In April, Mojang announced that the Caves & Cliffs update would be separated. They said the first part (1.17) would come “soon” and the second (1.18) near the end of the year. This was due to the affect of the pandemic (not just for Mojang, but for the entire world, really). The latest news is that the first part is scheduled for release on June 8. It includes new mobs such as axolotls, glow squid, and goats. It also includes new blocks and other things like the spyglass.
Axolotls are cute aquatic creatures. You can catch them with a bucket of water. However, you’ll want to keep them in water, because if they’re on dry land for five minutes, they’ll begin to die, unless it is raining. Therefore, if you want to contain them and keep them as pets, you may want to make a small wall surrounding an area of water or else they’ll roam free. I made a wall three blocks high, which got them to stop trying to jump over it. They like tropical fish, so you can attract and mate them with those. They will attack most aquatic mobs like fish, squid, the Drowned (aquatic zombies), and more. They will play dead when their health gets low, which stops mobs from attacking them. They will also give you some buffs if you help them by defeating whatever is attacking them. In this part of the update they are supposed to be found in underwater areas in caves. If there are fish or squid in the water where they are then they’re kind of easy to spot, because they will go after these and you’ll see fish or ink floating on the top of the water. So they’re really helpful fishing partners (if fish or ink is what you’re after).
Glow squids were part of Minecraft Earth, but were voted in as the new mob to be brought into the main game. Their visible glow is really the only difference they have with regular squids. However, instead of dropping black ink, they drop glowing ink, which can be used with dyes. One way you can use this is to make text on signs brighter, which does appear to make a difference. They do look cool. Like Axolotls, they are supposed to be found in underwater caves.
Goats can be found on mountains. They will randomly headbutt some mobs and players. I believe they are or were supposed to also headbutt trees and lose their horns, which have no purpose yet. They also have their own unique sounds, a rare one is a “screaming” goat. I found where you can hear these sounds, but I’m not sure where that was. Maybe, if you do a search you’ll find them. I believe you can get milk from them as well. I saw a video where they gave birth to a lot of babies, I’m not sure if that’s been changed, though. They can take a lot of fall damage and do jump high. The second part of the update is extending the world height and will allow for very tall mountains, which is where they were supposed to be located in the first place. Powdered snow is also a new block, which players and mobs can fall into and eventually freeze to death. You can walk on powdered snow with leather boots, or negate the entire negative affects with leather armor.
This part of the update also includes new blocks such as copper, amethyst, and more (a total of 91 apparently). Copper is really interesting, because it oxidizes. This means it will gradually turn green over a length of time. You can prevent this or make them stay in the stage of oxidation they are in by “waxing” them by combining them with honey. You can also remove oxidation with an axe. The wiki also states that lightning can remove it as well. Speaking of lighting, you can also use copper to make lightning rods to cover a certain amount of area. They will prevent lightning from striking your buildings and things.
Amethyst is cool, but there’s no use for it other than to craft a spyglass. A spyglass is cool, because it lets you see a good distance away (as it should). You’ll randomly find amethyst geodes in caves. There are certain blocks crystals will grow on and you can harvest what’s grown and more will grow back over time (I believe). They only grow on certain amethyst blocks, though, so you’ll want to be sure just to harvest the crystals and not the blocks. You may also want to find the ones they grow on and make sure there are no other blocks on any side of these blocks, so that crystals can regrow on all sides of them. I think amethyst should also be a block we can use to craft. I think it would make a great building block like everything else. This would mean that people can build purple things along with the many other colors available. At least one of the other blocks also has no purpose other than to surround the amethyst geodes.
