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 is only expected in the summer of 2021. Today, however, hardcore Minecrafters get the chance to test and play with one of the biggest changes in the caves and cliff update with the brand new cave generation. Minecraft: Java Edition snapshot 21w06a is here with new “noise” caves and aquifers.
Noise caves refer to a new way to generate 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 look more natural as you explore them. Aquifers replace the aging underwater systems found in Minecraft, allowing for ‘local surface water’, which means you can run into entire underwater lakes!
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This is without a doubt the biggest snapshot of Caves and Cliffs Update we’ve ever seen, and it’s exciting to see such an important feature come to life after months of waiting. If you are not sure how to test photos with Minecraft: Java Edition, see our tutorial on playing with Minecraft: Java Edition photos.
Otherwise, you have to wait with the rest of us until the massive update of Caves and Cliffs reaches everyone. The Caves and Cliffs Update contains much more than just new cave generation and is one of the most extensive updates Minecraft has ever seen. If you’re just as excited about it as I am, consider checking out our list of best Minecraft merchandise, toys, and gifts to pick up something for you or a fellow Minecrafter in your life.
Keep in mind that this is an early snapshot for the Caves and Cliffs update, so there are likely to be many bugs in this snapshot. Mojang Studios warns with two specific examples with this particular version:
- You will not be able to open old worlds in this snapshot, because there is currently no upgrade path to the new world height
- All caves of the new type between y31 and y63 will be flooded with water
The complete change list for Minecraft: Java Edition snapshot 21w06a contains:
New features
- Added noise caves and aquifers
Noise caves and aquifers
- Noise caves are a new way of generating caves and offer more natural variety. They can sometimes get very big!
- Noise caves come in two flavors:
- Cheese Caves. Like the holes in Swiss cheese. It often forms caves of different sizes
- Spaghetti Cave. Long winding tunnels, sometimes as wide as tagliatelle
- No, they are not hard. The “noise” part of noise caves is a technical term and has nothing to do with sound
- The old cave cutters and gorges still generate and combine with the noise caves to form interesting cave systems
- As with carvers, sound caves form the surface of the caves
- An aquifer is an area with local water level, independent of sea level. Aquifers are used during world generation to generate water masses in noise caves. This sometimes results in large underground lakes!
- For the time being, aquifers are only used below y31. This means that all sound caves between y31 and sea level (y63) will be flooded with water, and that entrances of sound caves will be essentially more. This will be fixed later
- Magma sometimes generates at the bottom of subterranean bodies
- Underwater cutters and underwater gorges have been removed because aquifers are used to generate water in caves instead.
Changes
- Oversized building and generation limits have been expanded
- Mine shafts have been adapted for larger caves
- You can no longer squat or jump to prevent a large droplet from tipping over
- A large drop will now tilt rather than break if hit by a projectile
- A large drop blade propelled by redstone will not tilt (unless struck by a projectile)
- The textures for hanging roots and small droplets have been updated
World Generation
- Generation range and building boundaries were expanded by 64 blocks up and 64 blocks down to a total range of 384 blocks
- Underground functions, structures and caves generate up to y -64
Changing myskag
- The pieces of the mesh shaft are not raised if it were to float completely in the air
- Mine passages are supported by blunt pillars if necessary
- No floating cobwebs
Troubleshooting
- Large drip sheet can be broken with arrows protected against the calf
- Small droplet leaves can destroy any block