Chances are if you have a kind between the ages of five and 14, you know “Minecraft.”
The video game is a constructable world of building cubes and creatures ranging from pigs to zombies to dragons. According to PC Gamer, “Minecraft” had 74 million active users in December. More than 144 million copies of the game have been sold since its 2011 debut.
Gabe Young, co-founder of Minefaire, calls it “digital Lego.”Minefaire returns Saturday and Sunday to NRG Center, bigger and better than last year. Tickets are still available at minefaire.com.
Minefaire comes to Houston with more games, YouTubers and fun
Now Playing: Minefaire comes to Houston with more games, YouTubers and fun
Minefaire is a two-day event dedicated to the game Minecraft featuring YouTube superstars, interactive games, stage shows and more. Video provided by Minefaire.
Media: Houston Chronicle
Last year’s Minefaire drew thousands of fans. This year’s incarnation promises even more alongside the stage shows, costume contests and “Minecraft” mentors.
Fans can meet more than a dozen popular YouTubers, including OMGchad, JeromeASF and Houston native UnspeakableGaming, who spoke about his rise to online stardom. They will take photos and sign autographs.
There will be a “more immersive” virtual reality experience. Attendees can create their own personalized “Minecraft” action figures. The Minecraft Escape Room challenges kids and parents to break into a Minecraft chest. Houston Public Library will host a “Minecraft Experience.”
The merchandise store is also 15 times larger than last year. Parents, get those wallets ready.
The first phase of the promised Update Aquatic has arrived for Minecraft on Xbox One (not the legacy Xbox One Edition), Windows 10, Android, Apple TV, Gear VR, iOS, and Fire. As well as adding eight new achievements, Phase One will add lots of new underwater features. There’s a full list of those features in addition to a handful of new screenshots showing the features in action.
The first wave of Update Aquatic features arriving today include:
Fish (salmon, cod, pufferfish, tropical fish)
Bucket of fish
Coral (coral, coral fans, coral blocks)
Kelp, Dried Kelp, Kelp Block
Dolphins (follow boats, get a boost swimming next to them)
Icebergs
Blue Ice
Nine Ocean Biomes (frozen, deep frozen, cold, deep cold, lukewarm, deep lukewarm, normal, deep normal, warm)
Underwater Ravines & caves
Sea grass
Sea pickle (w/ illumination! Up to 4 in a block – only light up underwater)
Shipwrecks
Treasure chests (in ruins, shipwrecks)
Ruins
Swimming
Treasure Map
Buried Treasure
Heart of the Sea in buried treasure chests (non-active)
Trident
Trident enchantment
Stripped Logs
Buttons, Trap Doors, Pressure Plates with variation
Carved Pumpkins
Floating Items
Boat Polish (smoother control)
8 new achievements
Water has a completely new look and increased visibility while underwater
Prismarine Stairs and Slabs
New swimming animation while sprinting in water
Minecraft: Education Edition Chemistry features can now be enabled under Cheats! For tips on getting started, check out the Chemistry Lab Journal
As you may have guessed, Update Aquatic will be arriving in multiple parts. The remaining features will be included in Phase Two, which will be “coming soon”. As soon as we get more details on Phase Two, we’ll be sure to let you know, but for now, enjoy all of the new features that are available now with Phase One.
Minecraft’s long-awaited Update Aquatic has finally surfaced, and is now available on Xbox One, Windows 10, Gear VR and Oculus, mixed reality devices, and mobile.
Update Aquatic, as its name suggests, is designed to add more life to Minecraft’s oceans. It’s a major update too – so big, in fact, that developer Mojang has elected to release it in two parts. The first is out now, while phase two is “coming soon”.
Once the new patch is installed, Minecraft players on supported platforms will be able to enjoy a wide selection of new fish and other water-dwelling creatures, including salmon, cod, pufferfish, tropical fish, and dolphins – the latter of which will follow boats across the ocean.
Elsewhere beneath the waves, you’ll find the likes of coral reefs, kelp, underwater ravines and caves, sea grass, shipwrecks, treasure chests, ruins, and more. Additionally, there are nine distinct new ocean biomes: frozen, deep frozen, cold, deep cold, lukewarm, deep lukewarm, normal, deep normal, and warm. Icebergs and blue ice are now found in chillier climes.
