Minecraft 1.4 is finally hear, just in time for Halloween.
This update is dubbed the "Scary update" and includes a lot of features for Halloween.
As usual, I have setup a temp server for 1.4. There is no plugins, so greifing cannot be controlled, so build far out. Also this map will actually not be going anywhere and will be backed up this time, since we have a better server than before.
IP: temp.topminecraft.net
Check the changes in the image below or for a full list, click the spoiler.
Spoiler: 1.4 Changes/Updates Full List
Improved server list
Server IPs can now be hidden individually when editing or adding a server
Server version is now displayed left of the connection bars
Server ping tooltip now shows if the server and client have mismatching protocol versions
Mismatching servers can't be joined
Improved settings menu
Renamed Chat Settings to Multiplayer Settings
Added an option for cape-owners to hide their capes in-game
Added Fullscreen and VSync toggles
Improved F3 mode
The piechart is now shown when using shift+F3 instead of vice versa
Added the cardinal direction and the degree value to the f value indicating the direction the player is facing
Now shows which chunk and where in that chunk the player is in on X and Z values
Pressing P while holding F3 will toggle the auto-pause when the Minecraft window loses focus
Pressing H while holding F3 will toggle detailed item descriptions, which additionally show item id, damage value, color code, tool/armor/weapon damage and map zoom level and scale on the tooltip
Updated language files
Gameplay
Improved Multiplayer
Spawn protection now is disabled if there's nothing in ops.txt
Spawn protection radius can now be changed in the server.properties file
Improved Creative inventory
Items can now be cloned by using Pick Block on them - An item stack with the highest amount of items possible in it will be created
Items can now be shift-clicked around on the survival inventory screen
Improved General inventory
Pressing the 1-9 hotkeys while hovering over an item will exchange that item with the one from the corresponding hotbar slot
Status effects now cause the inventory window to be off-center regardless of screen aspect ratio
Added & improved a few commands
Added /difficulty command to change difficulty[1]
/difficulty 0 = peaceful
/difficulty 1 = easy
/difficulty 2 = normal
/difficulty 3 = hard
Toggling PvP[2]
Added /spawnpoint to change your own or other players' spawnpoint to where you are standing or to specified coordinates
/spawnpoint
Added /w, an alias for /tell
Added /weather to change the current weather and optionally set the duration for the new weather
/weather [clear | rain | thunder]
Added /gamerule
to look up and change gamerules regarding Command Block output
/gamerule doFireTick - Whether fire should spread
/gamerule doMobLoot - Whether mobs should drop items
/gamerule doMobSpawning - Whether mobs should naturally spawn
/gamerule doTileDrops - Whether blocks should have drops (does not work for paintings)
/gamerule keepInventory - Whether the player should keep items in their inventory if they die.
/gamerule mobGriefing - Whether creepers, endermen and withers should be able to change blocks.
Added /clear to clear a specified player's entire inventory or remove only one block/item from it
Changed /xp so it can be used to give and take entire experience levels by appending "L" to the number
Changed /tp to work with relative coordinates
Added command target selectors[3][4][5]
Available selectors:
@p - Closest player
@a - All players
@r - Random player
Can have arguments specified in [] using the syntax x=0, where x is the argument
Available arguments:
x,y,z - Coordinates
r - Range
m - Gamemode
l - Minumum experience level
lm - Maximum experience level
rm - Minimum range
Special argument only usable with @a:
c - the maximum count of players to return. Numbers below 0 will make it return the last x amount of entries
Updated the sound engine
Added sounds for placing Wood-, Stone-, Plant-, Sand- and Gravel-like blocks
Added sounds for walking on Sand, Gravel, Soulsand, Grass and Stone
Added sounds for zombies, skeletons, cows, pigs, spiders, endermen, ghasts, silverfish, magma cubes, wolves, the ender dragon, bats and the anvil.
Added sounds for curing a zombie, infecting a villager and a remedy sound.
