Minecraft Xbox 360 update 1.8.2 - Creative Mode is "pretty much done"

4J Studios' Paddy Burns has been talking to the fine folk of Hookshot Inc about Minecraft on Xbox 360, would you believe, and in particular, the next Minecraft Xbox 360 update. According to him, the developer is on the final stretch.

Minecraft Xbox 360 update 1.8.2 introduces Creative Mode and Superflat worlds and is, therefore, beyond the wildest dreams of people who enjoy painstakingly assembling vast explicit sculptures of, for instance, your mother. Adventuring types aren't left wanting, however, as there are new Abandoned Mineshafts, buried Strongholds, Ravines and NPC Villages to uncover. The update also adds a hunger gauge which affects health replenishment, so don't leave the house without a pork chop or six.

"Creative Mode is pretty much done now," Burns commented. "One of the challenges was to try to keep the number of groups in the menu down, while also trying to plan for the space required for the new items coming in the near future.

"The last thing we want to do is to have the players learn where items are in the Creative Inventory Menu, and then have to re-learn when the next update comes out. We will have a new tab coming for potions in a future update, but we've got the space to fit that."

He went onto discuss how enchanting and XP would alter the game, and revealed a new option for Superflat worlds which lets you generate a level Nether map.

Many of the new features are visible in Tutorial World, which will also accommodate 12 additional hidden chests. "We decided that it would be good to have the tutorial world showing the new terrain features of 1.8.2 (Strongholds, Villages, Abandoned Mineshafts and Ravines), so we have a new world with the previous tutorial training area transplanted in it.

"Everything beyond the training area has changed. We're also added a few new mini-tutorials for the 1.8.2 features. We previously added some Easter Eggs elements for a bit of fun, and it went down very well with the players, so we've expanded these and tried to be pretty devious with our hiding places for some. It'll be good to see how quickly they are found this time!"

4J tweeted yesterday that "we're working hard fixing bugs in our 1.8.2 build - think we have a week or two to go before we can hand it over for Microsoft Cert Testing". Eeeeeee. Read about future content in our feature on Minecraft Xbox 360 updates that will totally change the game.