Hi gang! So I looked at the new snapshot and quite some people wondered if they could do that too. Time for a mini guide! Note: I know that there are plenty of explanations "out there" which also explain all this, keyword being: 'out there'. So yah Step 1 - Make an extra copy of your saves folder. A new (major) version usually means new stuff and that stuff will find its way into the saves folders. And that can cause problems. For example: if you try to load a 1.8 world into a 1.7 client you'll likely notice that your inventory and all your chests are empty. That's because those 2 versions are quite different. Same more or less applies to the current 1.9 snapshot. There's also another very important thing to keep in mind: A snapshot is basically a beta version, which can and will contain bugs. Which can affect your save files. I'd like to show an example of the latest snapshot, especially for those who might now think: "Sure Shell, I'll just start a new world and there will be no harm done": In case you're wondering: just hiding a server name up there. The latest snapshot now adds screenshot icons to the saves folders and also keeps track of the last used version (as can be seen in my first 2 saves). So what do you think could happen if a bug found its way here and instead of displaying current icons it would try to upgrade all my save folders? So yah: When messing with snapshots your save data is not safe, so in order to keep it safe you need a backup copy. How to find your saves folder... If you don't know where to find your save files then use this method: Start Minecraft (the normal / regular version). Click 'Options' and go to 'Resource Packs'. Now click "Open resource pack folder" If you click on that you'll open the resource pack folder in your file browser. Now simply go one level 'above' (one directory higher) and you should be in a folder called .minecraft. This is the main program folder, and it should contain a sub folder called "saves". Simply copy & paste it (or use an archiver or... as long as you make a reserve copy somewhere). Step 2 - Create a new profile. Start the Minecraft launcher and you'll notice a 'profile' option in the lower left corner: List of my current profiles. Click the option "New profile" and a new window should appear. Start by giving your profile a name, I suggest an easy to understand name. "Snapshot" or "Experimental", anything which makes it clear that you'll be working with snapshots. Now find the section "Version selection" a little more below and enable the option called "Enable experimental development versions (snapshots)". Like so: After you've selected this option you'll see a confirmation window appear. Just confirm that you want to use snapshots. The final step is to make sure that you have selected "Use latest version" as the version to start. This will make sure that you'll always use the latest (most recent) snapshot, which is usually the better approach because snapshots get constantly released and the latest contains the last bugfixes. You can see the pull down menu in the screenshot above. Step 3 - Start the snapshot & create a new world. If you're just experimenting then I suggest to simply create a new world and start exploring / testing / playing in there. This will reduce the risk of any of your save files getting corrupt. Remember: if you load an existing world in a snapshot then you most likely won't be able to use it in the previous version without problems showing up. But if you do want to experiment with existing worlds then I'd suggest that you copy those worlds before loading them and then rename them. As you can see above I add '19' to all the worlds which I have reserved for 1.9 testing so that I can keep them separated from my regular 1.8 and 1.7 worlds. Step 4 (optional) - Report any bugs you may encounter If you find any bugs then Mojang would really appreciate it if you could enter a bug report here. Before you do please make sure to read their guide here. Not to sound harsh but: "I can't place end stones anymore!" would not be a useful bug report.
Thanks so much for this I've been really wanting to check this out, but I was sort of clueless about how to do so XD I didn't want to download something that wasn't legit and break my computer trying to find it.
A small update, this wasn't obvious enough for some players so... After you played with the snapshot you can use the above "profile menu" to select your other (regular) version again. So: the profiles do nothing more than allowing you to use different Minecraft versions together. As you can see in my screenshot above I have several: one for the snapshot, one for 'Forge' and 'Forge Lite' (these two allow me to use mods) and finally 2 profiles for 'stable' and 'stable 1.7.10'. The first is used to start 1.8 (which I use to play on the Empire) and the 1.7.10 profile starts version 1.7.10 which I use to play with some older saves (mostly redstone computers and such). Hope this clears it up a little.
I have a small question, how do I get the worlds to work, like how do I put the snapshot into play? Please explain in a PM with me, I am very very confused
Like I said, I had been clueless about how to try the snapshot entirely. It was quite sad, really! I knew it exsisted but I had not seen until now where to find it QQ
