Take-Two Interactive Software reported revenues today that beat analyst expectations for the first-fiscal quarter ended June 30. This means that revenues were surprisingly strong at a time when the video game publisher had no major releases.

This also means that ongoing stalwarts such as Grand Theft Auto Online and Grand Theft Auto V continue to prop up sales, even as the hot release of the fall, Red Dead Redemption 2, isn’t doing as well as might be expected. The company’s stock price fell 5% today after U.S. President Donald Trump called out video games for contributing to a culture that glorifies violence. But the stock has risen to $123.05 a share, up 6.7%, in after-hours trading.

Analyst had expected non-GAAP earnings per share of 4 cents on revenue of $356.9 million. But Take-Two reported GAAP net income of 41 cents a share on revenues of $540.5 million, up 39% from $388 million a year ago. On a non-GAAP basis, the company reported net income of about 27 cents a share on revenue of $422 million, way above guidance, said Michael Pachter, analyst at Wedbush Securities, in an email.

The company credited revenues from NBA 2K19, Grand Theft Auto Online, and Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2, Red Dead Online, the Borderlands franchise, Social Point’s mobile offerings, and Sid Meier’s Civilization VI. Take-Two increased its full-year revenue estimates as a result of the better performance in the first fiscal quarter.

Above: NBA 2K19 is one of Take-Two’s strongest performers.Image Credit: 2K Games

Red Dead Redemption 2, the Western epic from Take-Two’s Rockstar Games label that was more than seven years in the making, has been a big part of revenues since the title debuted on October 26, and it sold 23 million copies in the holiday quarter. But it has stalled since then, as the company said today it has sold-in 25 million copies to date.

Red Dead Online and Grand Theft Auto Online are also contributing to revenues, and Take-Two said that recurrent consumer spending was up 31% and accounted for 58% of GAAP net revenue, thanks to Grand Theft Auto Online and NBA 2K performance.

But neither Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online seem destined to repeat the unprecedented success of Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. GTA V has now sold 110 million units to date. NBA 2K19 sold more than 12 million units. Previous Borderlands series games also helped boost the quarter, with the launch of the Borderlands: The Handsome Collection.

“Fiscal 2020 is off to a terrific start with first-quarter operating results that beat our expectations,” said Strauss Zelnick, CEO of New York-based Take-Two, in a statement. “We delivered significant net bookings and cash flow growth driven by the performance of Grand Theft Auto Online and Grand Theft Auto V, NBA 2K19, the Borderlands franchise, and Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online.

“As a result of our better-than-expected first-quarter operating results and increased forecast for the balance of the year, we are raising our outlook for fiscal 2020, which is anticipated to be another great year for our organization. We aim to build on this strong start by delivering a robust array of titles throughout the year, including Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, NBA 2K20, Borderlands 3, WWE 2K20, and The Outer Worlds, as well as new and innovative ways for consumers to remain engaged with their favorite entertainment experiences.”

And Zelnick said, “Looking ahead, Take-Two has the strongest development pipeline in its history, including sequels from our biggest franchises as well as exciting new IP. We are exceedingly well-positioned to capitalize on the positive trends in our industry, and to generate significant growth and margin expansion over the long-term.”

Above: Fix the economy, or I shoot!Image Credit: Rockstar

Even with the weak summer quarter result, Take-Two is looking forward to the September 13 release of Borderlands 3, the new title from Gearbox Software.

Digital revenue was up 36% to $427.8 million, and it now accounts for 79% of total GAAP net revenue. On August 27, Take-Two will release Patrice Desilets’ Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey via Take-Two’s Private Division label for indie games.

For the full year, GAAP net revenue is expected to hit $2.83 billion to $2.93 billion, with net income ranging from $425 million to $454 million.

There’s a lot of things to do in Minecraft, but few know that you can actually make fireworks. The recipes can’t be found in the recipe book even when the player has all the required items, which can be a bit frustrating for the casual player, because it requires going into the Wikipedia page of the game and looking for the information.

Have no worry however, because we’ve got you fully covered with all the tips and tricks you need to know about making fireworks and all of their quirky uses. Let’s get right into it.

10For Decoration

The first use for fireworks is obviously for pure decorative purposes. Maybe you’d like to have a celebration of sorts or just light up the night skies with beautiful colors.

Either way, if you craft fireworks and use them at night time against the darkened sky, you’ll be able to see various colors and patterns depending of the kind you’ve crafted. The fireworks are visible during the day as well, but it will be more difficult to spot them against a brighter sky.

9Elytra Fuel

After defeating the Ender Dragon, you’re granted access to the End, an alternate dimension where Endermen live among Chaurus Fruit trees and End Cities. If you happen to come across a particularly large one with an End ship, you’ll discover the Elytra, which essentially let’s the player glide and fly around.

In order to maintain your flight, fireworks without any charge are used to propel you into the skies. Although flying machines can be made as well, having a stack of fireworks is a lot more convenient in general.

8Ammunition For Crossbow

If you come across an Illager settlement, chances are you’ll probably pick up a crossbow off of one of these evil versions of Minecraft villagers. The crossbow can be loaded up with fireworks as ammunition, and the higher the charge is the longer the range will be.

As soon as the firework comes into contact with a target, it will detonate in an explosion, making it a great mini cannon for anyone looking to deal with some serious damage on mobs at night time while defending their homestead.

7Ingredients Needed

Fireworks are not the cheapest of items to make. The two ingredients needed are paper and gunpowder. Paper can be made from three pieces of sugar cane, which is widely available in the wild.

Gunpowder, on the other hand, is found in chests in Desert Temples and Buried Treasure locations, as well as in dungeons and mine shafts. If you manage to kill a Creeper before it explodes, it will also drop a bit of gunpowder depending on how good your sword is.ADVERTISING

6Crafting Recipe

Once you have the needed ingredients, the recipe is fairly straightforward. You’ll need one piece of paper anywhere on the crafting table grid and 1-3 pieces of gunpowder. The more gunpowder you use, the higher the charge of your firework will be and the longer their range or flight duration will be.

If you’re making the fireworks for Elytra, it’s recommended to always use three pieces of gunpowder to take advantage of the longest possible flight duration. If you’re planning on using the fireworks for decoration only, the recipe also calls for a Firework Star, the most basic one being a combination of glowstone, brown dye and gunpowder.

5Using Fireworks

Once you have your fireworks prepared, you can either use your crossbow to shoot them or place them on the ground to send them up in the skies. When using with an Elytra, it can be a bit more difficult to activate the flight.

It’s recommended to get to a high spot such as a mountain or even the roof of your Minecraft house and then jump down. While falling, engage your Elytra’s glide and then look upwards into the sky before shooting a rocket. This should propel you away and off the ground.ADVERTISING

4Creeper-Shaped

For this decorative firework, you’ll need a Firework Star made of one magenta dye, any mob head and one gunpowder. You can use any other type of dye as well. The mob heads can be obtained if a mob is killed by the explosion of a charged Creeper.

Alternatively, the easiest mob head to find is the Dragon Head found on End ships. Then combine the star with one piece of paper and as 1-3 charges of gunpowder to determine the length of the effect. Once you shoot this firework into the skies you should be able to see a magenta colored Creeper face.

3Burst

In order to get an orange burst kind of effect, you’ll need one piece of dye, one gunpowder and one feather. Feathers are dropped by chickens when they’re killed.

If you want to add a fade effect to this firework, combine the Firework Star with any dye of your liking before then combining it with one paper and as many gunpowder charges as you need. The result is a simple burst like firework with orange fading into red.A

2Twinkle Burst

The green twinkle burst effects can be crafted by combining any available dye, one feather, one piece of glowstone and one gunpowder.

If you want to add a fade to another color, the process is still the same: combine the Firework Star with yellow dye and then combine it once again with a piece of paper and as many charges of gunpowder as you need. You should now have a beautiful green twinkle burst fading into a yellow shade.

1Star-Shaped Twinkle With Trail

The final type of firework is a star-shaped blue twinkle with a trail, and is undoubtedly the most expensive one. In order to craft this Firework Star you’ll need any dye of your choice, one gold nugget, one diamond and one piece of gunpowder.

If you to add a fade to a color, combine the Firework Star with any dye before combining it with one paper and as many pieces of gunpowder as you need. The crafting price of this item might be high, but it definitely creates the most beautiful firework.

Who knew Minecraft offered such a rich training ground for AI and machine learning algorithms? Earlier this month, Facebook researchers posited that the hit game’s constraints make it well-suited to natural language understanding experiments. And in a newly published paper, a team at Carnegie Mellon describe a 130GB-734GB corpus intended to inform AI development — MineRL — that contains over 60 million annotated state-action pairs (recorded over 500 hours) across a variety of related Minecraft tasks, alongside a novel data collection scheme that allows for the addition of tasks and the gathering of complete state information suitable for “a variety of methods.”

“As demonstrated in the computer vision and natural language processing communities, large-scale datasets have the capacity to facilitate research by serving as an experimental and benchmarking platform for new methods,” wrote the coauthors. “However, existing datasets compatible with reinforcement learning simulators do not have sufficient scale, structure, and quality to enable the further development and evaluation of methods focused on using human examples. Therefore, we introduce a comprehensive, large-scale, simulator paired dataset of human demonstrations.”Recommended videosPowered by AnyClipHope for quadriplegia patients in pilot with video gamersPauseUnmuteCurrent Time 0:03/Duration 0:57Loaded: 20.14% FullscreenUp Next

For those unfamiliar, Minecraft is a voxel-based building and crafting game with procedurally created worlds containing block-based trees, mountains, fields, animals, non-player characters (NPCs), and so on. Blocks are placed on a 3D voxel grid, and each voxel in the grid contains one material. Players can move, place, or remove blocks of different types, and attack or fend off attacks from NPCs or other players.

As for MineRL, it includes six tasks with a variety of research challenges including multi-agent interactions, long-term planning, vision, control, and navigation, as well as explicit and implicit subtask hierarchies. In the navigation task, users have to move to a random goal location over terrain with variable material types and geometries, while in the tree chopping objective, they’re tasked with obtaining wood to produce other items. In another task, players are instructed to produce objects like pickaxes, diamonds, cooked meat, and beds, and in a survival task, they must devise their own goals and secure items to complete those goals.

Each trajectory in the corpus consists of a video frame from the player’s point-of-view and a set of features from the game-state, namely player inventory, item collection events, distances to objectives, and player attributes (health, level, achievements). That’s supplemented with metadata like timestamped markers for when certain objectives are met, and by action data consisting of all of the keyboard presses, changes in view pitch and yaw caused by mouse movement, click and interaction events, and chat messages sent.

To collect the trajectory data, the researchers created an end-to-end platform comprising a public game server and a custom Minecraft client plugin that records all packet-level communication, allowing the demonstrations to be re-simulated and re-rendered with modifications to the game state. Collected telemetry data was fed into a data processing pipeline, and the task demonstrations were annotated automatically.

The researchers expect MineRL will support large-scale AI generalization studies by enabling the re-rendering of data with different constraints, like altered lighting, camera positions, and other video rendering conditions and the injection of artificial noise in observations, rewards, and actions.  “We expect it to be increasingly useful for a range of methods including inverse reinforcement learning, hierarchical learning, and life-long learning,” they wrote. “We hope MineRL will … [bolster] many branches of AI toward the common goal of developing methods capable of solving a wider range of real-world environments.”

Microsoft has kicked off its Minecraft Earth beta, serving a tease of its upcoming mobile spin-off of the hit adventure blockbuster. Fusing mapping and location data with augmented reality (AR) technologies, the game brings the voxel world to life, attempting to mirror the success of Pokemon GO.

While Minecraft Earth remains locked down to an invite-only beta, lead Mojang figures recently hosted a Q&A session via the game’s official Discord channel. Fielding community questions, we received an insight into the current status of Minecraft Earth and future ambitions the title.

