Comment by LeifCarrotson | Hacker News Reader

Comment by LeifCarrotson | Hacker News Reader

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This is almost certainly not the PC version of the game, which does run Java. The Switch would probably not be capable of running 4 instances of the at 720p 60fps.

There's a Windows 10 edition of the game, written in C++, a from-scratch rewrite of the original Java. There's Minecraft Pocket for Android/iOS. And there's Console Edition, which runs on XBox 360 and WiiU, and now Switch Edition.

They are aiming for feature parity between the various versions. The Pocket/10/Console versions are all intercompatible - you can log in on a server with one platform simultaneously playing with someone on another platform. I don't know how much code they share.

But the original Java edition is still where all the YouTubers, mod authors, wiki activity, and really the core user base is at. Pocket and console are more used by the younger and more casual users. Feature parity like world generation is possible, but it won't be possible to make various Redstone (programmable machine) contraptions, build aesthetics, and farms compatible.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

> This is almost certainly not the PC version of the game, which does run Java. The Switch would probably not be capable of running 4 instances of the at 720p 60fps.

Though I might just be misreading you, the PC version probably isn't slow because it's Java, it's just poorly written.

It has been acquired for 2 billion dollars, it has had 8 years in which to clean up and optimize that code. Either the all the people working in it are very incompetent or it's actually Java to blame :^)

2 billion dollars and 8 years hasn't even gone into such an effort though. The complete rewrite which serves as the codebase for the xbox, iOS, etc.. version is where the majority of that time, money, and effort has been spent. The mobile and console markets were apparently seen as as a much more lucrative use of time and effort vs optimizing the legacy desktop-only Java version which the author himself agrees was poorly written.

Only a little. I was going to write that it was a different version because the updated versions have been frequently ported to new platforms, but that's not proof, they might have changed their pattern. And while the new codebase seems more portable and flexible, there's no reason the Switch couldn't be made to run Java.

The proof is that while the Java version runs acceptably on a modern PC - which is all it needs to do - a PC with the performance of the Switch would not be capable of this performance level. Instead, the Pocket edition running on phones would be closer to this performance.

(Also, you might be misreading me because I forgot "PC version" between "the" and "at 720p".)

> the PC version probably isn't slow because it's Java, it's just poorly written.

Maybe the initial java code base, but like someone said they had 8 years and enough resources to rectify the issue.

Do you have any recent info to back your claim?

I've got a slow-ish machine running Windows 10 (4GB RAM, Intel GPU, Atom-descended quad-core Celeron). The Java version of Minecraft runs at maybe 2-5 FPS. I wouldn't call the Windows Store version "smooth", but it's probably closer to 10-20 FPS, with the same distance settings. For the sake of argument, I'd be willing to assume that Java code is slower than (say) the equivalent natively-compiled code, but probably not anything close to 5x slower.

Maybe there are some different features that make one slower than the other? I don't know. I just know that the Java version is slower, and that the difference in language probably isn't enough to account for it. Difference in features and difference in quality of implementation are the two possibilities that stick out in my mind as culprits for the difference in performance.

If they can put out a stable mod API and reach feature parity (but not necessarily compatibility) the C++ version will quickly replace the Java IMO.

The biggest things holding back the game today are poor performance and lack of a mod API and the Windows 10 version already does great things for performance.

I don't think a C++ API will ever be as flexible as the PATCH EVERYTHING that is possible with Java.

I would worry more that any of their C/C++ components would have ridiculous dependencies, such as Cortana being up and running

I don't see why this is downvoted. Microsoft has done exactly this with other products including core is stuff.

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