Added sounds for setting things on fire and shearing sheep
Added sounds for climbing ladders and riding minecarts
Added a sound for levelling up which is played every 5 levels
Added constant noise to liquids
Improved Portals
Mobs, items and projectiles now pass through them, preserving momentum[6][7][8]
Entities will pass through instantly, but at a longer "cooldown"[9]
Portals will allow fire burning entities like blazes to leave the Nether and potentially burn things[10]
Portals will teleport an entity relative to where it entered[11][12]
Players are now positioned correctly when going through Nether Portals
Nether Portals are now instant for players in Creative mode
Improved Adventure mode
Blocks can now be mined with the proper tools
Blocks can now be placed
Improved Breeding
Chickens now use seeds instead of wheat to breed[13]
Pigs now use carrots instead of wheat to breed
You can now restore a desolate village or create a completely new village[14]
Added & changed many minor things
Added Boss Names above boss health bars
Experience is now awarded for fishing and breeding
Worlds can now be re-created from the world selection screen
Changed many items, improving item icon style to be more consistent
Items spawned using /give are picked up almost instantly now
Doors, trapdoors, levers and buttons are no longer triggerable with the left mouse button[15]
Added an NBT tag for items to have lores
Added an NBT tag for mobs to decide whether they can despawn
Fixed many bugs
Fixed /me command only working for ops
Fixed /tell not working correctly
Partially cured lighting glitches
Fixed held items being colored when wearing tinted blocks/armor
Fixed the second layer on skins not being placed correctly when sneaking
Blazes now properly spawn in Nether Fortresses
Fixed pets teleporting around randomly
Fixed PvP-disabled servers still allowing players to set other players on fire using Fire Aspect enchanted swords
Fixed entities in minecarts becoming invisible
Fixed mobs randomly suffocating
Fixed stairs, slabs & fences glitching visually sometimes
Fixed mobs falling through blocks
Fixed wet wolves looking way too scary
World Generation
Customizable World generation[16]
Made superflat worlds customizable[17][18]
Are now made up of layers specified with block id, data value and height
Biome can now be changed
All generation settings are stored in a preset, which can be shared and re-used
Terrain can now be decorated and structures other than villages can spawn
Default presets:
Classic Flat - 2;7,2x3,2;1;village
Tunnelers' Dream - 2;7,230x1,5x3,2;3;stronghold,biome_1,decoration,dungeon,mineshaft
Water World - 2;7,5x1,5x3,5x12,90x9;1;biome_1,village
Overworld -2;7,59x1,3x3,2;1;stronghold,biome_1,village,decoration,dungeon,lake,mineshaft,lava_lake
Snowy Kingdom - 2;7,59x1,3x3,2,78;12;biome_1,village
Bottomless Pit - 2;2x4,3x3,2;1;biome_1,village
Desert - 2;7,230x1,5x3,2;3;stronghold,biome_1,decoration,dungeon,mineshaft
Redstone Ready -
Preset format with example: 95;35:2;2x20;1;stronghold – 95 is the format version, followed by a semicolon and the layer information. Every new layer is separated by a comma and must consist of the block id (35) and can additionally have :2 appended to specify 2 as the data value. Before that, you can put 2x to specify that this layer should be put 2 times. After a semicolon follows the biome id. After another semicolon follow all structures to be generated, including their options.
Added Witch Huts in swamps[19]
Silverfish blocks now rarely generate in Extreme Hills biomes
On average, nearly one Silverfish block is generated per Extreme Hills chunk
Carrots and potatoes can now be found growing in villages [20]
Blocks & Items
Command blocks
Runs editable commands when triggered by redstone
Intended for adventure maps
Can only be edited by OPs, as long as enable-command-block in server.properties is enabled
Only obtainable using /give playername 137[21][22]
Can operate in silent mode where it doesn't display commands in the chat box. [23]
Beacons
Intended as an endgame block
Continuously glows and gives a selected status effect to players within 16 blocks while beaming a beacon of light directly upwards (as bright as glowstone)
Activated by building a solid pyramid of iron/gold/emerald/diamond blocks underneath and selecting an effect
The cheapest configuration requires 9 blocks, while the best configuration requires 164 blocks
Has to be directly exposed to skylight to work
Building square platforms of increasing size and the same material per layer will activate it and increase range and status effect selection
Viable materials are iron, gold, diamond and emerald blocks
Changing selected status effects costs 1 emerald, diamond, gold ingot or iron ingot
Unlockable effects, with increasing amount of required layers of blocks required:
Speed and Haste
Resistance and Jump Boost
Strength
When all 4 layers of blocks underneath are built correctly, a second status effect can be chosen