The Minecraft Earth beta and tackling Android

Minecraft Earth’s initial beta is limited to a select pool of registered beta participants, randomly selected among those in five eligible cities, and using iOS-based devices. While Microsoft has sights set on worldwide availability, the pre-release client only spans Seattle, London, Tokyo, Stockholm, and Mexico City for July 2019. Committed to a broader rollout in the weeks ahead, budding players are understandably clamoring for the chance to play.

“At this time we don’t have plans to expand the beta beyond the current 5 cities,” said Minecraft Earth Community Manager when questioned on expansion plans. “We’re being thoughtful about our release and want to make sure that we roll the game out in a very thoughtful way.” Mojang instead aims to expand more players in existing regions throughout the beta, with a wider footprint after testing concludes.

The team also reaffirmed plans to hit Android “later this summer,” on track for a future stage in testing. “I know it’s the ‘typical saying’ that you hear, but really, we want to get the Android folks into the beta as well.” Minecraft Earth Software Engineer, under the moniker “Murtag,” also confirmed plans for iOS and Android cross-play and cross-saves, allowing players to shift progress between multiple devices.

Mojang remains uncommitted to a release date for the final version of Minecraft Earth, instead advising players to “stay tuned” throughout ongoing tests.

What the future holds for Minecraft Earth

Mojang also outlined plans to diversify the Minecraft Earth world, including existing locales from the vanilla package. Design Director Craig Leigh touched on “eventually” implementing the hellish Nether underworld, likely bringing new blocks and mobs too. “Yes you can build an Obsidian portal, but currently you can’t light it.”

Leigh also confirmed plans for biomes in Minecraft Earth, bringing further variation to the overhead map. “Per our announcement trailers, we want to create different Biomes that will provide different resources,” said a fellow staffer. While in the closed beta, exploration is limited to basis grasslands packed with flora and chests, dynamic biomes and rewards could soon take influence from real-world surroundings.

However, Mojang was fast to rule out modding support, a prior lifeline that propelled vanilla Minecraft one decade ago. Although built on Microsoft’s reworked “Bedrock” engine and sharing underlying DNA, Minecraft Earth adopts a more closed, tailored experience.

Moderation garnered noteworthy attention too, including the steps Mojang is taking to combat toxicity. Expanding on the existing foundation of resource collection and construction, community-sharing hooks into location features to drop digital creations in public spaces.

Questions touched on the potential of overcrowding the augmented reality world with digital structures and how Mojang looks to ensure enough real estate. “[W]e are working on a new exciting system to deal with this,” state Leight. “Don’t worry, if you want to show you build off to the world you will be able to. More news soon.”

And the topic of user-generated content and keeping kids safe from those who seek to exploit gameplay, the team has committed to moderating publicly shared content. Mojang also pledges to crack down for cheaters across Minecraft Earth, including GPS spoofing to fake their physical locations.

For those looking for a chance to pick up Minecraft Earth ahead of launch, registration for the closed beta remains live on the official site. In the meantime, don’t miss on our early impressions from E3 2019, which dives into the full scope of Microsoft’s mobile block-building ambitions.

Minecraft may be having a moment again thanks to newfound interest from popular YouTubers and an uptick in nostalgia-induced playing, but even the world-building crafting game can’t compete with Roblox.

Roblox, a popular digital playground similar to communities like Habbo Hotel and games like Second Life, has hit a new milestone — 100 million monthly active users. The company celebrated by released an exclusive, limited-edition accessory for players, which can be redeemed for free.

“Roblox began with just 100 players and a handful of creators who inspired one another, unlocking this groundswell of creativity, collaboration, and imagination that continues to grow,” CEO David Baszucki said in a press release today.

The company has been slowly building its user base since the game first launched in 2005, four years before one of its biggest competitors, Minecraft. Roblox has become increasingly popular in recent years, though. The game has a big following on YouTube, and was even parodied in a Kanye West music video, where he and Lil Pump dressed up as Roblox avatars.

To compare, Minecraft has 91 million monthly active players, according to Microsoft. The game has seen a recent uptick in interest thanks to more YouTube creators, like Jacksepticeye and PewDiePie devoting lengthy videos to gameplay sessions. New tools, like ray tracing, also caught the interest of players who had walked away from the game. Other factors, including a new weekly series called Minecraft Monday from YouTube creator Daniel “Keemstar” Keem, have helped to bring Minecraft back to the forefront of gaming conversation.

“Nine years later those children are older teens or adults and nostalgia has set in,” Keem toldPolygon. “Over the last two years, Minecraft has been added to meme culture, making it also cool again.”

The new interest in Minecraft could mean that the Microsoft-owned game will surpass Roblox. It’s also possible augmented reality game (and Pokémon Go competitor) Minecraft Earth could be the thing to push Minecraft past Roblox when it launches later this year. Until then, Roblox is on top.

Avengers: Endgame scribes and Marvel Cinematic Universe veterans Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus expect Marvel Studios’ upcoming Phase 4 to be more eclectic than past phases and head in “a lot more directions.”

“I know nothing. I literally know nothing,” McFeely told the Los Angeles Times at San Diego Comic-Con. “I read things in Los Angeles Times and all these other sites, and I go, ‘Well, I don’t think Marvel announced that.’ There’s all these little rumory things, but I don’t know them.”

“All I know is Phase 4 can go in a lot more directions than any of the preceding three phases,” added Markus.

“Because of, one, just because of the doors that three successful phases have opened. Now they have cosmic Marvel available, they have Doctor Strange cosmic Marvel available. There are so many directions you can go in now.”

Phase 4 of the interconnected MCU will also be the first to include productions debuted exclusively on coming streaming service Disney+, future home to Marvel Studios-produced series WandaVision, Loki, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye and What If…?

“Plus if you throw in the Disney+ streaming thing… I think it will be a phase that is shaped differently than the preceding ones. Something that can spread out in more directions at once,” Markus said.

“It’s almost inevitable, when you keep making these things and they’re all connected, it cannot be on one straight line or you’re gonna get incredibly repetitive after a while. So it has to spread.”

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced Marvel’s Phase 4 slate at Comic-Con, confirming Black Widow, The Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder. Also announced was the Mahershala Ali-starring Blade, planned for Phase 5.

Alluded to, but not yet announced, were the coming additions of recently reclaimed IPs Fantastic Four and X-Men — blockbuster franchises in the making under Feige.

“It’ll be fascinating to see what Kevin Feige does with the properties he’s now getting from the Fox merger with X-Men and Fantastic Four,” Markus told the LA Times in May.

“And to see what the MCU version of those things is, because I very much doubt it will be something that resembles what you’ve seen before. So that will be very exciting.”0COMMENTS

Avengers: Endgame is now available to own on Digital HD and releases to 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray August 13.

Minecraft has been around for years, but that doesn’t mean that fans of the sprawling creation game can’t find new ways to amaze the community. Now, Tom Holland’s version of Spider-Man is making his way into the world of Minecraft thanks to one talented player. Reddit user FyreArsenal recently shared a video, which showcases a photo-like recreation of Holland’s face made with Minecraft blocks. Recreating such a huge image out of singular blocks is a large time investment and requires extreme attention to detail. Just one block out of place can spell disaster and make the creator have to delete possible hours of work.

Getting the colors, placement, and scale just right is a labor of love that not all fans would commit to. A virtual structure like this has to be carefully planned from the initial image selection all the way to ensuring the right materials make up the individual pixels. Once all those details are locked in, then the long process of building a massive image, like the one of Holland’s face, can begin. A comment under the video explains, FyreArsenal spent three hours on the project because recreating celebrities faces in the game sounded like a fun thing to do.

FyreArsenal continued, “The reason why I chose Tom was because I keep seeing his fangirls with their Tom Holland fan accounts all over Instagram, so I thought building this would make me gain recognition or something. Not many people saw it on Instagram, so I just posted it here on Reddit instead.”

Other users are sure glad that they chose to post as the video took off on Reddit and went viral. People are just impressed at the quality of the image and the overall time invested when compared to similar videos that don’t break down the process of designing such an elaborate structure.

Some other Redditors with great ears picked up on Michael Giacchino’s version of the Spider-Man theme making an appearance in the video. A welcome treat for fans with an appreciation for small details.

One clever commenter replied that “EDITH – Even Digitized, It’s Tom Holland.” The resemblance is pretty striking and at this scale, it would be easy to see the image become distorted due to stretching it to such lengths. Even after 10 years, Minecraft is still providing fans with the chance to appreciate these sorts of moments online.

For more information on Minecraft, including the upcoming Minecraft Dungeons, check out some of our previous coverage.

Is this the best celebrity recreation in Minecraft that you’ve ever seen? Are you looking forward to Minecraft Dungeons next year? What other popular movies or television shows do you want to see included in the game next? Sound off in the comment section below, or feel free to hit me up over on Twitter @SumitLakeHornet!

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

The crew is recovered from Comic-Con and we’re deep-diving into the newest must watch Amazon series and more. The Boys is officially binge-able, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the history lesson we all need, and the new Walking Dead series might already be dead – we’re tackling it all in episode 52 of #ComicBookNation! Make sure to subscribe now to never miss an episode!

Here, we’ve collected the best Minecraft mods, according to our experts on the game. Mods will help you get more out of Minecraft, no matter what it is you need. In this list, we’ll collect incremental improvements to the game, dazzling worlds and entirely new types of games you can play within Minecraft. It’s worth noting, not all mods are compatible with the latest version of Minecraft, and some require the installation of legacy versions of Forge to get them running. Thankfully, installing older mods isn’t too difficult. Most mods come with instructions, but if they don’t, we’ve got a mini-guide to get you up and running. 

These mods are great on their own, but it’s worth noting that they might conflict with each other somewhat if you try and install several at once. If you do have issues with that or anything else, consider trying a preconfigured modpack out instead—the launchers provided by Feed the Beast and the Technic Platform are some of the simplest ways to quickly and cleanly get playing modded Minecraft.

If you’re looking for best Minecraft seeds, too, or Minecraft console commands and cheats, or best Minecraft servers, we can help with everything you need.

Here are the best Minecraft mods:

Instant Rope Bridge 

[1.8]

You know what’s annoying? When you’re at the top of a mountain and see something interesting on an adjacent mountain. No one likes the feeling off having to trudge down a mountain only to clumsily stumble your way up another directly after.

What this mod does is cut out the in between bits. Namely, point, click, and a rope bridge will magically appear to offer up a link between the two destinations.

Yes, it’s for lazy people like me. Feel free to judge. Grab it here.

A more lively map

[1.9]

Maps are great for trying to keep a rough idea of where you are or where you’re heading. That said, there’s always room for improvement.

Imagine Google Maps, only for Minecraft and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what this mod does. Specifically, it lets folk view a more real-time map in-game, and on the mini-map, as well as being able to view the map online via a web browser. If you’re charting your next journey, and it’s going to take you far, far away from the sanctity of your home base, then this mod is a must. 

Source

It’s Portal, but in Minecraft 

[1.10.2]

How do you fancy creating your own Aperture testing lab? Included in this modpack are a wealth of different Portal-themed blocks and, more importantly, a selection of Portal appliances, which includes floor buttons for dumping companion cubes onto, pedestal buttons, and indicator lights. So if you decide to create a nefarious puzzle challenge, all the tools you’ll need will be there from the off.

A quick note: For the full Portal experience, you’ll first need to grab iChun’s Portalgun modpack first from here [Link 1]. After that, you’re safe to install Raptor’s mod-extension from here [Link 2].

