Minecraft Forums

I've been trying to learn how to mod on and off for most of the last year, and I tend to find that while there's a lot of tutorials out there, I'm having trouble working out how to do things on my own without just copy/pasting what I'm seeing in the tutorials. I'm not learning how to mod - and this really bothers me, as the project I want to start on is absolutely massive.

With that in mind, my questions are these:

- Does anyone know of a comprehensive tutorial set (or ebook) I can look at to get a better grasp on what I'm doing? I'm not a natural when it comes to coding, so I need something that is, basically, going to treat me like an idiot when it comes to picking everything up.

- Once you know what you're doing, is it worth creating an engine for your mod? I may have the definition wrong, but I basically mean an interface that simplifies the process of creating models, blocks and basic scripts to minimise the amount of work you need to do when creating new content. If so, how would one go about doing so?

- Lastly: As I mentioned, I've been doing this on and off, and I haven't really done anything in the last few months - not since the new launcher came out. Did the new launcher change anything when it comes to making mods? If so, where can I find a comprehensive article/video covering what's changed?

Any and all help would be appreciated. Also, if anyone happens to know how to fix the texture map resizing bug in Techne and cares to share the solution, I will probably cry with joy.

I generally find writing my ideas out helps me to develop different parts of my mod ideas as well, so I understand exactly where you're coming from ;P

You've got some good ideas, and one of them is something I plan to do as well - the extra slots for dual wielding, though my idea incorporates two-handed weapons as well. Basically, when a tool or weapon is equipped to your toolbar, it adds a slot that appears above the slot the item is equipped in while the item is selected. That slot, depending on what tool or weapon it is, will either be occupied by a shadowed version of the item's texture, or empty. If the slot is empty, it is a one-handed weapon that may have a shield or other offhand tool/weapon equipped, which can then be used by right-clicking - basically, it behaves a bit like dual wielding in the Halo games, in that you sacrifice the function of that click while an offhand item is equipped for increased efficiency or ability.

As for magic - there was a weapons mod a while back (discontinued, I think) that actually had a button shortcut that allowed the player to switch between their standard toolbar and one specifically set up for weapon use. You could do the same if you can work out how to code it for your magic - you switch toolbars when you want to use magic, and just select the spell you want to use. If you want to be really clever, you could code it so that what you have selected in that toolbar shows up in the standard toolbar. You could add an extra slot on the end of the existing one for the 0 button, which cannot be occupied by items or the like.

Well, it depends on the complexity of the mod. I've come up with three very big mod ideas since I stared playing Minecraft, two of which I've posted here on the forums in the hope a mod maker might take them up and do something amazing with them. Each got a bit of attention over time, but each modder who attempted to make them gave up because of how big the project was. If your mod is relatively simple, it might be worth letting someone else do it, simply because it's a fair bit of effort to learn to code effectively enough to make a mod if you're not planning on making something fantastic. On the other hand, since, like me, you seem to be something of a perfectionist, coding is definitely a useful skill to learn, as you can make money off it in other areas. And you get the satisfaction of being able to fine-tune everything to exactly what you want it to be.

Also - a good coding tutorial maker will explain everything he's doing as he goes. If you're coding as you're watching the videos, you can add notes to your classes to explain what the different commands do, and if you feel you might not be taking everything in, you can take breaks between tutorials to test yourself by making new classes from scratch. You obviously won't succeed at that straight off the bat, but it helps immensely in ensuring that you'll remember what you've learned if you're putting it into practice rather than just listening to the tutor and copying code. And it helps you to weed out the sources of the more common bugs and errors that pop up in the process of coding, which aren't covered in the tutorials for the most part because the tutors know what they're doing

Quote from beingben

If I were to code a mod, that would make two mods work together.

Would, or Could I just import both of the pre-existing class files with a import code and then code the "bridge" mod to pull items or blocks from the imported mod class files?


(Example)

Create a new item with two different mods.

