Minecraft has released the changelogs for Caves and Cliffs Update Part One ~ System Admin Stuff

The full changelog is staggeringly long.

What you need to know

Today is launch day for 1.17 'Caves and Cliffs Update' Part One, the next major release for Minecraft.
The list of new features and changes in today's 1.17 update is massive, and the newly available changelogs prove that.
Mojang Studios has released the official changelogs for 'Caves and Cliffs Update' Part One on both Java and Bedrock Editions.
The changelogs include all the significant features and improvements we knew about, and a huge number of smaller additions on top of that.

Today, 1.17 Caves and Cliffs Update Part One fully releases for Minecraft on all platforms with a humungous list of new features trailing along behind it. The Caves and Cliffs Update has already cemented itself as one of the most significant releases for Minecraft since the game's initial release, and the changelogs for 1.17 Part One of the release only seeks to prove this further. Mojang Studios has officially released the changelogs for the latest Minecraft update, and they're now available for both Minecraft: Bedrock Edition and Minecraft: Java Edition.

Instead of breaking down all of the biggest features of Caves and Cliffs Update Part One, we'll let the changelogs do most of the talking. Still, if you want the fully rundown of Minecraft's most ambitious update, be sure to check out our ultimate guide to Minecraft's Caves and Cliffs Update to have all of your questions answered.

1.17 Caves and Cliffs Update Part One releases today on all Minecraft platforms, including Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC, macOS, Linux, PS5, PS4, Switch, Android, and iOS. Minecraft (and the Caves and Cliffs Update) is also available through Xbox Game Pass.

Minecraft's constant support and wide availability easily make it one of the best Xbox games around, and today's 1.17 update only solidifies that. If you're excited about today's release, be sure to check out our list of best Minecraft merch, toys, and gifts.

Minecraft: Bedrock Edition

New features

Axolotl

Axolotls are amphibious creatures that spawn in underground water
Holding a Bucket of Tropical Fish will cause nearby Axolotls to follow the player on both land and in water. Axolotls cannot be tamed but can be bred by feeding them Buckets of Tropical Fish.
Axolotl will attack Fish, Squid, Drowned, and Guardians
Axolotls come in a variety of colors, all with an equal chance of spawning except for blue. Blue Axolotls have a small chance of spawning as a mutation when breeding two Axolotls
Axolotls can survive on dry land for a few minutes. After that, they will start to dry out and take continuous damage until rehydrated
When taking damage, there is a chance that the Axolotl will play dead. While playing dead, the Axolotl will regenerate health and mobs will be unable to target the Axolotl.
When a player kills a mob that the Axolotl was attacking, they are rewarded with the regeneration effect, and their mining fatigue is removed, if they had it
Axolotls can be picked up with buckets, just like Fish!

Goat

The winning mob of the MINECON Live 2019 mob vote!
For now, Goats spawn in Extreme Hills. This will change with Caves & Cliffs: Part II
Goats will occasionally ram into players and other mobs
Goats can jump high and take less fall damage than other mobs
Goats will avoid walking onto Powder Snow
Goats can be bred and tempted using Wheat
Use an empty Bucket to get Milk
Keep an ear out for the elusive Screamer Goat!

Glow squid

The winning mob of the Minecraft Live 2020 mob vote!
Glow squids are aquatic creatures that spawn in underground water
When killed, Glow Squid drop Glow Ink Sacs

Glow ink sac & glow item frame

Craft a Glow Item Frame by combining a Glow Ink Sac with an Item Frame in a Crafting Table
Any item in a Glow Item Frame is perfectly illuminated, even at night!