Millénaire 

[1.7.10]

How many times have you explored a new area only to be met with nothing but vast emptiness? The Millénaire mod fixes that by introducing a wealth of new content into spaces where there’d usually be nothing. Villagers are replaced by human men, women, and children, instead of the bog-standard villager. Even villages have had a makeover to incorporate 11th-century Norman, North Indian and Mayan themes. Grab it here. 

Fossil and Archaeology revival mod

[1.17.10]

If there’s one thing missing from Minecraft it’s dinosaurs. Who doesn’t want to ditch creepers in favour of riding around on a T-Rex? Not only is there a massive amount of dinosaurs to spawn in creative, but in survival, the player can hunt down fossils and bring these forgotten beasts back to life. As well as a texture overhaul, there’s also a new mob boss in the Anu for those looking to put their prehistoric skills to the test. Grab it here. 

Instant Massive Structures

[1.8.8, 1.8, 1.8.1, 1.9, 1.7.10]

Okay, okay, so this one may be cheating. We’ve all seen monstrous builds online which make our 5×5 dirt house pail in comparison. But what happens if you want to turn the tables? What happens if you want an enormous city in a matter of seconds? That’s where the Instant Structures mod comes in. Simply cycle through the creative menu, drop a block, right click it, and a building will magically spawn. Structures range from castles, to houses, all the way to tram stations. Yeah, sure, it’s technically cheating, but we won’t tell anyone. Grab it here. 

The Lost Cities

[1.10, 1.11, 1.12]

Something has ended life as we know it. Buildings are in disrepair, and everyone has vanished, or so it seems. The Lost Cities, as the foreboding name suggests, spawns you into a city forgotten by time. The goal? See how long you can survive this post-apocalyptic wasteland without succumbing to death. If you fancy taking the survival one step further, this mod also interlinks with the Biomes O Plenty mod, meaning you’ll have a lot of stunning new areas to explore alongside the empty cities. Grab it here. 

Biosphere

[1.7.10, 1.7.2]

Creating a biosphere, of decent size, takes around eight-hours, give or take. I know this because I spent eight-painstaking-hours making one. By the end, I wanted to chuck Minecraft into a nearby volcano. Making something spherical rather than a jagged diamond isn’t easy. Thankfully, the Biospheres mod removes all the annoying obstacles and spawns you into a world where the sky is overrun with various floating biomes. Just don’t fall off, yeah? Grab it here. 

The Aether

[1.7.3]

The Aether (pronounced “ee-ther”) is the opposite of the Nether. While the Nether is seen as Minecraft’s equivalent of hell, the Aether is a sort of heavenly realm. Once transported via a portal, you’ll find yourself above the clouds surrounded by gorgeous, newly-designed floating islands. There’s also new mobs, including flying cows and flying pigs, some new boss enemies, as well as new block types to play with and new-fangled loot to find. Grab it here. 

Optifine 

[1.8.1]

Minecraft doesn’t scale too well to the power of fast or slow machines. It runs surprisingly poorly on low-end laptops, and a high-end rig can’t do much with its extra oomph. Enter Optifine—a mod that not only makes Minecraft run faster but also look far better. It supports HD textures, smooth lighting, and more, and framerate doubling is not uncommon. It’s one of the first things I usually add when installing Minecraft. Grab it here.

Twilight Forest

[1.7.10]

Love adventuring? This mod adds a new, densely-forested dimension shrouded in perpetual twilight that hides both valuable treasures and dangerous monsters. Throw a diamond into a pool of water surrounded by flowers to create a portal there, then spend a while roaming around. You’ll find hedge mazes, hollow hills, enchanted groves, glaciers, lich towers and more with rich rewards for those that delve the deepest. Grab it here.

Biomes O’Plenty

[1.7.10]

Since the ‘Update That Changed The World‘ in late 2013, there’s been a bit more diversity in Minecraft worlds. But Biomes O’Plenty adds vastly more—75 to be exact—from brushland and coral reefs, through lavender fields and ominous woods, to tundra and wasteland. You’ll need to create a new world to use it (make sure to select the ‘Biomes O’Plenty’ world generation option), but it’s worth it to see corners of Minecraft that you’ve never seen before. Grab it here.

Botania

[1.7.10]

Some mods add powerful magical items. Others add intricate machinery. Botania just adds flowers—but wow, what flowers. Flowers that heal you. Flowers that feed animals. Flowers that turn hostile mobs against each other. Flowers that eat cake. Oh, and did I mention that you’ve can also use flowers to create a magical portal to a world of elves? If you want to try something wildly different from most other mods, Botania is it. Grab it here.

Inventory Tweaks, NotEnoughItems & Waila

[1.7.10]

This trio of mods are essential quality-of-life improvements, especially when you’ve got loads of mods installed at the same time. Inventory Tweaks allows you to sort your chests with a single click and automatically replace tools when they break. NotEnoughItems provides you with a searchable list of all the blocks available in the game, and the recipes for crafting them, and Waila lets you point your cursor at an unfamiliar blocks to find out what it is. Grab them here, hereand here respectively.

Thaumcraft

[1.7.10]

Being a sorcerer is awesome, and the most awesome way to be a sorcerer in Minecraft is with Thaumcraft. It’s a vast mod that revolves around drawing the magical essence out of physical objects in the Minecraft world and reshaping it into new forms. In the process, you’ll create altars, wands, golems and fill dozens of jars of coloured goo. There’s even a puzzle game you’ll have to complete to research new spells. Grab it here.

Eyephone Mod

[1.11, 1.10, 1.8.2, 1.12]

Now you can have your friends call you up at stupid hours to spoil the latest Game of Thrones episode in-game. Hurray? And just like a regular phone, the EyePhone comes equipped with a selection of apps (with more unlockable via diamonds). The best feature, though, has to be the ability to email your friends to blow them up, because why not? Only downside is you’ll have to craft an in-game charger to keep the phone powered. It’s just like real life then? Grab it here. 

Make Creepers Even More Deadly

[1.11, 1.9, 1.7.2, 1.12]

Creepers not giving you enough grief? We can fix that. The Chameleon Creepers mod makes it so when a creeper passes over a block type, it changes colour in the hopes of stealthily blending in to its surroundings. In short, it makes creepers even more deadly so you won’t see them until they’re hissing down the back of your neck. Why you’d want to use this mod is anyone’s guess, but for the masochists out there, you’re welcome. Grab it here. 

Stalked by Hunters

[1.7.10, 1.8]

Sometimes the simplest of mods are enough to give Minecraft a new lease of life. The Medieval Mobs mod does just that by replacing the current line-up of mobs with bloodthirsty hunters. The Brigand replaces the skeleton, while the Bandit and Tribesman fill the zombie role. But be warned, these new mobs don’t act like their coded counterparts. They’re smarter, faster, and won’t cook in the sunlight. But if they are a little too tough, there is a config file to play around with to help balance these fiends some. Grab them here.

Ultimate Apocalypse

[1.8]

The world is going to end. In five days, the sun will explode, causing all life3plants, trees, mobs, animals, villagers—to burn up. And yes, that includes you. Can you get together enough supplies to venture underground and start a new life? Can you survive without the overground to keep you fed? Those are the questions the Elite Armageddon mod asks. To survive in this harsh, ashened landscape will require every trick you’ve ever learned. Dare you grab it here? 

Natura

[1.7.10]

Another great mod for spicing up world-generation is Natura. It adds a wide variety of new tree types, and therefore different-coloured woods to make your home more aesthetically pleasing. It also adds a few extra crops for early-game food and resource production, and makes the Nether a little more dangerous. Natura is a nice first step into Minecraft modding, because it sticks close to the themes of the regular game. Grab it here.

JourneyMap

[1.7.10]

Minecraft’s default maps are a bit rubbish. They don’t offer much detail, have to be pulled out and looked down at to use, and don’t display anything other than where you are. JourneyMap fixes all that—it maps your world in real-time as you explore, can be displayed in the corner of your screen, and even lets you set waypoints to return to later. If you have a habit of getting lost in the wilderness, JourneyMap will get you home safe and sound. Grab it here.

Tinker’s Construct

[1.7.10]

Tools are the backbone of everything you do in Minecraft, and Tinker’s Construct lets you make far better tools out of a much wider range of materials. They’re upgradable, modular, and can be repaired if they break. Oh, and the mod also adds a smeltery to make high-end tools and increase ore processing efficiency. If you love having the best possible equipment to work with, grab Tinker’s Construct from here.

Forestry

[1.7.10]

If you like the agricultural aspects of Minecraft, you’re going to love Forestry. It’s a huge mod, which adds a bunch of new items, machines and blocks, but it’s best known for its bees. You can become an apiarist, capturing wild bees and cross-breeding them using real genetic principles to create masses of different useful resources. If I were teaching biology, I’d be using this in the classroom. Grab it here.

ComputerCraft

[1.7.10]

While we’re learning biology, let’s learn some programming too! ComputerCraft adds programmable computers and turtles into Minecraft, which you can write code to control. It’s based on the easy-to-learn Lua programming language, and with it you can make passworded doors, private chatrooms, automated mining turtles, and even in-game videogames. The possibilities are endless. Grab it here.

Thermal Expansion 4 & Minefactory Reloaded

[1.7.10]

These titans are two of the most important technology mods in the game. Thermal Expansion focuses on power generation and storage, as well as adding a bunch of new metals that have become standard components of several other mods. Minefactory Reloaded is where you’re going to use that power—in automating farming, animal husbandry, mining, enchanting, potion-brewing and more. Install it for the ‘raw meat block‘ alone. Grab both mods, and a couple of extras that they need to run, here.

Big Reactors

[1.7.10]

After a while with lots of tech mods installed, you’ll find that your power needs are growing faster than you can add more generator capacity. Big Reactors is the answer. It lets you build highly-configurable customised nuclear reactors that output huge amounts of power and won’t melt down spectacularly if things go wrong. It even interfaces with ComputerCraft, so you can build programs to control your reactors. Budding nuclear engineers can grab it here.

Chisel & Carpenter’s Blocks

[1.7.10]

Making your base pretty is an afterthought to some players, but to others it’s a vital part of the game. These two mods give you the tools you need to customise almost every aspect of your base design. Chisel provides loads of new texture options for many of the most common blocks in the game, while Carpenter’s Blocks adds slopes and loads of aesthetic options for doors, switches, torches, ladders, fences and more. Grab them here and here, respectively.

RailCraft & Steve’s Carts 2

[1.7.10]

You can probably guess what these mods do. That’s right—they both substantially upgrade the capabilities of Minecraft’s minecarts. RailCraft adds a bunch of new types of track, including sophisticated redstone-controlled junctions and signals, while Steve’s Carts pumps up the capabilities of the carts themselves—adding brakes, shields, drills and more. You can even make an attachment that launches fireworks. Grab RailCraft here, and Steve’s Carts 2 here.

EnderIO

[1.7.10]

Getting stuff to where it needs to be is often a problem in Minecraft. EnderIO solves that problem impressively elegantly, by adding compact conduits that carry fluid, items, power and redstone signals. It also has a few machines that enhance your ore processing capabilities, too. When your base starts getting complicated, EnderIO is one of the best ways to sort it out. Grab it here.

Applied Energistics 2

[1.7.10]

Storage can also become an issue when you start automating more and more aspects of Minecraft. Applied Energistics solves the problem by turning the matter in your chests into energy, which is then stored on disk drives, accessible wirelessly from anywhere in your base. You can even use it to autocraft anything you need by interfacing directly with your machines. If that sounds a bit magical, you wouldn’t be wrong. It uses vast amounts of power, of course, but once properly configured you’ll come to see wooden chests as hopelessly primitive relics of the past. Grab it here.

JABBA and Iron Chests 2

[1.7.10]

More storage mods, but this time focused on the early-game. JABBA adds easy-to-craft, upgradable barrels that can hold hundreds of stacks of a single item, while Iron Chests lets you upgrade wooden chests to hold more stuff. In the long run, you’ll probably still want an Applied Energistics system, but these mods make the early part of the game so much more pleasant. Get hold of them hereand here.

