The “Fix PUBG” campaign kicked off earlier this year as part of the promise from Bluehole Inc to their fans for complete transparency and dedication to making the game better. For months, the title seemed to be in a glitchy limbo and only really started to emerge as a full title once other games in the genre started to gain traction (Fortnite, now Blackout). After months of data compilation and constant tweaks, the team has their results and what that means for the future of the game.

For those unfamiliar with the campaign, here was the goal: ‘At the start of the campaign, the most important elements we had in mind are as listed below. We have worked on increasing the quality of PUBG based on largely these four topics. We will go over the state of each category as well as what we still plan to improve upon.”

Provide the best gameplay experience possible through client and server performance optimization
Ensure fair gameplay with more efficient anti-cheat solutions using all available means
Smarter and faster matchmaking through improved matchmaking logic
Fix bugs that degrade the experience while applying long-requested QOL improvements
With a focus on optimization, a close eye on pings, lag, and peaks was crucial. Bluehole explains, “To explain a little more in detail, we have optimized level streaming and decreased the burden that comes with level loading while moving. Compared to before, the average time to load 1 level has dropped significantly from 14.4 seconds to 5.6 seconds. Our work on optimizing “Physics Creation” is still ongoing and we plan to apply those fixes after running a final test around the end of December.

“By optimizing game effects, we have reduced the load caused when multiple effects are activated at the same time. We have also begun optimizing frame rate drop issues on specific effects such as smoke. Environmental effects, vehicle destruction effects, hit effects and smoke effects have been improved and we are planning to add improvements on weapon related logic and effects as well.”

Server performance has also seen a huge increase in quality by mitigating desync and making grand changes to how matchmaking works on a basic level. Speaking of which, the team also revealed their plans for this feature as well:

Provide a stable gaming environment by matching players with similar Ping.
Provide a fair gaming environment by matching users with a similar skill level (in relation to MMR, not Rank).
Set-up for players using the same language to be placed on the same team.
Ensure large-scale play with 100 players to maximize the fun of the Battle Royale experience.
Minimize wait times as best as possible while fulfilling the above requirements.
As mentioned earlier in our previous coverage, anti-cheat still remains a priority and that includes going hard on hardware bans. “We are constantly banning unauthorized programs by analyzing and utilizing data from various logs. In addition, we are developing our own anti-cheat solution to prevent the use of unauthorized programs. We expect to have something to share on this in the near future.”

You can read the full amount of changes, tweaks, and goals concerning PC, consoles, and bug fixes right here in their latest developer update: https://steamcommunity.com/games/578080/announcements/detail/2486445930579204546

Though many of us are currently busy with Fallout 76, the team working hard on Fallout 4: New Vegas continue to make impressive headway towards completion. This total conversion mod that brings Fallout: New Vegas into Fallout 4 and the team behind this venture have just provided an update on progress as far scripting, common assets, and more goes.

According to the F4NW team’s latest Facebook blog post, “The level design team has carried on full steam ahead with their work on the environs of the greater Mojave Wasteland. As our work spreads outwards, efforts have been continuing on many of the industrial facilities around the world. These areas provide a unique stylistic challenge in their vast difference from the factories and warehouses found in Fallout 4, and as such working on several such locations simultaneously allows us to better pool the talents of our level designers so as to create a more cohesive feel to the environments found in F4NV.”

They added, “[Our] assets team has also continued in their ongoing quest to populate the Mojave’s environments with smaller common assets. With our level design team’s efforts continued to be directed towards more mundane environments currently, this allows the addition of assets to happen alongside work on those locations, ultimately saving us time in the future by avoiding unnecessary second passes on locations to adjust newly added assets in relation to the placeholders that may have been used previously – these placeholders, while infinitely helpful for helping to get environments mapped out and in a semi-finalized state for passes by our quest team, require a secondary pass once the asset they represent is added to the game. Since the placeholders often have dimensions distinct from the asset they’re meant to represent, tweaking their placement or alignment is almost always needed.”

The questing and scripting team is also hard at work, though the biggest is expanding upon what New Vegas had to offer and making it even bigger using the Fallout 4 engine. “Headway has been made in expanding our implementation of Fallout: New Vegas systems in the Fallout 4 Creation Engine, which allows us both to continue to implement legacy assets and gameplay mechanics in a more comprehensive manner, but also allows us to add upon these systems in meaningful ways to give players more gameplay options in F4NV.”

For those that might be new to this project, the team has been working hard on this project for years now working side by side with fans and Bethesda themselves to make sure this project is accurate, legal, and the perfect blend that fans have been hoping for.

Each week the creative team offers unique insights into their progress towards completion, and you can bet that radioactive butt of yours that we’ve got you covered! This is a project that we are very passionate about as well and we absolutely love all of the amazing updates from the team.

