Monday, October 15, 2012

Minecraft Update for Xbox Available October 16

Finally, after two weeks of Microsoft certification testing, the 1.8.2 update for Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition will be available for download starting October 16 at 5 am ET. And even though yet another skin pack was announced before the 1.8.2 update, this news is still super exciting for fans of the game. Check out this official trailer for the update:

   

Three weeks ago, I reported on the features that the 1.8.2 update will bring to the Xbox port of the extremely popular open-world, sandbox builder created by the independent Mojang Studios. I also criticized 4J Studios--the studio responsible for the Xbox version of the game--for taking so long to get the update released. But I’m not so sure that 4J Studios is entirely to blame. Sure, Microsoft certification does take one to two weeks, but is there a reason that the certification team took thirteen days to give the thumbs up to an update?

True, the update is large and that could be the main reason that held up Microsoft. Still, when Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson sent out the following tweets on September 27, Microsoft may have taken offense. Notch tweeted:

Notch has been vocal about his distrust of large corporations, although he had previously indicated that working with Microsoft was a positive experience.

Although the 1.8.2 update will be free, Microsoft stands to gain a lot from those who decide to download the game now that it is so much closer to the PC version. Delaying the update’s certification may be a power play by Microsoft, but it is one that is unlikely to phase Notch. Unless Microsoft is willing to allow developers to bypass the new certification process for Windows 8, it is likely that the company will see a large backlash from video game developers.

Until that conflict comes to a head, we will have the 1.8.2 update to keep us busy. Here is the official list of features that the 1.8.2 update will add, quoted from Examiner.com:
Additions: 
Added Creative Mode. 
Disabled Achievements and Leaderboard updates if the player is in Creative Mode, or if the world has been previously saved in Creative Mode. 
Added a simple tutorial for Creative Mode. 
Added sprinting to Survival Mode. 
Added flying and sprint-flying to Creative Mode. 
Added new items to the game – Melon, Melon Slice, Melon Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Raw/Cooked Beef, Raw/Cooked Chicken, Rotten Flesh, Pumpkin Seeds, Iron Bars, Fence Gate, Stone Bricks, Stone Brick Slabs, Stone Brick Stairs, Brick Slabs, Brick Stairs, Ender Pearl, Web,Vines, 10 more Music Discs, and Chain Armor. 
Added new items to the crafting menu – Melon, Melon Seeds, Glass Pane, Fence Gate, Iron Bars, Stone Bricks, Stone Brick Slabs, Stone Brick Stairs, Brick Slabs, Brick Stairs. 
Added terrain generation features – Strongholds, Villages, Abandoned Mineshafts and Ravines. 
Biome code additions, including rivers and oceans. 
Changed the bow to have drawing and firing action. 
Added a quick move to the dispenser. 
Added a quick equip for armor to the inventory interface. 
Added a quick move for ingredients and fuel in the furnace interface. 
Brought forward the mining speed changes from 1.2.3 
Brought forward apples dropping from leaf blocks from 1.1 
Brought forward change from 1.2.3 to make pumpkins and melons grow from stems much faster, and not require farmland around the stem to grow on. 
Fix to vines brought forward from 1.2.3 to stop them spreading too much. 
Added the Food Bar to the HUD. 
Added stacking for food items. 
Added the eating animation. 
Enabled crafting mushroom stew without a crafting table. 
Added the blocking move with swords. 
Changed all the text descriptions for food to show how much they refill the food bar. 
Passive mobs will now flee when hit. 
The snout on pigs now protrude from their head. 
Skeletons now hold full size bows. 
Animals no longer despawn which makes it possible to capture them. 
Zombies now drop Rotten Flesh instead of Feathers. 
Updated some mob sounds. 
Shears can now collect Tall Grass and the new Vine. 
Improved sunrise and sunset. 
Improved the rain edges (when looking up in rain). 
User-placed leaf blocks no longer decay. 
Cloud height raised to the top of the map, so clouds can no longer phase through blocks. 
Cloud movement syncs with the game’s time. 
Both Wooden and Stone pressure plates can now be placed on fences. 
Improved chest model with a 3D lock, and opening and closing animation. 
Added a countdown timer to the autosave to stop it being such a surprise. 
Added the ability to rename an existing saved world. 
Added map icons to the in-game player list to match their color in the map. 
Added a confirmation dialog on the player choosing to exit without saving. 
Added a character display when sprinting or flying. 
Updated the How To Play HUD with the Food Bar information. 
Added descriptions for Creative Mode and Sprinting to the How To Play menus. 
Updated the Download Content menu with pictures of the DLC available. 
Removed Herobrine.

Options Changes and Additions: 
Changed the Gamertags Display option to mean display/hide gamertags in-game and on maps. 
Added an option to select Creative Mode or Survival Mode on creating or loading a world. 
Added an option to disable clouds. 
Added additional options to the world creation – Superflat land (creates a flat world near bedrock in both the Overworld and the Nether), enable/disable Structures and Bonus Chest. 
Added Host options – toggles for Player Versus Player, Trust Players to stop players being able to mine without permission from the Host, Fire Spread, TNT Explodes, and Host Privileges. 
Added in-game player options for the host – Can Build and Mine, Moderator, Kick Player, Can Fly, Disable Exhaustion, Invisible. 
Store the Online, Invite Only, and Friends of Friends options in the player’s profile.

Tutorial World Changes: 
Changed the Tutorial world to enable the new terrain features in it. 
Added mini tutorial for sprinting in the Tutorial world. 
Added mini tutorial for eating in the Tutorial world. 
Added Music Disc Quests in the Tutorial world – players can search the world for the 12 chests, each containing one of the Music Discs that can be played in a Jukebox.

Fixes: 
Fix for duplication glitch. 
Fix for aspect ratio of things in hand when in splitscreen mode. 
Fix for issue with player data not saving (player starting world with no items they had when they saved). 
Fix for redstone tiles burning out when they shouldn’t. 
Fixed issue with Minecart with Furnace not being able to move another Minecart. 
Fixed particle code for flipped 3rd person view.

Also, look out for Skin Pack 3 on Friday, October 19. The newest Skin Pack contains skins from Portal, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, and Awesomenauts. Official Minecraft 1.8.2 Xbox Trailer

No comments:

Post a Comment