Hi gang!

You know what makes an interesting experience? Something that's unexpected is what. Of course we were watching MineCon but when Matt (server admin) showed up and a player asked him if he could set up a TV to "watch MineCon" we quickly ended up with this:


Aaanyway ;)

Bedrock edition

I'm not necessarily a fan but I do think it's cool to see that the Bedrock edition is also getting some specific updates. Basically it gets the option to add in new mobs by adding text files ("scripting"). These mobs can have specific behavior, textures and so on.

Java edition

I don't have pictures yet (I'm literally writing this just after I saw it) but I'll try to add some later (which I now did, all pictures are courtesy of Mojang / Minecraft.net).

But oh dear, is this going to be exciting! In personal order of excitement:

Bamboo & Panda's!

That's right: when you travel in the Jungle you can come across bamboo and those tie directly into a new mob: Panda's. Normally friendly mobs (we also saw cubs, so they are probably breedable) but if you see a Panda with red eyes then its time to start running because that means hostility.



Mojang is really going all out on this one because they even went to zoo's to record panda sounds in order to get this right. I think that's commendable, also because Panda's are an endangered species and... I think that's important too.

But bamboo will tie into more features than merely panda's:

Scaffolding

Every builder who plays in survival (so: without flying abilities) knows how difficult it can become to build a ceiling or to get up and down specific areas. Many of us use dirt blocks to provide easier access but it's not exactly ideal, especially because you eventually also need to take the whole thing down again.

It wouldn't be the first time when I finished building something "good" (lol!) and when I invited Aya (= friend of mine who is a much better builder) .. to look at it the first thing she says: "What's that dirt doing up there?". "oops".

No more!

We can soon build scaffolding using bamboo which will allow us to quickly move up and down our builds. And the best part is that it'll react the same as cactus, sugar cane, chorus and kelp: break the bottom block and the whole thing collapses, which will make this ideal to use while building. If I got it right there will be no more need for specific stair and dirt or other constructions: just scaffolding.

Pillagers!

Sure: it sounds so easy and maybe obvious but seriously: you try to come up with something original ;)

We all know and love our villagers. Then we learned of the Illagers; a secluded group who retreated into the forest to build a huge mansion and plot evil things, and they still hated villagers (heere's Johnny!). I guess they finally finished plotting because...

Now we have the Pillagers, a new set of villager like creatures which take the fight directly to the villagers. You thought zombie invasions were bad? You haven't seen anything yet! The Pillagers even have an animal raiding mob which can trample a village farm "just like that" (2 blocks wide).

Villages update

If you're like me I'd now worry because.. this could make using villagers (in a village) even more difficult than it already was. Villagers already struggle sometimes to escape zombies and this is pretty massive as well. But no worries; it is going to be worth it because the villagers themselves get updates as well. Mojang are aiming to make them more intelligent (no word about trading) and the villagers as well as their villages will now also be biome specific. A village in the desert already looked different from one in a forest but now there will be even more changes and specific features. The villagers themselves are also getting a make-over (new skins), also based on biome.

New craftable weapon: crossbow

My friend Aya loves her trident, I'm already in love with this one. The crossbow. A ranged weapon which will be much faster with shooting projectiles than a regular bow and best of all: it can be crafted!

Not much news was added just yet, but what we saw was that it could shoot pretty rapidly and in one scene it even shot multiple enemies at once. Interesting!

Cats!

We already have ocelots and tamed ocelots, but we'll soon be getting cats as a completely new mob besides ocelots. Not much news was given, other than that there will be dozens of different skins for these mobs. And the community will become involved too.

There was also talk about another new mob which would be scared of cats, but no news was given about it.

AND there you have it!

WHEN?!!

Yeah, the next version is expected to be released in 2019 but we will be getting some of these features before the Holiday season thanks to snapshots. I kinda forgot but I think to remember that we can expect cats, scaffolding, and pillagers.

This is going to be HUGE.. I think. once more.

Kudo's to Mojang!

Minecraft Dungeons, a new game!

Minecraft Dungeons is planned to become a new action-adventure game which is playing out in the Minecraft universe. The idea is that you'll get an option to explore dungeons, collect new weapons and thus get more options to defeat more powerful foes.

While watching the trailer and hearing the story or reading the official announcement I'm very skeptic. Sure: I really enjoy exploration and RPG based games are also some of my favorites (Skyrim, Fallout, etc.). And one of the things I enjoy most in Minecraft is cave exploration. But the thing is: there is so much more going on in there than just exploring or fighting an endless army of constantly improving enemies.

But I guess we'll have to see :)

You can find the official game page here.