Extra Utilities & OpenBlocks

[1.7.10]

This pair of mods are a grab bag of immensely useful utilities with no real theme running through them. Extra Utilities adds a golden lasso for transporting friendly mobs, blackout curtains for keeping places dark, conveyor belts to move mobs around, and sound mufflers to quieten down your stables. OpenBlocks, on the other hand, adds sleeping bags, hang gliders, elevators, gravestones, rope ladders and building guides. Both are essential. Grab them here and here, respectively.

PneumaticCraft

[1.7.10]

It’s always refreshing seeing mods that try something a bit different. PneumatiCraft is a tech mod, but instead of power it uses air pressure. You’ll need to build compression chambers, pipes and valves to make sure you balance the flow of air, and if you get things wrong an explosion is inevitable. If you get it right, though, the nifty gadgets that PneumatiCraft brings to the table, like air cannons and configurable helmets, are well worth the time investment. Grab it here.

Hunger Overhaul, The Spice of Life & Pam’s HarvestCraft

[1.7.10]

Feeling hungry? You will be after you install Hunger Overhaul. It makes hunger more of a challenge, rather than a mild annoyance, reducing the amount of hunger each food item refills. Then, The Spice of Life means that you get diminishing returns from eating the same foodstuffs over and over again. So what do you do to get some dietary variation? Install Pam’s HarvestCraft, of course. It adds 58 new crops, 35 fruit trees, 12 bushes and 16 fish for you to track down, including—vegetarians rejoice—the ability to use tofu in place of meat for any recipe. It’s a veritable culinary explosion, and your mouth will thank you. Grab Hunger Overhaul here, the Spice of Life here, and Pam’s HarvestCraft here.

BiblioCraft

[1.7.10]

Bibliocraft began as a way to store books in bookcases. but has expanded wildly since into a bunch of blocks and items that are both useful and aesthetically pleasing to have in your base. There are armour stands, potion shelves, cookie jars, clocks, lanterns, display cases, nifty multipart chairs, and even tables and tablecloths. Once you’re done with Bibliocraft, your home base might actually start to look like a home. Grab it here.

Project Red

[1.7.10]

Those of you that work frequently with redstone will know what a pain it can sometimes be. Project Red changes all that, bringing vastly improved control over what you’re doing and allowing you to make your circuits much more compact. It also adds integrated logic gates, making task automation way easier. Worth having around if you ever might want to work with redstone. Grab it here.

Steve’s Factory Manager

[1.7.10]

Another incredibly useful automation tool is Steve’s Factory Manager. Like ComputerCraft, it’s a little on the fiddly side and requires a bit of knowledge of programming concepts to get going. Once you’ve got the hang of the drag-and-drop interface however, you’ll be amazed by the possibilities. For automating a factory, there’s no better solution. Grab the download and learn about it here.RECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU…

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Mystcraft

[1.7.10]

Have you grown bored of your world but don’t want to lose your progress? Conjure up a new dimension with Mystcraft. It lets you create ‘Linking Books’ that allow you to travel around the multiverse—with the contents of the book dictating the kind of worlds you’ll discover. You might find a series of snow-covered floating islands, or an endless ocean with giant trees sprouting from the water. But be careful, some of the new dimensions could be unstable, falling apart around you. Downloading Mystcraft here for a bit of exploring. I hope you make it back.

Animal Bikes

Making your way downtown in Minecraft isn’t always an enjoyable experience. While things are great once you’ve set up your own network of railways or rivers, it can often feel like a slog in new areas. Well, rather than lamenting this fact, why not speed up the experience with a whole slew of new animal bikes. This mod allows you to craft and ride a whole bunch of different beasts, all of which have special abilities. You can ride on animal hungry dinosaurs, volatile creepers, and even your very own fire-breathing ender dragon. You can grab it here.  

LotsOMobs

LotsOMobs answers the key question that so many of us have asked in Minecraft: but what if there were more animals? Rather than just adding a couple of animals here or there, it adds over forty new mobs, including creatures like bees, ants, mammoths, and even cavemen. On top of that, there are a few new items to spawn some of these mods, and even new portals to go through leading to new biomes. You can get it by going here.  

Bacteria

While there are plenty of mods that add in new functionality, there aren’t many that can accidentally destroy the world you’ve created for yourself. The Bacteria mod allows you to harvest special sponges from the world, and then train them to perform certain tasks. For example, you can place a bacteria down that consumes all of the dirt blocks it can reach. You have to be careful with this kind of power, and that’s what makes this mod so fascinating. Destroying the world on purpose is BDE, doing it by accident is simply very funny. Grab the mod here. 

Galacticraft

With the recently revealed Picard looking so good, it seems like a good time to try and explore space, the final frontier. That’s just a small part of what this mod allows you to do. You can build your own space rocket, launch yourself into the starry sky, and then go on adventures from there. You can actually visit planets which have their own atmospheres and mobs, as well as building your very own space station. It’s stellar stuff, and you can grab the mod here.  

Jurassicraft

From the deep dark abyss of space to the glistening glory of Jeff Goldblum. The JurrasiCraft mod lets you create your very own prehistoric world by extracting DNA from fossils or amber you can find. It even includes some vehicles to help you make your way around. You can even bring back some prehistoric plants too. Just remember that life, uh, finds a way, and dinosaurs are much bigger than you and usually hungry. Grab the mod by going here.  

In a recent interview with Fortune, Xbox boss Phil Spencer revealed that Swedish indie giant Mojang actually approached Microsoft about the buyout of their huge indie darling. In particular it was then-Mojang CEO Carl Manneh who made the call (Manneh left Mojang in 2014).   “The next thing that happened is Carl calls up and says ‘hey do you want to buy Minecraft?’ We had the 360 relationship with them, with Notch and Carl through doing the 360 port of Minecraft,” Spencer said in the interview while discussing how Microsoft doubled-down in the Xbox business. Buying Minecraft cemented Xbox and gaming as an important part of its business. “But it was a great point of clarity for us to go drive inside the company, when you’re going to invest a couple billion dollars into buyinga video game…it’s like you better be serious about being in the category if you’re going to go make that investment.”   Minecraft has since gone on to become one of the most popular games of all time. Bolstered by Microsoft’s massive webwork of services and cashflows, Mojang is able to bring the voxel-building hit across every platform known to man while adding in monetization hooks for long-term revenues. They’re even making some spin-off games like Minecraft Dungeons, a very Diablo-esque isometric ARPG.   Right now Minecraft is one of the purest reflections of Microsoft’s gaming business. The company puts services, live gaming, and engagement above everything else; rather than selling consoles and moving first-party games, Microsoft is spread across a multitude of strategies that all feed into one another in a synergistic way. Subscriptions like Game Pass fuel game sales as well as provide recurring incomes over time, and also organically fold into other services like Xbox LIVE Gold.   In short, like Xbox, Minecraft has transitioned towards the service realm dominated by online play, monetization, and engagement hooks. It’s no longer a smaller indie, but a billion-dollar titan holding up Microsoft’s gaming empire.

Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/66766/mojang-proposed-minecraft-buyout-microsoft/index.html

Slowly but surely, Elon Musk continues to change the world. From Tesla to SpaceX, he’s truly changing how humanity will charge into the future. Most recently, Elon showcased the next steps for Neuralink, his brain-computer interface technology. Neuralink has a lot of potential. For instance, thanks to the internet, it could possibly put humans in Minecraft.

Humans in Minecraft?

If you spend enough time on the internet, you come across some weird ideas. On occasion, these ideas embed themselves in art. Furthermore, satire is a popular and entertaining way to convey artistic ideas on the internet. I came across a particular satirical video while browsing YouTube titled Elon Musk Wants to Upload Humanity Into Minecraft: Here’s How.

The video is very obviously satirical. Within the video, Musks says that humans face an increasingly precarious situation with the environment. True so far. To remedy this, he develops Neuralink, which is also actually happening. Then, Musk says that the only solution is for humanity to upload itself into the abundance of Minecraft via Neuralink. Obviously not happening. But could it?

Minecraft is a block-built open world video game released in 2009. Since its inception ten years ago, it has made history as the number one best-selling game of all time. Because of this, I won’t go into too much detail about the game. Knowledge about Minecraft is pretty common at this point. But knowledge about Neuralink, on the other hand, is not widespread. Who even knows what Neuralink is at this point?

What is Neuralink?

When Elon Musk appeared as a guest on the Joe Rogan Experience, he identified a particular problem with the human ability to put knowledge into the world. Humans have an output problem, according to Elon. To take information out of the human mind and communicate it digitally requires we speak, type on a keyboard, or use our thumbs on a touch screen. According to Elon, there’s a bandwidth problem here.

To solve this issue, Elon Musk is developing Neuralink. The Neuralink chip is designed to detect electrical action potentials in the human brain called spikes. If all goes to plan, this means that humans will be able to control keyboards, computer mice, and touch screens with their minds via the small wires threaded throughout the brain.

Musk hopes to begin human trials by the end of 2020. So far, he’s successfully integrated Neuralink into the minds of 19 rats. Unless the FDA decides to stand in the way of scientific advancement, this is only the beginning.

Elon Musk Living Inside Minecraft

The video suggests that since Neuralink aims to make humans symbiotic with our soon-to-come AI overlords (who I welcome, by the way), we can just upload whole human entities into Minecraft’s digital system. While this could be theoretically possible at one point, considering the rapid rate of technological development, I don’t see this happening anytime soon. Elon Musk hasn’t announced any plans to put consciousness in computers. Rather, he simply aims to tie them together.

As I mentioned before, Neuralink will hopefully allow humans to use a keyboard and mouse with just their mind. Pair this with contemporary virtual reality technology, and one could have a 100% immersive Minecraft gaming experience. But this is still down the road.

So no, you won’t be able your consciousness into the blocky world in the near future. But if Neuralink becomes widespread, you’ll be a whole lot closer to living inside of Minecraft.

Outschool calls itself the Netflix of learning, a live online platform connecting students from around the world to other students and teachers in an array of classes that cover everything from core subjects to niche and creative interests. By building an interactive online model, Outschool gives students access both to teachers passionate about subjects and to other students with the same interests, creating an online setting with a better than 80 percent attendance rate for classes that can range from one-offs to an entire semester in length.

Amir Nathoo, Outschool’s founder, says that while online education has long opened up avenues for students to explore new worlds of curriculum, his San Francisco-based startup offers diversity with the value of human interaction.

Launched in 2017, Outschool has presented more than 31,000 classes, costing an average of $10 to $15 per session. Teachers can pick and choose to create and build online curricula for classes that generally run between three and eight students who meet live via small-group video chats.

“Through our marketplace model and freedom to be creative, we let teachers discover new ways to inspire kids,” Nathoo says. “It is very different from what we see in K-12 education today, where so much focus is on the end results. We believe fostering a love of learning is a key building block.”

The unique course offerings range from teaching architecture through Minecraft to instruction in Spanish via Taylor Swift lyrics. Classes are capped at 18 students to retain an interactive feel.

About 85 percent of users select Outschool as a way for kids to pursue interests, although core subjects remain a part of the mix. Early on, Outschool catered to homeschool students, but as the marketplace has grown, Nathoo has seen more families choosing classes after school, on weekends and in the summer.

Currently, the marketplace has roughly 1,000 teachers offering more than 8,000 classes of several types: one-off classes to pique interest, short courses that may meet once per week for a few weeks, semester classes that have at least eight meetings and camps that meet daily for a week. Nathoo says parents often use the one-off classes, which are offered at various times throughout the year, as a test to see if Outschool is a fit. Sixty percent of customers are returning students.

