Discuss MinecraftEarthatwww.facebook.com/webusermagazine 7 - 20August 2019 39Minecraft Earthwhatwould be most appropriate for
players to do there. More importantly,
however, Microsoft is using its Azure
Cloud Spatial Anchorsystem (bit.ly/
azure481), which fixes a player’s location
in virtual space using machine-vision
algorithms andreal-world objects. It’s a
complicated process but it’ll enable the
gameto figure out what the player
should be seeing.
Can Icollaborate with
other users?
Definitely,collaboration is one of thekey
aspects of the game. It allows like-
minded craftersto work together on
mammothstructures, gathering their
own resources and bringing themto a
shared “build plate”. There will bea
variety of plates to suit different builds–
you could, for example, create a ship ona
water pla te. When one player addsto the
structure, the others will see the blocks
being assembled and theresulting build
can then be placed in thereal world.
Players can also gather around a flat
surface and create their structures in
miniatureform. When eachstructure is
placedat a location on the map, it
becomes life-size and viewable by others.
Butcan Istill burn things down?
Of course. Just because Minecraft is
moving into thereal world, it doesn’t
mean that the rulesyou’ve become
accustomed to within the game are
totally different. Indeed, the game is
based on theexisting Bedrock Engine
and it willfeel the same.You can loot
(although there will be no loot boxes),
and use Flint andSteel to set fireto
blocks. Ifyou lo ve producingredstone
devices – objects that perform an action
when theyreceive a signal – thenyou can
do this,too.Is there much fighting involved?
You’ll be ableto battle hostile in-game
mobs either alone or with the help of
others. Defeating such an enemy will
cause themto drop useful items.You’ll
also be ableto steal from other players
but, given thatyou’ll be in the same
vicinity, this may not be such a good
idea. It will be saferto co llect rare and
randomly placed ‘tappables’ that earn
you different material blocks,various
mobs and objects. Acouple of tappables
will always be closeby whenyou start anadventureto get you going, butyou’ll
have to get therest by exploring, and
they will prove vital ifyou want to build
the most impressivestructures. It will also
be possibleto earn in-game currency
called Rubiesto purchaseextra build
flexibility.What platforms will thegame
be on?
Minecraft Earth will be freeto play on
iOS 10 and above and Android 7 and
above, as long asyour device is capable
of AR. A Microsoft orXbox Live account
is also neededto play.
The gamewas rolled out in beta on
25 July, with limited placesavailablefor
would-be players. Anyone interested is
askedto sign upat the officialwebsite
(bit.ly/mine481).But is thegame the same on
both platforms?
Fundamentallyyes, but on iOS, Minecraft
Earth will use Apple ARKit 3.0’sPeople
Occlusionfeature. This allows the game
to recognise people and their position in
the 3D environment, so they are
automatically cut out and placed in the
virtualworld. The functionwas
showcased at Apple’sWWDC keynote in
June where a Mojang employee’s avatar
was shownwalking around the Minecraft
Earth environment, in front of andover
blocks. On Android, the game will use
Google’s ARKit equivalent, ARCore.
It may be a while before the game
leaves beta so ifyou fancy seeing howfar
Minecraft hascome since its launch eight
years ago, check out the originalat
classic.minecraft.net.HOW MINECRAFT EARTH USES HOLOLENSIn 2015, Microsoft
demonstrated aversion
of Minecraft being played
through its wireless
augmented-reality
headset HoloLens.
By turningyour head,
it was possibleto view
the Minecraftworld from
multiple angles, with the
real-life environment in
the background. It
fostered a sense of
immersion that had
criticsraving.
The new Minecraft
Earth is anotherstep
toward realising this ideafor the mass-
market. It uses the HoloLens
algorithmsto pinpoint the location of
players in the game, and the hope isthatwork on Minecraft Earth will help
development of HoloLens.Whether or
not Minecraft Earth willever appear on
HoloLens is unknown, however.Build an AR windmill and inviteother
Minecraft Earth players to give it a whirl
Collect tappablesto get mobs in Minecraft
Earth, such as this pigfor the garden