This second status effect is Regeneration or tier II of the previously chosen effect
Effects given by the Beacon will have less intrusive particles than others on the screen, such as those of potions
Anvils[24]
Used for repairing and combining enchanted items as well as for renaming any item/block for experience levels
Tools can also be repaired using one piece of their material
Enchantments that are the same are upgraded by one level as long as they are both the same level and the higher level exists
Conflicting enchantments will be removed and only the first one will be kept
Becomes damaged from using and dropping it - Damage persists in inventory and splits up into 3 categories: Anvil, Slightly Damaged Anvil & Very Damaged Anvil
Can be placed in 4 orientations, but can't be moved by pistons
Experience level cost depends on enchantment levels & rarities, whether the item will be renamed and whether the item has been used with an anvil before - Maximum experience level cost is 39 levels, unless in Creative mode[25]
For a more detailed explanation on how enchantments are combined using the anvil, see the Anvil mechanics page
Is affected by gravity and does 1 heart of damage to mobs and players it falls on per block it fell, excluding the first one - Players killed by a falling anvil cause the death message "Player was squashed by a falling anvil" to appear in chat
Certain blocks are destroyed when an anvil falls on them: levers, buttons, torches, redstone torches, redstone repeaters, flower pots, rails & mob heads
Mob Spawners
Added a few NBT tags to change a few key spawning rules
Range can now be changed
Maximum amount of spawned entities within spawning range can now be changed
Horizontal spawning radius can now be changed
Spawned mobs can wear and carry any items and blocks as well as have a custom drop rate of held items
Added an NBT tag for mobs to decide whether they can despawn
Added an NBT tag for mobs to decide whether they are invincible
Repeaters
Can now be locked by powering their sides with another repeater
When locked, they show a little bedrock barrier in place of the delay indicator torch and won't change their output signal
Flower Pots [26]
Lets players plant all kinds of saplings, mushrooms, flowers, cacti, dead shrubs and ferns [27]
Using pick block on it gives the potted plant
Right-click it with something to plant it, hit it to get both back
Cobblestone Walls [28]
Available in cobblestone and moss stone variants
Behave like fences - Connect to each other, to other blocks and to fence gates & have a 1.5 blocks high collision box
Have a different, higher shape in corners and when blocks are placed on them
Wooden logs
Changed placement: Instead of facing the player, it will face the surface it is placed on
Place it on the side of a block to get a sideways log.
Place it on the top or bottom of a block to get a topside log.
Stairs
Now connect to other stairs to form corner stairs [29]
Item Frames [30]
All items and blocks can be framed [31]
Clocks, compasses and maps function - Maps show only one marker, the frame itself [32][33][34]
Mounted maps show markers on copies of that map
Using pick block on it gives the framed item/block, but only works in Creative
Paintings
Added Wither painting
Mob Heads [35]
Are very rarely dropped when mobs are killed by players
Only drop from Wither Skeletons, but also exist for creepers, zombies, skeletons and players
Can be put on the ground in 16 orientations and hung on walls
Can be worn
Using external editors or mods player skulls can be assigned to specific players - They then have tooltip "Player's Head"
Add the NBT tag "SkullOwner" -> (player name) on the skull items.
Trapdoors
Can now be placed on the top half of blocks [36]
Placement works similar to that of slabs and stairs
Buttons
Now stays active for 0.2 seconds longer
New crafting recipe – Only 1 stone block required
Wooden Buttons
Additionally can be activated by arrows
Requires 1 wooden plank to craft
Fire
Now spreads more aggressively depending on difficulty[37]
Saplings
Decreased hitbox size
TNT
Is now triggered by flaming arrows
Potatoes
Can be planted on hydrated soil and drop 1-4 potatoes when fully grown
Can be grown instantly using bonemeal
Can be Smelted to receive a baked potato
Rarely drop poisoned potatoes
Potatoes give 0.5 hunger points, poisoned potatoes give 1 hunger point and have a chance to poison you, baked potatoes give 3 hunger points
Carrots
Can be planted on hydrated soil and drop 2-4 carrots when fully grown
Can be grown instantly using bonemeal
Can be crafted surrounded with 8 gold nuggets to get a golden carrot
Carrots give 2 hunger points, golden carrots give 3 hunger points
Carrot on a Stick
Used to control pigs
When held, it dictates the direction pigs players are riding will head in
Nearby pigs flock towards players holding it
Slowly loses durability when riding pigs
Pigs start slow but end up going about 5 blocks per second[38]
Can be right-clicked to give the pig a short speed boost - This takes up a chunk of the durability
