Minecraft code fix: Mod or new game?

Let say someone (Not Me!) wants to make this improvement to Minecraft:

- Multithreading by design, like 1 dedicated core for block and world updates and such
- Code optimization like reworking laggy light update code
- Better multiplayer server
- OpenCL GPU physics acceleration
- Sound lag removal

Unfortunately do to Minecraft being a closed source, all of the probably already itching to fix it mod programmer cannot do it, we probably should do this open source so everyone can contribute. So they probably want to make it a mod, sparing intense redevelopment from scratch while still giving Mojang money. However because the dirty code is everywhere, it might be more effective to just recode Minecraft from scratch while still maintaining backwards compatibility with Minecraft saves and improving performance greatly and doing this under a new name. But this will suck Mojang out of money, and that is sad. So what is better, to make this improvement a Minecraft mod or to just dump Minecraft away and make a new game?

This doesn't sound well. If you would make it a new game you probably would get copyright issues with mojang and as a mod it probably wouldn't be compatible with most other mods. Just let the mojang guys do their job.

thepowdertoy, on 03 July 2013 - 06:55 AM said:

Unfortunately do to Minecraft being a closed source

You still can get the source code using mcp.

Well as far as I know if we renamed it something different there will be no copyright infringement

And what I mean by open source is something along github thing, where everyone can contribute and fork and stuff

And because most mods are using Forge API calls, if Forge is compatible with this most mods will too (probably, I never code a mod) Or probably this mod can be in Forge?

If you're rewriting the entire game, why not make your own, unrelated to Minecraft, game? It makes more sense doing that than modding a game that Jeb and Dinnerbone are trying to fix already. Either way, you keep saying things like "taking money from Mojang". It sounds to me like you're intending to sell the mod which would very likely be illegal due to copyright infringment. As well, even if you entirely rewrite the game and give it a new name, technically you could be had on copyright infringment, especially if you do use any code that was originally in Minecraft. Would Mojang do this? Very likely not given the fact that Fortress Craft still exists on the XBox Live market place, along with countless clones in the iOS app store and Android app store.

As for mod compatibility, if you're rewriting a majority of the engine, forge will very likely be incompatible with your mod unless you make it as a forge mod. I'm not entirely sure how much you can modify with the forge API, but I believe it wouldn't be enough to give you the amount of control you're looking for when it comes to threading. Any mod that requires any methods from the classes you modify would very likely break due to the fact that you're wanting to modify a huge bit of the game and entirely rewrite it.

Honestly, I see this as more counter productive than productive. It'd be mostly a waste of time, as well, given the fact that with every update to Minecraft itself, you'd either have to rewrite your mod or, in the case of you basically rewriting Minecraft entirely, port the code from the newest Minecraft update to your version.

Luckily, single player is now equal to server games, so you've only got to do the mod once, but it doesn't sound practical right now.

Well, how do I sell an open source mod /game :)/> making it closed source would make no one can improve it further

What I meant but sucking money from Mojang is why people want to choose the not better not free one instead of a free and better one that is compatible with the not better and not free one?

Probably because of all your suggestions, probably this mod have to be incorporated into Forge, but yes I do agree it is not practical

Or to save us work, probably we could coax Mojang to open source Minecraft and make it free to use …. but it will not happen soon

If you're going to clone Minecraft from scratch, why pretend it's a mod?

Because it will keep Mojang money around without any copyright issues

Just because you use another name doesn't mean that there is no copyright infringement. I'm pretty sure the textures, sounds, music, etc are all copyrighted too.

It seems that this great recode seems to be in favor of mods instead of game rewrite…

Ans if you use any code in the original minecraft you will have copyright issues. Also it will apbe almost impossible to make a team of programmers that will be able to do this better then the original minecraft and work for free.

1: Quoting the minecraft ToS:

Sometimes, however, people go too far and do things that make the community think that their products and services are connected with or endorsed by us or even produced by us. We are not happy about that. Especially when people do it deliberately to take unfair advantage of the community and our work in that way. When that happens, fans buy things thinking they are official which are not. That means we can't control quality etc which diminishes the value of the work we have done and the trust that our community.

The first thing to say is that there are the following Essential Requirements that apply to all use of the Minecraft Brand (which includes the Minecraft Name) and the Minecraft Assets. If you are allowed to use any part of the Minecraft Name, Minecraft Brand and / or the Minecraft Assets then what you are doing MUST:
NOT make people think that you or what your are doing is official; approved or endorsed by us; or associated or connected with us;
NOT be unlawful, deceptive, obscene, harmful or disparaging;
NOT adversely affect the Minecraft Brand or Minecraft Assets;
NOT include anything else around it that makes people think that you or what your are doing is official; approved or endorsed by us; or associated or connected with us;
comply with the Minecraft terms;
sufficiently differentiate the use of the Minecraft Name from any other branding

ensure that the Minecraft Name (which includes any confusingly similar name) is not the first word and don't use any other aspect of the Minecraft Brand or Minecraft Assets as part of any related branding, including as or as part of any logo

2: no one would ever do that for free, nor update it. Why? Because mojang put years into minecraft

You also forgot to mention that literally millions of people are already set up on Minecraft, unless it was a mod why would all of these people, or any new people, install this new game when the mass playerbase is on this slightly more expensive version? You can't seriously expect the majority of the Minecraft playerbase to all of a sudden stop using Minecraft and play your new game (which is an identical copy of minecraft) just because you claim it's more optimized?

The only way you're going to get downloads, attention (in the good, legal kind) or anything of the sort is if you make it a mod compatible with other mods…. Like Optifine and similar mods that boost performance.

Well yes, its really seems that I need to do this at mod level at the meantime until probably I could think of some way I could legally make this an standalone game (like Minetest) …Like optifine , modding at jar level
But I'm still thinking, this mod will be huge and probably breaking compatibility with all mods (until Forge is compatible with it)

Edit: Minetest is open source Minecraft clone, seems I could join there and make it more powerful than Minecraft… My suggestion is out there already, but for the sake of Minecraft player I will also probably make that performance improver mod and make it open source

I've never heard of Minetest, but it sounds like it probably breaks the TOS.

Dlcruz129, on 04 July 2013 - 11:09 AM said:

I've never heard of Minetest, but it sounds like it probably breaks the TOS.

Then look into it first. Minetest is a C++ version of Minecraft, with its own features and a Lua API. It'd actually be better than Minecraft if there was a bigger community.

What Minetest have:
Infiinite depth /height (unlike Minecraft, the infinite world gen not just applies to the X and Z axis, it also applies to Y axis
Ability to enable/disable mods per world

What Minetest doesn't have:
Mobs (added by a mod)
Hunger (added by a mod)
Drowning
Hardware lighting (will probably be implemented)
Temperature (will probably be implemented)
Redstone (added by a mod, which also added its own gate and ComputerCraft real lua microcontroller)
FTB!

Well it is WIP and playing that is like switching from Windows to Linux, one is paid another is free, one have a lot of features (games) the other is not, its hard

This just has copyright issues written all over it. I'd rather not have the ComputerCraft community be part of this.