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Downloading versionsBuilding timelineYour browser is too old to load this page properly. Please use a newer browser, such asChrome, Firefox or Edge.There's nothing here!Coming soon...This is taking unusually long. This probably means your browser is too outdated. This page should be viewed using a modern browser such asChrome, Firefox or Edge.If you are using the most recent version of a modern browser and the problem persists, please contact me.Fatal error: could not load version data! Please contact me immediately.(opens in new tab) Minecraft is expanding again. Mojang have announced that the game's new 1.3 update will arrive on August the 1st and will bring with it "A huge number of changes". It's been a bit of a wait since the last Minecraft update, but Mojang say that's because they've been making some significant structural changes to Minecraft's engine, they've "kicked out single-player, and made it a shell on top of multi-player," which brings us one step closer to mod support, and will ensure that any tweaks to multiplayer will work in single-player as well. According to the Mojang website 1.3 will include "lots and lots of bug fixes" and performance enhancements. Those will be needed however, as the new singleplayer/multiplayer combined build will be more performance intensive. According to Mojang "When playing single-player, the game needs to be able to both simulate and emulate the world, which take many more CPU cycles." There's lots of new features too. Emeralds and emerald ore are now in the game, and function as a currency. You can use them to trade with villagers and get new items. You can write in books to leave stories for other players and set tripwires to trigger monster traps. There's new stairs, half slabs and cocoa plants plus tweaks to lots of other items. Plus you now get magic orbs from mining and smelting, and can choose to start the game with a 'bonus chest' of starter items, if you're sick of spending your first night covering in a hole. Sadly the Mod API won't be available with this update, but Mojang say it will be coming soon, "Throwing out single-player was the first step in order to make the API possible, and that's done now. We decided to release 1.3 without the API, because otherwise it would be an even longer wait for a Minecraft update." If you want the full patch notes, which are enormous, you can read them on Reddit .
Looking for a reason to get back into Minecraft? The next major update coming in August adds new items, major upgrads and ton of new features and changes. Read on for the details. It's a good time for Swedish developer Mojang. Indie super hit Minecraft continues to bring in dough, quickly hitting 7-digit unit sales figures for its release on the Xbox 360, while continuing to grow via new features (LAN support!) for the core PC version. And all of this comes around the same time the studio prepares to launch their next big title (Scrolls) and while Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson is hard at work on their upcoming space-based MMO, the oddly titled 0x10c. As for Minecraft specifically, if you've not been diligently following the weekly snapshot updates, there are a ton of new features, new items and changes coming with the full Minecraft 1.3 update and we have them all listed below with screenshots. According to Jens "Jeb" Bergensten, the man now in charge of Minecraft development, the plan is to get Minecraft 1.3 ready for release on August 1, 2012. As with all things Minecraft-related, that could easily change, but a lot of the listed features are already implemented and undergoing testing to keep your fingers crossed. Some of the amazing new features coming up include a brand new inventory menu for Creative more, the writing, titling and reading of books, auto-downloading of texture packs for joining servers, trading with NPC villagers, sub-biomes, desert temples and villages, jungle temples, emerald blocks, Ender chests, starting chests, tripwires, decorative string, improved boats and much, much more. Take a look: General
Gameplay
World Generation
Blocks & Items
Mobs
Will these changes get you back into the blocky world of Minecraft? What new features would you like to see next? - Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.
Rob Keyes manages content planning and processes, business development, social media, strategic partnerships, branding and PR for Screen Rant, Collider and Comic Book Resources (CBR). You may know also him from various television and radio appearances covering the superhero beat, co-hosting the Screen Rant Underground and Total Geekall podcasts - and now, the brand new PODCAST X - or founding and building Game Rant back in the day. Find Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes or @failcube and if you need to reach either site, he's your guy rob [at] screenrant [dot] com. Rob Keyes is Canadian, the longest serving member of Screen Rant, has a Masters Degree in Economics and degrees is marketing and computer science, is an Adjudicator and Judge for the Canadian Videogame Awards and The Game Awards, and is the world's best TIE Interceptor pilot. You can see and chat with Rob live in the evenings at twitch.tv/failcube or see his videos at youtube.com/failcube. |