A new preview of Minecraft Update 1.12, also known as The World Of Color Update, debuted on Thursday morning. And the arrival of Minecraft snapshot 17w13a is an exciting time for survival fans, thanks to a laundry list of changes that bolster PvE gameplay.
We’ve known for several days now that this week’s snapshot would add parrots to the growing list of animals that can be tamed by Minecraft players. But this week’s Minecraft patch also includes other exciting additions, like a narrator -- which we’re desperately hoping gets the Snoop Dogg voice pack we all know it deserves -- and a replacement for the game’s existing achievement system.
Minecraft snapshot 17w13a introduces a new set of knowledge and recipe books. The latter tracks the growing number of items that players know how to craft. The former adds new entries to your recipe book and can be used by map makers to implement custom recipes. In less interesting news, this week’s Minecraft snapshot also requires Java 8. So make sure you’re up to date before attempting to check out this week’s World of Color preview.
Here are the complete patch notes for Minecraft snapshot 17w13a, via Jens Bergensten :
K nowledge books and recipe books
doLimitedCrafting gamerule to require recipes to be unlocked before use
Requires Java 8
Items remaining on the crafting grid now move back to their old places in the inventory when closing the interface
Narrator
Toggle with ctrl+B
Reads out chat
Beacons now display their name above themselves, even the default name
A new mob: Parrots, based on macaws
Not a duck or fish
Tamable
Imitates mob sounds around it - More info
Right-click parrots to put them on your shoulders
Parrots stay with the player during elytra flight
Dismount when jumping
Can fly around, but also like to sit when they get tired
Tamable with cookies
Teleport after their owner like other pets
A new feature month's worth of meetings went i nto designing: Data-driven crafting and advancements
A real advancement for the game
Many json files are involved
No UI yet, but one is planned
Makes things customizable and data-driven
Might need a command more complicated than /scoreboard
"Totally only makes sense for survival player, [...] commands are to let [...] mapmakers control it"
"Almost" done, first parts snapshottable within a few weeks
Awards players with things
Players can be awarded items on triggers, for example as they unlock new crafting recipes
Advancements: Storyline-like upgrade trees can display icons and some text, for example when obtaining new items
Advancements
Replacement for achievements
Still no limits on progression
Custom advancements possible for custom maps - More info
Boolean logic for requirements in JSON files: [["a"], ["b", "c"]] == (a || (b && c))
Tab-based UI
More tabs supported but only 4-5 planned for vanilla: "mine & craft", "nether", "end", "combat", "engineering"
Different background per tab , single texture on repeat for now
Data-driven UI, including positioning and layout
F ixed some bugs
Fixed some accidental swastika textures
Fixed the white glazed terracotta texture looking like the symbol of the Hungarian nazi party
Minecraft is currently available for PC, consoles and a variety of handheld devices.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes and follow Scott on Twitter for more Minecraft news throughout 2017 and however long Mojang supports Minecraft in the years ahead.
