Yes, there's definitely some inefficient code - but voxel-type games like this are also legitimately computationally difficult. Just because it looks like pixels doesn't mean it's simple to run.
There are occasional engine improvements, but Notch thinks (as he says in that reddit thread and elsewhere) that players don't appreciate changes that aren't new features.
Also, my machine is mid-range at best, and I never have any problems. In Windows of course - Mac and Linux are quite a different story. Then again, you could say the fact that it runs in other OSes at all is impressive.
OpenGL on Java is still pretty immature. There's still plenty of issues with the library Minecraft uses, LJWGL, especially on Mac and Linux. Support for OpenGL itself on non-Windows OSes is also often lacking, especially on ATI or Intel graphics cards.
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Yes, there's definitely some inefficient code - but voxel-type games like this are also legitimately computationally difficult. Just because it looks like pixels doesn't mean it's simple to run.
There are occasional engine improvements, but Notch thinks (as he says in that reddit thread and elsewhere) that players don't appreciate changes that aren't new features.
Also, my machine is mid-range at best, and I never have any problems. In Windows of course - Mac and Linux are quite a different story. Then again, you could say the fact that it runs in other OSes at all is impressive.
It's Java and OpenGL, you'd have to do some work to make it /not/ run in other OSes.
OpenGL on Java is still pretty immature. There's still plenty of issues with the library Minecraft uses, LJWGL, especially on Mac and Linux. Support for OpenGL itself on non-Windows OSes is also often lacking, especially on ATI or Intel graphics cards.