Glow ink sac & glowing sign text

If a Sign is interacted with a Glow Ink Sac, the text will then get a glowing effect

Powder snow

Mobs inside a Block of Powder Snow start to freeze and eventually take damage
Players can protect themselves from powder snow by equipping Leather Armor
Cauldrons fill up in snowy weather, creating a renewable source of Powder Snow. It will also generate naturally in certain snowy biomes when Caves & Cliffs: Part II releases
Buckets can be used to scoop up and place Powder Snow
Most mobs cannot walk on Powder Snow and fall into the block instead
Skeletons transform into Strays after standing in Powder Snow for awhile
Wearing Leather Boots allows a player or mob to walk on Powder Snow without falling in

Glow lichen

A dim light source that appears on cave walls and in Underground Lakes
Use Bone Meal to spread it along block surfaces and harvest it using shears

Amethyst Geodes

These huge Geodes can be found anywhere underground of newly generated chunks in the Overworld
Amethyst Geodes have an outer layer of Smooth Basalt Blocks and a second layer of Calcite Blocks
Inside Geodes, there is an inner layer of various Amethyst Blocks
All types of Amethyst blocks (including Clusters) create beautiful sounds when you walk on them, break them, place them, or hit them with a projectile – go make some music!
Amethyst comes in block form inside the Geodes in two ways: Amethyst Block and Budding Amethyst

Amethyst clusters

Amethyst Clusters grow from Budding Amethyst, which can be found inside Geodes
Clusters have four growth stages: Small Amethyst Bud, Medium Amethyst Bud, Large Amethyst Bud, and Amethyst Cluster
Fully-grown Amethyst clusters drop four Amethyst Shards (or more with the Fortune enchantment) when a Pickaxe is used, and drop two Amethyst Shards when broken by hand, Piston, or other means
Clusters can be mined with the Silk Touch enchantment at any stage of growth

Budding amethyst

On any side of a Budding Amethyst Block where there is air or a water source block, a Small Amethyst Bud will eventually grow
Amethyst Buds can only grow when attached to Budding Amethyst, and will grow until they become a full Amethyst Cluster

Cluster amethyst blocks

Amethyst comes in block form inside the Geodes in two ways: Amethyst Block and Budding Amethyst
Clusters can only grow when they are placed on Budding Amethyst Blocks

Amethyst shards

Amethyst Shards are items used in a variety of crafting recipes

Tinted glass

Though visually transparent, light does not pass through Tinted Glass
Can be crafted by putting a Glass Block in the middle of four Amethyst Shards on a Crafting Table
Tinted Glass can be obtained without the Silk Touch enchantment and does not shatter when broken, like normal Glass

Copper

Copper Ore can now be found underground in newly generated chunks and can be smelted into Copper Ingots
Block of Copper and Cut Copper can be crafted, as well as stairs and slabs
After being placed in the world, Copper Blocks will oxidize slowly over time, turning to Exposed Copper, Weathered Copper, and Oxidized Copper
Copper Blocks that are not fully oxidized can be waxed to prevent further oxidation, either by using a Honeycomb item on them, by using the crafting grid, or by using a Dispenser loaded with Honeycombs
Axes can scrape off wax and oxidation from Copper Blocks

Lightning rod

All lightning strikes that happen within a radius of 64 blocks from a Lightning Rod will strike the Lightning Rod
Lightning Rods can be crafted using Copper Ingots in a Crafting Table
A lightning rod struck by lightning will emit a full Redstone signal for 8 game ticks

Spyglass

The Spyglass is used to see far away places and can be crafted with Copper Ingots and an Amethyst Shard
Camera movement when looking through a Spyglass is slowed to make it more comfortable to use. This is adjustable using the Spyglass Damping slider in Settings on Bedrock Edition

Raw ore items

Added Raw Copper, Raw Iron, and Raw Gold items
Ores that are smeltable now drop raw item forms of the ore instead of the ore block, and these can be smelted just like before
This is to prevent cluttering the inventory and have consistency with Fortune on all ores
Ore blocks are still smeltable, meaning you can still smelt ore blocks you've obtained previously or with the Silk Touch enchantment

Raw ore blocks

Added block of Raw Copper, Raw Iron, and Raw Gold
Just like other ore materials, you can craft a compact block with raw ore items to save inventory space or use as decoration
Raw ore blocks can be placed on a crafting grid to break down into the original raw ore items

