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Minecraft: Pocket Edition adds new features

Minecraft for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices just got a little more dangerous as a new update was recently released that adds two new mobs, a new weapon and a host of fixes.

The 0.3.3 update adds skeletons and spiders to Minecraft: Pocket Edition to try and hunt you down and kill you in the darkest corners of the game or at night. Fear not though as you've also been granted access to the bow and arrow to defend yourself against these angry mobs.

Mojang also says it fixed around 20 or so bugs including including a furnace crash, burning world, sapling/leaves fixes and it even adds a larger inventory selection bar.

You can check out the complete list of additions and fixes for Minecraft: Pocket Edition below;

New features

• Added skeletons and spiders.
• Added bow and arrow.
• Added bone meal and flint.
• Mobs can drop items.
• Torches can now be placed on fences.

Tweaks

• Item decay time extended to 5 minutes.
• Boosted brightness slightly.
• Item slots has been expanded to a minimum of 6 slots (minus one for inventory).

Bug fixes

• Crash bug with furnace
• Removed fire (except on mobs in sunlight), only tested for newly started maps.
• A bug where cactus and door placed next to each other would remove the bottom door block (and top one if a 2 level cactus).
• Removed particles from spawning when you hit the edges of the world.
• Stairs now block light.
• A bug where fence gate would not appear in the user’s hand but in the world.
• When a user sood on a slab and created another one, the user simply fell through.
• You can no longer get unlimited diamonds, gold and iron by breaking apart blocks of them and building together as a new block.
• Swords now take damage from hitting mobs.
• Golden tools are no longer tougher than wooden tools.
• The rear end texture where upside down on some animals.
• The D-pad on ipad no longer intersects with the item slots.
• Users can no longer place sugar cane in water.
• Dark green leaves have correct textures when cut by shear.
• Dandelion “egg” fixed.
• Blocks placed on snow aren’t duplicated in multiplayer.

Genderless Minecraft

Notch recently wrote about how his intentions for Minecraft were always for everything included to be genderless and not force the player to choose in a game he views as having no set genders;

"All the other mobs in the game are genderless and usually exhibit the most prominent traits of both genders"


Notch has also revealed that his intention for the 'Steve' character was always meant to be genderless;

"The human model is intended to represent a Human Being. Not a male Human Being or a female Human Being, but simply a Human Being"

He also regrets naming the character;

"I do regret using masculine terms to talk about the default character. These days I try to use the up-and-coming use of “they” as a genderless pronoun"

Minecraft over 2 million sold on Xbox Live Arcade

"Best selling XBLA game ever, in less than a month," said Marcus 'Notch' Persson over twitter.
"2 million!," replied Daniel Kaplan, business developer for Notch's studio Mojang.

Minecraft has sold over 2 million copies since its launch on Xbox Live Arcade less than a month ago.

This means the game is now the bestselling title of all time on the platform, and brings total sales of the franchise on all platforms to 10 million.

"Best selling XBLA game ever, in less than a month," said Marcus 'Notch' Persson over twitter.
"2 million!," replied Daniel Kaplan, business developer for Notch's studio Mojang.

Minecraft has won multiple awards for its unique, creative gameplay and procedurally generated block-based worlds, and as the most successful indie title of all time, has become something of an icon in the industry. (1)

Microsoft refunds for Xbox 360 Minecraft

For those experiences the "HDTV connection problem" Microsoft have released this statement.

""We updated our pre-sale notification to inform customers that an HD screen is required for the split-screen multiplayer feature on Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition. If a player does not have an HD screen and purchased this game prior to the notification update, they are eligible for a full refund through customer support."

It seems Microsoft is now issuing refunds to affected customers who contact the publisher through customer support.

Note - Only applies if a player does not have an HD screen and purchased this game prior to the notification update.

0x10c voice-over backstory

Want to get pumped to play 0x10c when its released? This voice-over may be just the ticket.

Notch 'no plans to repeat Minecraft success"

Notch has recently revealed that he plans to focus on "small niche games" following the success of his sandbox adventure game,

Minecraft. Acknowledging the recent success of the console edition of Minecraft, which already sold over 1 million copies, he said it is unlikely he will develop another title as popular as Minecraft.

"In all seriousness, though," he said, "the massive success of XBLA Minecraft has made me decide to focus on small niche games now."

"I don't mean 'small' as in short projects, as 0x10c is a massive one. I mean ones with potentially few players." 0x10c is still early in development, however while no release date is currently scheduled it will be released early to fans as it develops, similarly to Minecraft.

0x10c will take place in a parallel universe where the space race never ended, and features random encounters, space battles, and both single and multiplayer. The title will also feature a connected economy in a similar way to Diablo 3, he states. "The hyperverse in 0x10c is based on similar ideas. 0x10c will still allow offline, though."

