Minecraft PC Latest Snapshot Update Available For Download – Packed With Top Features
The Minecraft game first came out in 2009 and the fun element in this game is the fact that players can build their own worlds using bricks. Of course there is more than just building as you get to seek and scout isolated lands and fight-off the enemies approaching. Because this is such a popular game, Mojang is struggling to come out with improvements so that the players don’t get bored.
So apparently, a new update for the Minecraft computer version just arrived. The latter is called Minecraft snapshot 15w36c and it is packed with new things and features.
Mojang made sure to list all of these changes on their official page, however don’t be too surprised if you see a few random elements as well. Here is the list of changes I’m betting you are excited for:
You have a rebalanced armour, so give it a try and see how it works.
Mojan was pretty thoughtful and along with this revamped armour, the company also changed the protection and damage enchantments.
The AI bugs are now gone, not all but better a few than none, right?
The Endermen went back to being spooky.
Users will also see a bunch of new optimizations.
The player collision element has been included once more as well as the team choices for the collision. So, yay for that!
I like hugs has been added as well.
So, if you have the PC Minecraft version installed at home, go check out the 15w36c update now! If you are still new to this game, download the e-books that are available online and read the game’s instructions. Those who are playing on their iPad, Android or iPhone devices and have the Minecraft Pocket Edition installed should also be looking forward to seeing more updates in the future.
Last year, I experienced a special kind of magic at Gamescom. That magic came in the form of Skylanders on iOS. The idea made so much sense, and the implementation was so perfect, I was honestly blown away. You see, most kids play Skylanders, and then get upset when it’s time to leave the house and their mom and dad make them turn off the console and go. Alternatively, they aren’t allowed on the console, but they are allowed to play on the iPad. Skylanders on mobile devices was a revelation, and it’s continuing this year.
What I liked about it the most was that kids could continue playing on just the iPad while out of the house – certain characters were stored in the mobile device so they could play in the car or wherever. It’s the same complete game, just on tablet. This year, SuperChargers will also include the entire game, but this time it will also include a cloud save feature to allow for playability between multiple iOS devices.
The starter pack will include a Bluetooth portal, a Bluetooth controller and a built in-stand as well as the two Skylanders character figures and one vehicle. Upon download of the game, players will get Instant Spit Fire and Instant Hot Streak for free with the download, while in-app purchases will unlock Instant versions of Dive-Clops, Dive Bomber, Super Shot Stealth Elf and Stealth Stinger.
It’s this kind of innovation that will help keep Skylanders relevant for families, even as Disney Infinity and Lego Dimensions grab their share of the toys to life genre. I wonder how many ideas Skylanders will have up their sleeves – how long can the franchise keep innovating and staying fresh? Still, vehicles are changing things up this year, and by offering the complete game on iOS as well, it’s the ultimate in family life friendly gameplay.
Six years after release, Minecraft is still receiving regular updates.
The update, entitled Minecraft snapshot 15w36c, brings a handful of changes to Minecraft’s 20 million PC and Mac players.
Mojang have rounded up the changes on their website, although they’ve kept up their tradition of slipping a few nonsense changes in there as well.
Those changes are:
Rebalanced armour.
Changed damage & protection enchantments to match new armour system.
Fixed a few AI bugs across lots of mobs.
Made endermen creepy again.
Vwooop.
More optimisations! Many optimisations!
Added player collision again.
Fishing rods can now catch entities properly again.
Added team-based options for collision.
The world may corrupt slightly less times now! Or slightly more, we’re not sure!
I like hugs!
This is all fairly tongue-in-cheek, of course, but it sounds like there are AI fixes, a return of player collision detection, improved fishing rods and possibly less issues with world corruption.
Minecraft was released in its alpha form in 2010, and has been receiving constant and consistent updates for over 5 years, which is rather impressive. More impressive is how it’s become a cultural phenomenon, and in many ways, the face of modern gaming, at least as far as the mainstream populace is concerned.
The latest update for the block-breaking, block-building game is out – but it’s one of those odd snapshots that you’ll have to specifically enable.
Changed damage & protection enchantments to match new armour system.
Fixed a few AI bugs across lots of mobs.
Made endermen creepy again.
Vwooop.
More optimisations! Many optimisations!
Added player collision again.
Fishing rods can now catch entities properly again.
Added team-based options for collision.
The world may corrupt slightly less times now! Or slightly more, we’re not sure!
I like hugs!
A note from Mojang:
“To get snapshots, open your launcher and press the “New Profile” button. Call it “snapshots” and check the box saying “Enable experimental development snapshots” and save. To switch to the normal version, you can select it in the dropdown at the bottom left corner of the launcher. Back up your world first or run the game on in a different folder (See the “new profile” dialog).
Snapshots can corrupt your world, please backup and/or run them in a different folder from your main worlds.”
I don’t play Minecraft myself, but my kids love it – and I’m very, very impressed with the new Windows 10 beta of the game, which is essentially a tweaked and modified version of the mobile game. While it doesn’t support mods yet, its lack of reliance on Java makes it significantly more efficient, less resource intensive and a wee bit more polished.
