From the Origins to Today, A MCreator Story

MCreator ...

Mod Creator ...

Minecraft Creator, no matter how you call it, it will always remain the number one tool to create his additions to Minecraft.

Before, it wasn't much. Yesterday it was a success. Today it is a success. Tomorrow it will be a success. That's over 10 set updates scheduled over more than 2 years of returns and work hard to transform this tool. Today, the software has only one limit. You. You and your imagination. Today is the time to review your past, to understand its present.

The beginnings

8 years ago, the young Slovenian Klemen, then aged 12, had the idea of ​​a software allowing to create mods easily without needing to know programming. That day happened to be April 1, 2012. However, he did not start programming the software until several days later, approximately 3 weeks later. The first public version of this idea didn't come out until around May 1, 2012. This first version didn't contain much yet. It was only possible to create a block and export the mod, but that was more than enough to start this long adventure which still lasts, 8 years later. In the second version, they added the creation of items. The implementation of the MCP, Mod Coder Pack, and the support of Mod Loader were also added. On June 12, 2012, MCreator 0.5 was the first release of this tool. Tools, food, crafting recipes, armour, all were added. Development continued until August 9, 2012, when the first stable version of MCreator was released. MCreator was officially born. After that, everything happened. On September 7, 2012, the site was created. On November 17, 2012, the bug list was introduced. December 8, support for the creation of entities. On March 24, 2013, the first mod contest was done. As of April 10, 2013, 1 million mod items had already been created. And on April 22, 2013, MCreator celebrated its 1st anniversary. On September 1, 2014, the first community-made video featuring MCreator and mods released on Pylo's YouTube channel. At the end of 2015, another video was released to show the mods who won the mod of the week (MOTW) during the year 2015. MOTW is a weekly competition highlighting the best mod that has been applied. During this time, the development of the software also continued, with the support of Forge, the creation of dimensions, ranged weapons, basic interfaces, the possibility of having multiple workspaces and a lot of other functionalities. The updates followed each other over the months until MCreator 1.6.3 and MCreator 1.6.4, on March 10, 2016. 

The in-between

The two made to date for Minecraft 1.7.10 and version 1.8 are both set to date the oldest still having an article on the current site. May 26, 2016, as well as a second article explaining why the site had been inaccessible for some time. Klemen and Matej did it all over again. Redesigning the logo, the presentation of the site, the optimization on mobile, everything went there. On August 6, 2016, MCreator 1.7.0 was released, and with it, a lot of changes and new features. The first was the software upgrade to 1.10.2. Also, thanks to this update, it was over with dimensions with a single biome. It was now possible to choose several. There had also been great improvement in the code editor and adding animation blocks to create their own animated blocks like a fluid or a portal.

The latest update is succeeded by one after the other, adding new features and correcting bugs, or by updating older versions of Minecraft. After 1.7.5, another very important site update took place. This update finally brought a domain name specific to the software, mcreator.net, which is still used today. Before this one, he had the right mcreator.pylo.co and even before that it was mcreator.pylo.si. This site update also removed adf.ly pages, also removed the quota limit. However, the two major changes were the new user point system, which now represented user activity much better, even though this formula had been leveraged with the number of points that the comments were worth. The other addition was the Wiki, as well as the ability to become an official Wiki Contributor. 

With this site update, the two developers had an idea, but they didn't, at least for now. This is how they developed another update for MCreator, which will release on November 16, 2017, being by the same token the last before the mod recap video of the year. On January 21, 2018, MCreator 1.7.7 was released. MCreator 2.0 project finally started.

Renewal

On November 13, 2017, was announced the most colossal project that the 2 developers had to carry out to date. MCreator 2.0. The goal of this project was to completely review and redo MCreator, to fix a lot of important bugs and add the features that the community wanted. This project was intended to be innovative and refreshing for the software. When this gargantuan project was announced, the players were all unanimous, me included. They were looking forward to this new change with great enthusiasm. The suggestions for this project were well underway. Some called for simple additions like smart recipes, and others called for sweeping changes like a whole new event system that was much more malleable, convenient, and comprehensive than the old one. Excited, other people asked for things that were practically impossible to put in place for the time, but which are now possible.

The developers had separated this new MCreator into 4 parts. The first two parts had as objectives to correct important bugs, to greatly improve the performance of the software, to make improvements to the workspace storage system as well as to the code generation system and the code itself. even. They also had to add a major new element to mod creation. They ultimately had to separate the workspaces from the software files. The third was to completely review the software interface. Finally, the fourth and last part was to add support for Minecraft multi-versions. It had to allow to be able to have several different versions of Minecraft API in the same software and this, without having to have several different versions of workspaces.

