Notes

5 Open Source Alternatives To Minecraft

It's not difficult to see why Minecraft is a favorite game for millions. Its written in Java allows it to run on many different platforms including Linux. There are a lot of Minecraft enthusiasts who would love access to the source code and begin to work on it. Unfortunately, the source code is not accessible to the general public.



More Great Content



Free online course: RHEL technical overview Learn advanced Linux Commands Download Cheat Sheets Find an Open Source Alternative Read Top Linux Content Check out open source resources



There's good news. Many have tried to recreate Minecraft and other similar games using open-source software. Are you looking for a free Minecraft alternative? Here's a brief overview of Minecraft clones and derivatives should be considered.



These projects are in widely different stages of completion and meet many different purposes. Some attempt to replicate the Minecraft experience completely and others seek to provide a very similar experience. Others are pushing the voxel-based gaming idea in completely new directions. Others are more of a framework which can be used to create your own game or creation.





Minetest

Minetest is the first game we've listed on our list. Minecraft servers Minetest, which is a "near infinite-world block sandbox game" and a "game engine" is the most complete alternative to Minecraft. It supports multiplayer as well as subgames. It also features various terrain generators and different default biomes. It also has a very user-friendly API for creating mods that can be created in Lua.



Minetest is open-source under the LGPL. It is written in a majority using C++, which makes it faster than other scripting languages. Minetest is compatible with Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, FreeBSD, and possibly other operating systems, too. You can download the source code at GitHub.



Minetest screenshot, Minetest website, CC-BY-SA 3.0.





Terasology

Terasology may be the winner for the most beautiful rendering engine in the pack; its shadows are both ominous and stunning. This game started as an experiment in the creation of procedural terrain. It has grown into a fully-featured game with multiplayer and various add-on modules that let players to experiment with various gameplay techniques.



Terasology is written in Java and is available under an Apache 2.0 license. It is Java-based and should run on any system that has sufficient power.






Terasology screenshot, Terasology Code repository, Apache 2.0.





Voxel.js

The odd one out in this list is Voxel.js and, unlike the other it's not a game in any way and doesn't claim to be. Voxel.js instead is an JavaScript library that allows users to create their own Minecraft-style renderings, games, and other interactive widgets in JavaScript or HTML. It can be embedded on any webpage without the need for plugins.



Voxel.js can be utilized in a variety of related projects. This lets you use as much or small of a code as you want when developing your game. Although the main library, voxel engine is a basic engine that can render boxy scenes well there are over 200 add-ons. Check out the gallery for some ideas of what other people have built with the engine. The engine itself is available under the BSD-style license. Other add-ons may be licensed differently, so make sure to check before making any assumptions.






Screenshot of voxel forest made with Voxel.js, Jason Baker.





TrueCraft

TrueCraft is designed to be very similar to the original game. It is described as an Minecraft "implementation," as instead of a clone and is compatible with official Minecraft server versions. The developer of TrueCraft seeks to implement beta version 1.7.3 of the original game, which is a period in Minecraft's development he deems "nearly perfect." TrueCraft is a snapshot of Minecraft that was deliberately frozen in time. He is seeking feature-parity with Minecraft.



Because it is so close to the original game, TrueCraft has taken great pains to avoid copyright issues by permitting developers to contribute only if they have not decompiled or otherwise had access to the source code, although those who have had access are welcome to contribute in different ways. TrueCraft is written in C# and is open source under an MIT license.






TrueCraft screenshot, TrueCraft code repository, MIT license.





Craft

Craft is another open source voxel engine in the style of Minecraft. The development seems to be slowing or stopping however there are more than 200 forks and many (such as the school project not2bad-craft) with significant improvements. Craft's simplicity could appeal to you if interested in building games similar to Minecraft but aren't sure where to start The game engine is housed in just a few thousand lines of C code and utilizes OpenGL for rendering. It makes use of simple algorithms to create terrain, among other things. Everything is stored in an SQLite3 databank. It's worth considering the possibility of a multiplayer server based on Python.



Craft is available under an MIT licence






Craft screenshot, Craft code repository, MIT license.





Other excellent alternatives

Some other notable mentions you should try:



Freeminer, another sandbox-based game is a sandbox-based game that is inspired by Minecraft and is based on Minetest. The developers want to make the game fun while still maintaining some perfectionist elements. It comes with installers for Linux, Windows, and Android. ClassiCube, it is a Minecraft Classic clone, is written in C#. It is open source under the OpenTK license and can be installed on Linux, BSD, Solaris, Windows, Mac OS and in a browser.



There you go. This isn't a complete list. There are plenty of possibilities to explore. As more people start to play these games, or even create their own, we'll definitely discover more options. Which one do you prefer? Which one did we miss that you wish we had covered more?


Here's my website: https://minecraftservers.sbs/