How to Begin Playing Minecraft

[psychedelicsim]

...how to join a multi-player game (either on a server, or for a LAN game)

Using Hamachi and the Minecraft_Server.exe

There are two different ways to connect to multiplayer games and play with your friends. One way is to use a program called Hamachi. This allows people that are not in the same house to join in. For example, Linda could join my server. This is the better option though if you would like to create a LAN game for people in your own household or close by. Please visit How to Make a Minecraft Server With Hamachi for step by step instructions.

Note: Since the release of version 1.7.2, the GUI on the Minecraft_Server.exe appears blank. That does not mean that the world is not working the way it should be though. Mojang is currently working on a fix for this.

If the people who are trying to connect to your server using Hamachi are getting connection errors, on their computer, have them go to Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Firewall > Allow a program through Windows Firewall. Click the Change settings button at the top. Scroll down the list to Java Platform SE binary. Make sure the box under Public is ticked. Click OK.

Here are my son Ethan and I connected to my Hamachi server and just starting out in our new world.

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Using a hosted Minecraft server.

Here at NSC, we use a website called MC Pro Hosting who offers various Minecraft server hosting plans. They give us many different options to customize the server to our liking. We have been using the same multiplayer world for quite some time now and have had a blast chatting with each other, building, mining, fighting mobs and more! The world is so huge and there are endless possibilities. We are always finding new areas and fun things to do!

*NOTE:* The NS server is specifically for members of these forums and their family members. Our Minecraft server is and will always be family-friendly. If you would like to join our server, please send Linda or Carrie a PM.

To connect to a multiplayer world, launch the game and go to Multiplayer. Click the Add server button in the lower right corner. Under Server Name, type in what you would like for it to be called (for example: NS Server). In the Server Address box, type in the server IP and port number. For example, you would type in the following:

100.10.100.10:12345

Click the Done button. You should now see it in the Play Multiplayer list. Click on NS Server, then click the Join Server button and you're in!

[psychedelicsim]

...how to install resource/texture packs

Another good thing about Minecraft is that you can install what are called resource packs (they were called texture packs before version 1.6), which change the look of the game from the original vanilla (default) textures, such as blocks, ores, weapons, tools, etc. Below is a comparison.

Original Vanilla (Default) Minecraft Textures

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John Smith Legacy Resource Pack

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Soartex Fanver Resource Pack

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OzoCraft Resource Pack

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Installing with version 1.6 or higher

When downloading a resource pack, they will come in a compressed (zipped) format. To install, you do not unzip the file. Instead, you copy and paste the entire compressed file into your AppData > Roaming > .minecraft > resourcepacks folder.

In order for the resource pack to appear, you must launch your game and go to Options > Resource Packs. There will be two columns, Available Resource Packs and Selected Resource Packs.

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Choose the resource pack from the left column that you would like to use. Click on it and the resource pack will move over to the top of the right column.

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Click the Done button to apply the changes. Your worlds will now have the textures of the new resource pack you just installed. Some resource packs also change the look of the game menus, which you should notice right away.

Note: If you decide you don't want to use a resource pack, you can move it back to the left column using the same process as above. If you do not want a resource pack to appear in the Available Resource Packs and Selected Resource Packs columns, close the game, then delete the zipped file from the AppData > Roaming > .minecraft > resourcepacks folder.



Installing with version 1.5 or lower

Before version 1.6 of Minecraft was released, resource packs were called texture packs instead. When downloading a texture pack, they will come in a compressed (zipped) format. To install, you do not unzip the file. Instead, you copy and paste the entire compressed file into your AppData > Roaming > .minecraft > texturepacks folder.

Launch your game and go to Options > Texture Packs.

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Select the texture pack you would like to use, then press the Done button to apply the changes. Your worlds will now have the textures of the new texture pack you just installed. Some texture packs also change the look of the game menus, which you should notice right away.

Note: If you do not want a texture pack to appear in the Texture Packs menu, close the game, then delete the zipped file from the AppData > Roaming > .minecraft > texturepacks folder.



Below are links to some of our favorite resource/texture packs.

John Smith Legacy - http://www.jslegacy.com

OzoCraft - http://www.planetminecraft.com/texture_pack/ozos-texture-pack/

Soartex Fanver - http://soartex.net/downloads/
This is an adf.ly site, and they also want you to download ODM (Open Download Manager). Be sure you SKIP AD after the countdown, and do NOT open the ODM. Just close both of those, and your download will continue as it should.

There are many websites that offer a variety of resource and texture packs. Links to some of them are below.

