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Minecraft designs tossed into 3D printer, we're pretty sure a wizard did it
We've seen the cuboid tools afforded to Minecraft builders used for some pretty impressive in-game creations -- but never before have we seen those creations manifested out-game. Two students at the MIT Media Lab have whipped up a piece of software called Minecraft.Print(), which is capable of feeding a megastructure built in the game's world into a 3D printer, which that turns it into a real-life thing. Check out the video above to check out this impressive tool in action. Keep an eye out for the few frames where a wizard steps in and performs the series of magic spells required to make something like this work -- we missed them our first time through, but we know they're there.
Talk about zombies: Minecraft has over 10 million users
Over 10 million people now live at least part-time in the mythical world of Minecraft, where the trees are green, the zombies are dumb and the dirt is sharp enough to cut you, fool. Markus "Notch" Persson, creator of Minecraft, posted news of his growing minion army on his personal blog and twitter, and the game's official website proudly states on its Stats page that there are "10005777 registered users, of which 2674483 (26.72%) have bought[*] the game." If you still haven't joined the Minecraft militia, hurry and buy it now, for 25 percent off while it's still in beta mode, because we all know it won't stay that way forever.
Minecraft Adventure mode coming in update 1.8, game launch delayed by a week
Mojang Studio's next update to Minecraft, 1.7, promises the addition of pistons (seriously!), thus allowing for the creation of mechanical objects. Rather than include it as planned in the 1.8 update alongside Adventure mode, creative lead Markus "Notch" Persson and partner Jens Bergentsen instead chose to drop it in with a handful of bug fixes in 1.7. No solid release date is given for 1.7 (or 1.8 for that matter), but the former will be released "soon" while the latter "might be a long wait." Persson also notes that, after update 1.8 is released in the coming months (Adventure mode and all), the team at Mojang will "start crunching for the full release," though it seems that the official launch may not make its intended November 11 date. "The release date is almost certainly changed to sometime the week after 11/11/11, and we're working hard on setting that up," Persson explains. And following that, after years of laboring on Minecraft, Persson and Co. get some much needed vacation time. After that? "I'll start working on the first post-release update," he adds with a grinning emoticon.
Minecraft for Kinect is an XBLA title, ported by 4J Studios
More details have begun to trickle out on Swedish developer Mojang Studios' first Xbox 360 title, a Kinect-enabled port of indie hit Minecraft. Beyond the fact that it'll be some form of indirect port and that an unnamed developer other than Mojang was at the helm, few other details were known, but as Minecraft creative lead Markus "Notch" Persson revealed on his Twitter feed last night, Scottish devs 4J Studios are apparently in charge of this holiday's world-builder. If you, like us, are unfamiliar with 4J, a cursory Wikipedia'ing reveals work on a wealth of ports, not to mention a handful of not-so-well-known original games. Hopefully any worry you have in the studio's confidence is abated by the fact that Notch will remain a game designer on the project, presumably retaining creative oversight.
Minecraft surpasses 2.5 million in sales, still in beta
Minecraft creator Markus Persson recently announced on Twitter that his game has built up 2.5 million sales. Not bad for a game that won't officially launch for another five months. According to our napkin math, pre-release versions of Minecraft have earned over $33 million for developer Mojang. Minecraft's potential cash flow doesn't end at PC, as a limited version of the title is also planned for Xperia Play, under the moniker Minecraft Pocket Edition, while a console version of the title is also being worked on exclusively for Xbox 360, featuring Kinect and cross-platform functionality with the PC for this winter. While that "won't be a straight port," and will not be developed by Mojang, it still stands to pocket the developer some more money.
Minecraft on 360 'won't be a straight port,' not developed by Mojang
Never one to shy away from community interaction, Mojang head Markus "Notch" Persson answered fan questions yesterday about the just announced Minecraft on Xbox 360. While he'll remain attached to the project as a game designer, the port is being handled by a separate, unnamed console dev. Notch notes "the programmers have done several console games before," but adds that he can't reveal what studio it is just yet. He also revealed it "won't be a straight port, though it's unclear what that means just yet. He also spoke to the Kinect functionality, saying the game is of course playable without the motion peripheral, but "with the power of Kinect you will feel closer to your game than evar [sic] and it also saves kittens." Kittens! While we aren't sure that he's being entirely genuine with that final statement, we're just gonna take the statement at face value. We really like kittens, after all.
