The game most every student’s grandmother has heard of, Minecraft, ran by the company Mojang, again comes out with another update, this time meeting the community’s expectations and exceeding them. In the next update, players are receiving features such as the happy ghast, new and improved functionality with leads, as well as- hopefully- Vibrant Visuals. Accompanying these features, Minecraft has already released the Spring to Life update, 1.20.5, implementing mob variants for the cow, pig and chicken, falling leaves with leaf patches, firefly bushes and distinct spawn eggs.
But, with these updates coming out, why do some people think these new additions to the game may still be lacking or unpromising?
“I haven’t played modern versions of Minecraft on Java [Edition for computer users] in years, but when I do play Bedrock [Edition of Minecraft for mobile users] on occasion I find they are constantly changing things, and I honestly preferred Minecraft back when netherrack looked like throw-up,” stated junior Lucas Spangler.
Minecraft had recently made the decision to make the updates smaller, but more frequent and with more complex features instead of one big update with a variety of aspects inside it. This is so they can gain feedback from the community as they create the updates. However, compared to the updates before, the newer ones may seem underwhelming. Even though this is a big change for the Minecraft community, many people are unhappy that they are not sure what to expect in Mineraft’s future past the few things the developers announce twice a year.
“It kinda seems like the new update is leaning heavily on making the game more aesthetic while updates in the past have focused on adding things like mobs or new items,” stated junior Piper Zuniga.
Perhaps one of the most disappointing things for players is the delayment of the Vibrant Visuals part of the update to Java edition. Vibrant Visuals will make the graphics of Minecraft more realistic and immersive, a feature recently announced by Minecraft’s developers at Mojang. While Java’s counterpart, Bedrock Edition, is receiving the Vibrant Visuals soon out of snapshots, Java still has to wait. This is because Java came before the Bedrock edition of the game and used an older method of game coding. Inorder to implement Vibrant Visuals without causing lag which slows the game down, developers need to rewrite the entirety of the code for Java edition in a more modern method to have a faster game play. This step inevitably will take considerable time, but not only will Java eventually get Vibrant Visuals, but it will also receive a large performance boost as well.
“I would say though that there are certain things that I do like about the newer updates, like the happy ghast. I find it hilarious that you can take one of the horrors of the nether and make it a cute little pet that you can kidnap- I mean transport- villagers with,” remarked Spangler.
Players though are still raving about the upcoming update, particularly because of the happy ghast mob. The happy ghast’s story does not start so happily though, as it is only found in the nether, within a Soul Sand Valley next to a bone structure, appearing as the dried ghast (alternatively, players can craft the dried ghast). Upon taking it to the overworld and waterlogging it for approximately 20 out of game minutes, the dried ghast will complete its transformation through four stages and take flight as a ghastling- a miniature happy ghast that will follow creatures, including the player, around. It is possible to speed up the ghastling’s growth in this stage by feeding it snow balls that will turn it into a happy ghast.
The happy ghast then has numerous uses. Up to four players may sit on a happy ghast at a time, as well as stand on it, the happy ghast becoming a large, unmoving platform to build or jump from. Additionally, leads may be attached to the happy ghast as well as another large mob (a creature that does not fit in a boat or minecart) for a novel transportation method, essentially airlifting. Boats work with this mechanic as well, so say goodbye to the days of hassling villagers around in minecarts, instead put them in a boat and attach the boat with a lead to the happy ghast.
Along with this lead feature, it is now possible to attach any leadable mob together with another leadable mob to form a caravan. Other smaller integrations have been implemented as well, such as making it possible to take a lead directly off a fence post without the lead dropping to the ground.
This yet-to-be-named Minecraft update has once again sparked the interest and creativity of the Minecraft community. Players hope that Mojang will continue to produce such enjoyable content as they have in this update moving forwards and continue to stick to their promises of features to come.