The Internet backlash over Facebook buying out Oculus has been varied to say the least. Ranging from those thinking that the extra investment can only speed progress of VR to those saying simply ‘Oculus is dead now – game over.’ One reaction though has gotten an awful lot of notice purely because of what it means and who was saying it.

Shortly after the announcement of Facebook’s purchase of Oculus, Notch the creator of popular sandbox game Minecraft tweeted that Minecraft on Oculus was now a dead thing. Not many people knew at that point that Notch had only two weeks earlier been at the Oculus offices talking about bringing a simplified version of Minecraft out that would be made specially to work with the Oculus Rift.

In a lengthy blog post on his website Notch outlined his joy at virtual reality becoming a feasible concept in the modern age and his trip to see the makers of Oculus.

“I felt like we were on the cusp of a new paradigm… I could be part of the early efforts to work out best practices, and while I have no doubt that in ten years we’ll look back at the problems with early VR applications in the same we look back at GUI problems with early PC games, it still felt exciting to me.”

But then he goes on to explain why he withdrew the offer of a Minecraft game for the Oculus after Facebook bought them out, stating that as a company he really doesn’t trust Facebook. He also points out that Facebook is about engaging users, building numbers and social media. Notch points out that while VR and social are a good match he doesn’t wish to work with social, but games; adding that he didn’t fund the Kickstarter for the Oculus Rift “to build value for a Facebook acquisition.“. He ended the post by congratulating both companies on the ‘business deal’ and stating his respect for the engineers and workers at Oculus. He also linked a mod for those who really needed their Minecraft fix in a VR setting.

While this is sad news, as a long-time Minecraft player I must admit for all my excitement at VR technology I can’t really see the sandbox game working well in VR. Not for me at least. And this might be a good thing, imagine your first VR creeper…

… O.O;

Blog post is here.

Well, it had to happen eventually…

Details have emerged that an unofficial Minecraft convention in Orlando, Florida, called Meeting of the Mines has provided a sub-par experience far from what was promised and seems to have aimed at making the organisers a lot of money off the backs of the thriving Minecraft community, especially parents and children. The stories now circulating the Internet are unbelievable and quite frankly appalling to hear.

MOTM was meant to have happened back in December 2013 but was delayed to March this year because of ‘red tape’ stopping them holding the event when it has been advertised. While it was supposed to have been a weekend event, many have said that the event was called off early because it had apparently ‘gotten out of hand’. Also a lot of advertised give-aways and competitions either didn’t happen or had the winners having their prizes rescinded after the event, with these cases usually being money prizes.

The kicker comes though when you hear of the specifics of the ‘StarCraft’ event. This contest had children compete to craft the best structures in the game with a fairly hefty prize at the end. A prize which can be quickly and easily summed up in two words – ‘Youtube stardom’. On par with that of CaptainSparklez and IcanHasCupquake (which they don’t even spell right in the contest text). The organisers promised for the 6 winners, their own Youtube channel, websites, branded merchandise and even ‘you first subscribers’ made up of the other attendees for the event. All set up within their ‘MOTM network’ of course. Since these things are often dreamt about by the younger viewers of such popular Youtubers, it just sounds like an almost shameless ploy to get kids to bug their parents to buy tickets for the event and make them more money.

Of course, getting refunds from the organisers has proven to be a difficult task with the organisers even beginning to accuse people of stealing the con’s décor. The MOTM website has vanished along with the head organiser’s Facebook, Twitter and pretty much every way to get in contact. Tickets have already been sold for another MOTM event supposed to be held in New York, but the venue has not been booked and no further details are available so it looks as if the organisers have taken the money and run with it. Since they took roughly $50k for the event that (sort of) happened alone, it is a LOT of money they have taken. The attendees for the event have even set up a Facebook group dedicated to sharing stories and doing their best to get their refunds or at least some sort of closure from the entire fiasco.

