The next big update for Minecraft is in development and will feature Parrots

Sad to say that I no longer want to invest time into Minecraft simply because it is now at risk of spontaneously ending support for Linux. I don't think it is a matter of if, but a matter of when. Minetest is my go-to these days.

Quoting: AnxiousInfusionSad to say that I no longer want to invest time into Minecraft simply because it is now at risk of spontaneously ending support for Linux. I don't think it is a matter of if, but a matter of when. Minetest is my go-to these days.

Speaking of Minetest, is it usable as a full game, including the survival aspect of it? I've seen projects like Voxelands or Minefix that try to achieve this, so I was under the impression that is was not (plus, last time I played it, there wasn't much to do).

There is so many Minecraft open source clones, it's a bit sad that no one reached feature parity; It feels like dispersing the efforts. Oh well, it's the same as Linux distribution. And, Open Source Will Prevail let's not forget it's cancer! (Quoting some Ballmer guy). Given enough time, these projects will likely grow a distinct personality. And they are probably around to stay.

Quoting: M@yeulCSpeaking of Minetest, is it usable as a full game, including the survival aspect of it? I've seen projects like Voxelands or Minefix that try to achieve this, so I was under the impression that is was not (plus, last time I played it, there wasn't much to do).

Base minetest (without the mods) is a fairly quiet place without much life. However, mods are trivially easy to add and there are many extremely good ones, including modpacks that provide a quick starter on adding to the base build.

I have both minetest and minecraft servers running at home, and my children (7 and 9 years old) still play on both servers. Generally I'd say that the animation and polish in minecraft is better, but the ease of modding and variety available in minetest provides a highly interesting world.

Quoting: AskQuestionsLater

Quoting: M@yeulCSpeaking of Minetest, is it usable as a full game, including the survival aspect of it? I've seen projects like Voxelands or Minefix that try to achieve this, so I was under the impression that is was not (plus, last time I played it, there wasn't much to do).

Base minetest (without the mods) is a fairly quiet place without much life. However, mods are trivially easy to add and there are many extremely good ones, including modpacks that provide a quick starter on adding to the base build.

I have both minetest and minecraft servers running at home, and my children (7 and 9 years old) still play on both servers. Generally I'd say that the animation and polish in minecraft is better, but the ease of modding and variety available in minetest provides a highly interesting world.

I had not realized the scripts download was already automated. I played a bit online this time, and this is exactly what I was looking for.

Yes, it could use a bit of polish, I might try to contribute, one day :)

Quoting: Guest

Quoting: AnxiousInfusionI don't think it is a matter of if, but a matter of when.

I don't think Microsoft are stupid enough to endanger their second biggest IP any time soon.

Depends how many Linux users they have.
If people keep playing on Winblows and Android , they endanger nothing. (pricks)

Quoting: razing32If people keep playing on Winblows and Android , they endanger nothing. (pricks)

I don't know... to peel Minecraft away from Linux would require that they kill the Java dependency. A way to do that would be to rewrite the code in some other language that doesn't support our OS (such as C#). The only problem with this is they'd be setting the community on fire when they did so. All the mods and various bolt-on enhancements would just stop working, and that would essentially kill the game that they paid Notch so much money for. I believe that community is what keeps Minecraft relevant. That community following, or rather the lack of it, is also why other clones of it aren't as successful.

Of course, this isn't all sunshine and roses. Minecraft will go away one day. I don't know when, but I do believe I know how. Eventually the ROI on maintaining the game will dwindle to the point that it is no longer reasonable or profitable to maintain it. Interest will wane, and new subscribers won't be able to keep the game afloat financially. On that day, whoever owns the Minecraft IP will either try to sell it off or just pull the plug. Long live Minecraft.

TL;DR - I don't think they're crazy enough to mess with Minecraft in a way that hurts Linux users because it would hurt everyone else too. At least not while the IP is still so lucrative.

Quoting: Larian

Quoting: razing32If people keep playing on Winblows and Android , they endanger nothing. (pricks)

I don't know... to peel Minecraft away from Linux would require that they kill the Java dependency. A way to do that would be to rewrite the code in some other language that doesn't support our OS (such as C#). The only problem with this is they'd be setting the community on fire when they did so. All the mods and various bolt-on enhancements would just stop working, and that would essentially kill the game that they paid Notch so much money for. I believe that community is what keeps Minecraft relevant. That community following, or rather the lack of it, is also why other clones of it aren't as successful.

Of course, this isn't all sunshine and roses. Minecraft will go away one day. I don't know when, but I do believe I know how. Eventually the ROI on maintaining the game will dwindle to the point that it is no longer reasonable or profitable to maintain it. Interest will wane, and new subscribers won't be able to keep the game afloat financially. On that day, whoever owns the Minecraft IP will either try to sell it off or just pull the plug. Long live Minecraft.

TL;DR - I don't think they're crazy enough to mess with Minecraft in a way that hurts Linux users because it would hurt everyone else too. At least not while the IP is still so lucrative.

That was a well thought out response. Guess my point was rushed so allow me to try and rectify a bit.
I feel that Microsoft with their store and their nature is leaning more towards monopoly.
I'm not sure what the demographics look like , but I have a feeling a lot of the people playing would just go with it , especially kids.
Your argument for the mods is indeed interesting as I have not properly considered them and that anything that makes the game unplayable on Linux and breaks Java also breaks all the mods the community loves, so it could be the saving grace that keeps MS from pulling the plug on it remaining multi platform.
I have no doubt it would go away , but if people can still buy it and host private servers/add mods , it has a lot of lifespan even if official support wanes. And there are many games that get community patches and love and this one would definitely be a strong candidate.

Quoting: HoriGuys, stop the conspiracy theories. Minecraft for Linux isn't going anywhere.

No conspiracy theory as I despise those.
Just some healthy cynicism when it comes to MS and everything they touch.

Quoting: Larianto peel Minecraft away from Linux would require that they kill the Java dependency. A way to do that would be to rewrite the code in some other language that doesn't support our OS (such as C#).

The .NET Framework does support Linux, officially. To peel it away from Linux, they'd have to kill the OpenGL dependency and use DirectX instead. I don't think it's worth the hassle for them, though. They "heart" Linux now, after all.

I'm Minetest all the way! It runs better on weaker hardware and won't go anywhere regardless of what Microsoft wants to do. I would like to see more united efforts to create mods to introduce features that have become standard in Minecraft, though.