The Realms Plus server hosting subscription service that Mojang offers for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition just added three more perks for members to enjoy. The service already offers 11-player servers to enjoy with friends, cross-platform play, and a monthly selection of Marketplace content. Now, a hub for keeping track of everyone"s adventures, a render distance upgrade, and more bonus items are here too.
Dubbed Realm Stories, the social hub"s main feed offers a place for all players to share screenshots from the server, discuss activities, and even show off major events like diamond mining, finding mineshafts, and defeating the Ender Dragon for everyone to see. Next, the Timeline tab offers a quick look at when each player is usually online in a given day, making it easier to host larger play sessions with more members.
Third and final tab of Realm Stories, Members, is the fastest way to find who is online currently, their membership status on the Minecraft server, and even sort by most recent online players. iOS and Android players will have to wait a little while longer to get this Realm Stories feature though, as it"s still in development for the mobile platforms.
Mojang is also enabling Realms Plus server holders to have better render distances in their worlds. "All servers now have eight extra chunks render distance, which means you can spot danger, opportunity, or an escape route from further away – 20 chunks to be exact," says the announcement today. Keep in mind that despite the server providing the data, the visible distance can still vary due to the platform each player is using.
The final feature being added to Realms Plus is access to new Character Creator items. Much like Marketplace items, these will drop each month for membership holders, and once claimed, they can be used forever. "Whether you want to match that ice cream fort of yours, intimidate the inhabitants of a new survival spawn, or blend in with your surroundings – your wardrobe collection is about to grow," Mojang adds.
Minecraft Realms Plus for Bedrock Edition costs $7.99 per month for its server hosting services plus the brand-new additions announced today. Mojang also offers a $3.99 per month standard Realms subscription that offers servers with three player slots, but lacks other perks.