0x10c: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 01:52, 23 April 2012
| 0x10c | |
|---|---|
| File:0x10c-logo.png | |
| Developer(s) | Mojang |
| Release | TBA |
| Genre(s) | Sandbox |
0x10c (stylized as 0x10c) is a sandbox-type game currently under development by Markus "Notch" Persson of Mojang.[1] It was announced via Twitter by Notch on April 3, 2012.[2]
Although it is not immediately obvious how to pronounce the game's name and a large variety of suggestions have been proposed, the creator of the game has made it clear in his Twitter feed how he says it: "i say 'ten to the see', but people can pronounce it however they want".[3] With a little reflection, this pronunciation makes perfect sense: the game takes place 16 to the 12th power years in the future, the prefix "0x" is used by computer programmers to indicate a hexadecimal (base-16) number. "10" and "C" in hexadecimal system equal to 16 and 12 in decimal system.
0x10c is currently in the pre-alpha stage and not much has been seen of it other than one live stream, and a list of features on the official website. The features list include a fully working virtual computer, random encounters, an advanced economy system, and also single and multiplayer modes in a consistent universe, or "Multiverse".[1]
Backstory and Setting
The game takes place in a parallel universe where the Space Race never ended. In 1988, a deep sleep cell was released which was compatible with the popular 16-bit computers of the time. However, it used the "big endian" convention for storing numbers while the DCPU-16 computer in space ships called for the incompatible "little endian" convention. In computer programming terms, this means that the hexadecimal number 0x0000 0000 0000 0001 (or simply 1 in familiar decimal notation) would be misinterpreted as 0x0001 0000 0000 0000 (or 16 to the 12th power). This disastrous bug meant that space travelers who requested a one-year hibernation would instead sleep for 281,474,976,710,656 years. For this reason, the game begins in the year 281,474,976,712,644 AD when the first "lost people" are finally waking up to a dying old universe "with all remote galaxies forever lost to red shift, star formation long since ended, and massive black holes dominating the galaxy".[1]
Gameplay Features
The list of features on the official website include:[1]
- Engineering
- Fully working computer system (Notch's virtual DCPU-16)
- Space battles against the AI or other players
- Mining, trading, and looting
- Consistent single and multiplayer universes
- Both land and space locations
DCPU-16
In the game, each space ship will be controlled by a virtual 16-bit computer called a DCPU-16. This will be "a fully functioning emulated 16 bit CPU",[1] for which the formal specifications have been released: it has 0x10000 words of RAM, eight registers, a program counter, stack pointer, and overflow.[4] This means that players will actually be able to modify the programming of their ship's computer.
Pricing
0x10c is expected to be the first Mojang game with a monthly fee for online play in multiplayer mode (but no recurring fee for single player mode). Developer Notch says that this is because of the cost to "emulate all computers and physics even when players aren't logged in."[1] It was revealed via twitter that the pricing will be similar to Minecraft, with alpha costing less than beta, and beta costing less than the full release.[5][6][7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f offical website 0x10c
- ^ Knapp, Alex (2012-03-04). "Forbes article on 0x10c". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
- ^ Persson, Markus (April 18, 2012). "i say "ten to the see", but people can pronounce it however they want". Twitter. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
- ^ "DCPU-16 specifications". Retrieved 2012-04-18.
- ^ "Gameranxs article on price model". Gameranx.com. 2012-04-12. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
- ^ Liebl, Matt. "Gamezone article". Gamezone article. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
- ^ "0x10c command (Unofficial site)". 0x10command.com. 2012-04-11. Retrieved 2012-04-18.