Nintendo has unveiled a new map debuting soon in Splatoon 2. However, this particular level won't be joining the game's usual stage rotation; rather, it will only appear during Splatfest events.
The new map, dubbed Shifty Station, will only be available in the stage rotation during Splatfests, the in-game competitions that have players choose one of two opposing teams and compete to earn points for their side. Nintendo says the map's layout changes between Splatfests, so players will be battling on a different version of the map each time it appears in the game.
Shifty Station will presumably debut with the game's first Splatfest, which is coming up during the first weekend of August. Nintendo hasn't announced timing details for the event just yet, but like the Splatfest World Premiere demo that took place the week before Splatoon 2 released, this particular competition will also revolve around food. This time, players must choose which condiment they prefer: mayo or ketchup?
Splatoon 2 launched for Nintendo Switch on July 21. The game was very well-received when it debuted; critic Kallie Plagge awarded it an 8/10 in GameSpot's review and called the game “a vibrant and exuberant sequel with enough fresh additions and changes to set it apart from the original.”
There's been a lot of talk about Minecraft‘s Better Together update, which will add cross-play functionality between all devices that have Minecraft–with the notable exception of Sony platforms. Today, players can finally try out Minecraft's cross-play, as it has gone live in a limited beta test.
The beta is currently only available on Windows 10 and Android devices, but Microsoft promises that it'll grow to include Xbox One players soon. Beta testers have access to many of the planned features coming in the full update, although some–like community-run, cross-platform servers–have yet to be implemented. Cross-platform Marketplace functionality, however, is already live.
To enroll in the beta on Xbox One or Windows 10, you'll need a digital copy of the game. You also have to download the Xbox Insider Hub app, and then join the Minecraft Beta through the Insider Content section. On Android, follow the instructions here to access the beta.
The full update launches sometime this fall, and it'll support cross-play for the Nintendo Switch, iOS, VR, Windows 10, and Xbox One versions of the game. A ton of new features were released in the beta, and you can see a full list below. A graphical update is coming to the game this fall, as well.
New Features:
Stained Glass
Fireworks (with Elytra boost)
Parrots
Banners
Armor stands
Jukebox and music discs
Recipe Book
Book and Quill
Ravines
Coarse Dirt
New world start options: Starting Map, Bonus Chest, Trust Players
New game rules: TNT Explodes, Natural Regeneration
Added ‘/tickingarea' command to create areas that still update when no players are there
One of the major problems with Minecraft is the number of different editions, with varying level of multiplayer cross-play. This stems from different code bases – the console versions are based on the original Java game, while Pocket/Windows 10 Edition use the same C++ code base. But the upcoming Minecraft PE 1.2 update, nicknamed the ‘Better Together Update,' aims to address this.
The main new feature in this update is cross-play with Xbox One and Nintendo Switch players. It's not entirely clear if the current console edition is being replaced, but Mojang says existing owners of Xbox One Edition or Switch Edition will “receive the brand new version of Minecraft for free, and your existing worlds and DLC will come along to the new version with you.” The new version will simply be called ‘Minecraft,' separate from the various Editions and the PC version (which is now called Java Edition).
A beta version of the Better Together Update is available today for Windows 10 Edition and Pocket Edition, but you won't be able to try out the cross-play yet. The Xbox One beta required for cross-play will arrive in a few days, but there's no word on a Switch beta (I'm not entirely sure if the Switch's eShop supports beta programs).
However, there is still plenty of new content you can try out in the beta right now. Most of the changes were previously only available on the Java and/or Console Editions, so it's definitely nice to see them arrive on mobile. Here is the full list of new features:
Stained Glass
Fireworks (with Elytra boost!)
Parrots
Banners
Armor stands
Jukebox and music discs
Recipe Book
Book and Quill
Ravines
COARSE DIRT
New world start options: Starting Map, Bonus Chest, Trust Players
New game rules: TNT Explodes, Natural Regeneration
Added ‘/tickingarea' command to create areas that still update when no players are there
Player permissions
Zombie Villager spawn egg
In-game host options
New loading screens with funny and helpful tips
How to Play screen
Remix 3D and structure blocks
Split-screen (Console only)
World conversion
Player limit increased on higher end devices
Maps can be held off-hand
Ice blocks are transparent
If you want to sign up for the beta on Android, you can join it (or leave it) here. It probably goes without saying that you have to own the game on Google Play first. To join the Xbox One beta, check out the instructions at the source link below.