Minecraft Beta 1.6 released, four bug-fixing patches follow soon after
You've got to admire Minecraft creator Mojang Specifications' unswerving work ethic. The developer launched Beta Update 1.6 for the world-building title yesterday, adding mapmaking, hatches, some new vegetation and multiplayer Nether functionality to the title. Unfortunately, the update also added a handful of nasty bugs and performance problems into the game -- problems which Mojang managed to fix by releasing four subsequent mini-patches in the very same day. You can check out all of the game's latest patch notes after the jump, including patches 1.6.1 through 1.6.4. We suggest reading them in order, like a short story that was really, really frustrating for the author to write.
Minecraft digging in on Xperia Play before other Android devices
Mojang Studios today revealed to Gamasutra that its world-building, zombie-avoiding, indie hit, Minecraft, will be heading exclusively to Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play before other Android-enabled devices. Perhaps better known as the "PlayStation Phone," the Xperia Play is the first Ericsson phone to come equipped with Sony's "PlayStation Suite" service -- a service thus far used only as a delivery mechanism for PS1 ports. The studio didn't announce how long the game will remain an exclusive to the Xperia Play, or if it would arrive at the same time on iOS devices. According to a Mojang representative, the Xperia Play version will have customized controls for the phone's PlayStation-style controller layout. The rep also hinted at the nature of the release, saying it'll fall in line with the studio's previous "release early and update frequently" model. Given the previously announced "2011" release window for the mobile version of Minecraft, and the studio's upcoming "Minecraft-themed media event" at E3, we expect to hear much more in the next few weeks. [Update: Developer Markus Persson just tweeted the above image, writing, "This is the project Aron and Jens are working on."] [Update 2: Via Engadget we've even got a video of the game running on an Xperia Play which you'll find ... you guessed it! After the break.]
Maps are coming to Minecraft in Beta Update 1.6
You guys, you've got to see our latest Minecraft masterpiece! Using only the bricks included in the core game and two months of intensive, virtual labor, we've managed to completely recreate all of Red Dwarf! You can come check it out right by that mountain. Or, wait. No, sorry, it's that mountain. With the trees on it. Right? You're saying it's not there either? Oh, no. No, not again. It seems that due to Minecraft's lack of cartographical support, we've misplaced yet another magnum opus. We are, as you might expect, crushed. If only we had held off on construction until the arrival of Beta Update 1.6 -- a patch which, alongside a few bug fixes, will allow players to craft and fill out interactive maps. Instead of becoming part of the UI, the map is an item which players will have to tote around in order to fill out. That seems like a small price to pay to ensure that none of our superstructures vanish into the ether.
Notch reveals plan for Minecraft mods
The blocky world of Minecraft already seems custom-crafted for modders, but creator Notch recently revealed plans to make the game even more tinker-friendly. Here's the skinny: Mod teams will be able to get a free license and access to the game's source code. They can't sell their mods, but they might have the option to license them (for a fee) to Notch & Co. if they're especially solid. Such mods will be accessible to anyone who has purchased the game. Though we're still waiting on details that explain precisely how mods will be implemented, it seems safe to say our M.C. Kids total conversion is horrifyingly close to fruition. [Thanks, Stephen]
Fan-made Halo UNSC frigates dock at Minecraft station
At this point in Minecraft's life, we expect every gigantic space ship from every sci-fi property has been recreated. Imagine our surprise then when we looked through our records and found no documented UNSC frigates from Halo. That changes now. Seen above is the work of Minecraft forum user Garified, who constructed not one but two UNSC frigates in the game -- one large-scale and one a bit smaller -- modeled after Halo: Reach's UNSC Savannah. We think you'll agree: kudos are most certainly in order.
Minecraft hits the motherlode, reaches two million purchases
Slowly but surely, Mojang's indie blockbuster Minecraft is working its way into the collective consciousness of every human being on the planet. According to the game's official site, over two million people have purchased the game -- that's about 28 percent of Minecraft's seven million-odd registered users. The title first hit one million paid downloads back in January, meaning to complete its mission for world domination, it only has to keep up this pace of one million purchases every three months for another ... 1,700 years? Oh, man. They better keep those free content updates coming.
PC Gamer releases 90-minute Minecraft demo
If you've been hesitant to drop your dough on the entry fee to Mojang's blockbuster ... block-buster, Minecraft, but you're unsatisfied with the super simplified, free-to-play Minecraft Classic, PC Gamer's willing to give you your first hit at no charge. The site recently uploaded a demo that will allow you to create a world and shape it as you see fit, locking you out after 90 minutes of playtime. You can keep creating worlds ad infinitum, provided you don't mind the time restraint, though 90 minutes isn't enough time to get much of anything done in Minecraft's cuboid world. Seriously, we've blown an hour and a half on building a mere treehouse. Which we keep in the backyard of our mansion, which took a team of eight contractors two-and-a-half months to complete.
