Minecraft developer Mojang is wishing all of its console players a happy holidays with a big update and a couple of downloadable-content packs.
The block-building phenomenon is now at version 1.10 on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo systems. This patch, known as the “holiday update,” introduces flying, new potions, and more. It is free and available to download now. Mojang and publisher Microsoft are also rolling out a couple of new bundles and skin packs for players who are fans of Fallout or the most wonderful time of the year.
These kinds of updates and DLC releases are a key way that Microsoft is keeping players interested in Minecraft, which debuted on PC as an unfinished demo in 2009. Free updates get players to check out what’s new on their platform of choice, and then the skin packs enable players to spend money to help fund future development for one of the best-selling games of all time.
Here’s a breakdown of the 1.10 update:
Flying is coming to the Console Editions.
To fly, you need to equip a new item called Elytra.
You can find the Elytra in “The End” realm.
Mojang and partner 4J Studios have updated The End with End Cities and End Ships.
You can craft new potions, like Lingering potions, using Dragon’s Breath.
Minecraft now has new status effects: Levitation and Luck.
Amplified Terrain option when starting a new world on Xbox One or PlayStation 4 increases the differences between valleys and mountains. This is for getting the most out of the Elytra.
If that free content isn’t enough, you can spend $6 to unlock the Fallout Mash-up Pack. This DLC includes 44 skins that will make your characters look like the irradiated cast of publisher Bethesda’s Fallout role-playing games. You can also use a Pip-Boy-inspired user interface.
If you’re looking for something more festive, you can get the Merry Bundle for $7. This includes a number of holiday-themed pieces of DLC that will enable you to cover your world in sleighbells, presents tied up in strings, and warm wollen mittens. No word yet on whether this includes whiskers on kittens.
Minecraft fans have something to look forward to this week, as new official soundtracks for the sandbox game’s Greek/Chinese Mythology and Battle Mode expansions arrive on December 21.
Ahead of that, composer Gareth Coker has shared a few of the moody and atmospheric tracks on his Soundcloud page. We’ve embedded a sampling of the tunes below. The Interactive Academy award-winning composer also did the music for Ori and the Blind Forest and Ark: Survival Evolved.
“4J Studios has really given me a huge creative tableau to work with, which I suppose is fitting given that this is Minecraft,” Coker said in a statement. “It was also wonderful to work with a team that supported live music, as the vast majority of work on these three albums contains live musicians.”
Coker also shared some insight into his process for composing the songs.
“When writing music for Minecraft Greek and Chinese mythologies, I tried to keep the music fairly restrained and in keeping with the general pace and feel of the original game, but emphasizing the cultural and historical elements that these mythological settings bring to the table,” he said. “We end up with a mix of live orchestra, solo ethnic instruments, and pulsing background synth elements to help keep the player engaged. The main difference between the two is that the Chinese Mythology has a stronger emphasis on melody and traditional instruments, while the Greek mythology is overall a little more ambient.”
You will notice that the Minecraft Battle Mode songs are very different, stylistically, and that makes sense given the subject material.
“It is a lot faster-paced and contains a great deal of excitement, to help match the gameplay in these mini-games,” Coker said. “4J Studios were particularly keen on having melodies and riffs play throughout these mini-games, and that’s where the emphasis lies in the music here, as well as matching the huge variety of settings, which vary from fantasy, to steampunk, to the wild west, and more.”
Coker also spoke about the unique opportunity he has with Minecraft to write music for an incredibly open-ended game. There are also challenges associated with this, he said.
“One of the most enjoyable parts about creating all this music–and it’s not something that happens too often for composers for film, TV, or games–is being able to create music that isn’t necessarily tied to a fixed narrative,” he said. “This is actually its own challenge, as having a fixed narrative & picture can make decisions a lot easier, instead of having a blank canvas! However, as a result, I think I’ve been able to create tracks that have a natural ebb/flow and while enhancing the in-game experience.”
I have an addiction. It’s kept me awake all night some nights. I can wander around for hours, completely forgetting about how hungry I’m getting. I’ve gone to The End and back, chasing the dragon.
How is Minecraft such a great game? It defies reason that this retro building game could be so addictive, but I’ve spent hours figuring out how to place my mob farms to get them to spawn and shaping the outside to look like Asian architecture.
Minecraft started as an indy game, but it went viral and is one of the most in-demand console games because it allows you to create in ways that other games just don’t.
I dabbled in game mods (very, very, very newbie.) Some years back I downloaded an emulator to one of my favorite MMOs and learned how to do very basic modifications to AI scripts through trial and error. There was a world of potential in that and it lit my brain on fire to think of creating cities and new continents in the game.
But although you could place blocks through modding that game, it was just way too complicated and not very enjoyable.
