3 ms·

Make no mistake: This will not run on anything but Windows. The FAQ isn't explicit about it but you can infer it from the requirements: * 1 gigahertz (GHz) o

Make no mistake: This will not run on anything but Windows. The FAQ isn't explicit about it but you can infer it from the requirements: * 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor * DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver So this means that Minecraft: Education Edition will most likely not be Java-based like regular Minecraft. More evidence: > "Mods are not currently supported in Minecraft: Education Edition." So kids definitely won't be modding this version of Minecraft. In that case, what are they going to be doing with it? I'm curious to know because last summer my son went to a "Minecraft camp" of sorts and they taught Java programming/modding to ages 9+. For that they were using Minecraft Forge. This version of Minecraft is most likely based on the Pocket Edition which is written in C++. Also note that this is not the same thing as ComputerCraftEdu which is vanilla Minecraft (Forge) + ComputerCraft (special EDU edition). ComputerCraft is a mod that lets you program in-game computers and robots using Lua. The latest Edu version also includes a visual programming interface which you can read more about here: http://www.computercraft.info/2015/07/01/introducing-computercraftedu/ http://www.computercraft.info/2015/07/01/introducing-compute...

ekianjo 11y ago
> * DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver I know what you are saying, but it should work just fine with WINE nowadays. DX9 support is not an issue anymore.
- tehbeard 11y ago
  Consider the original java version though, that doesn't require wine to run on linux.
PhasmaFelis 11y ago
Specifically, it's probably a modification of Minecraft Windows 10 Edition, which itself is basically a Windows port of Pocket Edition. A Mojang dev has said that they are still supporting the Java version, that they ultimately hope to have feature parity across all platforms, that they know modding is a critical part of Minecraft's popularity, and that they want to add modding to Pocket Edition/Windows 10 Edition but probably not soon. (http://motherboard.vice.com/read/why-gamers-are-worried-about-minecraft-windows-10-edition http://motherboard.vice.com/read/why-gamers-are-worried-abou...) So that's all kind of confusing, and who knows what Microsoft will decree in a few years, but in theory they're trying to do the right thing eventually. Obviously a C++ version will never be as moddable as the Java version, since modders won't be able to get at the source code, and will require Mojang to add formal mod support to work at all. On the other hand, if all this drives them to actually do that it would be awesome; they've been promising it for years now, and in the meantime all mod development has been shackled by the requirement to reverse-engineer deliberately obfuscated code that breaks all mods with every new version release.
- herbst 11y ago
  Even worse. I bought Minecraft as Linux game, never played it on Windows, and now i have to be afraid that the game suddenly moves on without me. Thats so wrong.
TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
It not being Java-based may be a good thing. I recall that Minecraft, for all its success, was not terribly well-written code. The Pocket Edition was written from scratch, and so probably works better.
- robotresearcher 11y ago
  Does mainline Minecraft not work well? I've had no problems at all despite multiple versions and platforms, speaking as the the default support hotline for the neighbourhood kids. Seems like a high quality product. I'd be the last person to shill for MS. Minecraft seems to work.
  - pdkl95 11y ago
    Vanilla (java) Minecraft works ok until you start to push it in any serious way. While the limitations are easy to see when you mod it, you can still hit some serious problems in vanilla. One of the nastier problems is how chunk[1] updates are performed. It used to be really bad: every time a block was added/modified/removed, the entire chunk (!) used to be sent to all the clients. It's somewhat better now, but modifications to the world still cause a lot of data to be sent[2] to the clients. Even worse are the lighting recalculations. These happen on the server, which recalculates the lighting in up to a 16-block radius every time a torch is placed. These updates also happen when blocks are changed... and when redstone dust or redstone repeaters change their value, as they give off light. Of course, as these changes can span multiple chunks, changing redstone or placing a torch can trigger multiple chunks updates that need to be sent to each client. This data-update problem is made much, much worse because of a particular design decision in Minecraft: each block stores a flag indicating if it is the top block in it's column (that is, it receives sunlight during the day). This means any change in the top block or any empty space above it causes the entire vertical space from sky to the top block to be searched. This is the cause of some of the nastier "lag spikes". While it's a few years old now and addresses older Minecraft versions (1.5/1.6), I highly recommend watching TrazLander's investigation and analysis[3] of how these lighting calculations can destroy framerate. It is very enlightening about this weakness in Minecraft. [1] The sparse octree that Minecraft uses to store the world is stored in 16x16 block horizontal, 266 block high sections called "chunks" http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Chunk http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Chunk [2] Well, usually. Minecraft has always had bugs where updates would be dropped or missed, resulting in "world holes". This has also improved, but but not completely - world holes still happen, especially during heavy server load. [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUpwSZte4TA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUpwSZte4TA
PakG1 11y ago
That's interesting. My day job is working as an IT manager at an international school. We have MinecraftEdu, but we're also an Apple Distinguished school. MinecraftEdu works fine on our MacBooks, so we're happy with that. It also works on some old Windows desktops we have lying around, but we're not going to move away from being Apple-centric anytime soon, just because of who we are. I checked out minecraftedu.com and they say they'll have a FAQ up soon. In the meantime, they have post on their front page that says they'll continue to sell MinecraftEdu. I have to say that this is very disturbing to me though. Did we just purchase something that really won't be supported anymore in the future? If it will, why would Microsoft go in a completely different direction after purchasing MinecraftEdu? The words are all nice, but the actions are all contradictory. :(
beefsack 11y ago
The cynic in me feels this is a vendor lock-in strategy, not unlike Microsoft's strategies around providing free and cheap copies of Windows and Office to schools and students.
herbst 11y ago
I really asumed the education part is just different maps you can download. Fuck, majong sucks hard these days.

