FOSS gamedev and creative worlds

Howdy! So as many of you already know I am a Computer Science Teacher using Minetest. I'd like to simulate a realistic survival environment where they start from nothing and build up to a modern city. I'd really like for them to even be trading and bartering and eventually using currency.

Since it is a school setting I can't have them PvP but we are allowed to hunt animals. I have three classes and I was wondering, do you all think it'd be interested if they all use the same server so that they can raid other classes settlements? The offline classes won't be able to be there to defend but I was thinking perhaps I could add traps and they'd have to strategize their defenses a bit. I'd like it so they could trade too if they wanted.

I'd also like them to have to deal with the elements like rain and snow actually having an effect such as causing players to get sick and possibly even hypothermia and heat exhaustion in the different climates. Does anyone know of any mods that might help with any of that?

I also want them to manage their waste. Right now they get a "waste" block every 6 minutes and I'd like to make it so that if they don't get rid of it after a little while they are poisoned, and also that it can poison water supplies and destroy crops and make people sick if placed too near a settlement.

Right now the main mods I'm using are:
Mesecons
Streets (cheapie)
Pipeworks
exertion
bows
mobs redo for animals
skillsframework - I'd love to eventually add farmer, crafting, building, etc skills

I do have the bitchange mod for shops and currency but I was wondering if people recommended any others.

It might be fun for them to encounter random npc villages too but I'm not sure we have any of those up and working yet.

I'm super interested in any mod suggestions people have for this.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot but it is bed time. I'd be super interested in any insight people want to give! Thank you and take care :)
-Mike

I had written a lengthy essay as reply - but - failed to save the draft correctly and the pc restarted while I was gone - great.
so short answer concerning raids:

nope

While I think raiding can be a really exciting game element I would not advise to it used in a school activity unmonitored - after all it's school and you can't be campaigning to rid the license most popular in minetest of foul words and then teaching them that it is ok to raid.

Having said that I think it indeed can be used as a tool when it is embedded in studies and is discussed. I might rewrite my "lost" thoughts on this again but basically it boils down to, that much is possible if it is reflected on and everything at school schould always be checked whether the techniques the children learn are something I want a future society to be built upon.

So if you let them raid, please talk with them about the effects of raiding in history, in society and what happens to all parties involved. Is the bully that takes away a toy from the weaker really a good role model? Should a society really be forced to spend so many resources on protection? Are the maps where raiding is allowed worth showing off? In what kind of environment does a group of players achieve the most?

Don't remember the age of your students but maybe whatch the film "A bug's life" and discuss it.

gotta send this of before I get carried away

Why don't make teather in Minetest?
I remembered some movie, why don't make they survive in an island? You can make they try to do resources from nature!. Every classroom has a different island, and with the time they can go the island of the different classrooms and Barter? Maybe if you add some "economy" mod, you can make they set up stores.
They can learn that the other people can help and not necessarily you need to "steal" to get things. (Also, try to make Diamonds be extremely rare! and every ore be something very hard to find)
You don't need to set up "coins" as an economy, they can set up one (likely the papyrus can be the currency) by theirselves.

I really like the idea of the islands!! And if I do keep raiding, I wouldn't encourage it, just have it be an option. The idea would be to hopefully teach them that trading and working together is more profitable than destruction.

Twoelk what does bad language have to do with raids? Seems quite different to me. I hope you do write your lost thoughts, I'd be super interested and sorry to hear you lost the post, that is one of the most frustrating things in the world! They would be monitored by me of course. And yeah as I said before the idea would be more of a psychological experiment and also hopefully a lesson in working together. Raiding is definitely a part of history and still goes on today but I think it'd be super interesting to have an actual economy going and perhaps even conversation between elected officials and even assign them actual city government jobs. I feel like there is a lot of potential!

My kiddos are 6th-8th graders.

Thank you so much for the insight both of you!

I think that they can be smart enough to try diplomacy? (Ok, actually Not!)

I don't know, you want that they make their own society? With kiddos helping between them, to do a mega city?
Could be a good idea to set the islands very far, to make they discover the other "continents" before a good time when they can do good boats, and who knows...
Try to set up before some "natural" buildings, likely caves to get in the night, don't add "monsters", add natural carnivores likely Lions that chase him so the feeling can be better when being chased, and add diferent biomes to an Island, make the island be big so they can explore and find an advantage to every part...

They are definitely smart enough and even in their own classes do they have diplomacy and even assign jobs for the greatly society. It is really awesome :)

Also any other mod ideas to add? One I'll be adding is mymonths.

Vikings! Gotta add Vikings. So interesting, and much to be learned.
Besides, they have the coolest helmets.

ExeterDad wrote:Vikings! Gotta add Vikings. So interesting, and much to be learned.
Besides, they have the coolest helmets.

Try to add different cultures, and add their own buildings randomly, make that in the islands be habitants in little houses that trade with them, but if you hurt one of them, they'll hurt you back.

Interesting topic...
Is it possible to have different races in minetest?
Clans? Each has own skin per clan for playesr and buildings?

DreamKeeper wrote:Interesting topic...
Is it possible to have different races in minetest?
Clans? Each has own skin per clan for playesr and buildings?

You can try to set up some kinds of mobs with mobs_redo. I've seen a few subgames that actually have this implement, but with different models.

DreamKeeper wrote:Interesting topic...
Is it possible to have different races in minetest?
Clans? Each has own skin per clan for playesr and buildings?

Lord of the Test has a race system.
in the beginning you choose if you want to be a human, elf, dwarf or orc and then you get the specific player model.
also there was something about specific craft recipes being available only to their specific races, but i don't know if that already works.
their thread is here: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5578

race specific craft should be pretty hard to do :/

azekill_DIABLO wrote:race specific craft should be pretty hard to do :/

is it possible to make craft recipes dependant on privs?
i've read something about server mods that require the lava priv to spill lava buckets.
maybe it's possible to do that for recipes too...

azekill_DIABLO wrote:race specific craft should be pretty hard to do :/

There has to be a custom inventory or crafting place that checks the race value of the user and compares it with the race value of the tool he wants to craft and either place the crafted item in the output slot of that inventory or crafting place or not - depending on the result of the comparison.