Minecraft Today

Minecraft 1.5 Update Released

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:57:22 +0000

The Minecraft 1.5 update is now officially released. To update to the latest version simply open the Minecraft launcher and accept the update.

There is a great deal of new features added to the game in this release. A few of these features include:

Addition of ‘Hopper’ and ‘Dropper’ items. These help you move items around your world into chests.
Addition of the Daylight Sensor, helping to automate redstone circuits that need to run at certain times of the day.
Addition of ‘Trapped Chests’, which emit a redstone signal when opened.
Two new commands: /scoreboard and /effect.
The ability to set custom names for mobs and containers.
Updates to the inventory, including the ability to ‘drag-place items’.
More detailed death messages, linking to the custom names that can be set for mobs.

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang Film

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 16:16:00 +0000

A new documentary following the ever so successful story of Minecraft is now available for purchasing and viewing. Minecraft: The Story of Mojang is a film about Notch’s big success story.

The film is available to purchase and stream now at Redux. It’s a great watch for all fans of Minecraft and has some great insights from industry experts.

The limited edition DVD version is also available for purchase. It’s presented in an awesome case and features some really cool Minecraft goodies.

Minecraft 1.3 Released

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 15:31:29 +0100

Minecraft 1.3.1 is now live. The update should be deployed to your client next time you login, meaning that you will have access to all of the new features that we described in our previous post about the 1.3 release.

For more information of what you can find the update check out the Mojang post about the 1.3 prerelease and the more detailed change log on reddit.

What are your favorite features in 1.3? Let us know in the comments.

First Commit Made on the 'Workbench' API

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 11:57:34 +0100

The first commit to official Minecraft API (named ‘Workbench’) has been made to the official github repository which will house the code. Whilst there isn’t much there at the minute, this is the first milestone of hopefully many in the development of the API.

To keep up to date with the progress to the API you can follow @MinecraftAPIBot. It might also be worth following @Dinnerbone since he is doing a lot of work with the API.

If you aren’t sure what all this means, we recommend that you read this post from TechCrunch which provides a pretty good explanation about the workings of github.

Release Date for Minecraft 1.3 Announced

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:05:00 +0100

Mojang posted to their blog that Minecraft 1.3 would be released on August 1, 2012.

A week before the official release, a release candidate should be shared which will be a very similar version to what you will be able to see in the next version.

The update contains a lot of features that we have seen added to the snapshot release of the game. A few of the things that Mojang mentioned are:

Cheat Mode - The ability to run commands such as /gamemode in single player.
World Sharing - The ability to share your single player world easily over LAN.
Bonus Chests - Chests with various items in found near the spawn to help you start off on single player.
Tripwire - A new redstone activator.

Something that you may notice is that the game runs a little slower on single player. The reason behind this is that it now runs a multiplayer server in the background, which is a change for making the gap between single player and multiplayer even closer ready for the modding API which we hopefully see in 1.4.

On Mojang’s blog post, there was nothing mentioned about the new inventory layout that we saw introduced in snapshots a while ago but we would expect that it should appear in 1.3 as it is included in the latest snapshot (at the time of writing, 12w27a).

Updates to the Upcoming World Sharing Features

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 21:08:00 +0100

Last week we wrote about the new features to share your single player world with friends over LAN. In the latest snapshot (12w25a) there has been an addition of a GUI with some more configuration options.

You can now choose what game mode players are set to when they join and also what whether or not they have access to cheat mode.

Visiting the multiplayer menu now starts a search for other LAN worlds, making the feature even easier without the need to share IP addresses.

As this is a feature in a snapshot release we cannot guarantee the inclusion of any of these features in a future official release, but with the amount of work spent on this we think that it may be something that you may see in the future.

Share Your Single Player Minecraft World with Friends

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 20:52:06 +0100

A new feature in the latest snapshot allows you to share your single player world with other players over LAN. There is no knowledge on how to configure a server required - just the ability to run “/publish”.

If you had wanted to do this before the command was added then you would have had to download the Minecraft server software, configure it and then copied across your world files from single player.

As mentioned in a blog post by Mojang, the new feature is “still very much work in progress” so there is no guarantee that it will work perfectly. The blog post also mentioned that they will likely add options to edit things like what game mode players who join your world will get. We have tried this locally and it seems to work great.

Be sure to watch this space for any more information about the sharing feature.

What is Cheat Mode?

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:41:22 +0100

In the last few snapshots of Minecraft there has been a feature included called ‘Cheat Mode’. This mode allows you to access the chat console that you would normally have access to on an online server and use commands that you can normally use as a server op.

This feature now means that you can do things such as changing game mode (between survival, creative and the upcoming adventure mode) and spawning items (useful if you do not want to switch to creative mode). Below are a list of the commands that you may be able to run:

gamemode - Switch between Survival, Creative and the upcoming Adventure mode.
give - Spawn items whilst in any game mode.
time - Ability to change the time of day.
toggledownfall - Ability to start and stop rain and snow.
xp - Provide yourself with any amount of XP points (up to 5000 per command use).