ekianjo 11y ago

> * DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver I know what you are saying, but it should work just fine with WINE nowadays. DX9 support is not an issue anymore.

tehbeard 11y ago
Consider the original java version though, that doesn't require wine to run on linux.

PhasmaFelis 11y ago

Specifically, it's probably a modification of Minecraft Windows 10 Edition, which itself is basically a Windows port of Pocket Edition. A Mojang dev has said that they are still supporting the Java version, that they ultimately hope to have feature parity across all platforms, that they know modding is a critical part of Minecraft's popularity, and that they want to add modding to Pocket Edition/Windows 10 Edition but probably not soon. (http://motherboard.vice.com/read/why-gamers-are-worried-about-minecraft-windows-10-edition http://motherboard.vice.com/read/why-gamers-are-worried-abou...) So that's all kind of confusing, and who knows what Microsoft will decree in a few years, but in theory they're trying to do the right thing eventually. Obviously a C++ version will never be as moddable as the Java version, since modders won't be able to get at the source code, and will require Mojang to add formal mod support to work at all. On the other hand, if all this drives them to actually do that it would be awesome; they've been promising it for years now, and in the meantime all mod development has been shackled by the requirement to reverse-engineer deliberately obfuscated code that breaks all mods with every new version release.

herbst 11y ago
Even worse. I bought Minecraft as Linux game, never played it on Windows, and now i have to be afraid that the game suddenly moves on without me. Thats so wrong.

TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago

It not being Java-based may be a good thing. I recall that Minecraft, for all its success, was not terribly well-written code. The Pocket Edition was written from scratch, and so probably works better.

robotresearcher 11y ago
Does mainline Minecraft not work well? I've had no problems at all despite multiple versions and platforms, speaking as the the default support hotline for the neighbourhood kids. Seems like a high quality product. I'd be the last person to shill for MS. Minecraft seems to work.
- pdkl95 11y ago
  Vanilla (java) Minecraft works ok until you start to push it in any serious way. While the limitations are easy to see when you mod it, you can still hit some serious problems in vanilla. One of the nastier problems is how chunk[1] updates are performed. It used to be really bad: every time a block was added/modified/removed, the entire chunk (!) used to be sent to all the clients. It's somewhat better now, but modifications to the world still cause a lot of data to be sent[2] to the clients. Even worse are the lighting recalculations. These happen on the server, which recalculates the lighting in up to a 16-block radius every time a torch is placed. These updates also happen when blocks are changed... and when redstone dust or redstone repeaters change their value, as they give off light. Of course, as these changes can span multiple chunks, changing redstone or placing a torch can trigger multiple chunks updates that need to be sent to each client. This data-update problem is made much, much worse because of a particular design decision in Minecraft: each block stores a flag indicating if it is the top block in it's column (that is, it receives sunlight during the day). This means any change in the top block or any empty space above it causes the entire vertical space from sky to the top block to be searched. This is the cause of some of the nastier "lag spikes". While it's a few years old now and addresses older Minecraft versions (1.5/1.6), I highly recommend watching TrazLander's investigation and analysis[3] of how these lighting calculations can destroy framerate. It is very enlightening about this weakness in Minecraft. [1] The sparse octree that Minecraft uses to store the world is stored in 16x16 block horizontal, 266 block high sections called "chunks" http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Chunk http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Chunk [2] Well, usually. Minecraft has always had bugs where updates would be dropped or missed, resulting in "world holes". This has also improved, but but not completely - world holes still happen, especially during heavy server load. [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUpwSZte4TA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUpwSZte4TA

PakG1 11y ago

That's interesting. My day job is working as an IT manager at an international school. We have MinecraftEdu, but we're also an Apple Distinguished school. MinecraftEdu works fine on our MacBooks, so we're happy with that. It also works on some old Windows desktops we have lying around, but we're not going to move away from being Apple-centric anytime soon, just because of who we are. I checked out minecraftedu.com and they say they'll have a FAQ up soon. In the meantime, they have post on their front page that says they'll continue to sell MinecraftEdu. I have to say that this is very disturbing to me though. Did we just purchase something that really won't be supported anymore in the future? If it will, why would Microsoft go in a completely different direction after purchasing MinecraftEdu? The words are all nice, but the actions are all contradictory. :(

beefsack 11y ago

The cynic in me feels this is a vendor lock-in strategy, not unlike Microsoft's strategies around providing free and cheap copies of Windows and Office to schools and students.

herbst 11y ago

I really asumed the education part is just different maps you can download. Fuck, majong sucks hard these days.