Thus, was released on February 25, 2018, the first update of a long line. The 1.7.8. The promises of this update were seemingly very simple, but they were going to start the revolution. It had to add the ability to add all the languages ​​available in Minecraft to the mod, add an interface to manage custom sounds, as well as greatly improve performance, in addition to fixing bugs and adding other proposed features. by the players. And it had kept her promises. Everything was very easy to understand and use.

On March 17, 2018, on Pylo's Twitter account, an image was posted regarding what would become one of the most important features of the MCreator 2 project. Procedures. Pylo had bet very big by radically changing and rethinking the way of doing events in action, but they were right. On May 4, 2018, when the update was released, everyone was thrilled and excited. Everyone considered this update to be the biggest, the most useful and the most fantastic, because the developers had taken advantage of this new feature, to redo the condition builder for overlays which before, only had just a handful of conditions. That was not all, as they had also added a new AI system for entities, allowing entities to be made more complex than before. And it still wasn't over. The global variables had also received a facelift, with the redesign of their menu. The recipes had also received a change. They were no longer integrated directly into the elements but had become an element. We could now make as many new recipes as we wanted, for any item or block in the game. The performance of large workspaces had also been increased, in addition to having received new options in the games. Preferences. And of course, the developers weren't satisfied with that, as they had, as usual, added new requested features and fixed even more bugs.

Shortly after, two tutorials were posted online. The first was a guide to getting started with the procedures, and the second was a video showing how to create a block with a custom craft interface. These two aids, along with the users' determination to discover the new system, allowed the explosion of Mods using these new procedures to do whatever the hell they wanted.

MCreator 1.8.0 didn't have huge features compared to the previous update, but it still had a phenomenal number of features and bug fixes. Even today, over a year and a half later, no other update has managed to beat the length of its list of changes with almost 75 additions and bug fixes. Among the most notable features was the performance improvement, which increased by 300%, further additions in the procedures to make them even more practical and useful. There was also the improvement of the code editor, the removal of the size limit of structures, as well as the improvement of dimensions. It was also this update that completed the first stage of the project.

After this gigantic update, the developers made an update to correct the bugs introduced in the previous one. So, they released 1.8.1 as the last update for 2018, and they didn’t take it easy. Out of fifty additions and bug fixes, about half were bug fixes. In addition to the number of bugs fixed, they also added new functionality to the procedures, as well as a new menu when creating a new item.

The first update of 2019 promised to greatly improve the performance of the software. It was therefore on January 26, 2019, that we were able to observe the new performance of 1.8.2. Whether it was to import a workspace, the amount of RAM used when importing a workspace, the time to generate the code or the time to export the Mods, all aspects of the software had seen their performance. multiplied by 5. That was not all this update added, however. It also changed the way items were saved. Mod parameters like name, description and many other options could now be changed at any time, instead of during export. New options have also been added such as mods required to function. Other features like smart recipes, the option of rotating blocks and more and more practical functionality. The last big addition in this update was the implementation of support for 3D models for almost anything that can have them. With the fixing of bugs and the addition of other features, this is how they started the second step towards MCreator 2.0.

1.8.2 did not come by itself. Pylo had also developed at the same time a new system allowing us to connect Arduino and Raspberry Pi to our Mod. This system is called MCreator Link.

Update 1.8.3, released on March 17, 2019, was not intended to continue the development of MCreator 2.0, but rather was intended to be an update to add community requests. This, however, was not what kept her from being just as bulky as her sisters. Improved Mac and Linux versions, new variables in procedures, support for OBJ files with UV mapping, even more, procedure blocks with many new entity blocks, improved world generators including l he added restrictions per biome and per dimension and compatibility for the multiplier, were all features requested by players and added by developers. Code changes have also been made to follow Forge conventions.

After an update on community requests, it was time to continue the MCreator 2 project, and this is what 1.9.0 did by completing steps 2 and 3. With 1.7.9, this update was certainly the most awaited update and for good reason, this huge update has redone the entire interface, allowing to add the most requested functionality, full screen. This complete overhaul of the interface has thus enabled the definitive separation of the software workspaces, with the addition of a new file format for the workspaces. The limit of workspaces had therefore just been removed. It is now possible to have as many workspaces as desired. As this was not enough for them, they decided to add for the first time since several updates a new element, which also was much requested. The Potion Effects. This new element that nobody expected was very appreciated by everyone. The update also took the opportunity to improve once again the code editor to make it as close to an IDE, added support for 3D armour models, the ability to change element IDs and finally solve the compatibility issue between Mods due to dimensions. An update once again very comprehensive and successful that delighted everyone.

