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Minecraft 'Adventure' update on XBLA 'still weeks away'
Look, we really want the next big update for Minecraft's XBLA incarnation – the big "Adventure" update, which adds NPCs, villages, strongholds, abandoned mineshafts – but it won't be here this week, it seems. Minecraft XBLA developer 4J Studios says it's "still weeks away." Taking to Twitter, the studio's official account says, "We're still working on 1.8.2 [the Adventure update]. A few things left to add, more work on the Creative Mode interface, then lots of test." Was that an invitation to test it? Because that's totally what it sounded like on this side. Just slide that code on over, 4J.Beyond the aforementioned updates in 1.8.2, the Adventure update adds Creative mode, allowing for unlimited building (without having to mine), limited only by the constraints of the Xbox 360's RAM. We'll see what that means in ... um, some weeks from now. Soon-ish. Better than "eventually," eh?
Tour Mojang's pop-up museum: view the beautiful lawsuit docs for Scrolls, the insides of a Creeper
Mojang's more than just the studio that birthed Minecraft – it's also the studio that birthed the amazing fan art you see above. Beyond said art, Mojang erected a faux museum in honor of its short life on the PAX Prime 2012 show floor.In it, we witnessed the actual legal documents served to Mojang head Marcus "Notch" Persson over Scrolls, the inner workings of a Creeper (its heart is dynamite!), and a very impressive set of Legos. Take the tour with us in the gallery below.%Gallery-164126%
Minecraft for XBLA reaches 3.6 million units sold
Developer Mojang continues to dominate the Xbox Live Arcade charts, announcing today that Minecraft for the Xbox 360 has sold 3.6 million copies. Mojang's business developer Daniel Kaplan revealed the latest numbers on the game on Twitter earlier today, saying he was "really surprised" to learn of Minecraft's latest milestone.Minecraft on XBLA broke sales records when it launched, becoming profitable within an hour of its release. In July, Mojang founder (and Minecraft mastermind) Markus "Notch" Persson revealed the game had surpassed the three million unit sales mark.On PC, the tree-punching simulator has surpassed seven million units sold. That's a lot of punching.
Minecraft XBLA update brings the thunderclaps
Minecraft's Xbox 360 iteration just got a mess of fixes in its latest update ("Title Update 4"), including pistons at the world's edge causing crashes and thunder "not being audible." Why, that's no thunder at all, then!Remedies are also given for the newly released skin packs and and several other minor glitches/bugs. And no, there are no content additions this time around, mostly just fixes for the last big update. But that Adventure Update is totally still coming!
PSA: Minecraft's 1.3.1 update goes live, go get your trade on
Ready to get your virtual trade on with virtual people in virtual villages? Minecraft's latest update for PC is here to enable that – the "1.3.1" patch – and it's got more than just value-less trading. It also has ... uh ... the Ender Chest? And writeable books?Oh, right, it also combines single-player and multiplayer modes into one, unified mode. Well then! For a full list of patch notes, head past the break.
Minecraft XBLA sells 3 million
Minecraft for Xbox Live Arcade has now surpassed 3 million units sold. The announcement comes via Twitter from Mojang's lord of the blocks, Markus "Notch" Persson, who wrote this morning: "I got told Minecraft for XBLA passed three million sales today!"The $20 downloadable title launched on May 7 and sold a million units in five days. It then reached two million sales in early June. Minecraft for XBLA has also enjoyed significant support through updates, the latest (v 1.73) having gone live last week.
Minecraft XBLA gets pistons, much more in tomorrow's 1.73 update
Minecraft's Xbox 360 version continues to march forward, with the latest update (1.73) bringing "pistons and sticky pistons," "stackable fences," and a whole mess of other items, functions, and skins to your handcrafted block world. There are even 40 new character skins, some of which can be seen above. The update doesn't include NPCs, villages, or the much desired Adventure Mode, but 4J Studios promises those will come in time.The patch, which corrects some errors too, goes live tomorrow at 2AM UTC. The full list of changes is right after the break.
Minecraft 1.3 to merge single and multiplayer, coming August 1
Minecraft version 1.3 is on the way, and this update looks to be a doozy. The most sweeping change will be a merging of single-player and multiplayer modes. More specifically, single-player as everyone knows it will now be a "shell on top of multiplayer."The reason behind the change, according to Mojang, is to accommodate the upcoming modding API, which otherwise would have required modders to create multiple versions of each mod, one for single-player and one for multiplayer. The downside is that single-player games will now require a little more computing power, though Mojang is hoping to smooth things out a bit in 1.4.Other additions in 1.3 will include emeralds and emerald ore, the ability to buy items from villagers, the ability to write in books, an optional "bonus chest" that helps new players "get started quicker" and more. Minecraft 1.3 is slated to arrive August 1, with a "release candidate" available a week prior.