The incredibly ambitious fan project Fallout 4: New Vegas blends the best of both worlds into one passionate gaming venture. We’ve been following our friends on this endeavor for awhile now, and their ambitious fan-project continues to impress with each new update. The team has done a fantastic job at keeping those interested in this ambitious project tuned into its progress, and you can learn even more by visiting their official website linked below!

To learn more about the project that has been years in the making, check out their previous updates over on their site right here!

Like Fallout and modding? Did we just become best friends? Feel free to follow the author of this story over on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy for both and full-on fangirl!

Admit it, you’ve been singing Country Roads since the very first reveal trailer of Fallout 76. Their remake of a classic has been stuck in everyone’s heads, and for good reason! The smooth melody is the perfect companion to the juxtaposition 76 offers, so why not have it in the game itself? Well, now you can thanks to this Fallout 76 mod!

The mod itself is pretty simple. According to its creator, “This mod Replaces the music in the main menu with “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by Bill Danoff as performed live at Georgetown University GEMA Rocks 2010.”

They added for those looking for the John Denver or the commissioned version, “In the optional files you can find the covers by John Denver as well as COPILOT that was commissioned by Bethesda and can be heard in game on the Appalachia radio.”

To check out how to install the mod (pretty easy), check out the listing on Nexus Mods right here. It even has Country Roads memes, which – I mean, bonus!

As for the game itself, Fallout 76 is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Though official mods are still not available, that hasn’t stopped players from making their own – as PC players so often do. Interested in learning more about the online Wasteland? We’ve got you covered:

“As of right now, I’m loving the hell out of it. Would I have loved a Fallout 5? Absolutely, but Fallout 76 is charming and it really is a fresh perspective on a franchise that didn’t necessarily need it, but it’s welcome nonetheless,” reads our review in-progress.

“I understand why many might not find it their particular cup of tea, but I’ve noticed a lot of naysayers haven’t given it a chance. The world “online” has become almost scary with all of the talk cheaters, hackers, and griefers. Many see “online” as a series jumping ship, but that’s not the case here. I feel like if you’re a fan of Fallout, this will surprise you by how much it feels familiar. Play by yourself, play solo, just play it your way knowing it’s not a Fallout 5, but something else entirely.”

We like Overwatch, we like hilarious cat videos … put the two together and we just had the happiest heart attack known to man! For those that may not know, Ashe is the latest hero now available in the Blizzard FPS but it was her Ultimate, B.O.B, that stole the show with his glorious robotic mustache. And yes – he still has it in cat form and oh my god, we’re only squealing a little bit, I promise.

Not only is the video too precious for words, but it’s made even better when you know that B.O.B was actually a joke to start with and only made it into the game officially after pushing hard for his presence.

We sat down with Overwatch lead writer Michael Chu during the BlizzCon celebration earlier this month to talk about B.O.B following the immediate fan reaction towards our new mustachio’d friend. Chu mentioned that they had been tinkering with his idea for awhile but it quickly became apparent that he needed to be in the game in a more official capacity the longer the team deliberated about him.

Chu mentioned that B.O.B quickly became “an essential part of the fantasy of the character” and because of that, the creative team went “above and beyond” to make him a doable reality for the FPS experience.

It was important to make him stand on his own though and not just be a random addition, which makes his purpose as Ashe’s Ultimate attack even better. The best part is though he is part of another hero, he easily has his own personality and offers something special to each match.

Now seeing that same style and deliberation in cat form is just … for people that have no words, we’re writing a lot of them. Still, it’s precious, it’s perfect, and now I demand an event where all of the heroes are cats for some reason. Just … one week, give this to me – please, Jeff Kaplan.

As for the game itself in the way it’s supposed to be played, Overwatch is now available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Still no Nintendo Switch yet, but we’re keeping hope alive.

Microsoft and Mojang released a new Minecraft trailer on Saturday that showed off new pandas and cats that are coming soon in an update.

The “Cats & Pandas: A Minecraft Fable of Friendship” trailer above shared the background of cats and pandas in Minecraft, two types of animals that have a surprising amount of lore and history with each other. Saying that the two species were competing in a napping contest that went awry, they eventually worked out their differences and were able to meet in Minecraft.
What all this means for Minecraft players is that they’ll soon be able to find cats and pandas in their games after the update is released. Found within the jungle, the pandas are usually laying around eating bamboo, Mojang’s description of the Minecraft trailer said. Players can feed bamboo to these animals and can even build them an enclosure to keep them near camps and houses.

“A nap-off gone wrong leaves cat and panda relations in shambles. After many failed attempts at peace, the two sides find common ground,” the Minecraft trailer explained. “When they’re not sneezing or snacking on bamboo, pandas can be found rolling around the jungle.”

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Cats, not to be confused with the ocelots, will also be added in the upcoming update. These animals will chase around other mobs that are nearby and will also bring players gifts occasionally.

