“weren't you going on about “minecraft is boring” like 5-7 months ago”
– Nameless Rumia

Minecraft is a sandbox game by Mojang Studios that began in 2009,¹⁾ started sales in 2010,²⁾ fully released in 2011,³⁾ then it was acquired by Microsoft for $2.5 billion in 2014.⁴⁾⁵⁾ Over time, the game would be split into the 'Java Edition'⁶⁾ and the C++ 'Bedrock Edition'.⁷⁾⁸⁾

In the past, Minecraft was a simple game with a lot of potential, thus becoming this online phenomenon where you'd kept seeing it on bulletin boards⁹⁾¹⁰⁾ or YouTube videos, then came the immense modding scene. This premature hype eventually ended after Microsoft's acquisition in September 2014, with development stagnating as they juggled the 'Bedrock Engine',¹¹⁾ and newer updates broke compatibility with older mods.

Most of the late 2010s saw Minecraft being 'uncool' and their sanitized image wasn't doing any favors,¹²⁾ but it eventually saw a 'breakthrough' in 2019 after popular streamers revisited the game for its 10th anniversary, then casual multiplayer gaming and content¹³⁾ was in demand during the pandemic. Microsoft would then urge legacy Mojang accounts to migrate from October 21, 2020¹⁴⁾ to September 19, 2023.¹⁵⁾

Toggle chart.

The default Minecraft launcher is limited, and most newcomers won't know about the plethora of open-source alternatives that isn't the bloated CurseForge launcher, so I've gathered some examples below. If you're pirating with a cracked launcher¹⁹⁾ and intend to play multiplayer, be mindful that the server owner will have to make an exception,²⁰⁾ then the players would have to get SkinsRestorer or OfflineSkins.

• MultiMC
  The classic, but complicated, launcher. CurseForge and FTB modpacks might require extra steps.²¹⁾
  • PrismLauncher
    The active MultiMC fork. Most of the former PolyMC developers moved here after 2022.²²⁾
  • FjordLauncher 🏴‍☠️
    The 'DRM-free' fork of Prism Launcher, inspired by PollyMC. Fully supports FTB modpacks.
• ATLauncher
  A simple portable launcher. Supports FTB modpacks. Very easy to add mods!
• Modrinth App
  Modrinth's launcher. Simple, but very limited. Has advertisements, claims 25% of their ad revenue.²³⁾
• FTB App
  Feed The Beast's launcher. Mostly bloated.

You will need a Java Development Kit (JDK), preferably an open-source fork, to run Minecraft. While some launchers can install one for you, other launchers assume that you already know about these things, which could add further confusion to an already intimidating process. Below are the main four distribution options that people choose from, obviously not including the subscription-only OTN.

A mod loader is a self-explanatory API that attempts to 'standardize' the mod development process by having everyone on the same page, avoiding potential conflicts over classes, and the mod loader ultimately allows Minecraft to be played with mods. If you're just going with the flow and using whatever modpack, you probably don't need to know about these things unless the question of 'adding mods to a modpack' comes up.

Most launchers will automate this process for you and have an easy way to change the version by editing the instance, so most players won't need to manually download anything off the websites. That aside, there are generally four mod loaders, but two are technically forks. I do not have any deep opinions on the mod loaders. Forge/NeoForge for 'content' and Fabric/Quilt for 'quality of life', I guess?

• Forge → NeoForge
• Fabric → Quilt

A modpack is a third-party collection of mods and settings that change the Minecraft experience. There is an endless amount of modpacks, thus the need for comparison tools like Modpack Index, but you probably won't find any 'definitive' recommendations as everyone has different preferences. You'll also have to consider the version because modpacks for the most recent version *will* update, like, every fucking week.

If you're in charge of exporting a slightly customized modpack for certain launchers, I'd personally leave up a backup instance of the standard modpack with the added mods, export the *entire* folder, then reimport the instance to verify that the exported modpack would actually work for other players (e.g. title screen isn't broken, are 'beginner tooltips' expected, public chat, etc.).

• Historically, the price of Minecraft used to be €5 in Indev/Infdev, then €10 in Alpha, then €15 in Beta,²⁵⁾ then €20 on release, then $27 around May 2016²⁶⁾ which has since become $30. The game rarely goes on sale, but the players justify this because it's 'cheap' or they ramble about sunk cost.
• I did not own Minecraft growing up. My computer was kinda old and modding looked complex at the time, so I never felt a 'need' to have it (despite how most internet communities in the early 2010s just seemed to advertise the hell out of their server), then it became 'uncool' once I had income, so I wouldn't have a reason to buy Minecraft until November 2020. Terraria is better. :V
  • For my personal reference, I have the 'GUI scale' set to 2 and the 'FOV Effects' set to OFF.
• During his early marketing attempts, Notch visited 4chan's “Video Games” (/v/) board using the tripcode of !!pvnhARpwdMO around October 20, 2010,²⁷⁾²⁸⁾ explaining the former “Woo, /v/!” splash.
  • On October 3, 2016, Notch joked about buying 4chan for a GET,²⁹⁾³⁰⁾ but rescinded the offer³¹⁾ after he had a brief revelation on why the concept of 'free speech' is idealist: the contradictions.³²⁾
• Minecraft and RuneScape were both Java games. The overlap really shouldn't be a huge surprise.
• It's important to remember that shields did not exist until 2016, which may explain the abundance of old creeper memes (e.g. “S” spam, “shame if something happened”, etc.) at the time.
• The exact split from JRE 8 to JRE 17 for Minecraft is debatable. The official website claimed 1.18,³³⁾ but the MultiMC wiki says 1.17³⁴⁾ and a benchmarking page says 1.16.5.³⁵⁾
• The term 'SMP' means 'survival multiplayer', which is probably the most common Minecraft server type, and it can be further categorized into game modes like: vanilla, semi-vanilla, modded, peaceful, anarchy, economy, factions, skyblock, roleplay, etc. Why is there an acronym? What are we doing?

Toggle day/night cycle chart.

• Minecraft - The official website for Minecraft.
• Minecraft Wiki - This wiki went independent again in 2023, with the assistance of Weird Gloop.³⁶⁾³⁷⁾
• Chunkbase - Houses a lot of useful Apps, namely the all-in-one Seed Map.
• Modrinth - The newer resource for modded Minecraft content.
• CurseForge (Legacy) - The older resource for modded Minecraft content. Profit-driven.
  • CurseForge Search - Alternative search engine for CurseForge.
  • Old Curseforge Please! - Userscript that redirects you to the 'legacy.curseforge.com' pages.
• Modpack Finder - Find and compare modpacks on CurseForge and Feed The Beast.

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