Java Edition 13w02a

13w02a is the third snapshot released for Java Edition 1.5.

Blocks

 * Activator rails
 * Used to trigger TNT Minecarts.
 * Needs to be powered by redstone.
 * Transmits power up to 8 activator rails far.
 * Crafted the same way as normal rails except without a stick in the middle.


 * Block of Quartz
 * New building block.
 * Made by using 4 pieces of Nether quartz in a square.


 * Chiseled Quartz Block
 * New building block.
 * Crafting recipe is 2 quartz slabs vertically.


 * Pillar Quartz Block
 * New building block.
 * Crafting recipe is 2 Blocks of quartz vertically.


 * Quartz Stairs
 * New stair block.
 * Crafting recipe is the same except that it is made out of any quartz block.


 * Quartz slabs
 * New slab block.
 * Crafting recipe is the same except that it is made out of any quartz block.

Non-mob entities

 * Minecart with TNT
 * Triggered by Activator Rails
 * Crafting recipe is a TNT block on top of a minecart (allowing for creation in the 2x2 inventory)
 * When it derails, it explodes instantly, ignoring the usual timer delay
 * Explodes even more violently the faster it goes
 * In Creative mode when left clicked while moving, the Minecart with TNT explodes

Gameplay

 * Death messages
 * Now includes the cause of death, the player the deceased player was fighting at time of death, and the name of the item used to kill.
 * For death messages for fall damage, a complicated system was introduced.
 * There are now two types of messages, "[player] " and "[player] and ".
 * can be:
 * fell [off a ladder/off some vines/out of the water/fell from a high place]
 * was [shot/pummeled/blown/fireballed/knocked] [off a ladder/off some vines/out of the water/from a high place]
 * was [shot/pummeled/blown/fireballed/knocked] [off a ladder/off some vines/out of the water/from a high place] by [player/mob]
 * can be:
 * into a pool of lava
 * fell out of the world
 * into a patch of fire
 * into a patch of cacti
 * got finished off by [player/mob]
 * got finished off by [player/mob] using [item]
 * got finished off using [item]
 * There are 352 different death messages for falling. (Technically there are 416 because the verb "blown" exists twice in the en_US.lang file.)

Blocks

 * Anvils
 * Improved naming of containers
 * Renamed Chests, Trapped Chests, Dispensers, Furnaces, Brewing Stands, and Enchantment Tables will display the new name in their GUI where the normal name used to appear.


 * Hoppers
 * Is now controllable by redstone – Power it to disable item forwarding.
 * Added a proper icon.
 * Is no longer considered wooden (cannot be used as a fuel in a furnace, etc.).
 * New crafting recipe uses iron ingots rather than stone.
 * The redstone signal emitted when a Comparator is placed against it directly has changed.
 * 1 item will give a signal strength of 1, a 1/3 of a stack (21 for items which stack to 64) gives a signal strength of 2.
 * The number of full stacks x 3 = Signal strength.
 * E.g. 2 stacks of an item/block will give a signal strength of 6, while 2 potions will also give a signal strength of 6 (because a potion occupies one stack).


 * Lava
 * Changed textures.


 * Redstone Comparator
 * Updated texture.
 * When fed by containers, they will now start giving out a signal as soon as 1 item is in the container, allowing for empty container detection.


 * Slabs
 * The "Smooth Stone Slab" (Didn't have an official name) is now removed from the game.
 * Its data values were replaced with Nether Brick Slabs and Nether Quartz Slabs.


 * Trapped chests
 * Now in Decoration Blocks in creative mode inventory.

Mobs

 * General
 * Improved naming of mob eggs.
 * Mobs spawned from renamed eggs have the name of the egg and the names will appear in the death message.
 * Mobs can now display their custom name as nametag using an NBT tag.


 * Skeletons
 * Improved aiming.
 * Now shoots from 15 blocks away, instead of 10
 * Accuracy changes by difficulty

World generation

 * Mineshafts
 * Changed the chests to Minecart with chest.

Gameplay

 * Language
 * Updated language files.
 * Language files can now be updated via the background downloader (no need for a new Minecraft release).


 * Texture packs
 * Textures now use one file per block/item, which are stitched together at runtime – Texture sizes don't need to be consistent.
 * Any block and item can be animated by putting the frames underneath each other in the right .png – Use an optional .txt to specify frame order and duration.
 * Special rules apply for water, lava, compass, and clock.
 * Existing texture packs will "automagically" be converted.
 * Vanilla textures will be used if texture files are missing.