Minecraft Forums

1. Open your Minecraft launcher


2. Click on Launch Options at the top right


3. Click on Enable snapshots so that it becomes green and then click on the OK button (you don't have a choice here, click it).


4. Now you have a choice, you can click on Add new to select any other version of Minecraft or snapshot, or you can click on the Latest snapshot to play the absolute latest snapshot.

It doesn't get any more free than this. You still have to pay for the client at https://minecraft.net, however that's a one time charge. Not like World of Warcraft where you pay for each new expansion pack or Eve Online where you pay for each month. Just one time, that it's, then enjoy all the snapshots for life. And if you can't wait for new content, start exploring mod packs there are tons of great ones out there like World of Dragons which adds large dragons that you can battle, magic that's more powerful than a potion, and lots of interesting technology.

Quote from Neospector

That's my point. Many things that actually provide some incentive to players beyond aesthetics, such as minigames or special areas, are not allowed under this.

Actually, they are allowed, just not on one server.

Here's the new model.

You have a free to join server and then several other whitelisted servers with premium content and gameplay.

On the free server all abilities available to one person of any rank are available to all players unless the ability is only a cosmetic, like changing your nickname would be cosmetic.

In the free server are announcements and ads talking about the premium servers with the special content and minigames and links to pay to get access to those servers.

So a player wanting to join one of those servers will click a link and pay the suggested fee or donation is and then get whitelisted into that server to access that servers premium content while having all abilities of all other players there.

In the case of admins, staff, ops, you can have ranks of them with power distribution amongst them, but you can't charge for those ranks, you'll just have to award those ranks based on stuff like trust. Administering a server is different from playing a server. It's no longer a game at that point, but since it's done with a MC character, the ranks must abide by the EULA.

The other way is to have everything on one server and you have a trial account that last like a week, which is more than enough time to build something awesome and get mentally attached to it. Upon which, their free time expires and they must pay for more time. The length of the trial and time allotment per amount is up to the server owner to decide. So long as free people have access to all the same powers that paid people do. Neither of those two have to have access to the power of the administering staff so long as the administering staff didn't pay for their powers, if they did, then you have a problem.

So yes, it's possible to still make money under this EULA, it might even be easier. But things like permissions are basically out the door, their only good for cosmetics and power distribution amongst administering players.

So will places like ShadowRave, Ubercraft, Hypixel die? Nope, they'll modify to be complicit with the EULA and no doubt will make even more money than they have now.

Quote from sheenrox82

You're not understanding what I'm saying, a week or two ago Mojang flat out said no one is allowed to have any kind of donation thing whatsoever. Then they go onto say you can, but you can't. Now they're giving us more freedom than a week or two ago. It's the fact that they keep changing their words ever so often. This exact thing happened with modding when they started enforcing their EULA a bit more in February.. or March, I can't remember. The EULA said mods are not allowed whatsoever, and yet Mojang had to step in and say that they are allowed, despite the EULA.

And like the people who don't understand, it is because we the community are being vocal about this, that they are changing what their EULA means. If we give up now we could be left with something like 1200 page healthcare bill that not one politician bothered to read before passing.

Quote from Blixion

Are we allowed to open a t-shirt shop online for the server/community to get money to pay for the server hosting? Or does Mojang has something to do with that too?

Yes, you can do that according to the new EULA. The external merchandise as long as it doesn't infringe on any of Mojangs intellectual properties, patents or trademarks is extremely acceptable. Especially since it doesn't affect game play within the server.

Quote from Oziris

Go get a job. McDonalds is hiring.

Ozi

Seriously? That's your answer. You think because your President raised the minimum wage that McDonald's is hiring?

Quote from Winter_Mage

If the EULA wasn't against any of this then the fairness problem alone would do nothing, however, like it or not, Mojang has decided it is unfair to them and other players. They are going to enforce their legal policy if they want to.

No amount of ranting will void their legal privelage.

Let me ask you this, are you in support of EVERY type of perk activity servers are doing? Even those that charge up towards the hundreds to thousands of dollars for Minecraft things?

Who charges that?

Quote from _LoneWolfe_

It's blatantly taking the ability to warp and such, and only giving it to those who pay for it, which in turn does NOT make it a donation. A donation is essentially giving money, but in to return profit or gain for yourself.

Now you got me thinking! Warping other than Nether Portals and the Stronghold portal to The End is not a game play feature. If I charged for access to warp points that were not from either of the two mentioned, I'd be within the EULA, would I not?

Quote from EvilAngel888

Id really like to see a brand new server get along with free acess to tnt.

Lol, everyone has free access to TNT on both of my servers.

Quote from EvilAngel888

Yeah over time. but the first few month it will most likely only be the server owner, you want the server owner to handle all greifing done on the server when tnt is allowed??

The best plugin I found for anti-griefing is called "Grief Prevention", all the others can be violated in one or another.

