It's been a few months since we have seen a Minecraft update. In fact, it's the longest time between Minecraft updates to date for the Minecraft project, but it seems for good reason. There are a ton of new changes coming for this latest update. There has been so many changes in the game engine that the Mojang team has decided to move to a 1.3 release branch. There have already been some updates to the 1.3 branch, so Minecraft 1.3 is already a thing of the past. Minecraft 1.3.1 will officially be released tomorrow, August 1, 2012, but you can grab the 1.3.1 pre-release today after the jump!
Grab the Server .jar (or .exe)
Here is the full list of upcoming changes posted as a changelog by Jeb to Reddit.
General
- Updated the launcher
- Includes demo mode
- No visual changes
- Improved overall stability and performance
- Reduced CPU, RAM & bandwidth usage
- Accelerated chunk loading
- Decreased lag spike frequency
- Made the Nether less laggy
- Decreased unnecessary world updates
- Made the chat work smoothly even when the server is laggy
- Decreased packets sent between client and server
- Made Singleplayer internally use a Multiplayer server
- Decreased world saving intervals
- Added optional single-player commands called "Cheats" on non-hardcore worlds
- Type / Then hit tab to autocomplete & get help on various commands
- Most commands from MP are available
- Added option to let LAN friends join SP games
- You can choose which gamemode players join in and whether they are allowed to use cheats
- Added demo mode for non-premium users
- Lasts 5 game days per world
- Singleplayer only
- Added Chat Settings
- Change which parts of chat are shown and how opaque it is
- Toggle chat colors, links being clickable and warning prompts for links
- Option to rebind the command key, which opens the chat with / in the textfield
- Added Snooper Settings
- Screenshot
- Allows users to toggle anonymous data being sent to Mojang
- Shows which data will be sent
- Added video options
- Have to be toggled manually in options.txt for now
- VSync
- Fullscreen mode
- Mobs can now spawn on top slabs and upside down stairs
- Improved F3 mode:
- Truncated coordinates to 5 fractional digits
- The y-coordinate now shows both the feet level and the eye level
- Removed frame rendering time history graph (bottom-left)
- Added 3 values: ws : Walking speed (constant) fs : Flying speed (constant) g : Boolean value, true when you touch the ground
- Updated language files
- Added tooltips for all types of Monster Egg blocks and the End Portal Frame
- Added more descriptive tooltips for different types of tree-related blocks, sandstone and stone bricks
- Localized server commands
- Added missing commands-related strings
- Added missing double chest GUI caption
- Fixed many bugs
- Fixed texture packs in folders not showing their icon and description
- Fixed Man-in-the-middle attack allowing hackers to log in as you when you visit their server
- Fixed the Open texturepack folder button not working on OS X
Gameplay
- Added Adventure mode
- Only playable using commands
- Building, setting things on fire and using buckets is disabled
- Players can only interact with mobs and the environment
- Added trading
- Screenshots
- Using emerald as currency, villagers will, depending on profession, offer different trades to players
- There are three kinds of trades: Selling, buying and enchanting
- As displayed in the top-most part of the trading GUI, villagers take one or more items or item stacks and give back something
- After trading, villagers will sometimes emit purple particles for a few seconds to indicate that their trades changed
- Otherwise unobtainable bottles o' enchanting and chainmail armor can be obtained by trading
- Improved Creative mode inventory
- Screenshots
- There are categorized tabs for various groups of items and blocks
- Added a search tab which will automatically be switched to when the chat key is hit
- Added survival inventory tab, which shows the full inventory, a 'Destroy item' slot and armor slots including a preview of your character
- Items can now be deleted from the inventory by shift-clicking them
- Added layered snow block, Monster Egg Blocks (Silverfish spawning blocks), Ender Portal frame and all potions
- Now shows potion effects' timers like in Survival
- Improved experience collection
- Depending on ore type, experience now drops from ores that drop items
- Taking smelted items out of furnaces gives small amounts of experience now
- Destroying mob spawners gives experience now
- Adjusted experience level progression: Levels 1-15 cost 17 XP points each Levels 16-30 cost 3 more XP points than the previous (cost = 17 + (level - 15) 3) Levels 31-∞ cost 7 more XP points than the previous (cost = 62 + (level - 30) 7)
- Improved enchanting
- The new maximum level with bookshelves is 30, without 8
- 15 bookshelves are enough to reach level 30
- The 3rd slot shows the highest possible enchantment more often
- Increased chances for multiple enchantments at once
- Adjusted enchantments to go with the new maximum level and balance gameplay
- Added writing in books
- Right-click with a Book and Quill to write on or read up to 50 pages
- Click 'Done' to save the book, 'Sign' to choose a title and finalize the book
