Advanced Times
Most Minecraft add-ons play it safe: a new ore, a new sword, maybe a slightly faster furnace. Advanced Times does not play it safe. This quirky content mod drops a copper-driven alien invasion story right into your world, then hands you a crafting book full of strange new items and leaves you to figure out the rest. The author openly calls it a "semi advanced mod," and honestly, that honesty is part of the charm. It is rough around the edges, it is weird, and it is genuinely fun to explore.
What Advanced Times Actually Adds
The premise is simple enough to explain and strange enough to remember: copper is the thread that ties everything together, and an advanced alien civilization has invaded the planet, vanished without a trace, and left behind only a recipe book of new things to craft. There are no bodies, no ruins markers, no quest log telling you where to go. You get the items, the recipes, and your own curiosity.
Because the crafting recipes are deliberately unusual, the mod is built to be played alongside JEI (Just Enough Items). Without a recipe viewer you will spend a lot of time guessing, and guessing is not the point here. With JEI installed, every odd combination becomes readable, and the progression suddenly makes sense.
Copper, Diamonds and the Free-Ish Trick
The most talked-about feature is a method for obtaining diamonds that the creator describes as "free-ish." The catch is that you have to cut down coal to get there, which keeps it from being a pure shortcut. It is a clever bit of design: rewarding, but not so rewarding that it breaks your survival world in the first ten minutes. If you enjoy mods that hide a genuine secret behind a simple-looking mechanic, this is the hook that will keep you playing.
Supported Minecraft Versions and Loaders
Advanced Times is a Java Edition add-on, so Bedrock players will need to look elsewhere. It was built for older Minecraft releases in the 1.12 era and runs through Forge, which means it slots neatly into the classic modpack setup that many long-time players still keep around for nostalgia and stability. If you are running a modern version, expect to need a compatibility layer or a backport, because the mod has not been aggressively maintained. The creator has stated that updates are planned once they work out how to push them, so the situation may improve over time.
Before you commit to a full playthrough, check that your Forge version matches the mod build you downloaded. Mismatched loaders are the single most common reason players see a crash on startup rather than a working alien invasion.
How to Install Advanced Times
Getting the mod running is straightforward once your environment is ready. Follow these steps in order:
- Install the correct version of Minecraft Java Edition and set up Forge for that version.
- Download Advanced Times from a trusted mod repository and confirm the file matches your game version.
- Place the .jar file into your mods folder, located inside your Minecraft directory.
- Install JEI in the same folder, since the unusual recipes are effectively unplayable without it.
- Launch the game through the Forge profile and verify the mod appears in your mod list.
If you want to skip the manual file shuffling entirely, the foxygame.net launcher handles the whole process in a single click, and its built-in catalog makes finding Advanced Times for Minecraft far less tedious than hunting through forum threads. It also keeps your installed add-ons updated automatically, which matters a lot for a mod that is still finding its footing.
Tips Before You Start
Create a fresh world rather than dropping this into an established save. The copper and alien progression assumes you are starting from scratch, and the diamond method works best when you have not already stockpiled resources. Keep a JEI window open at all times during your first session, and do not be surprised when a recipe you expected to be simple turns out to need three unrelated ingredients.
Is Advanced Times Worth Downloading?
This is not a polished, feature-complete expansion, and the creator says as much. What it offers instead is personality: a bizarre narrative about copper and aliens, a crafting system that rewards experimentation, and one genuinely satisfying diamond exploit hidden behind a coal-cutting chore. If you like small, strange mods that feel like a passion project rather than a product, download Advanced Times and give it a weekend. Pair it with JEI, run it on Forge, and let the invasion begin.