By Alanah PearceThe Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition beta is now available on Oculus Rift, and it brings a handful of surprising changes to Minecraft’s well-loved gameplay.
1. Enemies are huge
“It sounds like whatever chasing you really is physically behind you.
Since Minecraft on Oculus puts you virtually into the game, the size of individual mobs is surprisingly intimidating. I hadn’t even noticed that Zombies were taller than players until I had to look up at one of them who was sticking his big, blocky arms through my front door, making that creepy groaning sound under his breath. The threat of taking damage is the same as it has always been, but the invasion of space that comes with a seemingly giant mob chasing ‘me’ made me run away a lot more often than stay and fight like I usually would. This is made even more intense by the Oculus’ built-in positional audio. It sounds just like whatever chasing you really is physically behind you.
2. Caves are creepy
Caves are just as creepy as mobs, especially if you run out of torches. Craning your neck around trying to see in complete darkness is seriously stressful. I’ve probably never been as happy to see lava in Minecraft as I was when I was in VR — the light is a safe haven from completely consuming darkness.
Having your entire field of vision be encompassed by the caves’ near-black is both unsettling and a little claustrophobic, especially since while you’re pickaxing your way down, you’re usually packed into relatively small spaces by stone, too. Not stocking up on torches (or the wood you need to make them) before you head into a mineshaft is now not only an inconvenience, but a pretty big source of stress.
3. Combat feels more personal
“The bow is a lot of fun to aim in VR.
Something about aiming by moving your head rather than my moving your mouse (or thumbstick) makes combat feel a lot more personal, and with that comes a much greater sense of control. It’s a little odd to see your sword floating along in front of you in VR, but facing one of those giant mobs and swinging feels significantly more triumphant than it does in non-VR Minecraft, because it feels like that sword is really yours. It’s like an extension of your body rather than an extension of your character, and that, teamed with the whole ‘mobs are huge and invade your space’ thing, makes combat much more satisfying. The bow specifically is a lot of fun to aim in VR, too, and definitely feels a lot more accurate than using a controller.
4. I kept getting lost
When playing Minecraft normally I can get orientated in caves and mines pretty easily because I’m not all that immersed. I’m able to comfortably look around and take mental notes. Your sense of ‘place’ is a very different in VR, where you’re constantly overwhelmed by the appearance of new environments, even if you consciously know you’re only there visually.
This meant I got lost a whole lot — it’s like my short-term memory was totally disabled. I’m sure we’ll learn more about this as VR technology becomes more commonplace, and I’m not sure if this was specific to me, but I feel like the constant feed of new imagery to absorb caused my brain to ignore important things like, you know, where the hell I am, and which direction I came from.
5. Heights are intense
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What do you do when you’re 128 blocks high in the Minecraft world?
As a person who isn’t at all afraid of heights, I might sell this a little short, but one of my first experiments was try to get to the highest point in a nearby jungle. I did, and was mostly just impressed by the view — Minecraft’s relaxing music made that feel serene more than anything. So, I decided to step it up, and used the ‘put blocks on top of each other while jumping’ trick to build myself into the highest point of the game — 128 blocks high. The vertigo kicked in at about 60, and by the time I made it to the maximum, I started feeling noticeably dizzy, in ways non-VR Minecraft definitely never made me feel.
But then, what do you do when you’re 128 blocks high in the Minecraft world? You jump off, of course. Seeing the grass below quickly rush towards my eyes was almost inexplicably disturbing, when it’s something that normally wouldn’t bother me at all.
6. It’s pretty sickening
When thinking about video game universes I’d like to exist in, Minecraft was never all that high on the list, losing points for its unnatural, blocky appearance. That, mixed with being in first-person perspective, is pretty brutal in VR. There are various VR-specific options in the settings menu, including one that makes looking left to right more choppy, to avoid the sickness that comes with the world changing horizontally without your body moving that way. It’s helpful, but, as someone who is already motion-sickness-sensitive, it was always uncomfortable. I had to take frequent breaks.
Thankfully, there is a theater-style mode, too, that places you in a chair in a Minecraft-esque house, and has you ‘play’ on a virtual TV in front of you. It seems a little pointless to simulate a living room while you’re playing Minecraft in VR in your living room, but it is a much more fitting environment, at least, and it completely erased any motion-sickness I had.
Following fast on the heels of Mojang’s first console mini-game—Battle—is another competitive arena game mode, but this time with a little bit more polish and a lot more fun. Rather than trying to badly emulate the highly niche and wonky PvP that is popular on big Minecraft servers, Tumble takes all of the best elements of one of Minecraft’s oldest existing minigames, polishes them, and presents it all in fast-paced package. Where Battle was something of a disappointment, Tumble plays to Minecraft’s strengths and manages to offer something to console players that is unique and fun.
