Welcome! This repository is where we'll be sharing files and activities related to the Scriptcraft interest group within CoderDojoDC.
We believe that Minecraft is a great way to cultivate a young person's interest in programming, because it provides a context that kids already understand and enjoy, and in which the utility of programming concepts can quickly be made apparent. Plus Minecraft is a lot of fun!
One of the drawbacks of using Minecraft to teach programming, however, is that getting everything set up and running can be a bit of a chore. We hope that these instructions will be a helpful guide for those wishing to get started learning Javascript through Minecraft and ScriptCraft.
###Get the Software You need three things in order to get started controlling your Minecraft world with Javascript:
- A Craftbukkit server (see http://bukkit.org)
- A copy of the ScriptCraft plugin for Bukkit (see http://scriptcraftjs.org)
- A copy of Minecraft (see http://www.minecraft.net)
Items 1 and 2 can be downloaded from this repository by using the button to the right ("Download ZIP") or by clicking on the zip file above in the list of files. Once downloaded, you must unzip the file (see below). A copy of Minecraft can be downloaded directly from the Minecraft website (http://www.minecraft.net).
###Launch the Server and Connect In order to use ScriptCraft, you must first launch the Bukkit server. Once that is running, you connect to the server in your Minecraft client, where you will have access to ScriptCraft commands through the regular Minecraft command line (accessible by typing '/'). Follow these steps to get started:
- Unzip the Scriptcraft software that you downloaded (normally, you can do this by just double clicking the downloaded file). If that doesn't work, you may need to install a compression utility program such as Winzip in order to decompress the files.
- For the Mac, a launch command file has been included in the ZIP archive (start_server.command). Lauch scripts for Linux and Windows will also be added soon. Double click the launch file for your platform to start your server. You should see a terminal/console window open and a lot of text go scrolling by -- leave this window open while you play the game (if you want, you can minimize the window, just don't close it). If clicking on the start_server.command file doesn't launch the server, you may need to adjust the file's associated permissions on your system (please ask for help at a future club meeting).
- Open Minecraft. Because Bukkit requires version 1.6.4, you may wish to create a separate profile (via the menu in the lower left corner of the main Minecraft splash screen) for working with ScriptCraft.
- Within Minecraft, choose "Play", then "Multiplayer", then "Direct Connect"
- In the direct connect dialog, type "localhost" (one word) in the "Server Address" box and connect.
- If everything has worked, you should now be connected as a player on your own ScriftCraft-enabled Craftbukkit server!
- To start issuing ScriptCraft commands, just type "/js" followed by the command you want to test. Some sample commands are described in activity sheets 1 and 2 above in this repository. Enjoy exploring ScriptCraft!