Minecraft® Modding For Kids For Dummies®
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015940558
ISBN: 978-1-119-05004-9; ISBN: 978-1-119-05765-9 (ePDF); ISBN: 978-1-119-05767-3 (ePub)
So you want to mod Minecraft — that’s a great idea! You’re about to be transformed from a Minecraft player into a Minecraft maker, and in order to get there, you have to learn how to code. The task is quite simple, because you’ll use many of the skills you already have — logic, creativity, math, gaming, and problem solving — to design, build, test, and share Minecraft mods. This book tells you everything, from building a large house to making a multiplayer game that you can play inside Minecraft with your friends.
Minecraft modding used to be a task that only expert coders could take on. And becoming an expert coder was no easy task, because that topic is rarely taught in school. Luckily, the information in this book shows you how to be a coder and how to be a Minecraft modder. Like content across the entire For Dummies series, this book is clearly written, fun to read, and organized in an easy-access format. By using your new skills, you can be well on your way to coding successfully in other applications and transforming the way you and your friends play Minecraft.
Modding Minecraft For Kids For Dummies is assembled as a series of mods that feature steps for designing, building, and testing each mod, from start to finish. As you work through each project, keep a couple of conventions in mind:
Programming code and web addresses appear in monofont
. If you’re reading a digital version of this book on a device connected to the Internet, note that you can click web addresses to visit that website, like this: www.dummies.com
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Working with LearnToMod is super simple: I generally just give you instructions such as “Drag a function into the programming environment” or “Click on the Minecraft category and then Players.” Or I may simply tell you to click on a link or a tab.
In this book, I make a few assumptions about you in regard to getting started:
Furthermore, I’ve made some assumptions with regard to your entrance into the world of Minecraft modding:
To access the LearnToMod software for your three-month free trial, use the access key located on the inside front cover of this book. Then all you need to do is follow these steps to access your new LearnToMod account:
Go to http://mod.learntomod.com
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The first time you log in, the site redirects you to ThoughtSTEM’s login page to create your account.
Use the Sign Up window (located below the Log In window) to create your LearnToMod account.
If you need to, you can contact the LearnToMod customer service team at learntomod@thoughtstem.com.
You can choose whatever password you want for your account. It does not have to be the access key.
Choose a LearnToMod nickname — any name you want!
You see the dashboard (the Home screen). Now you can start unlocking badges to learn how to mod!
E-book readers must answer a security question to receive an access key for the three-month LearnToMod software trial.
Go to http://www.dummies.com/go/getaccess
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You see a welcome message and a drop down menu, “Select Your E-Book.”
Use the drop down menu to choose Minecraft Modding For Kids For Dummies.
If you need to, you can contact the Dummies customer service team at http://dummies.custhelp.com
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Complete the registration page.
Answer the security code at the bottom of the page to receive the e-mail with your access key.
Follow the instructions provided in the Accessing the LearntoMod Software section of this chapter to access the free trial.
If you need to, you can contact the LearnToMod customer service team at learntomod@thoughtstem.com
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I’m making available some extra content that you won’t find in this book. Go online to find these items:
www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/minecraftmoddingforkids
. The description of basic modding skills that’s condensed into the Cheat Sheet shows the fundamentals of mod design and coding.www.dummies.com/extras/minecraftmoddingforkids
.www.dummies.com/updates/minecraftmoddingforkids
.LearnToMod was developed to guide students just like you through the challenges of Minecraft modding, to present coding concepts and demonstrate how much fun it can be to start making fun and exciting Minecraft mods. LearnToMod has over 200 badges that guide you in the creation of simple mods; however, you can also make your own creative mods. If you need guidance in making larger, more creative mods, we aren’t in the same physical location for me to show you how, so I show you how to make these larger, more creative mods using a method that has worked well for hundreds of For Dummies books: This book uses printed instructions and screen shot examples to guide you through a series of fun projects!
The mods in the earlier chapters of this book are pretty simple to complete, but later mods are larger, more complex, and more difficult. The mods are intended to be completed sequentially, and sometimes they build on each other — but you’re welcome to jump around and try out harder projects first.
After you have made a few Minecraft mods with the help of this book, millions of mods are waiting for you to write them. You can go to the LearnToMod site and continue earning badges, or continue creating and sharing mods with other LearnToMod modders. Even more, you’re learning how to code! You can also go out and find other languages and applications in which to code. Coding is exciting, and I’m glad that you have chosen to not only learn to code but also transform the way you and your friends play Minecraft!
Part 1
This week you’ll:
Project 1
In this book, I show you how to write minigame Minecraft mods. A minigame Minecraft mod is a game that you play inside of Minecraft. You can see how to make several minigames and gain the skills you need to perfect a minigame of your own creation.
The LearnToMod online software teaches you how to make modifications, or mods, that you can run in the multiplayer version of Minecraft. With hundreds of badges to guide you through various programming concepts and mods, you’ll gain the skills necessary to make creative mods of your own. You should have some basic familiarity with playing Minecraft, but you don’t need to be an expert. All you need is the computer version of Minecraft and an Internet connection.
In this chapter, I explain what a mod is, describe how to use the LearnToMod online software and how to connect to the LearnToMod multiplayer Minecraft Server, and spell out how to use the basic tools, such as invisible robots, that you need in order to make your own, fun-filled mods.
Video games are made up of thousands of lines of code. Code makes players (like you) able to explore new worlds, interact with characters, and have fun.
Some games, like Minecraft, allow players to add their own code to the games to create new worlds, challenges, or even characters. Throughout this book, I show you how to write these game modifications — or mods — and you can then see how to write code.
Perhaps you have already begun to explore the world of Minecraft mods. Programmers all around the world have created their own mods and then shared them with Minecraft players — for free.
Mods can consist of almost any task; this list describes a few tasks that you can accomplish by using mods:
wood
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