While the ‘Better Together Update‘ gets ready to combine console and mobile versions of Minecraft into one mega Minecraft with much prettier graphics, the console versions have been updated. The update is currently making its way onto Xbox and PlayStation platforms, with Switch and Wii U to follow on later tonight, and it’s bringing quite a bit.
Unfortunately, the update is for console versions only (as stated previously), but at least is brings Llamas. Check out all the new features below!
New Features:
7 new Achievements/Trophies
New UI engine (saving significant memory – which should boost performance!)
Llamas
Parrots
Woodland Mansion
Treasure Maps
Observer Block
Totem of Undying
Illagers! Vindicator, Vex and Evoker!
‘Bouncy’ Beds
Dyeable beds
Option to change Biomes size to match other platforms (since they are smaller on console by default)
For some perspective, that means it has been watched more than all five Super Bowls over that same time period combined. Way more.
Middleton, better known as Dan TDM, may not be a household name yet, but he’s one of YouTube’s brightest stars and biggest successes. For five years, he’s mixed real-world video footage with gameplay from the video game Minecraft to draw a giant audience of kids and parents.
Now he’s bringing his first-ever live tour to Clearwater’s Ruth Eckerd Hall to see if the pug-filled, evil-twin-inhabited digital world he’s created will translate beyond the Internet.
“You’ll see quite a few of the characters from YouTube, like scientist Dr. Trayaurus and my evil twin, Evil Dan,” Middleton said.
And yes, that includes the pugs, which appear in the show, but are also Middleton’s real-life pets.
“We love them because they’re quite lazy so it gives me ample time to make videos,” he said. “I won’t say they don’t bug me, but they’re just really great at chilling out.”
The storyline for the stage show involves Dan TDM being kidnapped by Evil Dan, who gives him a series of gaming challenges. During some of those games, the entire audience participates from their seats. At other points, some audience members are brought on stage.
There’s a giant screen where the gaming happens, which includes a level custom designed for the live show by the online social gaming platform Roblox. It usually goes smoothly, but Middleton concedes that when you’re playing a game live in front of an audience, “unexpected things can happen.”
It’s a busy time for Middleton. Late last year he released his first graphic novel, Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal, and he wants to do another one. He continues to release daily content on YouTube while he’s traveling for the tour, lugging hard drives worth of material around with him, and even filming and editing in planes and hotel rooms along the way.
“I just love what I do I guess. I think you have to, in order to have a crazy schedule like this,” he said. “But I just find it really
Minecraft—the wildly popular video game that lets you build things out of virtual bricks—has emerged as a favorite of architects and enthusiasts eager to make everything from imaginary Brutalist buildings to miniature cities. But Su Yijun, a 22-year-old aspiring architect in Zhuhai, China, has created a true Minecraft marvel: a detailed replica of Beijing’s Forbidden City covering a site of 100 million blocks.
The virtual project had broken ground with the help of volunteers back in 2013, but when Su joined the group in 2014, they decided to start again from scratch. Su eventually became the project’s chief organizer, researching traditional Chinese architecture in order to perfectly replicate the palace’s nearly 1,000 buildings. He researched structure, decor, materials, and architectural history, even visiting the real-life site to learn details he couldn’t find elsewhere.
But this was tricky too: “Many areas are not open to the public,” Su told Sixth Tone. “And because of the exhibits, the interior decorations in the Palace Museum were not the same as how they originally appeared.”
Su worked with fellow Minecraft players to build the replica, but at one point their construction team was down to just him and another player. The effort, though, was worth it: “Through this, I hope to impart some knowledge about architectural aesthetics,” Su said, “and share my thoughts on architectural design.”
The game update will bring graphical updates, cros-platform servers and many new features to add fun to the game: stained glass, books, and banners. The later can be placed on walls or lie on the ground and they are made out of wool. The banners are the perfect medieval decorations. If you want an adventure map, then you can use books and quills. Your imagination will also be tested with the stained glad feature.