- Screenshots
- Improved Multiplayer
- Made entities less likely to glitch through blocks - Comparison: before and after
- Added automagical downloading of standard sized texture packs when joining servers
- Made server commands more descriptive
- Added reason parameter to /ban
- Added /seed command to show the map seed
- Added /defaultgamemode command to choose the gamemode new players start in
- Added /debug command to enable and disable profiling /kick messages can now contain "\n" to force a new line Blocks other players are mining now show cracks - Screenshot /tp can now be used to teleport to specific coordinates
- Made server list re-orderable: shift+click or shift+arrow keys move selected servers
- Server list now scans for LAN servers - Screenshot
- Added hardcore difficulty: Players are banned upon death
- Added SRV Record Lookup Support - Explanation - Service name should be "minecraft"; ie "_minecraft.tcp.example.com"
- Added & changed many minor things
- Individual, stackable items near each other on the ground now become one item stack
- Added shift clicking support to armor slots, brewing stands & enchantment tables
- Added setting to disable servers offering you texture packs
- Made the stars smaller and brighter - Screenshot
- Villagers spawned from spawning eggs will get a random profession now
- Removed the downwards knockback while drowning
- Doors being broken by zombies now show their damage - Screenshot
- You now spawn with an empty inventory in Creative mode
- The "Mojang" splash screen when opening the game appears for 1 instead of 3 seconds now
- The sky color in the End changed - Comparison
- Blocks now show cracks when destroying them while the GUI is hidden
- You can now fall 4 blocks without getting hurt - might be a bug as there exist other, higher distances that don't cause damaga either
- Improved the Pick Block key
- You now get the actual block
- You can now pick paintings, boats, minecarts and mobs, which will give you their spawn eggs
- Picking huge mushroom blocks now gives mushrooms
- You can no longer pick portal blocks
- Fixed many bugs
- Fixed liquids slowing down flying players
- Fixed blocks with the same id but different data/damage values stacking in Creative inventory
- Fixed boats & minecarts not being one-hit breakable in Creative
- Fixed raw fish, dyes, saddles, potions, milk buckets and tools depleting in Creative
- Fixed water destroying non-solid blocks when breaking them from above
- Fixed Silk touch giving you only one slab from double slabs
- Fixed redstone updates not propagating through unloaded chunks
- Fixed repeaters getting stuck when loading their chunk
- Fixed tools taking damage when breaking insta-breakable blocks
- Fixed a few misalignments in the item sprite sheet
- Fixed the arrow representing players on held maps being offset
- Fixed being able to duplicate sand, gravel and powered rail
- Fixed placing a piston in front of another powered, but not extended one resulting in a glitched piston with the head's texture on all sides
- Fixed TNT dropping as a resource on creative mode
- Fixed powering specifically glitched pistons crashing the game
- Fixed the End Portal Frame block not showing as a block in the inventory
- Fixed weather not working correctly in certain biomes
- Fixed Overworld portals above Y=127 not being recognized when leaving the Nether
- Fixed various hacked mob spawners crashing the game
- Fixed thrown splash potions not preserving their type when reloading the world
- Fixed many Multiplayer-specific bugs
- Fixed arrows scooting up to the top of the block they were shot on
- Fixed endermen not opening their jaws
- Fixed fully charged arrows not showing their particle effect
- Fixed many sounds not playing
- Fixed magma cubes' and slimes' jumping animations not showing
- Fixed thunderstorms not darkening the sky
- Fixed weather not fading in or out
- Fixed enchanted armor and tools not glowing to other players
- Fixed explosions not pushing players back
- Fixed TNT not knocking back players
- Fixed pistons not pushing back players
- Fixed players on minecarts, boats or pigs and spider jockeys not being displayed in the correct location
- Fixed sneaking players' nameplates not staying hidden when loading the chunks they are in
- Fixed Unbreaking-enchanted tools sometimes breaking and then re-appearing a few times
- Fixed potion effects losing their graphical effects when traveling between dimensions
- Fixed blocks disappearing when placing them under yourself and jumping
World Generation
- Made sub-biome type mountains like Desert Hills or Ice Mountains taller - Screenshot
- Made cocoa beans appear on some small jungle trees - Screenshot
- Added optional starting chest on non-hardcore worlds
- Screenshot
- Contents: wooden & stone tools, bread, apples, logs, planks and sticks
- Added large biomes world type, increasing biome sizes immensely
- Added desert-specific villages
- Added desert temples
- Screenshots
- Built out of various kinds of sandstone and wool
- Include hidden chest room and TNT trap, with loot including rotten flesh, bones, iron ingots and gold ingots, diamonds and emeralds
- Added jungle temples
- Screenshots
- Built out of various kinds of cobblestone