A Londonderry theatre is to host the world's first play performed by both human actors and avatars – digitised versions of the cast – in the computer game, Minecraft.
Playcraft Live will be performed at the city's Playhouse Theatre on 14 October.
It will simultaneously be streamed to the world online via the theatre's website, Minecraft and Youtube.
Slipping between both stage and game world, the story will unfold across different locations and times.
Minecraft is the second-best-selling videogame of all time.
It allows players to build things using cubic blocks and take part in exploration, engineering, crafting and combat.
The game is hugely popular with children and young teenagers.
The production will see the dramatisation of a script, written specifically for Playcraft by Alex Scarrow, author of the teen science fiction series of novels, Time Riders.
The story is based between books one and two of his Time Riders series.
Online audiences will experience the production as a live-stream simulcast.
For those lucky enough to be part of the Playhouse audience, they will be able to see the physical actor on stage communicating the play to them.
‘Completely new'
They will also see a stream of the digital version of that actor, within the Minecraft world, projected onto a screen.
These avatars will be developed and built by Minecraft experts operating from an adjacent room.
Kieran Griffiths, creative director at the Playhouse Theatre, said he was excited to be introducing something “completely new to the world of theatre”.
“The production is hugely ambitious and a definite step into the unknown, but a tremendous opportunity to allow two artistic worlds to come together and learn from each other,” Mr Griffiths said.
The project will also involve renowned creative producer Adam Clarke and digital educators MakeMatic.
It has been commissioned by The Space, which is funded by the BBC and Arts Council England
“I suppose the thorny rose in between is the technology,” Mr Griffiths said.
“Over the coming months we have to remove the thorns and make sure that rose is passed gracefully.
“At the end of it, we hope to produce an educational asset whereby we will see online amateur societies creating their own world within Minecraft.”
Throughout the summer, Minecraft fans will be invited to join in on the production, find out more about the play and contribute to the process along the way.
Minecraft’s “Better Together Update” is rolling out now in beta, for players on Windows 10 PCs and Android devices. That means players on either platform with the beta installed will be able to participate in games from either type of device, together in cross-platform play.
This update was originally revealed at E3 back in June, and includes other feature additions like community servers and a community Marketplace with paid add-ons. There are also a range of new in-game item types, multiplayer host and permission options, and more.
The beta is also set to roll out for Xbox One “soon,” Microsoft says, which will add the gaming console to the cross-platform action. Microsoft also said when the update was announced that it’ll eventually add support for the Play Together Update to iOS, Nintendo Switch and VR devices (Sony was apparently offered the chance to participate in the update for PlayStation, but declined).
To get in on the beta, players will need the Xbox Insider app for Windows 10 and Xbox One, and on Android they’ll need to have Google Play and of course everyone will need a copy of the game.
This could be huge for unifying Minecraft’s massive player community, which is already quite the club.
Once every decade or so, a game comes along that becomes more than just a game, more than just a franchise, and evolves into a genuine cultural phenomenon. In the 70s it was Space Invaders, in the 80s it was Super Mario Bros and Tetris. The 90s and noughties brought us Pokemon and Halo.
If you had to choose one title that broke out of the relatively niche world of gaming over the past decade, it would have to be Minecraft. Unless you've been living under a rock (or should that be block?) somewhere, you'll probably know about it.
Even if you've never played it, you'll have seen the cuboid characters and trademark pixelated art style on everything from toys to t-shirts. Minecraft is designed with creativity at its core, allowing players to build their own objects, structures – even entire worlds out of 3D textured blocks in a procedurally-generated environment.
It actively encourages co-operation and collaboration, allowing thousands of players to work together on group projects, or team up to battle enemies and the elements in Survival mode. Its open-ended, sandbox structure means that there's no beginning or end to the game, and players are limited only by their own imaginations.
