PureTryOut wrote:[list]The main menu is straight up ugly and confusing
I agree. In general, the UI of Minetest in general is a complete clusterfuck.
But I think the main menu is one of the “least bad” things in Minetest. It is not really hard or annoying to use.
It is just ugly, but ugliness is a different issue. I love the fact that advanced settings support was added recently.
Stuff like “Enable Damage” and “Creative Mode” are different issues, they have nothing to do with the main menu. The main menu just presents them.
What needs big improvement is the formspec API of Minetest. There are many features which I miss. :( The biggest one is currently support for scrollable read-only multi-line text. This is a very important widget and can currently only be implemented by hacks.
I would first of all remove the "server" option from the menu. If people want to host servers, they can just do it the hard way and use it from the CLI or something.
No, this is just stupid. Minetest should work out of the box in LAN parties. Your suggestion makes things harder for no good reason.
The solution against computer illeteracy is not taking everything away from the user, but educating the user. If a feature is not obvious, explain it. But I think it is OK to hide away obscure features. Starting a server is not obscure.
If they want to play on LAN, add an option for it once in a singleplayer world instead.
Sorry, this is another stupid idea. Who on Earth would a newbie expect that you have to first start singleplayer in order to play in a LAN? It's like the infamous usability fail in Windows: You first must click on “Start” to shut down your computer. xD
Combine "singleplayer" and "client" into 1 tab. In that tab add a button for singleplayer. Once clicked, it shows a list of worlds and the options to delete them, or create new ones. Add a second button to that tab for multiplayer. Once clicked, it shows a list of servers. A filter to switch between the normal server list, lan servers and favorites would be good. I would get rid of the tab system myself entirely to be honest, it doesn't make sense in a main menu for a game.
That suggestion doesn't sound well-thought out. I agree, the tab system is not the prettiest. It works, but it is not pretty. But I don't see why Client and Singleplayer should be merged. I think multi- and singleplayer have to stay CLEARLY seperate.
Move the option to play creative to a per world setting instead. Most players will play a world either creative or not, and not constantly switch between them. Setting this per world with maybe a "cheat" option of some sorts ingame would be better. Also, just assume "enable damage" on if "creative mode" is disabled. Nobody wants creative with damage anyway.
No, you are wrong. I frequently switch modes for fun and testing. Creative Mode is a major clusterfuck and needs a redesign anyway. Another player suggested to repleace Creative Mode by a per-player setting which is can be changed in the game at any time. IMO this would be MUCH better, as having a global setting for this is very inflexible.
Add a button to the "texturepacks" menu instead of having a seperate tab. Although this is not as important, it just makes more sense to have it under settings in my opinion. Opinions may differ however.
I am undecided about this. I think both solutions are equally valid.
The ingame "escape-button" UI is ugly, and too technical
I fully agree. Most or even all of this debug stuff can be removed without fears. The pause menu is VERY VERY old, dating back from 0.3, where Minetest was still called “Minetest-c55”. And the default controls listing is not needed anymore since the ACTUAL controls can simply be changed (and thus viewed) in-game.
And for those who think those infos are important I think those infos can be just moved into the main menu somewhere.
See also:
https://github.com/minetest/minetest/issues/3845Remove the "Exit to OS" option, and only keep "Exit to menu".
No. I want this button. Also, Minetest starts VERY quickly, so there is no big harm when you accidentally click it.
Lastly, add a window to change graphics from in-game. Having to quit back to the main menu is annoying, especially when you're playing on a server. The same goes for texturepacks.
I don't think it is important but it will be a massive amount of work to implement, I fear. I don't think it will worth the effort. I rarely change texture packs and even less frequently change graphics settings. Graphics settings are settings you have to get right once, then you probably don't want to touch them again.
Minetest is a game engine, not a testbed for 1000s of graphical options. There are other tools for this.
The base game "Minetest game" is too... plain
Yes. Minetest Game sucks still too much to be the #1 showcase game of Minetest. That's no surprise when you consider the leading 0 in the version number. :P Minetest Game is not even in beta stage.
The biggest problem is different: That the core devs do not have a real plan or goal. They just randomly add stuff they like for some reason, but there is no bigger picture. At least this is my impression; correct me if I am wrong. On the plus side, I have to say that it has been improved quite notably in the past releases. But it is way too simple to be of long-term fun. Especially in singleplayer. You basically HAVE TO install mods to get a decent gameplay.
