In February, a method for getting clients’ game window information was added and map viewing performance was greatly improved. Repixture added boats, and there is a new artistic server on the serverlist.
Engine News
This month, rubenwardy’s minetest.get_player_window_information() PR was
finally merged, which will allow mods to get the client’s window size. The new
information will make it possible to design responsive formspecs that fit
properly on each client’s screen.
x2048’s work on making meshes the size of 8 mapblocks was also merged this month, allowing for vastly greater view distances. Reducing the number of meshes drawn makes better use of the GPU thereby improving performance or allowing even greater view distances at the same framerates.
GreenXenith contributed a feature that allows chat to be disabled on servers, giving more control to games and mods. This could be used for hiding chat during cut scenes or for mods that implement their own chat system.
Additionally, x2048 is continuing graphics improvement work with a PR to add shader-based antialiasing filters. This allows for improved performance over the current fixed pipeline antialiasing filters.
Unfortunately, Jude Melton-Houghton (TurkeyMcMac / jwmhjwmh) passed away in early February. While he was only a core developer for a short time, he made a huge impact on the Minetest project and will be greatly missed by the community.
Upcoming
At the time of writing, Minetest is in a feature freeze in preparation for the 5.7 release. During this time, the developers are focusing on fixing bugs and preparing for the release - features and unnecessary changes are avoided.
Now is the time to test the release candidate, and submit any bug reports so that they can be fixed before the release. Server owners and mod/game authors are especially encouraged to test the release candidate to ensure a smooth upgrade.
Minetest 5.7.0 is due to be released on March 19, but this date may be pushed back if needed.
Games News
Repixture
Wuzzy has added a large selection of boats to Repixture in the “The Nautical Update” which includes various types of rafts and log boats. Each style has its handling mechanics. Additionally, a new type of seaweed lets you collect air to stay underwater longer. Other water-related and miscellaneous improvements were also added.
Minesweeper 3d
Hume2 has created a game inspired by Minesweeper in Minetest. Like the original, Minesweeper 3d’s goal is to survive as long as possible without setting off a mine. The game can be more challenging in its 3D version since there are 26 neighbors to each block instead of 8. Currently, the port has no end when one sets off a mine; a scoreboard is planned for a future update.
Panqkart
Longer races are now possible in Panquesito7’s work-in-progress kart racing game Panqkart with a recent update that allows races to have multiple laps.
Mods News
Offhand Items
TestificateMods has made a fork of Mineclone’s ability to have a left-hand item slot for use with Minetest Game. Offhand Items supports wielded light, allowing one to carry a torch and a pickaxe at the same time. Items switch hands at the press of a button.
Art and Builds
Server News
MTPlace
voxelmanip.se:30002
mtPlace is a canvas 512x512 pixels in size. You have 24 colors at your disposal. What will you make?
Inspired by the Reddit r/place social experiments that took place during 2017 and 2022, mtPlace is a collaborative canvas hosted as a Minetest server. You paint the canvas by placing nodes on it within Minetest, and it will show up on the map that updates every 5 minutes.
The server is available on the Minetest server list (just search for “mtPlace”),
and at voxelmanip.se:30002.
You can also view the map live at https://mtplace.voxelmanip.se/
A.E.S. Minigames
minetest.eticadigitale.org:30010
Some great improvements have been happening on A.E.S. Blockleague and Fantasy Brawl now have 3d models for weapons. In Blockleague, each weapon has its own pixel art crosshair.
Thanks to our post contributors this month: MisterE, rubenwardy, Zughy, Wuzzy, Sakel, Peppermint Patty, ROllerozxa.