In this update, we cover several engine improvements from the last two months, Backrooms Test’s first release, and more.
Engine News
x2048 worked on several performance improvements in December. In order to show blocks, the client needs to turn them into 3d geometry called meshes. x2048 made the mesh generator multithreaded, which will improve performance at large view ranges. Another thing x2048 worked on was a better occlusion algorithm which is used to decide which parts of the map should be rendered.
sfan5 submitted the first version of multithreaded Lua mapgen. This will allow mapgen mods to be much faster, almost as fast as builtin mapgen.
kilbith finally submitted his new camera API in December, which will allow mods to place and control cameras. The possibilities allowed by this API are widespread - some examples include cutscenes, RTS cameras, and CCTV.
Andrey2470T submitted a 3d lines PR which could be used for fishing lines and power networks.
In January, josiah_wi and jordan4ibanez have been working on a modern model file format (.glTF) for minetest. So far, static models are working, and animations are well on their way to being implemented. When complete, this will remove the need for installing blender addons to create models for minetest, as .glTF is a common format for 3d modelling applications.
Games News
Backrooms Test
Backrooms Test by Sumi is a game inspired by the original backrooms concept. You’ve glitched through reality into this strange place. Is there a way out? Are you alone in here?
The goal of this game is to explore liminal spaces, to be lost and alone, and to aimlessly wander. There are no items to gather, no creatures to run from, and no tasks to do. There are just huge, near-infinite expanses filled with unsettling, uncanny architecture. There are ambient sounds, different biomes and areas to explore, and a constant nagging feeling that something might be just around the corner. The game builds on the original Backrooms concept: fear of the unknown, strangely unsettling spaces, and helpless isolation. It produces feelings of being thrust into a foriegn yet strangely familiar environment.
Asuna
Asuna by EmptyStar is a new work-in-progress game that brings together some of the very best biome and world decoration mods that the Minetest community has to offer. Journey through a potpourri of natural wonders as you traverse beautiful and breathtaking landscapes. Forests, meadows, jungles, tundras, deserts, swamps, and more await you at every horizon.
The game’s purpose is to collect many wonderful biome mods into a single world. It does not provide other deep game mechanics; those are still left to individuals to assemble from ContentDB.
Piranesi Restoration Project
Warr1024 has continued development on iarbat’s game jam submission “Piranesi”. The original had several bugs that made it impossible to finish the game. Piranesi Restoration Project aims to recreate the puzzles in Piranesi as originally intended, but with bugfixes, refinements, quality-of-life improvements, improved accessibility, and translations. iarbat does not intend to continue the original Piranesi at this time, and endorses Piranesi Restoration Project as its successor.
The game is about exploring an infinite and space-warping house, and trying to solve the mysteries inside.
Mods News
Everness Biomes
Everness is a WIP biomes mod by Sakel, which aims to provide an endless array of beautiful biomes from the surface lands to the caverns with custom-painted textures. It creates both a sense of discovery and of danger when one lands in the wrong biome. It also adds structures, dungeons with loot chests, and custom skyboxes based on the biome.
This month’s header is a cave biome from Everness.
Dungeon Generator
Phii released a procedural dungeon generator called randungeon for complex randomized dungeons, complete with treasure rooms, forest caves and randomized materials, using almost exclusively the blocks provided by Minetest Game. It is perhaps the most advanced dungeon generator written for Minetest Game so far.
Arena_lib
Arena_lib 5.4 is out!
arena_lib’s goal is to do Minetest minigames much better. In arena_lib 5.4,
Zughy has created a new interface
for each minigame sign that when right-clicked shows who is currently inside the
minigame as well as the arena’s info and a picture of the arena. Also, it makes
life easier for server admins: they can now perform several actions with the new
/arenas built-in command and customise their server’s media with the arena_lib
world folder. Finally, spectators can now enter arenas without having to leave
the match.
All the updates can be seen on the A.E.S. Minigames server!
Blockexchange
Blockexchange by BuckarooBanzai got a few new features, including the possibility to update the uploaded schematics incrementally; that means larger builds can be updated in smaller parts without uploading the whole build again.
Blockexchange is an online service that allows players to backup and share their builds. It has a companion mod that allows schematics to be uploaded or downloaded and placed.
OTP
OTP is a mod by BuckarooBanzai which allows security-conscious players to optionally protect their player accounts with a second factor authentication method. It is published under the mt-mods umbrella.
Art and Builds
Education
Lemente has made a Discord server dedicated to the using Minetest for Education, Workshops, and other related activities! It is a place made for discussing existing projects, sharing resources and helping each other.
Join here: https://discord.gg/hUs9xT634S
Lemente started it because there are many people trying to use Minetest for educational purposes but their projects usually remain at the prototype stage. Starting a Minetest project requires a specific set of skills such as creating a game, hosting a server, using moderation tools within the game, developing custom mods, etc. Learning everything can be a complicated and time consuming task for teachers, educators and workshop facilitators.
The goal of the discord server is to bring together anyone interested in using Minetest as a virtual tool for education, artistic workshops, citizen participation in urban planning, or any other practical use one might think of. It will allow people to learn from existing projects, share specific resources, and create new ones together.
Thanks to our post contributors this month: MisterE, rubenwardy, Warr1024, Zughy, Phii, BuckarooBanzai, Sumi, CalebJ, Lemente, EmptyStar, Sakel, josiah_wi.