Minecraft studio's rolling launch of 'Scrolls' nearing 'closed alpha' release, paid beta to follow
Mojang's "paid beta" model wasn't a Minecraft-exclusive, and the Swedish studio is implementing the same structure with its next game – Scrolls. Company co-founder Jakob Porser detailed how that'll play out for Scrolls on the game's fancy new website, where he said, "We are rapidly approaching the closed alpha of Scrolls."Said closed alpha will "be far from a feature complete version of the game," Porser said, but it does feature "multiplayer matches, single player matches vs AI, and the Deck Builder, where you can build your decks out of the 100+ scrolls that currently exist in the game." As development continues, the closed alpha will enter open beta and thusly be open for purchase. Porser promised "a reduced price ... with some added benefits" for beta buyers, but stopped short of revealing what those benefits are. Golden scrolls? Super thick scrolls?Of course, that beta won't be feature complete either, and Porser said the game will eventually include a full single-player world for battling (over various scrolls), as well as an auction house, character customization, and questing. And considering how this all worked out last time, it might not be the worst idea to get in on Scrolls early.Wanna see how the game looks before you buy into anything? Have a look at the new trailer above.%Gallery-159032%
Minecraft edges Black Ops out of second spot on XBLA charts
This week, two important things happened to Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition on Xbox 360 – one, the game topped the Xbox Live activity charts once more, this time beating out the longstanding Call of Duty: Black Ops for the number two spot (Modern Warfare 3 remains lodged in the top position). Second, and more importantly, I finally made a nether portal last night. This is important business, folks! Regardless, it's likely many of you folks have also done so by this point – the game's also topping this week's "Top Arcade Titles" list as well, digging under the hills and valleys of big seller Trials Evolution. How about those crazy ghost things, huh? Straight up madness!
How to buy Minecraft on Xbox 360 for $5 less than on your Xbox 360 [update: no more!]
Update: Best Buy's price for Minecraft is back at $20, unfortunately. Congrats to those of you who managed to snap up the lower price!With the launch of Minecraft today on Xbox Live Arcade for the lofty price of 1600 MS Points ($20), we searched long and hard to discover a way to buy the game for a full 25 percent off. There was lava and exploding Creepers and this skeleton that kept shooting arrows – pretty harrowing stuff. Anyway, we sussed out this precise formula for snagging the game on the cheap. Follow along below ... if you dare. Step 1: Go to Best Buy's website. Step 2: Purchase Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition for $15 instead of the $20 it costs on Xbox Live Marketplace. Step 3: Laugh and throw money in the air, you baller.[Thanks KP!]
Notch's new game is '0x10c'
We're not even going to pretend we know how to say the name of Markus "Notch" Persson's next game: 0x10c. According to what info he's placed on the new game's website, it's "a space game" that will launch in a manner similar to MineCraft -- releasing in an early state so players can help shape the final end product.The story revolves around a fictional parallel universe where the space race never ended, and corporations and wealthy individuals ventured out into the unknown. After an error occurred in the computers governing human sleep cycles while ships ventured out into uncharted space, humans woke up in the year 281,474,976,712,644 AD, finding little-to-no civilization remained.Each ship runs on a fixed wattage CPU, so any action will drain the ship's systems. Balancing wattage will be a core component of the game. "The computer in the game is a fully functioning emulated 16 bit CPU that can be used to control your entire ship, or just to play games on while waiting for a large mining operation to finish." 0x10c promises space battles, salvaging supplies from derelict ships, an advanced economy system and ... duct tape.Finally, the site says the game will likely charge a monthly fee for joining the Multiverse, since Notch and crew will "emulate all computers and physics even when players aren't logged in."
Humble Bundle Mojam makes nearly $500K for charity
Mojang is everyone's favorite studio to blindly throw money at these days, so it comes as little surprise that the Sweden-based Minecraft creators raised nearly $500K ($458,215.95) this past weekend during a live "game jam." The conceit was that Mojang would arrange a game jam (a "Mojam," if you will) and stream it live across 60 hours, with the resulting product being added to the most recent Humble Indie Bundle, as well as two games developed under similar constraints from Oxeye Game Studio and Wolfire Games.What games did the three studios end up making? Mojang created an Egyptian/Steampunk-themed RTS slash shoot 'em up called "Catacomb Snatch," which we'll refrain from making lurid jokes about, while Oxeye made a game named "Fists of Resistance" and Wolfire made "The Broadside Express."As over 81K bundles were purchased, the three studios collectively raised just under half a million dollars, all of which will be donated to Child's Play, Electronic Frontier Foundation, charity:water, and the American Red Cross. Now, if you'll excuse us, we've got some lurid jokes to make in private.
Minecraft guild creates massive world to help educate children
Yes, I know that Minecraft isn't technically an MMO, but with multiplayer servers, you can have up to 999 players connected simultaneously in the same space, which is ironically more than many MMOs. But I digress! Massively Minecraft (no relation) is a community of Minecraft players dedicated to the education of children on a massive scale through the popular indie sandbox. Created by virtual world vet Jokaydia, Massively Minecraft is "a Guild based learning community for kids aged 4-16 who are interested in developing digital media skills, exploring their creativity and developing online social skills." Of course, in an environment like that, there's an application process to get onto the multiplayer server's whitelist, so safety is a priority. You can learn more about how the Massively Minecraft community operates by visiting its website. [Thanks Tateru for the tip!]