This new feature of the “Minecraft” Better Together update will allow you to design buildings in several colors and you will also be able to change Beacon colors. Regular glass block will probably fade in front of the new stained glass. Many “Minecraft” fanatics have written online what other new features they would like the game to have.
The update expected this summer will unify the Nintento Switch and Xbox One versions with the PC (Windows 10) and mobile versions of the game. This cross-platform play will be possible with the help of the Bedrock Engine. Players from any device will be able to gather together and enjoy the game. Play Station 4 will also be added to the cross-platform play. This coming together of players using multiple devices will help the expansion of the content creator and “Minecraft” Marketplace.
So far, the “Better Together” update, announced at the Xbox E3 press-conference, seems very promising and fans are very excited for its release. The PC version will be the only one to have a subtitle: “Minecraft: Java Edition”. The game will only be called “Minecraft” with other devices: Xbox, Nintendo Switch, VR and mobile versions.
Console players are excited to receive this news, especially if PlayStation 4 owners will also be able to enter this platform. Nintendo’s vision seems to be about unification and getting all players together in one place.
Minecraft is one of the biggest games ever, and with that comes with one of the largest communities ever. From mods to fanfiction and more, people are finding interesting and unique ways to be a part of their favorite game.
One of the biggest contributions to the community are videos about the game. Here are five fan-made videos about Minecraft that are worth your time.
1. Minecraft Hardcore – PBGGameplay
YouTuber PeanutButterGamer is best known for his series of longform comedic videos of various video games. However, he also has a very successful let’s play channel. And by far the most beloved series on that channel is his Hardcore series.
The premise of Hardcore is that PeanutButterGamer and a bunch of other YouTubers and friends set out to complete the main quest of a game. The catch is that if a person dies, they’re out for the rest of the game. The rest go along until either they complete the quest or they all die.
It’s pretty much a live and more genuine version of something like The Walking Dead, zombies and all. In between the threat of death, everyone on the team is all goofing around and bonding with each other. And when they inevitably die, it’s all the more heart-wrenching. Seriously, for all the silliness that goes on, some of the deaths in Hardcore are really sad. Everything is accentuated by the impeccable editing, which use music and special effects at just the right moment to really drive the mood.
PBGGameplay has five seasons of Hardcore for Minecraft, though I recommend the fifth one as that has the best production values and most memorable moments. He also has Hardcore seasons for other games like Terraria and MineZ.
2. Brentalfloss’ Minecraft Song – Brentalfloss
There are tons of musical parodies of Minecraft, but few are original songs. Enter YouTuber Brentalfloss, who does a brilliant job of summing up the appeal of Minecraft in a one and a half minute song. Describing it here would only spoil the experience, so take a look for yourself.
Brentalfoss has many other musical spoofs of video games in his extensive “With Lyrics” series, taking the melody of a popular video game song and adding lyrics that both celebrate and lampoon the game.
3. Lion King in Minecraft (Circle of Life) – CraftedMovie
This video recreates the opening sequence of Disney’s The Lion King but with the mobs from Minecraft. Watching this video side by side with the original, its amazing to see just how much this video gets right. The setting, camera angles, character acting, and original a cappella music are all spot on. It’s impressive in how authentically it recreates the mood of the original movie.
4. An Egg’s Guide to Minecraft – Element Animation
An Egg’s Guide to Minecraft is one of the better known animation series on Minecraft, also also one of the better ones. Featuring fun characters, jokes, and well-made animation, there’s a reason this series has lasted from 2012 to 2016.
The series is so well known, in fact, that the voice of the villager was featured in an April Fools update to the actual game in 2014 where the voice replaced the sound of the mobs and music. The update can also be accessed by downloading a mod.
If that doesn’t prove its prominence, I don’t know what does.
5. Realistic Minecraft – Nukazooka
Hardcore Henry meets Minecraft Hardcore in this fan film. The first-person perspective mends beautifully with the special effects to create a surprisingly intense yet humorous take on what Minecraft may look like in real life. Personally, I think this should be a new feature. Augmented reality, anyone?