Minecraft beta 1.5 released, our day gets even busier
We were worried that we wouldn't be able to find the time to dip our toes into today's beefy new release catalog -- now those worries have been abated, as we're one hundred percent certain we won't have the time. See, in addition to Portal Kombat, today also brings us the launch of Minecraft beta 1.5, an update which adds weather effects, statistics, achievements and some new minecart track pieces to the rapidly expanding title. We'll try to get a few spare hours to scope out all the new arrivals, but between all the fatalities and ro-bro-mancing, it's going to be a stretch. Is there any chance we can expand today, so that it lasts, like, 28 hours? Using black holes, maybe? We're not sure, but we're totally going to need to consult some science-folks.
Around the world in eight days: A journey in Wurm Online, part one
Wurm Online is a unique MMO. I can't think of many other games that allow the freedom of Wurm, which may be why I still consider it my favorite online game to this date. For anyone who hasn't tried the game or heard me yammer on about it on the Massively Speaking podcast, I'll explain the basics. Wurm Online is a sandbox game created to allow players unbelievable freedom. If you've played Minecraft, you have the basic premise of Wurm, but multiply that experience by about 100. In fact, Markus "Notch" Persson was the co-founder and co-creator of Wurm before moving on to Minecraft and world fame. Wurm Online starts you off as a fairly inanimate and uncustomizable character whose goal is to simply build. Find a spot of unclaimed land, throw down a settlement token, and build to your heart's content. You cut down trees for wood, mine stone for ore, forage and fish for food, and use it all to create the world that lives within your imagination.
Minecraft's weather, stats and achievements previewed on video
Minecraft's Update 1.5 looks to be one of the beefiest additions to the game to date, adding weather effects, a statistics page and a whole mess of achievements to the cuboid, world-building indie gem. Check out the video posted after the jump to see these new features in action!
Minecraft beta update 1.5 to include weather effects
Since everyone knows that Minecraft's raked in a cool $33 million to date, Notch has taken it upon himself to, in true rock star fashion, make it rain. In a series of Tweets this morning, Notch revealed that Minecraft beta update 1.5 will add precipitation to the game, which could possibly have gameplay implications like watering crops, putting out fires, filling small holes and moistening wolves. By the way, "Moistening Wolves" is totally the name of our new, indie noise-rock band. Notch included an image of the weather effects at the border of two in-game biomes, showing off some sort of fantasy world where distinct rain and snow systems are allowed to hang out and be buddies. We called up our local meteorologist to see if this was a phenomenon that could occur in real life, and he literally exploded.
Molyneux: 'Minecraft's the best thing I've played in the last ten years'
Is Markus Persson's blocky world-builder pretty much your favorite thing on the earth, right up there with blue cotton candy and baby laughter? You're among some pretty prestigious company -- in a recent interview with IGN, gaming industry titan Peter Molyneux sung the praises of Minecraft, even going so far as to say, "I think Minecraft's the best thing I've played in the last ten years." Molyneux added that he appreciated the solo efforts of Persson, saying, "he did everything on his own, and I think how brilliant and inspirational that is, to not need the full force of publishers and marketing people." That's not all -- we hear Persson developed the entire game while astride the back of a gallant steed while holding an eagle in each hand. Now that's inspirational.
Next for Minecraft: Pet wolves
Big news for Minecraft-ers looking to perfect the Game of Thrones simulations they've been tinkering with: A demo video reveals that pet wolves are currently being developed for the world-building sim. Okay, so maybe they're not necessarily as "dire" as the canines that attached themselves to the Stark family in George R.R. Martin's series, but at least they're really, really adorable. See for yourself in the video just after the break.
Minecraft creator provides a walkthrough of his earlier works
Markus "Notch" Persson is a superstar in the gaming world these days, with his indie game Minecraft breaking sales records even before an official release. But all those blocks weren't built in a day -- Notch had quite a few old Turbo Pascal projects, it turns out, before Minecraft hit it big, and he's got a nice gallery of them online. You can browse through and see all of his old efforts, from an RPG called Rubylands, to a pretty impressive RTS title (though Notch says the AI was a mess). There are some Minecraft influences in there to find, most notably in a first-person view of a blockworld, and in a random terrain generator "probably inspired by Populous," Notch says. And we'll have to see if any of these earlier titles carry any of their influences on into Scrolls.
