Minecraft 1.3 Patch Notes, New Snapshot and Much More

Mojang have announced that the compilation of all the snapshots since Minecraft 1.2.5 will put together into the new release of update 1.3 which will be made available on the 1st August. The game adds many new things such as: “added option to let LAN friends join SP games” “demo mode for non-premium users” (buy the game), “Adventure mode”, “Improved experience collection”, “writing in books”, “trading” and loads more good stuff.

A week prior to the release Mojang will post a “release candidate” that will allow modders and server admins a chance to be ready for the upcoming update. So hopefully some of your favorite mods will be updated without too much delay.

Minecraft 1.3 most dramatic change is that Mojang have taken out single player as you currently know it and it will instead similar to how the Xbox 360 Edition works. Meaning even when playing single player it will be similar to being online. The main reason for this cahnge is to help quicken bug fixes as currently a bug needs to be fixed in single player and multiplayer and sometimes they both have different bugs. With the new change bugs will only need to be fixed once. Also of notes is that the modding API has been puched back to update 1.4.

Jens Bergensten said the following: (Source)

Minecraft 1.3: The Good

Lots and lots of bug fixes and new features. Players who mainly play in multi-player on servers should enjoy a smoother and more stable experience, as this has been our focus of the development. We’ve looked over the network packets and added encryption to prevent session stealing. Dinnerbone has updated the chatting screen, to allow for easier editing and clickable links.

The single/multi-player merge has added the possibility to share your single-player worlds with friends who are on the same local network. It has also enabled players to use multi-player-like commands in single-player (such as /gamemode and /give), but only if cheats are enabled.

We’ve added emeralds, emerald ore and a trading system that makes it possible to buy items from villagers. Villagers will add and remove items depending on what you buy.

We’ve added the possibility write in books and leave stories for other people.

We’ve added new terrain features, and you can choose to begin the game with a “bonus chest,” to get you started quicker.

We’ve added tripwire, so you can create new traps and contraptions.

We’ve also added new stairs, new half-slabs, cocoa plants and tweaked dispensers, leaves, cauldrons, levers, gravel, pressure plates, cookies, buckets, boats, minecarts, ice, furnaces… Plus you get magic orbs from mining and smelting (and not just killing monsters)!

Minecraft 1.3: The Bad

Since single-player has been turned into a shell on top of a background server, the game’s resource requirements have increased. When playing single-player, the game needs to be able to both simulate and emulate the world, which take many more CPU cycles. We’re working on optimizing rendering, but those improvements will not be included until Minecraft 1.4.

Minecraft 1.3: The Ugly

A couple of problems and expected features have been pushed to Minecraft 1.4. The most notable problem is the lighting issues causing black regions in the terrain. We’re looking into ways to solve this, but lighting is a very expensive calculation and we are struggling with finding a solution that doesn’t hurt framerate.

And the most notable missing feature is the modding API. Throwing out single-player was the first step in order to make the API possible, and that’s done now. We decided to release 1.3 without the API, because otherwise it would be an even longer wait for a Minecraft update.

We’ve also added an extremely basic version of “adventure mode.” We’ll work more on this in future updates.

To Summarize

The time between Minecraft 1.2.5 and 1.3 has been the longest update interval yet, and that was because we changed so much in the game engine. I (jeb_) was a little scared to push it to the public, but waiting even longer is not a solution.”

Latest snapshot – 12w27a:

• Bug fixes!
• Optimizations!
• Please check your piston contraptions. Most we’ve tested still work fine, but some require changes to repeater delays and similar.
• Overall, pistons should have fewer bugs, but will appear to update slightly slower.

I have cleaned up the following patch notes to make them clearer and better laid out.

Minecraft 1.3 patch notes: (Source)

