I've been having a good time so far with this, except for the latest update that happened and just got forced down my throat. see, I just recently rolled in from my old version of minetest that was a version 5.1.1 that was on my old windows 7 pc. I have since, migrated to the latest version on Android(playing on a tablet). took me a while to get my bearings straight, but have adjusted relatively well.
the first obstacle I overcame was finding a way into the data folder to modify stuff like I used to on my computer. WASN'T easy, but I managed.
Lately... I noticed you guys updated to the latest version. while I DO like the new UI change, I MUST know if this means some out of date mods will stop working. will things start to break, if I DON'T update the main minetest game? I've put in HOURS of work into stuff I've modified(I've drafted a number of things as well as textures from my computer).
NOT all content and mods are kept to date... so I must know if I'm in any danger. or... do these changes only effect the UI on android? I DID notice one in game change... I noticed doors open with one tap now instead of two. two taps was supposed to be a right click, right? while I understand the convenience of the change, you guys just trolled me. I was thinking it was some sensitivity issue. I was having a hard time trying to figure out how the doors worked, then that's when it began occuring to me that it was happening on one tap, while HOLDING it is to destroy it... I kinda like it after figuring out how it worked, but you guys need to figure a way to TELL people what's changed instead of randomly slapping people upside the head with a sudden change like that. . . lol.
First off: On ContentDB, please open threads (rather than making neutral reviews) for questions.
I've been having a good time so far with this, except for the latest update that happened and just got forced down my throat. see, I just recently rolled in from my old version of minetest that was a version 5.1.1 that was on my old windows 7 pc. I have since, migrated to the latest version on Android(playing on a tablet). took me a while to get my bearings straight, but have adjusted relatively well.
All of this seems to concern the Minetest Engine rather than Minetest Game?
I MUST know if this means some out of date mods will stop working
They should not: Minetest 5.8 is a minor release. It should not be breaking compatibility.
will things start to break, if I DON'T update the main minetest game?
No.
NOT all content and mods are kept to date... so I must know if I'm in any danger.
You should not be. (There is always a small risk of modders relying on engine internals however.)
I noticed doors open with one tap now instead of two
This is an engine change. It is unrelated to Minetest Game.
Thank you so much for answering! I don't post much here so I kinda didn't really know about how things worked here. I thought it was as simple as just simply "saving" after I was done typing. I DID see what it was trying to tell me after I had finished. I didn't really know what the process of opening the thread was but it didn't make any sense to delete anything in order to post something ( I THINK is what it said, or what it was trying to tell me).
I apologize for being a noob with this, I just never fully understood this infurstructer. from the last version I once knew(5.1.1)it has instilled in me that mods sometimes usually break when you move up to the latest version(if the modder never updated their mod). for instance... caverealms don't seem to work in the build I'm currently on. I never really got to explore the underground section to see if anything generated, but upon flying around with the fly priv in my test World has revealed the game seems to CRASH if I wonder too far away from spawn parameters. this NEVER happened on my old 5.1.1 build of the game.
I didn't really realize that the minetest game was very different from the engine. I thought they worked together. if I were to get myself a fresh copy of the minetest game from 5.1.1 and put it into the game folder of the current engine... would it run? and I once again apologize for sounding like an idiot. if there's no one to explain stuff to me, then I just don't know (lol).
it has instilled in me that mods sometimes usually break when you move up to the latest version(if the modder never updated their mod)
In an ideal world, they should not. However neither Minetest Engine nor modders are perfect. There are three reasons that mods do break:
Modders often rely on undocumented engine implementation details that aren't guaranteed to not change, which eventually change, accidentally or deliberately.
Core devs may accidentally break backwards compatibility.
Core devs may deliberately break backwards compatibility in "minor" ways if they are reasonably certain that (1) (most) mods don't rely on a certain (possibly documented) behavior (2) it provides significant benefit to do so.
But nevertheless, for the most part, the Minetest Engine has a good track record of keeping backwards compatibility. I don't know whether caverealms or Minetest is to blame in this specific instance. I would recommend reporting the issue.
if I were to get myself a fresh copy of the minetest game from 5.1.1 and put it into the game folder of the current engine... would it run?
It should. Since version 5.0, the Minetest Engine tries to follow semantic versioning. This means that "minor" releases like 5.8 are backwards compatible with other "minor" releases like 5.1. So if a game or mod works on 5.1, it should also work on 5.2, 5.3, ..., 5.8, 5.9 etc. Only 6.0 may break compatibility.
Hence Minetest Game 5.1.1 should work in Minetest Engine 5.8 just fine. Of course, you'll miss out on the bugfixes later Minetest Game versions bring.
Minetest Game strives to follow semantic versioning and be backwards compatible just as well, so if mods work with MTG 5.1, they should continue to work with MTG 5.2, 5.3, etc.
Good to know! but wait... you just said only 6.0 may break compatibility... so does this mean I am in danger? in some eventual point in time? is there ANYTHING I can do to stop my engine from updating?
Good to know! but wait... you just said only 6.0 may break compatibility...
Yes, just like 5.0 broke compatibility in 2019. These breaking releases are rare though.
so does this mean I am in danger? in some eventual point in time?
