Forge

What is Forge?

• Forge is a popular Minecraft modding framework that allows players to create and customize their Minecraft experience.
• Developed by a community of modders, Forge provides a robust and flexible platform for creating mods.
• Forge simplifies the modding process by handling many technical aspects of mod development.

Why use Forge?

• Forge simplifies the modding process by providing a framework that handles many of the technical aspects of mod development.
• It provides an extensive API (Application Programming Interface) that allows modders to interact with Minecraft's code and add new features.

Deployment Diagram:

Forge plays a vital role in the deployment as it serves as the communication bridge. The Forge API establishes a network connection between the physical computer and the Minecraft front-end servers. This enables seamless and efficient communication between the different components, ensuring a smooth gaming experience. Forge acts as the intermediary, facilitating the transfer of data and commands, and ensuring synchronization between the Minecraft front-end servers and the databases.

Walkthrough

We will navigate the platform togther now! Check out the latest Forge MDK: https://docs.minecraftforge.net/en/1.20.x/

1. Prerequisites

   • An installation of the Java 17 Development Kit (JDK) and 64-bit Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Forge recommends and officially supports Eclipse Temurin.
   • An installation of a Java IDE, ideally IntelliJ.

2. Install Forge MDK

   Downlaod MDK

   • Choose the desired Minecraft version and click on the "Download Recommended" button or select a specific version if needed.
   • Download the Forge installer for your operating system.
   • Extract the downloaded MDK into an empty directory. This will be your mod’s directory, which should now contain some gradle files and a src subdirectory containing the example mod.

   

3. Create a New Forge Project

   • Open your preferred Integrated Development Environment (IDE) such as IntelliJ IDEA or Eclipse.
   • Create a new Java project.
   • Set up the project's build path to include the Forge MDK libraries. Refer to the IDE's documentation for detailed instructions on setting up the build path.

4. Configure the Gradle Build Script

   • In your Forge project, you'll find a build.gradle file. This is the Gradle build script for your mod.

   • Open the build.gradle file in a text editor or your IDE.

   • Customize the build script to specify your mod's dependencies, version, and other configurations.

   • Add any additional Gradle plugins or tasks as needed for your mod.

      // In some build.gradle
      base.archivesName = 'mymod'
      group = 'com.example'
      version = '1.19.4-1.0.0.0'
     

     Mod Id Replacement:

     • Replace all occurrences of examplemod, including mods.toml and the main mod file with the mod id of your mod. This also includes changing the name of the file you build by setting base.archivesName (this is typically set to your mod id).

     The mods.toml file:

     • It is an important file that describes your mod(s). It contains information about your mod, like its name, version, and author.

     • It also includes details on how the mod should be loaded into the game and how it appears in the game's 'Mods' menu.

     • The mods.toml file follows a format called TOML (Tom's Obvious Minimal Language). To ensure it works correctly, you need to save the file in a specific location, which is in the META-INF folder within the resource directory, which is usually found at src/main/resources/META-INF/mods.toml

     Here's an example of what a mods.toml file might look like:

     // Specifies the mod loader used (Java FML)
     modLoader="javafml"
     
     // Specifies the required loader version (any version 45 or higher)
     loaderVersion="[45,)"
     
     // Specifies the license for the mod (All Rights Reserved)
     license="All Rights Reserved"
     
     // Specifies the URL to the issue tracker for reporting mod issues
     issueTrackerURL="https://github.com/MinecraftForge/MinecraftForge/issues"
     
     // Specifies whether the mod should be shown as a resource pack (false)
     showAsResourcePack=false
     
     // Defines a mod
     modId="examplemod" // Unique identifier for the mod
     version="1.0.0.0" // Version of the mod
     displayName="Example Mod" // Display name of the mod
     updateJSONURL="https://files.minecraftforge.net/net/minecraftforge/forge/promotions_slim.json" // URL for checking mod updates
     displayURL="https://minecraftforge.net" //URL for displaying more information about the mod
     logoFile="logo.png" //File name of the mod's logo
     credits="I'd like to thank my mother and father." //Credits or acknowledgments for the mod
     authors="Author" //Author(s) of the mod
     description="Lets you craft dirt into diamonds. This is a traditional mod that has existed for eons. It is ancient."
     

     Mod Entrypoints

     • Entrypoints are essentially the starting point for executing the mod. The entrypoint itself is determined by the language loader used in the mods.toml.
     • The javafml language loader is provided by Forge for the Java programming language.
     • The entrypoint is defined using a public class with the @Mod annotation.
     • The value of @Mod must contain one of the mod ids specified within the mods.toml.

     @Mod("examplemod") // Must match mods.toml!
     public class Example {
     
      public Example() {
       // Initialize logic here
       var modBus = FMLJavaModLoadingContext.get().getModEventBus();
     
       // ...
       }
     }
     

     Build and Test Your Mod with Gradle

     • In your IDE, find the Gradle panel or window. This panel allows you to execute various Gradle tasks.
     • Expand the tasks tree and locate the build task. This task compiles your mod's source code, resolves dependencies, and creates a JAR file.
     • Run the build task. This will trigger the Gradle build process for your mod.
     • Wait for the build process to complete. Gradle will display the progress and any errors or warnings encountered during the build, if the build is successful you can ignore the warnings.

     

     Once we can see that the runClient task is in motion we can start playing with our mod!

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After modifying the code and running it we will be greeted by the Minecraft launcher that will allow us to test out our mod