Mojang's next work-in-progress, Cobalt, now available
You already kinda sorta knew about Cobalt, Mojang's first game launch as a publisher, but did you know that it'd be totally out today in Alpha form? Oh, yeah, okay, you already kinda knew that too. Well now it's official and has a price (€9.95/$13), but beyond that, we've also got a whole mess of info about today's launch. For one, the game will only be available on Windows PC initially, with OS X and Linux support arriving in "Beta." Moreover, there is no "single-player" version of Cobalt, only multiplayer and co-op modes -- according to Mojang, "hot seat" multiplayer is available on the PC and it's "theoretically limited by the number of USB controllers you manage to forcefully plug in to your poor computer." We're gonna go ahead and suggest no more than four, just to be safe. The game's Alpha also comes with a level editor, which Mojang hopes players will use to "create everything from single maps to whole campaigns from scratch." That isn't to say that the dev team at Oxeye Game Studio are sitting on their hands and waiting for the user-generated content to populate their game, however -- the announcement promises that the team "will continue adding their own maps and game modes to the game as well as continue work on the main campaign." Like with Minecraft before it, purchasing Cobalt in Alpha (or "pre-ordering" the final build, if you will) nets you access to all future builds of the game, barring the possibility of console or mobile ports. While there is no timeframe for the completed game's launch, the devs set a handful of milestones for themselves, such as the main campaign not showing up until after the game goes "Gold" (read: finished). In the meantime, we'll be sure to let you know when people start creating incredible homages to things they love within Cobalt, as with Minecraft before it.
Mojang aiming to publish Oxeye's 'Cobalt' on Friday
Usually, we receive a bit of lead time when it comes to release date announcements. "Oh, that game you're looking forward to," it usually goes, "that one won't be out til Q3 2014." We all know that anything past next spring is practically forever away -- fortunately, Mojang has announced that the excellent-looking Cobalt is going to drop this coming Friday, God willing and the creek don't rise. "We haven't told anyone [about the release date] yet because we're aiming for Friday, but we don't know if we can make it," managing director Carl Manneh told Edge Online in a recent interview, "but I think we can." We do too, Carl. We believe in you.
Mojang hoping to build official Minecraft LEGOs
Mojang has officially begun courting a relationship with LEGO, with the ultimate goal of creating an official Minecraft set of the popular building blocks. The company announced the initiative on Cuusoo, a site devoted to helping amateur (plastic) bricklayers make a connection with the LEGO company. The concept is simple, builders propose an idea for a LEGO set and, should said idea gain 10,000 supporters, it will be reviewed officially by LEGO. If LEGO decides to produce the set, the project's creator will receive a royalty. Should the Minecraft set reach production, Mojang has promised to donate its royalty to charity. The project is well on its way to an official review, with nearly 1,000 supporters, though Mojang's Daniel Kaplan tweeted that the company is also "working directly with LEGO" to make the project a reality. Far be it from us to point out the obvious, but wouldn't Minecraft LEGOs just be ... LEGOs?
Notch steps down as lead developer on Minecraft to focus on 'new project'
You know Notch. He's the behatted Swedish developer that eats, breathes, and sleeps Minecraft, right? Well ... he was. Now Mr. Markus "Notch" Persson is relinquishing lead development duties on the massively successful indie game so he can invest his time as head honcho at his growing development house Mojang. So who's going to take over that high-profile (don't mess up!) spot while Notch starts "work on some new project"? Meet cat-lover Jens Bergensten (pictured), who's no stranger to Minecraft. "We've been working together on Minecraft for a year now, and I'm amazed at how much in synch we two are when it comes to how to design the game," Notch wrote on his Tumblr. "And when we don't agree, we discuss it and something much better comes out at a result. He's truly a great person to work with, and I feel very confident handing over the leadership of Minecraft to him." In fact, Notch is so confident he's going to take a break for "rest." With the first MineCon convention over, a 1.0 version of Minecraft released, and some four million plus paying users (!) we think he's earned it. But not you, Bergensten. Back to work!
Build a place in your day for the MineCon keynote
If you weren't fortunate (or fervent!) enough to secure an entry pass to the first-ever MineCon -- that's shorthand for Minecraft Convention, obvs -- you can now watch the full, 39-minute keynote, courtesy of Gamespot. (And catch the new Mega64 video at the 33-minute mark!)
MineCon's official trailer, featuring baller Steve
Conventions don't usually have trailers, but MineCon isn't the average gathering of game fans. The event, taking place November 18-19 at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, will give Minecraft fans the opportunity to be there when the phenomenon actually, officially launches. Attendees won't just be there to watch some Swedish dude upload code so he can afford a second platoon of lawyers. Visitors will also receive access to alpha code vouchers for Scrolls and Cobalt. Considering Mojang made it rain money with a game's beta, they should be able to float a couple more projects off the buzz of a few paid alphas.