“£64.99 for a wearable USB key, a small amount of software and some programmable LEDs?!”
I suspect that’s what you’ll say if you’re the parent of a child who comes begging for a Gameband Redstone, the officially-licensed Minecraft wearable, which has finally touched down in the UK and Europe.
And you’d have a good point. It is a lot for what it is. $79.99 for a branded USB key with some bells and whistles. But, if you do have a Minecraft fan in your family – of whatever age – they’ll love this. It’s great fun and makes sharing your Minecraft creations easy.
The Minecraft wearable box
The main point of the Gameband is to let you quickly grab your locally-saved Minecraft worlds and use its 8GB of storage to carry them around with you. When you want to show them to someone, you can just plug the band into their computer and get going. It works really well.
The other fun thing is that the device comes with Pixel Furnace pre-installed, so you can easily program it to show your name or a pattern of your choosing when you press the button. It also has presets to give you the time, the date and the amount of available storage.
I found it easy to set up and get my head around and I suspect that any kid who is already proficient at Minecraft will find it simple to get started with as well.
Yes, @brokenbottleboy made the Gameband light up and show his name.
The bad points? The Gameband runs small – go for a size bigger than you think you need – and it isn’t adjustable. I have relatively small wrists and still found the clasp on the model I was sent difficult to close.
What happens when you don’t close the Gameband clasp carefully.
You’re warned to be careful when you first go to clip the band on as it is very easy to get your skin trapped. As a device targeted at children, it’s definitely worth Gameband thinking a little more carefully about this design decision.
This warning sticker really isn’t enough.
In terms of resilience, the band is waterproof – to a degree – and reasonably hard-wearing. It should manage to survive most of the things a child will throw at it, but your mileage may vary.
Everything you get in the Minecraft wearable box
I would recommend the Gameband to people who really like Minecraft. It’s a fun accessory to your online adventures and also works well as a watch and general talking point. Programming the LEDs is also a great exercise for kids of all ages.
My one issue is the price: I think it’s a little steep for something with such a limited set of features. But ultimately, if you’re Minecraft mad, you’re going to want one. I definitely want to keep it.
In the past, I’ve speculated on the long term impact of the Minecraft craze. I suspect that the game’s narrative shift—away from a typical hero storyline, toward an emphasis on creativity and collectivity (when played on servers)—will significantly impact the way Generation Blockhead kids will navigate their adult lives. Look at the ubiquity of the craze. Then consider that, in spawned virtual worlds, young people are constantly empowered to create not only their own structures, but also their own modifications, rules and outcomes. It sounds like the perfect premise for a science fiction novel—like Ready Player One without the mono-mythic plot arc.
Ready Player One, for those unfamiliar, is a futuristic novel by Ernest Cline that’s currently being developed into a Steven Spielberg movie. The book is about a virtual reality adventure full of classic video game references. During an interview with Mother Jones, Cline said, “Steven Spielberg making a Ready Player One movie is going to change the course of human history as pertains to how quickly virtual reality is adopted.” The author was speaking earlier this summer to promote the release of his new novel Armada. He continued, “[Spielberg] is going to show the whole world the potential of VR, which is one of the reasons I think he’s doing it.”
Cline may be right. But before we decide which single moment to memorialize as the tipping point that leads us into the inevitable future era of VR, let’s remember that while Oculus has been iterating hardware and filmmakers have been building fantasies, the kids have already been practicing in a pixelated world full of creepers and obsidian. They took Markus “Notch” Persson’s system and remade it in their own image. Watching Generation Blockhead play Minecraft should, therefore, make you optimistic about the future. That is, until you realize that on a fundamental level, Minecraft’s conception of the life-world is problematic.
You’re probably wondering if I really meant to write “life-world.” What does the game-world have to do with the life-world? Aren’t games just computer-generated and programmer-authored escapes from reality? No. It is time we accept that video games are one of the primary narrative instruments for the 21st Century. Like fairy tales, mythology, and scripture, they are not simply entertainment. They are complex interactive symbol systems that teach young people how to make sense of their lived experience. It is through narrative tools like these that individuals develop a sense of identity, community, and agency. The game-world of today shapes the adult-world of tomorrow. All games teach players an implicit vision of the life-world. Recommended by Forbes
The issue with Minecraft is that, on the one hand, it offers an impressive virtual maker-space, an exercise in project-based learning that’s only barely limited by the everyday real-world restrictions of time and space. But on the other hand, it approaches its unique virtual landscape through the tired intellectual paradigms of the industrial era: the game-world is to be mined and exploited, each block is only an instrument to accomplish the individual player’s desired outcome.
Minecraft will almost certainly inspire a generation of empowered innovators with key problem solving skills, but its system lacks key components that would demonstrate real material consequences and, therefore, it doesn’t encourage the kind of ethical decision making that will be required of future pioneers.