Teachers seem to enjoy the freedom. “I have a strong interest in curriculum writing and design,” says Tegan Bombard, a fifth-grade teacher at a Title I public school in Florida who also teaches on Outschool. “I love that I could marry this interest with the passion that I have for teaching to create learning experiences for children around the globe. Outschool has provided me with such a unique opportunity to not only design classes from scratch but implement these classes to see the impact on a wide range of learners.”

Teachers — all from the United States or Canada, allowing Outschool to vet for experience and run background checks — keep 70 percent of the tuition fee, with Outschool retaining 30 percent for marketing, enrollment and administration. Some teachers, Nathoo says, earn up to $7,000 a month and have made it their full-time effort. Others use the platform as a way to teach subject areas they personally want to explore. Currently, about half the teachers are credentialed or are former classroom teachers.

Half of Outschool learners take a class with students from two or more countries, primarily from English-speaking countries such as the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. And while 20 percent of the users are based in California, students come from major urban centers and rural areas across the United States and beyond.

Bombard says Outschool gives her joy and satisfaction outside of school hours because she believes that freedom from regulations allows her to better reach learners. “Through the small class sizes on Outschool, learning can be more personalized,” she says. “I am better able to modify the learning experiences of those in my classes to ensure that they are given the tools needed to grow in their own individual learning.”

Bombard teaches reading, writing, math and history in a fairly straightforward style, as well as other classes she teaches, such as World History Through Film, that provide less traditional methods to encourage critical thinking.

Shawn Walk, who has a strong educational technology background both owning a company and teaching in an elementary school north of Pittsburgh, heads the Architecture Through Minecraft class and says teaching at Outschool has allowed him much more flexibility in his work-life balance.

Both Walk and Bombard say the model allows them to focus on education and curriculum while leaving the marketing to someone else. “So far, as long as I make sure I am offering high-quality classes, I have seen consistent enrollment,” Walk says. “The engagement from students has been great. What has surprised me is how the majority of students are independent enough to find success in the online environment. Since the kids are taking classes they are interested in, they are focused and actively engaged.”

After working for a cyberschool, where kids were disengaged because it wasn’t their choice to be there, Walk appreciates the high level of engagement and, often, support from parents in helping their children pursue their interests. “Overall, that makes for a great learning environment for teachers and students,” he says.

Although Outschool doesn’t offer credits, it has a partnership with a charter school in the San Francisco area that gives its students credit for completing Outschool classes. “The range of subjects we have is far broader than any other vendor would be able to provide because the classes aren’t restricted by what is available locally,” Nathoo says. “We are able to support niche topics.”

Outschool recently announced an $8.5 million investment in the company after its student enrollment increased by a factor of five over the past year, meaning continued growth and greater class choices, whether it’s a veterinary technician teaching about animal anatomy or a United Nations human rights lawyer teaching about social studies and debate. And there’s always that Taylor Swift class.

What you need to know

• Minecraft may be on its way to another platform: Tesla cars.
• Tesla founder Elon Musk tweeted that the company is working on bringing the blocky game to its vehicles, and it’s a “high priority.”
• Musk also revealed that Cuphead will launch in Teslas in August.

Minecraft has already become one of the most ubiquitous games out there, with ports on nearly every platform you can think of. However, you might be able to add another, unconventional platform to that list soon: Tesla vehicles.

Tesla founder Elon Musk recently tweeted that Minecraft is on his company’s list of to-dos for game ports. Going further, Musk says it’s a high priority, alongside Roblox.

We’re working on it. Agreed, Minecraft is high priority. Roblox too.3,5219:41 AM – Jul 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy474 people are talking about this

Teslas all feature a large displays from which you control much of the car’s functions. Tesla has been gradually adding games to the built-in computers for months now, including Atari titles, Beach Buggy Racing 2, and even chess. Of course, the games are only meant to be played while the car is at rest, so don’t get your hopes up for playing Minecraft as you drive. That’s just plain dangerous.

In further Tesla game news, Studio MDHR’s notoriously difficult Cuphead, which was teased earlier this year, will launch on Tesla vehicles in August, Musk confirmed in another tweet.

For those of us without a Tesla, both Cuphead and Minecraft are available to pick up across Xbox One, Windows 10, and a number of other platforms in the meantime.

Servers are your gateway to expanding your horizons in Minecraft, and here we’ve rounded up the best Minecraft servers around. Like fantasy? Want to walk through a blocky recreation of your favourite TV show or film? Want to grief without the fear of a ban? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above, servers have got you covered.

Joining a server is nice and simple. All you need to do is load up Minecraft as you normally would, hit multiplayer, then add a server. Name it whatever you want, then type or Ctrl+V the IP address into the box below. Save it, click play, and you’re good to go. Just keep in mind some servers need you to download data for them to run correctly. If this at any point fails, just quit out and keep trying. It should work eventually.

Mineplex

 This server is astoundingly large and packs in a vast array of things to do. They’ve got FPS games, painting, and even their own version of Smash Bros. Basically if you can think of a game type, there’s a large chance of it being available within Mineplex. It’s also got an incredibly active staff and as a result, suffers from a lot less grief than some of the less wholesome servers around. 

IP Address: us.mineplex.com or eu.mineplex.com

Autcraft

Autcraft is a server designed specifically for children and adults who have autism. It’s designed to be a safe haven for those who want a reprieve from the potentially overwhelming things you would find on other servers. This includes things like no frightening characters and making sure everything is kept child-friendly. You have to apply in order to join the server, but if you make it in then you’re good to go. It’s not doing anything special in terms of how it plays, but it’s a useful one to know about if you or a family member have autism and would like to know there’s somewhere safe to go. 

IP Address: mc.autcraft.com

WesterosCraft

Game of Thrones is over now, and whether you liked or loathed the ending, you’re probably hungry for more. Well, hunger no longer, and feast yourself on this server. While it’s not finished, it’s still going to provide a nice rush for those who want to try their hand at being King for a day. We’ve yet to see whether or not you can pet the Direwolves though… 

IP Address: mc.westeroscraft.com

Pirate Craft

Sailing a ship around in Minecraft is tricky, but in Pirate Craft, they do a surprisingly good job of making it work. As is often the way these servers, it takes a bit of time to get used to things, but it’s well worth the effort if you like the idea. The scale of the ships is impressive, as is the ship-to-ship combat. Just don’t be surprised when someone nicks your pirate ship, there’s no honour among thieves. 

IP Address: mc.piratemc.com

Hypixel

Hypixel is another mini-game heavy server. There are all the normal games you would expect from a high-quality server, but there are also a few noteworthy ones as well. Games like VampireZ, where you have to try and survive as a human while the vampires hunt you. There’s even a game called Turbo Kart Racers, which is a surprisingly good racing game that will pit you against other players as you try and reach the finish line first. It’s a lot of fun, and they update it regularly, so it’s worth sticking around for. 

IP Address: mc.hypixel.net 

The Lord of the Craft

While this may sound like a Lord of the Rings server, it’s not quite. It’s fantasy, sure, but with a huge focus on roleplaying. The world, and its lore, is already set up, and a helpful warp command means travelling between the different kingdoms (high elves, dark elves, dwarves, etc) is simple. All you need is a killer skin and an elaborate backstory and you’re good to go.

IP Address: mc.lotc.co

 Grand Theft Minecart 

You can probably guess from the title which popular video game series this server is based on. You guessed it, the unstoppable juggernaut that is Hello Kitty Online. Or GTA. It’s one of the two.

Join this server and you’ll be treated to two different game modes (Grand Theft Minecart and Vice Minecart), as well as 35 different GTA-inspired weapons. There are also plenty of vehicle offerings including cars, planes, and of course, tanks.  Because it’s not GTA if there isn’t an option to go on an explodey murder-spree.

IP Address: mc-gtm.net 

The Mining Dead

What’s the one thing missing from Minecraft? Guns! Although that’d just make it Fortnite, wouldn’t it? Either way, if you’re a fan of The Walking Dead TV show or comic, this is a great opportunity to take in all the famous sights as you’re scrambling to find weapons, ammo, and generally anything to help fend off the undead. And because of the voxel stylings of Minecraft, there’s a faint whiff of Goldeneye 64 to the whole thing.

IP Address: hub.havocmc.net

Arkham Network

Fancy donning a cape while shouting “You have failed this city!”? Maybe you’re an anarchist looking to watch the world burn? Whichever side you choose to join, the Arkham Network has a comic-book world that’s just begging to be explored. And griefed, obviously. There are also a host of different day jobs for making coin, and a wealth of gamemodes to participate in. One of the key rules of this server is make friends, fast. You’ll need them.

IP Address: mc.arkhamnetwork.org

Pokefind

Arguably one of the best Pokémon/Minecraft mashups out there, Pokefind starts as you’d expect. You meet a professor before being tasked with choosing a Pokémon. The starter choice options mirrors that of Generation 1, so that’s Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle. Once you’ve picked Bulbasaur (because you absolutely should!), you can either chill at the Pokémon centre, learn about crafting, or head into the wild and fight some poor animals. It’s just like the actual games, then.

IP Address: Play.pokefind.co

 MC Middle Earth 

A team was always going to attempt to recreate the Lord of the Rings universe in Minecraft, and the result is something truly breathtaking. Everything in this world has been meticulously crafted to feel as real as possible. Taking a stroll through the Shire is a lovely way to lose a few hours, but if you’re not here for a sightseeing tour, there’s also a PvP server. Because of course there is.

Build IP Address: build.mcmiddleearth.com

PvP and Event IP Address: pvp.mcmiddleearth.com

 The Tomb 

If you’re new to the world of Minecraft servers, you’ll be forgiven for not knowing what a prison server is. Basically, the player spawns and is locked in an area. In The Tomb’s case, it’s an underground mine teeming with lavish decorations. The goal here is to level up and escape by collecting and selling resources. Think No Man’s Sky if No Man’s Sky was trapped underground without a spaceship. If you’re a fan of relaxing grinding, this one’s for you.

IP Address: the-tomb.com

Extreme Craft

We couldn’t put out a list of Minecraft servers without mentioning one of the most popular out there. Extreme Craft keeps popping up because of the sheer amount of modes there are to play, including the likes of a fully fleshed out survival mode, hunger games, factions, skygrid, skywars, skyblock, acid island, and eggwars. That’s on top of a creative mode and the option of roleplaying. It’s like a Minecraft greatest hits compilation.

IP Address: play.extremecraft.net

Minewind

For people who hate people there’s Minewind, an anarchy server where the only rule is don’t cheat. See someone building a nice tower they’ve spent hours on? Tear the whole thing down and laugh as they furiously scramble to get away. Another player near diamonds? Push them headfirst into lava. Here you can grief as much as you desire with zero repercussions. While this is one server you may want to avoid, it’s also a server you may want to visit, because you’re a horrible, horrible person.

IP Address: play.Minewind.com

Potter World MC

When you first enter Potter World, you’re greeted by the boy himself battling a dementor as Hogwarts sits ominously in the background. Much like Middle Earth, Potter World goes all out when it comes to authenticity. Buildings appear as they do in the mind’s eye, complete with inside furnishings. You can learn about potion making, duel other wizards and witches, or go off and play a friendly round of quidditch. This is Minecraft at its strongest: creating game worlds that best those of their AAA counterparts.

IP Address play.potterworldmc.com

There’s a new version of the Java version of Minecraft. The 1.14.4 patch contains a lot of bugfixes for the Villagers and Pillagers update, which Mojang described as Minecraft’s biggest update ever. As always there’s some entertaining stuff hidden in those bugfix notes, my favorite being “Villagers will now remember their gossip after becoming a Zombie Villager”. And “Gossip about players who converted a zombie villager will now last longer” isn’t bad either.