What I find disappointing is what will NOT be in this part of the update, which is everything else that was supposed to be in the whole update. The second part of the update arriving at the end of the year is supposed to include all the new cave biomes, new cave and world generation, along with the new tall mountains, and world height extension. Part one may include some cave biomes, but I’m not entirely sure at the moment. Another thing I was most looking forward to was bundles. These are basically sacks that can hold up to 64 items. You can use these to store items and carry the bundles as separate items in your inventory. So, you could take some with you, fill them up, and come back with much more in your inventory than you would have without them. As of the last snapshot I played (about a few weeks ago or so), these were removed, which was extremely disappointing. There is also a new sensor that detects vibrations. Not everything is detected, for instance you can “sneak” and be fine. You can also block the vibrations with blocks of wool. There are also candles and you can make a cluster of them. You can use them for decoration and lighting and also put them on cakes. You can even dye them, though you can’t dye individuals in a cluster. They can also stand on pretty much anything. You can remove what they’re standing on and they’ll still stay where they were. Many of these things I mention were in some snapshots, but have been removed. Some of the things that have been removed are still available in creative mode. I haven’t seen much about it, but there’s supposed to be some kind of new mob in the depths of caves (or a specific cave biome) that is blind and uses vibration to find you, hence the new sensors.
I decided to check out the Java snapshots and Bedrock edition beta versions briefly. I was able to see some of what’s to come in the second part by testing “experimental features.” I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I agree with some others in that Mojang should just wait and release the whole update without splitting it up, even if it means waiting until the end of the year for it. There are things in this update I was looking forward to and knowing we’ll only get some of it now and other things later is kind of disappointing. In fact, since I was able to check out some of the things arriving later, I found myself disappointed. Yes, there things I like about the update, or at least what I saw even with the “experimental features.” But I found some things that I thought I would like, but ended up not liking. For instance, I thought having bigger caves would be cool, but they are hard to light. At first these bigger caves made it easier to find ore, but they’ve made it a little more difficult, though that’s kind of understandable. There are also “noise” caves. This pretty much means there are a couple of styles of caves. One is called a “noodle” cave system in which the caves wind around a lot. Another, some are calling “swiss cheese,” pretty much has caves that have large areas carved into them. These are the ones I thought were interesting at first, but found out they are difficult to light, making it harder to find ores, and also easier for mobs to spawn.
You can look at the wiki for what’s in the first part of the update, but from what I currently see there I don’t believe everything is going to be in it. The page lists bundles and candles, for example, but the last snapshot I played (maybe a few weeks ago) removed them. So, I don’t know exactly what’s in this part of the update other than what I’ve already stated, some of which I got from other news sources. If you want more details and don’t want to look for them, feel free to let me know and I’ll see if I can find them.
You can find some videos about the new content on the Minecraft YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/minecraft/videos
Also, I recommend checking out the Minecraft 1.17 videos on YouTube by Xisumavoid. He does a great job of going over what’s in each snapshot, including new things, bug fixes, and even things that have been removed and pushed to 1.18. He has a lot of other good Minecraft videos you can check out, too. You can find those videos here:
https://www.youtube.com/c/XisumavoidMC/videos
Wiki: https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Java_Edition_1.17
Feel free to check out my other post when the update separation was announced:
https://cheerfulghost.com/GregoPeck/posts/4630/minecraft-caves-cliffs-update-getting-separated
My original source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-caves-and-cliffs-part-1-drops-june-8-with-new-blocks-and-mobs/1100-6492177/?utm_source=gamefaqs&utm_medium=partner&utm_content=news_module&utm_campaign=homepage
Axolotls are cute aquatic creatures. You can catch them with a bucket of water. However, you’ll want to keep them in water, because if they’re on dry land for five minutes, they’ll begin to die, unless it is raining. Therefore, if you want to contain them and keep them as pets, you may want to make a small wall surrounding an area of water or else they’ll roam free. I made a wall three blocks high, which got them to stop trying to jump over it. They like tropical fish, so you can attract and mate them with those. They will attack most aquatic mobs like fish, squid, the Drowned (aquatic zombies), and more. They will play dead when their health gets low, which stops mobs from attacking them. They will also give you some buffs if you help them by defeating whatever is attacking them. In this part of the update they are supposed to be found in underwater areas in caves. If there are fish or squid in the water where they are then they’re kind of easy to spot, because they will go after these and you’ll see fish or ink floating on the top of the water. So they’re really helpful fishing partners (if fish or ink is what you’re after).