“Cats are curious but kind, chasing other mobs and bringing ‘gifts’ to their masters. And of course, both lounge and laze as they please. Revamped cats and precious pandas are coming to Minecraft soon!”

If the cats and pandas additions sound familiar, it might be because players have already heard about them or experimented with the new content themselves through past betas that previewed the new animals. Back in October, Mojang shared an article on the Minecraft site that previewed the cats and pandas and what all they’d be able to do in Minecraft. It also encouraged players on the Xbox One and PC devices to give the new content a try through the game’s beta program, so some players have already been testing the content for a while.

All the new cats and pandas and their accompanying content will be added in an update seeon, though neither Mojang nor Microsoft revealed a release date for the update.

A mysterious game that seems to be a free trial of Minecraft: Pocket Edition has cropped up in the Play Store, but it does not seem to actually be available as of this writing. The app in question only allows access to survival mode and is time-limited. It also has no multiplayer capabilities. Essentially, this means that people get to try out the core Minecraft experience in any way that they want, but marathon play sessions, saving, and many other methods of reaching endgame content are out of the question. Additionally, you can’t create a world in this trial game and then transfer it to the real deal. The app description on Google Play does not seem to say exactly how long the trial lasts, so once or if it becomes available, it may be an interesting way for people to figure out if they want to pay the entry fee to spend more time in Minecraft’s blocky world.
Background: While a trial version of Minecraft does make a lot of sense in a way, there are a few things about this whole business that one can’t help but wonder about. For starters, this is Minecraft. It’s one of the biggest things in the gaming world, and has been for quite some time. It also has tons of clones in the Play Store. Surely, if somebody wanted to play Minecraft, they would know that they do. Second, the app is listed in the Play Store, but is not available right now, it seems. Android Headlines staff in the United States and Croatia tried to grab the download, and it was unavailable across all attempted devices. The trial may be for an extremely limited market space where Minecraft may be having less of an easy time than others, or it could be that the demo simply isn’t fully ready yet. Whatever the case, if you are on the fence about Minecraft for whatever reason, you may want to keep an eye on the Play Store listing linked below. The $6.99 entry fee for Minecraft: Pocket Edition may seem steep, but if you’re into the sort of thing that Minecraft offers, which is a sandbox of sorts with large worlds and multiplayer support, it may well be worth using this app to check the game out and see if you really want to commit to that purchase.
Impact: There’s pretty much no way that this development could negatively affect Minecraft’s bottom line. It is a bit strange that it’s on the Play Store and seemingly not fully available to all, but there are a number of possible reasons for that. Though the iconic experience has likely already attracted most of its player base for now, growth can come in the form of new gamers aging into Minecraft’s target base, or players who have not had any previous experience with the game getting access to it. Expect to see the number of people playing Minecraft on Android surge if and when this app becomes available.

Minecraft has proven to be such a massive success that its story will be forever entwined with the history of gaming. Even after years and years of success, the team at Mojang are still cranking out new content for the sandbox adventure on a regular basis. The latest update was revealed at X018, and its addition to the Minecraft experience is divined just through the title: Cats and Pandas.

That’s right, new cuddly creatures both big and small will soon be available in Minecraft. Cats can certainly help give that homey feeling for players who like indifferent furballs lurking around their house, and pandas… well, they’re just too cute not to include, right? Check out the stylish announcement trailer as presented during X018 in the video embed below.

It appears that there’s no set release date for Cats and Pandas in Minecraft just yet, but the team has been beta testing their addition since back in October. When they do finally make their fuzzy appearances, players can likely expect to see them lounging away in the MInecraft world across all major platforms.

Don’t miss a beat — catch all the latest X018 news by keeping it tuned right here to Shacknews.

It has been seven years since Mojang released Minecraft on Android. There used to be a demo on the Play Store back in the early Pocket Edition days, but it was removed in 2013. Well, that’s all in the past now. Mojang recently added a new demo listing to the Play Store, and it’s called Minecraft Trial. It’s a soft-launch title, so it isn’t available in the US just yet, but if the reviews are anything to go by, then it’s clearly available in a few other regions.

The Java version of Minecraft for PC has had a free demo since 2012, and even the newer multi-platform Bedrock edition has had a demo for the Windows 10 app since 2017. And while Android used to have a Minecraft demo, the new trial version means users can once again take the game for a spin without putting any money down, but there are a couple of catches. The first is that this is a soft-launch title, so only a few regions will have access. Another limitation is that there’s a time limit to the trial, and you’ll only have access to the survival mode since everything else is locked down. Still, this release serves as a solid entry point for those unfamiliar with the game.

I’m not entirely sure why it has taken Mojang so long to release a new demo for Android, but some of the current Play Store reviews may hint at why so few devs ever bother. There are more than a couple of users asking for the game to go completely free now that they’ve had a taste, which is more than a common occurrence for paid mobile apps. I’m sure it’s difficult for devs to make everybody happy, and self-indulgent reviews hardly outweigh the amount of exposure a trial version will provide. So good on Mojang for finally providing us with a new demo, I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who will appreciate the release.

