Modders: Give feedback to the core developers

[webdesigner97]

A moddable death screen, respawn timers, ressurection :D

[Casimir]

For almost everything an option to disable it would be usefull, both for subgames and for server. A server [...] thats gets spamed often could disable doping of items.

I found that the function is in builtin/item.lua and therefore I can just overwrite it.

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Code: Select all

function minetest.item_drop(itemstack, dropper, pos)
   local name = dropper:get_player_name()
   if name then
      minetest.chat_send_player(name, "Itemdrop is disabled.")
   end
   return itemstack
end


[Casimir]

The game shouldn't be displaying options that either have no effect or are incompatible.

But it also shouldn't hide possible options. When someone wants to test mapgen v7 with minetest_game for any reason, they should be able to do it, and at the same time be informed that it is not supported. The simplest solution would be a general info about the subgame when choosing one. You also could write a mod that outputs a message, just like in minimal developement test, for all unsupported mapgens.

[stu]

I would like to see an option that would make it so name tags do not show through nodes, that would make it possible for people to hide.

+1000 This is very much needed and probably trivial to implement.

Also get_id() function will make easy to create entity inventory.

Good idea. When writing my traders, I found it annyoing that I had to come up with my own uniq_id function for them. Reliable uniq id's for entities would be helpful. Such things are better done in a library than in each mod individually.

+1000 Again, should not be hard to do, I'm sure I read mention of if before somewhere but can't remember if anything was ever done.

Something else I would like are more player related callbacks, like when a player is punched, it would save me polling player hp to make armor wear-out possible. A callback when a player is 'fully loaded' and all methods and properties are available would be nice too instead of guesswork and multiple delays for model changing, attachments, etc.

And what's happening with this?

get_armor_groups() - Returns {group1=rating, group2=rating, ...}) (NOTE: Documented in lua_api.txt but not yet implemented as of version 0.4.4)

I would also like to see more helpful stuff for fps style mods/games. A method like minetest.line_of_sight that could return objects in the line of sight (to a given range) might be good.

Almost forgot the thing I want most, 'pitch', then I can make planes \o/

Cheers!

[ShadowNinja]

AFAIK ABMs keep going once put on. If that's really true (not my lack of knowledge), I would like to see the possibilities to shut them off and on later in the game, after meeting a condition, paired with the computers internal clock or connected with the Minetest time.

ABMs are designed to run on every loaded node that meets the specified conditions, always. Node timers might be more suitable for your purpose as they are cancelable and restartable. They don't have features like neighbor checking built-in though.

[webdesigner97]

Also modders should be able to do http requests, e.g. to check for a new mod version...

[Kilarin]

First a request that would probably be pretty easy to implement:
I think "Tool Tips" would be a REALLY nice feature. It would make it much more user friendly for players when using tools whose function or operation are not immediately obvious.

Now a request that may be very difficult or even unwise to implement:
Normally objects can only be active within the region loaded around a player, and the vast majority of the time that makes perfect sense. But it would be nice if it was possible to override this behavior, so that, for example, a cart could be sent heading down a long track, and just keep loading the region around it until it reaches the end of it's track.

[rubenwardy]

Now a request that may be very difficult or even unwise to implement:
Normally objects can only be active within the region loaded around a player, and the vast majority of the time that makes perfect sense. But it would be nice if it was possible to override this behavior, so that, for example, a cart could be sent heading down a long track, and just keep loading the region around it until it reaches the end of it's track.

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Code: Select all

minetest.forceload_block(pos)
^ forceloads the position pos.
^ returns true if area could be forceloaded

https://github.com/minetest/minetest/bl ... .txt#L1704

[Kilarin]

minetest.forceload_block(pos)

So, for example, I could modify the cart mod to check if it gets an "ignore" for a node, and if so, force load it? Hmmm, that is worth trying. Thank you!

Another suggestion for the developers:
The ability to set gravity locally. So that, for example, the "Dyson Cube" mod could make gravity for each different side of the cube point towards that edge. And any mod could make gravity in a local area point in whatever direction they wanted, (or turn it off entirely). Is there already a way to do this? And if not, could it be implemented without completely rewriting the existing engine?

[Evergreen]

minetest.forceload_block(pos)

So, for example, I could modify the cart mod to check if it gets an "ignore" for a node, and if so, force load it? Hmmm, that is worth trying. Thank you!