Now that these fixes are live, the team at Mojang aim to knuckle down and get to work on version 1.15, which as well as adding new features “will also focus on quality and performance improvements”.

Here’s the list of changes in version 1.14.4, for the complete bugfixes head over to the Minecraft blog.

• Fixed bugs
• Performance improvements
• Suspicious stew made from poppies now gives you night vision instead of speed
• Added /debug report for getting more detailed information. Please include this while making bug reports about performance!
• Fixed a memory leak
• Removed camera pivot offset in first-person
• Improved chunk loading when travelling at high speed
• Fixed incorrect Pillager texture
• /reload and /forceload is now available to gamemasters
• function-permission-level is a new setting in server.properties that controls which commands functions have access to
• Villagers now stock more items
• Villagers will now remember their gossip after becoming a Zombie Villager 
• Improved performance of Villager pathfinding
• Villagers can now work without also restocking at the same time
• Gossip about players who converted a zombie villager will now last longer
• The Player Activity button on the Realm screen has been removed
• Villagers now wait with restocking until they have trades that need restocking
• Village sieges no longer occur on mushroom islands
• Mobs will no longer try to pathfind their way through bamboo
• Pinged the human

From Borderlands-like cartoons to realistically sunny vistas, here are the best texture upgrades to shape your playing experience

Looking for the best Minecraft texture packs for the Java Edition? Minecraft’s low-fi charms were predictably the first thing modders took to ‘fixing’. The ruddy textures, while distinctive, are an obvious target for an upgrade if you stare at them long enough.

I confess that when I found a texture pack I loved I’ve never gone back to the original look: I’m going to start off with that one and then explore the the rather vibrant world of Minecraft Texture packs. There’s nothing too crazy in here: those packs tend to be part of larger mods that fundamentally change the game, and that’s another article entirely.

But what we do have here is a fantastic selection of textures that bring all sorts of style to the game, from the ultra-realistic to the cartoonish to far out sci fi. There’s even an animated textures included, a feature supported since development snapshot 13w02a was released, although they’re not yet implemented in the main game. Not sure how to grab and install one of these snapshots? Don’t worry, we can help you with that too. Click through to be delighted by the variety and vibrancy of Minecraft’s many texture packs.

HOW TO INSTALL MINECRAFT TEXTURE PACKS

Before you begin, download and point the MCPatcher at your Minecraft install: it’ll enable the game to run with HD images on the blocks, which many of these packs include. If you want to try out any of those animated textures with a development snapshot, here’s how to test Minecraft snapshots. It’s not difficult and the rewards are well worth it.

All these textures are compatible with the 1.4.7 version of Minecraft, so if you want to minimise the amount of switching you’ll have to do, fire up that version. Also keep in mind that if you try some of the snapshots, they will likely contain elements that the texture pack creators haven’t yet made textures for, meaning they’ll either be blank or even invisible.

Another thing to note is that this list is directed at the Java edition of Minecraft, so if you’re using the newer Bedrock edition you’re likely to run into some issues as MCPatcher doesn’t get along with the new launcher -not now, anyway.

THE BEST MINECRAFT TEXTURE PACKS

Okay, now that’s out of the way. Let’s start with something big and bright. We’re going to change the world, or your world, at least.

• Jolicraft
• JohnSmith
• Glimmar’s Steampunk
• Painterly Pack
• Isabella
• Chroma Hills
• Creative One’s Medieval Texture Pack
• oCd Texture Pack
• Misa’s Realistic Texture Pack
• Summerfields
• Sphax PureBDCraft
• Cartoon Default
• DEFAnimation
• Bladecraft
• Faithful

Jolicraft
A lot of texture packs have a theme that they try and nail, but Joli’s is about personal expression: he made a texture pack, a sort of twee fantasy world that best reflected his own happy demeanour: the swirling sun is definitely a sight more cheerful than the default, squat square. Jolicraft feels like a warm summer day. But even more impressive are the customisation options: you can build your own texture pack at the site, choosing how the game represents everything from doors and shadows, to water drops and clouds. It’s a remarkable thing.

JohnSmith
This is one of the most popular texture packs out there, in part I’m sure because it too is quite customisable, but also because it has some fantastically creepy-looking skeletons and it does a fine job with surfaces, be those rock, cobblestone or even netherrack. Compared to Jollicraft, it’s a much more sombre pack, but a Minecraft world looks surprisingly good with muted colours.

Glimmar’s Steampunk 
And if sombre is your sort of thing, then I thoroughly recommend you give this pack a try. As well as its slightly faded walls, its glimmering starfield and its gorgeous moon, this steampunk pack also features some fantastic tools and skins. Just check out the how golem looks above.

Painterly Pack 
While we’re on the subject of customisation, you should also have at this pack, which is as much a tool as it is a way to revamp the look of your game. Not happy with the pack you just downloaded? Want to contribute your own ideas? Why not get started here, it’s not as difficult as you might think.

Isabella 
If you’d prefer something a little more subtle, a little more muted, then Isabella’s gentle shading might be what you’re looking for. Its tones are softer, its wood warmer and its stone faded, all of which gives it a more natural feel. As natural as a world made from giant blocks can ever be, that is.

Chroma Hills 
Some of us, I’m sure, would just prefer the prettiest textures that they can find and Chroma Hills is certainly one of the best-looking out there, even if it’s beautiful stylings are slightly at odds with the blockiness of Minecraft’s world. To get the very best from it you’ll want to make sure you use some shaders too, but even without those it’s still a fine lookin’ thang.

Creative One’s Medieval Texture Pack 
Another lovely HD patch, the Medieval Texture Pack features a lot of subtle and yet very smart touches, such as the glow from an Ender chest (see the video below) or the woven texture in wool blocks. It also gives much of the game a very worn look, which, it turns out, suits Minecraft very well indeed.

oCd Texture Pack 
I dabbled a bit with oCD’s texture pack before settling on Short Stuff’s: it takes the minimalist approach, rendering all the blocks in solid colours with bold lines. It’s striking, and removes the organic nature that I wanted. The colours seem a bit bolder and punchier. The theme is actually disco, hence the funky trailer.

Misa’s Realistic Texture Pack 
Realism is an odd term when you’re talking about a world made out of cubes, and yet it’s one of the most prevalent goals for the Minecraft modding community. If trying Isabella has made you want something grubbier, something with muddier ground and fluffier clouds then Misa’s pack brings all this to the game.

If the real world was built out of cubes, it would look a bit like Misa’s interpretation. It’s not flashy, it’s for those looking for a “grim up north” feeling. And the pigs are terrifying.

Summerfields 
This is my antidote to Misa’s grubby brown realism: if Misa’s texture packwas Game of Thrones, then Summerfields is LotR before Frodo goes off in his quest. The browns here feel like they glow, radiating the heat of the summer day that beats down from the fuzzy, circular sun: even the skeletons feel a bit cheerful I’m pretty sure the people who live in Misa’s end of the world would take holiday in Summerfields.

Sphax PureBDCraft 
The flipside of the inevitable realism packs was that someone would endeavour to convert Minecraft to a comic book style. The blocks demanded it. BDCraft’s is a gorgeous, and essentially reverential, upgrading of the base Minecraft graphics: switching between them is like putting on glasses and seeing everything clearly for the first time: ore is full of clear gems, the new grass as chunky as an anime character’s head. It’s sharp, colourful and a good upgrade to base Minecraft that retains its flavour.

Cartoon Default 
This pack almost turns the game into Borderlands, drawing bold black lines around mobs and objects, but still keeping everything very recognisable and extremely true to the original look of the game. With these textures, Minecraft becomes posterized, but also an awful lot clearer. While it might not be to everyone’s taste, or terribly easy on the eyes, you can’t deny that it has style.

DEFAnimation 
Animated texture packs are still a rarity, partly because relatively few people are going to use them right now. Since animated textures are only supported by a recent development snapshot, most players won’t have a version of Minecraft that can make use of them and will have no reason to seek them out. That said, more and more people are trying those snapshots and we’d like to think that perhaps PCGamesN’s encouragement has had some part in this.

This pack adds some wonderful animations to the game, wonderful because they’re so subtle and a great example of the tiny but impressive changes that animated textures can make. Unmined ores sparkled in the darkness, weapons shine and lava seethes.

Bladecraft 
I’m sorry, I just had to end with something a little different, something a little sillier. Who says Minecraft should only be about the pseudo-fantasy, pastoral theme?

BladeCraft throws it into the near future and creates something… well, actually, something really quite impressive. I feel bad for even suggesting that this is silly now. Now enjoy what is by far the coolest of all the videos in this post.

Faithful Maybe you’re not looking for a wholesale change, and want something that adds some sheen on what’s already there. If that’s the case, then the Faithful texture pack is what you’ll want to install. The changes you’ll notice here merely smooth out textures, and refine what’s already present.

And there you go, the best Minecraft texture packs. Whether you’re looking for a pack to turn your Minecraft world into a cartoon, or one to make it look more like the real world, you should find what you’re looking for here.

Learn the Minecraft brewing basics for cooking up potions and saving the day in Mojang’s blocky universe

If you’re new to Minecraft brewing and want to get to grips with the basics – including what on earth you should do with your phantom membranes – we’ve created a simple guide to get you started. Our guide includes Minecraft brewing equipment, key ingredients, and some of the most powerful mixtures you can concoct.

Minecraft brewing can be used to create a vast array of consumable potions that will cause various status effects, such as healing buffs, strength enhancers, and elemental cures. All potions created from brewing require a base ingredient, which can then be adapted and enhanced using a secondary ingredient and/or modifier.

We’ve broken down exactly what you’ll need in this Minecraft brewing guide below, including some of the most common ingredients and their effects. We’ll start by breaking down the key equipment you’ll need to get started on your journey to become a Minecraft brewing pro before moving onto the ingredients you’ll be combining. So, without further ado, here’s your Minecraft brewing primer for beginners.

Click the links below to the part of this Minecraft brewing guide you need:

• Equipment
• How to use a brewing stand
• Ingredients

MINECRAFT BREWING EQUIPMENT

• Brewing stand: used to add and combine ingredients into water bottles
• Cauldron: holds one bucket of water or three bottles of a single potion. The cauldron equates to three glass bottles
• Blaze powder: the fuel for brewing, an essential to fuel the brewing stand
• Glass bottle: used at a water source to create a water bottle. Is also the potion container
• Water bottle: the starting base for all potions, created from filling a glass bottle at a water source or cauldron

HOW TO USE A MINECRAFT BREWING STAND

• Fill 1-3 glass bottles with water from either a cauldron or a water source
• Place the water bottle(s) into the bottom three slots
• Fill the top spot with the base ingredient
• Use Blaze Powder for the brewing process
• Repeat these steps until you have the desired potion

MINECRAFT BREWING INGREDIENTS

BASE

The base ingredients are the first ingredient added to the brewing process. Every potion requires a base ingredient, which determine the potion’s type. The base ingredients are listed below, along with the type of potion each ingredient creates. The modifier effect is when the ingredient is used at the end of the brewing process, to enhance or adapt potions.

SECONDARY

The secondary ingredient, also known as the effect ingredient, is to be added to the base one. This ingredient will influence the type of potion created.

ELEMENT INGREDIENTS

An addition to Minecraft brewing can be found in the Minecraft Bedrock and Education Editions and includes the elemental ingredients below that can cure nausea, weakness, poison, and blindness.

If you’re excited to venture out from the confines of your mining sanctuary, brewing in Minecraft is a great skill to have. Now you’re familiar with the basics, you can experiment with Minecraft brewing recipes to create potions to suit your combat needs.

Some of the Minecraft potions created from brewing include poison, fire resistance, and healing, but ingredients can be combined and manipulated to create a wide range of potions using Minecraft brewing recipes. But, for now, best of luck on finding the materials you need to help you in your future endeavours.