Minecraft: Education Edition has received an update recently, and with the update comes its new Code Builder. The new tool brings a code-editing interface to the Minecraft worlds, allowing players to perform various tasks, such as creating custom Minecraft commands.

The Education Edition has a user base of more than two million players, and children who have the new update can open the code builder by simply hitting the C key (or the Access button at the top on tablets like the iPad), which opens the UI that allows the child to drag and drop customizable elements of code onto the canvas. Children can customize the text in the colored segments by changing variables such as items, numbers, and actions.

“Voyage Aquatic” lets leaners put together code tiles to solve puzzles.

The Education Edition is available on Windows 10, iPads, and macOS devices, with iPads being a very recent addition. Windows 10 computers and iPads should see the update hit automatically, however Mac users might need to install the update manually.

Minecraft is widely popular for its open-ended structure, allowing players to mine, build, fight baddies or explore to their heart’s content. That structure has made it a surprisingly popular choice for modeling real-life buildings, including Microsoft’s new digital version of its upcoming campus.

Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Wa., covers 500 acres of land and includes over 100 buildings. The campus is undergoing a renovation, slated to be finished in 2022, that will see 18 new buildings, several new sports fields and retail shops. During the design process, Riku Pentikainen, former Microsoft director of global workplace strategies for its real estate and facilities group, was inspired by watching his son play Minecraft, especially how simple and intuitive it was to create builds and walkthroughs.

Microsoft worked with Blockworks, a company that uses Minecraft to model real buildings, to create a digital version of the new campus that employees could walk through and familiarize themselves with.

While Minecraft is less accurate and naturalistic than other CAD and BIM applications, it lets players move easily and somewhat naturally through buildings, as well as make buildings quickly and without advanced training.

“When you build in Minecraft, you build everything in the perspective of the player, constantly being aware of the sense of scale,” James Delaney, Blockworks managing director, told CNBC. “Traditional CAD tools don’t allow for that sense of awareness.”

This isn’t the first big building project Microsoft has done with Minecraft, which it acquired in 2014 for $2.5 billion. Earlier this year, it partnered with Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to develop a complete model of the hospital. The model was created so kids and parents could tour the hospital beforehand, allowing them to alleviate potential anxiety about visiting the hospital and develop a knowledge of the floorplan. The hospital model includes elevator buttons made with the in-game power source “redstone,” which lets people teleport from floor to floor. The project was part of Minecraft’s Education Edition, an initiative to help educators use Minecraft.

Anyone with a 365 Education subscription can take a tour around the Microsoft digital campus. Though, Microsoft said its far from finished with the model. Going forward, it plans to include details like more realistic building interiors and people strolling through the campus.

“We’re trying to be very, very selective in how we’re going to do updates,” said Andrew Yang, project manager. “We want to make sure the next update is going to be meaningful and isn’t going to be updated too quickly.”

Guinness World Records took Philadelphia Minefaire by storm the weekend of 13-14 October, offering live Minecraft record-breaking for attendees of all ages.

We partnered with Minefaire, the #1 Minecraft convention in the USA, to not only create a memorable and engaging fan experience but also introduce new readers to the Guinness World Records 2019: Gamer’s Edition.

Throughout the weekend, visitors had the chance to break three different Minecraft records, specially crafted for Philadelphia Minefaire.

Minefaire 3

Most sunflowers picked in one minute in the Sunflower Field in Minecraft (tablet)
The first record-breaking challenge presented to Philadelphia Minefaire attendees on 13 October 2018 was Most sunflowers picked in one minute in the Sunflower Field in Minecraft (tablet).

The first person to break to record was Sean Rosario (USA) who collected 65 sunflowers in 60 seconds. Shortly afterwards, eight-year-old Ezra Lyngdoh (USA) beat the record set by Sean, by collecting 68.

Later that afternoon, Nathan Cunningham (USA) wowed the crowd and broke the record again by picking 73 sunflowers in one minute.

Fastest time to climb to the top of Cliffside Village in Minecraft (tablet)
This proved to be the toughest challenge of the weekend as it challenged gamers to reach the roof of the house at the top of the ‘Cliffside Village’ while keeping the map selected for the duration of the attempt and without placing any blocks.

10-year-old Madie Mento (USA) was the first to break to record with a time of 1 minute 29.70 seconds. Minutes later, Garrett Muraesky achieved a new record with a time of 1 minute 19.99 seconds.

Fastest time to build all 3 utility mobs in Minecraft (tablet)
In a flurry of excitement on the Sunday, four separate challengers achieved this record.

The record was first set by Nathan Sepinwall (USA) with a time of 37.91 seconds. Minutes later both Vincent Watson (USA) and Ryan Mack (USA) smashed the record with times of 32.14 seconds and 25.88 seconds respectively.

