Minecraft has been testing and teasing the upcoming Caves and Cliffs Update since it was announced on Minecraft Live, but the Caves and Cliffs Update isn’t expected until the summer of 2021. Today, however, hardcore Minecrafters get the chance to test and play with it. one of the biggest changes in the Caves and Cliffs Update with an all-new cave generation. Minecraft: Java Edition Snapshot 21w06a is here with new “noise” caves and aquifers.
Noise Caves refers to a new way of generating caves in Minecraft and should provide much more diverse and exciting caves wherever you go. The idea of this new system is also to make cave systems appear more natural as you explore them. Aquifers replace the aging underwater systems present in Minecraft to enable “local water surfaces”, which means you can encounter entire underwater lakes!
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This is undoubtedly the largest Caves and Cliffs Update snapshot we’ve seen to date, and it’s exciting to see such an important feature come to life after months of waiting. If you’re not sure how to test snapshots with Minecraft: Java Edition, check out our guide on how to play with Minecraft: Java Edition snapshots.
Otherwise, you’ll have to wait with the rest of us for the massive Caves and Cliffs Update to come to everyone. The Caves and Cliffs update includes much more than just a new generation of caves and is one of the most comprehensive updates Minecraft has seen to date. If you’re as passionate about it as I am, consider checking out our list of the best Minecraft merchandise, toys, and gifts to pick up something for yourself or a fellow Minecrafter in your life.
Keep in mind that this is an early snapshot for the Caves and Cliffs Update, so there will no doubt be a lot of bugs in this snapshot. Mojang Studios cautions against two important caveats about this particular release:
- You cannot access old worlds in this snapshot as there is currently no upgrade path to the height of the new world
- All new type caves between y31 and y63 will be inundated with water
The full change log for Minecraft: Java Edition snapshot 21w06a includes:
New features
- Added sound caves and aquifers
Noise caves and aquifers
- Sound caves are a new way to generate caves and provide more natural variety. They can get really big sometimes!
- Noise caves come in two flavors:
- Cheese caves. Like the holes in Swiss cheese. These often form caverns of different sizes
- Spaghetti caves. Long winding tunnels, sometimes wide like tagliatelle
- No, they are not noisy. The “noise” part of noise caves is a technical term and has nothing to do with sound
- The old cave cutters and canyons still generate, combined with the noise caves to form interesting cave systems
- As with carvers, sound caves that cross the surface form cave entrances
- An aquifer is an area of local water level, independent of sea level. Aquifers are used throughout the world generation to generate bodies of water in sound caves. This sometimes results in large underground lakes!
- For now, aquifers are only used under y31. This means that all sound caves between y31 and sea level (y63) are flooded with water and the entrances to sound caves are essentially lakes. This will be fixed later
- Magma sometimes forms at the bottom of underground bodies of water
- Underwater cave cutters and underwater gorges have been removed as aquifers are used to generate water in caves instead
Changes
- The world’s build and generation limits have expanded
- Mine shafts adapted to larger caves
- You can no longer squat or jump to prevent a large dripleaf from tipping over
- A large drip blade will now tip instead of break when hit by a projectile
- A redstone powered large drip blade will not tip (unless hit by a projectile)
- The textures for drooping roots and small drip leaves have been updated
World generation
- Generation range and build limits have been expanded by 64 blocks up and 64 blocks down, for a total range of 384 blocks
- Underground features, structures and caves generate all the way to y -64
Mine shaft changes
- Mine shaft pieces would not be generated if they were completely floating in mid-air
- Mine shaft corridors are supported by wooden pillars if necessary
- No floating cobwebs
Bug fixes
- Large dripleaf can be broken with arrows in spawn protection
- A small drip blade can destroy any block