Unusually, update 1.9.1 focused on adding new features. Along with the new interface of the software came the complete overhaul of the texture creation tool to make it much more practical, useful, and comprehensive. A lot of new options were added to it, but hey, for the developers there had to be another important feature, and that was the support for the Ore Dictionary and the Biome Dictionary. These two additions simply made it possible to add compatibility between all mods thanks to the fact that now we would be able to save our blocks and our items under a name that Forge would recognize from other Mods as well. This allows you to be able to create recipes with a resource from any other Mod that has registered their own. Otherwise, the bases of blocks to make stairs, barriers, as well as low walls like those in the base game have been added. Other features like important new procedure blocks, an option to choose the level of control of a controllable entity, flying and marine entities, as well as many other things have been added.

Due to no response from Mojang regarding MCreator PRO, it was decided not to do it and to do all the functionality provided for everyone. A new update of the site was therefore made adding other features in passing.

The 2019.5 was the last update of the year 2019, but also the very last update and the first version of the MCreator 2 project. The 2019.5, therefore, brought the very last stage of the project. Multi-version support. And who says multi-version, also says 1.14.4, and therefore a lot of changes and additions. The first addition is the support of a new version of Minecraft, the 1.14.4, after more than 10 updates to date on the 1.12.2. The interface has undergone a small update again, to be able to sort the elements. With the radical changes to the code in 1.13, the Ore Dictionary has been separated from the elements, to create a new one. Tags. Tags allow you to combine the Ore Dictionary from 1.12.2, as well as the new Tags from 1.13. Lots of other features were also added, but what marked a change with the older versions was the appearance of Snapshots. The purpose of snapshots is to give development versions before the official release, to be able to find the bugs of this one and fix them. For this version, there were therefore 2 snapshots and a pre-release. The release of this update, therefore, signalled the beginning of a new era for MCreator.

MCreator 2.0

With all the changes made in the last two and a half years, we had to start implementing things. So that's what the first update of 2020, then 2020.1, did. The first snapshot, released on January 3, brought the loot tables, or loot tables, which finally made it possible to make chests like those in dungeons or villages. This feature also allowed you to change the base game loot tables, as well as add more for whatever you wanted. The second big feature of this snapshot and this update was the introduction of support for uploading your workspaces, or remote workspaces, to share them with others, to work together on them. The second snapshot of this update released a week later, brought a whole new type of generator. Data Packs for 1.14. This feature revolutionized MCreator a bit, as it was the first time, we could create things other than Forge mods with MCreator. This second snapshot also brought the all-new advancement editor, which in addition to getting a makeover, now had many more options to configure them, with options to choose a loot table and a function, added during the same snapshot, when progress is completed, for example. The third and final snapshot didn't bring any big new features, as it was mainly there to fix bugs before the update was officially released.

It was then the turn of 2020.2, surely, one of the most important updates in the history of MCreator. The first snapshot released one month after 2020.1, at the end of February. This first snapshot brought with its new block bases to create slabs, foliage, as well as hatches. It also had a new element, music records. This feature had been requested for just under a year and was one of the most voted features on the site when it was released. There was also the possibility of making Data Packs for 1.15, better performance for large workspaces, as well as an improvement of the GUI creation interface, to make it more intuitive. The snapshot also fixed important bugs.

Next is the second snapshot of this update. This snapshot provided a big functionality, as well as a smaller one, but just as important. The first feature of this snapshot is the addition of support for MCreator plugins. Having taken more than two years of hard work to Klemen, while continuing to make updates to date, allows for the release of the snapshot, adds our blocks of procedures, AI tasks, global triggers, and as new generators. At the release of the second snapshot, two people jumped on this feature to create new plugins, adding either a resource pack generator and a little later, a Fabric generator or new procedure blocks for Item Stacks. These two people were SomeoneElse and me. The second important function is the removal of any mention of MCreator in the modification code, the storage of the classes in a package bringing together the other classes of the same type of element, as well as the possibility of being able to modify all the information of the mod either the debranding.

This snapshot also added the ability to create recipes in some 1.14 craft blocks. A final pre-release snapshot released a week later adding some other smaller features. The full update was released on March 25, 2020, and with it the last update for 1.12.2 after 13 versions, surpassing 1.7.10 of an update, although their numbers are not comparable.

On April 11, 2020, Pylo posted an image of bedrock on their twitter account, announced the arrival of a big feature in the next snapshot. It was the next day that they revealed the addition of a new generator, to create Add Ons for the Bedrock version of Minecraft. The new snapshot also saw the addition of support for Forge 1.15.2, the addition of built-in helpers for mod elements, as well as connected textures for transparent blocks. So, it was with all this, and more, that the first of the three snapshots of 2020.3 came out.

