What's Minetest still missing over Minecraft?

[greydmiyu]

Cubenegine lists voxel enines? Ok, VoxEngine. Or VoxelEngine. Boom.

[srifqi]

Voxelmine?

[Esteban]

A couple of random names
VoxelQuest
MineQuest
CubeQuest
BlockQuest
MESECraft
VoxelCraft
Cubecraft
MineMaster
CraftMaster
VoxelMaster
CubeMaster
MESEMaster

[rubenwardy]

I actually like Mesetint.

[GingerHunter797]

I also very strongly agree that the name needs to be changed.
Someone mentioned something about the names VoxelEngine and VoxelMine. I think these are great names to use instead of Minetest, or how about VoxelMiner. I like that one the most!

[solars]

If a currency is included in the game, you can call it Mineteston. And use Teston as name for the coins. ;)

Or you can call it Minetesty and shut up. :P

[aldobr]

I wrote a mod called mint where people can mint coins named minetoon.

Minetoon Pences, Minetoon Chillings, Minetoon Pounds.

[SAMIAMNOT]

Allmine? MINeo? ;) DigBuild? Roam? Voxel Lands? Open Planet? Infinite Terresria?Celerons game? ;) MineOwn?

[TenPlus1]

How about "MineBananaSundaeDiggingInTheDirtGettingMuckyBuilder" ?

[greydmiyu]

DiggyHoleDiggy. >.>

[Wuzzy]

How about “Minetest”? :P

[rubenwardy]

How about “Minetest”? :P

No, that name is taken. There is already a game called Minetest.

[Rochambeau]

You can make up funny names as much as you want. (strange, how mostly longterm players mock about this initiative... )

Just saying (from my own experience) the name MineTEST is indeed a problem when you want to become more popular and attract more players.

[Vazon]

How about “Minetest”? :P

No, that name is taken. There is already a game called Minetest.

Wait, what???? Since when??? ..... Garsh dang it, that was my number one name for the rename? xD
But on another note, I think VoxelMiner is probably the best name stated so by far.

[rubenwardy]

I agree that it is a problem, but I very much doubt it will be changed.

A better solution would be to rebrand the game as more scientific, to give meaning to the "test." People will still think that the game is a test though, unless they view the rebranded website, etc. (ie: think it is a test just by seeing the name)

[TenPlus1]

+1 for MineTest...

[LazyJ]

I'll toss in my two-cents on the "name" topic.

A name that has much more broad appeal could be helpful or, given the amount of recognition Minetest has built up so far, it may be better to capitalize on a recent shift in Minetest's competition - "Minetest is not Microsoftcraft".

If a new name is the path chosen, then the key point should be "broad appeal"; not limited to the technically sophisticated (nerds).

"Minetest" sounds like an exam that miners or geologists have to take before being allowed to work in the mining industry. However, if marketed just right, "test" could be perceived as a robust challenge, a rite of passage.

"Test" your metal. (internal fortitude) The world is yours to master.

"Test" your creativity and imagination. Unbound by the constraints of reality.

If the new name is too scientific or technical then, as Rochambeau recounted, most people will lose interest in it the moment they hear the name.

We want to draw people in.

We want people to be intrigued the moment they hear or read the name.

We don't want them to think it is a homework assignment.

The name "Minecraft" is not scientific and is not technical and does not instantly invoke a sense of "boring" or apathy when heard or read by the non-nerd populace.

While it is easy to fixate on the literal meaning of "Minecraft", a game where you "mine" and "craft" stuff, there are other factors of the game that the Minecraft title did not encompass.

"Minecraft" also probably enjoyed some sense of appeal or initial interest upon hearing and/or reading the name, based on the familiarity of two other popular "craft"-named games - "Warcarft" (WoW) and "Starcraft".

Though not related in the game-play, the name recognition of "Warcraft" and "Starcraft" (name recognition - a big goal of marketing and PR) and the follow through, assumed association - "It's probably like Warcraft and Starcraft.", may have been enough just to get people to try Minecraft.

Changing Minetest's name to a world-like name is a gamble. "Terraria" sounds like a single world. Minetest is capable of many, radically diverse worlds.