The last record-breaker of the day was nine-year-old Chloe Hensley (USA) with a time of 25.08 seconds.

Minefaire 2

Love these records? You can learn more about the Minecraft Reader Challenges in Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2019.

According to teams with Microsoft Roanoke County is among the world’s top consumers of Minecraft globally. And teachers are using that to their advantage.

That includes second grade teacher Deede Clifford, who spent the day being the student.

“I can’t believe more teachers don’t use it,” she said of the game, “which is why I’m glad we’re having more in-services so more teachers will be on board with it.”

She’s getting trained by Microsoft teams on Minecraft in the school district’s administration building.

“I simply click on that download icon,” said the instructor, leading them through an exercise.

Minecraft is the video gaming sensation every kid and a few teachers are raving about.

“They love it and they ask every day to do Minecraft.” Clifford said of her students, ‘like they never wanna miss school, because they’re so afraid if they’re gonna miss if we do something with Minecraft one day.”

“I have achieved celebrity status at the elementary school,” said Meg Swecker, a Technology Resource Teacher.

She’s been using the educational version of Minecraft to teach students concepts they’re already supposed to be learning about.

“There’s a whole new way for them to be paying attention to what we want them to know,” she said.

The game is kind of like a hybrid of Tomagatchi and The Sims meets Legos: an interactive world where players have the freedom to build with an avatar.

For students that means using their imaginations to create the plant cells, maps and storybook scenes they’re learning about.

Most recently, Swecker was using it to have students recreated the Jamestown settlement.

If it seems a little complicated, don’t worry, say the teachers.

“You don’t have to know anything, the kids will teach you,” Clifford said. Which is really cool!”

The kids think it’s cool too, which is why these teachers are more than willing to meet them halfway.

Microsoft’s refreshed campus is scheduled to open in 2022, with 18 new buildings.

Designers are using the game Minecraft to give employees an early peek of how it will look.

Microsoft bought Minecraft parent Mojang in 2014 for $2.5 billion.

Four years ago Tuesday, Microsoft closed its $2.5 billion acquisition of Mojang, developer of the video game Minecraft. It was Satya Nadella’s first multibillion-dollar deal since taking over as CEO in February 2014.

As it turns out, Minecraft had more to offer Microsoft than just a wildly popular game with 91 million monthly active users and 250 million downloads. The technology is now being used to help employees get acquainted with a refresh of Microsoft’s sprawling campus in Redmond, Washington.

Earlier this year, Microsoft enlisted Blockworks, a company that uses Minecraft’s digital building blocks for designing real-world projects, to create a miniature rendering of the campus facelift, which is scheduled for completion in 2022. They’re using graphics that are far more immersive than two-dimensional photos and videos.

Microsoft’s corporate headquarters occupies 500 acres of land and houses more than 100 buildings. Rather than setting up an entirely new campus (or two) like Amazon, or following Alphabet, Apple and Facebook in expanding into new areas, the software company is updating its existing one, tearing down old buildings and erecting new ones, while also adding cricket and soccer fields and room for retail businesses.

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While Minecraft was designed for gamers, its immersive nature and the ability to quickly move around and construct edifices makes it easy to see how new buildings will look when inserted into an existing landscape. Microsoft recognized the potential of the game and introduced an education edition two years ago. It has racked up 35 million licensed users.

“When you build in Minecraft, you build everything in the perspective of the player, constantly being aware of the sense of scale,” said James Delaney, a managing director at Blockworks, which says on its website that it uses Minecraft “to create experiences, communities and learning environments.”

It’s only natural that a kid was involved in the idea of using Minecraft to miniaturize the new campus.

Riku Pentikainen, who until recently was director of global workplace strategies inside Microsoft’s real estate and facilities group, saw his son playing Minecraft earlier this year and was intrigued by how the game could help the company with its transition. Employees could learn and get excited about the remodeling long before they could check it out on foot, and in a more dynamic way than what was available through typical renderings.

Microsoft brought in architecture firm Gensler, along with Andrew Yang, a project manager, to work with internal staff, including Peter Zetterberg of Microsoft Studios, and Amy Stevenson, Microsoft’s archives manager, who provided pieces of history about campus landmarks. They got approval from Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s executive vice president for gaming, to use Minecraft for the project, Yang said.

From there, the group issued a request for proposals, ultimately deciding on Blockworks, which had done work for Disney, Warner Bros. and the Museum of London, as well as Microsoft. The mandate for Blockworks was to have a virtual campus set up within a few weeks, in time for a Microsoft hackathon on July 27.

Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp.
A half-dozen people at Blockworks began constructing buildings off drawings from Gensler. Delaney said Minecraft forces designers to sacrifice some accuracy because structures in real life don’t always have the game’s squared-off look, but the speed and ease of use more than made up for those deficiencies. It might take just 10 minutes to wrap up a single building, he said.

