Our Server at the moment
We've decided that we want to completely remake our world, from scratch and with a new seed! There will still be elements of the old world there, but our new (and improved) server will feature numerous cities, PVP and non-PVP zones, protection for housing and city districts, vast subway networks and a private compound for staff!
It's Official - Pistons!
Jens has decided not to go to E3 this year and instead stay back and work on Minecraft development. Although it isn't confirmed, Mojang's take on the fabulous piston mod will most likely be released with Beta 1.7. It will be almost exactly the same as the mod so many of us are already familiar with - with the exception of pistons not shooting players into the air - but the texture and underlying mechanic has been tweaked to give them a more Minecraft-y feel. Watch a video of the new pistons here!
Shears?
Jens, on his twitter, has recently tweeted about another upcoming feature in Minecraft. Shears will be the only practical way of obtaining wool from sheep when they are added, as simply punching a sheep will no longer yield any (however killing it will give you one block). This is part of a project to make animals more persistent in the world - i.e. they will take longer to despawn. Because of this feature, it makes sense that sheep be able to regrow their wool.
Shears will also have three more uses - one to do with leaves, one being able to defuse TNT and another secret use.
Shears will also have three more uses - one to do with leaves, one being able to defuse TNT and another secret use.
Beta 1.6.1...2...3...4...5...6?
Due to a few...bugs...in the latest Minecraft patch, Notch has updated the game several six times since Beta 1.6 was released. 1.6.1 fixed problems with item duplication, along with 1.6.2. 1.6.3, however, included a few more changes: the renderer was capped at 100 fps during chunk generation, there were numerous tweaks to the 'Limit Framerate' button, problems with furnaces duplicating items were fixed and blocks not updating lighting properly under certain circumstances were made to actually update.
The only problem with 1.6.3 was that, despite claiming to be less CPU intensive, it used way too much processing power. 1.6.4 was an update aimed specifically at fixing this issue, whilst also proclaiming to be *completely professional*. A short while after, 1.6.5 came out, and with it a substantial amount of bugfixes. Most notably it fixed the issue of tools breaking after one use when thrown then picked back up...this could get really annoying at times!
A week later Notch came out with 1.6.6 which, aside from miscellaneous bugfixes, added a couple of interesting new features. Firstly, bone meal now has more uses. Using it on a dirt tile will instantly transform it to a grass tile, and using it on a grass tile will cause tall grass to grow around that area. Secondly, glowstone's properties have been changed from that of glass to cleanstone, which means that it must now be mined with a pickaxe - but it will drop more loot. It's recipe has also been changed from 9 glowstone dust to just four, allowing for it to be crafted without a crafting table. This is also the same for cloth, which can now be crafted with only 4 string.
1.6.6 also included a change in boat physics - boats rise faster in water and players no longer fall through the block below when breaking a boat. Notch also stated that, possibly as a joke, he had removed Herobrine from the game.
As always, you cann read more about these updates on Notch's Blog.
The only problem with 1.6.3 was that, despite claiming to be less CPU intensive, it used way too much processing power. 1.6.4 was an update aimed specifically at fixing this issue, whilst also proclaiming to be *completely professional*. A short while after, 1.6.5 came out, and with it a substantial amount of bugfixes. Most notably it fixed the issue of tools breaking after one use when thrown then picked back up...this could get really annoying at times!
A week later Notch came out with 1.6.6 which, aside from miscellaneous bugfixes, added a couple of interesting new features. Firstly, bone meal now has more uses. Using it on a dirt tile will instantly transform it to a grass tile, and using it on a grass tile will cause tall grass to grow around that area. Secondly, glowstone's properties have been changed from that of glass to cleanstone, which means that it must now be mined with a pickaxe - but it will drop more loot. It's recipe has also been changed from 9 glowstone dust to just four, allowing for it to be crafted without a crafting table. This is also the same for cloth, which can now be crafted with only 4 string.
1.6.6 also included a change in boat physics - boats rise faster in water and players no longer fall through the block below when breaking a boat. Notch also stated that, possibly as a joke, he had removed Herobrine from the game.
As always, you cann read more about these updates on Notch's Blog.
A Huge Update (Beta 1.6 Changelist)
Recently Notch came out with a truckload of information about the next beta release of Minecraft. Beta 1.6 will feature a whole range of improvements and bugfixes, namely SMP Nether support, hatches and tall grass. Here are a few of the most notable changes:
A full list of bugfixes and improvements can be found here. The team are looking forward to it as well, but an update to the client means an update to the server, so we're really limited to how long Bukkit takes to update.
- Mushrooms now spreads (very) slowly
- It’s no longer possible to build solid blocks on the top layer of the maps (sorry!)
- Seeds are now found in tall grass, using a hoe on the ground no longer works
- The record player now supports more than 15 different songs
- Fixed rain sounds not playing with fast graphics enabled
- Fixed a game crash when riding a vehicle or animal into the nether
- Fixed fire sometimes existing mid-air as an invisible block of pain
- Fixed the achievement screen not pausing the game
- Fixed rail tiles sometimes not properly connecting to a new neighbor
A full list of bugfixes and improvements can be found here. The team are looking forward to it as well, but an update to the client means an update to the server, so we're really limited to how long Bukkit takes to update.
A Sky Dimension!
Notch has confirmed that a small side-project he was working on will now be a full addition to the game. It features a new chunk generation algorithm which spawns numerous floating islands that, in Notch's words, "performs well, looks ugly". Also known as the Floating Island Dimension, sometimes called heaven, this new world will act as a sort of opposite to the Nether (hell). What's better is that it has been a confirmed update to Minecraft - just don't expect to see it in Beta 1.6.