Deepslate

Deepslate is generated in blobs below y = 16
Mining it with a Pickaxe will drop Cobbled Deepslate, which can be smelted back into Deepslate
When ore is generated in the same place as Deepslate, Deepslate variants of that ore are now generated instead
Deepslate blocks can be crafted into Polished Deepslate, Deepslate Tile, and Deepslate Brick Blocks, including slabs, stairs, and walls
Deepslate Blocks also come in Cracked Tile, Cracked Brick, Chiseled, and Infested variants
Stone tools can be crafted using Cobbled Deepslate

Tuff

A new decorative block
Blobs of Tuff blocks generate in the world below y = 16

Smooth basalt

Basalt blocks can now be smelted into Smooth Basalt Blocks as a new decorative block

New cave blocks

While Lush Caves and other new cave biomes won't generate until the Caves & Cliffs: Part II update, many new blocks are now available through the Creative mode inventory or certain aspects of Survival mode

Trade & loot table additions

Added the following trades to the Mason:
- Will sell 4 Dripstone Blocks for 1 Emerald
Added the following trades to the Wandering Trader:
- Will sell 2 Pointed Dripstone for 1 Emerald
- Will sell 2 Rooted Dirt for 1 Emerald
- Will sell 2 Moss Blocks for 1 Emerald
Moss Blocks can be found in Shipwreck Chests
Glow Berries can be found in Mineshaft Chest Minecarts

Dripstone block & pointed dripstone

Pointed Dripstone can be placed on the ceiling (stalactites) or ground (stalagmites)
Watch out! If a stalactite is broken, it will fall and cause damage to players and mobs
Players and mobs will take damage if landing on a stalagmite
If a stalactite is under a water source or lava source, it will slowly fill Cauldrons
If a stalactite and stalagmite touch, they will connect into a full column
A Dripstone Block can be crafted with four Pointed Dripstone

Dripleaf

Small Dripleaf will grow into Big Dripleaf when fertilized with Bone Meal
Big Dripleaf is a platforming block. Players and mobs on top of the block will cause the block to tilt and drop

Moss block & moss carpet

When Moss Blocks are fertilized with Bone Meal, Moss has a chance of spreading to other blocks. Moss Carpet, Azaleas, and Flowering Azaleas also have a chance of growing
The Hoe is the most efficient tool to harvest Moss Blocks and Moss Carpet

Azalea

Azalea and Flowering Azaleas are new decorative plants
Azaleas have a chance of growing after using Bone Meal on Moss Blocks
Fertilizing an Azalea with Bone Meal will transform it into a tree with Azalea Leaves and Flowered Azalea Leaves, which can be harvested using Shears
Azalea and Flowering Azalea can also be used as Furnace fuel

Rooted dirt & hanging roots

Tilling Rooted Dirt with a Hoe turns the block to normal Dirt and drops having roots
Fertilizing Rooted Dirt with Bone Meal causes Hanging Roots to grow below

Glow berries

Glow Berries can be planted on the bottom of most solid blocks to grow Cave Bines
They can be eaten and are as nutritious as Sweet Berries
Use them to lure and breed Foxes

Cave vines

When Cave Vines grow or are fertilized with Bone Meal, they have a chance of growing Glow Berries
A Cave Vine that has Glow Berries emits light. So pretty!
Cave Vines are climbable

Spore blossom

Currently, Spore Blossoms are only available in the Creative Mode inventory
Spore Blossoms are a new decorative block that can be placed underneath any block

New Achievements & Trophies

Wax On Wax Off - Apply and remove Wax from all the Copper Blocks!
Float Your Goat - Get in a boat and float with a Goat
The Healing Power of Friendship - Team up with an Axolotl and win a fight

