Minecraft – the difference between the new Minecraft Installer and the older Launcher

minecraft-java-editionwindows

Some may have noticed that there is now another way to install Minecraft, using a Windows Installer package (.msi) file. It can be assumed that if I get Minecraft using this installer, it will be downloaded differently than if I used the standalone launcher. I'm kind of worried. If I use this method to get and run the game, what will be different? Will I have to redo all of my profiles, saves, etc.?

Best Answer

The old launcher used to run Minecraft normally using Java, and Minecraft downloads when you play for the first time. Using the installer, you automatically download Minecraft files and all program files needed to the launcher, which doesn't involve use of Java to run. Minecraft runs in a Mojang custom JVM optimised for Minecraft, which gets installed automatically, so you don't even need to manually install Java to use MC with the new launcher

Related Solutions

Minecraft – How to make a minecraft source file to hold files for both a windows and a mac version, both held on the same USB

I understand that you have modified Minecraft so that it writes onto the USB drive, but not in the same place for each version. All you need is a symlink to make the Mac side do what you want.

First, delete the Mac side's saves, then in a shell, run the following (based on your comment mentioning the path for Mac; adjust the path to the Windows side as needed):

cd '/Volumes/myusb/Library/Application Support/Minecraft'
ln -s '../../../whatever-the-path-is-to-the-windows-side/saves' ./saves

If I haven't got the Mac-side path right, then make sure the count of ..s is adjusted to match. To test your symlink, run ls saves and you should see your list of worlds.

Most applications, including Minecraft, will follow a symlink as if it is not there, so this should do the trick. (Note that when viewed by the Finder, a symlink appears identical to an alias, but an alias will not function as needed here. An alias is more like a Windows shortcut — it is not automatically traversed by file system calls.)

Minecraft 1.6.4 – Different mods on different profiles on the same version [Linux]

If you are using the latest vanilla launcher:

Create or edit a profile
Check the box labeled "Game Directory" and fill in a location to put it. It will automatically create the directory if it doesn't exist on next launch of the profile. (Note that I doubt it will expand shell variables, but it works just fine with symbolic links if you use those)
Click Save Profile

What I have done for this is I have created a directory under my $HOME called .minecraftProfiles and I put each separate profile in its own subdirectory. For example, vanilla 1.7.4 I have put at homedir/.minecraftProfiles/1.7.4-vanilla.

Sharing data between profiles:

If and when I want to share a file and keep it shared (for better or for worse) I would symlink to it from one profile in the other(s).
If I want to use some data (saves and such) as a basis for a new profile, I first copy the directory to a new one, create the new profile in the launcher (click "New Profile" when the one I'm copying is the selected profile), and after starting up that profile, (if necessary) do manual editing of the $HOME/.minecraft/versions/profilename/profilename.json when it is needed to have it actually keep some necessary data (if same version of Minecraft and wanting to keep Forge, for example)

Tips to avoid issues with losing valuable data:

Keep multiple profiles in separate directories to avoid conflicting mods or mod configurations.
Each profile should have a specific version set for the "Use version" under "Version Selection" in the Profile Editor to prevent it automatically updating and preventing you from playing on servers that haven't updated.
Backup, backup, backup - before adding/removing mods, changing the version of a profile, and especially regular backups just in case your computer (or just Minecraft) crashes.

If you are not using the vanilla launcher (read: FTB / Technic launchers), all I can say with 100% reliability is you would have to either use a separate user account (for Linux, which you should be for different people anyways according to many Linux security specialists) or deal with moving the storage location of those launchers manually each time before starting.

(partially off topic) I choose to use a naming scheme of version-info for the naming of my profiles' directories, but you can opt for adding the user's name at the beginning of it.