Minecon 2015 Brings New Features for Minecraft
Fresh from the recently concluded Minecon 2015 in London comes news of loads of features that are coming to Minecraft, the widely popular open-world building and exploration game. Mojang, the game's developer shared what was coming during the Upcoming Features panel at the conference.
The first area of improvement has to do will enabling players with dual wielding or basically, being able to use both hands at the same time. Examples given to illustrate this new feature include wielding a pickaxe with one hand and carrying torches with another, or if a player is left-handed, using the left hand as one's main hand, and the other hand for dual wielding. This new feature will obviously expand the capabilities of each player.
In addition to the game's existing arsenal, it was reported that shields will also be added. In terms of weapons, Mojang also hinted that enchanted arrows will also be added later on. This is for the benefit of players who prefer long-range battles rather than close combat. The types of arrows to be made available however will be "balanced out" as some types may be more fatal and "would not be fun" such as poison arrows that leave half a heart when used. Other types of arrows include a spectral arrow head and a glow arrow, which marks the target so that the shooter can track his or her whereabouts.
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In terms of improvements in the user interface of the game, a Buff Bar will be added which will appear in the top right corner of the screen. It will display positive buffs on the top row like regen and swiftness, while the bottom row will display negative effects such as burning, slowness, among others.
Mojang also shared that a place in the game called "The End" will be getting a "makeover," starting with the fact that it will be composed of more than just one island. It will become one whole area, much like "The Nether," with many islands to explore and naturally, "more things to find." This new area will also require parkour skills and ingenuity to navigate. In order to explore new areas in "The End," players also need to create a new type of portal called "The End Gateway." All of these new features are mostly for the PC and the console versions.
Pocket Edition users need not fret as their version of the game is getting major updates as well, so that the mobile edition will be much closer to its PC and console counterparts. Hunger and XP bars will be included in a future update, as well as being able to move the user interface around, support for controllers and anvils. Other additions include "The Nether," ocelots, dynamic weather, cobblestone, redstone, sprinting and crouch functionality.