After selling 130 million copies to date, its already the world's second biggest selling video game (behind only Tetris), of all time.
it wasn't much of a surprise when tech behemoth Microsoft decided to acquire the rights to the intellectual property from visionary developer Markus “Notch” Persson in September 2014. What was surprising was the price; a whopping $US2.5 billion ($NZ3.4b) making it not only the biggest gaming buy-out of all time, but one of the technology industry's largest ever acquisitions.
Building on success
The future of Minecraft was one of the key focuses of Xbox's E3 showcase in Los Angeles last month.
After spending that kind of cash on a single game, everybody expected Microsoft to have big plans for Minecraft. The most obvious move would have been to make the game an Xbox and Windows exclusive, but interestingly, the company decided to go in the opposite direction, focusing their efforts on releasing a version of it on practically every format known to mankind.
Seriously, if you own a device that's capable of running a video game, there will almost certainly be an adaptation of Minecraft for it. It's on everything from Android phones to Apple TV. Microsoft's strategy seemed to be proliferation rather than progression, choosing not to mess with a winning formula or release a guaranteed smash hit sequel, but instead to spread the Minecraft seed as far and wide as possible.
This business model made a lot more sense when, at last month's E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles, Xbox chief Phil Spencer unveiled the company's grand plan for the the future of the world's most popular video game.
Ooh, shiny
A fully upgraded lighting system is one of the major improvements in the Super Duper Graphics Pack
The first revelation was that the game was to undergo a complete visual overhaul, which, in typical Minecraft fashion, is to be called the “super-duper graphics pack”.
Ostensibly, this was to take advantage of the new Xbox One X's 4K GPU, but for a game that has always been deliberately lo-fi and retro in terms of its art style, it did seem like a strange decision to render all these pixelated cubes in Ultra HD.
On closer inspection though, it's clear that the update is more about visual effects than the graphical assets themselves. While the game retains its trademark pixelart style, it's the world around it that has been given a new lick of paint..
A side-by-side comparison of how Minecraft looks now, and how it will appear once the new graphics pack is installed.
Dynamic shadows created by Minecraft's new directional lighting system means that what you see is constantly changing as you move through the world, and the appearance of your constructions will vary depending on where your character is standing and the position of the sun or other light sources. The addition of HDR gives deep blacks and bright colours a noticeable “pop” factor.
Edge highlighting creates clearer, more defined boundaries between individual blocks and a completely revamped water system means that rivers, lakes and streams look more lifelike than ever before.
Of course, you'll need a 4K monitor to get the most out of this graphical overhaul, but there's more than enough here to ensure that even gamers using standard 1080p TVs will see the benefit.
Unifying worlds
Perhaps the most exciting revelation however, was that Minecraft would be going cross-platform. Up until now, players have been restricted to teaming up with friends on the same system, meaning the millions of Minecraft gamers around the world have been pigeon-holed and walled off into small, if thriving, communities.
The decision to tear down these walls and bring everyone together on one unified server is a literal game changer. In a world where everything is about teamwork and co-operation, making it possible for an iPhone user to work with a friend on Xbox or join a grand-scale collaborative construction job on PC means that things are going to get bigger and better.
There's a lot of potential in this strength in numbers strategy. In one fell swoop, Microsoft and Mojang have created one of the world's biggest gaming communities.
Large-scale collaborative projects have seen the creation of sprawling worlds in Minecraft, including a full reproduction of the land of Westeros from TV's Game of Thrones.
Minecraft is already being used in schools as an educational tool and the fact that kids will now be able to hop on their phones at home to continue working on a project they started on their school computer network means that “homework” is going to be a much easier sell for teachers.
Unfortunately, the cross-platform plan won't include every single format. Sony, Microsoft's main rival in this generation's console wars, has refused to come to the party, meaning that PlayStation users won't be joining in just yet. However, if the Minecraft phenomenon continues to grow at its current rate, you have to wonder if they'll reconsider and get involved if things start to snowball.
