Stone Marshall's Blog, page 159
June 5, 2017
The Discovery Update is here!
Pocket and Win 10 gets Marketplace, mansions and more!
The long-awaited 1.1 update for Pocket and Windows 10 is out today. We’re calling it the Discovery Update – and not just because we like the way it sounds! There are new features and secrets to explore, not least the spooky Woodland Mansions. What treasures lie within – and what peril? That’s for you to find out (or shamelessly look up on the wiki)!
There’s loads more. Llamas. Shulker Boxes. Dyable Beds. New blocks, like glazed terracotta and concrete. New enchantments, like Frostwalking and Mending. Ingot Smelting is a thing. Add-Ons are now additionally exciting, and will let you remix movement properties. You can now get the Skyrim Mash-Up Pack, too! Find the full changelog below.
Of course the big headline is… Marketplace! It’s a place where Pocket and Windows 10 players can browse, buy, download and play cool community creations from within the game itself. You can get a rundown of what kind of stuff you’ll find on there at launch in this quick guide to Marketplace! There’s also a nice video to tell you all about how it works. Lovely.
Anyway, here’s the full 1.1 changelog!
New Features:
Minecraft Marketplace
Skyrim Mash-up Pack
Llamas
Shulker Boxes
Woodland Mansions
Cartographer Villager & Exploration Maps
Illagers (Evokers & Vindicators)
Vex
Concrete & concrete powder
Glazed terracotta blocks
Dyeable beds (and you can jump on them, too!)
Iron and Gold tools can now be smelted into Iron Nuggets and Gold Nuggets
Adventure Mode
New game rules: DoFireTick, DoMobSpawning, DoTileDrops, MobGriefing, DoEntityDrops, KeepInventory, DoMobLoot, DoDaylightCycle
New achievements
Mending & Frostwalking enchantments
Totem of Undying
Off-hand slot (only works for arrows & Totem of Undying)
Tweaks:
Changes in world generation. Seeds which contain pre-generated structures such as ocean monuments & igloos may generate those structures in different places now
The sun now rises in the East and sets in the West
CanPlaceOn & CanDestroy are now supported in the ‘/replaceitem’ command
Dampened the vertical look speed when using a controller
Improved navigation of the settings screen when using a controller
The X button can now be used to clear the hotbar on the Creative inventory screen when using a controller
Improved controller input when selecting items on the Creative inventory screen
Maps are now numbered so you can tell which map is which!
Empty Maps with Compasses have been renamed to Locator Maps to distinguish between Empty Maps without Compasses
New sleeping animation slowly lowers you into serene slumber
Updated color palette for wool blocks and carpet
Stained clay blocks have been renamed to terracotta
Improved lead rope physics
Cave Spiders now attack with poison time based on difficulty
Worlds will now show a screenshot preview in the main menu
1 melon block can now be crafted into 9 melon slices
1 cobweb can now be crafted into 9 strings
Eating animation can now be seen in third-person camera
/locate command will now find more structures
The screen safe area can now be adjusted in Video settings
Add-Ons: movement properties are now data-driven
Bug fixes:
Woah, woah, woah! There are far too many fixes to list here! My favourites:
Good news for Elytra fliers – You can now shoot yourself with a bow and arrow (and can splash yourself with potions again, too!)
Horses now make sounds when they jump! Neeeeigh!
To see a more complete list of bugs, you can find the full changelog here: http://aka.ms/mcchangelogs
‘Wonder Woman’ Shatters Records With $200+ Million Worldwide Opening
Patty Jenkins is having the biggest opening weekend for a female director in cinema history. Her superhero blockbuster Wonder Woman shattered the previous record for a female director by lassoing an estimated $100 million domestic and about the same cume in foreign markets. By Friday, the film had already taken an estimated $86 million in worldwide box office, and predictions for the final weekend cume continue to rise as ticket sales continue to exceed expectations.
