Since it was announced many months ago, fans have been waiting for the update Caves & Cliffs 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: November 01, 2021 New: New snapshot published with first version of world blending
Table of contents
When is the release of Minecraft 1.18?
This is in Caves & Cliff's part 2
First regular snapshot of Minecraft 1.18
More snapshots
Install snapshot in Java edition
Enable update in Bedrock edition
Experimental snapshots
Patch notes for the first snapshot of Minecraft 1.18
Update 1.18 for Minecraft is now available in a beta, the so-called Snapshot, for the Java and Bedrock versions. We summarize for you which innovations are included in the update and how you install the snapshot.
When is the release of Minecraft 1.18?
There is still no official release date for the final version of Minecraft 1.18 and thus the second part of Caves & cliffs Many of the changes to biome and map generation are profound and require a lot of testing time.
With the release of the first full snapshot, however, the developers have achieved another milestone. According to the current status, a release is still planned for 2021.
This is in Caves & Cliff's part 2
As the developers' official blog entry states, the second part of the major update now includes the most exciting new features of Caves & cliffs It goes so far that the world of Minecraft definitely looks different afterwards.
9 new biomes: High, snow-capped peaks and slopes, small groves on the edge, more impressive caves and more: The mountains and the caves are getting a major makeover and now look more natural. In addition, the maximum height of the game world will be adjusted (maximum 320 blocks).
New generation of caves: As mentioned, caves are also becoming more extensive and varied. They offer more narrow corridors, underground lakes, meander through the world underground or arise inside a mountain and form a kind of stalactite cave. The maximum depth of the game world is now level -64 (previously: 0).
Natural Terrain Variation: Variations in terrain and elevation can now occur independently of biomes. For example, forests or deserts can form on a hill without creating a special biome for it.
New distribution of ores: The important minerals in the Minecraft world have been completely redistributed. The developers show exactly how in a preliminary graphic based on the snapshot 21w40a. However, this is not final, which means that there could still be changes. It is important: There should no longer be a certain level that is good for all ores, but you have to make compromises.
New monster rule: Enemies only spawn in total darkness in Minecraft. Previously, monsters could also spawn in weakly dimmed regions, but that's over now.
First regular snapshot of Minecraft 1.18
After a total of seven experimental snapshots, there is now a regular test version of Minecraft 1.18. It contains countless changes that will find their way into the block world with the upcoming update.
This includes the new biomes, overhauled ore distribution, changes to world generation, and much more. The previously purely English-language patch notes are very extensive, you can find them on page 2 of the article.
New world no longer mandatory: You can transfer old worlds since version 21w43a and test the new functions. You can find more information about this in the section
More snapshots
.
However, the developers warn that the trial version can potentially break your previous worldsaves. To prevent this, you should create a manual backup of your worlds if you try the snapshot.
More snapshots
Version 1.18 is slowly approaching the home stretch. The latest version is the 21w43a, which, in addition to minor bug fixes, also makes one really big change: the so-called world blending.
This is a technology that Mojang first introduced at Minecon 2021 and combines existing worlds with the new world generation. In detail, Minecraft tries to seamlessly transfer already loaded chunks in your existing world into the new chunks. This also allows the new caves, biomes and underground innovations to be easily added without having to start a new world or uncover new chunks.
In the current test version, however, the space under existing chunks is initially filled with Deepslate instead of new caves. This should be changed in an upcoming snapshot. As always, if you want to test the feature, you should first create a backup of your worlds.
For a full list of changes, visit the Minecraft website.
Install snapshot in Java edition
In order to install the regular Minecraft 1.18 snapshot, you don't need to manually copy specific files. Instead, you can easily install the trial version via the Minecraft Launcher:
Starts the Minecraft Launcher normally
In Minecraft: Java Edition, switch to the »Installations« tab
Check the "Development versions" option for versions
Now you can install and play the snapshot "21w37a" in "Latest development version".
Enable update in Bedrock edition
In the Bedrock version of Minecraft you can play the second part of Caves & Also try out Cliffs in advance. The installation is much simpler:
Starts the Bedrock version of Minecraft and creates a new world or reverts to an existing one
Under the game settings you will find the tab »Experiments«
Enable "Caves and Cliffs" here and confirm in the window that you want to use the experimental changes
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Minecraft: Java, Bedrock, Windows - All versions explained
Experimental snapshots
Before the regular snapshot, Mojang started working with experimental snapshots to test the big changes more specifically. In several versions, the new biomes and other revisions could be analyzed.
However, the recently published seventh "Experimental Snapshot" does not offer any major differences compared to the regular snapshot. If you still want to take a look at the small changes in detail, you can still find the manual download on the developer website.
