Yesterday, Notch and Jens released version 4 of the Minecraft 1.9 pre-release. While many were disappointed that the Ender Dragons were not implemented, this patch did actually contain a ton of neat things.
One thing, which I originally didn't think would be included was "The End" dimension. Players can now enter the new "End" dimension by using Eye of the Enders on all the weird "goop" portal blocks. These portals are located in Strongholds, which can be located by tossing "Ender Eye" into the sky. By doing so you will be teleported to the world of The End, a world filled with obsidian pillars, Endermen, and later on, Ender Dragons.
Some important things to note about The End Realm is:
- The new block is not sponge. It actually has the properties of stone.
- "The End is not completed yet!", as tweeted by Jens
- Maps in the End are blank unless you craft one in the actual End realm, but even those are pretty much useless.
- You can not build Netherportals in the End.
- According to Jens, "The exit from the End is the end 😉 And then you respawn…" Meaning, the only way out right now is by dying.
- You can place water in the End. It also appears to be a large floating island instead of an infinitely generating zone.
- Sleeping in beds in the End produces violent, fiery explosions, just like the Nether
Minecraft 1.9 pre-release version 4 also introduced new moon phases. Yesterday, Notch tweeted eight phases of moon. Adding cycles of the moon allows players to keep track of the passage of time in Minecraft via the Lunar calendar. Shockingly, the Moon and Sun are round! *gasp*
Non-edible Glistering Melon have been added and are crafted with a Melon and a Gold Nugget. Cutting up a melon gives you 1 melon slice, but it was revealed that is a bug. Glistering melon can be used for initiating brewing.
Some other miscellaneous changes in the Minecraft 1.9 version 4 update include:
- Enchantments now have names
- Enchanted levels are 1-7. Adding bookshelves gets you more and more "higher" levels.
- Enderpearls can be found in stronghold chests
- Strongholds contain more chests
- Water freezes faster
- Enchantment Table now has a tooltip name on creative mode
- The potion of swiftness now leaves a visible effect on the player
- You can attack/kill mobs through glass
- Multiple enchantments can be placed on a weapon
- Signs can be rotated easier
- Supports HD Texture Packs
As mentioned before, Enchantments now have names. A few of these enchantments include:
- Sword of Featherfall I
- Bane of Arthropods I
- Pickaxe of Efficiency I/II
- Sharpness I
- Respiration I
- Projectile Protection I/II/III/IV
- Protection I/II/IV
- Fire Aspect I
- Efficiency I/II
- Unbreaking I/II
- Fire Protection I
- Blast Protection I
- Sword of Looting I
- Pickaxe of Fortune I
- Silk Touch I – Lets you mine blocks without breaking them.
As usual, let us know if you encounter any more neat features that Notch may have been hiding from us. What are your thoughts on the new 1.9 pre-release update?
