Curse

Welcome to the second Minecraft Spotlight of this week! In this issue we will be covering "CraftingPlus", a plugin created by RingOfStorms.

CraftingPlus overhauls the crafting system of Minecraft by introducing a new crafting table.

Once this plugin is installed on your server, the first step for players is to create a new type of crafting table. This can be achieved at a regular crafting table, using the following resources:

• 1 Crafting table
• 1 Book
• 1 Diamond

If all goes well, the output of the crafting process is a new crafting table that seems identical to the original one at first sight.

Only after placing the crafting the table you will notice the difference. As shown above, the CraftingPlus table will change into a glowstone upon placing it; at that moment it will be ready to go.

The main advantage of using a CraftingPlus table is that players will no longer have to remember all recipes, since they are built into this new crafting table.
Not only does the crafting table contain all recipes, it takes your available resource materials into account as well. Which means the CraftingPlus interface will only show the items that you are able to create.

CraftingPlus makes crafting a piece of cake! All that you have to do to craft the item you would like to have is taking it and placing it in your inventory; as simple as using a chest.

CraftingPlus is an excellent alternative to the game's original crafting table. Rather than changing the functionality of the crafting table, the plugin introduces a new type of table; giving players the choice whether or not to use it. Using a CraftingPlus table, players do not have to remember their favourite recipes anymore, all they need to do is carrying sufficient resources!

We also had the chance to hold an interview with RingOfStorms, the creator of CraftingPlus. Read on to find out more about the development process behind the plugin!

What was your inspiration for starting this project?
My inspiration for starting this project was from a plugin called QuickBench. The original developer of QuickBench, mushroomhostage, stopped developing and decided to let someone else take up the project. From there I worked from the ideas he had, then started to spin my own ideas and feedback into the plugin.

How was your plugin received by the community at its initial public release?
This plugin was received quite well, and I highly encourage feedback from the people who use my plugins. Because of this encouragement and acceptance of feedback, everything has been pretty positive from then to now.
Many improvements have been suggested, and that is where I get most of my ideas and new additions.

Roughly how long did it take to complete the first working version of CraftingPlus?
Because I was working based off of mushroomhostage’s source code, it took me a good few days before working out his code and rewriting it. It is always a challenge to look at other developers source code and translate the entire thing, everyone has their own style of coding.

Did you encounter any problems during development and, if any, how did you solve them?
I encounter many problems with my plugins on a daily basis, that is just part of the process. Most of the time I can solve them myself by working through the errors and fixing them as I go, but sometimes I do need to go and look up more complicated things and expand my learning to fix problems.
Some good ways of getting online help is first of all, search extensively, because no one likes to give and answer already given, and secondly, go to the IRC chat and ask there for quick feedback.

What was your favourite development tool for this project?
My favorite development tools for this project are Eclipse, and notepad++. Eclipse is a great IDE that has an easy to use interface and fast pace coding environment. Notepad++ is great for general text editing, for things like configs, documentation pages, etc.

Have you learned anything new from this project?
This is a project that I have learned quite a lot in, and expanded my knowledge on Bukkit a great amount. Before this I was making very simple plugins and never got into super complicated ones like this one. I took this one up, studied the source code, and was able to learn how to do it, and apply it to the new plugin.

What stage of CraftingPlus’ development process did you enjoy most?
I think the stages of CraftingPlus development that I’ve enjoyed the most is the response from other people. Making plugins is a worthless effort if no one ever enjoys the work you do, so just the return thanks in the comments lifts my spirit and makes me want to continue to add great things to it.

And what is your favourite aspect of the plugin itself?
My favorite aspect of the plugin itself is the in-depth configuration files. Many plugins I feel lack on their configs and don’t allow users to fully control the plugin. In this plugin, I strive to let the user define the plugin and how it can be used by putting as much plugin changing things in the settings. This is a fine line though, as you don’t want to overwhelm anyone from all the settings.

Are you working on any other plugins or updates at the moment?
I am always working on something; I try to keep all the public plugins up to date and with good content. Sometimes it is a lot of work piled on top of school, but it is worth it in the end. To add on to that, I work on private plugins for a few servers, many of those are much more in-depth, and some less in-depth that take up time as well.

In addition to your Minecraft plugins, have you ever released any custom content for other games?
So far Minecraft is the only game that I’ve released content for. A just really started to get into this with Minecraft, but I do hope to explore new avenues for awesome content in the future!

Besides your own creations, what are some of your favourite plugins from other developers and why?
One of my favorites and most used plugins is World Edit. I love the extensive functionality that the plugin offers, with such a simple and easy to use player interface. World Edit is great for building, and so many other plugins hook into it to extend World Edit’s and their own functionality, making it one of the best and most widely used.

Do you have any advice for other potential plugin developers?
My advice to other potential plugin developers is to just keep updating your content as fast as you can. Respond to any feedback with good tone and do not give up. Making plugins is a lot of work once you start piling them into a list, but it will be rewarding when the plugins you make are noticed and used by more people.

Many thanks to RingOfStorms for creating this plugin and for participating in our interview!

Thanks to MadPixel for the Minecrafter font.