Another suggestion for the developers:
The ability to set gravity locally. So that, for example, the "Dyson Cube" mod could make gravity for each different side of the cube point towards that edge. And any mod could make gravity in a local area point in whatever direction they wanted, (or turn it off entirely). Is there already a way to do this? And if not, could it be implemented without completely rewriting the existing engine?

It would probably be better to include something which alwos modders to push and pull the player, and a way to rotate the player model.

[rubenwardy]

minetest.forceload_block(pos)

So, for example, I could modify the cart mod to check if it gets an "ignore" for a node, and if so, force load it? Hmmm, that is worth trying. Thank you!

Another suggestion for the developers:
The ability to set gravity locally. So that, for example, the "Dyson Cube" mod could make gravity for each different side of the cube point towards that edge. And any mod could make gravity in a local area point in whatever direction they wanted, (or turn it off entirely). Is there already a way to do this? And if not, could it be implemented without completely rewriting the existing engine?

Issue on Freeminer: https://github.com/freeminer/freeminer/issues/62

I had this idea a while ago, and I discussed it with PilzAdam.
Most of the modifications required are server side.

[Pavel_S]

.isVisible and .isClickable propetries of entity`s collision box would be a nice feature, for any mob mod, to hide collision box, as well as for all players and NPC`s. Also sometimes it`s needed to attach one entity to another and have callbacks on_punch or on_rightclick for both, but attached entity has invisible, unclickable collision box.

[spootonium]

I'd like to be able to define default and alternative keyboard controls as part of a gamemode, and to assign additional keys for mod functions. An example of usage might be if I wanted to implement a "crouch" or "crawl" capability instead of, or in addition to "sneak".

From what I can glean from the dev wiki, the Player object's get_player_control() and get_player_control_bits() can only return specific, hard-coded values. What I propose, is the ability to modify or add to these, through some sort of a minetest.register_player_control(key,controlbit) function.

[Pavel_S]

Does Minetest do interpolation to entities?
I ask because it seems like single entity moves using interpolation, but attached entity don`t. And it moves annoyingly(see jumping player in Cars mod or shaking heli in Helicopter mod).

[dgm5555]

my first take on functions I would like:-
forceload_block(now=true/false, onstartup=true/false) - which would load a block immediately - the current one doesn't seem to guarantee loading [EDIT: this seems to be an undocumented benefit of voxel_manip]
ground_level(x,z,ignore_water=true/false) to identify the level of ground at a particular location (possibly with option of returning waterlevel if it was higher.
refresh_texture("mod:texname") - to enable reload of a texture if it has changed.
refresh_mod("mod") - to enable reload of mod - really useful if debugging without having to go in and out of game.
node_identify_onpoint = true/false - so a tool-tip (or whatever it's called - like the text a sign shows) is shown for every node to identify it's identity and properties. [EDIT: like worldedit //inspect, but displayed by the HUD]
copy and paste to the chat bar (and fix the F10 bug which means full-screen chat can't be cleared)

[spillz]

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Code: Select all

minetest.forceload_block(pos)
^ forceloads the position pos.
^ returns true if area could be forceloaded

https://github.com/minetest/minetest/bl ... .txt#L1704

This isn't quite what it seems. (And people writing API docs really need to care more for their users than this)

https://github.com/minetest/minetest/bl ... v.cpp#L778

It adds the block to a list of blocks that should be kept loaded. It doesn't synchronously load the block right away, it is an asynchronous request. Presumably there is a way to get chunk load notifications....

[spillz]

I'd like to be able to define default and alternative keyboard controls as part of a gamemode, and to assign additional keys for mod functions. An example of usage might be if I wanted to implement a "crouch" or "crawl" capability instead of, or in addition to "sneak".

From what I can glean from the dev wiki, the Player object's get_player_control() and get_player_control_bits() can only return specific, hard-coded values. What I propose, is the ability to modify or add to these, through some sort of a minetest.register_player_control(key,controlbit) function.

See also https://github.com/minetest/minetest/pull/1217

This adds keyboard shortcuts for chat commands and if they ever except it I would then hope to add mod support.

[dgm5555]

This isn't quite what it seems. (And people writing API docs really need to care more for their users than this)
https://github.com/minetest/minetest/bl ... v.cpp#L778
It adds the block to a list of blocks that should be kept loaded. It doesn't synchronously load the block right away, it is an asynchronous request. Presumably there is a way to get chunk load notifications....

I agree. I wasted at least an hour of my time figuring this out, and it couldn't possibly have taken more than 2 minutes to document it properly.

