Code in my life: A chronicle part 3
This post is a continuation of part 2
After my computer broke, I was devastated. But the devastation did not last that long. In 2014, for my 10th birthday, I received a small Android tablet as part of a bundle deal my parents got. Unlike my previous computer, this one came with a SIM card and a small monthly data allowance.
With that access, I almost immediately got my parents to purchase and install the original Minecraft Pocket Edition for me.
Initially I was content with just playing it, but soon my friends started talking about “mods”. While they played computer minecraft, I wanted in on the action. I soon discovered Block Launcher, and MCPE Universe, and I played with mods for the first time.
I was not content with just that, though, and soon curiosity took over. Realizing that the files I downloaded were .zip files I could extract was my catalyst.
Soon I was decompressing every mod I could find, trying to make sense of the code, and Frankensteining it together to make my own mods.
My first mod took months to create, but I was incredibly proud of it. The idea was to create a mod that made TNT more powerful, but I only knew how to make blocks that did nothing. It was a simple mod, adding a new block that looks exactly like TNT, but is not. I thought it would be the perfect prank, placing TNT in front of your friend, lighting it and nothing happens. In late 2014, I posted it on MCPE Universe with a screenshot of myself holding flint and steel next to a burning TNT block.
Soon thereafter, someone reached out. Another young coder asked in the comment section of my TNT mod if I’d be interested in working together.
What I find fascinating is that our security mechanism was that he would email me the name of my mod, “so I know it’s him.” Someone could just as easily impersonate him reading the exchange… If only I knew about Diffie-Hellman Key exchange back then!
We started communicating via email, and started making mods together. The pinnacle of our modding career had us making a mod called CrAZy MoD. Here is the full original code, preserved as-is in its entirety for your enjoyment!
(I have changed the name of the other person to Wolf42 to preserve their privacy, the rest of the code remains as-is.)
//Mod By Wolf42 and Louis999
//Do Not Distribute Without Wolf42's and Louis999's Permistion
//Have Fun and be Crazy!
/*Mod History:
V1-The "megga", "lol", and "dumie" blocks were added by Louis999!
V2-Louis999 added Wolf42 to the mod helper list and they became friends!
Also Wolf42 added "The Stick Of Truth" item and the Beggining Chat when you enter a world, also he added the commands!
V3-Louis999 added the "Cow" command!
Also Wolf42 Did a full mod Rewrite! and added a load more commands!*/
//Variables
var PX = Player.getX();
var PY = Player.getY();
var PZ = Player.getZ();
//newLevel
function newLevel(){
clientMessage("Welcome Its Time to be CrAzY!");
clientMessage("Type /help for help!");
clientMessage("or Type /creator for The Crazy Mod Creators Information!");
}
//Blocks
//megga
Block.defineBlock(252, "megga ",[["gold_block", 0], ["gold_block", 0], ["iron_block", 0], ["iron_block", 0], ["iron_block", 0], ["iron_block", 0]]);
Block.setDestroyTime(252, 1.0);
Item.addCraftRecipe(252, 1, 0, [1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 46]);
//lol
Block.defineBlock(254, "lol",[["cauldron_inner", 0], ["piston_inner", 0], ["mob_spawner", 0], ["piston_top_normal", 0], ["destroy", 9], ["cauldron_top", 0]]);
Block.setDestroyTime(254, 1.0);
Item.addCraftRecipe(254, 1, 0, [1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1]);
//dumie
Block.defineBlock(255, "dummie",[["diamond_block", 0], ["mob_spawner", 0], ["diamond_block", 0], ["piston_top_sticky", 0], ["tnt", 0], ["destroy", 0]]);
Block.setDestroyTime(255, 1.0);
Item.addCraftRecipe(255, 1, 0 , [1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1]);
//Items
//The Stick Of Truth
ModPE.setItem(511,"blaze_rod",0,"The Stick Of Truth");
ModPE.setFoodItem(510,"blaze_powder",0,-20,"Pizza");
//Comands
function procCmd(command)
{
var cmd = command.split(" ");
if (cmd[0] == "help")
{
clientMessage("Item IDs 500");
clientMessage("Block IDs 252, 254, and 255");
clientMessage("type /lol for more help");
clientMessage("or type /cow for page 2!");
}
if (cmd[0] == "lol")
{
Player.setHealth(0);
clientMessage("LOL!");
clientMessage("You Should of Got the Hint With the word lol");
}
if (cmd[0] == "troll")
{
Player.addItemInventory(510, 1);
clientMessage("TROLL!");
Player.setHealth(10);
}
if (cmd[0] == "info")
{
Player.setHealth(1);
clientMessage("WE LIKE TROLLING!");
}
if (cmd[0] == "cow")
{
clientMessage("Type /troll for A Great big Troll!");
clientMessage("Type /info for info about this mod!");
}
if (cmd[0] == "creator")
{
clientMessage("Type /cw23 to learn about Wolf42");
clientMessage("Type /l999 to learn about Louis999");
}
if (cmd[0] == "cw23")
{
clientMessage("Wolf42 is a YouTuber and a modder, as you see here.");
clientMessage("He Also is the one who wrote what your reading right here, lol");
}
if (cmd[0] == "l999")
{
clientMessage("Louis999 is a basic modder and mod creator, he thought of this mod and created it!");
}
//Wont Work Properly
/*else{
clientMessage("That Command Isnt Real D:");
}*/
}
The humor of a 10-year-old me captured in full glory! What I find fascinating is the copyright notice at the top and the chronicle of our modding history together. I loved how I called myself a “basic” modder. Another interesting detail is that we clearly wanted a fallback if commands fell through, but we did not know how else and if else worked.
A few other funny things:
- Typing
/lolkills you /infosets your health to 0- Blocks with basically random faces
- Eating the
pizzaitem would subtract 20 from your hunger, meaning it would effectively set your hunger to 0. Looking at the texture, I guess that makes sense!
But, as with all good things, we both moved on quite quickly. The tablet era was short, chaotic, and full of half-understood JavaScript. But when I got my dad’s old work laptop in early 2015, things changed. That was when I really started getting into programming…
This post will continue in part 4