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Scripting API now in public beta

minecraft.net

41–50 of 102 posts

Re: Scripting API now in public beta

#41
post #39
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel the same way. I am so excited about this. I hope it is not too late though. Seems as though a lot of the popular around Minecraft has faded a bit.

I was surprised to learn that it's actually the opposite: Minecraft recently reached a new peak with over 90 million active players. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-10-02-minecraft-...

Wow! Good to know. Thanks for sharing this!

Re: Scripting API now in public beta

#42
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Name one domain that can't be enhanced by knowing how to code.

I have nothing against knowing how to code, but no 10 year old needs to be doing that, just going to make them even more used to a sedentary lifestyle and away from (real) social interaction.

Agreed. Let's also shut down all the sedentary encouraging education that happens at 10. Math. Literacy. Science. Gym all the way!

Re: Scripting API now in public beta

#43
post #31
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s kind of like saying, “Teaching them to write just makes them the scribes and court officials of tomorrow,” or, “Teaching them to add and subtract makes them the bookkeepers and tax collectors of tomorrow.”

My issue is not with the act of programming, just as I don't have an issue with the act of writing something on a paper. The issue is that the parents are doing this in order to set the kids up to a career in programming, which IMO is going to be the blue collar work of their future. There is no glory in being a code monkey 10 years from now... just a decently paid blue collar worker making someone else rich. Teach t…

Different parents may have different reasons. I'm gonna be one soon, I will encourage my kid to learn how to code, and here's why:

- I want them to be confident in interacting with technology. To understand that none of this is magic, and that it can be bent to one's will given enough (usually not much) knowledge.

- I want them to learn that they can, and should, automate their tasks on the fly - whatever those tasks are. I want them to know it doesn't require (though can involve) buying ready-made single-purpose solutions, but a little bit of thinking and (sometimes) skills. This conceptual block is what I see in most of non-computer people around me.

- I want them to acquire the ultimate tool in learning and communication: trying to make a machine to do something. There's no better way to realize what you don't know than trying to model it as a computer program.[0][1]

I don't necessarily want them to be a programmer in the future[2]. I want them to find their own career, but I also want them to go through life confident in their ability to truly understand whatever they're curious about, and to shape the increasingly digital world around them.

--

[0] - I used to use this approach as a teenager to verify my understanding of physics. The act of trying to write a simulation quickly revealed which parts of the topic I only thought I knew.

[1] - Incidentally, that's the primary source of frustration in job - a lot (often most) of time is spent debugging and fixing lack of understanding of stakeholders. Most people aren't aware how imprecise (and in a way, wishful) their thinking is.

[2] - Honestly, I doubt that in 20 years, this will be a well-paid job, due to sheer scale of mass-manufacturing of "programmers" that universities are now engaged in. I expect the supply to exceed demand in 5-10 years.

Re: Scripting API now in public beta

#44
post #31
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s kind of like saying, “Teaching them to write just makes them the scribes and court officials of tomorrow,” or, “Teaching them to add and subtract makes them the bookkeepers and tax collectors of tomorrow.”

My issue is not with the act of programming, just as I don't have an issue with the act of writing something on a paper. The issue is that the parents are doing this in order to set the kids up to a career in programming, which IMO is going to be the blue collar work of their future. There is no glory in being a code monkey 10 years from now... just a decently paid blue collar worker making someone else rich. Teach t…

[deleted]

Re: Scripting API now in public beta

#45
post #31
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s kind of like saying, “Teaching them to write just makes them the scribes and court officials of tomorrow,” or, “Teaching them to add and subtract makes them the bookkeepers and tax collectors of tomorrow.”

My issue is not with the act of programming, just as I don't have an issue with the act of writing something on a paper. The issue is that the parents are doing this in order to set the kids up to a career in programming, which IMO is going to be the blue collar work of their future. There is no glory in being a code monkey 10 years from now... just a decently paid blue collar worker making someone else rich. Teach t…

Looking down on being a "decently paid blue collar worker" is not something anyone decent is going to want to teach their kids.

Re: Scripting API now in public beta

#47
post #15

Does anyone know of a good guide to the Minecraft versions? My daughter wants to get mods and maybe venture into scripting, but it seems confusing as to what each version is capable of. We have it on Xbox and android but it seems none of this works on those. It seemd java edition is best; except this has now been replaced by win10 edition, but that does not support most mods or so it seems. It's quite confusing so if…

The Java edition is the only one that supports mods. Development is parallel between it and the bedrock edition. The windows 10, android, iOS, Xbox one, PS4 and switch versions all use the bedrock edition. I would recommend starting with a premade mod pack and a YouTube series that's currently using it. Direwolf20 authors his own packs and creates videos using those packs. The twitch client allows you to install vari…

A hearty second on Twitch. It’s very easy to go down the rabbit hole in getting a mod working on your kid’s computer (what 3rd party API are they using, what version, what mods do they build on, what version of Minecraft does it work with, etc.).

Re: Scripting API now in public beta

#48
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Way back there used to be Metamod (which IIRC circumvented some limitation of the Half-Life engine regarding how it loaded DLLs into the game), and then AMX Mod layered on top of that, which was later replaced by AMX Mod X. This in turn used a little programming language called "Pawn". You could then write mods in Pawn, compile that to bytecode and dynamically load it into the game server. Later there was Sourcepawn.…

I remember SourcePawn! It was a bit too hardcore for me at the time. If I remember correctly it used a thing called 'sigscanning'[1] to find the address of private functions. I think it would have a list of patterns and then scan the binary w/ pattern matching to find the address. Hacky as hell but you could do some neat stuff with it like respawning players and adjusting all kinds of 'untouchable' attributes. 1. htt…

sigscans are how nearly all third-party modding APIs work. It's a lot better to hardcode what behavior you're trying to find than hardcoring binary offsets, and then having to update them manually once the program updates.

Re: Scripting API now in public beta

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> should put a fresh breath of life into Minecraft for sure If you mean "new options from a different group", then yes. If you mean "Minecraft has gotten stale and this will pep it up", then no. Minecraft has a very health and active modding community that has really been exploring new directions lately, and the non-modded Minecraft has been continuing to push new options and directions for some time. > Is this Micro…

Java has a massive inertia advantage in modding, which is pretty important in my opinion because modders are the largest playerbase that will stick with your game for a very, very long time. Additionally, modders have been known to stick to old versions of minecraft for a long time, so new features/tooling likely won't sway them. I expect the java edition to remain the most popular version for a very long time.

That whole system is really a mess, and I speak from experience as a modder. All the changes between MC releases makes updating an enormous pain in the butt, so there's still mods stuck at version 1.6.4 and every version in between.

I think most modders would be ecstatic at some kind of official mod support, assuming it offers at least what forge does already.

Re: Scripting API now in public beta

#50
post #17

This kind of thing changes lives. I used to play a lot of counter strike source. One day I found a server mod called EventScripts, and suddenly I could make all kinds of crazy game modes on Python. I found I picked up this programming thing pretty naturally, and without that mod I doubt I would have even dabbled. The feedback loop is phenomenal and is something you simply do not get with other forms of learning. I re…

This will show my (lack of age). I organically taught myself digital logic as Minecraft slowly added redstone and its features. When it came time to pick a major computer engineering was an obvious choice and I never looked back! Minecraft will always have a special place in my heart for this reason.
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