More Xbox Minecraft News

Recently more information regarding the release of Minecraft for the Xbox has been released. Features include;

• A guide showing you how to build things within the game
• 'Reminders' of what you currently have and what else is needed before the crafting is complete Will separate items into specific categories, such as “Home” or “Tools”
• The game will automatically craft your items (if you have them) into your desired build and places them in your inventory
• A tutorial will help a player survive the first night of the game
• The game will host 4 play split-screen co-op on one TV
• You’ll be able to connect with up to eight players online in a single world server.

Minecraft wins 2011 'NAViGaTR' game of the year award

Yes, it is indeed 2012 currently however ‘NAViGaTR’ the ‘National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers corp’ have recently announced the winners in 53 different categories. Minecraft was amongst them, Minecraft is the first game to win Game of the Year without winning any other awards. The closest to this feat dates back to the first awards year in 2011, when Grand Theft Auto III won only two awards (Game of the Year, Outstanding Action Game Sequel).

The Awards are voted on by 640 game reviewers and testers, and are meant to represent the opinions of real gamers

Minecraft 1.2.5 released

Given all the issues with the previous update, 1.2.5 has now been released. It includes the following fixes;

•Added shift clicking support in furnaces
•Added method to easily acquire blocks you have selected in the world in Creative mode using the ‘pick block’ key
•Made the Direct Connect dialog remember the last IP for the current session
•Fixed issues detected certain links in chat
•Fixed wild ocelots behaving like tamed cats
•Fixed various chat crashes
•Made cats less eager to sit on things
•Made cats less patient
•Fixed world generation failing under certain circumstances
•Fixed issues turning off sound under certain circumstances
•Removed all ghost entities under the command of Lord Herobrine
•Fixed crash when pasting certain characters in chat
•Fixed slash ‘/’ key not behaving correctly in certain environments
•Fixed command matching being too greedy (for example: typing ‘/stophammertime’ no longer stops your server)
•Fixed not being able to click coloured links
•Fixed potential issue with village door detection (which could cause too many villagers)
•Made using a stack of bowls on Mooshrooms not consume the whole stack of bowls
•Made punching a TNT block with flint and steel in hand destroy and drop a TNT block (right-clicking will activate the TNT)

Notch`s new game '0x10c'

Notch`s follow up to Minecraft, '0x10c', now has an official website. The synopsis of the game is as follows;

"0x10c is set in a parallel reality, where the space race never ended and space travel was gaining popularity among the rich and powerful. The year 1988 saw the release of a deep sleep cell whose unique programming caused a strange glitch: "a requested sleep of 0x0000 0000 0000 0001 years to last for 0x0001 0000 0000 0000 years."

"Now, in the year 281,474,976,712,644 AD, people are waking up to a universe verging on destruction, "with all remote galaxies forever lost to red shift, star formation long since ended, and massive black holes dominating the galaxy."

The game features many different aspects including;

• Hard science fiction.
• Lots of engineering.
• Fully working computer system.
• Space battles against the AI or other players.
• Abandoned ships full of loot.
• Duct tape!
• Seamlessly landing on planets.
• Advanced economy system.
• Random encounters.
• Mining, trading, and looting.
• Single and multi player connected via the multiverse.

Notch`s April fools - Mars Effect

Notch`s new game for April 1st is Mars Effect an April fool’s joke - which is a blatant parody of Mass Effect. Check it out for a laugh... if you have the same humour as Notch.

1.2.5 Pre-release available

1.2.5 Pre-release is now available. You can download it here.

Changes included in Minecraft 1.2.5 pre-release patch include:
• Added shift clicking support in furnaces
• Added method to easily acquire blocks you have selected in the world in Creative mode using the ‘pick block’ key
• Made the Direct Connect dialog remember the last IP for the current session
• Fixed issues detected certain links in chat
• Fixed wild ocelots behaving like tamed cats
• Fixed various chat crashes
• Made cats less eager to sit on things
• Made cats less patient
• Fixed world generation failing under certain circumstances
• Fixed issues turning off sound under certain circumstances
• Removed all ghost entities under the command of Lord Herobrine
• Fixed crash when pasting certain characters in chat
• Fixed slash ‘/’ key not behaving correctly in certain environments
• Fixed command matching being too greedy (for example: typing ‘/stophammertime’ no longer stops your server)
• Fixed not being able to click coloured links
• Fixed potential issue with village door detection (which could cause too many villagers)
• Made using a stack of bowls on Mooshrooms not consume the whole stack of bowls
• Made punching a TNT block with flint and steel in hand destroy and drop a TNT block (right-clicking will activate the TNT)

Minecraft - The Tv series? 25 Million downloads

'For just a small company of around 25 employees, Mojang isn't doing too bad. Financial reports say Minecraft has pulled in $80 million in revenue - or around £50.16m - since its October 2010 launch.'