General

• Improved overall stability and performance.
• Reduced CPU, RAM & bandwidth usage.
• Made Singleplayer internally use a Multiplayer server.
• Added optional single-player commands called “Cheats” on non-hardcore worlds.
  – Type / and 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 game mode players join in and whether they are allowed to use cheats.
• Added demo mode for non-premium users. Lasts 5 game days per world.
• Added chat options:
• 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.
• Mobs can now spawn on top slabs and upside down stairs.
• Improved F3 mode:
  – Truncated coordinates to 5 fractional digits.
  – Removed frame rendering time history graph (bottom-left).
  – 3 new 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:
  – 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:
  – 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, armor slots and a 2×2 crafting field:
  – 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 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 most expensive possible enchantment more often.
  – Increased chances for multiple enchantments at once.
  – Adjusted enchantments’ to go with the new maximum level.
• Added writing in books:
  – New crafting recipe for books: 3 pieces of paper and one piece of leather in any possible shape.
• New item Book and Quill – Crafting recipe: 1 ink sac, 1 feather and 1 book in any possible shape:
  – Right-click to write on & edit up to 50 pages or read.
  – Click ‘Done’ to save the book, ‘Sign’ to choose a title and finalize the book.
• 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 and /seed command to show the 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.
  – /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.
  – Added hardcore difficulty: Players are banned upon death.
• Added 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.
  – 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.
• Improved the Pick Blockkey:
  – 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 flying slowly in liquids.
  – 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 arrows scooting up to the top of the block they were shot on in MP.
  – Fixed repeaters getting stuck when loading their chunk.
  – Fixed endermen not opening their jaws in MP.
  – Fixed tools taking damage when breaking insta-breakable blocks.
  – Fixed fully charged arrows not showing their particle effect in MP.
  – Fixed many sounds not playing in MP.
  – Fixed magma cubes’ and slimes’ jumping animations not showing in MP.
  – Fixed thunderstorms not darkening the sky in MP.
  – Fixed weather not fading in or out in MP.
  – Fixed enchanted armor and tools not glowing to other players.
  – Fixed ender pearls and eyes of ender not being aligned in the inventory.
  – Fixed explosions not pushing players back in MP.
  – Fixed TNT not knocking back players in MP.
  – Fixed pistons not pushing back players in MP.
  – 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 ressource on creative mode.
  – Fixed powering specifically glitched pistons crashing the game.
  – Fixed players on minecarts, boats or pigs and spider jockeys not being displayed in the correct location.

World Generation

• Made sub-biome type mountains like Desert Hills or Ice Mountains taller.
• Made cocoa beans appear on some small jungle trees.
• Added optional starting chest on non-hardcore worlds:
  – 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:
  – 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:
  – 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 drops Emerald.
• Emerald Is used to trade with villagers.
• Block of Emerald is crafted by putting 9 emeralds on a crafting table.
• Ender Chest:
  – 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:
  – 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.
• Furnaces:
  – Can be fueled by wooden tools now.
  – Return an empty bucket when using lava buckets as fuel now.
• Ice:
  – Instead of melting in the nether, it now disappears.
  – 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.
• Half slabs:
  -Added all wood types.
  – Wooden slabs crafted after the update act like wood.
  – Will now be top slabs 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.
• Stairs:
  – Added Sandstone Stairs.
  – Added wooden stairs for all kinds of wood.
  – Adjusted hitbox.
  -When placed upside down, rails, pressure plates, levers, doors, torches, redstone torches, repeaters, redstone dust and beds can be placed on 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 are 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.
• Jungle leaves have a 1/200 chance to drop a cocoa bean when destroyed now.
• Lever can be placed on the ceiling now.
• Wooden pressure plates are triggered by arrows now.
• Pistons changed a few things to fight bugs, which now causes them to appear to update slightly slower.
• Cocoa beans:
  – Retextured item.
  – Can be planted & grown on jungle wood now.
  – Can be grown instantly using bone meal.
• Cookies give a full hunger point now.
• 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 mobs.
  – 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, 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.
• All hostile mobs become aggressive towards the last mob or player that hit them now.

Planned/Maybe:

• LWJGL update, again.
• Dinnerbone wants to work on the chat system:
  – Logging, scrollback length, tab behaviour.
  – Bugfixes: 1, 2, 3, display issues with highlighting, keybindings for ‘/’.
  – OS X compatibility.
  – Chat size.
  – Drag-highlighting.
• Dinnerbone plans to add an option to customize the “Outdated server/client” message.

Some of my other Minecraft posts:

• More Than Forty New Skins Coming to Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition.
• Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition Beta 1.1 Patch Now Available.
• Minecraft LEGO is Now Available.
• I Was So Hungry in Minecraft that I Ate My Own Right Arm.
• Minecraft 1.2.2 Patch is Available.
• Minecraft Has More Than 20 Million Registered Users.
• Minecraft Survival Diary, Day #4/4: I Push up the Daisies.
• Minecraft Survival Diary, Day #3/4: I Find a Companion.
• Minecraft Survival Diary, Day #2/4: All Aboard!.
• Minecraft Survival Diary, Day #1/4: Welcome to Avalon.
• Minecraft Survival Diary.
• Can’t Afford Minecraft or Notch’s Other Video Games? Just Pirate them says Notch.