Minecraft also appeals to a broader audience of younger people, who might not know how to use computer-aided design, or CAD, programs, which require extensive training and aren’t as collaborative.

“Traditional CAD tools don’t allow for that sense of awareness,” said Delaney, who explored the use of Minecraft as a way to democratize architecture during his studies at the University of Cambridge.

Microsoft employees — and anyone else with the education edition of Minecraft — can now take a digital tour of the new campus and see how plans are developing. Outside of Microsoft, that access requires a subscription to Office 365 Education.

Yang said people are impressed with what they’ve seen, but improvements are coming. For example, he expects to add details like more realistic building interiors and additional people walking around the campus.

“We’re trying to be very, very selective in how we’re going to do updates,” Yang said. “We want to make sure the next update is going to be meaningful and isn’t going to be updated too quickly.”

Researchers have developed a Minecraft modification that uses artificial intelligence to help players improve their in-game architecture skills.

Minecraft is a popular 3D video game where players build and navigate their own digital environments. The modification will tell players whether their buildings fit into certain architectural styles and offer ideas for how the structures could be improved.

“One of the things that’s important to learn when you’re a kid and throughout life is creativity, abstraction—how to envision what you want and then create it,” says senior author Ross Knepper, assistant professor of computer science at Cornell University. “This is a tool that helps people not get discouraged, maybe if they’re beginning at Minecraft and don’t know how to use their imagination right off the bat.”

Minecraft temple
Erik Andersen created a model in Minecraft of a temple in Bangkok. (Credit: Cornell)
A.I. TEACHING PLAYERS
Based on buildings Minecraft players created and uploaded for others to use, the researchers created a deep neural network—a kind of machine learning trained to predict whether data belongs in a certain category. Through that network, players could learn whether their building is medieval, modern, Asian, or classical—four especially popular tags Minecraft players use. Once the building is classified, another algorithm can show the users similar buildings to inspire them to make improvements to their own.

“People are really interested in having more design spaces in Minecraft, and being able to build certain types of architecture, but there weren’t any design tools as far as we were aware that could teach them,” says first author Irene (Euisun) Yoon.

Yoon curated the data set to make sure the buildings were labeled correctly, since their algorithm was less accurate than they would have liked because it was trained with fewer than 1,000 player-created buildings. Ideally, they could train such an algorithm with tens or hundreds of thousands of pieces of data.

“If you ask an architect to tell you what a building’s style is, the architect will say, ‘OK, it’s one-and-a-half stories, it has dormers, it’s a Cape Cod.’ Deep learning is doing that but it’s doing it in a black box way (hidden from view). It learns patterns, but not necessarily the same patterns an architect would say are the key things,” Knepper says. For example, if all the modern-style houses in a data set have pools on the roof, the computer could assume that rooftop pools are a requirement for modern houses.

PLAYERS TEACHING A.I.
For Knepper, a roboticist by training, the Minecraft project helped answer questions about how a robot might follow a human’s instructions.

“If I say, ‘Build a house,’ today a robot is going to say, ‘I don’t know what that means.’ ‘Which brick should I put where?’ is the level at which robots need instruction,” Knepper says. “We’d like humans to be able to interface with robots more like we interface with each other. So if I tell it to build a medieval house or an ancient house and give some of the high-level details, it would know at that point how to turn it into a plausible thing that does everything you want. We’re not there yet, but this is the first step towards that goal.”

Coauthor Bharath Hariharan, assistant professor of computer science, approached the research from the perspective of his own work in computer vision. In trying to interpret an image, scientists can train a computer to pick up cues such as shape and solidity, but may have trouble processing perspective or scale. Using people’s intelligence through their Minecraft structures and tags can help computers learn to solve those problems.

“When you’re working with images, it’s really hard to actually get at the essence of what something is,” Hariharan says. “A machine observing how people build can actually learn quite a bit about what shape is, what structure is, what buildings are.”

The researchers will present a paper on their work at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment in Canada.

The paper is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation.

Source: Melanie Lefkowitz for Cornell University

Original Study

With Aquaman set to hit theaters next month, we figured it would only be a matter of time before we saw the powerful Justice League member’s world pop up in DC Universe Online. And just like clockwork, it has.

Today, Daybreak Games has announced the arrival of Atlantis, one of the company’s largest expansions for the popular online multiplayer game since its launch seven years ago. The expansion is available now across all platforms, including Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, with a “brand new underwater world to explore, iconic DC characters and swimming.”

With Corum Rath set to try and take over the Throne (and conspiring with Deluge parties to work alongside him), it’s up to Aquaman and the DC Universe characters to come together and fight back, in an effort to save the Crown from falling into the wrong hands.

The brief launch trailer above gives you an idea of what to expect from this immaculate world, which is jam-packed with space to explore and details from the forthcoming Aquaman film.

