You can sign up to get a daily email of our articles, see the Mailing List page.
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

The latest release of Minetest with version 5.9.0 is out now, bringing new features and work towards using SDL2 for this free and open source voxel game engine.

Main highlights of this release includes:

  • Rendering performance improvements (paradust7, sfan5 & x2048).
  • Added godrays shader (x2048).
  • New multithreaded Lua mapgen API to improve performance of custom mapgens. (sfan5).
  • Android: Punch with short tap (grorp).
  • Work in the background on switching to SDL2 for windowing and input (but not enabled in this release).

While the SDL2 switch is not yet finished, it's going to be a real nice change for Minetest and all the games using it. Since this will give better support for windowing and input. So you'll get proper touch-screen, gamepads and much more like easy full-screen switching too.


Pictured - Minetest 5.9.0 with VoxeLibre (formerly MineClone2)

See more on the Minetest website.

Have you been playing with Minetest? What's your favourite game on it? There's some really interesting content you can add into it that you can view right in your web browser.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
18 Likes
About the author -
author picture
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.
See more from me
8 comments

BrassGear Aug 12
Beauty from simplicity.

But also danger. I am just about ready to lose another week to Minecraft/Minetest.
bisbyx Aug 12
I generally don't play vanilla minecraft. but I play a lot of big modpacks. It's funny how the modpacks often don't actually use anything from base minecraft, minetest would probably make it easier for a lot of the mods to work better. Combine that with microsoft slowly but surely killing the java (read: the only really moddable) version, and it feels like Minetest is the natural place that modded minecraft development should go. It almost certainly won't somehow. But if I could play AllTheMods 10 in minetest I absolutely would never look back.
Pengling Aug 12
View PC info
  • Supporter
QuoteHave you been playing with Minetest? What's your favourite game on it?
A simple-but-fun little game-jam maze-chase title called Jail Escape - it's surprisingly addictive!
Klaas Aug 12
Quoting: Penglingmaze
No…
Pengling Aug 12
View PC info
  • Supporter
Quoting: Klaas
Quoting: Penglingmaze
No…
I don't really know how else to describe it! It does fulfill the traditional requirements to qualify for the maze-chase genre (i.e., your Heiankyo Alien, Pac-Man, and Bomberman types of games) - the environment is a procedurally-generated maze, the enemies are more powerful than the player, and you can find items that grant you a temporary advantage.

Anyway, it's good - give it a try if you're so inclined.


Last edited by Pengling on 12 August 2024 at 6:32 pm UTC
Klaas Aug 12
Quoting: PenglingI don't really know how else to describe it!
That's not what I meant. It was an expression of shock of recommending a maze game. No one expects that.
I'm quite fond of Klots.
Pengling Aug 12
View PC info
  • Supporter
Quoting: KlaasThat's not what I meant. It was an expression of shock of recommending a maze game. No one expects that.
Oh! Hahaha! That's the norm with me, honestly - I'm old I'm a fan of the maze-chase genre, so I'm always happy to find modern takes on it.


Last edited by Pengling on 12 August 2024 at 7:27 pm UTC
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
Login / Register


Or login with...
Sign in with Steam Sign in with Google
Social logins require cookies to stay logged in.