Or you just make your life easier and install a real subgame. XD
I also think the idea that it is just meant as a “base for modding” is bad. Basically this is just an excuse for why Minetest Game is so incomplete. Frankly, this is asking the player to do the job of the game designer. :D
But isn't the point of a subgame to provide a complete experience to the player?
Don't get me wrong: I am not totally against the “base for modding” approach. It would be OK as a side or community project posted on the forums. But as the official subgame? For showcasing Minetest?? Meh.
I think it would be best if we, as a community, just give up on Minetest Game as a “lost cause” and try it with a more promising subgame.
Maybe Minetest should even abandon the idea of a “default” subgame altogether. So that Minetest Game is no more “special” than any other subgame. Maybe we should all just get down from our high horses in trying to make Minetest Game THE subgame.
The problem is not even Minetest Game, but the fact that there are no subgames at all which I would consider to be great. Some subgames already nicely stand out, but most of them are not very different from Minetest Game. Personally, I am getting bored by the 100s of Minetest Game forks. And even if not a direct fork, most subgames have VERY similar gameplay mechanisms.
Where is the innovation? I am convinced Minetest can already be used to create something great, even if the engine is not perfect yet.
The subgames which have great ideas and are more complex in gameplay tend also to have lots of bugs. Sadly, there are only few people who spend enough time with Minetest to create something great (and this includes: without bugs). Many people here have big dreams, but few are willing to actually do something about it. :-( And yes, this includes me. I have also many subgame ideas.
The "screwdriver" item seems too modern.
I don't think Minetest Game is supposed to be in a medieval or any particular setting. Also, it is quite useful, I see no point in removing it just for taste reasons. Also, AFAIK it is impossible to rotate a block around its axis by placement only. The screwdriver makes this possible.
Jumping movement feels... jerky. Falling down seems to slow, which straight up feels weird. And if you're standing against a block, why can you not make a full jump to get on a block higher? Right now the jump is cut-off and you're placed on the next block. This again, feels weird. The bobbing is good though.
Not sure about this, but it might be an engine issue. I don't really know how movement and jumping works internally.
Lastly, the name should probably be renamed. "Minetest game" doesn't say much to a non-technical user, why not make it "Default" instead?
LOL. “Default” is even lamer than “Minetest Game”. Who wants to call a game “Default”? Think about it: “Hey dude, have you played Default recently? It's great!”. Note how silly this sounds. On the plus side, this game name is very unique because nobody dares to take it. :D
The current name was the result of a quick poll, and oh well, “Minetest Game” won. :-/ Previously, it didn't even have a proper name. Just “minetest_game” (kinda unofficial) or even just “Minetest” (main menu title). It was VERY VERY hard to make the developers just change the name, and this was very much pushed by me. But at least it is now clearly distinct from the engine. So why I would like to see a different name, I doubt the developers have the nerves to start the process all over again.
I am pretty sure most of these suggestions have zero chance. Especially mobs (sadly).
Also, your suggestions are not uncontroversial.
Minetest Game devs are very, very conservative. I think the biggest reason for this is because so many mods depend on Minetest Game and it is used on many servers. Even small changes have chances for much breakage.
Also, the devs are very careful when adding anything “fancy”. They seem to be perfectionist. If a mod is not 100% perfect and approved by The Higher Council of Minetest Affairs, stamped 3 times and quadruple-checked by the secretary, it has no chance. ;-)
I think mobs are especially unlikely because I think the devs first want to add some sort of mobs support into Minetest itself. Also, I fear that a Minetest Game mob API will doom all other mob APIs into irrelevance which might further harm innovation in the community, so I would not personally like Minetest Game mobs as well.
Why do you have to grant yourself rights in a singleplayer world?
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Because privileges like fly in singleplayer are like cheating. And cheating should be off by default. Non-cheating mode should be the default, while “cheating mode” (=having privs) requires effort.
I mean, it would be terrible if fly mode were on by default in games like Extreme Surival. It instantly destroys the entire point of the game.
What needs improvement is maybe a better user interface to the priv system in general. But on the other hand,
everything in Minetest needs a better interface. XD