MC Modding Beginner Here ^.^

[BinoAl]

Couldn't sleep at all last night, so pulled an all nighter playing with mcp. I've done a bit of visual basic, but oop in general is really new to me. I toyed around with it a bit, made coal ore drop diamonds, made reeds grow to 25 meters high (but couldnt for the life of me figure out how to make them grow quicker) and even made crafting a log into planks give me 64 wood ^.^ Any ideas of what I can try? I hate following tutorials, I like figuring things out on my own. I'm not good enough to make a whole new block, but what I've done so far is nothing more than replacing words and numbers, and won't get me anywhere.

[PrivateAlpha]

Well basics first:
*own block type
*new type of ore
*New tools
*New fuel type
*basic overlay things: Like the time(Ingame time or real) ingame weather etc

Also are you modding with Forge api? if not, shame on you! :P

[Urian]

Try switching textures between blocks? I've never tried to make any modifications to the code myself and I only know html and some VB so you probably know more about it already than I do :)

[JWA]

Well I don't know the first thing about whats possible with it, but can you make one thing behave like another? For instance make lava flow like water, obsidian fall like sand, or some other such mischief?

[BinoAl]

Well I don't know the first thing about whats possible with it, but can you make one thing behave like another? For instance make lava flow like water, obsidian fall like sand, or some other such mischief?

Thats generally what ive been working toward. My biggest issue is i cant WRITE the actual code, but i catch on really quick modifying more and more of it, until i basically am just writing the code. Thats how i learned the admittedly small amount of vb i know :D

[Haidaes]

Maybe make your own block and try to affect the placing of it (eg. making one side always face you when placed). You could at first mess around with the north/south/east/west placing (like the forge block) then expand on it by upwards/downwards (pistons). Then maybe play around with the properties and later the properties of each of the 6 sides? From there on you should be able to do most of the interesting stuff. I guess the interaction by rightclicking on it and custom GUIs would come in handy as well.

[darahalian]

One of the best ways to learn is by example. There are lots of good examples in the code to let you get an idea of how things work. The only thing you can't find as an example in the code is how to use Modloader to add things like blocks and recipes without having to modify the base classes with those lists. If you don't mind looking at a quick tutorial, I found this thread on MCF to be quite useful in learning the basics of how to use Modloader for your mod, which is important to know if you want to be compatible with other mods.

A good example of directional placement code that I found is BlockPumpkin, since there isn't a whole lot of other stuff in that file to be confusing. Now that Forge is out, before you try getting into more advanced stuff, I would suggest looking at the forge code to see if it can handle some the harder stuff for you. I haven't done anything more complicated than modifying an existing block or creating a new one, though, so I don't have experience in any of the more advanced stuff or what Forge might be capable of. And I haven't done any modding recently, either, so I haven't looked at the Forge code myself yet.

But yeah, my advice would be to get familiar with Modloader, and probably Forge now as well if you want to do any serious modding. Look at existing code, even from other mods, as these examples are often the best way to learn about how things work.

[HavokSCOUT]

Speaking of Modloader and the Forge, would you add those to the Jar before you deobfuscate it, or is there a special process to undertake?

[sargunv]

Speaking of Modloader and the Forge, would you add those to the Jar before you deobfuscate it, or is there a special process to undertake?

Add modloader to the jar, then use MCP to decompile and deoobfuscate. Then use the install.bat for Forge if you're on windows, or manually install the Forge patch (using terminal) if you're on Mac or Linux.

[HavokSCOUT]

For setting java as my path, in the path line under environments, it is entered as ";C:\Program Files\Java\jre7\bin", but when I try to run Javac in cmd, it says that javac is not recognized as a command. Is there something that I am missing?

EDIT: I ran java in the cmd for shits and giggles, and it worked, so I don't know why java will work but not javac.

[PatrickSJ]

I wouldn't use Java 7 for compiling minecraft mods. Minecraft is compiled against 1.5; most mods are 1.6; any user that doesn't have 1.7 won't be able to use your mods.

Be sure to use javac -target 1.6

[HavokSCOUT]

Thanks for the tip. Anyways, I solved my problem; I had installed java in program files, not the C: drive, so every tutorial assumed that it was on the C: drive, while mine was in the program folder, and I just finished the Hello World program.

Should SE 6 update 27 be appropriate for modding?

[PatrickSJ]

Should SE 6 update 27 be appropriate for modding?

Yep.

[HavokSCOUT]

Does anyone know how the powered creeper gets its flames from the armor? It would really help out on a mod that I am making.

[gftweek]

There is a separate "charged" armour texture that is applied over creepers when they are hit by lighting, it's in the same folder as the other armours. Or did you mean how the armour overlay is applied to the creeper object from a code point of view, because I have no idea.

[HavokSCOUT]

Unfortunately, the second sentence is the correct one, from a code P.O.V.