As this is a snapshot release we cannot guarantee that all of the features described here will be included in any future official release of the game. If you have had chance to play on the snapshot version and think that we missed anything here then be sure to let us know.

Do you think that cheat mode is a good idea? Let us know in the comments.

Ability to Pause in Single Player is Added

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 09:06:00 +0100

Previously, the only way to pause the state of your Minecraft world on single player would be to save and exit your game but a feature introduced in the Week 22 Snapshot may become the solution to this.

The state of your game is now paused as soon as you enter the game menu. This is useful if you need to change a game option without the worry of being attacked by approaching mobs.

As with anything in a snapshot release, we cannot guarantee that it will be appearing in a future version but we would certainly hope that it does.

A Wedding Fit For a Creeper

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 10:52:11 +0100

Image Source: TheGoodness.com

It was back at Minecon last year, when big Minecraft fan Matt proposed to his partner Asia up on stage. After the proposal, the couple recently tied the knot and it was for sure, a Minecraft filled event.

The whole location was decorated with Minecraft models of mobs, trees and other landscape features. Guests enjoyed beautiful canvas images of Minecraft scenes among various other Minecraft touches.

Matt himself, didn’t come dressed as a Creeper, we don’t think Asia would have been too impressed! But anyway, the team here at Minecraft Today wish Matt and Asia the best of look in the future.

You can see Matt’s Proposal here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u72orXZa5Xc

You can see more of the Wedding here: http://www.thegoodness.com/matt-and-asias-minecraft-wedding/

Happy Birthday Notch!

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:47:00 +0100

On this day (1st June) in 1979, Marcus (Notch) Persson was born. Today Notch celebrates his 33rd Birthday. Notch is the gaming legend behind Minecraft and other titles.

Notch revolutionized the PC gaming industry and brought to us a whole new genre of Video Games. Notch is the creator of an amazing game.

We would like to wish Notch a very Happy Birthday from every one here at Minecraft Today!

Tripwire Added for Redstone Circuits

Thu, 31 May 2012 18:27:49 +0100

The tripwire item which has been introduced in the Week 22 Snapshot allows you to activate a redstone circuit upon the event of a player, animal or mob walking over a piece of string. This seems like something which will come in very handy when building mob traps and other defense systems.

As this is only in a snapshot release we cannot guarantee that it will appear in a future official release of the game. We have posted a guide on how to install Minecraft Snapshots if you would like to try out these new features yourself.

Get a Kickstart on Survival with Bonus Chests

Thu, 31 May 2012 09:50:08 +0100

We may be seeing bonus chests in a future edition of Minecraft. The feature, included in the latest few snapshot releases from Mojang, spawns a chest surrounded by four torches near to the player’s spawn.

The content of these chests varies very slightly, but you can normally expect to find tools, wood and and food inside.

These chests will be very useful to new players, as they will be able to learn a bit more about the items in the game before having to source wood and whatever else they need to survive. The appearance of food in these chests is also quite useful because it can take a while to find a food source from your initial spawn.

Usual contents of a Bonus Chest

Since this is something included in a snapshot release we cannot promise that it will be appear in a future release of the game.

A New Inventory Layout Is Introduced

Tue, 29 May 2012 18:25:00 +0100

The problem that a lot of people are faced when in creative mode is finding their way through the extensive list of available items. It appears that this issue may become something of the past from the new inventory included in Minecraft Snapshot 12w21b.

This new layout, looking very similar to the inventory inside of the Xbox edition of the game, organizes items by ten different categories:

Building Blocks
Decoration Blocks
Redstone
Transportation
Foodstuffs
Tools
Combat
Brewing
Materials
Miscellaneous

A search has also been added to the inventory, so you can type the name of an item that you require and see results instantly.

Something else that is missing from the current inventory in creative mode is the ability to access your survival inventory, but this is also fixed by the addition of a tab to have complete access over it.

But as with anything included in a snapshot release, we cannot guarantee that it will be included in an official future release of Minecraft but we would really hope so because it’s certainly an improvement on the current one.

Minecraft From Niall's Perspective

Mon, 28 May 2012 13:01:00 +0100

Hey, I’m Niall! I’m going to be a contributor and co-founder of Minecraft Today. My Minecraft experience started back in 2010 when my friend and I acquired a copy of the game and I can honestly say that I have never looked back!

Then in Alpha 1.2, I saw Minecraft as quite a basic game that I might find boring as I am quite a ‘selective’ gamer. This was before I had played it and I regret my rash judgement! My initial opinion of the game was that it exceeded my anticipations massively and I was instantly hooked on it.

My first day of Minecraft began with a basic Survival Single Player Map, this was the ground-works in my opinion and I used it for several months to learn the basics of Minecraft and watch the game progress to what it is today!

As with many other Minecraft players (which incidentally recently passed 30 million registered users) I have had MANY worlds in my time of playing Minecraft. These include Creative and Survival but mainly Creative, this is because I love to build structures and cities and adapt villages to the way I want them. However in December 2011 (one year after I started playing Minecraft), me and my friends began our own server which has been a source of enjoyment and still will be for many months!

