Pocket Edition v0.8.0 alpha

v0.8.0 alpha was a major update to Minecraft: Pocket Edition that was released on December 12, 2013. It added new blocks, items, crops, and other features, as well as some changes and fixes.

Blocks

 * Wood planks, slabs, and stairs
 * Added spruce, birch, and jungle varieties.
 * Each one can only be crafted with their respective wood type.
 * Jungle variants are unobtainable in Survival mode.
 * Block of coal
 * Can be crafted with nine coal.
 * Can be used as fuel in a furnace, smelting up to 80 items.
 * Carpets
 * Thin blocks that can be used as decoration.
 * Red carpets can be crafted with two red wool blocks.
 * The other 15 colors are unobtainable in Survival mode.
 * Cobblestone walls
 * Decorative blocks that can be used to create boundaries.
 * Comes in cobblestone and moss stone variants.
 * Cobblestone walls can be crafted with six cobblestone.
 * Moss stone walls are unobtainable in Survival mode.
 * Hay bales
 * Decorative, flammable blocks that serve as compact storage of wheat.
 * Can be crafted with nine wheat.
 * Iron bars
 * Serve a similar purpose to glass panes.
 * Can be crafted with six iron ingots.
 * Pumpkins
 * Fruit blocks that grow from fully-grown pumpkin stems.
 * Can be crafted into jack o'lanterns, pumpkin pie, or pumpkin seeds.
 * Jack o'lanterns
 * Solid blocks that provide light.
 * Can be crafted with a pumpkin and a torch.
 * Rails
 * Non-solid blocks that provide a path along which minecarts can travel.
 * Can be crafted with iron ingots and a stick.
 * Powered rails
 * A type of rail that increases the velocity of moving minecarts.
 * Can be crafted with gold ingots, a stick, and redstone dust.
 * Crops
 * Beetroot crops
 * Carrot crops
 * Potato crops
 * Pumpkin stems
 * Jungle wood
 * Serves as a decorative block.
 * Is unobtainable in Survival mode.
 * Jungle leaves
 * Serve as a decorative block.
 * Are unobtainable in Survival mode.
 * Ferns
 * Aesthetic plants that have the same characteristics as grass.
 * Are unobtainable in Survival mode.
 * Dead bushes
 * Aesthetic plants that can only be placed on sand.
 * Are unobtainable in Survival mode.
 * Sponges
 * Currently serve no purpose.
 * Are unobtainable in Survival mode.
 * Bark
 * Currently serves no purpose.
 * Is not yet obtainable.

Items

 * Beetroot seeds
 * Have a $1/15$ chance of popping out from grass when tilled.
 * Clocks
 * Display the current position of the sun and moon.
 * Can be crafted with gold ingots and redstone dust.
 * Compasses
 * Point to the world spawn point.
 * Can be crafted with iron ingots and redstone dust.
 * Minecarts
 * Train-like vehicle entities that run on rails.
 * Can be crafted with five iron ingots.
 * Pumpkin seeds
 * Obtained from the nether reactor.
 * Redstone
 * Drops from redstone ore when mined with an iron or diamond pickaxe.
 * Can be used to craft clocks, compasses, and powered rails.
 * Foods
 * Beetroots
 * Restore when eaten.
 * Beetroot soup
 * Restores when eaten.
 * Carrots
 * Restore when eaten.
 * Potatoes
 * Restore when eaten.
 * Pumpkin pie
 * Restores when eaten.
 * Baked potatoes
 * Restore when eaten.

Gameplay

 * Breeding
 * Feeding animals their respective food items makes them enter "love mode."
 * Hearts come out of animals while in love mode.
 * When two animals of the same species are in love mode, they pathfind toward each other and produce a baby animal.

General

 * s (iOS only)
 * Blocks far away from the player have lower resolution textures to increase performance.
 * Options
 * Added far (8 chunks) and farthest (12$1/2$ chunks) render distances.

