PAX Prime has been abuzz with the preview of Minecraft Beta 1.8, which is probably the most anticipated release for Minecraft in its young life. So, just what can players expect from this release — which might be coming this week? UPDATE: Notch has stated that 1.8 might still be a while out.
Minecraft 1.8 is one of the largest updates to the popular game, Minecraft, in it’s small history since the Alpha release back in May of 2009. This release culminates a lot of hype and discussion about where the game will be heading once it finally comes out of Beta in November. Mojang, the company responsible for the creation of Minecraft, was present to preview the new Beta version at PAX Prime in Seattle this week and fans have been waiting patiently to see the new updates in action.
With all of the news about suggestions, rumors and confirmations, it can be rather difficult to figure out exactly what is coming in this update. To help Minecraft players out, here’s a neat organized list — with the help of Xizz on Reddit — of what we can expect when the new version drops soon.
- The newest mob, known as the Enderman, will be present but not as terrifying as some have made them out to be. Previews from PAX have shown that these mobs spawn rarely and are harmed when exposed to water.
- Enderman are neutral towards the player, so long as you do not put your crosshairs on them (“look” at them). Once you do, they will teleport to your location once you remove them from your crosshairs and attack. They will teleport within your sight and their reach will be two blocks total. They appear to attack with whatever block that they hold in their hand.
- Another random mob, known as the Silverfish will also enter the worlds.
- Rivers are now present and biomes have become more distinct. Rivers will often separate the different biomes.
- In more water-related updates, oceans have also become deeper and larger. Small islands will also be present in the oceans.
- Rain has been updated, according to Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson it will be, “a thousand times better”
- The title screen has changed. It now appears to have a landscape background instead of the dirt-filled one before.
- Bows and arrows have undergone a little change. Charged arrows will fly further and do more damage.
- Pumpkins can now be grown, thanks to the addition of seeds. Pumpkins are also an important defense against Enderman, who will not notice you looking at them when you have the pumpkin head on.
- In addition, melons have also been added to those who wish to have more diversity when farming.
- Some new additions to crafting include Tables and Glass Panes.
- Zombies will now drop “rotten flesh” instead of feathers. No word on what benefit rotting flesh will have for the game.
- Lighting has been updated, mostly in regards to day and night transition.
- A Creative Mode has been established – players can now construct whatever they please in an area that allows flying, unlimited amounts of blocks and instant destruction of blocks.
- The addition of Non-Playable Character (NPC) villages are ready to go for the update. Unfortunately, the NPCs within the villages are not quite ready yet. NPCs will act like the Zombie Pigmen of the Nether, and will be neutral towards the player unless attacked.
- “Dead Mine Shafts” will randomly spawn on the map. These will feature rails, torches and wooden pillars.
- Skill points will also be added to the update. Each time you kill a mob or animal they will drop an experience orb. A bar is now present on the bottom of your screen and each orb will start to fill it. Once you “level up”, you will be awarded skill points. For right now, there is no word on what you can do with these points.
- In addition to the skill points bar, there is also a hunger bar. Each time the player sprints, a portion of the hunger bar will deplete.
- Eating has also changed. There is now an animation for it and consuming products will take a couple of seconds instead of being instantaneous. You can finally stack pork chops in your inventory as well.
Notch was also live-streaming a lot of these updates in action at PAX. For those interested in watching the almost hour-long preview, you can check it out here.
[via Reddit]