Does anyone play older versions of Minecraft?
I've had the itch lately to play Minecraft again. I originally played on an account my brother gave me in alpha and used that for years before he asked for it back so he could do the account migration in to his Microsoft account to avoid losing it. Microsoft sadly doesn't do regional pricing for Minecraft so I don't think I'll be picking up a copy again soon and will probably wait till my kids are older and I pick up some copies to play with them.
I realized that the game has changed a lot since I last played, and when last played with my friends (probably 5-6 years ago at this point) I remember being a bit lost with all the new things that had been added from when I last played. While it's cool seeing new stuff being added to the game, I also realized that if I were to get Minecraft I would probably get it specifically to play older versions of the game. I saw there was a whole subreddit of people playing older versions of the game over at r/GoldenAgeMinecraft which also showed me that there are mods that essentially fork development from earlier points in Minecraft's history which I think would be cool to explore when I do get the game.
I was curious if any tilders play older versions of Minecraft?
What draws you to that particular version?
Do you play the current release version of Minecraft at all?
Also, anything older Minecraft you felt like sharing, please do. I've been watching some older Minecraft videos on Youtube in my second monitor while I work today.
Edit: I wanted to add this here since I found this out after posting. It turns out that Minecraft's Java edition has a demo mode, and the check for how long you've played the demo mode was added in release version 1.3. So I can go ahead and create a demo account and play the old versions for Free: https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Demo_Mode#Trivia
I do plan on buying the full game eventually, but this will definitely scratch the itch I've been having for a long time and I will look at installing that on my computer once I've tackled my big work items.
Since you last played a long time ago, haven't kept up with all the new stuff added to the game, are interested in playing the game with your kids, and are interested in playing the older versions, there's a few things you should know:
Minecraft these days has split into two largely similar, but very, very different versions: Minecraft: Java Edition (descended from the one you played in Alpha), and Minecraft: Bedrock Edition (which presents itself as just "Minecraft", as if it was the main official version, but it's really descended from the "Pocket Edition" for mobile devices). Java Edition is available on Windows/Mac/Linux, while Bedrock Edition is available on Windows/Playstation/Switch/Xbox/mobile. Notice how, for people who don't own a PC, their only option is Bedrock Edition. Well, aside from having a lot more game breaking glitches, Bedrock is the edition where Microsoft has dumped invasive and predatory microtransactions, "brand collabs" (which are basically ads), and all that modern gaming goodness, which would genuinely shock an old school Minecraft fan like yourself, who may remember when the devs made fun of microtransactions for April Fools. The real kicker: Bedrock Edition doesn't allow you to install old versions of the game the way that Java Edition does. Also, while it's possible to install mods for the PC and mobile versions of Bedrock, the vast majority of mod developers sell paid mods on the Bedrock microtransaction store instead :/
The good news is, both editions are bundled together on PC, so if you buy one, you get the other, so you can play the version that you want (Java, in your case). But when you buy the game for your kids, make sure you buy them the PC version! Don't be fooled into buying it for them on Switch or PS5, because it won't have the features you're saying that you're looking for!
I appreciate you being sure to warn me of that. I have heard of Bedrock edition and would only ever play older Java versions. We haven't discussed how gaming and electronics will be handled as my kids are still young and don't have their own devices, but I'm leaning towards when we play Minecraft to not let them play Bedrock and only get it on the PC. I would like to limit my kids' exposure to those kinds of microtransaction riddled games.
You'd probably be interested in Prism Launcher. It's a free open-source Minecraft launcher that lets you maintain multiple legacy versions, mods, etc. Very handy for this sort of thing!
Thank you for mentioning that, that is being bookmarked!
I don't specifically go for older versions of vanilla (unmodified Minecraft), but very often mod packs will be built around certain versions, so I'll play that version
I do realize you specifically asked for older versions of Minecraft. But, I'd like to at least make you aware of the Tildes community server. We have a variety of people in their twenties, thirties and above. Some of them also use the server to play with their kids.
The caveat is that it is the newest version of Minecraft. However, a significant group of people in there (including me) hadn't played Minecraft for years either. Generally people are really helpful which helps a lot in picking up newer things. Paging @chocobean for her experience this season ;)
Wanting to play older versions is still very valid, I am just providing a option.
Edit:
Also as already posted in a different comment. With a launcher like Prism it is fairly easy to have multiple versions of Minecraft installed at the same time.
I've looked at the server, and it'd be something that would be fun to play on, maybe one day!
I'm enjoying my time on Tildes, and I'm really hoping that this ends up being a community that stands the test of time. I mentioned in a previous comment that I've used tags to filter out things I'd rather not deal with and with those in place Tildes has been a breath of fresh air!
I used to exclusively play on outdated versions for a few years. I was one of the people who hated the 1.9 combat update (and to this day, I still haven't familiarised myself with the new pvp system), and I was playing exclusively on vanilla 1.8.9 or modded 1.7.10 all the way until 1.18 released. 1.18 is the update that "convinced me" to start playing modern versions again, because for me the caves & cliffs update finally skewed the balance in favour of modern versions.
However, do ensure to at least try the new versions, just in case. They're not nostalgia-inducing, sure, and they might completely new to you, but you might enjoy them more than you expect
Not vanilla, buuut if you want to try something different, BTA is a cool mod based on beta 1.7.3.