Ahead of the Caves and Cliffs update, Minecraft is continuing to roll out snapshot builds, previews of new content heading to the game. Last month’s snapshot build introduced a ton of new resources, tools, and crafting recipes, including amethyst crystals and lightning rods. Developer Mojang is clearly far from the bottom of the barrel when it comes to additional content for its massively popular title. The latest snapshot build for Minecraft doesn’t introduce nearly as much as last month’s but still brings some interesting new ideas.
To start off, another new biome is coming to Minecraft. Sticking with the theme of caves and cliffs, this biome can only be found underground. Dubbed the dripstone caves, this new biome won’t actually spawn naturally in this snapshot. To get a sneak peek at it, players will have to create a single-biome world with only dripstone caves. Once they do, however, players will be treated to stalagmites and stalactites made from dripstone, and in some cases, even massive naturally formed columns. Pools of water will also generate in this underground biome, and though it’s not mentioned in this update, it’s impossible to wonder whether or not players will be able to find aquatic life underground any time soon.
More alien technology
The second main addition to Minecraft in this snapshot is sculk. These strange new tendril-themed blocks are debuting with sculk sensors. Seemingly built for Redstone aficionados, sculk sensors will detect vibrations in an eight-block radius around them. After being mined with a hoe, they can be placed down and used as a motion sensor, sending a Redstone signal when a vibration is detected. By using one of these strange blocks in conjunction with a comparator, players will actually be able to monitor what actions are happening around them, since every action sends off a different Redstone signal.
This snapshot build for Minecraft isn’t as large as others have been, but it continues to build on what we’ve already seen. The Caves and Cliffs update will bring more than just some new biomes when it goes live next year, players can expect a ton of new tools and materials to experiment with. Those curious about this new build of the game can download it here.