Glow squids were part of Minecraft Earth, but were voted in as the new mob to be brought into the main game. Their visible glow is really the only difference they have with regular squids. However, instead of dropping black ink, they drop glowing ink, which can be used with dyes. One way you can use this is to make text on signs brighter, which does appear to make a difference. They do look cool. Like Axolotls, they are supposed to be found in underwater caves.
Goats can be found on mountains. They will randomly headbutt some mobs and players. I believe they are or were supposed to also headbutt trees and lose their horns, which have no purpose yet. They also have their own unique sounds, a rare one is a “screaming” goat. I found where you can hear these sounds, but I’m not sure where that was. Maybe, if you do a search you’ll find them. I believe you can get milk from them as well. I saw a video where they gave birth to a lot of babies, I’m not sure if that’s been changed, though. They can take a lot of fall damage and do jump high. The second part of the update is extending the world height and will allow for very tall mountains, which is where they were supposed to be located in the first place. Powdered snow is also a new block, which players and mobs can fall into and eventually freeze to death. You can walk on powdered snow with leather boots, or negate the entire negative affects with leather armor.
This part of the update also includes new blocks such as copper, amethyst, and more (a total of 91 apparently). Copper is really interesting, because it oxidizes. This means it will gradually turn green over a length of time. You can prevent this or make them stay in the stage of oxidation they are in by “waxing” them by combining them with honey. You can also remove oxidation with an axe. The wiki also states that lightning can remove it as well. Speaking of lighting, you can also use copper to make lightning rods to cover a certain amount of area. They will prevent lightning from striking your buildings and things.
Amethyst is cool, but there’s no use for it other than to craft a spyglass. A spyglass is cool, because it lets you see a good distance away (as it should). You’ll randomly find amethyst geodes in caves. There are certain blocks crystals will grow on and you can harvest what’s grown and more will grow back over time (I believe). They only grow on certain amethyst blocks, though, so you’ll want to be sure just to harvest the crystals and not the blocks. You may also want to find the ones they grow on and make sure there are no other blocks on any side of these blocks, so that crystals can regrow on all sides of them. I think amethyst should also be a block we can use to craft. I think it would make a great building block like everything else. This would mean that people can build purple things along with the many other colors available. At least one of the other blocks also has no purpose other than to surround the amethyst geodes.
What I find disappointing is what will NOT be in this part of the update, which is everything else that was supposed to be in the whole update. The second part of the update arriving at the end of the year is supposed to include all the new cave biomes, new cave and world generation, along with the new tall mountains, and world height extension. Part one may include some cave biomes, but I’m not entirely sure at the moment. Another thing I was most looking forward to was bundles. These are basically sacks that can hold up to 64 items. You can use these to store items and carry the bundles as separate items in your inventory. So, you could take some with you, fill them up, and come back with much more in your inventory than you would have without them. As of the last snapshot I played (about a few weeks ago or so), these were removed, which was extremely disappointing. There is also a new sensor that detects vibrations. Not everything is detected, for instance you can “sneak” and be fine. You can also block the vibrations with blocks of wool. There are also candles and you can make a cluster of them. You can use them for decoration and lighting and also put them on cakes. You can even dye them, though you can’t dye individuals in a cluster. They can also stand on pretty much anything. You can remove what they’re standing on and they’ll still stay where they were. Many of these things I mention were in some snapshots, but have been removed. Some of the things that have been removed are still available in creative mode. I haven’t seen much about it, but there’s supposed to be some kind of new mob in the depths of caves (or a specific cave biome) that is blind and uses vibration to find you, hence the new sensors.
I decided to check out the Java snapshots and Bedrock edition beta versions briefly. I was able to see some of what’s to come in the second part by testing “experimental features.” I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I agree with some others in that Mojang should just wait and release the whole update without splitting it up, even if it means waiting until the end of the year for it. There are things in this update I was looking forward to and knowing we’ll only get some of it now and other things later is kind of disappointing. In fact, since I was able to check out some of the things arriving later, I found myself disappointed. Yes, there things I like about the update, or at least what I saw even with the “experimental features.” But I found some things that I thought I would like, but ended up not liking. For instance, I thought having bigger caves would be cool, but they are hard to light. At first these bigger caves made it easier to find ore, but they’ve made it a little more difficult, though that’s kind of understandable. There are also “noise” caves. This pretty much means there are a couple of styles of caves. One is called a “noodle” cave system in which the caves wind around a lot. Another, some are calling “swiss cheese,” pretty much has caves that have large areas carved into them. These are the ones I thought were interesting at first, but found out they are difficult to light, making it harder to find ores, and also easier for mobs to spawn.