Minetest is not a world, it is an engine. The problem is, while nerds may look for an "engine", everyone else looks for a game to play. Again, the key point is broad appeal.

The words "Mine" and "craft" (and their non-English counterparts) are words that are part of the common, every-day communication; just like "car", "dog", and "tree".

I have yet to find "voxel" used anywhere outside of 3D gaming. "Voxel" is not part of the common, every-day communication of the non-nerd populace. Again, the key point is broad appeal; not to give Minetest a new name that causes people to instinctively relegate it to something only the technically sophisticated would be interested in.

While brainstorming for names, try to keep in mind that it needs to be something simple, catchy and easy to roll off the tongue; something that a normal, little kid could understand. If the little kids can understand it, then the name is effective enough to compete with the barrage of other game-names out there.

I've tried to think of names, myself, but the trouble I run into is that the possibilities Minetest provides are boundless. So much so that it is proving very difficult to sum them all up into a two or three word name.

Minetest is coming in late on this issue. Most of the short, catchy, and relevant names seem to have been taken. So perhaps the best course of action is to keep the name, "Minetest", build on the recognition it has gained so far, and pursue what I mentioned earlier, "Minetest is not Microsoftcraft."

+1 Minetest

"Minetest - The worlds are yours to master."

(Edits to fix typos, mangled grammar, and broken bits of thought.)

[Topywo]

I think LazyJ summarized it very well.

[4aiman]

How 'bout renaming the default game and advertise that instead of the engine's name?

FM is trying to blend the engine and the default game and is not very concerned with other games. That's understandable - they want to polish at least 1 game.

MT has more games and behaves much more like an engine. It is targeted to give an opportunity, to grant more choices and to decide what kind of a game you like most.

So, why not turning in players with the default minetest_game?

Rename it, polish and state everywhere that a game is EMPOWERED by the MineTest - an engine that enables one to test his\her skills in a vast voxel world? Call it "Origins" or "Classic" or anything that will look great with the following:

Some time ago there were news about bundling more than one game with minetest.
Cool. Every game should have title like "Minetest: Carbone" (Engine_name: game title). Sounds and looks like a poster of a new installment of a great series (comp. "The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind"). As for me, I wouldn't mind if my game will be under the title "Minetest:Magichet" :)

Of course not everyone will comply... but not everyone's game will be bundled with the engine as well :)

Oh, one more thing. REMOVE minimal game from the package. Make a different game with the name like "LearnTest" or "ModTest" or "ExampleTest" to underline that it is merely an example of how to write one's own mods.

[Esteban]

How 'bout renaming the default game and advertise that instead of the engine's name?
...

Rename it, polish and state everywhere that a game is EMPOWERED by the MineTest - an engine that enables one to test his\her skills in a vast voxel world? Call it "Origins" or "Classic" or anything that will look great with the following:

+1 Great idea! A fighting game engine called M.U.G.E.N did the same. The engine is referred as M.U.G.E.N, but the games are given an unique name. (Small example of game made with this software)

[MirceaKitsune]

LazyJ's point is interesting and comprehensive, and gave me new insight on the current name actually. I used to think Minetest was always a temporary name, meant to illustrate that the project is in testing stage. But if I think about it, this name can also have another meaning: You create worlds, and test how they work or test the possibilities you have. That's something I didn't think of before... the name feels more relevant and correct if I look at it that way.

[Evergreen]

How 'bout renaming the default game and advertise that instead of the engine's name?

FM is trying to blend the engine and the default game and is not very concerned with other games. That's understandable - they want to polish at least 1 game.

MT has more games and behaves much more like an engine. It is targeted to give an opportunity, to grant more choices and to decide what kind of a game you like most.

So, why not turning in players with the default minetest_game?