- Contain multiple tripwire traps triggering dispensers filled with arrows
- Loot chests include bones, rotten flesh, gold ingots, iron ingots, diamonds and emeralds
- Added emerald ore
- Only generates in Extreme Hills biomes
- Occurs up to 8 times per chunk in veins of 1
- Generates between layers 4 and 31, inclusive
Blocks & Items
- Emerald Ore
- Screenshot
- Drops Emerald
- Emerald
- Screenshot
- Is used to trade with villagers
- Block of Emerald
- Screenshot
- Crafted by putting 9 emeralds on a crafting table
- Ender Chest
- Screenshot
- Crafted by surrounding an eye of ender with 8 pieces of obsidian
- Stores each player's contents across dimensions and all Ender Chests
- Contents are preserved even if all Ender Chests are destroyed
- Explosion-resistant
- Emits light and purple particles
- Unless mined using a Silk Touch-enchanted pickaxe, they drop 8 obsidian
- Tripwire Hook
- Screenshots
- String in between needs to be placed manually
- Breaking the string triggers a redstone signal, cutting it using shears doesn't
- Entities like boats, mobs, arrows or players touching the string trigger a redstone signal
- String can be up to 40 blocks long
- Crafting recipe: Iron ingot on top of a stick on top of a wooden plank
- String
- Can now be placed on the ground decoratively
- Wooden logs
- Screenshot
- Can now be placed in 3 different directions
- Placement works like similar to piston placement
- Furnaces
- Can be fueled by wooden tools now
- Return an empty bucket when using lava buckets as fuel now
- Ice
- No longer creates water in the Nether
- Can be obtained using Silk Touch-enchanted gear now
- Glass Panes
- Can be obtained using Silk Touch-enchanted gear now
- Nether portal
- Leaks into the Overworld now: Depending on difficulty, zombie pigmen rarely spawn in them
- Slabs
- Added all wood types
- Wooden slabs crafted after the update act like wood
- Stairs
- Added Sandstone Stairs - Screenshot
- Added wooden stairs for all kinds of wood - Screenshot
- Adjusted hitbox - Screenshots
- Slabs and Stairs
- Will now be placed upside-down when placed on the upper half of a block's side
- When placed upside down, rails, pressure plates, levers, doors, torches, redstone torches, repeaters, redstone dust and beds can be placed on them - Redstone dust behaves like on glowstone - It transmits power horizontally and upwards, but not downwards. Redstone torches don't power redstoneplaced on slabs/stairs above them.
- Leaves
- Water slowly drips through them when it's raining
- Cauldrons
- Slowly fill up when it's raining
- Dispensers
- Minecarts & boats will now be placed if there's rails/water in place
- Instead of dispensing buckets, dispensers will now suck in or place water or lava in front of them
- Gravel
- Changed texture - Screenshot
- Jungle leaves
- Have a 1/200 chance to drop a cocoa bean when destroyed now
- Lever
- Can be placed on the ceiling now - Screenshot
- Wooden pressure plates
- Are triggered by arrows now
- Pistons
- Now take 0.05 seconds longer to expand
- TNT
- Depending on difficulty, does different amounts of damage now:
- Peaceful: no damage
- Easy: ~50% less damage
- Normal: same damage as before
- Hard: 33.3…% more damage
- Cocoa beans
- Retextured item - Screenshot
- Can be planted & grown on jungle wood now
- Can be grown instantly using bone meal
- Cookies
- Give a full hunger point now
- Nether Warts
- Can now be grown in the Overworld and in the End
- Book
- Changed crafting recipe: 3 pieces of paper and one piece of leather in any possible shape
- Book and Quill
- Crafting recipe: 1 ink sac, 1 feather and 1 book in any possible shape
- Written Book
- Can only be obtained by signing a Book and Quill
- Can be sold to villagers
- Empty buckets
- Stack up to 16 now
- Stacked buckets work just like stacked glass bottles do
- Signs
- Stack up to 16 now
- Crafting now gives 3 signs instead of 1
- Golden Apple
- Has two crafting recipes now, the new one replacing gold nuggets with gold blocks
- Second tier gives Regeneration IV, Resistance and Fire resistance effects
- Only second tier glows like enchanted tools
- Spawners
- Added NBT tags to further customize spawned entities
- Only changeable using map editors or mods
- Boats
- Are not broken by lilypads anymore, instead they run straight through the lilypad now, breaking and sometimes dropping it
- Are less glitchy and more responsive now
- Increased maximum speed
- When exiting, players will be moved from the boat
- When broken by a player, they drop a boat now
- Minecarts
- When on rails, they can be accelerated a bit while sitting in them
- When exiting, players will be moved from the minecart
Mobs
- Pigs
- Drop 1-3 meat now
- Slimes
- Reduced spawn rate in superflat maps
- Silverfish
- When suffering from poison potions, they will now spawn more silverfish from nearby silverfish blocks more often
- Creepers
- Increased knockback effect
- Depending on difficulty, they do different amounts of damage now:
- Easy: ~50% less damage
- Normal: same damage as before
- Hard: 33.3…% more damage
- Creepers & Spiders
- Become aggressive towards the last mob or player that hit them now
- Skeletons, Creepers & Zombies
- Become neutral against players again a few seconds after being hit in Creative