The pigs ‘eat’ the carrot eventually, leaving the player a fishing rod and will require another carrot to continue riding. [39][40]
To craft, the carrot must be placed at a diagonal below the fishing rod[41]
Pumpkin Pie [42]
Restores 4 hunger points
The crafting recipe is shapeless: assemble a Pumpkin, Egg and Sugar into the crafting inventory
Nether Star
Drops from Withers
Used to craft the Beacon
Glows like an enchanted item
Night Vision Potion
Brewed by adding a Golden Carrot to an Awkward Potion
Invisibility Potion [43]
Effect now hides the nametag and cape[44]
Mobs only attack you when you walk into them or attack them
Splash potions of invisibility can also make mobs partially invisible, although eyes of some mobs still show
Brewed by adding a Fermented Spider Eye to a Potion of Night Vision
Potions
Can now have any available potion effects, level and duration
Data are saved using NBT tags, but potions retain their original color
Maps
Are now crafted as an Empty Map and will become a real map by right-clicking
Start out at their closest zoom level and can be extended by adding more paper [45]
Players see other players moving around on the same map
Craft an existing map with an empty map to receive an extra copy of the map [46]
Removed text overlay
Are labelled 'Map #0' and so on
Now align to a grid and can be stacked to 64
When outside a map's range, the player is displayed as a small circle at the edge
Armor
Diamond Armor sleeves now have a notch on the inner side
Completely revamped leather armor
Leather Armor
Can now be dyed in 16,777,216 potential different colors [47] [48]
Putting it in a crafting grid with dyes applies all colors
Dyed armor's tooltip will display ‘’Dyed’’
Right-click dyed armor on cauldrons to wash it and remove some water from the cauldron [49]
Changed item and model color and texture
Now uses two overlayed textures, one being the color
Mobs
Wither
Three-headed flying player-created boss mob shooting projectiles at mobs that are not undead and players
Place 4 pieces of Soulsand in a T-shape and place 3 Wither Skeleton Skulls on top to summon it
After spawning, it flashes blue, builds up health, grows slightly and is invincible for a few seconds - Then it explodes and starts attacking players and mobs
Each head can fire projectiles, so called Wither Skulls, at different targets - Projectiles explode on impact
Shoots two kinds of projectile - a blue one from the little heads, targeting mobs and a dark one from the big head targeting players
When hit by projectiles, players get the ‘’Wither II’’ effect, which acts like a slower poison effect that can kill and turns affected players' health bars' hearts black
Constantly regenerates health
Gains Wither armor when taken down to half health, making it immune to arrows
Drops a Nether Star when killed
Darkens the sky when spawned in the Overworld
Wither Skeletons
Carry and rarely drop Stone swords when killed by players
Drop bones, coal, and rarely wither skulls
Give players Wither effect when hitting them
Spawn in Nether Fortresses
Will now rarely, depending on difficulty, spawn with the ability to pick up armor, head wear, items, blocks, weapons and tools [50] - Armor and tools & swords are equipped automatically and will be exchanged for better gear when possible [51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59] - Items that are picked up will have a 100% chance of dropping after dying[60] - When killed, they drop what they are holding [61] [62]
All equipped gear is functional - Swords and tools do more damage on attacks, armor protects the mob
Rare tool drops now are damaged when it drops
More advanced gear is more likely to spawn with mobs when playing on harder difficulties and rarely drops when the mob is killed by players
Witch
Looks like an offshoot villager
Throws splash potions of poison, slowness, weakness and instant damage at players
Holds a potion and wiggles its magical nose with a wart on it when attacking
Has a hat, which sometimes emits particles
Regenerates health over time
Drinks potions of instant health and fire resistance to defend themselves in combat
Is immune to 80% of splash potions' effects
Drops Sticks, Glowstone, Redstone, Gunpowder, Sugar, Spider Eyes, Empty Bottles & Water Bottles when killed
Has a chance to drop the potion it is holding if killed by players
Spawn in Witch Huts in swamps
Bats[63]
Hang on the ceiling when idle, starts flying when players come near
Spawn in dark caves
Sleep at day
Don't trigger pressure plates or tripwire
Tamed wolves
Their collars can now be dyed by right-clicking the wolf with dye [64]
Iron Golems
Now attack creepers, Slimes and Magma Cubes
All hostile mobs
Will now jump down to players as long as they can survive the fall
Depending on difficulty, they are willing to take more damage
Creepers
Will start exploding when they hit the ground, with explosions being more imminent with higher falls