I hope to bring my experience and knowledge of Minecraft to the website and to share my experiences and views of the Minecraft world!

How to find your Minecraft directory

Sun, 27 May 2012 08:41:00 +0100

Your Minecraft directory is created when you first launch the game and it stores pretty much everything that Minecraft needs to run. It also contains the screenshots you have taken and the worlds that you have created in single player. Finding it is different on each operating system, so in this guide we have included Windows, Mac and Linux.

If you’re on Windows Vista or 7 just press the start button and type %AppData%/.minecraft and press enter. The directory should open in a new window. It’s slightly different for XP and older versions of Windows - you need to press start and click on ‘Run’ and then type %AppData%/.minecraft and press enter.

In Mac OS X you just need to right click on the Finder icon in the dock and choose ‘Go To Folder…’. A dialog box will appear asking you for the location of the folder, type: ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft and click Go.

Since there are so many distributions of Linux it is difficult to write a guide for them all, but you should find that Minecraft creates a directory in your home directory called .minecraft.

Minecraft From Josh's Perspective

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:13:00 +0100

Hi, I’m Josh. I am the Editor in Chief of Minecraft Today. Primarily, I am a Nintendo fan. But recently I adopted a copy of Minecraft for PC.

I can honestly say that I have had the time of my life! Minecraft is such a brilliant game and I have only just touched the surface. I am making little progress into my Survival Single Player because Online Multiplayer is just too tempting.

For me, there has never been such a satisfying moment in a game, than when I made my first little mud hut. I really loved that place, and it defended me from creepers all around.

In survival mode it would take me a very long time to try out every single block and feature, so I occasionally switch to Creative. When in Creative, I am opened up to a brand new world of brilliant blocks and features, that I couldn’t have dreamed of crafting.

In Creative, I also have the ability to create absolutely brilliant structures and statues. My giant Mario is the best, but I suppose i’m not the first person to make one of them.

I wouldn’t call it torture, building a giant pit of lava and making villagers jump off it! After all, this is Minecraft! The point is, this is an adventure made for you! You are free to do what you want to do! And that is why I love it!

Minecraft is the best PC game I have ever played. And one of the best games I have ever played. Minecraft is the best world you will ever discover.

Look out for Minecraft from Jamie and Niall’s Perspective coming soon…

How to Install Minecraft Snapshots

Sat, 26 May 2012 11:08:00 +0100

Almost every week Mojang (the developers behind Minecraft) release a new snapshot of the game onto their website. These snapshots are basically previews of the new features that are going to be included in the future versions of Minecraft.

Anyone can download these snapshots but it can be a bit confusing installing them since you are just given the .jar files. To install a snapshot you are going to need to already have a copy of Minecraft on your computer as well as the launcher for it.

The first step is to download a copy of the snapshot from the Mojang website. There’s no exact link to the latest snapshot release so you just need to look through their posts until you find it. There will be a download link for client and server - download both (single player will not work without the server .jar file).

Next you need to open up your Minecraft directory and open the ‘bin’ folder. In here you need to replace the minecraft.jar file with the snapshot file you downloaded. It is suggested that you rename the minecraft.jar file to something else (for example, minecraft_.jar) so that you can replace it once you are finished with the snapshot. At this point the snapshot is now installed, although you will find that single player does not work because you need to add the minecraft_server.jar file to your Minecraft directory.

Go back to the root of your Minecraft data directory and make a new folder called ‘server’ if it does not already exist. In this folder you should place the minecraft_server.jar that you downloaded with the snapshot.

Now go ahead and open up the Minecraft launcher and login as usual. If the snapshot has installed successfully you should see a different version number in the bottom left of the Minecraft window.

When you are finished with the snapshot, return to your Minecraft directory, navigate to the ‘bin’ folder and delete minecraft.jar and replace it with the original file. Then go back to the root of the Minecraft directory and remove the server folder and all of it’s contents.

It’s probably a good idea to create a new world or backup your current worlds before playing on the snapshot because it may modify something with the world file making it unplayable on the latest official release of the game.

If you have any feedback, as always, we would love to hear it in the comments section.

A New Minecraft Blog Arises

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:49:00 +0100

Welcome to Minecraft Today. Minecraft Today is an exciting new Minecraft blog from NFO UK Group.

Minecraft Today focuses on Minecraft News - including updates and new features, along with opinions from Minecraft Today’s staff.

Minecraft Today is piloted by Josh Moorcroft-Jones, Josh has over 5 years in the Video Games Journalism Industry and is the Editor is one of the biggest Nintendo Fan Sites on the internet!

Joining Josh on the Minecraft Today team is Jamie Edge, Jamie has worked on many internet projects and has supported NFO UK Group in the past as a team member.

Niall Kirkham is also joining the Minecraft Today team, Niall has a serious passion for Minecraft and is a well experienced web content writer.