New Launcher

[SXScarecrow 16]

Hi there,

It's been a while since I last posted here, but I've been tied up with exams etc, and in a collaboration with two other talented people (we like to think ourselves as a sort of unholy trinity) we are working on a new project; yet another flipping Minecraft Launcher! The name kind of sucks at this point, but we have a working prototype (well, working on Mac anyway, Windows testing is coming). The general idea is to allow end users to create their own modpacks within the launcher, so they literally select a MC version, what mods they want, and the launcher downloads those mods and launches them in an MC instance. For versions post 1.7.2, ID conflicts won't be an issue, however we still have a lot to fix before this idea becomes a reality (we already have it working at a very basic level at this stage, so its not impossible, just flipping difficult). Of course, in addition to this there will be premade modpacks on the launcher ready to grab at any stage, and we are also planning a Platform-like system for public, user-created modpacks. There is a huge amount to figure out, but from the start we decided this would be a proper community project and so we would like to hear your feedback on what this new launcher project should and should not include. I have much enjoyed Technic over the years and am constantly amazed at what comes from this community of awesome nutters, but now we want to see if we can do it too! Please post your feedback below and if you come up with a decent name, feel free to share since we suck at naming things! (Seriously, look at my modpack, geez....)

EDIT: Unsure of where to post this so I stuck it here, seemed to be the most appropriate place.

[Munaus 291]

I very much suspect this is the wrong place. Modding is making mods, not a launcher.

maybe cafe lame? We'll see...

 

can I ask why make a launcher at all? what's wrong with what the community has to offer now: technic, FTB, Atlauncher, magiclauncher?

[SXScarecrow 16]

Apologies if it is in the wrong place, I thought it had better go in a forum about creating things than anywhere else. We are doing this for several reasons:

1. The three of us had all run successful servers and communities before (one of us still does, with my help) and we wanted to try something new, a challenge if you like.
2. Two of us have excellent experience creating and managing modpacks and from time spent here, I know lots of people struggle with it. We wanted to simplify the whole process, and when 1.7.2 came out, we were inspired.
3. My server and community ran into difficulties and was shut down. I needed something else to fill the gap.
4. We honestly believe we can create a launcher of excellent quality to benefit the community. The way we see it, even though they are some exceptional ones out there, we can do just as good as they have. More competition is not necessarily a bad thing.

So there's some of our reasoning. Once again, apologies if this is in the wrong place.

[Lethosos 59]

If nothing else, fork the Technic Launcher code from Git, work on it, then offer it right back to the team for their next update.

[SXScarecrow 16]

We decided early on not to fork, but the speed of progression means we may end up doing so! 

[Emaster326 0]

SXScarecrow, i think that this launcher is a great idea, i was wondering weather it would have capsbilites to make servers using it?

cheers Emaster326

[31trainman 2]

How does Insanity launcher sound?

[fileminecrafts 0]

what's wrong with what the community has to offer now: technic, FTB, Atlauncher, magiclauncher? But the Magic Launcher for Minecraft does much more than that, in fact it allows you to select between different Minecraft.jar files, a process that makes modding a lot easier. see more: http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/mapping-and-modding/minecraft-tools/1262884-launcher-magic-launcher-1-2-5-mods-options

 

The great thing about Magic Launcher is that it keeps your original files intact and it only uses the modded files, which eases your mind in this regard.

[disconsented 47]

what's wrong with what the community has to offer now: technic, FTB, Atlauncher, magiclauncher? But the Magic Launcher for Minecraft does much more than that, in fact it allows you to select between different Minecraft.jar files, a process that makes modding a lot easier. see more: http://file-minecraft.com/magic-launcher/

 

The great thing about Magic Launcher is that it keeps your original files intact and it only uses the modded files, which eases your mind in this regard.

Since when did magic have modpack support, delta updates or a platform behind it?