Source: Warner Bros
Gal Gadot charges the battlefield in Warner’s “Wonder Woman”
Added to the great box office news for Wonder Woman — indeed, no doubt driving that financial performance — is a 94% Certified Fresh critical reception and an A-grade from audiences via Cinemascore. The Rotten Tomatoes score means Wonder Woman is now tied with The Dark Knight and Iron Man as the best-reviewed superhero films in history, and the A Cinemascore is likewise on par with the highest-graded superhero films except The Avengers, which is the only superhero release to score a rare A+ from audiences.
Wonder Woman is a huge success for Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment. The terrific critical reception, love from audiences, and overperformance on opening weekend are strong signs the DCU has turned a corner in terms of perception and embrace by the general public. The previous DCU films Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Suicide Squad had mixed to negative critical reviews, mixed audience scores, and performed good at the box office but not great, with the first two movies coming in below studio hopes and expectations. Much retooling and rethinking was done over the previous several months, and Wonder Woman is the first DCU film representing much of that change in approach and perspective.
Source: Warner Bros
The Amazons of Warner’s “Wonder Woman”
It’s possible that Saturday and Sunday numbers will continue the upward trend in estimates for Wonder Woman, as families flock to the box office and the positive word of mouth from audiences spreads, turning this into a must-see movie event. Likewise, social media is filling up with people proclaiming their intention to go right back and watch the movie again, so repeat business — always a tough element to factor for when we make our predictions this early — could further drive up the final weekend numbers.
Some outlets are still predicting a final domestic bow in the $95-97 million range, just shy of $100 million, and if that winds up being the case it’s still a huge victory for Wonder Woman and defies all of the earlier concerns and lower estimates. Those numbers still point to a likely final domestic tally north of $250 million, and more likely closer to $300 million, which implies a global total in the $600-700 million range.
Source: Warner Bros
The team pose for a famous photo in Warner’s “Wonder Woman”
There’s no doubt the final worldwide box office opening will be right around $200 million by close of business Sunday, and could go north of that number. For now, whatever the precise final numbers turn out to be, you can be sure there’s a lot of celebrating going on over at Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment right now, and Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot, and everyone involved in the picture have every reason to be dancing in the streets this weekend.
Have you seen Wonder Woman, dear readers? If so, let everyone know what you thought by sounding off in the comments below!
‘Wonder Woman’ Shatters Records With $200+ Million Worldwide Opening
June 4, 2017
Minecraft Nintendo Switch Edition REVIEW: The best game of Minecraft on the go
Minecraft lets players shape worlds and build elaborate structures one block at a time. It’s a game about adventure, discovery and survival, as players try to stay alive long enough to uncover its many secrets.
A true phenomenon that has claimed the social lives of over 100 million players, it’s out on pretty much every platform under the sun, from PS4, Xbox One and PC, to Apple TV, PlayStation Vita and even Raspberry Pi.
Minecraft Nintendo Switch Edition sits somewhere between the home console versions and the iOS, Android and Vita editions. It offers all the convenience of the tablet versions, but with the superior controls that you get on consoles.
It’s not as pretty as the PS4 and Xbox One ports, the world aren’t quite as big, and it’s not as deep as the PC original, but it does provide more flexibility.
And that’s why, even as somebody who has pumped hundreds of hours into Minecraft on PC and PS4, Minecraft Nintendo Switch Edition still holds a certain appeal.
Minecraft Nintendo Switch Edition REVIEW: The best game of Minecraft on the go
Minecraft switch edition review: An almost perfect handheld version
On paper, Minecraft’s basically an unlimited Lego simulator. Yet, thanks to expansive worlds, Survival mode, and countless mods, the virtual sandbox has become one of the best-selling games of all time, winning over the hearts of adults and children alike. Of course, it was only going to be a matter of time before Minecraft finally reached Nintendo’s latest console, the Switch.
While lacking the modifications available on PC — many via the game’s feverish fanbase — Switch Edition has quickly proven itself the ultimate handheld version of Minecraft. Building houses, defeated Nether monsters, and conceiving contraptions has never been so easily playable. Forget the iPhone version with difficult controls and lacking features, Nintendo’s latest has almost everything you could possibly want from Minecraft.
