Minecraft Monday (09-12-11)

News

This weeks Minecraft Monday was set to be focused on beta 1.8 anticipated release. Sadly, they never managed to hit their Thursday deadline (it was only an estimated goal, after all).

The week started strong, however, with Jens updating twitter regularly on his progress towards the release date, dishing out information along the way.

jeb_ People have requested the png for the food and exp gfx, so here it is:

The cave spider’s texture is identical to the original spider, except recolored

If the the food bar is empty in MC 1.8, it will slowly drop your health to 5 hearts on easy, to 0.5 hearts on normal, and kill you on hard

The food bar is obviously disabled in creative mode

notch  Did you know that 1.8 has animated chests? Doesn’t matter much in singleplayer, but it’s pretty neat in multiplayer.

I did spend some time on 1.8 today, specifically with the lighting code. I do not know when @jeb_ is planning to release it or how.

We were even treated to a fantastic trailer for the Adventure Update, made by those fine fellas at Hat Films.

An excellent trailer, to say the least, with a brilliant making-of to go with it (worth watching to see the build of the Adventure Update logo alone)

We, as Thursday drew ever closer, it seems the release date was beginning to look too optimistic.

jeb_ Looks grim to get a release out on 8th. We need more testing, one day is not enough. And we never release on fridays… I’ll keep you posted

The new “good guess” for a Beta 1.8 release date is 12th of September (this monday) =( *takes cover* bodyguardwanted

To keep people satisfied until the extended estimate of today (09-12-11) the guys at Mojang leaked a 1.8 pre-release version for those who could stand the wait no longer. The pre-release version was essentially an improved version of the PAX debut version of the Adventure Update and seems to have kept the community satisfied, for the most part.

notch Ooh, looks like 1.8 has leaked, not that I’d ever admit that. ;) Be careful when installing software you don’t trust though.

If you do use it, remember to report bugs, and to feel slightly bad. ;)

(I am fine with you using it. Make sure you get it from the leaked url we are hosting, though)

jeb_ Long day, but finally on my way home. People are testing the beta, so I look forward to a new bug list in the morrow

Yes… People are beta-testing the beta :) The woes of having a beta game with millions of users ;)

Eagerly awaiting the release today, people have been precariously hanging on tenterhooks as Jens worked on the tweaks and fixes needed in response to feedback from the pre-release players – of which there were many. As such, a release never happened.

jeb_ Ok the current status of 1.8 is that I’m trying to fix the reported bugs of pre-1.8. It’s hard to say how long time this will take

There wont be an update today, but tomorrow I will *at least* update the prerelease

These are the things I’ve been working on today:

Spoiler Inside »

1. * SSP chunk memory leak
2. * Mineshaft density (half now)
3. * Increased stronghold count to 3 per map instead of one
4. * Furnace tile entity crash
5. * Crafting bench ghost items
6. * Vines (and leaves) crash in nether
7. * Use item animation in SMP (blocking and eating)
8. * Blocking in SMP
9. * Sprinting with right-click or sneaking
10. * Added some blocks to creative mode
11. * Fixed dropping items
12. * Nothing can be eaten in creative mode
13. * Enderman client-side problems
14. * Chicken and cow drop burned food
15. * Squids drop exp
16. * 1.7 worlds should get structures
17. * Farmlands rejecting melon and pumpkin seeds
18. * Bonemeal on melons and pumpkins
19. * Bonemeal on mushroom only works on dirt or grass
20. * Added item drops for cracked and mossy smooth stone brick
21. * Adjusted fog strength at low positions

Although we’re having to wait a little longer for the now infamous Adventure Update, we can at least be sure that upon its eventual arrival it’ll be as polished as possible, with nearly every kink ironed out of it, meaning further patches for 1.8 may be limited (which will keep modders happy) and we can all get down to the grueling task of anticipating the next update.

jeb_ It’s good that our most eager players have got their needs satisfied for the moment =) I feel a lot less stressed up now

I realized that I had forgotten to write that I fixed the exp orb bug in SMP. It was the first thing I did today!

I said this earlier, but tomorrow I will *at least* upload a new pre-release (actually, @mollstam will be doing the uploading)

notch  From looking at my mentions, it seems like people want 1.8. :-D Patience, it’s Coming Eventually(tm)!

Feature

With 1.8 on everyone’s mind, how about a quick summary of everything you should be expecting to see?
…And I mean very quick.

Minecraft Beta 1.8 in 60 Seconds

Minecraft: Ravines & Rivers (1.8 Prerelease Part 1)

This weekend YouTube has been awash with beta 1.8 videos, one of the most extensive being The Yogscast’s coverage. With a vague understanding of what’s to be expected, they leaped into the pre-release to show off all it has to offer and, as ever, hilarity ensues.
My favorite video had to be Part 5, when they discover Silverfish…

Minecraft: Silverfish and Watermelons (1.8 Prerelease Part 5)

Make sure to watch them all for a run down on what to expect.

Duck Hunt

I love stumbling across these kinds of videos, in which people create games within Minecraft without the aid of mods. This simple looking game is brilliant – and something anyone can create if they put their mind to it.