Speluncraft
It’s Minecraft Live season! There’s a lot of block-related news coming out of this online event. New Minecraft Dungeons DLC and updates have been announced, and probably coincidentally, Steve and Alex have been announced as new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters. Now, let’s get to the mainseries game of Minecraft. Mojang has announced the next big update for Minecraft called Caves and Cliffs, albeit almost a year away. Previous updates have made the world of Minecraft more expansive, but largely left the underground areas untouched. The Caves and Cliffs update will tackle the dark interior settings of Minecraft.
A lot of the major differences being introduced in Caves and Cliffs is plant life. The Lush Caves areas are very green with vines, grass, and moss-covered walls. These Lush Caves can also be identified from above ground by a new azalea tree, so you can just dig down to find them. There is also a new plant called Dripleaf Plant. These plants act as platforms, but deteriorate over time when players step on them, but regrow soon after. It is perfect for making platforming games and obstacles. The cave sizes will also come in varying sizes. Before, caves were often found to be either very narrow or large crevasses.
These newer cave systems will have underground lakes, rivers, and waterfalls. There are also Dripstone Caves, which start to reflect real cave systems that we find stalagmites and stalactites. These have some interesting functions apart from looking cool. The stalactites (ceiling) can drip water, and unlike blocks that drip water (which signify water being above), stalactites can actually generate a source of water. If you destroy the block above a stalactite, it will fall and break, causing damage to anyone below. Conversely, stalagmites (floor) can cause damage to players or mobs that fall on them. There is so much more coming to the Caves and Cliffs update including an archeology aspect and new enemies. Check out the presentation above for all the details. Minecraft is available on pretty much all platforms.
Are you looking forward to the Caves and Cliffs update? Let us know in the comments below.