Quote from lceEye

I love the EULA changes. and honestly it provides a more stable way to make money, but it jsut requires a little more effort to get running. its a tighter system that HELPS with the abuse.

i always hated pay-to-win servers and donation ranks. This forces people to make money in a fair and balanced way. if a few serevrs die because of it, so be it.

So in your infinite wisdom what do you see as the model for making money now?

Quote from _LoneWolfe_

Agreed, but why would we want everyone to pay a smaller amount overall to support the server they enjoy? That makes absolutely no sense, I'd rather pay larger sums of money for content that nobody has access to without payment so I can make everyone else feel bad and not follow the terms I agreed to!

But really, if a server is genuinely good, people should rise up and support it on their own, if not pay as a whole a small fee to keep it alive and well.



Well, actually it's pretty much better this way. As I said above, if a server is good, the players should be mature, appreciate the content provided for them, and support it as a whole on their own with donations. If not, then at least charge a minor fee for everyone. Also it isn't like you can't host a server on your own, whenever I want to play Minecraft with my friends, one of them just hosts it right on the computer they play the game on, and we all join in and enjoy.

The problem with your idea is that the majority of players aren't mature enough to support the servers they like and who is gonna want to pay up front to join a server. The only servers that will benefit from the upfront charge are the large popular servers that are getting spanked with the new EULA now. They are no doubt paying a small fine or something and this new EULA is a legality that is being done to facilitate them. The large servers will continue under a slight modified internal management of players now and Mojang wins because no upstarts will stand a chance.

Quote from Winter_Mage

That's like a family member reporting another family member for murdering someone.

NO, no it isn't. A player on a minecraft server is essentially anonymous unless they gave out too much personal information. Unlike a family member that can report to an 'authority' anything they want for any reason they want without any real consequence.

Quote from nacho_duck

As the owner of a 3 year old server, I'd like to add my opinion.

Most large servers are expensive, and many depend on donations from the community to survive and continue running. I am confident that without donation incentives my server will still generate the needed income to pay the semi-annual bill. If the server is well run, people will donate out of kindness and their generosity will help to secure the future of the server.

I do feel that not letting server owners reward these acts of kindness may result in many of the servers that make up the fabric of our fabulous community being killed off. On my server, TNT use is restricted to donors only, as by donating they have proven their support to the server, and there is a much smaller number of donators than regular players. We offer TNT for donors as a security measure, to keep the server playable and enjoyable for all our players. It worries me that in this instance, either removing TNT entirely or allowing it for everyone will be the only way forward - both options are not ideal.

Hosting a server is a hobby of mine, I have a full time job, children, the full works. I rely on donations to keep the server running. I feel that removing the ability the server owners to "give back to the donors", however big or small it may be, is catastrophic. I feel Mojang is trying hard to increase the popularity of their own branded "Realms" servers. To do this, their only option is to restrict and govern servers that aren't theirs, in way which is harmful to the health of the community.

You will squeeze the life out of many servers and eventually lead to closures. Can you not see that?

You sir have hit the nail on the head!

Quote from Machuis

That 3rd statement is my favorite. I refuse to go on servers where you can buy kits and such. It just ruins the fun when you don't want to spend any money or can't spend any money on a server and someone else buys something and become overpowered if your doing PVP and such. One thing that is cool about MC is how online is free. Why should someone have to pay to be on the same level as someone else? I also like the 2nd statement. I played on a server for quite some time (I've not been on for over a month or two and its closed now), and if you "donated" you would get access to creative and such. I never wanted to spend any money, and pretty much everyone else was in creative and is was so unbearable.

Which begs the question, if it was so unbearable, why did you keep playing it? After all you found that server online somehow, you could have easily found another one.

Quote from Da_Docta

and the other real problem are all the blind people who are thinking this will make minecraft servers even more fun.
No it will not. It will lead to watered down servers with less ram/player lots/ memory/etc.. due to not being able to run off of purchases of packages. Less plugins, only vanilla servers will prosper.

Exactly. The Minecraft server hosting market is essentially dead now unless the EULA is updated to accommodate the existing working dynamic.

Quote from Evil_Gardevoir

Good that Mojang finally fights the pay to play concept a majority of servers are using. Hopefully theres enough execution of that new clause so those "servers" get extincted soon enough.

Just don't play on those servers. That's all there is to it.

If Mojang owned the servers in question, and they do not, they'd have a legal claim to what was charged. At most they have a legal claim to a percentage of the monies collected.

I'd love it if people played on my servers, but they don't, cause I don't charge for awesome ingame things, you have access to all of it. Nothing to entice you to rank up. Guess what I use a cheap hosting provider, two of them. One of them is mondo crappy, the other is good but only for bukkit and tekkit. I can't host what I want cause no money comes in, there is no reason for folks to donate. Why would you.

It's like going to McDonald's and they give you a free burger every day and then one day they say, hey you gotta start paying for that. Do you start paying for it? or do you stop going to McDonald's?