A somewhat more exhaustive list of Update Aquatic’s new additions, including improved boat control, is located over on Mojang’s announcement post.
Minecraft’s Update Aquatic will launch on Switch on June 21st, alongside the console’s new-fangled Bedrock Edition, but will not be coming to either Switch or Xbox One’s older, pre-Better Together versions. The update is also due on Minecraft’s Java version “very soon” and will arrive on PS4,Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Vita, at a currently unspecified future date.
MInecraft is one of those games that’s in a constant state of flux, with the developers wasting no time in adding new content through regular(ish) patches. The big “Bedrock” update is due to launch on the Switch on 21st June, adding in cross-platform play and a whole slew of other features. However, alongside the Bedrock update, Switch will also be receiving the Update Aquatic, the details of which have just been revealed.
Update Aquatic will be rolled out in two phases, the first of which comes out with the Bedrock update. The included content is as follows:
Fish (salmon, cod, pufferfish, tropical fish)
Bucket of fish
Coral (coral, coral fans, coral blocks)
Kelp, Dried Kelp, Kelp Block
Dolphins (follow boats, get a boost swimming next to them)
Icebergs
Blue Ice
Nine Ocean Biomes (frozen, deep frozen, cold, deep cold, lukewarm, deep lukewarm, normal, deep normal, warm)
Underwater Ravines & caves
Sea grass
Sea pickle (w/ illumination! Up to 4 in a block – only light up underwater)
Shipwrecks
Treasure chests (in ruins, shipwrecks)
Ruins
Swimming
Treasure Map
Buried Treasure
Heart of the Sea in buried treasure chests (non-active)
Trident
Trident enchantment
Stripped Logs
Buttons, Trap Doors, Pressure Plates with variation
Carved Pumpkins
Floating Items
Boat Polish (smoother control)
8 new achievements
Water has a completely new look and increased visibility while underwater
Prismarine Stairs and Slabs
New swimming animation while sprinting in water
Minecraft: Education Edition Chemistry features can now be enabled under Cheats! For tips on getting started, check out the Chemistry Lab Journal
It looks like this’ll be quite a significant expansion on the base game, and of course, it’ll be free to all owners.
What do you think? Do you still play Minecraft often? Will you be giving Update Aquatic a go? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Batman: The Animated Series is returning as a series of board games from IDW Games, starting with Batman: The Animated Series – Gotham Under Siege.
Batman: The Animated Series – Gotham Under Siege is a 1-5 player game. Players play as either Batman or one of his allies as they defend Gotham City from classic Batman villains from the animated television series.
The game is designed by Richard Launius, whose game design credits include Elder Sign and Planet of the Apes and who is known for creating thematic tabletop games, and co-designed by Michael Guigliano. Batman: The Animated Series – Gotham Under Siege’s gameplay includes the use of dice allocation and threat management as players defend Gotham against henchmen and boss villains.
This game’s production design includes all new artwork, character miniatures, 3D city buildings, and other board game elements. You can see the Box Top art by Matt Ferguson above. The figures are sculpted by Brian Dugas.
Future releases in IDW’s Batman: The Animated Series board game series will continue to celebrate the series and its universe with more heroes and villains, and new and familiar settings.
Batman: The Animated Series – Gotham Under Siege will be available in August 2018, with a preview at Origins Game Fair 2018.
Batman: The Animated Series seems to be experiencing a resurgence in tabletop gameplay. For the first time ever, the DC Animated Universe will be represented in HeroClix when Wizkids releases the DC Comics HeroClix: Batman: The Animated Series set also in August. The HeroClix release includes a full five-figure booster set, a Fast Forces set, a Dice and Tokens set, and a release day organized play kit. The set will include characters from Batman: The Animated Series and other DC-inspired animated series, including Justice League Unlimited, Batman Beyond, and the Super-Friends. The set will include several characters who have never been made in HeroClix before, such as Zeta, Leslie Thompkins, Maxie Zeus, Kyodai Ken, the Clock King, the Phantasm, Riddler’s Robot Minotaur, and Apache Chief.
Batman: The Animated Series is also set to come to Blu-ray for the first time ever sometime in 2018. The theatrical film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was released on Blu-ray last year.
