What is LiteLoader ?
LiteLoader is a lightweight mod bootstrap designed to provide very basic loader functionality for mods which don’t need to modify game mechanics. It is designed to run alongside ModLoader and Minecraft Forge and LiteLoader mods will not conflict with ModLoader or Forge mods.
LiteLoader is aimed squarely at mods which only change the client in some way; some good examples might be a mini-map, a mod which overhauls the in-game chat or a client-side macro system. This type of mod doesn’t generally need the awesome power of something like Minecraft Forge to function, so asking players to install an API that’s several times larger than the mod itself doesn’t make sense. It must however coexist peacefully alongside Forge (so that players can use both platforms if they want to!) and LiteLoader does this.
LiteLoader was primarily developed for use by The VoxelModPack Team but is open source to allow mod developers to make their own mods using the platform.
As a modder, if you’re looking for a loader to help you add a new block, item, mob or mechanic into the game, then LiteLoader isn’t for you and you should check out Minecraft Forge. If you want to make a mod that displays something on the screen like a heads-up FPS counter, provides an in-game IRC window, or anything else that doesn’t alter game mechanics then LiteLoader is probably perfect for you!
As you’ve probably noticed, Minecraft 1.6 sees the introduction of a new Launcher from Mojang which is considerably more advanced than the old one. Amongst the improvements was the ability for an installed mod to inject itself into the game at load time as a Tweak. A Tweak basically gets free rein over the game startup process and can inject any code it likes into the game. LiteLoader uses this tweak functionality to load itself, and in turn load any mods that you have installed. This is great because it allows loaders to run without touching the minecraft jar at all!
However there’s a problem: the new launcher only allows one Tweak at a time to be specified, so if you want to run multiple Tweak classes at the same time, such as LiteLoader and Forge Mod Loader (FML), then you have a problem. How do we fix this?
The answer is with cascadedTweaks. This is a special command-line option sent to the game which the LiteLoader tweaker will recognise and will try to load the other Tweaks thus specified. In a nutshell, Minecraft loads the LiteLoader Tweak, and then the LiteLoader Tweak loads the other Tweaks! Simple!
The LiteLoader installer supports creating cascadedTweaks for well-known Tweaks such as FML, or you can add your own by editing the JSON file. I will add more Tweaks to the installer as they become available. If you know of an unsupported Tweak then let me know. To specify cascadedTweaks just check the relevant checkbox when installing LiteLoader.
Note that you still need to install the relevant other mod. For example to cascade to FML you must install FML or Minecraft Forge from their own installer first!
How to install LiteLoader for Minecraft:
- Download the latest version of the LiteLoader installer for Windows (exe) or all other platforms (jar), or choose the version for your version of Minecraft.
- Close the Minecraft launcher if it is running
- Run the installer, if your minecraft installation is not automatically detected then select your .minecraft folder by clicking “…”
- If you wish to extract the loader jar, choose extract
- Select any cascadedTweaks you wish to apply to the profile (hint: to change these at a later date simply run the installer again) such as cascading to Minecraft Forge.
- Click OK to create the profile
- A message should indicate that the installation was successful
- Start the minecraft launcher and choose the “LiteLoader” profile.
LiteLoader Download Links:
For 1.7.2
For Windows (Exe): http://dl.mod-minecraft.net/download.php?file=04e065fbc9e454a5d83420a5d710849b
For All Other Platforms (Jar):
http://dl.mod-minecraft.net/download.php?file=c86980873a43aba937a7f23cb8362109
For 1.6.4
For Windows (Exe): http://dl.mod-minecraft.net/download.php?file=9cce03542510f90b90e5726ce7a6babd
For All Other Platforms (Jar):
http://dl.mod-minecraft.net/download.php?file=8e4c14171de39286b7a8e392bd989fad
For 1.6.2
For Windows (Exe): http://dl.mod-minecraft.net/download.php?file=400cc2cabc296409191528e4d0ceb916
For All Other Platforms (Jar):
http://dl.mod-minecraft.net/download.php?file=2cf3b1458215302ebb3e362f77040444
For 1.5.2
http://dl.mod-minecraft.net/download.php?file=652dc2b3361c34c78922969afab626f7