Minecraft is always good for interesting stories. No wonder, after all, the block hit is still popular after all these years, and many players let off steam as builders in their worlds to let their creativity run free.
But the current occasion that makes the community cheer is not a particularly imposing building or an ambitious mod. Rather, it is about an emotional find, as it gives the game back a piece of its past. Because an alpha version from the early days that had been lost for years has been found again.
Speaking of interesting structures: Have you always wanted to know what the brick-look fortress of Helms Klamm, known from “The Lord of the Rings”, looks like? Then check out the current trailer for the Minecraft Middle-Earth project:
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Minecraft Middle-Earth – The new trailer shows you Helms Klamm in all its splendor
What is so special about the found version?
The alpha version 1.1.1 is extremely rare. Until now, the Klötzchen community assumed that this edition of the game could never be found again. Because the problem: The version was only available online for a few hours before it was completely deleted.
Minecraft was still a small indie title back then. The game was already very popular, but not yet the gigantic hit that it would become a little later. Where there are fixed roadmaps today, with clear schedules and feature sets, things were much more relaxed and unstructured back then.
The developers at Mojang released Alpha 1.1.1, but due to a bug that could lead to a gray screen, it was replaced a short time later and at the same time deleted by many players. The bottom line was the version only available for 3 hours and 25 minutes before the successor 1.1.2 was released.
On the occasion of Minecraft’s tenth birthday, our plus guru Peter analyzed the success of the game and its effects on the industry in more detail and now comes to the conclusion: Minecraft would have never been better! You can read why he says that in his article:
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I wish Minecraft never existed: The Legacy of Mojang
Over time, the myth about Alpha 1.1.1 grew. Especially archivists like the portal operator Omniarchive looked in vain for an executable version. But so far you had to be content with a few old screenshots.
But a few months ago, attentive eyes came across a tweet from user Luna. It’s quite short and just expresses your joy about a Minecraft update:
Link to Twitter content
What is special, however, is the timestamp. Because it is a tweet from September 18, 2010 – the day on which version 1.1.1 was published.
Luna was contacted a few times because they wanted to follow up on this lead. She finally replied and agreed to plug in her old external hard drive and see if the update file was still on it.
The result was a complete success. They found a Minecraft.jar file with the correct timestamp. It was actually the lost alpha version 1.1.1. The happy owner submitted her find to the omniarchive and is overwhelmed by the reactions of the community:
“Your reactions and the realization of how big this find is literally make me shiver.”
A missing piece of the puzzle about Minecraft’s past has finally been found again – thanks to a simple tweet that has been waiting for its big show for over ten years.
What else there is to know about Minecraft
To conclude this happy story, we still have a few helpful articles related to Minecraft for you. Do you want to make life in the game a little less stressful? Then take a look at our list of all cheats and console commands. If you are interested in the latest version of »Caves & Cliffs« and want to look up what new features it brings, you will find all the information here.
How long have you been playing Minecraft? Can you even remember Alpha 1.1.1, or did you only recently started with the creative construction kit? Let us know in the comments.