14 DAY TRIAL // After launching a pre-release version of patch 1.6.1 for Minecraft, developer Mojang has just released the colloquially-named Horse Update around the world, bringing actual horses, donkeys, and mules to the game but also plenty of other new items, improvements, and other such things.
Minecraft has been a huge success and turned independent developer Minecraft into a very wealthy business, starting with creator Markus "Notch" Persson.
Now, one of the biggest updates in the game's history has been launched, in the form of patch 1.6.1 (aka The Horse Update).
Besides bringing horses, donkeys, and mules to the game, the patch includes plenty of major additions, improvements, bug fixes, and other such things.
You can check out a portion of its massive changelog below, via Reddit.
GENERAL: Additions: • Resource pack system • Replaces the texture pack system. • A conversion tool which converts texture packs into resource packs was released by Dinnerbone
Improvements & changes: • Support for Java 5 and PowerPC users will be dropped • If you have a PowerPC based computer and/or Java 5 installed, a warning will be shown at the main menu. • Internal chat system • Lots of messages should be translated now that were not previously • Messages are now better modularized • Server messages can be sent by their code-defined name, allowing the client to utilize the correct translation according to their language settings • Color can be specifically designated, preventing leakage into further messages • Launcher • Increases performance and stability • Allows LWJGL to be updated, fixing many launcher bugs • Supports multiple versions/installs • Self updatable. • New password storing system • More user friendly. • A major step towards the Plugin API. • New authentication system - "Yggdrasil", which is more secure and has more features
GAMEPLAY: Additions: • Status effects • Health Boost effect • Gives player 4 (Empty Heart.svgEmpty Heart.svg) base health; extra health vanishes when the effect ends • Can be acquired ingame by the command /effect 21 • Absorption effect • Gives player 4 (Heart.svgHeart.svg) "absorption" health that cannot be replenished by natural regeneration or other effects, but would return every 30 seconds, regardless of the state of the rest of the health bar; extra health vanishes when the effect ends • Can be acquired ingame by the command /effect 22 or by eating either tier of Golden Apple • Saturation effect • Causes food meter to be replenished by 1 (Half Hunger.svg) per tick. • Can be acquired ingame by the command /effect 23 • Commands • /spreadplayers • Spreads certain players from an origin point • Has a Max Spread and Minimum Distance from player to player • Can be used with the teams scoreboard functionality to spread team members to the same location • /playsound • Can use to play sound to player • Can change the pitch and/or volume • Can use sound from resource pack • Added /gamerule arguments • naturalRegeneration • Toggles natural health regeneration • doDaylightCycle • Toggles the day-night cycle (the sun stops moving and stays where it is)
Improvements & changes: • Riding mounts • When riding a mob, its health is on the Heads-up display • When riding on an entity, dismounting has changed from right-clicking the entity to using the Sneak key (? Left Shift by default) • Boat controls have been changed from the A, S, and D keys to mouse control • Respiration enchantment • Now also helps seeing underwater • Changed the idea of mob difficulty • Regional difficulty: The longer you spend in one area, the harder it gets • Scales with difficulty - items, enchants or AI improve with difficulty • Tooltips • Added extra tooltip info in the search tab for the creative inventory, which shows what category a block/item is in • Tooltips for swords, pickaxes, shovels, axes, and potions show how much damage the sword/tool does and what effect a potion will give • Status effect • Balanced to improve gameplay • Instant Health nerfed by 33% (heals only 4 health points/2 hearts at level I) • Regeneration nerfed by 50% (takes 50 ticks/2.5 seconds to restore 1 health point/.5 heart at level I) • Invisibility potions now work better with teams • Hunger • Natural health regeneration now costs hunger points/saturation points • Creative mode • It is no longer possible to break blocks with swords in Creative mode
BLOCK & ITEMS: Additions: • Horse Armor • Exist in diamond, iron and gold variants • Cannot be crafted. Can only be found in most types of generated chests, including in dungeons, Nether Fortresses, Desert Temples, and Jungle Temples • Horse Spawn Egg • Works like any other spawn egg • Just like naturally spawned Horses, these Horses will have one of seven base colours and one of five variations of markings • Sometimes a Donkey will be spawned instead • Hay Bale • Can be placed in all orientations • Crafted with wheat in a 3x3 arrangement • Lead • Can be used to bind mobs to fences or lead them around • Right click mob first, then right-click fence or right-click the mob again to get the leash back • Crafted with 4 string and 1 slimeball, yields 2 leads • Carpets • Crafted with 2 colors of wool in a horizontal line, yields 3 carpets • Can be placed on any block (even translucent ones) • Name Tag • Found in dungeon chests • Name it in an anvil, then right click a mob to name it. • Hardened Clay • Obtained by smelting a clay block in a furnace • Stained Clay • Comes in 16 colors, one for each dye. • Similar to wool. • Made by surrounding any dye with hardened clay • Block of Coal • Crafted with 3x3 coal. • Crafted only with coal, not charcoal. • Can be used as furnace fuel and smelts 80 items, more than 9 coal (72 smelted items).
Improvements & changes: • Charcoal • Retextured, with more brown shading to differentiate from coal • Lapis Lazuli Block • Retextured subtly, it now has a border around it • Saddle • You can now put a saddle on a horse • Redstone Comparator • Now give out a signal for Cauldrons and End Portal frames depending on their state • Cauldrons give from zero signal (empty) to three signal strength (full) depending on water inside • End Portal frame varies between zero and fifteen signal strength, depending on if an Eye of Ender is present • Golden Apple • Golden apples now require gold ingots instead of gold nuggets to craft • Golden apples now give Regeneration II for 10 seconds and both tiers give Absorption for 1 min 30 seconds • Glistering Melon • Glistering melons now require 8 gold nuggets • Spawn Eggs • Spawn eggs work on water
You can download Minecraft patch 1.6.1 stable right now from Softpedia.