Here’s a rundown of the new content that you’ll find in this expansion:

Vast Underwater World – For the first time ever, players will be able to visit and explore the underwater Kingdom of Atlantis. Everything from swimming, combat, and lighting has been re-imagined for a fully submerged environment. Swim through the ocean and explore everything Atlantis has to offer.
New Missions – Travel throughout Atlantis including the Throne Room, the city streets and more to take on dangerous missions and fight deadly foes.
New Raids – Fight for the Crown of Thorns, challenge Corum Rath, or take on a massive sea monster in these new raids that are only available in Atlantis.

On top of that, Daybreak has also confirmed that players will be able to earn new feats, as well as discover new collections to add to their lineup. You’ll also be able to collect a variety of new gear, including items inspired by Aqualad, Corum Rath and more.

But keep in mind that in order to access the event portion of Atlantis, you’ll need to have a level of 10 or more. Fortunately, it shouldn’t take that long to get there if you haven’t already.

We’ll be talking with the team behind the expansion soon. But in the meantime, you can check out DC Universe Online now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Also, Aquaman opens in theaters on December 21.

We already know that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is primed to be a holiday blockbuster, thanks to its massive opening weekend. But Activision has provided a little more detail as to how the multiplayer-packed sequel is performing on the market.

Call of Duty 2
The company posted details from its earnings report earlier today, and sales statistics show that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has already sold enough copies to lap Call of Duty: Black Ops III on a 3-to-1 basis. That’s quite a leap, considering that the game doesn’t have a single player campaign like Treyarch’s previous game did.

The game is particularly selling well on the PC front, which is good news since Activision put a primary focus into the performance of that version, although it gave just as much love to the console versions for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

As a result, Black Ops 4 has become one of the fastest-selling games in the series. And it helps that it had the inclusion of its take on Battle Royale, Blackout, included in the package right from the get-go. Call of Duty’s main competition, Battlefield V, won’t be introducing such a mode until at least March 2019.

In addition, Activision confirmed that engagement numbers are higher for Black Ops 4, with a 16 percent increase over Black Ops 3, along with a 20 percent increase in hours played.

Keep in mind that this is before release of additional content which will soon be offered through the company’s Black Ops Pass. Although a plan for said content hasn’t been revealed yet, it’s expected to arrive within the next few weeks, especially with the holiday season coming up. We’ll let you know as soon as the company reveals what’s coming our way.

For now, Black Ops 4 looks to be a leading factor for Activision’s big holiday push, although the company also has Destiny 2: Forsaken on the market; and Spyro Reignited Trilogy, which features a three-pack of classic Spyro the Dragon adventures, arrives this Tuesday after a lengthy delay.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC through Battle.net.

If you’ve been waiting to pick up Super Mario Party until you have enough controllers, or just wanted to snag a couple of JoyCon peripherals in the same shot as the game, we’ve got some good news, fans.

Nintendo has announced that it’s finally releasing a Super Mario Party game and Joy-Con bundle for the U.S. market, after it previously became available in Japan, Europe and South Korea. The bundle will go for $99.99 and will include a copy of the game, as well as special neon green and neon yellow Joy-Con controllers.Nintendo confirmed the news earlier today, with the bundle dated to arrive in stores next week, starting November 16.

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Get the party started with the new #SuperMarioParty bundle for #NintendoSwitch, featuring the game and a pair of Neon Green/Neon Yellow Joy-Con! This bundle arrives 11/16 and will retail for $99.99.

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The bundle provides a very good value, since the game goes for $59.99 and the Joy-Con controllers can go as high as $64.99. That gives you an estimated savings of about $25 by getting both of these in one shot.

And the fact you can only play Super Mario Party with Joy-Cons makes it easier to have them on hand, since it doesn’t support either handheld play (with the Joy-Cons attached) or the Pro Controller.

This bundle is about the same color as the one that was offered in Japan. However, the European bundle came with a neon pink and neon green Joy-Con controller. It looks like Nintendo of America changed it up here so that it wouldn’t be confused with the Splatoon 2 Nintendo Switch console bundle, which comes with pink and green Joy-Cons.

So if you’ve been looking to get in a Party mood with your friends, or just want to pick up a copy of the game for that beloved member of your family or group for the holiday season, this bundle will likely be for you.

Super Mario Party is available now for Nintendo Switch.

While Red Dead Redemption 2 set some impressive sales records in its own right within just eight days, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is certainly no slouch. It saw a huge record weekend in its own right; and a new entry on the PlayStation Blog indicates that it’s performed well enough to beat out Redemption as the best-selling digital game for PlayStation 4 for the month.

