Introduction
Minetest 5.8.0 has been released with improved onboarding, a new Settings GUI, improved Android controls, and a lot more.
You can download Minetest from our website. Also, check out the full changelog.
Table of Contents
- Minetest no longer ships with a default game
- New Settings GUI
- Improved Android controls
- Rewritten sound support
- …and more
- Conclusion
Minetest no longer ships with a default game
Minetest is not a game - it’s a game creation platform that allows you to make your own blocky gaming experiences. Developers can make and share games. Players can find and play games using the Minetest client.
For a long time, Minetest shipped with a default game called Minetest Game. This game was intentionally left bare to encourage players to mod the game and try out other games for Minetest. However, this led to new users thinking that Minetest Game was all Minetest had to offer.
From 5.8.0, users will instead be directed to choose a game when first starting Minetest. Minetest Game will still be available to download, but the user will see other games as well. This gives greater visibility to the wide range Minetest has to offer.
Note: you can still play multiplayer without installing any games.
We’ll be improving the new user experience in the future, based on feedback.
New Settings GUI
Minetest 5.8.0 comes with a new settings menu, designed to make it easier for new users to find and change settings.
We’re going to be giving the entire main menu a makeover in a future release.
Improved Android controls
You can now place nodes using a single tap on Android. This makes building much easier.
The Android joystick used to emulate key presses but is now read directly. This will make movement more responsive to user input, allowing the player to move in any direction and at varying speeds.
Rewritten sound support
Minetest’s sound code has been completely rewritten. This improves performance, fixes bugs, and unlocks new capabilities.
Sounds are now lazy-loaded - this reduces memory usage and load times by only loading long sounds when needed.
Game developers and modders have more options on how to play sound, including changing the start time and offsets.
…and more
The anti-aliasing code has been improved and modernised. There’s now the option to choose between two new algorithms - FXAA and SSAA. FXAA is faster but is less accurate. SSAA is very accurate but consumes more resources.
As always, this release comes with new scripting features for game developers and modders. For example, developers can now change the texture of an item stack completely dynamically. This unlocks a lot of possibilities.
Conclusion
Those are just the highlights. Take a look at the changelog for a full list of changes.
We’ve already started working on 5.9.0. There’s a ContentDB dialog (“browse online content”) redesign in progress, and work continues on switching to SDL for improved input and gamepad support. Make sure to follow the Minetest blog to keep up-to-date with engine development and community news.
Thanks to our post contributors this month: rollerozxa. Cover image by Wuzzy.