Pocket Edition

Minecraft - Pocket Edition is the mobile version of Minecraft developed by Mojang AB. It was initially launched exclusively for the Xperia PLAY on Google Play (formerly known as Android Market) for $6.99/£4.28/5,49€ on August 16, 2011, along with a free demo version. It was later released for other Android devices on the 7th of October 2011. Minecraft Pocket Edition for iOS devices was released on Thursday, the 17th of November 2011 on the iOS App Store, one day before the launch of Minecraft 1.0 at MineCon 2011 and currently costs $6.99 US and €5.49 EU. On September 13, 2012, the Pocket Edition was made available for purchase on the Amazon Appstore. There is also a demo avalible, but it does not save when you power down your device.

Gameplay


The objective of the game remains the same as its original PC and Xbox Edition counterparts, where players can build virtual realities in a sandbox-like environment. However, Pocket Edition lacks some of the Survival elements present in other versions of the game, such as redstone and minecart rail systems. The multiplayer mode is cross-platform compatible between Android and iOS, but not Demo/Lite with full version.

Pocket Edition is most commonly known as the least developed version of Minecraft (Unless Pi Edition is counted). Even in it's 7th version, it is well behind in features compared to PC Edition and Xbox 360 Edition

The HUD and other elements is adapted to mobile standards of gameplay. Interactions are made via touchscreen and, on Android operating systems, soft keys (both the iOS and Android versions of Pocket Edition have the same gameplay, though ). To comply with the disadvantages of touchscreen gameplay, several features were revised. For instance, the crafting system uses the MATTIS system and disposal of items are made by long-tapping their icon on the hotbar. The graphics, which is akin to that of Minecraft Alpha, was downgraded. Other examples include:


 * Worlds are finite (256 by 256 blocks) as in Classic version, but there isn't infinite water at world corners.
 * The terrain generation is similar to that of Alpha's. It lacks many biomes and generated structures.
 * In-game items differ from the items that were present in Alpha, the notable differences being the addition of Quartz and Nether blocks, as well as beds.
 * As the world is not infinite (not unlimited world area), an interesting new game mechanic called "animal spawn control" can be used. This includes removing or covering all dirt blocks on the surface of the world (and therefore the grass blocks) except in a small area to control where animals spawn. It will also increase their spawn rate.
 * Clouds are in Pocket Edition as of 0.6.0. They are 2D like the clouds on PC in "Fast" graphics setting.
 * As of 0.6.0 the sky in Pocket Edition only has clouds and is a lush blue color. The sun, moon, and stars will be added in later updates.
 * It lacks many of the settings the Classic version has.
 * Pocket Edition has physics for sand, gravel, and primed TNT. Water and lava are also affected by gravity whether placed with buckets or existing from spawn.
 * Online (LAN) mode allows 10 players to be on a single server. Internet support is featured as Minecraft Realms (as of version 0.7.2).
 * Crafting uses the MATTIS system.
 * The Nether is not present, but it is replaced by the Nether Reactor. The Reactor is planned to eventually be replaced.
 * Roses are not present, but are replaced by Cyan Flowers, alias Blue Roses. However, in the hot bar, it is named "Rose". Also, red dye is obtained by burning red mushrooms in a furnace.

Release
A video of an early prototype was released on Twitter, showing the game on the Xperia PLAY. The alpha version was recently released, and became no longer exclusive to the Xperia PLAY on the 7th of October 2011. The non-exclusive version was going to be released on September 29th for Android but there were several severe bugs that needed to be fixed; the release was delayed until the 7th of October.

A version for iOS devices was confirmed to be released before 2012 in an interview with Mojang and was subsequently released on the 17th of November 2011.

Alpha
After the initial releases for iOS and Android, updates were released in parallel, with the same features being added for both platforms. During the Alpha stage, various aspects of gameplay were introduced into Pocket Edition including: crafting, smelting, more blocks, items, mobs and more game modes to bring it closer to the PC version. As of the 0.6.0 update, players are given the option of diamond, iron, gold, and leather armor. There are also new features never seen before in the computer version such as the Stonecutter (a crafting table specifically for stone blocks). They also have fancy clouds which makes the "Fancy Graphics" more important to the players.

MCPE Beta has been discussed among the development team, and based off of information in Johan Bernhardsson's twitch.tv livestream of 0.6.2, he plans to add in-game music, Endermen, caves, and possibly infinite worlds. He has mentioned but does not know if he can implement enchanting, redstone, the End, lava springs, and sprinting.

Android & iOS
The Android and iOS versions feature a D-pad at the bottom-left corner of the screen, which controls movement. The jump button is located in the center of the d-pad. As of 0.6.0 the d-pad is more blocky, and when moving forward, two strafing buttons will appear. Note that when moving towards an adjacent block that is one level higher than the Player, the player will automatically jump up the block. One can place blocks by tapping the screen in a desired location. Destroying blocks is similar to the PC version's way, but rather than clicking the mouse, the player taps and holds. The search button used to be able to change the camera to and from third person view, but now this has to be done via the pause screen, and the menu and back buttons will open the pause screen. To open the inventory screen, tap the triple dotted button on the right of the hot bar. You can touch and hold in item in the hot bar to throw it, and if the hot bar contains a stack of items, it will throw the entire stack. You cannot divide it unless interfacing with a container (chest, furnace).