Without boring you with exactly what Minecraft is — if you’re not sure, either you’ve been living under a rock or missed our ‘what is Minecraft’ article — Survival and Creative modes are both playable on the Switch, as are some fun mini-games, Battle and Rumble. Thanks to running on a Nintendo product, the quite brilliant and extensive Mario skins are also available, coming with a built-in adventure mode to explore.
That’s everything you pretty much expect from a Minecraft game. Where Switch Edition lacks is mainly the draw distance which cannot match its PS4 and Xbox One counterparts but manages to beat last generation consoles. If you do own Minecraft on other consoles, you also won’t be able to port maps over. Another disappointment; when docked, the game also doesn’t run on 1080p, currently being locked to 720p.
On Switch, Minecraft remains the same fun and creative game the world has come to love. Nintendo’s latest console offers a brilliant portable versio, the only major drawback being that — unlike some other Switch games — you need another set of Joy-Cons, or a pro-controller, to play multiplayer. Playing two players with one set would have made Switch Edition almost perfect. As it stands, Switch Edition is another must-have for Minecraft’s gigantic fanbase and a fun sandbox for those who have never indulged in Minecraft.
Minecraft switch edition review: An almost perfect handheld version
June 3, 2017
Minecraft Adventure Time Mash-Up Pack is now available for the Console Edition
Minecraft is no stranger to crossovers with other popular franchises and such, with a recent example being the Fallout 4 Mash-Up Pack. Today, Minecraft players will be able to grab the brand new Adventure Time Mash-Up Pack, bringing the acclaimed animated Cartoon Network series to the game.
The pack is said to include a host of character skins from the series, including Finn, Jake, Ice King, Marceline, Princess Bubblegum and more, with the announcement going on to describe what else arrives with the pack as follows:
This isn’t just another skin pack – goodness no – as the entire land of Ooo takes over your Minecraft world! Take Fionna and Cake on a tour of the Candy Kingdom, fight Ice King in the Ice Kingdom and even take a trip with Flame Princess to the Fire Kingdom! And much much more!
In celebration of this crossover, the announcement blog post even includes an interview with the creator of Adventure Time animated series, Pendleton Ward, regarding his gaming experiences.
The Minecraft Adventure Time Mash-Up Pack is now available for the Console Edition, costing $5.99. However, the pack will be delayed on the Wii U and Nintendo Switch by, at most, a day, with the Pocket and Windows 10 Edition slated to receive the pack at later date.
Meanwhile, the Magic: The Gathering skin pack is also now available for purchase on the Minecraft Console Edition with a $2.99 price tag. The skin pack was initially available only for the Pocket and Windows 10 Edition.
Minecraft Adventure Time Mash-Up Pack is now available for the Console Edition
Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Is There a Secret Walking Dead Easter Egg?
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is out in theaters and pleasing fans to the tune of some nice box office returns. Pirates 5 also has a few twists that make the movie extra fun, and set up the franchise for its next chapter(s) – those twists include some surprise returning characters, and some big celebrity cameos, as well.
While fans have spotted the most obvious and hyped celebrity cameo in the film (Beatles icon Sir Paul McCarthy), there may have been another big celebrity who makes quite an unsual appearance in Dead Men Tell No Tales: one of the biggest stars on one the biggest TV shows around: The Walking Dead.
Read on for the SPOILER-FILLED theory on how Pirates of the Caribbean 5 may have dropped a nice Walking Dead Easter egg into its story – and how it forms a major connection between the two.
Early on in Dead Men tell No Tales, Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow finds himself (not surprisingly) in the frying pan again, captured alongside suspected witch Carina Smith (Kaya Scodelario) and slated for execution. Carina gets selected for death by hanging; Jack, on the other hand, gets senteced to die by a new invention: the guillitone.
Jack gets hauled onto the stage and locked into the guillitone, still unaware of what, exactly, the death machine even does. He quickly gets the picture, however, when he looks into the basket in front of him, and notices that it’s filled with severed heads!
