Since the announcement many months ago, fans have been waiting for the Caves & Cliffs updates for Minecraft, which developer Mojang is releasing in two separate patches. The first part with update 1.17 was released in June, now the second and final step will follow soon.
Last update: 11. August 2021
New: Snapshot Version 3 with new biome
Update 1.18 for Minecraft is now in beta, the so-called snapshot, is available for the Java and Bedrock version. We summarize for you which innovations are included in the update and how you install the snapshot.
That’s in Caves & Cliffs Part 2
Like in official blog post As the developer can read, the second part of the big update now contains the most exciting new features from Caves & Cliffs. It goes so far that the world of Minecraft will definitely look different afterwards.
New mountain biomes: High, snow-covered peaks and slopes, small forests on the edge and more. The mountains received a major overhaul and from now on appear more naturally placed in the world. In addition, the maximum height of the game world is adjusted (maximum 320 blocks).
New generation of caves: Caves are becoming more extensive and varied. They offer more narrow passages, underground lakes, meander underground through the world or arise inside a mountain and form a kind of stalactite cave. The maximum depth of the game world is now at level -64 (previously: 0).
Natural terrain variation: Variations in terrain and height can now occur independently of biomes. For example, forests or deserts can form on a hill without a special biome being created.
New ore distribution: The important minerals of the Minecraft world are completely redistributed. How exactly is shown by the developers in a provisional graphic. However, this is not yet final, which means that changes may still be made.
New monster rule: Enemies spawn in Minecraft only in absolute darkness. Previously, monsters could appear in weakly dimmed regions, but that’s over now.
What’s new in Snapshot 2
Mojang has now released one second experimental snapshotmaking a few changes. This primarily concerns the generation of the world.
New biomes: In the first snapshot the Ice Spikes and Eroded Badlands were missing. Both biomes have now been added to the world pool and can appear.
Fewer microbiomes: The number of smaller biomes within a biome has been reduced. At the same time, the individual biomes have been enlarged and should be less fragmented. The swamp biome should now also be generated correctly.
More and less beach: Beach areas are now much larger. In return, there are now areas where there is simply no beach at all.
Bigger mountains: The mountain ranges in Minecraft can now grow really high. Up to 260 blocks in height are possible. The huge mountains should still be very rare.
Adaptation of caves: The entrances to huge networks of caves are a bit smaller and the chance of them reaching the ground has been reduced. In addition, the underground biomes have been adjusted so that they conflict with other biomes less often.
More enemies with spawners: The spawners for zombies, skeletons, spiders and cave spiders will now spawn more enemies up to a light level of 11. That should lead to a greater challenge.
New world needs: If you have created a world with the first snapshot, you have to generate a fresh world again for version 2. Older worlds lead to an error message.
What’s new in Snapshot 3
After a hopefully relaxing vacation, the developer Mojang reported back and now has the third experimental snapshot in his luggage. On paper, there aren’t too big changes this time around compared to the previous versions.
In addition to a few bug fixes and terrain changes as well as tweaks to the biome generation, there is a new biome in Snapshot 3. the »Stony peaks« are a variant of the new snow-capped mountains with the difference that they offer stone and gravel instead of snow and ice. The developers want to counteract extreme temperature differences, for example when such high mountain ranges arise in the middle of the jungle.
In general, there are many adjustments to the biomes in this snapshot. It should now be less likely that a snow biome will arise in the middle of the desert and microbiomes should reappear more often compared to Snapshot 2. In addition, enemy pillager outposts can now also be created in the mountain biomes. Finally, aquifers can now reach even deeper levels and are more likely to be connected to complex cave systems.
The complete changes to Experimental Snapshot 3 can be found on the Minecraft-Website. There is also the download. You can find the installation steps in the next section.
Install snapshot in the Java edition
To try out the early development version of Update 1.18, you need the current snapshot. Unlike usual, however, this cannot simply be installed via the launcher. Follow these steps to test the development version:
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Charged it 1.18 Snapshot from the developer side down.
- Press the Win + R keys and enter% appdata% . Minecraft in the address bar and click on “Ok”.
- Switch to the »Versions« folder and unzip the downloaded snapshot there.
- Start the Minecraft launcher and click on “Installations”, there you check the box “Modified”.
- Click on “New Installation” and think of any name.
- For »Version«, look for »pending 1.18_experimental-snapshot-2.zip« in the list (if you don’t see the version, restart the launcher once)
- Then click on »Create« and start the version you just created.
There is also one from the developers graphical version of the installation steps in English. Note, however, that with the snapshot necessarily generate a new world have to. Worlds from Minecraft version 1.17 should only be compatible with a later update.
more on the subject
Minecraft: Java, Bedrock, Windows – All versions explained
Activate the update in the Bedrock edition
In the Bedrock version of Minecraft you can also try out the second part of Caves & Cliffs in advance. The installation is much simpler:
- Starts the Bedrock version of Minecraft and creates a new world or uses an existing one.
- Under the game settings you will find the tab »Experiments«.
- Activate “Caves and Cliffs” here and confirm in the window that you want to use the experimental changes.
If you activate the changes in an existing world, the game will automatically create a copy of your world for you with the new features. This way your original world is not damaged or made unplayable.
When will Minecraft 1.18 be released?
By the way, there is no release date for the final version of Minecraft 1.18 and thus the second part of Caves & Cliffs. Many of the changes are far-reaching and require a lot of testing time, which is why the developers are already starting with the very experimental versions.
The first regular snapshot for update 1.18 is expected in September to appear. It remains to be seen whether there will be any additional changes.
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