Nifty Minecraft update adds Windows 10 and Pocket Edition cross-play
For up to five friends.
Mojang has released an update to Minecraft that lets Windows 10 and Pocket Edition players play together.
Patch 0.12.1 lets Windows 10 Edition Beta players play with those who play Minecraft on a phone or tablet.
"One of our long-term goals for Minecraft is to bring our community closer, and give as many players as possible a chance to play together," Mojang said. "This is a small step towards that goal."
Getting cross-platform play going is pretty simple - if you're on the same network. Enable "Local Server Multiplayer" on the options screen, and available games will show up in the Play menu. Up to five friends can play cross-platform multiplayer on a local network between Pocket Edition and Windows 10 Edition Beta. The Windows 10 Edition Beta also lets up to five friends player together over Xbox Live.
Things get trickier if you're not on the same network, however. You can play with friends online, but you'll have to access your router and get stuck in with the murky world of port forwarding.
In short: click Play, then New, then the plus-sign-arrow in the corner, and add the name and IP address of the server you want to join.
"Online play is something of a work in progress," Mojang said.
Meanwhile, patch 0.12.1 makes significant changes to Pocket Edition. There's improved touch controls, controller support and the controller mapping screen.
The enhanced weather effects that are in the Windows 10 Edition Beta, including snow accumulation and directional rain, are also added, as well as the ability to sneak and sprint.