Minecraft makes that block placing much easier, since that’s the main focus of the game. Switching around from wood blocks to stone, to ice, to sand or iron or glass, Minecraft addicts can craft buildings and towns ranging from great to spectacular (with the occasional newbie dirt hut thrown in). Some of the most impressive buildings and towns take months or even years to complete.
I’m not going to get that hard core about it. Probably.
Another part of this creative element is crafting, brewing things you need for survival, such as food recipes and potions. The addition of “redstone,” which acts as a sort of magic wire, allows you to extend the reach of levers to activate doors, pistons or carts on rails. This is what adds an entirely new sort of creative element: invention.
I’m still dabbling in this. So far, the only redstone machine I’ve crafted is a semiautomatic sugar cane farm, with pistons to knock the top two blocks off and a canal of water to funnel them into a collection point. Other gamers have figured out brilliant ways to exploit the game mechanics to make NPCs harvest crops automatically for you while an underground cart on a redstone rail automatically collects it for you. Fans have also created secret doors, giant locking mechanism, even a very basic but functional computer processor, existing within the game.
That took one guy two years to make.
Like I said, I don’t think I’ll get quite that hard core, but I may spend a month or two crafting my idea of an Asian village in this swampy area sprawled around my mob farm with a tower of stacked sugar cane farms.
Minecraft update are always a time for celebration. The game began life in a very different state than it is in right now, with tons less features, and essentially feeling like a totally different experience. Now, with millions of players having purchased the game, every update seems to add something new and fresh for them to try out. Today is no different with the release of Minecraft Update 1.11.1 arriving on PC. Console players should still pay attention though, these features are probably heading your way later on.
Minecraft Update 1.11.1 adds the following: “Added rocket-propelled elytra flight. Added Iron Nuggets. Added Sweeping Edge enchantment for swords. Changed the attack indicator to hint when you should attack.” Along with this are, of course, the requisite bug fixes that are in pretty much every Minecraft update.
The big news is the rocket powered elytra flight. This item was recently added to Minecraft, allowing players to glide through the skies. Adding rocket power to this feature will let players fly through the air using fireworks.
These sorts of big changes to Minecraft have been coming for a long time. The game is one of the best selling of all time, and Mojang has done a great job keeping players engaged. Offering them new features and places to explore, Minecraft has grown by leaps and bounds in a number of different ways.
The PC version of Minecraft is usually where these changes come first, with them trickling down to consoles, mobile, and the special Windows 10 edition later on. The console editions have come close to totally catching up lately, so players might not have long to wait to get their elytra flight in their PS4 and Xbox One versions.
What’s been your favorite addition to Minecraft over the last couple of years? Let us know in the comments.
Is Minecraft the Most Available game ever? It seems like it’s out on pretty much every major platform going, and this week added yet another: Apple TV. Minecraft: Apple TV Edition costs $19.99, and comes bundled with a number of DLC packs, including the Holiday 2015, Town Folk, and City Folk skin packs, and the Plastic, Natural, Cartoon, and Festive 2016 mash-ups. However, it is missing two biggish features: Microsoft Realms and Xbox Live support. Developer Mojang says these will be coming “in the near future.”
And, Minecraft: Apple TV Edition will also come with the Ender Update, released at the same time for the Pocket and Windows 10 versions of the game. This update adds a chunk of single player gameplay to Minecraft in the form of an alternate dimension (the End), populated by various baddies and items (e.g., Ender Crystals and Ender Pearls), as well as the Ender Dragon itself.
As the name implies, the new Minecraft mash-up pack from Mojang celebrates the holiday season with new skins and textures inspired by festive celebrations from around the globe. Players can adorn themselves in Santa’s suit, or dress up like Krampus, and the new skins include plenty of other popular holiday imagery, like elves, reindeer or something called a Dishevelf. The Festive Mash-Up Pack even includes yeti and bigfoot skins. Hilariously enough, there’s enough a blue variant of Santa’s traditional red-and-white outfit called “ Cool Claus ”.
Unfortunately, unlike last week’s Ender Update, and the recent spate of holiday content we’ve seen for PC and console games, the Festive Mash-Up Pack won’t be a free download for Minecraft: Pocket Edition or Windows 10 Edition players. Those interested in the holiday content can purchase the Festive Mash-Up Pack from their preferred app store for $3.99.
For a closer look at the the Minecraft Festive Mash-Up Pack, take a few minutes to watch the new trailer from Microsoft and Mojang. Then head down to the comments section and let us know what mash-up pack you’d like to see in Minecraft: Pocket Edition and/or Windows 10 Edition next.
Minecraft is now available on PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS Vita, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, PC, iOS and Android.
Be sure to check back with iDigitaltimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for more Minecraftnews throughout what’s left of 2016 and however long Mojang supports Minecraft in the years ahead.
