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Minetest 5.4.0 to make downloading mods and games a lot easier

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Minetest is the free and open source voxel game engine, inspired originally by Minecraft it's gradually becoming bigger and better with lots of available games for it. A new release is on the horizon with Minetest 5.4.0 now having a first Release Candidate, a time where they need as many people as possibly to test it out and ensure it all works properly.

Back when Minetest 5.0 released in 2019, they added an in-game UI to download mods and games. It worked and they improved it a bit each release but a pain point was the dependency system. One mod needed another, needing another and so on. Finding them all was a hassle but perhaps not anymore. The 5.4 release has a whole new UI flow for downloading games and mods, along with dependency resolution, an update all ability, and download queues.

Simple and effective, it works!

It really does make it a huge amount easier, and quicker too. Enabling you to get your Minetest experience exactly how you want it. Want to cram every possible mod you can into the base Minetest game? Go for it. Want to try out a whole conversion game? There's that too.

This might actually get me to play more Minetest!

Some more of what's new includes:

  • Improve input binding, allow mouse bindings
  • Semi-transparent background for nametags
  • Mapgen Flat: Add caverns, disabled by default
  • ContentDB: Add overwrite dialog when content is already installed
  • Lots of modding enhancements
  • Security fixes

See more on the Minetest website. You can find the Minetest 5.4.0 RC1 announcement here.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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7 comments

RickAndTired Feb 1, 2021
MineClone 2 is the single all in one mod pack that has everything I need, but this is really great for trying more
Nezchan Feb 1, 2021
I really do need to play around with Minetest again. There's a lot of potential that I never really explored, although I have had some fun builds.
dziadulewicz Feb 2, 2021
Long live MineTest. In the case of Minecraft; Microshaft is always hovering in the background.
kneekoo Feb 2, 2021
Indeed, MineClone 2 is doing great these days. For someone wanting a Minecraft-like experience that's a pretty decent start. The game still needs plenty of features and refinements to match expectations by comparing it with Minecraft, but you can still to *a lot* with it. And the best thing is that it's progressing fast now, thanks to some fresh blood in the development team. We'll soon get villages and other stuff.
Seegras Feb 2, 2021
What I really would want is the possibility to exchange data with minecraft. It won't perhaps be possible with whole worlds, but mabye in the form of schematics, so I could load specific builds at least.
Dunc Feb 2, 2021
Quoting: kneekooThe game still needs plenty of features and refinements to match expectations by comparing it with Minecraft,
I may have said this before, but there's more content in Mineclone2 now than there was in Minecraft when I first started playing it. So, yeah, it's not comparable to current Minecraft, but it's not a bad game by any means. Definitely closer to the “real” experience than any other voxel game I've played.

Quoting: SeegrasWhat I really would want is the possibility to exchange data with minecraft. It won't perhaps be possible with whole worlds, but mabye in the form of schematics, so I could load specific builds at least.
It is possible, but not simple. I can't even remember how I did it. I definitely recall sending an email to a Minecraft-obsessed friend with some pictures of “his server” and the subject line “This is not Minecraft”.


Last edited by Dunc on 2 February 2021 at 11:50 am UTC
Nanobang Feb 2, 2021
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I first looked at Minetest ages ago, looked at the many mods, their myriad dependencies and I slowly, carefully backed away. Back then, I was still new to Linux. Anything that couldn't be installed by simply ticking a box in Synaptic promised far more risk than reward, like playing croquet in a minefield.

To me, what the Minetest crew have accomplished here goes beyond just making Minetest more accessible to more people, they've made Linux more accessible to more people too. Every project that becomes more user friendly like this opens Linux up to a wider audience.


Last edited by Nanobang on 2 February 2021 at 4:08 pm UTC
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