Can now have custom explosion radius and fuse timer using edited mob spawners and NBT tags
Zombies
Will now rarely spawn with armor of all kinds, sometimes enchanted
Will now rarely, depending on difficulty, spawn with the ability to pick up armor, head wear, items, blocks, weapons and tools [50] - Armor and tools & swords are equipped automatically and will be exchanged for better gear when possible [65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73] - Items that are picked up will have a 100% chance of dropping after dying[74] - When killed, they drop what they are holding [75] [76]
All equipped gear is functional - Swords and tools do more damage on attacks, armor protects the mob
Rare tool drops now are damaged when it drops
More advanced gear is more likely to spawn with mobs when playing on harder difficulties and rarely drops when the mob is killed by players
When wearing helmets, they will not burn up - Instead all damage will is applied to the helmet [77]
Using modified mob spawners they can have a custom drop rate of items and hold and wear all kinds of items and blocks
Now have a chance, depending on difficulty, to infect villagers after killing them - The villager then gets replaced with a villager zombie on death [78] [79]
On Normal difficulty, there is a 50% chance of infection and on Hard difficulty there is a 100% chance of infection[80]
Infected baby villagers turn into baby villager zombies [81][82]
Baby zombies are 50% faster, don't age, don't burn up in the sun and can wear armor[83][84][85][86][87]
Right-clicking a villager zombie under the influence of a Weakness potion with a golden apple will invert their potion effect, make them wiggle slightly and eventually turn back into a villager [88]
Now rarely spawn holding iron swords or iron shovels
When holding something in their hands, their arms move upwards when attacking
Added baby zombie, which is only spawnable using mods or third-party tools
Will now rarely drop carrots and potatoes when killed by players
Skeletons
Will now rarely spawn with armor of all kinds, sometimes enchanted
Will now rarely, depending on difficulty, spawn with the ability to pick up armor, head wear, items, blocks, weapons and tools [50] - Armor and tools & swords are equipped automatically and will be exchanged for better gear when possible [89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97] - Items that are picked up will have a 100% chance of dropping after dying[98] - When killed, they drop what they are holding [99] [100]
All equipped gear is functional - Swords and tools do more damage on attacks, armor protects the mob
Rare tool drops now are damaged when it drops
More advanced gear is more likely to spawn with mobs when playing on harder difficulties and rarely drops when the mob is killed by players
When wearing helmets, they will not burn up - Instead all damage is applied to the helmet [77]
Using modified mob spawners they can have a custom drop rate of items and hold and wear all kinds of items and blocks
Now sometimes, carry enchanted bows - Those items can be dropped when killed by players
Zombie Pigmen
Will now rarely, depending on difficulty, spawn with the ability to pick up armor, head wear, items, blocks, weapons and tools [50] - Armor and tools & swords are equipped automatically and will be exchanged for better gear when possible [101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109] - Items that are picked up will have a 100% chance of dropping after dying[110] - When killed, they drop what they are holding [111] [112]
All equipped gear is functional - Swords and tools do more damage on attacks, armor protects the mob
Rare tool drops now are damaged when it drops
More advanced gear is more likely to spawn with mobs when playing on harder difficulties and rarely drops when the mob is killed by players
Using modified mob spawners they can have a custom drop rate of items and hold and wear all kinds of items and blocks
Now rarely carry enchanted golden swords
Dropped Golden Swords now sometimes are damaged
Added baby Zombie Pigman, which is only spawnable using mods or third-party tools
Villagers
Improved villagers to make them more self-aware[113]
All villagers of one village can now like and dislike specific players [114]
Will like players more for trading with them [115]
Will like players less for hurting them or their golems
When players are really disliked, iron golems of that village can become aggressive towards those players
After a villager dies to natural causes, excluding mobs, while a player is within 16 blocks or if a mob kills a villager, no baby villagers will be produced in the next few minutes
Changed and added some trades to counteract emerald farming and improve gameplay
Will show particle effects indicating a change of liking towards a player
Pigs
Can now accelerate to up to 5 m/s
Now drop their saddle when killed
Slimes
Now spawn in swamps at night
Sheep
Sheep from spawn eggs can now spawn natural colored sheep (white, gray, brown, pink, etc.)