FOSS gamedev and creative worlds

I think if we made the download website more attractive, and more similar to minecraft's website, I think that would help a lot. Also, we need advertising. I don't know were the money would come from, maybe make the game $1 or something. Next we need to improve the forums. Right now the forums is nice, be terribly inactive. I think the devs should be more active too; upcoming ideas, help with mods and so on. Next is the game UI itself. Now it's ok but it needs some major work. I suggest a start screen with splash text (yeah it's like minecraft but it would still work great!!). Then singleplayer and multiplayer option. Also settings. They are very complicated to the average user. They must be simpler and more obvious what they do. Like if I told my friend to change there render distance, they would have no idea how. So, add a nice obvious render distance setting in options. Now last but not least is MAKING THE GAME EASY TO GET! If I say "hey dude go download minetest!" He'd go to the website and be confused as to how he gets it. The download button is there, but it needs just a better layout like minecraft.net. Having a standalone download and a exe installer is great and all but it's difficult. How about a nice background on the download page of say dirt(also like minecraft) and nice links saying " windows" or "linux". Then when they click that they get a page saying "download" and an "advanced" button if they want a particular build or version. Let me tell you: a nice website and forums will make people tell there friends. Then there friends and so on. Also make the game not have the CMD window that pops up. Or at least make it invisible. When the user thinks he has to do something technical he/she gets scared away quite fast.

I hope the developers see this post, I hope some part of it will come true. I love this game a ton but nobody I know knows this game or has any idea what I'm talking about when I say "download the standalone .zip file and unpack it then put it somewhere where you will want it" they forget after 5 mins

Joseph13 wrote:

• Improve website
  
  • I think if we made the download website more attractive, and more similar to minecraft's website, I think that would help a lot.
  • Now last but not least is MAKING THE GAME EASY TO GET! If I say "hey dude go download minetest!" He'd go to the website and be confused as to how he gets it. The download button is there, but it needs just a better layout like minecraft.net. Having a standalone download and a exe installer is great and all but it's difficult. How about a nice background on the download page of say dirt(also like minecraft) and nice links saying " windows" or "linux". Then when they click that they get a page saying "download" and an "advanced" button if they want a particular build or version.
• Advertising - I don't know were the money would come from, maybe make the game $1 or something.
• Improved forums - Next we need to improve the forums. Right now the forums is nice, be terribly inactive.
• Game UI. Now it's ok but it needs some major work. I suggest a start screen with splash text (yeah it's like minecraft but it would still work great!!). Then singleplayer and multiplayer option. Also settings. They are very complicated to the average user. They must be simpler and more obvious what they do. Like if I told my friend to change there render distance, they would have no idea how. So, add a nice obvious render distance setting in options.
• Also make the game not have the CMD window that pops up. Or at least make it invisible. When the user thinks he has to do something technical he/she gets scared away quite fast.

Let me tell you: a nice website and forums will make people tell there friends. Then there friends and so on.

I hope the developers see this post, I hope some part of it will come true. I love this game a ton but nobody I know knows this game or has any idea what I'm talking about when I say "download the standalone .zip file and unpack it then put it somewhere where you will want it" they forget after 5 mins

I made the formatting easier to read. It's worth using subtitles and paragraphs to make the content a lot easier to read

I agree with making the download link detect client version, and hide some of the unnecessary detail away (providing it also supports no javascript).

I also agree that the forum software is meh, but I don't think this stops us getting users as such (although may put them off from getting help).

The main menu is way too technical IMO, and doesn't display subgames very well.

The command window is good for mod debugging, but really should be opt-in.

For me the biggest problem currently is not having an ingame mod store, and the UI generally being unpolished and ugly.

As for advertising, meh. Really the name and also "ew, MC rip-off" is what scares people away. It would be good to have more marketing material, such as a trailer and leaflets. The good thing about providing leaflets is conventions can use them, along with press sources.

Thank you for re assembling the stuff I wrote this is much better and easier to understand

I am afraid, the site will not help much. The game needs first impression, so, a nice looking screenshots. Curtain. Minecraft fans, do not need a clone, I think. And those who do not playing MC, due to ugly graphics and animation, will not be excited, despite all amazing features, this cool engine offers.
As far as I see, the developers hates Creativerse, it is really bad.

iprdn wrote:The game needs first impression

Gold words )

iprdn wrote:Curtain. Minecraft fans, do not need a clone,

Hmm, MC fans will glad even for clone if it's be more friendly in modding )

iprdn wrote:developers hates Creativerse, it is really bad.