Xperia PLAY
* Controlled with slide out PlayStation keyboard:

- Open inventory

- Scroll right in hotbar

- Jump (press twice to toggle flying mode in Creative*)

- Scroll left in hotbar

D-Pad: Move

Left Touchpad: Sneak

Right Touchpad: Look/Turn

Select: Bring up crafting menu (Survival only)

L1: Break Blocks

R1: Place Blocks

Menu: Pause


 * * To fly: Press jump twice in a row. To fly higher, hold the jump button and press up on the directional pad. To fly downward, hold jump and press down. (Creative Only)

Tablet features
All devices have an option to enable Split Touch Controls, which may be more suitable for bigger screens. There is a cross hair and the right half of the screen lets the player rotate the camera.

Other than the screen size difference allowing 6 slots in the hotbar (which as of 0.7.0 if the D-pad on other devices is small, you get an extra slot), the tablet version of the game is the same as other versions, hence the ability to play multiplayer cross-platform with other devices.

System requirements
Some devices below these specifications have been known to work fine either with or without custom ROM images, kernels, and overclocking of the CPU. However, the CPU "MSM7227" is not supported due to its lack of the floating-point unit.

Helpful Hints & Tips

 * Make sure your battery is charged, and/or plugged in (3D gaming drains the battery quickly).
 * Get used to the controls before playing on servers (it is easy to mine the block under a torch by mistake).
 * Tap and hold an item in the hotbar to drop it.
 * Know the difference between Hostile and non-hostile mobs. If you are entirely new to Minecraft, a simple trick can be used to differentiate: Hostiles will approach and follow you, passives will ignore you.
 * Know how to apply armor and manage your health. Armor is next to the Crafting tab in the inventory screen.
 * Peer-to-peer networking requires UDP port 19132
 * If you're having trouble with block placement/mining accuracy - turn on split touch controls. This brings up the crosshair from the PC and Xbox versions to allow more precise placement.
 * If you are feeling overwhelmed by hostile mobs, turn on Peaceful mode in the options menu.
 * If you are looking for diamonds, they spawn deep underground, near bedrock, roughly on the 10-16th layers.

Trivia



 * Players can have skins on the iOS version and Android and the lite version by replacing char.png in the app file. However, the chosen skin will appear as another player's skin if playing over local Wi-Fi.
 * In the demo video, before the game was released, smooth lighting was available. It was taken out due to bugs being produced on a wide range of devices. The code is still present in the game and can be made available by modifying the game. As of 0.7.0, it is on by default and can be toggled in Options under the "Experimental" section, meaning that it is still under testing.
 * Worlds played before 0.3.0 update had the other wool and sugar cane (block).
 * The terrain.png file in the APK file found on Android devices is nearly identical to that in the PC version, containing textures for items unimplemented in the Pocket Edition (e.g., cauldron, End Portal).
 * It is possible to play multiplayer over Bluetooth even though it is not coded into the game. Tutorial here. (not available since iOS 6)
 * The Indev wall is also cut by the height limit allowing players to go over it.
 * By placing ladders on the TOP of blocks at the edge of a map (stacking ladders on the top of ladders also works) it is possible to place ladders on the Indev wall as if it were a solid block.
 * Blocks that "snap to" other blocks such as torches, glass panes, and fences will "snap to" the indev wall as if it were an existing block. Torches only do this if an attempt is made to place them on a block they can't be placed on such as ladders.
 * The rose is textured to a cyan color. Even though its considered a rose, it cannot be crafted into dye; rose red dye is obtained by smelting red mushrooms instead.
 * If you have any kind of modifier or command to give yourself any item in the Minecraft entity folder (e.g. iron door) the background of the non-existing entity will appear red meaning it does not exist or was never meant to.
 * The average placing/destroying block range is 4-6 on the PC version but for the iOS/Android is 6-9.
 * Baby animals are in Pocket Edition, but spawn naturally (or with spawn eggs in Creative); animals cannot be actually bred yet.
 * Skeletons are significantly less accurate in Pocket Edition than PC or Xbox, making them easier to fight.
 * Zombie Pigmen are missing the hat layer of their texture on their heads. This may be intentional.
 * A Spider's eyes do not glow in the dark. This makes them hard to see in dark places due to their dark brown & black texture.
 * Zombie Pigmen are NOT neutral in Pocket Edition. They will attack you on sight, and inflict heavy damage in groups. Considering they only spawn from the Nether Reactor, this means they can be very difficult to fight: You must collect the items as well as deal with the Zombie Pigmen, while in a relatively small space.
 * In Creative mode, there are spawn eggs for passive mobs, but not hostile mobs. This may be because hostile mobs are still aggressive in creative mode, and this is probably going to be changed.
 * Before 0.7.0, players on fire would see 2 transparent orange panels in front of their face that resembled the water texture from iPhone versions, or the old water in Minecraft.
 * On Kindle Fire, updates won't appear until a long time after the update is released, however, due to the Kindle Fire being based off a modified Android OS, if you hold the current MCPE in your menu, and press "Remove from Device", then you can afterwards download any android MCPE update .apk file, tap on it in a file manager that you can download from the appstore, and install it normally, allowing you to play an update before any other Kindle Fire user, provided you find a .apk of an MCPE update download link on the internet or by transferring it from an Android device to a Kindle Fire, using a computer.