14 DAY TRIAL // Mojang has released Minecraft 1.7.5 for all desktop users, offering mini game support for Minecraft Realms, server tweaks, bug fixes, and preparations to bring Realms to more territories.
The Minecraft team announces the update on its blog, saying, “This is a relatively small update from 1.7.4,” which brings Minecraft Realms mini game support (demoed in the YouTube clip below), as well as some performance improvements and bug fixes made on the server-side.
Mojang's Minecraft server service, Minecraft Realms, is currently available in Sweden and with Minecon vouchers. The clip demonstrates how players can switch their Realm to a mini game without having to reset their world.
The development team is making preparations to bring Minecraft Realms to more territories.
“Specifically, we aim to open Minecraft Realms to all Nordic countries (Norway, Finland, Iceland and Denmark) starting some time next week,” writes the Minecraft Realms team.
It adds that Minecraft 1.7.6 is in development, and even a Minecraft 1.8 snapshot is already being planned for release sometime in the future.
“We are still working on snapshots for 1.8, but before 1.8 is out we already know there will be a 1.7.6 version too. Minecraft 1.7.6 will add support for the new skin system (which currently is in the 1.8 snapshots) and name changing (only the support for changing names, actually being able to change names may need to wait a little more),” the team reveals.
You can expect Minecraft 1.7.6 to be available for download next month, after the Game Developers Conference (GDC).
Mac, Windows, and Linux customers can demo Minecraft for free by downloading the JAR file at the links supplied at the end of this article.
According to Mojang, when buying the game, you are always free to download the standalone launcher for Minecraft with the promise that it will update the game files automatically to the latest version.
“You'll be able to play the game without an Internet connection if you've been online at least once,” adds Mojang.
To play Minecraft on any computer, you’ll need at least 1 GB of memory and Java 1.6 or later.
Windows users looking to just set up a server quickly can simply download minecraft_server.1.7.5.exe and run it. For other OSes, it’s a bit more complicated, but Mojang has everyone covered with handy reference articles and guides on minecraft.net.
Download Minecraft 1.7.5 for Mac OS X