With the game rapidly approaching (And probably exceeding) 25 million downloads, Minecraft is now one of the most popular online games. Along with this Hollywood seems to have noticed...

"We've been approached by a number of high-profile Hollywood producers and asked to do TV shows," said Carl Manneh, Mojang's chief executive.

Minecraft Xbox release set for 9th May

The release date for the Xbox version of Minecraft has finally been revealed as May 9th.
Imagine it, build it! Minecraft for Xbox 360 lets you create worlds from the comfort of your sofa. Play alone or play with your friends. Explore, build and conquer! At night monsters come out, so make sure to build a shelter before that happens. After that, your world is your imagination. Turn your hours into minutes with Minecraft for Xbox 360!

• The infinite possibilities in Minecraft just got bigger. The gaming phenomenon is coming to the console for the first time exclusively to Xbox 360.
• The new crafting interface in Minecraft for Xbox 360 delivers a completely new way to build Minecraft worlds where your imagination is the only limit.
• Full featured Tutorial mode to teach the basics and help master essential skills faster.
• Social Multiplayer – up to 4 player split screen on one console, share the experience for the first time from the comfort of your couch.
• Play Minecraft for Xbox 360 with Friends over Xbox LIVE, combine split screen and Xbox LIVE play in any combination up to 8 players.

Minecraft 1.2.4 released

The new Minecraft update has been released. The 1.2.4 update fixes many bugs along with introducing new decoration blocks and allowing for three new colors of Wooden Planks along with other changes.

Full list below;

Minecraft 1.2.4 New Features and Updates
•Chat history and much better chat editing
•A few new decoration blocks
•“Back” and “Quit” buttons to OutOfMemoryScreen
•Made cats more realistic (read: probably annoying).
•Added a “minimal” debug menu for testing with. Shift+F3 to hide the graphs

Minecraft 1.2.4 Bug Fixes
•Made placing half blocks on existing half blocks (to make a full block) easier
•Limit framerate on menu screens, no longer uses 100% cpu and make my computer melt
•Fixed fatal crash for converted worlds to anvil, when there’s blocks at max height
•Fixed an old bug with signs clearing text while you’re editing them in SMP
•Fixed crash when logging in while there are blocks at maxheight at spawn
•Fixed TNT ghosts in multiplayer
•Fixed storage minecarts dropping enchanted items
•Fixed crashes on invalid server addresses when joining a server
•Fixed entities being uninteractable if they existed at login (Multiplayer)
•Fixed dupe exploit with paintings
•Fixed furnaces and dispensers dropping enchanted items
•Fixed the “flickering” of chat as it vanishes off the screen
•Fixed text rendering over items in the container screens
•Fixed exploit with jungle saplings (turns other saplings into jungle ones)
•Fixed launcher opening minecraft dir if the path contains a space
•Fixed an off-by-one lighting bug * Fixed block transmuting (turning one block into another via pistons)
•Fixed placing mushrooms in daylight, where they can’t survive
•Fixed redstone lamps dropping powered block items when destroyed while on
•“save-all” (server) now works even when you have toggled “save-off”
•Fixed turning half-blocks into full-blocks while you’re standing on them
•Fixed seed displaying in F3 debug when the seed is unknown (multiplayer)
•Fixed villager texture changing clientside per profession
•Fixed falling off ledge corners while holding shift
•Fixed players falling when reconnecting to servers where they were previously flying

Minecraft Xbox, release date, revealed tommorow!

Well, the title pretty much covers the latest bit of Minecraft news. The Xbox version of the game is set for launch sometime this year yet the release date has not been finalised until now, what the date is has not been revealed yet, but the official date is set to be confirmed tomorrow.

Playxbla is announced to be the first to reveal the date.

Minecraft goes 'split screen' (Xbox)

The Xbox Minecraft release will now benefit from the ability to have a split screen viewing.

"Microsoft has revealed that the Xbox Live version of Minecraft will boast a four-player split screen mode, allowing groups of avid crafters to work together. There will also be an eight-player online multiplayer mode – and this can be combined with split screen, allowing roomfuls of four people to work co-operatively. "

You can check out the trailer made by Mojang employees and Notch below;

Currently there is no set release date however Microsoft has hinted at a spring 2012 release.

'One Giant Leap' for future Notch project

Notch, creator of the popular Minecraft game has revealed his plans for a future game.

"I think I'm going to make a space game, where you're a guy on a spaceship and you have adventures in space."

Notch also mentioned that he was working on three other projects, though no timeline of release was given.



“I’m kinda halfway through one, started somewhat the engine on one and prototyping a third, so I hope to pick a project by this summer”

He also revealed he would rather continue Minecraft than delivering a sequel to the popular game. "I think we’re gonna stick to the same Minecraft and keep adding to it, I’m not really a huge fan of making sequels. I think games can be made in a different way, but it can keep living for a long time.”