Blocks

 * The textures of some blocks are now randomly rotated, for a more natural effect. This includes:
 * Grass blocks (top and bottom sides only)
 * Dirt
 * Sand
 * Leaves (top and bottom sides only)
 * Sponges
 * Obsidian
 * Snow blocks
 * Snow layers
 * Clay
 * Netherrack
 * Glowstone
 * Wood
 * Is now rotatable, with the wood placed with the inner side facing the player.
 * Paintings
 * Rendering has been remade.
 * TNT
 * Can now be ignited by fire and lava.
 * Lava
 * Now creates stone when it flows vertically into water.
 * Redstone ore
 * Now drops redstone dust when mined with an iron or diamond pickaxe.
 * Signs and chests
 * Improved synchronization lag in multiplayer.
 * Chests
 * Items being moved to/from a chest is now correctly rendered.
 * Flowers
 * Position on the block is now randomized.
 * Grass block
 * Changed texture from Grass Block BE3.png to Grass Block BE4.png.
 * Oak leaves
 * Changed texture from Oak Leaves BE3.png to Oak Leaves JE3 BE4.png.
 * Birch leaves
 * Changed texture from Birch Leaves BE1.png to Birch Leaves JE1 BE2.png.
 * Oak sapling
 * Changed texture from Oak Sapling (texture) JE3 BE1.png to Oak Sapling (texture) JE4 BE2.png.
 * Wool
 * Changed textures from Beta color spectrum.png to 1.2.4 color spectrum.png.
 * Sandstone
 * Changed texture from Sandstone JE1 BE1.png to Sandstone JE2 BE2.png.
 * Gravel
 * Changed texture from Gravel JE3 BE2.png to Gravel JE4 BE3.png.
 * Lapis lazuli block
 * Changed texture from Lapis Lazuli Block JE1 BE1.png to Lapis Lazuli Block JE2 BE2.png.
 * Grass
 * Changed texture from Grass BE1.png to Grass BE2.png.
 * info_update
 * Changed texture from Info update BE2.png to Info update BE1.png.
 * info_update2
 * Changed texture from Info update2 BE1.png to Info update BE1.png.
 * reserved6
 * Changed texture from Stone JE2 BE2.png to Reserved6 BE1.png.
 * Ice
 * Inventory icon changed from Ice (inventory) BE1.png to Ice BE2.png.

Items

 * Bone meal
 * Now works like $$.
 * Can grow ferns and grass in Survival and Creative.
 * Pumpkin and melon stems only grow by one when bone meal is used.
 * Flowers now spawn other flowers when bone meal is used.
 * : Grows sugar cane to maximum height.
 * Eating particles
 * Are shown to look like the food being eaten rather than random pixels from the food.
 * Wooden tools
 * Can now be used as furnace fuel, smelting 1 item each.
 * Lava buckets
 * Can now be used as furnace fuel, smelting up to 100 items.
 * Magenta dye
 * Can now additionally be crafted with pink dye and purple dye, or with lapis lazuli, rose red, and pink dye.
 * Gray dye
 * Can now be crafted with bone meal and an ink sac.
 * Is still unobtainable in Survival mode due to ink sacs not being obtainable.
 * Light gray dye
 * Can now be crafted with bone meal and gray dye, or with two bone meal and an ink sac.
 * Is still unobtainable in Survival mode due to ink sacs and gray dye not being obtainable.
 * Cocoa beans
 * Can now be crafted with orange dye and an ink sac, or with dandelion yellow, rose red, and an ink sac.
 * Is still unobtainable in Survival mode due to ink sacs not being obtainable.
 * Changed texture from Cocoa Beans JE1 BE1.png to Cocoa Beans JE3 BE2.png.
 * Bow
 * New rendering and animated items.
 * Changed texture from Bow JE2 BE1.png to Bow BE2.png.
 * Leather armor
 * Changed textures from Leather Cap (item) JE1 BE1.pngLeather Tunic (item) JE1 BE1.pngLeather Pants (item) JE1 BE1.pngLeather Boots (item) JE1 BE1.png to Leather Cap (item) JE3 BE2.pngLeather Tunic (item) JE3 BE2.pngLeather Pants (item) JE3 BE2.pngLeather Boots (item) JE3 BE2.png.
 * Apple
 * Changed texture from Apple JE1 BE1.png to Apple JE2 BE2.png.
 * Bread
 * Changed texture from Bread JE1 BE1.png to Bread JE2 BE2.png.
 * Raw porkchop
 * Changed texture from Raw Porkchop JE1 BE1.png to Raw Porkchop JE2 BE2.png.
 * Cooked porkchop
 * Changed texture from Cooked Porkchop JE2 BE1.png to Cooked Porkchop JE3 BE2.png.
 * Raw chicken
 * Changed texture from Raw Chicken JE1 BE1.png to Raw Chicken JE2 BE2.png.
 * Cooked chicken
 * Changed texture from Cooked Chicken JE1 BE1.png to Cooked Chicken JE2 BE2.png.
 * Raw beef
 * Changed texture from Raw Beef JE1 BE1.png to Raw Beef JE3 BE2.png.
 * Steak
 * Changed texture from Steak JE1 BE1.png to Steak JE3 BE2.png.
 * Coal and charcoal
 * Changed texture from Coal JE2 BE1.png to Coal JE3 BE2.png.
 * Arrows
 * Have updated sounds.

