Difference between revisions of "Games/Minetest Game"

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'''Minetest''' (technical name: “<code>minetest_game</code>”) is a [[game|Minetest game]]  which is installed by default. Since early 2014 the Minetest-Game is semi-officially under feature freeze. It is not dropped and will be kept available in maintenance-mode as basis for all mods that depend on "default".  
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'''Minetest''' (technical name: “<code>minetest_game</code>”) is a [[game|Minetest game]]  which is installed by default. Since early 2014 the Minetest-Game is semi-officially under [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeze_%28software_engineering%29 feature freeze]. It is not dropped and will be kept available in maintenance-mode as basis for all [[mods]] that depend on "default".  
  
 
== Function ==
 
== Function ==
 
=== As default game ===
 
=== As default game ===
This game is included by default to give some initial single player content when Minetest is downloaded in the single archive file from the download section of the homepage. It includes some basic mods that add enough game content  to offer a simple playable game with control keys and basic gameplay activities set to be function similar to other games of the genre to make immediate playing possible.   
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This game is included by default to give some initial [[Getting_Started#Playing|single player]] content when Minetest is downloaded in the single archive file from the [http://minetest.net/download.php download section] of the homepage. It includes some basic mods that add enough game content  to offer a simple playable game with [[Controls|control keys]] and [[How to build your first house|basic gameplay]] activities set to be function similar to other [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voxel#Uses games of the genre] to make immediate playing possible.   
  
The Minetest-Game is not needed to play on other servers as all game content is controlled and "served" by the hosting server. Only when running an own Minetest server is some playable content needed that is normally a collection of mod scripts in a “game” folder. “Single-player” may be viewed as a special case when the Minetest program acts as server, hosting a local game and then connects to its own self as client.   
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The Minetest-Game is not needed to play on other servers as all game content is controlled and "served" by the hosting server. Only when running an own Minetest server is some playable content needed that is normally a collection of mod scripts in a “game” folder. “Single-player” may be viewed as a special case when the local Minetest program acts as local game-server, hosting a local game and then connects to its own self as client.   
  
  
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As the Minetest game is included in the download archive it is supposed to be lightweight and as gameplay-neutral as possible. It therefore often irritates new players that many things known from similar games are not included by default.  
 
As the Minetest game is included in the download archive it is supposed to be lightweight and as gameplay-neutral as possible. It therefore often irritates new players that many things known from similar games are not included by default.  
  
Although the default game offers rails, it does not include mine carts, boats or any other vehicles as such.  
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Although the default game offers [[Rail|rails]], it does not include mine carts, boats or any other vehicles as such.  
 
No mobs<ref name="rats">Though rats might just be able to sneak in if you are not carefull ;-).</ref> or NPCs are included and no API for these is offered.
 
No mobs<ref name="rats">Though rats might just be able to sneak in if you are not carefull ;-).</ref> or NPCs are included and no API for these is offered.
  
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== Future development ==
 
== Future development ==
The consensus of the Minetest developers seems to be that the Minetest-Game should be changed as little as possible<ref name="consens">[https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?pid=137837 "Minetest Game will no longer be developed"] thread on the Minetest forum.</ref> (feature-freeze) and rather no new content added. Thus offering the most compatibility to old mods and leaving the bulk of game content for game designers to develop. To give more examples of the possibilities of the Minetest engine it has been discussed to include more example games in the download archive. The only other game that is included in the 0.4.9 versions of Minetest is Minimal, which is only recommended for testing purposes. Games suggested as example games have been Pilztest, Nostalgia, Realtest, Ethereal and as of new BFD, Minetest NeXt and Carbone have been considered among others as these give examples of different gameplay or environment.
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The consensus of the Minetest developers seems to be that the Minetest-Game should be changed as little as possible<ref name="consens">[https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?pid=137837 "Minetest Game will no longer be developed"] thread on the Minetest forum.</ref> (feature-freeze) and rather no new content added. Thus offering the most compatibility to old mods and leaving the bulk of game content for game designers to develop. To give more examples of the possibilities of the Minetest engine it has been discussed to include more example games in the download archive. The only other game that is included in the 0.4.9 versions of Minetest is [[Game#Notable games|Minimal]], which is only recommended for testing purposes. Games suggested as example games have been [https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=3119 PilzTest], [https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=6977 Nostalgia], [https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=7573 Realtest], [https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=7027 Eden] or a game based on the [https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=7656 Ethereal mod]. More recently [https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=9036 BFD], [https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=9066 Minetest NeXt] and [https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=9033 Carbone] have been considered among others. The idea is to showcase a variety of different gameplay, environment and atmosphere concepts.
  
  

Revision as of 11:04, 16 April 2014

Minetest (technical name: “minetest_game”) is a Minetest game which is installed by default. Since early 2014 the Minetest-Game is semi-officially under feature freeze. It is not dropped and will be kept available in maintenance-mode as basis for all mods that depend on "default".

Function

As default game

This game is included by default to give some initial single player content when Minetest is downloaded in the single archive file from the download section of the homepage. It includes some basic mods that add enough game content to offer a simple playable game with control keys and basic gameplay activities set to be function similar to other games of the genre to make immediate playing possible.

The Minetest-Game is not needed to play on other servers as all game content is controlled and "served" by the hosting server. Only when running an own Minetest server is some playable content needed that is normally a collection of mod scripts in a “game” folder. “Single-player” may be viewed as a special case when the local Minetest program acts as local game-server, hosting a local game and then connects to its own self as client.


As basis for new games

The game-play can be modified considerably by Lua scripts organized in mods. As a lot of mods name “default” as dependency, the Minetest-Game is thought as the basic content on which game designers may build their own games. Thus if compatibility with most mods is the aim of a new game it is advisable to start building the new game by adding content to a copy of the default Minetest game.


As collection of modding examples

Although this may seem trivial this function of the Minetest game should not be forgotten as it often offers the first example of how to code things for modders.


Notable things not included

As the Minetest game is included in the download archive it is supposed to be lightweight and as gameplay-neutral as possible. It therefore often irritates new players that many things known from similar games are not included by default.

Although the default game offers rails, it does not include mine carts, boats or any other vehicles as such. No mobs[1] or NPCs are included and no API for these is offered.


Content

It contains the following mods:


Future development

The consensus of the Minetest developers seems to be that the Minetest-Game should be changed as little as possible[2] (feature-freeze) and rather no new content added. Thus offering the most compatibility to old mods and leaving the bulk of game content for game designers to develop. To give more examples of the possibilities of the Minetest engine it has been discussed to include more example games in the download archive. The only other game that is included in the 0.4.9 versions of Minetest is Minimal, which is only recommended for testing purposes. Games suggested as example games have been PilzTest, Nostalgia, Realtest, Eden or a game based on the Ethereal mod. More recently BFD, Minetest NeXt and Carbone have been considered among others. The idea is to showcase a variety of different gameplay, environment and atmosphere concepts.


Notes and References

  1. Though rats might just be able to sneak in if you are not carefull ;-).
  2. "Minetest Game will no longer be developed" thread on the Minetest forum.