MineCon 2012: Minecraft 1.5 detailed, Raspberry Pi edition, AR app
Minecraft fans who couldn't make it to Euro Disney this weekend still have plenty to be happy about, with a slew of new announcements out of the second annual fan conference for Mojang's sandbox adventure.
Perhaps the meatiest news is the detailing of Minecraft 1.5, which has been dubbed the Redstone Update and dated for January 2013.
As the name suggests, the update includes some exciting new uses for redstone ore. Gamespot reports redstone will now have a variable signal strength, which combined with a new capacitor block made from a nether ore allows for some advanced mechanical builds like weighted pressure plates and pressure sensitive detectors.
As well as this trap and machine making delight, the update brings better minecarts, a daylight detector, and a bunch of bug fixes.
Outside the update, Mojang gave a few more details regarding its long-awaited modding API, which will hopefully end issues with updates breaking mods. The open-source API will allow for the creation of plug-ins, which will be hosted for free by Mojang. It will support HD texture packs and prompts for new updates.
Elsewhere at MineCon, Mojang announced a new version of Minecraft Pocket edition for the tiny Raspberry Pi computer. This version isn't just a port; it has "a revised feature set and support for multiple programming languages". Free to download soon, the new version is expected to help budding coders learn their way around programming.
And in fluffier news, there's a new iOS app out now for $1.99 called Minecraft Reality. The app allows you to view your surroundings through the iDevice's camera as if they were made of Minecraft blocks. You can then plant your creations at specific GPS locations for other users to find, which is neat. See it in action below.