You can look at the wiki for what’s in the first part of the update, but from what I currently see there I don’t believe everything is going to be in it. The page lists bundles and candles, for example, but the last snapshot I played (maybe a few weeks ago) removed them. So, I don’t know exactly what’s in this part of the update other than what I’ve already stated, some of which I got from other news sources. If you want more details and don’t want to look for them, feel free to let me know and I’ll see if I can find them.
You can find some videos about the new content on the Minecraft YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/minecraft/videos
Also, I recommend checking out the Minecraft 1.17 videos on YouTube by Xisumavoid. He does a great job of going over what’s in each snapshot, including new things, bug fixes, and even things that have been removed and pushed to 1.18. He has a lot of other good Minecraft videos you can check out, too. You can find those videos here:
https://www.youtube.com/c/XisumavoidMC/videos
Wiki: https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Java_Edition_1.17
Feel free to check out my other post when the update separation was announced:
https://cheerfulghost.com/GregoPeck/posts/4630/minecraft-caves-cliffs-update-getting-separated
My original source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-caves-and-cliffs-part-1-drops-june-8-with-new-blocks-and-mobs/1100-6492177/?utm_source=gamefaqs&utm_medium=partner&utm_content=news_module&utm_campaign=homepage
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My son will be excited! He is disappointed that the release got broken up, but at least this is something.
Yeah, I understand. Waiting for something isn't fun, especially if you're really looking forward to it, but when the time arrives, you forget about the wait and (at least try to) enjoy what you have. Sadly, I feel like often we wait much longer than the time we spend actually playing and enjoying something. I've noticed this multiple times.
Since this post is recent and I just found something new, I thought I'd share what I just found here instead of making a new post.
Here's a new video featuring a couple members of Mojang answering questions about both parts of the Caves & Cliffs Update: https://youtu.be/_6XjfohyyRg
There are some interesting things to point out. I said in my post that I began to think like some others that I think I'd prefer them to just release everything at once, even if it meant waiting the rest of the year for it. However, I believe they gave a good reason for not doing so. It helps them focus. So, they can finish parts and release them and adjust them with community feedback, but having finished some parts allows them to focus on finishing the rest.
Since world generation is changing in part two, including adjustment how high and deep worlds are, and that Mojang doesn't want to do something that destroys things you've already built, the world generation from old to new is going to feature "blending." This means that where you've already been is going to remain the same, but what you've only seen, but not where you've actually been, and new chunks will have the new world generation. This includes very tall mountains and deeper caves with new biomes.
Another interesting tidbit is that Agnes said they already have a plan for the post Caves & Cliffs Update for Minecraft, which they will announce at Minecraft Live 2021.
The Caves & Cliffs Updates will be released for all platforms at the same time.
Feel free to let me know what you think about this.
Source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-worlds-will-blend-when-new-world-generation-arrives/1100-6492413/
Caves & Cliffs update part 1 is out now with a funny trailer (mostly goats head butting every one): https://youtu.be/0maWbr0FHKY
Here's the article I found that in along with some details of what's in the update (some of which I wasn't sure about):
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-caves-cliffs-part-1-update-is-out-now-watch-a-trailer-here/1100-6492520/
Caves & Cliffs Update 2 comes out 11/30. It contains the rest of the C&C update which consists mostly of the expansion of the world height (it gets much higher and lower). Additional cave features (and bigger mountains) are in it, too. There are parts that were originally announced for the C&C update, but they're going in a future update instead. I was most disappointed that they removed pouches. Those are great items that let you store up to 64 items per inventory slot. I think they would be an awesome addition.
Source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-massive-caves-cliffs-part-ii-update-is-out-november-30/1100-6498110/