Changes

Improved visibility when swimming in underwater caves
A new, beautiful main menu panorama for Caves & Cliffs: Part I
Updated the appearance of the initial loading screen
Compass and Clock item textures have been updated
Ore textures have been updated to better differentiate in more ways than just color
Added distinct damage sounds for burning, freezing, and drowning
Bone Meal now makes a sound when used
Drowned now drop Copper Ingots instead of Gold Ingots

Known issues

The update size on iOS is over 200MB, which exceeds the limit of downloads over cellular data. The update can be downloaded over a Wi-Fi connection
Players sometimes do not receive game invitations on Android devices
Featured Servers cannot be joined by players on Nintendo Switch - we hope to have this resolved soon
Players on Windows 10 updating to 1.17.0 with certain graphics hardware may experience a black screen on launch - this only affects players who had changed the anti-aliasing setting from default and can be rectified by resetting that setting

Support on Android & Fire TV

To continue to ensure that we can devote our resources to the platforms where most of our miners and crafters are playing, we've ended support for certain older devices and platforms where Minecraft is available. Effective with this update, Minecraft is no longer updated or supported on:
- Fire TV Gen1
- Fire TV Gen2
- Android KitKat OS v20 and below

Bug fixes

Performance & stability

Fixed a crash that occurred when curing a Zombie Villager in another dimension if the player had not traveled back to the Overworld since entering the world
Fixed a crash that could occur when switching between owned and non-owned Character Creator items
Fixed a crash on Windows 10 that can occur in ray tracing mode

General

Fixed an issue where taking Dyed Wool from a chest would not trigger the Rainbow Collection trophy, presuming all wool colors were collected
Android players should once again see achievement notifications

Gameplay

Players who receive negative damage no longer generate absorption hearts
When a player using the touch interface presses and holds the crafting output window, they can now rapidly craft items up to one stack
Picking up part of a stack no longer picks up the entire stack and drops the excess
Fixed the player spawning in unsafe locations when entering a random world for the first time
Fixed the player's hand still bobbing even when the View Bobbing setting was disabled
First person eating animation is now centered in the frame
First person main hand blocking animation now plays properly
First person main hand and off-hand Shields are now symmetrical
Tridents in players' and mobs' hands are now correctly positioned in all perspective modes
Trident raising animation modified for first person to match the previous version more closely
Fixed players showing the Bow holding animation after respawning when killed by another player

Mobs

Rabbits can once again raid Carrot crops
Animals can no longer be fed infinitely until they are bred
Charged Creeper aura is rendered correctly in most cases now
Zombie Villagers now properly shake while being cured
Bees no longer gather nectar from Sweet Berry Bushes
Bees can once again enter Beehives and Bee Nests
Blazes and Endermen once again receive damage from Splash Water Bottles
Strays no longer drop Wither Heads when killed by Charged Creepers

Blocks

Using an Axe on Wood Blocks once again turns them into Stripped Wood Blocks
Renamed Structure Blocks no longer have the incorrect data mode on creation
Fixed an issue that could cause certain blocks to grow too quickly when ticked

Items

Water Buckets can once again be used to pick up Fish
Switching between some items (Bow, Trident, Crossbow, Shield) in your main hand will no longer skip animations
Boats now break when they collide with a Cactus from the side
Changed the position of the Bow to match previous versions
Crossbows in players' and mobs' hands are now rendered correctly in all perspective modes
Fixed an animation issue causing an off-hand held Shield to appear to re-equip whenever the player changed their main-hand item
Cauldrons that have been emptied after containing a potion are now correctly filled with water when it rains
Fixed an issue where Fireworks of all colors could be crafted from any other color of Firework Charges

Accessibility

Fixed a bug where the screen reader did not read the focused button on some screens
Fixed a bug where English screen reader pronounced "A button" as "a button", now saying "Button A" instead