Call of Duty
Based on the top ten listing for PS4 games, Black Ops 4 sat pretty in the first place slot, followed closely behind by Red Dead Redemption 2. Rounding out the top five were Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, FIFA 19 and Battlefield 1, which no doubt found a resurgence thanks to EA giving away free content for the game. The top ten list is as follows:

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Red Dead Redemption 2
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
FIFA 19
Battlefield 1
Marvel’s Spider-Man
NBA 2K19
Soul Calibur VI
Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night + Rondo of Blood
WWE 2K19
From the looks of things, Soul Calibur VI and WWE 2K19 had solid debuts as well; and Castlevania Requiem was quite popular with the retro crowd.

As for PlayStation VR, the engaging platformer Astro Bot Rescue Mission topped the list, followed by Superhot VR and Job Simulator. No doubt the just-announced Beat Saber will be getting some attention later this month.

As for free-to-play games, nothing could beat Fortnite: Battle Royale, which took the number one slot. Close behind in second was Warface, followed by H1Z1’s new Battle Royale mode.

As far as PlayStation Classics go, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas continued to be a big hit with fans, but Rockstar Games also benefited from strong sales with Bully, which landed in the second place spot; and Metal Slug Anthology found a good spot in third place. Surprisingly enough, War of the Monsters found a fifth place position, finding good popularity with the Halloween crowd.

As far as how November’s numbers will shape up, it’s too soon to call. Battlefield V is on the way; and Spyro Reignited Trilogy is set to spark things up as well. We’ll see where the cards fall by this time next month.

Considering that the movie just had a very positive screening, it looks like the Detective Pikachu film could very well have its time in the sun. And that means we won’t have to wait too much longer for the trailer.

Detective Pikachu
A report from Trailer Track suggests that a trailer will make its debut for the film as soon as next week, as Warner Bros. is reportedly getting it ready to run alongside the forthcoming film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

The movie, directed by Rob Letterman and featuring Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds, reportedly has a trailer that’s been rated by Alberta Film Ratings, suggesting that it’s good to go for distribution. That said, the site warns that it won’t be arriving online before the premiere of the Fantastic Beasts film. More than likely, we’ll see it debut as soon as next Friday, November 16.

The trailer has been given a rating of “PG,” and more than likely, Warner Bros. will seek a similar rating for the final film when it arrives next summer.

The positive reception for the early screening of Detective Pikachu should get fans hyped, and once the trailer premieres, we’ll have a better idea of what to expect from the live-action approach, even though we’ve already got a good idea of what the storyline is about. But for the time being, you can read the impressions over at Super Bro Movies, in which the site notes that the movie has “easter eggs, good performances, and a great script,”

The film features Reynolds as the voice of PIkachu, but also stars Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Ken Watanabe, Bill Nighy, Suki Waterhouse and Rita Ora in live-action roles. It’s set to premiere on May 10 in both the U.S. and European markets.

As expected, we’ll let you know as soon as the trailer is making its premiere and share our thoughts on it. But it sounds like it’s going to be a lot more fun than some skeptics expected it to be. Besides, you have Reynolds voicing Pikachu. Isn’t that magic in itself?! (Yes, you can tell him we said that.)

Minecraft’s newest textures are now available for some players with Version 3 released for Java platforms before coming soon to the Bedrock version of the game.

Mojang’s Tom Stone announced the release of textures Version 3 in a post on the Minecraft site that encouraged Java players to try out the new looks for the Minecraft world’s many blocks. The third downloadable pack of new textures comes 10 months after the second one released in January, Stone said, and as of November 3rd, the latest official texture pack from the Minecraft team is now available for Java players.

“Minecraft: Java Edition players can try Version Three today!” Stone said about the release. “This pack will also be coming to all versions of Minecraft that have the Minecraft Marketplace very soon as a free download and we’ll update this story as soon as it’s available.”

The tweet below from the official Minecraft account showed off some comparison images with the previous texture packs on the left and Version 3 shown to the right. For Java players who want to experience the new textures for themselves, Mojang provided a step-by-step list of instructions for copying the new files over to their game to replace the textures.

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We spoke to @JasperBoerstra about the new Minecraft Textures! Java players can download Version 3 of the texture pack from http://Minecraft.net today, and it’s coming VERY SOON to bedrock!https://minecraft.net/article/try-new-minecraft-textures …

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Players should start getting used to the new textures when possible because what’s found in Version 3 will eventually become the default textures. Stone asked Minecraft texture artist Jasper Boerstra what would happen to the old textures with the artist responding to say they’d be replaced before long, but not before more changes are potentially made.

“These new textures will eventually replace them all and become the default textures of Minecraft,” Boerstra said about the texture changes. “They’re not yet final though, and still in development, that’s why I’m taking in all the community feedback first. The original textures will be available for free later. This might be directly in the game or somewhere else. We haven’t decided yet.”

Boerstra mentioned the main feedback he’d received was that blocks and other things looked blurry due to the use of anti-aliasing and Minecraft’s inherent low-resolution nature, so he cut back on the use of the art technique to give everything a crisper look.

Minecraft’s Version 3 textures are now available for Java players with the full releases for all platforms coming later.