I wouldn't say you are "in danger". Minetest likely won't have a breaking release for a while; the next scheduled release is 5.9. But there will eventually be a breaking release, and it is possible that some mods that aren't updated will not work with the newer Minetest engine then.
is there ANYTHING I can do to stop my engine from updating?
Yes: Don't update. Minetest doesn't update itself. If your package manager installs breaking updates automatically, configure your package manager properly.
I sort of didn't really know I could prevent my individual apps from updating. just went through my settings and found the "Enable auto update" checkbox for minetest and unchecked it.
Thank you so much for your time sir! I hope I wasn't much of a nuisance(lol). but I got all of the information I needed, so thanks again.
I've been having a good time so far with this, except for the latest update that happened and just got forced down my throat. see, I just recently rolled in from my old version of minetest that was a version 5.1.1 that was on my old windows 7 pc. I have since, migrated to the latest version on Android(playing on a tablet). took me a while to get my bearings straight, but have adjusted relatively well.
the first obstacle I overcame was finding a way into the data folder to modify stuff like I used to on my computer. WASN'T easy, but I managed.
Lately... I noticed you guys updated to the latest version. while I DO like the new UI change, I MUST know if this means some out of date mods will stop working. will things start to break, if I DON'T update the main minetest game? I've put in HOURS of work into stuff I've modified(I've drafted a number of things as well as textures from my computer).
NOT all content and mods are kept to date... so I must know if I'm in any danger. or... do these changes only effect the UI on android? I DID notice one in game change... I noticed doors open with one tap now instead of two. two taps was supposed to be a right click, right? while I understand the convenience of the change, you guys just trolled me. I was thinking it was some sensitivity issue. I was having a hard time trying to figure out how the doors worked, then that's when it began occuring to me that it was happening on one tap, while HOLDING it is to destroy it... I kinda like it after figuring out how it worked, but you guys need to figure a way to TELL people what's changed instead of randomly slapping people upside the head with a sudden change like that. . . lol.
converted review into a thread
First off: On ContentDB, please open threads (rather than making neutral reviews) for questions.
All of this seems to concern the Minetest Engine rather than Minetest Game?
They should not: Minetest 5.8 is a minor release. It should not be breaking compatibility.
No.
You should not be. (There is always a small risk of modders relying on engine internals however.)
This is an engine change. It is unrelated to Minetest Game.
Thank you so much for answering! I don't post much here so I kinda didn't really know about how things worked here. I thought it was as simple as just simply "saving" after I was done typing. I DID see what it was trying to tell me after I had finished. I didn't really know what the process of opening the thread was but it didn't make any sense to delete anything in order to post something ( I THINK is what it said, or what it was trying to tell me).
I apologize for being a noob with this, I just never fully understood this infurstructer. from the last version I once knew(5.1.1)it has instilled in me that mods sometimes usually break when you move up to the latest version(if the modder never updated their mod). for instance... caverealms don't seem to work in the build I'm currently on. I never really got to explore the underground section to see if anything generated, but upon flying around with the fly priv in my test World has revealed the game seems to CRASH if I wonder too far away from spawn parameters. this NEVER happened on my old 5.1.1 build of the game.
I didn't really realize that the minetest game was very different from the engine. I thought they worked together. if I were to get myself a fresh copy of the minetest game from 5.1.1 and put it into the game folder of the current engine... would it run? and I once again apologize for sounding like an idiot. if there's no one to explain stuff to me, then I just don't know (lol).
In an ideal world, they should not. However neither Minetest Engine nor modders are perfect. There are three reasons that mods do break:
But nevertheless, for the most part, the Minetest Engine has a good track record of keeping backwards compatibility. I don't know whether caverealms or Minetest is to blame in this specific instance. I would recommend reporting the issue.
It should. Since version 5.0, the Minetest Engine tries to follow semantic versioning. This means that "minor" releases like 5.8 are backwards compatible with other "minor" releases like 5.1. So if a game or mod works on 5.1, it should also work on 5.2, 5.3, ..., 5.8, 5.9 etc. Only 6.0 may break compatibility.
Hence Minetest Game 5.1.1 should work in Minetest Engine 5.8 just fine. Of course, you'll miss out on the bugfixes later Minetest Game versions bring. Minetest Game strives to follow semantic versioning and be backwards compatible just as well, so if mods work with MTG 5.1, they should continue to work with MTG 5.2, 5.3, etc.
Good to know! but wait... you just said only 6.0 may break compatibility... so does this mean I am in danger? in some eventual point in time? is there ANYTHING I can do to stop my engine from updating?
Yes, just like 5.0 broke compatibility in 2019. These breaking releases are rare though.
I wouldn't say you are "in danger". Minetest likely won't have a breaking release for a while; the next scheduled release is 5.9. But there will eventually be a breaking release, and it is possible that some mods that aren't updated will not work with the newer Minetest engine then.
Yes: Don't update. Minetest doesn't update itself. If your package manager installs breaking updates automatically, configure your package manager properly.
I sort of didn't really know I could prevent my individual apps from updating. just went through my settings and found the "Enable auto update" checkbox for minetest and unchecked it.
Thank you so much for your time sir! I hope I wasn't much of a nuisance(lol). but I got all of the information I needed, so thanks again.