I'm currently looking over the source code, but as everyone has noticed, not all fields are translated so that the developers can understand them. Is there a resource online, or a file someone might have that outlines some major fields that are obfuscated? Such as rendering? I noticed the wiki and the tutorials on the forum are slightly outdated/limited on what they teach. I'm curious if you guys have any other resources I should look into that might help (OpenGL books, and articles along the line of back end work)? I assume all the good mods like Advent of Ascension, Orespawn, and those of that kind, use different methods of rendering their unique mobs and items. Any resources would be fantastic.

The MCP mappings ARE the online resource containing all known 'translations' of the obfuscated names. You can try using a more recent mapping by changing the line in your build.gradle and re-setting up your workspace:

mappings = "snapshot_20150617" // change this to today's date, for example, rather than over 6 months ago...

Not all mappings are compatible with all versions of Forge / Minecraft, however, though if you are using the latest Forge, the latest mappings should always be usable.

 

I'm not really sure what you mean by different methods of rendering mobs and items - it's all ultimately done using OpenGL, for which there are resources online via Google and resources within Minecraft via the source code.

 

Really, though, the best thing you can do when playing with rendering is to run your mod in debug mode - then you can change most values while it is still running and immediately see the effects. This is priceless for tinkering with rendering code, when you might be changing values in increments of 0.001F or smaller to get them just right. Now imagine trying to do that having to quit and restart every single time. Of course you probably don't have to imagine, as you've probably dealt with that and already know how much it sucks. Debug mode = awesome.

 

EDIT: To answer your question, though - if you want to figure out what a not-yet-clarified field or method does, you have to a. have decent Java skills so that b. you can make sense of what the code is actually doing, thus deciphering what that field or method is for. At that point, you could decide on an appropriate name for it and submit it via MCPBot so everyone can profit from your hard work

Yeah, I've used it a lot in my own games and am a big fan of the hot replace feature. I was scared that you would say I'd have to skim through the ugly OpenGL code. I've never taken any time to learn it so it's intimidating. I guess I'll mess around with the basics until I get a grasp on more than just the minecraft/forge programming.

 

Been around the block a few times but have never gotten anywhere because I gave up. The task of sifting through thousands of lines of code to make anything cool gets frustrating, and it doesn't help that I didn't write it.

 

The second portion of the main post is still in play, and if anyone has some great free/cheap resources such as books/articles that they have book marked I would gladly read them. They can relate to anything you think is important for a beginner to know and succeed with.

Did you try searching? I know you want advice from people that have found good tutorials, but it really isn't hard to find them. The first 2 are the top results for 'learning OpenGL'; the 2nd and 3rd are both ones I had bookmarked and used previously.

 

http://learnopengl.com/

 

http://www.glprogramming.com/red/index.html

 

https://open.gl/introduction

I had searched, I just like solid writing and explanation. You don't just buy a laptop before looking at all the others to see what is best, right? I don't want to waste my time reading something that is poorly put together. The end of your last post is primarily what I am looking for, because I can google I'm not that incompetent.