It's normally because no modding system exist.

Joseph13 wrote: I don't know were the money would come from, maybe make the game $1 or something.

"Something" is example named as SecondLife ) Welcome.

Minetest made a bad start. True, a start, but not a start which will allow us to go forward as you proposed. It is this fear of having to do all the work again, the loss of years of mods, that is keeping us here. I think we need a new start, a 0.5, that is radically different.

Also, Minetest does not, to me, seem to be more moddable than Minecraft. In fact, it appears to be the opposite. I've seen command blocks in MC creating their own blocks and items in game. I've seen whole new things that change the game to the core. Are these things possible in MT? Seems not.

Also, forget advertising. Forget about making the game $1. Just no.

Nyarg wrote:

iprdn wrote:developers hates Creativerse, it is really bad.

It's normally because no modding system exist.

Very, very, yes :)
I referenced CV only as graphic sample. Actually, it was the first and unfortunately one (as far as I know) acceptable block game graphic engine for me. The idea to mix blocks and 3d models also very good.
And yes, I found minetest a year ago 'cause CV was not open source and even moddable, actually it develops too slow to.
Unfortunately MT now not playable in this current state (graphics, interface and animation), but I am sure that If it graphic engine and interface will be redesigned somehow, to looks like CV, I am pretty sure, that it could pass the steam greenliht easily and became a very successful block game.

ABJ wrote:Minetest made a bad start. True, a start, but not a start which will allow us to go forward as you proposed. It is this fear of having to do all the work again, the loss of years of mods, that is keeping us here. I think we need a new start, a 0.5, that is radically different.

Why do you want to nuke all mods? And why would it help with anything? Suppose we nuke everything. And then what? It seems your suggestion is not well thought trough. :-/
You are also mysterious about what kind of “radical change” are you expecting.

Also, this fear you are talking about does not exist. I have never before heard the suggestion to nuke all mods, so your suggestion must be new.

Also, Minetest does not, to me, seem to be more moddable than Minecraft. In fact, it appears to be the opposite. I've seen command blocks in MC creating their own blocks and items in game. I've seen whole new things that change the game to the core. Are these things possible in MT? Seems not.

In Minetest's defense, it's still very much alpha software. When you compare a finished, polished software at version number 1.11.2 (!) with a software which is very incomplete and in alpha, guess which one is going to win. xD

I suck at talking. Nuke me.

ABJ wrote:I suck at talking. Nuke me.

/me sticks ABJ in a microwave and nukes him for about 5 minutes.

OK so what I was gonna say was that there's probably gonna need to be such a major rewrite most or all of the mods will become incompatible.

Of course mods will always need to be updated, to work with updates to Minetest. It's called progress.

Luckily, it comes in small bursts, so it is easy to update mods. This is a very good thing.

What I see, is the fact that at some point..., some changes which are made, will be able to be upstreamed to irrlicht itself (not sure if this has already happened at times in the past, I would be surprised if it has not)

But in order to fix some restrictions in the MT engine, caused by restrictions in the irrlicht engine, this is an inevitable event.
But I am unsure if MT has any devs around who work at that level of programming?

TumeniNodes wrote:some restrictions in the MT engine, caused by restrictions in the irrlicht engine

What kind irrlicht's restrinctions did you mean ?

As I see there http://irrlicht.sourceforge.net/docu/example001.html irrlicht have no major restrictions for MT.

Shadows - ok
Dynamic light - ok
Dynamic add stuff in render chain - ok
Collisions - ok

What do MT need more ?

I was talking about such a major rewrite that most mods will need to be mostly rewritten.

Nyarg wrote:Shadows - ok
Dynamic light - ok
Dynamic add stuff in render chain - ok
Collisions - ok
What do MT need more ?

Maybe just start to use it?

iprdn wrote:Maybe just start to use it?

Yeah ))) Say it to dev team )

When you refer to minecraft mods you're referring to patches, and when you refer to minetest mods you're referring to plugins. Patches are more powerful than plugins as they can change almost any part of the code, whereas plugins can only change what is exposed to them. It's also possible to create patch mods for minetest, but it's harder due to the design of the engine and the fact it's in c++.

I don't consider mc mods to be real mods, I feel that patches is a better name for them.

Back on topic: I have a PR open that adds a download button to the website that automagically finds the right version