‘Minecraft’ creator wants you to go on a kaleidoscopic trip
‘Unmandelboxing’ is a geometric experience that’s viewable in virtual reality on certain browsers.
Markus “Notch” Persson, thecreator ofMinecrafthas something to show you, but you might not be ready for it. Okay, “your browser might not be ready for it” is probably the more accurate statement. The project? A kaleidoscopic “ray marching fractal generator” that’ll run in virtual reality on certain browsers, or just plan old 2D on basically everything else.Road to VRlinked to the mesmerizing geometry project (dubbedUnmandelboxing) apparently only weighs about 3.5 KB.
And it seems like that was intentional.Road to VRnotes that in the source code you’ll find that the image size is a paltry 426×240 pixels and the whole thing uses the relatively limited RGBA332 color palette. Despite Notch’sinterest,then disinterestandthen indifferencetoward Oculus, he’s madeUnmandelboxingplayable in WebVR with the second Oculus Rift development kit:
Road to VRalso writes that currently includes a “properly installed and configured” version of Mozilla Nightly but not much, if anything, else. If you think it’s worth the effort to see it for yourself, hit the source links below.
It can be easy to get lost in fractals – those never-ending complex patterns that loop over and over again – and it’s even easier to get totally immersed into one with a VR headset on.
Minecraft founder Markus “Notch” Persson released what looks like a hobby project that involves virtual reality, fractals and an Internet browser. It’s very trippy especially in 3D.
Notch, as he’s known online, also had a trippy love-haterelationship with the Oculus Rift, but now seems to have taken a liking to the platform. Initially, theMinecraft creator was an early supporter of Oculus. When Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion, Notch withdrew his support.
Eventually (and apparently even more so now), Notch got over the deal. It’s ironic considering Notch eventually sold out too when hesold Mojang, the studio behindMinecraft, to Microsoft for $2.5 billion.
He’s been working on small development projects since the sale. When he’s not tweeting about working “without actually finishing anything,” Notch does find ways to finish stuff, and hisUnmandelboxing is proof of that.
Weighing at a light 3.5 KB, the project takes viewers on a frantic fractal virtual reality journey. It’s best viewed using an Oculus Rift headset on a browser supportingWebVR (available only on experimental builds of Firefox and Chrome), but regular versions of Chrome and other browsers can also display the visuals, albeit in a 2D perspective.
Those with the appropriate gear may or may not get it to work consistently. Notch says it works for him using the Rift DK2 on a Firefox Nightly build. Notch’s followers shouldn’t expect more to come out of this project however, as Notch is notorious for picking up things and dropping them just as quickly.
Ultimately, the main goal of the project was achieved: to produce a program taking advantage of virtual reality that is not only Web-based but also light enough to run on regular browsers. The fractals themselves run from a simple enough set of mathematical rules that also allow Notch’s project to remain incredibly small in size.
Minecraft Pocket Edition 0.14.0 Beta and Education Edition Exposed Details
Mojang has rolled out two important updates regarding the “Minecraft Pocket Edition”, one for Android and the other one for the PC.
“Pocket Edition” Beta 0.14.0 delivers new items
The “Pocket Edition” Beta 0.14.0 was officially announced on Mojang’s blog. The update delivers new maps, hoppers, droppers, dispensers and more. It seems that witches are also part of this new update along with some pumpkins hats and even Mob Head hats. Worth mentioning are the red sandstones, the comparators and the repeaters as well as the slime blocks.
Aside from all of these new items, the update comes with improved textures, increased chances for zombie babies to become jockeys and more. The bug fixes also make a huge difference and they target the various performance problems and the crashes that were all fixed by developers.
And because we are talking about a beta here, if you want to test it out, you can only do so in the beta testing program. Before you do that, you have to make sure that you have the “Minecraft Pocket Edition” installed on your Android gizmo.
If you want to test the release for “Minecraft” (PC version) look for the snapshot dubbed 16w03a.
In other news, Mojang made it clear that a new “Minecraft Education Edition” done in collaboration with Minecraft Education will be launched. ZDNet informs us that because the “Minecraft Education Edition” is not written in the older Java version, the latter may not work with previous versions. It seems that Mojang is planning to use content in C++ for the latter, but this remains to be seen.
Minecraft Becomes Number 1 Selling Game of All Time on Japanese Wii U eShop
Minecraft Wii U Edition was thought by some to be a too little-too late type of scenario. The game has been released on virtually anything with a screen, so many thought that the impact the game would have on the Wii U would be little to none. It looks like these feelings of doubt have been quieted though, as Minecraft Wii U Edition has become thehighest sellingWii U eShop title in Japan to date.
Minecraft Wii U Edition has already sold more than 77,000 copies, which is about half of what the PS4 edition has sold digitally even though it’s only been on the market for a fraction of the time. It looks like Minecraft and the Wii U was a match made in heaven after all.
Minecraft: Wii U Edition’s Second Patch Is Out Now
The second patch forMinecraft: Wii U Editionis now available, implementing a number of bug fixes to the Wii U version ofMojang‘s flagship title. Some notable changes include fixing aproblem when using third-party Wii U Pro Controllers, as well as an issue when copying saves with no space available. The full change log for the game’s latest patch is as follows:
Fix for a problem with the analog sticks when using 3rd party Pro controllers.
Fix for a crash after playing for an extensive time.
Fix for a hang when losing internet connection while in an online game.
Fix for a graphical issue when looking through opaque colored Glass Blocks.
Fix to enable Game Chat through the gamepad even if it isn’t being used by one of the active players.
Fix for an issue when disabling the Game Chat option while in an online game.
Fix for an issue with the Game Chat option in splitscreen.
Fix for an issue with input when a splitscreen player is using the system keyboard.
Fix for an issue when copying saves with no space available.
Fix for issues when the user deletes one of the Favorite Mii characters.
Display Japanese names for DLC in the in-game shop in Japan, rather than English names.
Fix for a graphical corruption issue in the in-game Skin Selector menu.
Fix for an issue with the flowing water texture in the Festive Mash-up Pack.
Fixed issue with the left stick input while in Edit Layer and Add Layer in the Superflat World creation menu.
Xbox Game Sales Surge Thanks to Halo 5 and Minecraft, Hardware Revenue Falls
Overall, Microsoft’s gaming category rose by $192 million for the latest quarter.
Microsoft on Thursday reported earnings for the quarter ended December 31. And while Microsoftno longer tells us how many consoles it sold, the company did share some numbers that speak to the health of its gaming business.
Overall, gaming revenue increased $192 million, or 5 percent, compared to the same period last year. This uptick was attributed in part to higher revenue from Xbox Live (up 24 percent) and game sales (up 47 percent), but offset by lower revenue from hardware (more on that later).
Additionally, Microsoft announced that Xbox Live monthly active users grew by 30 percent compared to last year, reaching a record 48 million. Xbox Live’s uptick in revenue was attributed in part to higher volumes of transactions as well as more money per transaction, the company said.
Games sales grew thanks to the launch ofHalo 5: Guardiansand continued sales ofMinecraft, Microsoft said, though it did not share any new numbers on either game.
Overall Xbox hardware revenue dropped by 9 percent, due in part to a lower volume ofXbox 360consoles sold.Xbox Onerevenue specifically was also down, but only “slightly,” Microsoft said. It shipped more consoles during the period, but overall revenue was offset due to lower prices of the consoles sold compared to last year.
