Java Edition Beta 1.8 Pre-release 2 ;)

Beta 1.8 Pre-release 2 ;) [sic] is the second and last pre-release for Java Edition Beta 1.8, released on September 13, 2011.

Blocks

 * Vines
 * Now spread infinitely down, but do not spread if there are more than four other vine blocks nearby.


 * Stone bricks
 * Cracked and mossy stone bricks now drop themselves instead of regular stone bricks.

Items

 * Swords
 * Blocking now works in multiplayer.


 * Bone Meal
 * Can now be used on pumpkin seeds and melon seeds.
 * Huge mushrooms can only be made if a mushroom is planted on grass or dirt.

Mobs

 * Squid
 * Now drop experience orbs when killed.

World generation

 * Mineshafts
 * Their density is now significantly decreased.
 * To counter this change they generate about 2.5 times as often.


 * Strongholds
 * Increased stronghold count to three per map instead of one.

Gameplay

 * Creative inventory
 * Some of the missing blocks are now on the creative selection screen.


 * Creative
 * The player can no longer eat in creative.


 * Drops
 * Chickens and cows killed by burning now drop their cooked meat.


 * Crafting
 * Holding shift while grabbing a crafting output now automatically takes the maximum amount of outputs from the ingredients it was given.

General

 * Options
 * "Generated Structures" is now on by default.


 * Fog
 * Adjusted fog strength at low altitudes to be less extreme.


 * Controls
 * and working as a result of left-in debug code being removed.
 * Fog key mapped to.

Fixes

 * 7 bugs fixed
 * Fixed endermen having client-side problems in multiplayer.
 * Sprinting with right-click or sneaking is now fixed.
 * Fixed furnace tile entity crash.
 * Fixed leaving the crafting table with items on the grid creating phantom blocks.
 * Fixed singleplayer chunk memory leak.
 * Fixed vines and leaves no crashing the game when placed in the Nether.
 * Fixed farmlands rejecting melon and pumpkin seeds.

Trivia

 * This version features a winking-face emoticon (";)") in its name for unknown reasons, even though it's possibly that it was a typo made by Notch.