NodeCraft
- 10 May 2025 09:08
#244413
Introduction
Here at the Pixelmon Mod we treat Pixelmon as a game in its own right, which means when we are making important decisions for the future of the game we take our time to make sure it's the right one for the players. We choose to stick on one version of the game for longer periods of time than most other mods so that we can create innovative new features, iterate on the gameplay and make an entertaining experience. As the alternative is constantly having to worry about bug fixing as we scramble to keep up with the ever-changing landscape that comes with version updates to Minecraft.
Since we updated to 1.20.2, when it was the most recent version, we began planning larger updates on that version under the assumption that it would be a version with long term support. However, just a couple of months into the version, after we had begun working on the NPC rework, 1.20.3 (and 1.20.4) released and 1.20.2 support was immediately dropped. This was a serious issue for us as we wouldn't be able to update past 1.20.2 until the NPC rework, and all other reworks we had started, were complete.
This catches us up to where we were a month ago. It was clear that we could not remain on 1.20.2 and could not mark it as a recommended version as it was not supported by Forge. So we had to decide what version of Minecraft to land on, which would be a decision that dictated the next few years of the project.
Picking a Version
When selecting a version for us to work with we contacted the Forge team to find out what versions had long term support and were expected to be the most stable for us to work with. The advice we received was that 1.21.1 was the most stable version with the longest support window.
Additionally, we did our own research to see which version had the widest support from other popular mods in the community. As whilst it isn't a priority for us to have wide compatibility, we know that it is a priority for many of our players. With this research, we found that 1.21.1 was also the version with the most mods.
With all this information in hand we were confident that 1.21.1 was the correct version for us to move to, and that it was a modern enough version that our players would benefit from all the latest features from Mojang.
Picking a Mod Loader
We initially ported Pixelmon to the latest version of Forge on 1.21.1, as this was the mod loader that Pixelmon had been using for a long time that had a proven record of providing stable updates. However, having kept a keen eye on NeoForge since its inception, it seems that NeoForge would be a more suitable option for us going into 1.21.1 and onwards for the time being, thanks to the stability provided by the NeoForge team, and interesting new features such as interface injection.
New Release Format
Over the last ten years of Pixelmon there have been many stressful releases where a hotfix was required quickly after a release to make sure the recommended version of Pixelmon was stable. Moving forward we are looking to avoid future releases like that, and move towards a release system that will result in a far more stable recommended version for the user.
With this in mind we will be following a "snapshot" style release cycle. With this new cycle we will release updates in the following format "9.3.X-pipeYYYY", then once it is a proven stable version the last pipe JAR will be re-released as a recommended version "9.3.X".
Plans for 2025
Our first goal this year is to make progress on the 1.21.1 version and get it as stable as possible. This means all our focus will go into fixing bugs on this version so that we can mark it as a recommended and move forward from 1.16.5.
Upon the 1.21.1 version becoming the recommended version we will then turn our focus to terrastalization. The groundwork for this has been laid in previous versions (all the way back to 1.16.5) with the attachment points rendering system, and we've been slowly making tweaks to the battle engine to allow for the mechanics behind terrastalization.
Whilst working on terrastalization we will also be undergoing a significant reworking of the interfaces in the mod. This will begin with the battle interface, and then follow through to the other main interfaces such as the party sidebar, and player's inventory. We want to make the mod more friendly, and modern as many of the interfaces were designed over 5 years ago.
Here at the Pixelmon Mod we treat Pixelmon as a game in its own right, which means when we are making important decisions for the future of the game we take our time to make sure it's the right one for the players. We choose to stick on one version of the game for longer periods of time than most other mods so that we can create innovative new features, iterate on the gameplay and make an entertaining experience. As the alternative is constantly having to worry about bug fixing as we scramble to keep up with the ever-changing landscape that comes with version updates to Minecraft.
Since we updated to 1.20.2, when it was the most recent version, we began planning larger updates on that version under the assumption that it would be a version with long term support. However, just a couple of months into the version, after we had begun working on the NPC rework, 1.20.3 (and 1.20.4) released and 1.20.2 support was immediately dropped. This was a serious issue for us as we wouldn't be able to update past 1.20.2 until the NPC rework, and all other reworks we had started, were complete.
This catches us up to where we were a month ago. It was clear that we could not remain on 1.20.2 and could not mark it as a recommended version as it was not supported by Forge. So we had to decide what version of Minecraft to land on, which would be a decision that dictated the next few years of the project.
Picking a Version
When selecting a version for us to work with we contacted the Forge team to find out what versions had long term support and were expected to be the most stable for us to work with. The advice we received was that 1.21.1 was the most stable version with the longest support window.
Additionally, we did our own research to see which version had the widest support from other popular mods in the community. As whilst it isn't a priority for us to have wide compatibility, we know that it is a priority for many of our players. With this research, we found that 1.21.1 was also the version with the most mods.
With all this information in hand we were confident that 1.21.1 was the correct version for us to move to, and that it was a modern enough version that our players would benefit from all the latest features from Mojang.
Picking a Mod Loader
We initially ported Pixelmon to the latest version of Forge on 1.21.1, as this was the mod loader that Pixelmon had been using for a long time that had a proven record of providing stable updates. However, having kept a keen eye on NeoForge since its inception, it seems that NeoForge would be a more suitable option for us going into 1.21.1 and onwards for the time being, thanks to the stability provided by the NeoForge team, and interesting new features such as interface injection.
New Release Format
Over the last ten years of Pixelmon there have been many stressful releases where a hotfix was required quickly after a release to make sure the recommended version of Pixelmon was stable. Moving forward we are looking to avoid future releases like that, and move towards a release system that will result in a far more stable recommended version for the user.
With this in mind we will be following a "snapshot" style release cycle. With this new cycle we will release updates in the following format "9.3.X-pipeYYYY", then once it is a proven stable version the last pipe JAR will be re-released as a recommended version "9.3.X".
Plans for 2025
Our first goal this year is to make progress on the 1.21.1 version and get it as stable as possible. This means all our focus will go into fixing bugs on this version so that we can mark it as a recommended and move forward from 1.16.5.
Upon the 1.21.1 version becoming the recommended version we will then turn our focus to terrastalization. The groundwork for this has been laid in previous versions (all the way back to 1.16.5) with the attachment points rendering system, and we've been slowly making tweaks to the battle engine to allow for the mechanics behind terrastalization.
Whilst working on terrastalization we will also be undergoing a significant reworking of the interfaces in the mod. This will begin with the battle interface, and then follow through to the other main interfaces such as the party sidebar, and player's inventory. We want to make the mod more friendly, and modern as many of the interfaces were designed over 5 years ago.