The very best Minecraft seeds, including Minecraft survival seeds, Minecraft village seeds, and other cool Minecraft seeds

What are the best Minecraft seeds? Minecraft seeds are codes that the game uses to generate worlds for you – worlds full of interesting landscapes and key landmarks ripe for exploration. They cover everything from jaw-dropping vistas and landscapes to thrilling dungeons filled to bursting with loot.

Your job is simple: pick the one you want to play around in. All you have to do to get a seed up and running is grab the digits and place them into the seed field when you’re next creating a Minecraft world. The game will do all the heavy lifting, leaving you to explore and create to your heart’s content.

Regardless of whether you’re a professional miner or someone about to load up their first world, there’s something you can’t control in Minecraft: the terrain itself. While your mind may be brimming with possibilities, all too frequently you’ll spawn in a bland, uninspiring world full of flat grassland and the odd chicken. Hardly the canvas for your masterpiece.

Hence this article, a complete collection of the best Minecraft seeds, from the inspiring to the functional and everything in between.

(Before we start it’s important to note that the end results of a seed are entirely dependent on what version of Minecraft you are running. A brilliant seed in version 1.6 could be something upsettingly bland in version 1.7.

To help you out, we’ve put the latest version each seed works with in brackets after the seed code. Set your Minecraft launcher to this version for the correct results.)

-4589128118707775879 (1.11)
Woodland Mansions are one of Minecraft’s most exciting generated structures, but they’re not exactly easy to track down. This seed works with the 1.11 Exploration Update and spawns you close to one of these behemoth structures. Be warned, though: they house some formidable mobs.

-969535336 (1.9)
If bizarre, inexplicable geological formations are your jam, look no further than this 1.9 Minecraft seed. While this seed won’t produce masses of hidden treasures, it will create a column of rising stone pillars complete with cascading waterfalls and a herd of sheep at its peak. Creative mode is advised.

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Affectionately titled ‘leg-break island’, this seed will produce a single slab of mountain jutting impressively out of the sea. It’s up you what to do with this geological wonder, but trying to get to the top of it is probably a good start.

-3847859895951773072 (1.9)
Survival islands are much more pleasant when you don’t actually need to worry about surviving, which is why this seed is so wonderful. Not only is it much larger than the average survival island, it also comes with a bounty of helpful natural resources such as a small forest, a lava lake, and an offshore mushroom biome.

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This seed will drop you in the middle of a wintry forest where you can find two cosy igloos, one of which harbours a secret basement. You’ll find the secret basement under a rug – enter with caution, however, as inside there’s a small workshop with a zombie villager lying in wait. Get rid of the undead resident and you’ll find a compact, underground base with a brewery and plenty of storage – ideal for starting out in a snowy biome.

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This seed sells itself on an interesting premise: two small islands, one with a wolf on it and the other with a sheep. From that point on it’s up to you how this survival story unfolds – do you harvest your only mammalian friends for resources and meat or do you do everything possible to ensure that your unconventional companions are safe?

-1480351183376464763 (1.9)
Mysterious, simple, and unique, this seed will drop you into a world featuring a simple cottage with a lone resident, The Librarian. Whatever resulted in this guy’s living situation is anyone’s guess, but building his humble hut into an enormous fortress is endlessly satisfying. The Librarian’s house is surrounded by horses and greenery, too, so there’s more to this niche seed than meets the eye.

-5181140359215069925 (1.8.8)
Temples. They’re great. But most seeds seem to restrict them to jungles and deserts. Just because that’s how famed adventurer Indiana Jones liked his temples, doesn’t mean that’s how the rest of us like ‘em. That’s why this seed is here, offering a change of location for your exploring: underwater. With a challenging selection of enemies to defeat and plenty of secrets to uncover, this seed is for the nautically inclined.

8678942899319966093(1.9)
Spawning a magnificent array of prissy clip-clops (horses) on the outskirt of a huge desert village, this seed offers equestrian types the ideal starting point for their Minecraft adventure. Inside the village there are chests packed with great loot like diamond horse armour, gold ingots, saddles, and obsidian – everything you need to ride off into the sunset atop your noble steed.

1461928132 (1.9)
Taking some hefty cues from Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park, this mesa-styled landscape is anything but ideal for budding architects. What this seed does boast is mile upon mile of miner’s paradise. Nature lovers will be happy too as the seed will also generate a glorious flower forest, making for quite a contrast of biomes.

8858351513851407858 (1.8.8)
Where monolithic natural structures are concerned, no real-world creation compares. This seed’s main feature is a mountain consisting of two arching peaks. An internal waterfall finishes off this Minecraft marvel with the water feature it deserves. The archway makes the perfect sheltered spot for a villainous, Bond-inspired hidden base.

686298914 (1.8.8)
As soon as you spawn in this seed you’ll be next to a village containing a blacksmith’s treasure chest (see inside for diamonds, swords, and obsidian). But that’s just the start of this loot-heavy seed, which spawns a world featuring four desert temples, six villages, two dungeons, and a stronghold. You’ll certainly want to visit some of these, so head to x: (-973) y: (93) z: (127) for the stronghold, x: (-328) y: (82) z: (560) for the largest of the six villages, and x: (-149) y: (68) z: (343) for a dungeon home to a golden apple.

5387364523423380365 (1.8.8)
If instant gratification is what you need then this seed will give you that. Provided you’re looking for instant mushrooms, that is. Within meters of your spawn location you’ll find a sprawling island filled with giant mushrooms and herds of red cows.

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With a village surrounded by hundreds of good quality trees, this is an excellent starting seed. You won’t be short of wood, and the houses provide excellent shelter until you’ve amassed enough materials to start building your own fortress.

-8565911531030881739 (1.8.8)
Most recommended seeds generally spawn you close to a temple or village, but this seed is a bit different. It spawns you next to nothing of use. If you’re looking for a little challenge in your survival then this seed is for you. While it has little in the form of loot, it does spawn you in interesting, scenic biomes that offer plenty of different locations to explore close to the spawn. Mushroom forests, swamp zones, and extreme hills await.

8678942899319966093 (1.8.8)
As soon as you spawn in this seed you’ll be right on top of a village that’s situated in a field filled with horses. Why explore like a peasant when you can gallop around like a knight?

-9065479248748140566 (1.8.8)
A solid starting point for the long-haul adventure, there are five villages and a couple of temples close to spawn and the riverbanks. The loot you’ll find here will aid you in setting up camp, and there’s plenty of livestock to make friends with or, you know, butcher.

blank (1.8.8)
If you’re looking to slaughter the Ender Dragon as quickly as possible then this seed is for you. It will spawn you right on top of a stronghold containing a Nether Portal. See the chunky bit of beach on the left? Simply dive down from there, and you’ll soon hit the roof of the Stronghold. It’s pretty dark down there, so you may need some glow stones to help your search.

1926444278 (1.8.1)
Having a pet is one of the most rewarding things you can do in Minecraft, and a fluffy little bunny rabbit is most certainly the kind of pet you want hopping around at your ankles. This seed will spawn you in a village full to bursting with rabbits.

3657966 (1.8.1)
Just a short trek from spawn and you’ll discover this mega mountain region. The peak breaches cloud level, and bursting from its slopes are water and lava falls. It’s also topped with a wooded area, making it both a scenic climb and a solid resource provider.

1111 (1.8.1)
Right by where you spawn in this seed is a deep ravine cut into the ground. Take a peek and you’ll immediately find what you’re here for: gold. There’s a good few blocks of gold ore right at the surface, so you can gather it in practically no time at all.

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Along the join between the savannah and desert biomes in this seed is a desert village with some desirable loot. Between the chests in the houses and the blacksmith’s shop you’ll find 26 gold ingots, three emeralds, two diamonds, six iron ingots, iron leggings, and a saddle. Not a bad starter kit!

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A mesa, plains, and desert biome all meet at an intersection marked by a temple for you to explore in this seed. Even better, you’ll find the temple at the bank of a river where some giant squids hang out, as well as cows in the fields of the plains biome next door.

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One for the Minecraft mountaineer, this seed will spawn you at cloud level on this amazing mountain structure. It goes much higher into the sky than the clouds, and its flatter sections are home to some savanna biome-style trees. The whole mountain makes an island, with some really cool geography to explore.

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If you’ve absolutely got to see it all, and you’re on a strict time limit, then this seed is for you. It contains all of Minecraft’s various biomes, and they’re packed into a reasonable 2km². One afternoon stroll and you’ll know everything about landmass identification.

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Minecraft can feel a little brown and green all too often. Inject some colour into your eyes with this seed, which will drop your right in the middle of an ocean filled with mushroom-sprouting islands. Those bright red domes should cheer you right up, but if that doesn’t do the trick perhaps the herds of cows will instead.

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With 15 diamonds right at the spawn location, this is a loot paradise seed. You’ll find the diamonds split into chests in the two desert temples you’ll soon find, and a third temple hides away some treasures, too. In the first of the temples you’ll come across you can also find some diamond horse armour, ensuring your steed will be well protected.

Related: Bask in the beauty of the game with nice new Minecraft shaders

939276771201220157 (1.8.1)
A great seed if you’re in need of diamonds quick. You’ll spawn quite close to two desert temples that can be raided for treasures, and also fairly close to spawn are two NPC villages, one which has a blacksmith. One of the temples contains nine diamonds and two emeralds.

-8504220077033419916 (1.6.4)
Make sure you have ‘Large Biomes’ selected when you use this seed, as without it you’ll find a completely different world. And you wouldn’t want to miss this: a fantastic mushroom biome and a hills biome right next to each other, with you spawning right on the border between the two.

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Sprint off to your right from spawn and you’ll find a blacksmith’s shop stocked with the perfect starter kit: iron leggings, iron chestplate, an iron sword, a bunch of apples, and even three diamonds! You’ve not done any work yet and you’re already fully kitted out for action.

Related: The best Minecraft Pocket Edition seeds

But there’s more! Look out from the village and you’ll see a desert temple, which is packed full of chests containing gold, iron, and diamonds. A superb starting point.

Dossier (1.6.4)
As you spawn into Dossier you want to turn around immediately and head backwards. You’ll see a village, but that’s not what we’re here for. A little way off the coastline you’ll see a perfectly flat rectangle building just sitting in the ocean. Break in, and you’ll find an End Portal. No more do you need to contend with strongholds; just travel right to The End from the safety of an underwater bunker.

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A solid collection of adventuring areas appear within this seed, with no less than four temples to raid, a village to settle in, and an underground stronghold to unearth. The temples are home to a small collection of gold and diamonds for the precious item collector.

Sprite (1.6.4)
This seed draws up everything you need to play Survival Island without the need to download a map. A patch of dirt, a tree, and nothing else but ocean is generated by Sprite. With a bit of imagination you can work with these limited resources to survive for a surprising amount of time.

Double Village (1.6.4)
One for the archaeologist, Double Village spawns you in near a village and temple in a desert biome. So far, so normal seed. But the village and temple are actually mostly buried in the sand, and require excavating from the landscape to reveal their architectural wonders.

Mojang (1.7.10)
How fitting that Mojang – the company that keeps on giving – would put their name to a seed that provides as if it were the Minecraft Diamond Lottery. A fully stocked area of diamonds, gold, and iron await, but keep an eye out for the torrents of lava that run dangerously close to prime mining real estate.

MINDCRACK (1.6.4)
A truly superb mountain biome, but you’ll need to travel a little from spawn to find it. You’ll start on a tiny island out to sea, but just keep heading straight until you hit the cliff faces. Head up, and you’ll find a massive biome filled with exceptional mountain designs. Ideal for a dwarven under-mountain fortress!

