Welcome to my comprehensive guide to Minecraft, here we will look at the launchers you can use, useful information and the best ways to install mods and datapacks.
It goes without really saying that the easiest way to play the game is with the official launcher, it works on all
platforms and if you can live without the quality of life features that other launchers bring then even simple
modding is easy enough.
https://www.minecraft.net
The Prism launcher is a fork of the much loved MultiMC, it builds on it to bring a much more polished application.
It is available on all platforms. "An Open Source Minecraft launcher with the ability to manage multiple
instances, accounts and mods. Focused on user freedom and free redistributability."-Prism website
https://prismlauncher.org
As of writing this the Modrinth app has just entered open beta and is still early in its development. In my
opinion its looking good and has many of the feature that I have came to expect in a Minecraft launcher. It also
has the Modrinth website integrated into the app for easy downloading of mods, modpacks, datapacks, shaders and
resource packs.
https://modrinth.com/app
Modrinth is a free and open source modding platform, it is the second largest modding platform for minecraft and
because it treats its users and modders with respect, its growing everyday. In my opinion it is a much better
place to get your mods than the next entry on the list and way more trustworthy. "Modrinth's open-source API lets
launchers add deep integration with Modrinth. You can use Modrinth through their our own app and some of the most
popular launchers like ATLauncher, MultiMC, and Prism Launcher." -Modrinth
https://modrinth.com
Curse is not the beacon of good that it once was for the Minecraft modding scene. To me its a necessary evil as
there are a hell of a lot of mods still exclusively on it, though that said due to decisions curse have made in
the past they have lost some rather large mods to Modrinth. So with that said its still a place you can get mods
and will probably have too if you are using forge. In my opinion use Modrinth as much as possible and only use
curse if there is no other option.
https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft
FTB is a is a maker of modpacks, usually of a rather high quality. They have a wide selection of packs from really
simple vanilla plus to adventure and challenging packs.
https://feed-the-beast.com
Downloading and installing a pre-existing modpack is the easiest way to to enjoy a large amount of mods. They can vary from very curated packs with questing to kitchen sink style packs. The main advantage of doing it this way is if its a popular enough pack then there is usually a lot of support for in game issues and bugs. You can get modpacks from from the above sources.
Making your own modpack is fairly simple if you are willing to do a little leg work. If you just want a few mods
you could indeed create a new profile on the official launcher and place the mods in the mods folder but I prefer
to use a program such as Prism. Inside Prism you can add a new instance and choose from a pre-existing modpack,
import a pack and creating a custom pack. Creating a custom pack will give you the options for the Minecraft
version and which mod loader you wish to use. After creating your custom pack you can right click it and select
edit and can drag and drop mods into the mods section.
The Modrinth app although still in beta hs much of the
same functionality although you can only import mods and packs from Modrinth and other launchers, you can also
make your own custom pack. Making a pack this way has the benefit that any dependencies are also installed. If you
want optimise your game this would be the better option at least for ease.
Datapacks are a lot like mods but use the games already existing functionalities and assets. They have the added benefit of only being needed one the server side, meaning if you are making a server for you and your friends this can be a way of modding the world and recipes to your liking without the need to install anything on the client side.
Datapacks are per world, meaning you can have different ones for different worlds. You can install them to the datapack folder inside your world/save folder or by using a program such as Prism or the Modrinth app. They can be downloaded from anywhere you can get mods and modpacks.
This the best source for all things Minecraft, it even contains some very simple tutorials on redstone. If you
want
to make your want datapack this is also a good starting point.
https://minecraft.wiki
Vanilla tweaks is an excellent source for making a datapack tailored to you. It also has the ability to make a
resource pack tailored to your wants.
https://vanillatweaks.net
I feel I would be foolish to not include the links to my Modrinth and would like to also add the link for my
Vanilla
Optimized pack which can make your game run a lot smoother for less powerful systems or look as beautiful as you
can
get it for more beefy systems or of course somewhere in between.
My Modrinth
Vanilla Optimized
