The Public Pre-Release Update

Hey! Welcome to the first public release of the new ModRealms Launcher that has been in development (on our end) since the beginning of the year, which provides a massive overhaul in design and experience compared to our existing launcher, you can imagine it doing a t-pose right now. If you find any bugs or are concerned about anything, you can let us know inside of a ticket on our Discord server. If you are more tech-savvy, please do go ahead and create an issue on this repository too!

Similar to our current one, these .exe files are not signed meaning that there may be a warning when you try to open them. The launcher is open source so you can even check yourself if you are concerned at all. Signing certificates are incredibly expensive, but we will look to purchase one in the later end of the year.

Depending on the amount of bugs we receive (although it has been extensively tested), I expect that we'll be able to mark it as a full release in a week or so.

Lots of images incoming, also.

Changes for the pre-release:

• Make sure that all requests are SSL secure.
• Updated the server-scroll bar colour, removed the eww purple.

Thank you! ❤️

Features

Fresh New Bubbly UI

A disadvantage with the old launcher was how plain and unappealing it looked, and many panels often bugged out and would go invisible. With this one (coded in Node.js), it has a whole new design with large buttons so that you can always click on the things you want to see easily. Each background you'll see on the launcher has been taken by a member of our community too, giving it a much warmer feel ❤️

Automatic Java Installation

One of the primary drawbacks of using our previous launcher is that you had to install Java 8 64bit manually before you could use it properly, and usually it wasn't clear at the time until you came to see us. Whilst 64bit Java is still required to launch into the servers, the launcher will now prompt you about this when you load up the modpack, and will offer to install it for you automatically. This is incredibly handy because it means you aren't delayed from enjoying your favourite modpack!

The launcher will install the latest version of JDK onto your computer inside of the launcher files, meaning that it is only in use for your launcher to use and won't interfere with any other installation on your computer.

Automatic News Feed

With our last launcher, we didn't use the integrated news feed system so most saw a blue error at the top of their screen for the majority of the time they used the launcher. We now have a news feed that is integrated with our discord server's #announcements channel.

Mojang Status Panel

You can now view a realtime status for Mojang and a few of their services. This can be helpful to check if you're having issues whilst connecting to our servers!

Multiple Accounts

Whilst this was also a feature in our previous launcher, you can store multiple accounts on the launcher to make it easy to switch accounts if it's necessary. Whilst we don't usually have alt-accounts on the server, this can be very useful if you want to have multiple members of your family use the same computer!

Refresh Button

If you're having problems with the servers not updating properly, or would just like a general refresh (or a new background picture), you can do so with the highlighted button.

You will also see a few other buttons there:

• Settings - Opens up the settings menu.
• Website - Opens up our website in your default browser.
• Twitter - Opens up our twitter page in your default browser.
• Youtube - Opens up our twitter page in your default browser.
• Discord - Opens up our discord server in your Discord program.

Server Selection Screen

Custom Data Directory

When you install our launcher, the launcher-specific files will always be installed where you choose during the installation. However, your server's modpack files can be in any location you wish and changed on the fly. By default, they will be in your %AppData% directory.

Automatic Server Join

This new launcher will allow you to automatically connect to the server of your choice when your modpack loads up completely. You can now grab a coffee while the modpack loads without worrying about being blasted by the main-screen music, which you can hear from downstairs!

A few others

I'm sure there will be more goodies that you notice, such as the easy mod drop-in system as well as the option to select multiple optional mods that we've put in there for you, such as LagGoggles and Optifine!