The idea behind Tumble is very simple—players start on a layer of dirt over a pit of lava and have to try to be the last player standing. Using shovels or snowballs, they try to outmaneuver their foes and dump them into the soup while avoiding the same grisly fate. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s basically the same concept as the Spleef minigame, which has been around in various forms for ages now. Tumble comes with the polish and craftsmanship of expert creators, and it doesn’t feel so much like an imitation as an evolution. There are many different arenas that take advantage of all of Minecraft’s varied biomes, giving players the opportunity to unceremoniously dump each other into molten rock from all sorts of terrain.
While there isn’t a whole lot of strategy involved with Tumble—the best tactic seems to be running and hiding while other players eliminate each other — there are ways that good players can distinguish themselves, and that’s where a lot of the fun comes in, especially for veteran Minecrafters. By avoiding soul sand and cobwebs, or by making use of slime blocks and jack o’lanterns, you can gain an advantage over opponents who don’t make good use of terrain. For the most part though, Tumble plays a lot like a Mario Party minigame — hectic, often arbitrary, alternatively frustrating and fun.
Tumble isn’t going to develop into any sort of massive competitive scene or sell new players on Minecraft all by itself, but it’s a free addition to an already robust game. And unlike Battle, it feels like it was designed to played in Minecraft.Tumble works great as a palate cleanser or with a close group of friends. Given the incredible attention to detail here, I hope Mojang gives us more like Tumble in the future.
Tonight we’re kicking off our official premiere of Microsoft, Minecraft, and Libations, our new show where we sit back, talk about Microsoft while playing Minecraft, and, well, having a few drinks!
If you missed our earlier announcement for the full context you can find that here to learn more about the format and plans.
For now, all you need to do is watch the live stream above or head to our Beam channel at Beam.pro/windowscentral where you can jump in on the live chat.
We’ll occasionally field some questions from the audience, so it’s best to sign up for Beam. Plus, doing so will help enter you in our contest to win an exclusive Windows Central Xbox One controller made by Controller Chaos and designed by @GeordieTommy_.
You can find the rest of the contest entry tasks below:
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For those curious, we’re aiming for a 90-minute air time, but honestly, we have no idea how long it will go. So grab a drink and join in on the fun to find out!
“Minecraft” update 1.33 is now available on PlayStation 4, PS3, and PlayStation Vita in Japan and Europe. The update 1.33 is also expected to hit North America.
Tumble Mini Game is the second mini game released for “Minecraft’s” Console Editions. As the mini game is inspired by Spleef, it includes two variants, the first one is, a player can throw snowballs, while the other is equipping the players with shovels, based on the report of PlayStation LifeStyle.
Each fight in the Tumble Mini Game is a best of three and takes place on a series of semi-randomized maps, where each player will be given several layers of differing materials and hazards.
Aside from Tumble Mini Game, the patch notes for “Minecraft” update on PlayStation platforms include Battle Map Pack 3, six new trophies in the Battle mini game, as well as the re-enabled of the previous Birthday and Minecon skin packs for “Minecraft” gamers who had them.
The previous Birthday and Minecon skin packs and the changes that have been made to Battle Mini Game are connected to chest refilling logic. In which it make things harder for “Minecraft” gamers camping beside chests, as it was required to make some balancing changes to items spawning in chests, according Neuro Gadget.
However, as “Minecraft” can also be enjoyed on Windows 10 PC and this version will have a new update that will be available this fall. The game will be getting Ocean Monuments, which are rare locations of the sandbox video game, but a treasure chamber will be discovered and it includes the Elder Guardian boss battle.
The update will also come along with the Wither boss, which can be summoned and if a player will defeat it, they will have the opportunity to have the highly-valuable Nether Stars that can be utilized to craft beacons.
While today’s Minecraft: Pocket Edition [$6.99] update isn’t nowhere as huge as the upcoming 0.16 Boss Update one we wrote about a few days ago, 0.15.7 has added one important new feature: a new texture pack. According to the update blog announcement, this one is mostly about Oculus Rift, but what the rest of us are getting is the Natural texture pack, which lets you enjoy higher-res textures and more realistic sheep faces (108 more pixels ready to haunt your dreams). The texture pack really makes a huge difference in the way the game looks, and although it won’t be to everyone’s liking (texture packs never are), if you wanted your Minecraft to look sharper, this is the texture pack for you.
If you want to check it out, go to the in-game store to see screenshots. The pack costs $2.99, which is a good price considering how much it changes the game’s look. In addition to the new texture pack, Mojang also put out a call for Android users to help the developers test the 0.16 update, so if you can and want to help test it, go here to sign up. As for the Boss Update release date, the developers have only said that it’s coming “soon-ish,” so we’ll see when that will be. But for now, go stare into those hi-res sheep eyes.