A full gallery of pictures showcasing this addition can be found here.
A full gallery of pictures showcasing this addition can be found here.
Hatches and WildGrass
If you are one of those people who follow Notch on Twitter, you may have seen him tweet about some possible additions to Minecraft in the future.
Hatches
A block sort of like a door, only it lies flat. It needs a solid block next to it to function, opens upwards and, unfortunately, does not let water or lava through.
Tall Grass
Anyone who is a fan of the Wild Grass mod will like this feature. Not much is known about it at the moment, apart from what it looks like and that it spawns on top of grass blocks.
Links:
Hatches (trapdoors):
Tall Grass:
Hatches
A block sort of like a door, only it lies flat. It needs a solid block next to it to function, opens upwards and, unfortunately, does not let water or lava through.
Tall Grass
Anyone who is a fan of the Wild Grass mod will like this feature. Not much is known about it at the moment, apart from what it looks like and that it spawns on top of grass blocks.
Links:
Hatches (trapdoors):
Tall Grass:
Maps?!
In yet another blog post, Notch has hinted a few things about the next beta release, Beta 1.6. Don't expect as much new stuff as you saw in 1.5 - this update will consist mostly of bugfixes. There will, however, be one (rather amazing) new feature added to the game - in-game mapping!
The few things we know about maps:
SMP Nether Support
In 1.6 Notch has added Nether support for SMP. Does this mean that we can expect another Shadow of Israphel?
The few things we know about maps:
- The middle will be where the map is crafted
- There will be a customizable zoom when they are crafted
- Exploring with a map causes areas of the map to become filled in
- To view a map while equipped you just ave to look downwards
- There will be an ability to duplicate maps so other can see them
- There is a hard limit of 65536 maps per world
SMP Nether Support
In 1.6 Notch has added Nether support for SMP. Does this mean that we can expect another Shadow of Israphel?
Thunder Creepers!
In Beta 1.5 has come a neat little 'upgrade' to Minecraft's most destructive mob.
"How can you possibly make the creeper more powerful?" You ask. Well, the answer is to simply add a blue electric field and give it three times the explosive power! Somewhere during the production of 1.5, Notch must have decided that pigs weren't the only mobs that should be affected strangely by lightning. If you manage to see a creeper being struck, you will notice that it has acquired a blue forcefield. It is strongly advised that you keep your distance - attack this 'charged' creeper at your own risk!
Watch a video showing the effect of lightning strikes on creepers and pigs.
"How can you possibly make the creeper more powerful?" You ask. Well, the answer is to simply add a blue electric field and give it three times the explosive power! Somewhere during the production of 1.5, Notch must have decided that pigs weren't the only mobs that should be affected strangely by lightning. If you manage to see a creeper being struck, you will notice that it has acquired a blue forcefield. It is strongly advised that you keep your distance - attack this 'charged' creeper at your own risk!
Watch a video showing the effect of lightning strikes on creepers and pigs.
Beta 1.5 - Out Now!
Notch today released the Beta 1.5 update adding in and improving the following:
ADDED
- Weather (rain, snow, thunder and lightning)
- Statistics
- Achievements
- Detector rail
- Booster rail
- Performance improvements
IMPROVEMENTS
- The crafting recipe for ladders now gives you two of the item. The only problem is that now, to be able to climb a ladder, each ladder piece must be directly above the previous one (in other words there can be no gaps). A major drawback to this is that you can no longer have a ladder with torches or glass in-between pieces.
- Each type of tree will now drop a sapling with a specific damage value ('0' for oak, '1' for pine and '2' for birch) which will grow into that type of tree.
- Harvesting crops with water will now yield seeds as well as wheat.
- Holding shift and clicking items while in a chest will cause them to move directly from your inventory to the chest, and vice-versa (video).
- Burning a pig will result in the animal dropping cooked pork.
More statistics and achievements will be added over time as the game is developed. They’re only stored locally at the moment, but online storing of achievements will happen over time.
Beta 1.5 - What's new?
Beta 1.5 will be out next week! On his blog
Notch has hinted that there was a big feature creep and has given away
that there will not only be redstone powered rails, but if a pig is
struck by lightning it will turn into a zombie pigman!
Weather!
In a recent blog update Notch has outlined what will be added in Beta 1.5 which will hopefully be out next week. We can expect:
There is also a possibility that the piston mod will be added to the game, but not in the next update.
- The official game is being released on the 11th of November this year
- There will be periodic downfall (snow and rain) that darkens the sky
- Rain and snow will hide the sun, moon and stars and there will be occasional thunderstorms (with lightning)!
There is also a possibility that the piston mod will be added to the game, but not in the next update.
New Beta Release
Beta 1.4_01
Link to new server download in 'Downloads Page'
- Removed the April fools joke
- The server was updated as well, but it’s an optional update
Link to new server download in 'Downloads Page'
Pistons Mod
A developer that goes by the name of 'Hippoplatimus' has recently released a mod called 'Pistons'. The mod adds pistons to the game that can be extended and retracted using redstone.
If you are interested click here to view the discussion forum.
If you are interested click here to view the discussion forum.
Beta 1.4 Release
Beta 1.4
While most of the code is written, statistics and achievements won’t show up until the next update. We didn’t quite have time to finish them this week, and didn’t want to delay the update longer.
- Added tameable wolves
- Added cookies
- Sleeping in a bed now resets your spawn position
- New Minecraft logo
- Holding shift while climbing will hang on to the ladder
- Spiders will no longer trample crops
- Lots and lots of infrastructure for Statistics lists and Achievements
While most of the code is written, statistics and achievements won’t show up until the next update. We didn’t quite have time to finish them this week, and didn’t want to delay the update longer.
