Minecraft creator Notch, a.k.a. Markus Persson, has just announced that Minecraft Beta 1.3 is a go. The next time you boot up Minecraft, the update will download automatically.
* Implemented a new lighting engine with the help of MrMessiahs (can be turned off)
* Changed the options around, added a new “Graphics options” button
* Added beds. If all players in a map sleeps in a bed during night, the game immediately skips until morning
* Added three new half-size blocks
* Added Delay/Repeater redstone dust blocks
* Added whitelisting to the server. To use, enter “whitelist <cmd>” where cmd is “on”, “off”, “add <player>”, “remove <player>”, “list” or “reload”
* New save file format, old maps need to be converted (that might take a while..)
* It’s now possible to have more than five save slots, and to rename saves
* Scrollbars in both the texture pack list, and in the map selection screen
* Replaced the Mojang splash image to reflect the new logo colors
* .. and a bunch of bug fixes and tweaks!
You want to know how to make a bed in Minecraft, you say?The recipe is one row of three woods and one row of three wools, like so: (We figured this out ourselves, because we are that cool.)
You can only sleep on beds at night.
And here’s the recipe for the Redstone repeater/delayer: Smooth stone-stone-stone (not cobblestone) at base, and two Redstone torches in the middle separated by a Redstone dust. (via)
As for those half blocks, the recipes are wood-wood-wood in one line for a wood half-block, smooth stone-stone-stone for a stone half-block, and sandstone-sandstone-sandstone for a (you guessed it) sandstone half-block. Minecraft Wiki has more on the point of these. Wood and stone pressure plates are now two across rather than three across as a result of these changes.
Also, light and shadows are looking a lot more realistic. And sandstone now occurs naturally, usually at the bottom of large piles of sand. Lastly, slimes are apparently more common now.
More info as it becomes available …
