News: Minecraft 1.2 updates.

Figured that some might not be keeping up to date and would also like local place to discus the new updates.
The bold and underlined sections are what I consider the most interesting.

World improvements

• Vines are climbable if you push into a solid block while next to them.
• Players are slowed when going through Vines due to their nature of being a collision-less Ladders.
• Added jungle biomes (requires a new world or new chunks) with ferns and new wood and leaf types.
• New jungle-specific Ocelot mob that can be tamed into Cats using Raw Fish.
• Cats will now sit if right-clicked with an empty hand.
• Lava now has sounds.
• Abandoned Mine Shafts now bridge over gaps in paths.
• Added Desert Wells.
• Death screen has a slight delay before buttons become active, to avoid accidentally clicking buttons when killed.
• Pressing F1 disables hitbox outlines on blocks.
• World format changed for the second time
  • Maximum build height increased to 256 (was 128).
  • Empty sections of the world will not be loaded into memory.
  • Block ids increased to 4096 (is 256) by adding a 4 bit data layer (as of this snapshot it is only working for items).
  • Block ordering will be changed from x/z/y to y/z/x in order to improve compression.
  • Packets for sending chunks will be updated (a full 128-high chunk is smaller than the old format, and a chunk with lots of empty space is much smaller).
  • Biomes will be saved per x/z column, which means they can be altered by tools.
• Light calculations in SMP take place client-side
• Monster Spawners now show correct mobs in multiplayer.

Item improvements

• Dispensers dispensing Spawn Eggs will place Mobs instead of simply dispensing the eggs.
• Spawn eggs are now stackable.
• You can get Dead Bushes by using shears on them.
• New Items:
• Fire Charge
• Jungle Sapling
• Bottle o' Enchanting (Creative Mode)
• Spawn Ocelot (Creative Mode)
• Changed Dispenser and Oak Sapling textures. ()
• Doors have been changed to properly detect if they are open or closed. Double Doorsin existing maps will need to be updated.
  • Placing two Pressure Platesdirectly in front of doors and stepping on them will open them correctly.
    • When stepping on a single Pressure Plate only the door on that side will open.
    • When stepping on both Pressure Plates both doors will open.

• Added Redstone Lamp
• Added up-side-down stairs
• Added up-side-down half-slabs
• Added Circle Stone Brick

http://i.imgur.com/QVA1C.png
NPC improvements

• Survival MultiPlayer mob hitboxes are fixed, so they apply to the full mob, instead of only the head.
• Wolves have new AI and can be bred using Raw Chicken, Cooked Chicken, Raw Porkchops, Cooked Porkchops, Raw Beef, Steak, or Rotten Flesh, when tamed.
• Mobs in general have new a AI with new and improved behaviors.
• Creepers no longer explode after death.
• Cats, Ocelots, Zombies, Wolves, and Skeletons no longer spin in circles on non-full-height blocks.
• Zombies have new path-finding AI.
• Skeletons and Zombies burning from sunlight will flee to darkness or jump in Water.
• Mobs no longer attempt to jump over Wooden Fences.
• Mobs no longer attempt to walk over Signs or other non-solid Blocks if the drop below is too tall.
• Creepers run away from Cats and also stalk players.
• Cats can be told to sit.
• Mobs no longer attempt to jump over Nether Brick Fences.
• When a player aggros a hostile mob, it will continue to track the player despite being attacked by other mobs.
• Zombie's AI has been improved.
  • On Hard difficulty and Hardcore Mode, zombies break down Doors.
  • On normal and easy Difficulty, zombies attack but will not break down Doors.
  • Zombies chase and attack Villagers.
  • Zombies attack doors when attempting to escape sunlight.
  
  Added rare Itemdrops for mobs.
  • Zombies have a rare chance to drop a Iron Ingot, Iron Helmet, Iron Shovel, or an Iron Sword.
  • Skeletons have a rare chance to drop a Bow or an Enchanted Bow.
  • Zombie Pigmen have a rare chance to drop a Golden Helmet, Gold Ingot, Golden Sword, or an Enchanted Golden Sword.

• Villagerswill try to detect village houses and live in them.
  • Villagers will roam around at Day and stay inside at Night.
  • Villagers are able to open and close Doors.
  • Villager's AI has been improved.
    • Villagers socialize with each other and passive mobs.
    • Villagers go inside for shelter when it's raining.
    • Villagers run away from Zombies.
  • Added new sounds.
    • Cats meow, cry, howl, purr and hiss.
    • Doors make banging sounds when Zombies attack them.
  • Better movement for mobs in Water.
    • Mobs move slower.
• • Snow Golems take damage from rain and water.
  • Remaining animals were moved into new AI system.
  • Villagers repopulate villages based on the number of houses
  • Zombies have a chance of attacking villages at night
  • Villagers have children, which always sprint
  • Added Iron Golem, a new utility mob
    • Defense for Villages

Ref: Wikipideia and minecraft forum.

Seems like this is a worth while update.

You should get permission from darq to put this on the front page

Should also post the links to the weekly screen shots

Can do.
This week's snapshot, 12w08a.
Client: download here
Server: download here

And if you don't want to break your current version...
Make a new file. (I've bin placing it on my desktop with the name Minecraft Test)
Copy you're .minecraft and minecraft.exe into it.
Unzip the inclosed file to that folder. Titled start minecraft.
(Running the Start minecraft will start a separate minecraft version based in that folder.)

Run it once and make sure it's working thin close and dive into that folder until you get to the minecraft jar listed in there.
Delete that jar.
Replace with the one downloaded above.
Run you're start minecraft and you should be good to go.
(Remember you'll need to download and install new versions of you're mods compatible with these snapshots.)

If you have the need you can copy the whole folder and make as many copies of minecraft as you want or need.


I make no claim to this procedure I found it on line.

Yep I knew where they were, but now it is impossible to miss.

Don't under estimate yourself.

AWESOME UPDATE!!! This is the best besides 1.0! There has only been one other update in the full version, obviously. Does the server have to update to get jungle biomes?

I my opinion this seems way better than 1.0.

i hated 1.0...
i liked 1.6 or the halloween update

Is the server 1.2 already?

Minecraft changed alot, some way's better some way's worse.
But i think this update is pretty good'

Im just excited on the rare mob drops. They will make things interesting

This server is so good maybe he thought Darq got some unprecedented access to the 1.2 server files.

are we going to update the server map to get jungel biomes? or make it bigger? or just leave it?

Read This.

Thanks!