Minecraft 1.8 Update, the Adventure Update, Released. Here's What You Need to Know

As of this morning, one of the long-awaited Minecraft updates has been released, update 1.8, otherwise known as the Adventure Update. However, it is important to note that though this is the Adventure Update, this is not Adventure Mode, but rather is an update that brings a load of new features that will help the coming Adventure Mode settle into the game. In college terms, think of this update as Minecraft pre-gaming before it goes out clubbin’, clubbin’ of course being the Adventure Mode.

Read on below for an exhaustive list of the added features, which are many, and some new recipes and screenshots.

New Mobs

• Endermen. Taller than the PC, able to shift blocks around, and employs a teleport-style attack when the player’s crosshair is directly over the mob:



• Silverfish. Small bugs which can spawn other Silverfish when attacked, and spawn out of stone blocks, which make it possible for a large swarm of Silverfish to destroy a bunch of stone blocks:



• Cave spider. The Cave Spider looks similar to the regular spiders found in the game, but have a blueish texture. They are more dangerous than regular spiders in that they can poison the player, causing the health bar to gradually decrease:

New Items

• Melons. A block, rather than an item. When destroyed, pops 3-7 melon slices, which heal one food point when eaten:







• Fence gates. Basically, a door for fences, something builders concerned with aesthetic consistency will be happy about. Unlike doors, the fence gates always open away from the player, and can only be opened by right-clicking, whereas doors can be opened by both a left and right click:





• Vines. Vines are blocks that are placeable on walls and ceilings, and will hang on leaves in swamps. They drop nothing when broken, but are collectable when using shears. Vines can grow in any direction when placed on a block, and vines will grow on blocks placed near the vines. Vines are flammable and are also destroyed by water. Vines also block a mob’s line of sight:



• Iron bars. Works similarly to fences:





• Glass panes. Similar to iron bars and fences, but more like a sheet of glass than bars. Can be mined and collected without being broken, something the player cannot do with glass blocks:

Terrain Additions

• New biome generation code
• Randomly generated ravines
• Randomly generated houses
• Huge mushrooms
• Ice now only spreads to existing ice or from coast areas
• Underground mine shafts
• Huge underground dungeons (strongholds)
• Fixed caves generating with too many dead ends

Gameplay Additions

• Killing a monster makes it drop experience orbs which can be collected to gain levels
• Using bonemeal and small mushrooms grows the mushroom into a huge mushroom if there is enough room
• Added critical hits, which deal an extra 50% damage, plus an extra point to make dealing crits with weak weapons worthwhile. If the player hits a mob while falling, that is a guaranteed critical hit
• Game keeps track of damage sources and types
• Certain damage types ignore armor, like drowning being on fire (but not within fire) and falling out of the world
• Added sprinting
• Added hunger
• Food is stackable
• While the food bar is high, the player slowly regenerates health
• Eating food takes time
• Animals will flee for a short time if they get hurt

Graphical Improvements

• Added Field of Vision slider
• Added brightness slider
• Light rendering now uses multitexturing instead of direct colors
• Sky light and block light now have different tints; cool colors for sky light and warm colors for block light
• Explosions now look better
• Added suspended particles to water
• Skeletons hold their bows better
• Pigs have snouts now
• Flashier title screen and prettier logo
• Looking toward the sun during sunset and sunrise changes fog color

Other Additions

• Added server list so the client can remember multiple servers
• Added a player list to multiplayer

As Always

• Removed Herobrine

As one can see, the 1.8 update is exhaustive, even if it didn’t bring the vaunted Adventure Mode. We’ll update the post as more things are discovered, but for now, go update and play with all the new toys!

(via Minecraft News)