Just when terrestrial Minecraft was getting a bit stale, a new mod lets players rocket out of the atmosphere and explore the depths of space.
The Final Frontier
The mod, Galacticraft, adds a ton of new crafting materials and objects, including the requisite spacecraft you’ll need to hurtle through space. You’ll also be able to construct a moon buggy for easier traversal on the surface of the moon and the other planets and moons in your solar system, titanium tools and armor for easier mining and better defense, and a space suit and oxygen tanks. Or, if you prefer to not always have your oxygen mask and tanks equipped, there’s an option to manufacture an oxygen distribution system that will create a bubble of breathable air, or even your own moonbase complete with airlocks to seal out the deadly external atmosphere.
One of the coolest new crafting objects, however, is as useful on the standard Minecraft overworld as in the dark void of space. Forge and equip a pair of sensor glasses, and you’ll get a cool new first person HUD that shows you the location of nearby ore. The glasses even feature an advanced mode that you can toggle on to display the relative height of precious ores in your vicinity.
Once you’ve constructed your Cape Canaveral-inspired launchpad and rocket, you’ll be lifted through the air by massive, fiery engines and watch as the world shrinks away below you. The sensation of lifting off and escaping your earth’s atmosphere is one of the most awesome experiences we’ve had in Minecraft since it, ahem, launched.
Strange New Worlds
Once you’ve left your overworld, you’re taken to a menu that displays all the moons and planets you can access with your spacecraft. Select one and you’ll parachute down to the surface, accompanied by a chest that contains your launchpad, spacecraft, and everything else you’ll need to lift off again when you’re ready.
On the surface of distant planets you’ll find new ores, like the moon’s cheese ore that lets you craft edible cheese, and be treated to the delight of lower gravity and stark landscapes. The villages of the overworld have been replaced with aesthetically appropriate spacebases and native aliens who can apparently breathe the atmosphere without the assistance of oxygen masks.
More features are promised for future releases, like customizable spaceships and unique dungeons on the surfaces of these strange worlds, but Galacticraft is already one of the coolest Minecraft mods we’ve encountered, and we highly recommend you check it out for yourself.