Mobs

 * : new visual effect for burning mobs.
 * Sheep
 * : now have the color overlay of its wool around its face and when sheared.
 * Zombies
 * Now rarely drop carrots and potatoes.
 * AI
 * System has been improved.
 * Mobs can now swim over deep water.
 * Hostile mobs are now more intelligent.
 * Animals
 * Follow the player when holding wheat (cows and sheep), seeds (chickens), or potatoes/beetroot/carrots (pigs).
 * Baby animals
 * Now follow adult animals of their species.
 * Spiders
 * Now move faster.

Non-mob entities

 * Thrown eggs
 * Now have a chance of spawning baby chickens instead of adult chickens.
 * Falling blocks
 * Now drop their item form when falling onto blocks they cannot replace, such as torches.

Gameplay

 * Crafting
 * Craftable recipes are now shown first in the crafting screen.
 * If there is 99+ of an item in the inventory, it now shows the actual quantity in the crafting system, rather than 99+.
 * Inventory
 * Changed the flow of the inventory for the armor/crafting screens so that the back button goes back to the inventory.
 * Items that are not supposed to be obtainable no longer have a red background.
 * Hotbar
 * Is now transparent.
 * When selecting an item in the inventory, it replaces the one in the selected hotbar slot instead of placing it in the leftmost slot and shifting everything to the right.
 * Tapping the inventory button now closes the inventory while open.
 * Items that are not supposed to be obtainable no longer have a red background.
 * Creative
 * Players stop burning as soon as they exit fire/lava.
 * The hotbar is now saved when exiting a world.
 * Mining speed increases at/near mining distance limit (8 blocks per second).
 * Creative inventory
 * Has been redesigned, and is now split into four different categories.
 * Each category contains the following items, with items added in this update colored purple, items not legitimately accessible before this version colored red , and items previously not available in Creative mode colored green :

General

 * New app logo.
 * Clouds
 * Are now 3D.
 * Have a new tessellation algorithm.
 * Options
 * Smooth lighting is now always on, and can no longer be disabled.
 * Fancy graphics are now on by default.
 * Graphics
 * Held items are now rendered in 3D, and bob up and down slightly when idle and sway to the side when turning.
 * Lighter colored sky.
 * Water fades to non-transparent in the distance (iOS only).
 * Refactored most of the rendering to use indexed VBOs.
 * Remade the arrow model.
 * Inventory is now rendered using cached VBOs.
 * New sky rendering using a triangle fan.
 * Separated far and near chunks into two queues for performance reasons.
 * Fog only on far chunks.
 * Transparency only on near chunks.
 * Alpha-test-only layers are hidden in far chunks.
 * Lighting
 * All entities now produce circular stencil shadows on blocks below them.
 * Lighting on entities is now dynamic and is no longer the same light level on all sides.
 * Lighting on each entity is now tinted based on how much sky light and block light is on it.
 * : Light direction on entities now depends on the position of the sun. This does not affect stencil shadows.
 * All lighting changes are only visible when fancy graphics is turned on.
 * Textures
 * Block textures are now generated with terrain-atlas.tga instead of terrain.png.
 * Item textures are now generated with items-opaque.png instead of items.png.
 * Inventory icons are now generated with their respective texture atlases instead of gui_blocks.png.

Fixes

 * Other
 * Text no longer cuts off on chat screen.

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