Graphical

Fixed water flickering on PS VR
Colors applied to text on Signs are no longer barely visible
Old Signs no longer glow when being dyed
Critical hit particles now generate around a mob instead of under it
Fixed Strider, Hoglin, Zoglin, Piglin, and Piglin Brute spawn eggs turning red when quick-moved inside any inventory in RenderDragon builds
Fixed enchantment glint shape of charged Bow and Crossbow icons in RenderDragon builds
Fixed items playing "attack" and "using " animations at the same time when using touch input
Fixed an issue that could occur on older worlds where looking up in a Minecart would display the inside of the Minecart, blocking the player's view
Fixed an issue that minimizing the title would disable anti-aliasing in RenderDragon builds

Realms

Kick Player button now works again
Fixed a softlock when trying to set friend permissions on a Realm on initial invite
Updated Realms membership invite icon to be more obvious
Further improved Realms permission error messaging
Added a button to access the Realms membership invitation management screen in Profile Settings
Automatically close Realms invite screen if all invites are handled
Fixed PlayStation 4 players with Parental Control Communication and User-Generated Content restriction settings being able to join Realms through invites

User interface

Fixed controller cursor sensitivity scaling
Fixed an issue where patterns in the loom with high-resolution assets would not display correctly
Fixed an issue where canceling joining a world while generating it caused players to get stuck on the loading screen
PS VR players can activate the start screen VR mode toggle using a keyboard
PS VR players can now proceed past the VR Align screen with a keyboard
Chemistry item icons no longer disappear after suspend / resume in Education Edition worlds
On PlayStation 4, fixed keyboard bindings when using an external keyboard configured to a non-US layout
Clicking "Get Help Fixing This" when unable to access multiplayer features now redirects to the proper help page on the Nintendo Switch
Adjusted the background color of Settings screens for increased readability
Added controller tooltips for "Collect" and "Empty" Lava from Cauldron using Bucket
The panoramic main menu background no longer blinks when loading the game, loading into a world, or leaving a world
Fixed text overlap issue on some resolutions in the Realms Plus product description page

Commands

The /kick command once again works properly if Cheats and Command Blocks are disabled, and it no longer uses target selectors
Fixed issue where minecart with command block was not affected by the CommandBlocksEnabled gamerule
Fixed output message for /stopsound being incorrect
Fixed issue where the /structure delete command was listed in the middle of both /structure load commands
Fixed a crash that occurred when using the /stopsound command to stop the elytra.loop sound
Fixed an issue where the clone command was changed and not versioned
The /setworldspawn command is now prohibited in legacy worlds, and affected worlds will reset their altered spawn positions to the original position
Function's positional offset is no longer re-evaluated for every command inside the function when run with the /execute command. It is now only evaluated once for the whole function
Fixed an issue where the Agent till command would not till blocks in Minecraft: Education Edition

Technical updates

Update add-on template packs

Updated Add-On templates for 1.17 are available for download with new resources, behaviors, and documentation
- Resource Pack Template
- Behavior Pack Template (Includes documentation)

General

Added two new variables to the biomes_client.json file: remove_all_prior_fog and inherit_from_prior_fog, which control fog merging and / or inheritance
- remove_all_prior_fog, when true, will clear all previous fog definitions stored on the stack, making the current pack the new "starting point" for fogs
- inherit_from_prior_fog, when true, will merge a biome's fog definition with matching biomes on the stack then create a new merged definition for it
transparentattachable tag should only affect rendering in first person camera perspective
Added a MoLang query to get default bone pivots
Updated MoLang query to return normalized item use time remaining based off given parameters
Fixed various cases when ray tracing textures would not be reloaded (resolution switching, upscaling mode switching, ray tracing on / off toggling)
Fixed Enchanted Bow's textures being too dark

Actors

Catmull-Rom animations will no longer glitch if the time for a keyframe matches its value
All functions run using the /schedule command now run from the origin they are supposed to, instead of from the server
Added a new field transform_to_item to the minecraft:ageable component. If the field is filled with an item name, the item will be given back when any of feed_items are used. Similar to transform_to_item in the minecraft:breedable component
Added a new optional flag use_simplified_breeding to minecraft:genetics component. When this flag is set to true, the offspring never inherits hidden alleles of parents as main alleles and main as hidden. This allows to implement simple breeding logic easier