If you want a better, clearer picture of the entire event, BebopVox’s video sums it up pretty well (and also includes tips on how to spot conventions and events that could be potentially scams in disguise, as well as plenty of links to information in the description):

As I said above, it had to happen eventually to the Minecraft community, but that doesn’t make what happened any less terrible, especially as it has disappointed so many children. I can only hope the organisers of this event are found and made to pay for what they have done.

Meeting of the Mines Scam Group Page is here.

Copy of StarCraft event text is here.

So, the latest SimCity patch including offline play has dropped…   What do you think?

After reading this thread and trying out Update 10 please use the following links for feedback and additional questions:

 

Update 10 Feedback Thread – http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/0/10023457.page
Offline additional Questions – http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/0/10023459.page

 

Q: How do I play SimCity offline?
A: The new Single-Player Mode allows you to play SimCity anytime, anywhere, without the need of an active Internet connection. For the full details please read our blog post here – http://www.simcity.com/en_US/blog/article/simcity-…y-now-available-for-pc-and-mac.

 

Q: How do I download the Single-Player Mode for SimCity?
A: The Single-Player Mode will be included as part of Update 10 at no additional cost. This will be available to all current and future players on PC and Mac starting March 18, 2014.

 

Q: Will I still require an Internet connection to play?
A: An Internet connection is required to download Update 10 when it becomes available on March 18, 2014. You will not require an active Internet connection to play SimCity offline in the Single-Player Mode.

 

Q: Can I still play the game Online?
A: Yes, the Online game and all of its features are still intact. This includes Multiplayer, SimCity World and Online Save Games.

 

Q: Will my previous Downloadable Content (DLC) be playable in the Single-Player Mode?
A: Yes. All of your previous DLC is available for use in both the Single-Player Mode and Multiplayer Mode.

 

Q: Do I need an Origin Account to play?
A: Yes, you use Origin to download and launch SimCity. Once you’ve installed Update 10, you can put Origin into offline mode when you are playing Single-Player Mode.

 

Q: How do I put Origin into Offline Mode?
A: To put Origin in Offline mode, log in to the Origin client and select: Origin>Go Offline

 

Q: Do I need to login to Origin online in order to play the Single-Player Mode?
A: No. If you do not have an active internet connection, you can put Origin in the offline Mode and play SimCity offline in the Single-Player Mode.

 

Q: What features are available in Single-Player Mode?
A: Single-Player Mode allows for a multi-city Single-Player experience without requiring an internet connection. All region maps are available in Single-Player Mode. Since Single-Player Mode does not require a persistent internet connection, Leaderboards, Citylog, Achievements, Friends List, Player Profile, the Region Wall, and region invites are not available in Single-Player Mode. The Global Market will be available in Single-Player Mode, but prices will be fixed.

 

Q: What are the requirements to play in Multiplayer mode?
A: The requirements to play Multiplayer have not changed. An Internet connection is required to play Multiplayer mode, Origin must be running in online mode and SimCity must be updated to the latest version.

 

Q: Can I transfer my regions between modes?
A: No. Single-Player and Multiplayer are separate modes and regions cannot be transferred between modes.

 

Q: Where are Single-Player regions saved?
A: Single-Player regions are saved locally, not on the server.
You can find your regions on PC here: \Documents\SimCity\Games\~ID NUMBER~\
You can find your regions on Mac here: Go->Documents->SimCity -> Games -> ~ID NUMBER~

 

Q: If I uninstall or change machines, can I transfer my Single-Player Mode regions to the new install or Machine?
A: If you uninstall SimCity, your saved games will still be available. However if you change machines, you will need to manually move your game files to the games file location on your new machine.

 

Q: Can I move my Single-Player Mode saved game from my PC to Mac and vice versa?
A: Yes, you can transfer your Single-Player Mode saved games between PC and Mac.

 

Q: How many regions can I have?
A: There is no limit to the number of saved regions a player can have in Single-Player Mode. The file size of your regions will vary depending on density and population of your cities.

 

Q: How do saves work in Single-Player Mode?
A: Autosave is on by default and saves your region every ten minutes. Your region is also automatically saved if you quit your region or switch to another city in the region. To disable Autosave, go to the Options menu > Settings > Gameplay tab and uncheck “Enable Autosave in Single-Player Mode”. Disabling Autosave will allow you to save at points you want to save at. If Autosave is disabled, you will be asked if you would like to save your region when you quit or switch to another city in the region.

