New games and a whole new kind of experience!
Hello adventurers! Last time we checked in, folks were busy playing loads of winter holiday-themed Minecraft maps, some of which we packed into Minecraft Realms for PC.
We hope you’ve gotten a chance to warm up, but if the weather is anything like here in Sweden, it’s still quite frosty - meaning it’s a perfect time to stay in and play Minecraft!
Read on to learn about today’s additions to Realms, including the all new Experiences category!
In the summer of 2014, at a game convention, Jimmy "BigGiantCircles" Hinson and I talked about what it would be like to put someone else's music into Minecraft via the still-new resource pack feature. In 2015, after seeing CDFDMAN's light show during a charity livestream, I asked if he'd be interested in teaming up to build a light show using Jimmy's music. It quickly became apparent that my building skill was eclipsed by his, and he went on to lead the build and make it even cooler than we'd first imagined.
Today, the Big Giant Lightshow kicks off Realms' new Experiences category. You might be familiar with the existing world templates, adventures, and minigames, but this lets mapmakers experiment with some concepts that might not have previously been a fit for Realms. Art builds, roller coaster rides, and fireworks shows are all now possibilities for things that you might see as an experience on Realms.
The Big Giant Lightshow is around 20 minutes long, featuring several BigGiantCircles tracks and the accompanying synched-up show. A custom resource pack changes up the Minecraft experience to include things like TV panels, sound boards, and chests turned into road cases. CDFDMAN tells us that if you’ve got a fancy modded version of Minecraft, this experience really pops in virtual reality!
Everyone loves a good, old-fashioned class-based brawler. And by old-fashioned, we mean one that harkens way back to the time of the Greek gods! Play as one of many gods, each with their own special powers. Blast people into the air, launch a ranged fireball attack, but whatever you do, make sure that you keep your eyes on the prize: grabbing the three relics and returning them to your home biome. Battle of Gods also features a singleplayer mode, based on the multiplayer, so that you can get to know the terrain and practice with the map’s innovative ability system.
Ahoy board game enthusiasts, this one is for you! Highliner is a two-player game where you enclose your opponent's tiles with your own, turning them to your color. A bit of strategy lets you bridge spaces, make defensive moves, or you can lock down tiles so that they can't flip back to the other color later. The game features some neat mechanics that you need to see in action, such as placed tiles falling from the sky, landing neatly on the board. Be sure to try Highliner several times, as lessons learned from the first round can quickly be applied to the next.
Something about this adventure looks a bit familiar... Why, it's Redstonia from Minecraft: Story Mode! You might imagine that this is just a fancy build inspired by the game, but load it up, and you'll find that Onnowhere has crafted a stunning, fully-functioning re-creation of the start of Story Mode's second episode! The menus, character selection, voice acting, cutscenes, and even the way you interact with the game are all present. Whether you’re new to Story Mode or you’ve been playing it all along, it’s fun to see it all working inside of Minecraft!
To learn about loading this and other content into Realms for PC, visit our help site. If you haven't yet tried Realms for yourself, you'll have a blue diamond on the Minecraft Realms button, located on the main screen of Minecraft for PC. Click it, then follow the instructions to try Realms free for 30 days.
We hope you enjoy this week’s maps! If you make a video of your battles, or make a sweet cut of the concert footage, let us know. Until next time!
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