The camera gives us the briefest shot of the heads in the basket – and this is where the supposed Walking Dead connection comes in: one of the heads looks suspiciously like Walking Dead star, Andrew Lincoln! After Comicbook.com staff first got hint of the possible Easter egg, additional staff went into Pirates 5 for a second look. The moment is so quick that it’s hard to confirm, but it definitely isn’t outside the realm of possiblity.
For fans of both franchises may deduce, there are other recent events that add more smoke onto this possible fire…
The reason there is major suspicion of Pirates working an Andrew Licoln severed head gag into the mix is because The Walking Dead already did it first!
In The Walking Dead season 6, Rick Grimes and Co. try to fool the malcious Saviors into thinking they’ve killed Gregory, leader of The Hilltop, by delivering his severed head. In order to pull the ruse off, Rick and Co. must pick a head that looks close enough to Gergory out of a lineup. One of the heads in that lineup was sculpted after Johnny Depp! That Easter egg became a big headline, and the famous Depp head eventually became part of Walking Dead star Norman Reedus’ collection of memorabilia from the show.
If Pirates of the Caribbean wanted to have a little fun in responding to The Walking Dead, having a sculpt of Andrew Lincoln’s severed head show up onscreen would be a fun little ‘clap back’ at the show. So how legit is the Easter egg? Comicbook.com has reached out to parties at both The Walking Dead and Disney. The Walking Dead people we’ve spoken to don’t seem to know anything about it; we have yet to hear any official response from Disney.
The Walking Dead will return for its eighth season in October of 2017. The first trailer is expected to arrive at San Diego Comic Con in July. For complete coverage and insider info all off-season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.
Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Is There a Secret Walking Dead Easter Egg?
June 2, 2017
Pirates of the Caribbean Allegedly Spent $2 Million on Snacks for the Cast and Crew
Everything about the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is big: the hats, the sword battles, Johnny Depp’s eyeliner, and of course, the budgets — including one very specific budget. While some might scoff at the price tag for the two Gore Verbinski–directed follow-ups to the original Pirates ($225 million for Dead Man’s Chest and $300 million for At World’s End), those people clearly don’t know how much food it takes to feed pretend swashbucklers. According to Jack Davenport, who played the white-wigged, Jack Sparrow foil, Commodore James Norrington, the snack budget on the 2006 and 2007 sequels was quite astounding. Davenport recounted to The Hollywood Reporter a conversation he had with the craft services chef about the snacks budget:
“He looked me square in the eye and said ‘essentially unlimited.’ I was like ‘what does that mean?’ He was like ‘I don’t know, $2 million.’ I was like ‘For snacks?’ And he was like ‘yeah?’
While Davenport was quick to point out that this might not be as frivolous as it sounds — there were a lot of hungry people working both behind and in front of the cameras on those blockbusters — we can’t help but wonder how much of that money was dedicated to disappearing bottles of rum.
Pirates of the Caribbean Allegedly Spent $2 Million on Snacks for the Cast and Crew
How Much Profit Will ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men’ Tell?
Despite any talk of franchise fatigue at the domestic box office, or a splattering from Rotten Tomatoes, the larger story for Disney’s Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is told in its global tally, which as of this morning has a worldwide start of $326 million, the 20th-best worldwide debut of all time.
According to Deadline film finance sources, the consensus is that Pirates 5 is looking forward to an estimated profit north of $280M after all revenue streams are tabulated. This is based off an industry-projected final global box office haul of $850M. Keep in mind, Japan hasn’t opened yet, and that territory delivered the franchise’s best grosses out of any foreign country — re On Stranger Tides ($91M), At World’s End ($91M) and the first movie Curse Of The Black Pearl ($60M). Disney always knew that domestic wasn’t going to be that strong for Dead Men Tell No Tales, especially after On Stranger Tides six years ago delivered only 23% of its $1.045 billion global tally from domestic.
Our profit estimations for Pirates 5 aren’t attributed to Disney sources.
The added win here for Disney with Pirates 5 is how the $4.05 billion Pirates series spurs its theme park and merchandise businesses, something other major studios can’t count on with their franchises. Recently, the Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association attributed the $118 billion made in 2016 movie/entertainment global retail toy revenue to the year-round sale of Star Wars product for The Force Awakens and Rogue One. We currently hear that Pirates Of The Caribbean merchandise revenue is estimated at $65M (some think that number is too low), with Asian venues like Shanghai Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland key drivers.