Actually that would be another one extremely high on my wish list - a properly documented API

Another would be a central repository of mods listing global functions and variables, to reduce risk of conflict with other mods. And on that note, is there a function to poll if a mod is enabled? I've ended up polling for globals and assuming if result is nil then not loaded (so I know whether my mod can use other mod's functions), but it's not very robust.

[kaeza]

And on that note, is there a function to poll if a mod is enabled?

Yes:

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Code: Select all

if minetest.get_modpath("foobarmod") then
  -- Code using `foobarmod' features goes here.
end


[Sokomine]

Beeing able to read zlib streams without having to add extra libraries would be great. The schematics are encoded that way, and sometimes (at least for my use case) I'd like to know how many of each node are contained in the schematic (so that I can ask the player to insert that many blocks into the build chest).

Also saving/restoring table values for mods would be great. There's a mod out there that does it; but we need it in the main game. It's inacceptable that one has to copy the code for saving data each time a mod may use it. Depending on other mods is very unpopular as it makes installation for inexperienced players even more difficult. Plus this is something that could very easily be done inside e.g. builtin.

[HeroOfTheWinds]

Not sure if this is something particularly earth-shattering, but animated HUD image support would be nice. That way, you could have even nicer hotbars such as ones where the highlighted item has an animated video-noise texture over it.

Being able to redefine "air" would also be cool.

[webdesigner97]

What about being able to hide/show the entity collision_box? When sitting in a car, this box just looks ugly...

[philipbenr]

press [ f1 ] webdesigner. -.-

;)

[BrandonReese]

Light emitting entities.

[webdesigner97]

press [ f1 ] webdesigner. -.-

;)

That's not a solution. F1 hides the complete HUD, and I also want the box to be visible when outside the car.

[dgm5555]

Support for {enter} key from a text box activating a button rather than closing a form (eg pressing enter after typing text in the search text box on unified inventory closes the form rather than the expected behaviour of triggering the search as occurs when you click the button with the mouse).

[Pavel_S]

I found that attached entities do not use interpolation(it`s shaking while moving) and parent also do not control smooth moving of it`s child.
It seems that it hapends because of this:
(https://github.com/minetest/minetest/blob/master/src/content_sao.cpp)

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Code: Select all

void LuaEntitySAO::sendPosition(bool do_interpolate, bool is_movement_end)
{
   // If the object is attached client-side, don't waste bandwidth sending its position to clients
   if(isAttached())
      return;
...


Am I right?

Another thing is that child copy only pos of parent
(https://github.com/minetest/minetest/blob/master/src/content_sao.cpp#L495)

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Code: Select all

// Each frame, parent position is copied if the object is attached, otherwise it's calculated normally
   // If the object gets detached this comes into effect automatically from the last known origin
   if(isAttached())
   {
      v3f pos = m_env->getActiveObject(m_attachment_parent_id)->getBasePosition();
      m_base_position = pos;
      m_velocity = v3f(0,0,0);
      m_acceleration = v3f(0,0,0);
   }
   else
...


Why do child do not get parents velocity and acceleration? If child will get this parameters, "shaking" problem will be solved, I think

[stu]

PavelS: You should maybe post this as an issue on github or bring it up on #minetest-dev.
I don't really think any core devs are actually following this topic ;-)

[paramat]

What about being able to hide/show the entity collision_box? When sitting in a car, this box just looks ugly...

You can resize the collision box to be a flat square that sits low in the car, still visible when entering the car but out of the way when driving, here's what i did in my 'mesecar' mod:

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Code: Select all

local boat = {
   physical = true,
   collisionbox = {-0.6,0.75,-0.6, 0.6,0.75,0.6},
   visual = "mesh",
   visual_size = {x=1,y=1.6},
   mesh = "mesecar.x",
   textures = {"mesecar_mesecar.png"},
   --stepheight = 1.1,
   driver = nil,
   v = 0,
}

[webdesigner97]

What about being able to hide/show the entity collision_box? When sitting in a car, this box just looks ugly...

You can resize the collision box to be a flat square that sits low in the car, still visible when entering the car but out of the way when driving, here's what i did in my 'mesecar' mod:

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Code: Select all

local boat = {
   physical = true,
   collisionbox = {-0.6,0.75,-0.6, 0.6,0.75,0.6},
   visual = "mesh",
   visual_size = {x=1,y=1.6},
   mesh = "mesecar.x",
   textures = {"mesecar_mesecar.png"},
   --stepheight = 1.1,
   driver = nil,
   v = 0,
}

This might work, but still is a dirty solution :/