To start off, I’ll walk you through getting set up to program Minecraft. This is the most boring part, I promise!
In this part, I’ll go over Windows setup. If you’re using a Mac, you should either go back to part 2 in which I cover Mac setup, or go forward to part 4.
Install Java
You can download the latest Java version from Oracle and install it.
WARNING Oracle’s Java installer wants to install the “Search App by Ask”. Uncheck the two boxes on that page of the installer:
Install Brackets
You’re going to need a good text editor for code. I happen to know about a nice editor that understands JavaScript and is completely free: Brackets. If you already have a code editor that you like using, feel free to use it! The demos and information that I’ll use here will be using Brackets, though.
When you download Brackets, you get a .msi file. Open that, and Windows will kick off the installer to get Brackets installed on your computer.
Download the pre-configured package
Getting everything set up just right requires editing a few files. I’ve done that for you and put the result into a zip file that you can download.
For convenience while going through the class, I’d recommend putting that file on your desktop and then double clicking it to put the MerrySquid directory on your desktop.
Download CanaryMod
CanaryMod is the software we use to run a programmable Minecraft server. I’m not allowed to redistribute the CanaryMod/Minecraft Server software, though it is free. By using this software, you agree to Mojang’s license for the Minecraft Server.
You can download the proper version of CanaryMod via this link.
Put that .jar file into your MerrySquid folder.
Run CanaryMod
Double click the CanaryMod jar file again and this time the server will try to start, but Windows Firewall will likely block it from making connections:
Click “Allow access”. You’ll see the “CanaryMod: Minecraft server” window on your screen:
Run Minecraft
Click Play!
Whoop whoop!
Connect to your newly running server
From Minecraft’s main window, choose “Multiplayer”. Click the “Add server” button. For the Server Name, enter ScriptCraft and for the Server Address enter localhost, then click “Done”. Your window should then look like this:
Select your ScriptCraft server and click “Join Server”. Minecraft should start up.
Make yourself an operator
The JavaScript superpowers that ScriptCraft brings to Minecraft can’t be entrusted to just anyone that connects to the server. The easiest way to give yourself access to JavaScript is to make yourself an operator. To do that, switch over to the CanaryMod server and type /op YourUserName in the command box (replacing YourUserName with your actual Minecraft username):
Turn on Creative mode
For some reason, CanaryMod seems to want to set the game mode to survival. You can change that in the game by running:
/gamemode 1
Done!
You now have a flat, creative mode world that is ready for our (cue mad scientist voice) experiments.