Pull item mineral from Mod (A) and Armour with Mod [B] ;
So im creating a new said armour between the two mods that uses their prexisting code?

I don't think you'd need a seperate mod to make that happen - you could possibly import the properties of the class you want to craft from into the armour class. Don't quote me though. I may very well have no idea what I'm talking about... if you try it though, let me know how it goes

Edit: I realise that's not completely conveying what I'm trying to say. You can add the class for your new armour to one of your existing mods, unless you're trying to use materials from mods you don't own. Not sure what the rules are on that.

I'm pretty new to modding, so it's not very likely I know the answer to your problem. However, I did get a similar error while doing basic java tutorials - the class wouldn't register a certain method because it was inside another method. Make sure you haven't accidentally dropped/written the code related to that block inside a set of brackets where it doesn't belong - eclipse doesn't seem to like it.

If you have the same sorts of issues I did with reading the lessons on that page (hard to concentrate on reading educational stuff on a computer screen, at least for me), try searching 'java tutorials' on YouTube. I'm following a tutorial set at the moment which pretty much shows you what to do from the ground up. It's not all relevant to Minecraft (as far as I know), but it can't hurt to have a working knowledge of java commands, whether you'll use all of them or not.

Hmm, not sure then. I do know it's possible, but I'm still learning myself.

Dot, fair enough. That being said, I've yet to find a tutorial where someone actually explains the code as they're writing it - his have been the only ones I progress through without either getting lost or winding up with unresolvable errors in code identical to what's in the tutorial. Could you direct me to a more in-depth tutorial set, if you know of one?

He probably got sidetracked lol. It happens

Question directed to the mod maker, but open to the community in general: These tutorials (and some others I've watched) include premade textures or, alternately, guides to setting up a program to allow the watcher to create their own. This is good in that it provides a starting point, but for those like me who eventually want to advance to the point of making mods with items with unique sprite properties and NPCs with unique forms and animations, there doesn't seem to be a lot of information as to where to look if you're interested in learning. Is it possible that you could create a tutorial or two somewhere down the track that includes a basic guide for the creation of each of these? If not, do you know of someone that's released such a tutorial/tutorial set already?

I think I know your problem, I was having similar issue when I started out and could find nothing on the net indicating why until I started hunting down tutorial videos on the forums here. I've been following this guy (http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/1552222-152-151-147-132-creating-mods-modloaderforge-scmowns-src-video/). His Forge tutorials are still in the birthing stages, but if you're having the issue I had, the first video in either the Modloader or Forge section should solve it.

^ What he said. I'm reasonably sure Forge universal has Modloader or something that serves the same function built into it now, so you're probably going to have an easier time of things using that instead.

I'm just thankful that so much of what's been floating around in the community for the better half of forever is finally being implemented.

Go home Sonic, you're drunk.

Previously posted an error report, but the error was more to do with it being around 4 in the morning when I'm watching the tutorial than any kind of problem.

SO! Instead I'd like to give my thanks to the modder for a very helpful set of tutorials

Every time one of you calls gold 'butter' or 'budder', a 12 year old girl is exposed to Twilight.

Quote from vader1612

I guess your right. 1.6 snapshots have only being showing us useless additions. It starts to feel as Mojang is just trying to add as many additions as possible?

However, can you imagine yourself being the Mojang guy? Programming all the mobs? Fixing all the bugs?

They ARE human after all!

Personally I don't feel the additions we're seeing are useless - some of these things have been floating around as suggestions for a very long time. It's nice to see them finally making their way into the game, that Mojang is starting to open up to the idea of expanding the game's content beyond the original framework. I haven't seen a single thing I dislike since Bukkit started working with them.

Quote from Jesse13k

They added sounds for horses and villagers, but what about the squids?

Well, to be fair... squids don't make a great deal of noise in real life either, dude :{

Quote from kakeli

If they made a brand new biome and then added the red dragon, it would be a thousand times better. I doubt that will happen though, and unless it is the Aether, I don't really want a new biome.

Volcano? ;P