containing the directories like <code>bin</code> (which in turn contains <code>minetest.exe</code>), <code>builtin</code>, <code>client</code>, <code>doc</code>, <code>fonts</code>, <code>games</code>, <code>locale</code>, <code>mods</code>, <code>textures</code>, etc.
-* '''[https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=7573 Realtest]'''
+The game should now be installed, and will be shown up the next time the main menu gamebar refreshes.
-Some major changes to the gameplay offer a pretty different experience and this game. It is developed in two different branches and often used to demonstrate that the game can be made to differ from the default game a lot.
-* '''[[Technic (game)|Technic]]'''
+=== Playing on servers ===
-Focuses around the technic mods.
+You can also “find” games by just joining a highly customized [[Server|server]]. While many servers host Minetest Game or (most likely) a modded variant of it, some servers host other games as well. Because of the nature of Minetest, every server can be unique. Joining a server is a good way to quickly explore the possibilities of Minetest without needing for a manual game installation.
-* '''[https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=7243 Wasteland]'''
+== Making a game ==
-This game focuses on a survival mode in a post apocalyptic themed world.
+Technically speaking a game is essentially a collection of mods developed to work well with eachother, that is accessible from the main menu. The mods are put in a ''mods/'' folder inside the root of the game's directory. For more information about what can go into a game see the [https://minetest.gitlab.io/minetest/games/ Minetest API documentation].
-==="Improvement" Games:===
+== Technical info ==
-* '''[https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=9033 Carbone]'''
+You also can use the environment variable <code>MINETEST_SUBGAME_PATH</code> to define additional search paths for games, if you would like to store games in another directory.
-Aims for more balanced gameplay.
-* '''[https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=9066 Minetest NeXt]'''
+[[Category:Games]]
-With the release of Minetest version 0.4.10 Minetest NeXt got merged into the default game (minetest_game) and all further developed will take place at minetest_game.
-* '''[https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=6346 Voxelgarden]'''
-Basic gameplay with more survival features.
-==="Rehash" Games:===
-* '''[https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=9036 BFD (Big Freaking Dig)]'''
-Big Freaking Dig is exactly what it says on the tin: get as many ores as possible.
-<big>[[List of Games|Larger list of Minetest Subgames]]</big>
-= Installing Games =
-Once a Minetest game has been downloaded, find game download links in the [https://forum.minetest.net/viewforum.php?id=15 games sub-forum], it needs to be extracted or unzipped from the archive file(.zip, .tar.gz, ect.). If the extracted folder has "-master" appended to the end of the name, remove it from the name, for example “minetest_game-master” to “minetest_game”. This only happens when the game archive is downloaded from github.
-Games are installed in the ''games/'' sub-directory of Minetest. Move the folder you extracted from the download into this directory so you have ''games/extracted_folder'' (i.e. ''games/minetest_game'').
-''Below is a listing of Minetest's "in-place install" directory. games/, [[Installing Mods|mods/]], and [[Texture Packs#Installation|textures/]] are locations where community content can be installed.''
-<pre>
-minetest/
-├── bin/
-├── builtin/
-├── cache/
-├── client/
-├── doc/
-├── fonts/
-├── games/
-│   ├── minetest_game/
-│   ├── minimal/
-│   └── ... (installed extra games)
-├── locale/
-├── mods/
-│   └── ... (installed extra mods and modpacks)
-├── textures/
-│   ├── base/
-│   │   └── pack/
-│   └── ... (installed extra texturepacks)
-└── worlds/
-    └── ... (saved worlds. Some with exclusive world mods)
-</pre>
-= Creating Games =
-Minetest subgames are in the ''games/'' subdirectory. To create a new game, create a new folder in this directory which has a name without spaces (use "_" in place of a space if you want). Within this folder create two more folders and two files.
-* The ''mods/'' folder is where the game's mods, the actual content, will go.
-* The ''menu/'' folder holds some details needed by Minetest's main menu.
-* The ''game.conf'' file is used to define the game's name which is displayed in the Minetest main menu. Open this file with a text editor and add a single line: "name = your games name here"
-* Optionally you can add a ''minetest.conf'' file which allows you to set [http://wiki.minetest.net/Minetest.conf|options Minetest will use]. This file can override a number of default options.
-Any other files and folders are ignored by Minetest. It is suggested that at least a readme.txt should be added to describe the game and give its author(s) and version.
-== Menu Folder ==
-The menu folder allows you to provide images that will be used on the main menu.
-* background.png if present will be used as a background replacing the default clouds animation. This image will be re-sized to fully fill the minetest window.
-* header.png if present will show the header image, usually some stylized text, in-front of the background.
-* icon.png is a 48 by 48 pixel image that will be used in the game selection list to identify the game.
-== Mods Folder ==
-Any [[mods]] and mod packs needed by the game should be added to this folder. Make sure each mod's dependencies are met or the game will crash.
-Minetest will look for texture files with specific names. If these are not found in any of the mod texture folders, an error will be raised and dummy images will be created.
-* crack_anylength.png
-* heart.png
-* player.png
-* player_back.png
-== Details of file and folder structures within a game ==
-This example has the default games "minetest_game" and "minimal" installed and shows a possible structure of an own game in "my_game":
-<pre>
-    games/
-    ├── minetest_game/
-    │   ├── game.conf
-    │   ├── README.txt
-    │   ├── menu/
-    │   │   ├── header.png
-    │   │   └── icon.png
-    │   └── mods/
-    │       ├── some mod
-    │       ├── some other mod
-    │       └── ...
-    ├── minimal/
-    │   ├── game.conf
-    │   ├── menu/
-    │   │   ├── background.png
-    │   │   ├── icon.png
-    │   │   └── ...
-    │   └── mods/
-    │       ├── some mod
-    │       ├── some other mod
-    │       └── ...
-    ├── my_game/
-    │   ├── game.conf
-    │   ├── minetest.conf
-    │   ├── README.txt
-    │   ├── license.txt
-    │   ├── menu/
-    │   │   ├── background.png
-    │   │   ├── footer.png
-    │   │   ├── header.png
-    │   │   ├── icon.png
-    │   │   ├── overlay.png
-    │   │   └── ...
-    │   └── mods/
-    │       ├── license.txt
-    │       ├── some mod
-    │       ├── some other mod
-    │       └── ...
-    └── some more games
-</pre>
-[[Category:Minetest (Root Category)]]