The eighth anniversary of MCreator was fast approaching, and it is with this idea in mind that I decided to organize, with the help of NorthWestTrees a mod competition, to be able to share our many knowledge of the software by helping other users. Pylo also had a gift for their eighth birthday. This giveaway was the addition of inventory support for items. When it was announced, it was the most requested and expected feature of the site. I also released the same day, my first generator of the same size as a Forge generator. It was even an equivalent, as it offered the ability to create mods with the mod loader, Fabric. Helped by Klemen at the start, and now joined by crispy_chips and BoogieMonster, there are now 3 of us working on it to rewrite it and continue adding features for version 1.16.1, and soon 1.16.2 of Minecraft. A few days before the announcement of inventories for objects, Pylo had also announced the addition of support for “source” and “target” dependencies for entities. The improved Item Dependency, or Item Stack, was also present when the second snapshot of 2020.3 released on May 2, 2020.

A final pre-release with better AI for underwater entities, support for AI models, the addition of windows as a block base and many other features was also planned and was released on May 13th. 2020. This is how the third update of the year released a week later, with some small features.

May 26, 2020, Pylo released in open-source Forge 1.12.2 generator, so that everyone can access and continue its support for new activations to date.

Today

As of this writing, the release of MCreator's fourth update in 2020 is just a few days away, and it's, again, one of the biggest updates, but let's get back to the very early stage of its development. Let's come back more precisely, May 28, 2020. That day, Pylo unveiled on their Twitter account an image with the new navigation bar for the element editor. Instead of having to use buttons as well as a small progress bar, we could now navigate through the item by clicking on the desired section at the bottom of the screen. Keyboard shortcuts for the texture editor, a new view mode for mod elements, now tame entities, the two new scopes for global variables, fixing the NBT Tags synchronization bug, the addition of the gate as a block base and many other features such as new possibilities with plugins, now allowing to add lists of data (from other mods for example), models of procedures, AI and textures and animated textures, as well as add APIs, libraries and support for other mods. This was all added in the first snapshot, but one feature stood out above the rest, due to its number of requests on the site, as well as its hundred votes on the ticket, and this feature was the support of Forge's energy system. (FEs) and liquids in the blocks. It is with its gigantic number of features that on June 22, 2020, the first snapshot was available to all users.

As soon as the snapshot was released, Klemen and Matej returned to work on the update, so that three days later, inventory support for the entities was announced. As all this was not enough, a week after the release of the first snapshot, they announced the feature which even today remains the most voted feature of the software with 113 votes in total. This feature was the enchantment. After almost two years, the ticket was closed because “too complicated to implement at the moment”, and a reopening several months later, one of the features that everyone expected, was present. On July 4, 2020, Klemen who decidedly wanted to add all the bigger features, was announced the addition of the condition system in the procedures to add more spawn conditions for different elements, or our procedures. We were therefore very happy when this second snapshot was released on July 6, 2020.

After two gigantic snapshots, the time came for the third and last snapshot of this 2020.4. This pre-release had a lot less big functionality, but still added wickets as a block base, better previews for certain elements, the addition of the generation like grass for plants, as well as lots of new ones. blocks of procedures and triggers.

When I write this, it's been about two weeks since I started working on a new generator. I wanted to create a Spigot generator before I had the idea of a Fabric generator but as Spigot is not made with Grade at the base, I have not been able to do. However, I found, about a few days ago by chance, on the site of Spigot, the means of generating the files of this one. My problem which was now resolved, so I started working on this brand-new generator, which could, therefore, be supported in the last pre-release.

Always present to support the work of the community, Klemen released on July 27, 2020, a new section on the MCreator site to share our plugins and see others, as it is possible to do with mods.

End

Our journey into the past is now over. By knowing his past, we can now understand why it is so successful, of people who use him, people who encourage him, who take time to create plugins and tutorials on the forum, the Wiki or in videos and flipping it all over the place to create absolutely anything they want. We can also understand why there are a lot of people who hate him, but that is another story.

Last words

I hope you liked this little (or big story). I began to write it the 13th, March. I stopped to the release of the 2020.2 because at the beginning, I wanted to make a video, but I finally decided today, to make a topic only. I've written the 2020.3 section to the end this evening. I took few hours to write this story, but it was fun to do. As you can guess, I didn't write it in English. I've written it in French, and I translate it with Google Translate, and I corrected the text with Grammarly, so I'm sorry if few things are not well written. For the French speakers, if you want the French version (so the original), just tell me it on Discord, and I will give you the file. :) Anyways, I hope you took fun to read this story. I tried to make researches, but there is not a lot of information about MCreator in the first years (Thank you Klemen for your little doc), and I'm only in the MCreator community since MCreator 1.7.8(or maybe few versions before). I will try to update it time to time if I remember to update it. xD Concerning the next story, I spoke about, I will maybe write it, but I don't know how many days, weeks, or months I will take, as it's harder to find recent things.

Bye !

Sources

• Klemen
• https://mcreator.net/wiki/changelog-older-versions
• https://twitter.com/PyloDEV
• https://mcreator.net/news
• My personal experience

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