KalasTheSheep wrote:Well I tried hitting it regularly first (right after downloading java) and it kept asking me what program to use to open it, but there wasn't one selected as a default option.
That's certainly not normal. Not sure what would cause that, but perhaps something went wrong with the Java installation. Try reinstalling it, perhaps?
KalasTheSheep wrote:There are 4 programs in the folder with labels like java, javacpl, javaw and javaws.
The program normally used under Windows in javaw, but java should work too. The difference between them is that javaw runs in Windows' ordinary GUI mode, while java runs in a command-prompt window.
KalasTheSheep wrote:Now I saw somewhere that jre should be something else but I wasn't sure why downloading the recommended java version 8 would give me something I couldn't use for the game? So idk if that's causing the issue.
No, the JRE is exactly what you want. Java has historically made the distinction between JRE and JDK, where the JRE is what you need to run Java programs, and the JDK is what you need to develop and compile Java programs. Later Java versions (I don't remember exactly where they switched, Java 11, perhaps?) has done away with the distinction and always ship the whole JDK package, but having the whole JDK doesn't hurt for just running Java programs either, it just uses a bit more disk space.