Rename it, polish and state everywhere that a game is EMPOWERED by the MineTest - an engine that enables one to test his\her skills in a vast voxel world? Call it "Origins" or "Classic" or anything that will look great with the following:

Some time ago there were news about bundling more than one game with minetest.
Cool. Every game should have title like "Minetest: Carbone" (Engine_name: game title). Sounds and looks like a poster of a new installment of a great series (comp. "The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind"). As for me, I wouldn't mind if my game will be under the title "Minetest:Magichet" :)

Of course not everyone will comply... but not everyone's game will be bundled with the engine as well :)

Oh, one more thing. REMOVE minimal game from the package. Make a different game with the name like "LearnTest" or "ModTest" or "ExampleTest" to underline that it is merely an example of how to write one's own mods.

I agree.

[twoelk]

...
(strange, how mostly longterm players mock about this initiative... )
...

uhm you mean the people who have become so accustomed to the name that they would get lost if it was renamed?

I really don't think the "engine" should be renamed, I might go with selling it under the name of some game though ... oops,
wasn't that what some ripoffs for android where doing? Might be a nice way to add to the confusion.
No really there are other brands out there that are stuck with a not so optimized name and they managed to make their name well known.

When I first got to know about Minetest I was drawn in by the screenshots so if anything I would rather suggest a representive collection of pictures and videos easily accessible frome the homepage, not so hidden as the current link. Those pics should of course be really informative, so maybe the same scene using radically different texture packs, some collections of mobs, different mapgen tweaks, some important mods including technic and mesecons and of course some buildings with clever use of some block mods. All this with descriptions what the picture is trying to showcase.

All in all I think one of the most important aspects of Minetest is how different each world can be and how easy it is to change stuff. Not just mentioned in the text but pictures that really showcase that.

[Esteban]

An interesting thing for skins to have is not compatibility with 1.8 MC skins, but have an independent texture per arm.(at least front side)
I am currently trying to make a skin about this guy:

+ Spoiler

An important aspect of the character is his "hook hand", but with the actual texture system I would either have two hooks or none...
EDIT: Made the skin with no hook :/

+ Spoiler

[4aiman]

@Esteban
You can "workaround" that with an entity attached to a player. Long ago had I made a prototype that used entities to make 3d armor without editing the default model of a player or setting a new one. http://youtu.be/Wyp9hQXyU1k

[Esteban]

@Esteban
You can "workaround" that with an entity attached to a player. Long ago had I made a prototype that used entities to make 3d armor without editing the default model of a player or setting a new one. http://youtu.be/Wyp9hQXyU1k

Interesting video! Thanks for the info, but I think just changing the texture application of the model would be easier. I will make some tests with skins to see how customizable a skin can be using a 64 x 32 (default) image.

[4aiman]

You'll need to change the default character model then. (And that was the reason I've mentioned entities.)
For a subgame or a mod it's "ok", though.

Hmm.... maybe you should create an additional layer (plane) and set a texture to that (if there's a file named like player_name.._extra_accessories)? Look how stu has made it in 3d_armour\wielditem :)

As for me, it's easier to ad an entity - have toyed with those a lot lately :)

How about custom gravity points?

[rubenwardy]

I discused custom gravity points with pilzadam in IRC pm in early 2013. It is possible, but you would need to change the modding api and break mods as the api assumes gravity only acts vertically.

You would need to send gravity points to clients, and that may be a protocol bump.

As far as I remember. Things may have changed.

Gravity spots are defined by position and mass. Position needs to be able to be outside the maximum cords, maybe 100 times, as to simulate Earth's gravity.

F = G * m1 * m2 /r^2
G is universal gravity constant.

[4aiman]

Why not "emulate" that?
There's "bouncy" field in a node definition. Can't that be developed further?
Can't that be changed to stir a player not only vertically?
So, it'll be a field with a unit vector, showing the direction of the "bounce".
Max speed may depend on player's run speed (multiplied by 3 - that'll be enough).
So, when a player step on such a node (or inside it, if it's not a walkable one) he/she will be pushed in the direction there is in the node.

There are some workarounds to push the player with the given velocity or acceleration, but one can't make liquids to push players yet.

*note* I haven't yet looked at the physics implementation - only made an additional fall_tolerance field for the physics_override.

[Evergreen]

To add to that, I think we need a way of setting player velocity. It should be implemented the same way it is with normal entities.