Minecraft 1.8 could Bring Rivers, Deep Oceans and Volcanoes
Minecraft‘s Markus “Notch” Persson got hitched. That hasn’t stopped him from getting back to work quickly on projects for Minecraft‘s 1.8 update. The Adventure Update is getting obnoxiously huge, and the tweaks and additions will likely be the most the game has seen in a long, long time.
In passing, both Notch and Jeb, another Mojang developer, have mentioned the existence of deep oceans and the potential for volcanoes in certain biomes. Notch himself has mentioned adding big oceans and big islands, but is struggling with making the gameplay around them both fun. From Notch on Twitter:
Trying to balance gameplay against scale is interesting. I can do HUGE oceans with HUGE islands very easily and fast now, but it plays bad.
But what are working, and what have actually been teased in screenshot form, are rivers. Check the screenshot up top to get an idea of what these new additions will look like. Here’s what Notch said on Twitter when he got rivers working…
Ok, rivers are working. I’m knee deep in this code now, and I’m getting scared. I think I need coffee.
We’re scared too, Notch.
While the first thought may be, “rivers, great,” it’s worth speculating that these new bodies of water could be used for travel. They could be a focal point for exploration. They may even reveal certain parts of relatively rare biomes. There are pumpkins and mushrooms in the screenshot up top (click for a much larger view), so maybe rivers will create environments with a stronger tendency for these items.
Minecraft 1.8 is practically growing by the day. Check out the full list of additions from a few weeks ago, as well as the addition of the new passive/agressive mobs, the Endermen. They’re … terrifying.
We’ll have more on the Adventure Update as information trickles out. We’re getting psyched, are you?
UPDATE: Jeb responded to a question concerning volcanoes in 1.8 on Twitter: volcanoes have not been added yet.
Be sure to check out the official TechnoBuffalo Minecraft server!
More Minecraft 1.8 Goodness
- Minecraft 1.8: Adventure Update Gets Sprinting and More
Notch hints at some of the nifty new features we will see in the Minecraft 1.8: Adventure Update. - Minecraft’s 1.8 Adventure Update Screenshots
Notch, the lead on the Mojang team and designer of Minecraft, gets on Google+ for what amounts to several hours and almost immediately posts an exciting screenshot. - Minecraft 1.8 Features Detailed at PAX
Minecraft 1.8 new features get detailed at PAX Prime.