 

You can manually save your region at any time by pressing “Save Game” from the options menu.

 

Q: How do I rollback my regions? How do I make a copy of my region?
A: If Autosave is disabled, you can save your region at a certain point and then experiment with your region. If you wish to go back to a previous save point, you can choose not to save your region when exiting the game. If you load that region from the main menu or resume page, it will load from the last saved point.
If you would like to make a copy of your region, press “Save As…” from the options menu. You will be prompted to name the copy of your region. This gives you the control to come up with a naming convention that works for you for your copied version. Once you submit that name, you will load the copy of the region. The original region will remain at the last saved point. You can access the original or the copy from the Main Menu in the Play tab.

 

Q: What cheats are available in Single-Player Mode?
A: Existing live cheats are available in Sandbox regions while playing Single-Player Mode. The following cheats are available in Single-Player Mode in non-Sandbox games.
Add §10,000 to City budget. Windows: CTRL + ALT + W OS X: CTRL + ALT + W
Add §5,000 per hour to City budget. Windows: CTRL + ALT + S OS X: CTRL + ALT + S
Add §100,000 per hour to City budget. Windows: ALT + W OS X: ALT + S
Disasters are unlocked in Single-Player Mode.

Remember we also have an active SimCity region you can join, just add Lonesamurai as a friend on Origin for an invite

Today sees the release of a new Minecraft version! Not 1.8 though, rather 1.7.5 with a promised 1.7.6 version to follow soon.

Minecraft version 1.7.5 brings with it some server-side optimisation and fixes as well as a stamping out a few game bugs. The main thing that 1.7.5 brings to the game of Minecraft though has to do with Minecraft Realms. Several of the community’s most popular mini-game maps, such as Survival Games etc. are now available to add to Realms as ‘mini-games’ for the Realm community to try. Mojang are also using this update to pave the way for more countries to have access to the Realms feature, planning to roll it out across the Nordic countries in Europe within the next week.

Mojang are also going to soon release a 1.7.6 version in March which will bring with it support for the new skin system that is currently only accessible if you are running snapshots with your game, as well as beginning to set up the system to change game names (although they say that actually changing names is still a way off). They will also continue to work on 1.8 snapshots as well.

New version announcement is here.

Gaming development is like most types of business, in that you are always competing with other companies offering similar products to yours for a bigger slice of the current market share. Techniques, technologies and prototypes therefore are usually jealously guarded, which makes the decision reached by the developers of the games Star Citizen and Kingdom Come all the more rare, unusual and frankly quite inspiring in a few ways.

The two companies have entered into an unofficial partnership which sees them sharing information about certain tricks they’ve learned with the game engine (CryEngine) both games share, mutually benefiting both companies in the long run by leading to improved versions of both Star Citizen and Kingdom Come.

The move was detailed in a recent blog post by Star Citizen’s Chris Roberts highlighting not only the other game and its Kickstarter but the bond between the two companies as they trade information back and forth.

Kingdom Come doesn’t just look like a great game, though: it looks like something we on the Star Citizen team could learn from. The characters and outfits I saw working in-engine in the trailer impressed me so much that I contacted the team to talk about what was going on under the hood. Star Citizen doesn’t need peasants and knights… but it does need a robust character creation system for the persistent universe. And that technology is exactly what Warhorse is building for the CryEngine.

 

The good news is: the team at Warhorse isn’t just an incredible talented group of people… they’re also kindred spirits who are willing to share the work they’ve done! We will be sharing with them the tricks for working with CryEngine we’ve learned over the last 18 months and they will be letting us in on the secrets and the tech behind what they’re doing! I’ve always said that independent developers should stick together, and the potential good for both games that can come from this unofficial partnership is proof positive!

This lack of paranoia and suspicion is refreshing to see! Let’s hope both games benefit from this exchange of tips and tricks.

Blog post is here.