Other fixes

Replaced "Whitelist" language use to "AllowList". Dedicated server command "whitelist" changed to "allowlist". Dedicated server whitelist.json file changed to allowlist.json file. JSON format remains the same. Modified instructions are found in bedrock_server_how_to.html
Fixed query.is_in_ui so that it is available to use when a data-driven mob is rendering in the UI (query.is_in_ui returns true when the mob is rendering in the UI, such as in the inventory window)
Fixed a crash that could occur when an entity with a scoreboard value was removed from the world
Fixed a bug with the summonable property of overridden Vanilla mobs pre-JSON version 1.8.0, which caused Bees to not be summonable
The ImpactDamageSubcomponent once again only prevents damage from being dealt to fire immune mobs if the catchFire field is true and the projectile is on fire
The has_equipment filter now properly evaluates custom entity spawn eggs

Volume driven fog (experimental)

Create volumes in your world: simply create a "volumes" folder in a saved world and put json files in there - one json file per volume. More information can be found in the Behavior Pack documentation
Can be enabled using the "Upcoming Creator Features" experimental feature toggle
Currently, you can attach a fog - Minecraft or your own custom fog - to a volume. When the player enters the volume, the fog will take effect
Added AddVolumeEntityPacket that contains information of a volume entity including its net ID and NBT containing information about the volume's definition and components, which will be added to the client's registry
Added RemoveVolumeEntityPacket that contains a volume entity's net ID to remove it from the client's registry

GameTest framework (experimental)

Renamed /gametest runall to /gametest runset
The default value for the tag parameter is now suite:default
Added Dimension class
Added World.getDimension
Updated the GameTest Framework interface
- assertContainerContains - ItemIdentifier parameter changed to ItemStack
- assertItemEntityNotPresent and assertItemEntityPresent APIs - ItemStack parameter changed to ItemType
- assertEntityNotTouching(entityIdentifier: string, position : Location) - Asserts that there is no entity of the given type at the given position
- assertEntityTouching(entityIdentifier: string, position : Location) - Asserts that there is an entity of the given type at the given position
- assertItemEntityCountIs(itemType : ItemType, position : BlockLocation, searchDistance : number, count : number) - Asserts that the entity item count in the given search area matches the expected count
- pulseRedstone(position : BlockLocation, duration : number) - Creates a Redstone block at the given position and destroys it after "duration" ticks
- function assertEntityPresentInArea(entityIdentifier : string) - Throws an Error if an entity matching the given identifier does not exist in the test region
- function print(text : string) - Prints the given text to the chat
- function assertEntityInstancePresent(entity : Entity, position : BlockLocation) - Throws an Error if the given entity is not present in the given block location
- (Removed) function setEntityTamed(entityIdentifier : string, position : BlockLocation) - Replaced by component function setTamed(showParticles : bool)
- function assertEntityData(position : BlockLocation, entityIdentifier : string, callback : function(entity: Entity)) - Asserts that the given condition is true for all entities of the given type at the given location
- function spawnItem(itemType : ItemStack, position : Location) - Spawns an item at the given location
- function assertIsWaterlogged(position : BlockLocation, isWaterlogged : bool) - Asserts that the block at the given location is waterlogged
- function assertRedstonePower(position : BlockLocation, power : number) - Asserts the redstone power level at the given location
Added Commands.run
Entity
- function getComponents() - Returns an array of supported components
- function getComponent(componentIdentifier : string) - Returns the component matching the given identifier
- function hasComponent(componentIdentifier : string) - Returns true if the given component exists on the entity and is supported
- function getName() - Returns the name of the entity (e.g. "Horse")
Add new enumerations: Minecraft.Effects & Minecraft.Items
Components
- Added additional component interfaces. movement, navigation, healable, breathable, ageable, and tameable components
Container - New interface for interacting with entity containers. Can be referenced via entity.getComponent("inventory").container

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System Admin Stuff

Tuesday, 8 June 2021