Paramount
With these long-in-the-tooth franchises waning sequel by sequel at the domestic B.O. — think Pirates, Transformers, Fast And The Furious — it’s the burgeoning markets and emerging middle classes overseas that enable Hollywood to keep making these tentpoles, even as U.S./Canada audiences arguably lose interest as underscored by their wallets. When building these titles financially, the majors acknowledge that the U.S. represents 4% of the world’s 7.5 billion population.
With $180.7M over four days, the just-ended Memorial Day weekend was the lowest in two decades, down 42% from the 2013 high of $314.2M. Versus last year, close to $25M was missing from this year’s holiday marketplace thanks to the soft Pirates 5 opening ($78.4M over four days) and Baywatch‘s blowout ($27.7M over five days). A month ago, both were projected at $90M-$100M and $45M-$50M, respectively in their openings, but when sour Rotten Tomatoes scores hit, it impacted both pics’ estimates.
In all fairness to Disney, Pirates 5 pulled in $1.6M less than the lower end of its last recorded tracking of $80M last week.
Some have argued not to lump Pirates 5 and Baywatch in the same sentence in the Memorial Day frame; the latter is bound to lose significantly more money. But the bigger point here is the overall franchise fatigue taking place stateside following last weekend’s $36.1M start for Alien: Covenant (Baywatch, had it worked, would have certainly been a new cinematic series). Wonder Woman, though connected to DC, offers something new and fresh to moviegoers in that it’s arguably the first female comic-book superhero property to work onscreen. The Rotten Tomatoes rating for the Gal Gadot movie is currently at 97% off 64 reviews, and if that score can maintain itself, it could potentially push the pic’s domestic opening to $95M — though Warner Bros still sees it between $65M-$75M.
In recent years, Disney is the only major studio in town that can win on all fronts with its Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, live action-group and animation labels: beaming A- or higher CinemaScores, awesome B.O. results, and glorious certified ruby red Rotten Tomatoes ratings. Truly, they are the envy of all. However, stateside critics have loathed Pirates since the second installment, with the most recent one registering the lowest at 31% Rotten, and Disney has yet to turn that boat around. Of the five movies, Pirates 5 reps the fourth-best stateside opening. Some attribute the ease here to marketing, others to Johnny Depp and his controversial image which can turn off moms, but the fact is that at the end of this weekend, Disney is yo-ho-ho-ing all the way to the bank.
Pirates 5 also assisted in propelling the Burbank studio past the $1 billion mark stateside, the first of any major this year, and $3 billion globally.
While box office analysts love to take digs that this summer at $777.9M is down 9% versus last year through its first four weekends, and that Memorial Day was in shambles, overall the theatrical marketplace in the U.S. and Canada this year is healthy, counting $4.4B to date per comScore, 2% ahead of 2016’s banner year which yielded $11.4B.
Scroll down to see this weekend’s Memorial Day actual box office figures.
‘Pirates’ Tells Profit Tale
Stream
Est. costs
Est. revenue
Est. profit
Domestic B.O.
$175M
Foreign B.O.
$650M
Worldwide B.O.
