Anybody else feel that minecraft slipped after Microsoft bought it. Before microsoft, every update felt like it added something of content, but now every update feels like its just added to make the game look better. Take the caves and cliffs update: those giant caves may look cool, but whats the fucking point? The mining experience is not really “supposed” to be this open. There was nothing wrong with the old caves, and now the new caves are not the same. I miss the pre 1.8 days of adding brand new mechanics like restone.

  • @Halasham
    1•1 year ago

    Honestly, Caves & Cliffs did add quite a bit but it is more in how to use features.

    • Dripstone: It’s mechanics allow for several new types of farms. Renewable Lava as one example
      • With ‘The Wild’ Update we can also now farm Clay by conversion of Dirt to Mud then drying it with Dripstone
      • Pointed Dripstone also provide us with the ability to make cheaper and more compact vertical traps
    • Copper: It’s definitely a mostly-decorative blockset but it greatly expands available color/texture range for builds into previously unrepresented Oranges and Blues
      • Lightning Rods are also a thing now allowing us to protect lightning-sensitive builds from strikes.
    • Amethyst: Again is mostly-decorative however it can be used to craft Spyglasses which offer full-Vanilla zoom
      • Amethyst blocks also produce new sounds unique to them. This gained functionality with the advent of Wireless Redstone introduced with ‘The Wild’ update
      • Amethyst is also used in crafting Tinted Glass which allows us to view the inside of light-sensitive builds without letting light in.
    • Moss: Another mostly-decorative block that actually has noteworthy functionality, fully autonomous Bonemeal Farms can be constructed with them.
      • Moss blocks also break quickly and spread over most blocks when bonemealed so can be used for excavating an area if you have a good Bonemeal supply.
      • Moss carpets don’t burn which makes them the ideal floor for a Strider Dock as the Striders won’t be cold (and thus trying to move into Lava) and you won’t risk dumping yourself into the Lava
    • Axolotls: Water-Dogs for those of us who want NPC backup while underwater like we can get on land with tamed Wolves. (As some of the C&C Update’s artwork shows this is great for dealing with Ocean Monuments)
    • Deepslate: While it’s longer break time than stone is annoying it has higher Blast Resistance as well which can be useful in niche cases when building with TNT
    • Powdered Snow: A new overworld hazard to make exploring a little more interesting and give Leather Boots a tiny buff.
      • Powdered Snow also allows us to convert any Skeleton Farm into a Stray Farm to more easily collect Arrows of Slowness *Dripleaf: Gives us one more tool in the creation of challenge/parkor maps. A very easy-to-use temporary platform.
    • Glow Berries: A type of farmable food native to the underground which is useful but not challenge-removing for self-imposed challenge runs.
      • Their vines are also climbable offering a potentially earlier hanging ladder to Crimson Vines

    Sure, none of these things are as impactful as Redstone itself was but they’re all new mechanics that allow us to either interact with our worlds in new ways or make some ways we already had cheaper &/or easier.