The grass is always greener in Minecraft, and that applies to game updates too. 4J Studios has announced that it's targeting Minecraft PC version 1.7.3 for the very first Minecraft Xbox 360 update... and we're already staring at our existing 1.6.6 builds in abject desolation, pining for the sweet hydraulic "thunk" of 1.7.3-era technology.
New to 1.7.3 are pistons, which shove other blocks around, and shears, which allow you to 'mine' foliage. There's also a lot more clay to find, making those grand brickwork building projects a tad more achievable. Here's a partial list of tweaks and additions, care of LMG.
- Added pistons.
- Fixed clay generation.
- Flint and Steel or redstone is now required to trigger TNT.
- Fences can be stacked.
- Added Shears.
- Redstone wire now will connect to a repeater.
- Shears can be used to pick up leaf blocks.
- Shears can be used to shear sheep without hurting them
- Sheep no longer drop wool from being punched, only from being killed when they are unsheared.
- New textures for Cobblestone and Brick blocks.
- Silverfish skin was added (for Beta 1.8).
No word from 4J as to when all this will arrive. Speaking to OXM in March, the port developer's Roger Carpenter discussed the difficulties of porting some of the PC updates across. "Some of the updates are massive - they significantly change how the game works. They're epic, potentially, a complete redesign of what we've got already." Read our whopping Minecraft Xbox 360 interview for more.
UPDATE: 4J has told us a bit more about Minecraft's Xbox 360 updates, including details of the mammoth challenge that is version 1.8.
23 comments so far...
kronk10 on 14 May '12 said:
Just awesome the more updates the better myself and my girlfriend have sunk so many hours into this game its unreal
BreadAndMustard on 14 May '12 said:
They need to fix the autosave
Clanger67 on 14 May '12 said:
I thought the fence gates were in 1.7.There is no point building a fence at the min. to keep something in as you have to put a door there,lol.Although you can't keep chickens and pigs anyway yet as you can't lure them to it.Sounds like they are doing some serious hard work to get it the same as the pc one.Could be an ongoing project for a while yet then.I will still be playing regardless unless MAX drags me away on friday,lol.
Plamsa wing on 14 May '12 said:
These will make my treehouse in the OXM server easier to build.
Sidenote: Don't have twitter so if you're reading this, there is some guy on the server making that horrible static noise with his mic on. He's ruining my lunch break.
Grummy on 14 May '12 said:
No day 2 video?
Clanger67 on 14 May '12 said:
Yeah i second Grummy,more videos please.As i can't get online to see what you are all getting up to.Sounds like there are some great things being built (and burnt down).
fedris the red on 14 May '12 said:
Suddenly I have the inexplicable urge to panic punch sheep...
Apparently the autosave does work but it only saves statistics so it shouldn't really be called an autosave. The reason I know? 5 hours of mining some particularly rich gold, iron and diamond seams plus the beginnings of a extensive minecart network all lost because of a server disconnect. Not to worry I thought; autosave is my friend...
I understand it on one level though because when you do a manual save it does take a relatively long time to actually do it's business so if it did that every five to fifteen minutes it would really interfere with playing the game. What I'm going to try and do is save after every major achievement (personal not Xbox...) it's not perfect but it should provide a little security against unexpected crashes etc.
GHOSTY05 on 14 May '12 said:
I only found out last night that you can turn the sodding monsters off!
Fantastic, now i can mine without fear of carrying 50 steaks and swords!
link1989 on 14 May '12 said:
i just want the update with the XP and make it so you can have a food bar so you regen heath.
michaelhill2110 on 14 May '12 said:
YAY CLAY!!! ive been wanting to make a red and white lighthouse and ive needed the bricks for the red part. also does anyone know how to put monsters into minecarts cause im making a minecart rolercoster and want to put monsters on it. caus i role like that
Joe90_Remy700 on 14 May '12 said:
how in the heck do ye all have these things built? 10 hrs each day for the last 2 days and i've got a shoddy glass-walled beach-house thingy leading into a deep mine. found routes going down chasms and a waterfall meeting lava underground (and only making rock
)
other than that i've got naff all, found 1 wee redstone vein and thats it
michaelhill2110 on 15 May '12 said:
speaking to my freand whohas the pc version and he says that updates only aply to new worlds, not old ones... i.e. you have to start again to make use of the update... they better not do that to us... ive sunk too many hours into my first world to start again
Clanger67 on 15 May '12 said:
Same here i would be gutted if i had to start again.Trouble is if we get updates inline with the pc the maps are a lot bigger,we are limited to a smaller map with only one season when generated.I am not sure they would be able to get around you not having to start again,it would be like a whole new game.That's if they manage to pull off giving us all the same updates anyway given the limitations of the 360 against a top end pc.
Clanger67 on 15 May '12 said:
Usually when you start mining you will find some tunnels already there.I was lucky that i had built a house and on a bit of exploration digging found a pretty sizeable tunnel network,with quite a lot of deposits.Good tip is if you find branching tunnels and one seems to be a dead end with no resoureces,keep digging around at the end of the tunnel and you usually either find some or break into another tunnel network.I have been finding shed loads of stuff even Obsidian.Not done bad with the diamonds as well considering they are pretty rare.You just have to appreciate when mining that a lot off stuff is hidden away so takes a lot of searching sometimes.
Ribzy on 15 May '12 said:
hi i have JUST made a simple forum that will let people easily post their gamertags and time that they are playing with? the hopes of getting a small community going since there are no servers. go to customparties360 . hostzi . com if your interested
. Only made it like 10 minutes ago.
zacho 666 on 15 May '12 said:
need to get a job and start buying microsoft points
Clanger67 on 16 May '12 said:
Not sure how 100% it is,but reading up on the Minecraft Wiki forums,the updates will only cause trouble and you will have to start again if you have explored the whole map.Apparently this doesn't allow it to add all the bio domes to the map because you have uncovered it all.Damn shame if that is the case the amount of hours i and probably countless others have sunk into it.Plus i have explored all the map,lol.
Weeskimmer on 16 May '12 said:
im really glad of the shears being added i feel guilty having to hurt the sheep lol the other additions in this update sound cool but my main hope is for them not to add hunger and regening health i prefer to manually heal just my preference i dont like regening health or the way the armour meter works in latest pc game
johnafirth on 23 May '12 said:
The downside being you can't get stuff like string, bone or gunpowder without them. Still, you can always exit and turn them back on again. I've just decided to dig all the way to the bedrock first, to try and get plenty of redstone. Only managed two gold and one diamond, which is a shame, as I wanted to mine obsidian from a nearby lava pool.
mafiadon2011 on 2 Jun '12 said:
What about Sprinting I don't like it when you can't not sprint
Paz1290 on 4 Jun '12 said:
I don't know if anyone cares, but I have made a hunger games survival custom map, would like to find people to come on test it and give feedback, add jcat745 if you are interested, planning to make more if this first one goes well. (I do realise the lack of sprint and hunger is a flaw but it's 1.6 and I used everything I could)
mikew on 4 Jun '12 said:
The autosave is not an auto save of the game it is of the inventory, so if you die it remembers it and leaves it on the ground until you pick it up
matthewbvb on 15 Jun '12 said:
who do you add as a friend to get on the oxm server??? :S