Void



The Void is the term given to the empty space beyond the generated boundaries of each map. It can be seen through gaps in the lowest layer of Bedrock on maps generated prior to the Halloween Update. Until a recent update, when lava generated on layer 2, the bedrock on layer 1 below it was replaced by smooth stone, making it possible to enter the void without mods. It can now only be entered if one uses a map editor or creative mode to make a hole in the bedrock layer at the bottom of the Overworld, at the lowest or highest layer in the Nether, or by jumping off of The End.

It is endless, however falling into the Void causes the player's health to be depleted by about 4 hearts per second, leading to the player's death in 2.5 seconds or less, should he or she drop. If mods are used to make the player invincible, he/she will fall indefinitely.

Entities (mobs and items, excluding the player) entering the Void will be deleted in the following tick (as soon as possible). However, as of the 1.1 update, mobs will fall through the Void until they reach Y=-64, at which point they receive the same damage as the player (4 hearts per second). Items will fall until they reach Y=-64 where they disappear.

Blocks cannot be built on the underside of the Bedrock layer, and although Water and Lava appear to flow into it, they will not actually spread and form beneath the lowest layer. This prevents players from descending into the Void safely via swimming.

There is currently a bug in SMP that will remove chunks client-side, so while the data is still there, the client cannot see it and will glitch if they step on it. This can be fixed by reconnecting or placing a torch next to the missing chunk. If you ride a Minecart into this missing chunk, and then you step out of the Minecart, you will fall to the void and die, regardless if you disconnect and reconnect.

Ways of reaching the void

 * In a map generated prior to the Halloween Update, it is possible to find holes in the bedrock that lead into the void.


 * In maps generated prior to 1.2, it was still possible to find holes in the bedrock leading to the void under very low-level lava pools. This was fixed, and holes in bedrock no longer exist.


 * Create a Creative world and dig straight down, since in Creative you can destroy bedrock.
 * This also goes for the Nether, but in the Nether, you can dig straight up to reach the Void by flying.


 * In the End, it is possible to simply jump off the islands. This will immediately drop you into the Void.


 * In The Nether, bring at least 2 Ender Pearls and block jump to the upper-most layer of bedrock you can find, and throw them generally fast onto to bedrock until teleporting on top of the layer of bedrock. You can build here all the way up to 255, lighting is buggy, and mobs will not spawn.


 * In early Infdev, the void acts and provides damage as an invisible lava sea, and making the lava only visible when entering the Void.

History

 * Prior to Beta 1.6, things that fell into the void became black because there is no lighting there.
 * Before Creative mode, The Void was much more difficult to access, since Bedrock is impossible to destroy in Survival mode.
 * Prior to 1.8, the void was the same color as the sky, until Notch added void fog. If using an X-Ray mod, you can see the color of the void change from blue to black while descending. This can also be seen by a player in an ocean biome. Just before the player's head goes under the water, the horizon is seen to turn black, and as the player rises it changes back to blue.
 * As of 1.8, if you are in within 16 blocks of the void, the particle effect will be visible, along with limited visibility, as if you were on render distance tiny. Entities are now lit in the void. The void is now always pitch black and a particle effect occurs above bedrock. The Player can now reach the Void through Creative mode.
 * Prior to 11w48a the void fog was in all game modes.
 * As of 11w49a, mobs and items that fall through the Void will receive the same damage as the player (4 hearts per second) and disappear, respectively, when they reach Y=-64.

Trivia

 * The void is not just under the chunks. Exactly, the void is also above chunks(above the build limit), and this similarity can be noticed by looking at the debug window. When you travel under chunks, certain text will dissapear. This will also happen above chunks.
 * Tossing a block into the void before taking damage can stop you from dying. You will be able to roam around the void, although there is nothing there.
 * If you open a hole to the void and block off all light sources, you can see that the void does in fact give off light. (Rather, it is the blocks themselves having a light level higher than 0, not the light "shining out of the hole" as it appears to be). However, the bottom of the bedrock on the last layer is completely black.
 * When you fall through the void, you don't get hurt until you reach the Y-coordinate of -64, and then you take damage at a rate of 4 hearts/second. (Like falling in lava)
 * When you fall into the void on a server with anti flying measures, you are kicked regardless of having a flying mod.
 * Primed TNT can fall into the void and explode.


 * Riding a vehicle into the void will result in the player being stuck in the vehicle until he/she dies.
 * If flying is enabled in Creative mode (patch 1.8), you can fly around in the top layers of the void without taking damage.
 * Falling into the void is the only possible way to die in Creative Mode.
 * When the player is at a Y coordinate above 64, the void appears blue, and the black fog is not rendered. When the player is at a Y coordinate below 64, the void will change color to black and the fog will get closer to the player.
 * As of 1.2.5, Sunlight removes the void fog, allowing for full visibility.
 * If one was to pass the 32 million block limit (called the Far Lands, before 1.8), the player would no longer clip (the blocks become non-solid) and fall through to the void, resulting in the player's eventual death. This is also known as a "Fake Chunk".
 * Shot arrows can stick to the bottom of the lowest level of bedrock (they are stuck on a block in the Void).
 * Arrows on fire (arrows that have gone through lava) will disappear once they enter the Void while normal arrows fired by the player do not immediately disappear.
 * Pistons do not work at the lowest level of bedrock (or the level above the Void).
 * If you destroy bedrock in creative mode and replace it with another block, particles, such as rain, will still fall through that block.
 * In creative mode, you can destroy a block of bedrock, place a torch on the inside of a surrounding block, and, if flying is on, float directly below the open space. You will be able to see much farther in the void. This stops, however, when you move out from under the space.
 * If you have flying on in creative mode and start destroying blocks on the bottom bedrock layer, the orange horizon line of the sun will slowly start to appear. Where the horizon line appears depends on what time of day it is when you do this. This appears to be a glitch.
 * When you die from falling into The Void, your Y position will be -199.10.
 * In The Nether, the Void is red.
 * Chickens can be spawned in the void using eggs. Like all other entities, however, they die below Y=-64.
 * When falling into the void, the sky above only renders for the current chunk. This can easily be tested by falling off on a skyblock world.
 * If you fall more than 32 million blocks down, Minecraft will crash. VoidMinus618.png
 * When viewed on a map, the Void is seen as the pattern used for an unexplored area.
 * Many floating island maps have a lot of exposed void.
 * If a map is forced to map the Void, Minecraft crashes.
 * Flying into the Void in the sky, you will not die, but falling into the Void underneath will kill you.