$825M
Domestic Rental
$96M
Foreign Rental
$292M
Net Global Home Entertainment
$130M-$140M
Net Global TV
$75M
Merchandise
$65M+
Est. Total Revenue
$663M+
Production Cost
$230M
Global P&A
$150M
Total Costs*
$380M
Est. Profit
$283M+
*before profits, residuals, participations
Final weekend actuals for Memorial Day weekend, per ComScore
1.). Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (DIS), 4,276 theaters / 3-day cume: $62.9M / Per screen average: $$14,729 / 4-day cume: $78.4M / Per screen: $18,353 / Wk 1
2.). The Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (DIS), 3,871 theaters (-476) / 3-day cume: $20.9M / Per screen: $5,401 / 4-day cume: $27.1M / Per screen: $7,024 / Total cume: $340.5M / Wk 4
3.). Baywatch (PAR), 3,647 theaters / 3-day cume: $18.5M / Per screen: $5,074/ 4-day cume: $23.1M / Per screen: $6,336 / Total cume: $27.7M (Wednesday bow) / Wk 1
4.). Alien: Covenant (FOX), 3,772 theaters (+11) / 3-day cume: $10.6M (-71%) / Per screen: $2,814 / 4-day cume: $13.3M / Per screen: $3,548 / Total cume: $60.2M / Wk 2
5.). Everything, Everything (WB/MGM), 2,801 theaters / 3-day cume: $6M (-49%) / Per screen: $2,148 / 4-day cume: $7.6M / Per screen: $2,737 / Total cume: $23M / Wk 2
6.). Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (FOX), 3,174 theaters (+17) / 3-day cume: $4.47M (-37%) / Per screen: $1,409 / 4-day cume: $6.1M / Per screen: $1,929 / Total cume: $15.3M / Wk 2
7.). Snatched (FOX), 2,658 theaters (-853) / 3-day cume: $3.9M / Per screen: $1,497 / 4-day cume: $5M / Per screen: $1,913 / Total cume: $41.3M / Wk 3
8.). King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (WB/VR), 2,503 theaters (-1,199) / 3-day cume: $3.3M / Per screen: $1,319 / 4-day cume: $4.3M / Per screen: $1,719 / Total: $34.9M / Wk 3
9.) The Boss Baby (Fox) 1,342 (-729), 3-day cume: $1.7M / Per screen: $1,286 / 4-day cume: $2.4M / Total cume: $169.7M / Wk 9
10). Beauty And The Beast (DIS), 1,076 theaters (-716) / 3-day cume: $1.4M / Per screen: $1,360 / 4-day cume: $2M / Per screen: $1,872 / Total cume: $501M / Wk 11
How Much Profit Will ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men’ Tell?
June 1, 2017
Mod Builds An Entire Pokemon Game In Minecraft
Pokémon Cobalt and Amethyst is a new Minecraft mod that takes the intersection of the two gaming worlds to an entirely new level.
If a game allows mods, you can be sure a fair share of them will be Pokémon-inspired. And while there are no shortage of similar projects created using Minecraft, Cobalt and Amethyst is by far and away one of the most ambitious. It’s also one of the more unique for being a map rather than a mod, meaning that anyone who has the vanilla Minecraft version 1.8.8 can simply download it and begin playing.
Cobalt and Amethyst doesn’t just insert creatures and mechanics from the series into Minecraft either, it creates an entirely new Pokémon adventure. According to the creators behind the project, the story lasts over 60 hours and includes 136 Pokémon, mixing creatures from all over the series. While the map is supposed to be reminiscent of the original Game Boy versions, using classic sound effects and borrowing some of the music, the actual playable campaign is completely different.
The game itself isn’t entirely pretty, but the depth of the world building is impressive in its own right. According to its lead producer, Phoenix SC, the map includes everything from battling, capturing, and training Pokémon to challenging individual Gym Leaders.
“The map places itself in a never-before-seen region, featuring a new set of 136 Pokémon and a new story dominated by an antagonist threatening to release a Legendary darkness that demands tribute. It is your task to seek the truth with the help of the region’s Professor and your rival – either capture it before it’s too late, or take Team Tempest down while saving the lives of those closest to you.”
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The team behind the map have even started putting together a walk through for the entire game. Phoenix SC claims to have recently beaten the game in approximately 70 hours with a team of Pokémon all around level 50. Which is nothing when you realize the project took nearly three years to complete.
You can download the Cobalt and Amethyst map here.
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Building Chicago In Minecraft
It’s no fantasy land or sci-fi expanse, but it’s still impressive: a team of Minecraft builders are recreating the centre of Chicago, one block at a time.
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Their work isn’t done, but what’s there is very impressive, as it captures everything, from building details to street signs to trees on the sidewalk.
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It’s called The Loop, and if you want to try it out you can download it here.