Note: Resource/Texture Packs come in different resolutions ranging from 8x to 512x. The higher the resolution, the more detailed the graphics are. Using a higher resolution resource/texture pack could slow down your game performance.

Minecraft HD - Resource Packs | Texture Packs

Skydaz - http://www.skydaz.com/category/texture-packs/

Planet Minecraft - http://www.planetminecraft.com/resources/texture_packs/

[psychedelicsim]

...how to use specific world seeds

When a world in Minecraft is generated, it uses what is called a seed (a line of letters and numbers) for the basis of the world, which is set when the world is created. For more information on seeds, please visit the Minecraft Wiki.

Many websites offer different seeds (already generated world maps). These are worlds that start out untouched and with a spawn point, just like they would be if you started your own world with a random seed. The only difference is that the letter/number sequence is given to you so you can use the same world as some one else.

To use a specific world seed, go to Singleplayer > Create New World.

I will be using seed number 898922052 from a member at Minecraft-Seeds.net who has offered it for everyone to use.

For the purpose of this tutorial, I will be calling the world, Seed World. Leave the Game Mode as survival, then click the More World Options button. In the box under Seed for the World Generator, type in the number 898922052. Click the Allow Cheats: OFF button so it will turn to Allow Cheats: ON. Leave the rest of the options as they are (unless you would like to have a Bonus Chest). Click the Done button.

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On the next screen, click the Create New World button. As you can see, we have spawned in a nice plains area on the edge of a roofed forest.

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Note: Everyone's spawn point could be different, but you will be using the same world.

Using the coordinates to the cave and abandoned mine shaft that were given with the world seed (see link above), I was able to teleport to the same exact place in the world.

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How to find your world seed.

If you have already started a world and would like to find its seed, open the world and press "T" to open the chat window. Type in /seed and press Enter.

As you can see, the world that I've been using to show you all the basics of Minecraft has the following seed:

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This is what I see in the world now...

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...and this is what I see after I have generated a new world using the seed above at the same coordinates.

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A good thing about seeds is that you can use them from your worlds to generate the same world to experiment with structures, come up with the perfect design for a building, use Creative mode to fly around and find new areas, etc. That way you don't accidentally mess up anything with the original world. You can use the seed version like a "workbench." You can also share your world seeds with us here at NSC.

Here are some seeds that we have tried.

http://www.neighborlysimscraft.com/NSC/viewforum.php?f=86

There are also some good websites that have seeds available by their members.

Minecraft-Seeds.net - http://minecraft-seeds.net

Minecraft Forums = http://www.minecraftforum.net/forum/50-seeds/

NOTE (Linda): I tried the seed from our multiplayer game (I generated the seed immediately after creating the original game) after 1.7 came out, and it unfortunately no longer creates our original game because the whole biome system has changed. The same thing may happen, now, with some of the older seeds you can download. They may not be the same as they were when those worlds were originally generated.

[psychedelicsim]

...helpful links to game play resources

Official Websites

- Minecraft.net
- Minecraft Forums

- Minecraft Wiki - This is the ultimate resource for anything you need to know about Minecraft.

Helpful Links in the Minecraft Wiki

- Tutorials
- Blocks
- Ores
- Items
- Crafting
- Farming
- Smelting
- Enchanting
- Brewing Potions
- Redstone
- Mobs
- Trading (Villages)
- Biomes
- Abandoned Mine Shafts
- Temples (Desert and Jungle)
- Coordinates

- The Overworld
- The Nether (Nether Portals)
- The End

- Resource Packs
- Mods

Links to Skins, Mods, Resource/Texture Packs, Seeds, Maps

- Curse (Mods | Resource/Texture Packs | Worlds)
- Minecraft HD
- Nova Skin Generator
- Skydaz
- MinecraftSkins.net
- Planet Minecraft
- MinecraftSeeds.net
- The Skindex
- MinecraftMaps.com
- Maps (Minecraft Forums)
- Uncharted Territory Series by Amlup
- Vechs' Super Hostile Series

Multiplayer Server Hosting

- MCPro Hosting

NS Minecraft Forums

- News & Rumors
- Our Singleplayer Games
- Our Multiplayer Game
- Adventure Maps
- Challege Maps
- Seeds

YouTube Videos

- EthosLab
- chickenman297
- Dataless822
- Rendog (awesome videos, but beware of curse words)

[lindawing]

Good job porting this over here, Carrie! It's a great tutorial!

[psychedelicsim]

Thank you!