Minecraft Snapshot 12w18a released

The weekly Minecraft Snapshot 12w18a has been released and is now available for download.

According to Mojang, this weeks' snapshot is "extra experimental" as they've started to work on separating the server logic from the client.

"The purpose of this is both to make it easier for us to add features (since we don’t have to implement stuff “twice”), and also to make it possible for you to invite people to play on your local computer without setting up a server," Mojang explained. "In other words, more like how it works on Minecraft: Pocket Edition."

It should also be noted that the client now comes with both the client-side and server-side JAR files.  The file called “minecraft.jar” should be in your “.minecraft/bin” folder as usual, and the “minecraft_server.jar” file should be in a folder called “.minecraft/server”.

There are a few other tweaks included in today's patch.  The ones listed include:

• More fixes to silk touch and block picking
• Wooden tools work in furnaces
• Villagers spawned from spawning eggs will get a random profession
• Updated language files

As usual, Mojang tends to include a few more changes that they don't list, so if you discover any feel free to let us know in the comments below!

You can snag Minecraft Snapshot 12w18a here:

• Client
• Server (or EXE)