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An excellent starting point for a varied adventure, this seed spawns you close to the borders of a solid collection of varied biomes, giving you a delicious amount of visual variety. These areas are also packed with resources, and while none of them will fast track you to battle-ready status, you’ll certainly find living off the land no problem at all.

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With the crazy success that is Frozen still ringing in everyone’s ears, you may want to find a suitably chilly locale to recreate your favourite Anna and Elsa moments in. This seed is the one you’ll need, spawning you right in the centre of a substantial ice spikes patch in an area of grand snowy beauty.

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Spawning in a pretty wooded area, you’re just a few steps away from some brilliant loot in this seed. Just head to your right to discover a cave with two zombie spawners inside, as well as three chests containing some very decent loot: some music discs, iron, a couple of Enchanted Infinity Books, and a Golden Apple!

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Right at spawn you’ll find a picturesque church village that conveniently has a blacksmith’s loaded up with a pick, some armour, and some bread to get you going. But when you spawn it’s the pond to your right that holds the biggest treasure. Just dig down from there and you’ll uncover an underground cave network filled with lava rivers, waterfalls, and mining opportunities aplenty.

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A stunningly beautiful and varied world sprouts from this seed, containing almost every biome you can imagine within relatively easy travel distance from spawn. Three huge savannah plateaus are one of the tourist spots, but you’ll also find some floating islands, a colossal mesa area with a Bryce zone, a huge birch tree forest, and a colourful mushroom biome. The absolute ideal stage for a multiplayer server.

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This is quite a sight to behold. A spectacular Savannah Plateau M will be right in front of you when you spawn into this seed. A massive mountain that reaches beyond the clouds, the sheer faces pour with waterfalls and lava streams, while the top is a great flat canvas for a castle build. The surrounding area is resource-rich, so carving the plateau into your own kingdom should be no problem at all.

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A great seed for villages with two exceptionally close to spawn. One even has a blacksmith’s shop with iron and obsidian stocks ready and waiting to be looted. There’s also a witch hut just on the outskirts, simply travel straight from the larger village through the small desert and you’ll find it built into the face of the cliff.

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Rather reminiscent of the Badlands of World of Warcraft, this seed creates a mesa biome surrounded by desert. If your plan is to develop a world like that of Mad Max’s then you can’t go wrong here. Best to head in with create mode, though, since the area isn’t exactly brimming with mining opportunities.

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Arriving in front of a mountain when you spawn, you’ll instantly see something a little odd. This mountain has a monstrous hole dug all the way through it, creating a hollowed-out mountain for you and naturally the perfect place to build up a secret lair.

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A brilliantly awe-inspiring seed, tapping in these digits will create an impressive mountain range with interesting semi-floating structures and overhangs. A clear disregard for gravity makes this a striking map, and those mountain ridges are just begging to be populated with a fortified town.

Survival (1.7.10)
Spawning you near a village sporting a blacksmith’s shop, Survival has a great selection of tourism spots. Look to the distance and you’ll find a great mountain with hollowed sections, but closer by is a great fissure cut through the land and an inviting sinkhole brimming with possibility.

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A mesa biome with a Grand Canyon feel, this seed produces a great natural river formation along the bed of some raised, flat-topped mountainous structures for that all-American middle-of-nowhere feel. Helicopter rides and bungee cords not included.

england (1.6.4)
If you’re looking for a jungle temple, england is the seed you are looking for. There’s no need to look far, since you spawn right on top of one. Inside are some gold and bones to bolster your resource collection, but it’s the fantastic jungle that surrounds the temple that’s the true treasure in this seed. Perfect for creating a tribal-themed hideaway.

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A great base of operations for your desert expedition, this seed creates a village populated by a blacksmith’s, a church, and a well. It’s a great starting point, especially since there’s a desert temple within draw distance range that’s holding a few diamonds and iron.

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This collection of oddly-shaped islands provides some great vistas and photo opportunities, but it’s what lies beneath that’s of real interest. Dig down from the grassy surface of the angular shaped island and you’ll hit the stony walls of an underground stronghold. Unoccupied, this dungeon is home to an End Portal.

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Just in front of where you spawn in this seed is a huge crack in the land that leads to a phenomenal ravine. It’s basically the Goblin Kingdom from The Hobbit; filled with minecart tracks, resources, lava, and all sorts of creepy mobs including Endermen. But even better than that – this is a stronghold. As you come down from the entrance you’ll even see the library jutting out of the rock face. Hunt around a little and you’ll soon find the End Portal and your ticket to duelling the dragon.

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A little exploration is required to find everything of value in this seed, but there are three hot spots to look out for. Two temples in the desert biome come absolutely filled with gold and precious stones, while a blacksmith’s shop and church provide a few home comforts. On the fringes of the desert as you enter the savannah you’ll find a large village with stone structures that’s home to a blacksmith’s stocked with iron armour.

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A desert temple lies on a lovely river bank in the seed, which quite graciously creates three biomes within easy walking distance of each other, with a mesa biome leaking through a line of desert into lush greenland. Nine diamonds and a heap of rotting flesh await you in the temple’s treasure room.

4 (1.7.10)
A solitary island home to just a few wolves and a pig, the surface is just a ruse for an excellent buried stronghold. Just look for where the rock face has fallen away and you’ll find an easy entrance to the fortress, which naturally comes equipped with all the mod-cons.

VimCraft (1.6.4)
VimCraft spawns you in a magnificent hilly region, but it’s actually the desert just outside this area that you want to head for. You’ll soon find a small village containing a blacksmith’s shop stocked with iron armour and an iron pick, as well as a much larger village with another blacksmith’s. Between the two you can also find a desert temple, which contains a chest full of gold.

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This seed contains a plethora of awesome attractions surprisingly close to spawn. On your swift journey you can find pyramids, mine shafts, temples, villages, witch huts, and strongholds, all within a half-hour radius of your starting position. Check out this forum post from discoverer hgtpsh for coordinates to all the incredible areas of this seed.

Rickrollin (1.6.4)
A hugely popular seed as featured on Mojang’s own website, rickrollin doesn’t trick you into discovering a classic ’80s music video as its name would suggest. Instead, you’ll find a world host to a jungle temple, a buried pyramid, a desert well, a blacksmith’s village that lies close to a cave system filled with ores, and a spooky zombie-infested dungeon.

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This one is all about shipwrecks. You spawn into a quaint village where you’ll notice a villager has turned the shattered remnants of a hull into a cosy abode. Venture out further into the world, and bigger shipwrecks await you on the seabed. If that doesn’t float your boat, then there’s also an ocean ruin for you to explore. We ship it.

And those are our very favourite Minecraft seeds. There’s plenty to keep you busy exploring, but there’s always something new to find, so why not try our best Minecraft maps? Or perhaps our top Minecraft servers. Oh, and don’t forget to equip some brilliant Minecraft skins before you head out. Anyway, we’ll leave you to it; there’s plenty more redstone we need to dig up, and this pick-axe won’t swing itself…

Earlier this week, prominent streamer Ludvig ‘Anomaly’ Lagerstedt received a 30-day suspension from Twitch after he briefly showed a Minecraft skin depicting Adolph Hitler. Anomaly is appealing the ban – he says it’s “quite excessive” – but the streamer has already gotten into hot water with Twitch over hateful conduct in the past.

In the offending clip, Anomaly opens his Minecraft inventory and immediately closes it as he realises the Hitler skin is on display. “Oh my god, I have the wrong skin on me,” he says, bursting into laughter. On Twitter after the ban, Anomaly said “I had the skin because me and some friends were gonna record a Minecraft video and I was gonna make a little joke about ‘Meinkraft’ and forgot to change back the skin.”

According to the relevant bits of Twitch’s community guidelines, “hateful conduct is any content or activity that promotes, encourages, or facilitates discrimination, denigration, objectification, harassment, or violence” against people in a wide range of categories, and it’s not hard to see how Twitch might recognise Hitler jokes as – at the very least – ‘facilitating denigration.’

It’s not the first time Anomaly has been banned from Twitch for inappropriate conduct, as Dot Esports notes. Over a year ago, he received an indefinite suspension from the platform for violating the hateful conduct rules.

While we never officially got confirmation on why that ban happened – obviously it was eventually overturned – it did come immediately after a clip in which Anomaly dressed a black PUBG character in prison clothes, and followed with the same sort of exaggerated laugh we hear in the Minecraft clip.

Kill time behind the wheel in the wide, wide world of Minecraft.

What you need to know

• Minecraft may be on its way to another platform: Tesla cars.
• Tesla founder Elon Musk tweeted that the company is working on bringing the blocky game to its vehicles, and it’s a “high priority.”
• Musk also revealed that Cuphead will launch in Teslas in August.

Minecraft has already become one of the most ubiquitous games out there, with ports on nearly every platform you can think of. However, you might be able to add another, unconventional platform to that list soon: Tesla vehicles.

Tesla founder Elon Musk recently tweeted that Minecraft is on his company’s list of to-dos for game ports. Going further, Musk says it’s a high priority, alongside Roblox.

We’re working on it. Agreed, Minecraft is high priority. Roblox too.3,4239:41 AM – Jul 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy456 people are talking about this

Teslas all feature a large displays from which you control much of the car’s functions. Tesla has been gradually adding games to the built-in computers for months now, including Atari titles, Beach Buggy Racing 2, and even chess. Of course, the games are only meant to be played while the car is at rest, so don’t get your hopes up for playing Minecraft as you drive. That’s just plain dangerous.

In further Tesla game news, Studio MDHR’s notoriously difficult Cuphead, which was teased earlier this year, will launch on Tesla vehicles in August, Musk confirmed in another tweet.

For those of us without a Tesla, both Cuphead and Minecraft are available to pick up across Xbox One, Windows 10, and a number of other platforms in the meantime.

Minecraft Monday is returning for Week 6 as the UMG event put together by Keemstar continues.

The Week 6 rosters were recently announced, although the full teams aren’t complete yet. The first roster release says Bajan_Canadian is still in need of a partner. They have a few more hours to find a partner, so hopefully we’ll have full rosters by the time it starts.

ShotGunPlays & Technoblade won Week 1, Technoblade & iBallisticSquid won Week 2, traves & cscoop won Week 3, Vikkstar123 & Preston won Week 4 and Skeppy & BadBoyHalo won Week 5. Skeppy and BadBoyHalo are teamed up again for Week 6, so we could see a repeat champ.

When does Minecraft Monday start?

• Date: July 22nd
• Time: 4 p.m. EST, 1 p.m. PT

How to stream Minecraft Monday Week 6

UMG will be streaming the event live above.

You can also watch live from individual streamers on their respective platforms (some stream on Twitch, others stream on YouTube, a rare few choose other outlets).

Minecraft Monday Week 6 teams, rosters

Minecraft Monday rules, scoring system

• Eliminations: +10 Score
• Victory: +30 Score
• Top 2 Teams: +20 Score
• Top 3 Teams: +10 Score
• Surviving: +2 Score (Whenever a team is eliminated all other remaining teams earn +2 Score)

An added note, scoring for placements, surviving and victories are split between teammates if both are alive. But if one member of the team gets eliminated, the score is awarded to the surviving teammate.

There’s no cheating allowed. Cheating includes no cross-teaming, no “feeding” to help another team no mods or resource packs that grant unfair advantages. Trash talk is allowed, but toxic trash talk could result in a ban.

UMG listed the games played as follows for Week 5. This section hasn’t been updated for Week 6, so we’ll keep an eye out in case it changes.

• 1. Hunger Games (Spark City)
• 2. TNT Run
• 3. Dropper
• 4. Spleef
• 5. Battle Arena
• 6. Find The Button
• 7. Run From The Lava
• 8. Bingo Hunt
• 9. Hunger Games (MAP)

Minecraft Monday Week 6 results

The leaderboard above will update throughout the tournament, and you can check at the end of the event who won.