Java Edition 1.18 Experimental Snapshot 1

1.18 Experimental Snapshot 1 (called 1.18 Experimental 1 in the launcher) is the first experimental snapshot for Java Edition 1.18, released on July 13, 2021, which introduces new terrain generation and enables features from the preview data pack.

World generation

 * Caves


 * Completely overhauled.
 * Now stretch down to Y=-59.
 * The cavern now generates in 2 layers of different stone bases depending on the depth.
 * Cavern layer above Y=0 is made up of regular stone.
 * Stone transitions to deepslate from Y=0 to Y=-7.
 * Deepslate now completely replaces stone from Y=-8 to bedrock.
 * Certain types of ores and structures still generate in the deepslate layer, as well as tuff.
 * Dirt, diorite, granite and andesite do not generate in this layer.
 * Dripstone Caves and Lush Caves now generate naturally underground.
 * Contain aquifers, bodies of water with different heights, independent of sea level (Y=63).
 * Aquifers below Y=0 sometimes generate with lava instead of water.
 * Improved old caves to blend in with the new generations of caves better.
 * New carver called crack carver, which appears as a fissure on the ground, like ravines but narrower and can go very deep.
 * New noise caves, coming in 3 forms, cheese, spaghetti and noodle.
 * The original caves still exist with their generation slightly tweaked to better blend in with noise caves.
 * Cheese caves have large stone towers stretching from the bottom of the cave to the top.
 * Very large, often large enough to fly with an elytra.
 * Abundant with springs, aquifers and ores.
 * Spaghetti caves are long, thin caves that have small aquifers and are more similar to original caves.
 * Noodle caves are thinner, squigglier and more claustrophobic variants of spaghetti caves.


 * Mountains


 * Come in 5 sub-biomes:
 * Mountain Meadow
 * The lowest layer of a mountain that look like a flowery and colder plains, with an aqua grass color.
 * Contains double tall grass and dead bushes.
 * Unlike the, does not contain sweet berry bushes
 * Contains a mix of any kind of one-block-tall flower.
 * Some areas contain many dandelions, azure bluets and cornflowers.
 * Some areas contain cornflowers and blue orchids.
 * Some areas contain blue orchids and daisies.
 * Some areas just poppies.
 * Other areas are filled with various flowers, even alliums and blue orchids.
 * Rabbits and donkeys spawn in this biome.
 * Common passive mobs and horses will not spawn.
 * Mountain Grove
 * Reminds a snowy taiga with snow blocks instead of grass blocks.
 * The second lowest layer of a mountain.
 * Covered in snow, snow blocks, powder snow and is filled with spruce trees.
 * Only rabbits spawn in this biome.
 * Snowy Slopes
 * The second highest layer of a mountain.
 * Covered in snow, snow blocks, powder snow and ice.
 * Goats spawn only in the snowy slopes biome.
 * Lofty Peaks
 * The highest layer of a mountain which will only generate if the mountain is high enough.
 * Generates if the surrounding biomes are too warm for snow capped peaks.
 * Covered in snow, snow blocks and ice.
 * Snow Capped Peaks
 * The highest layer of a mountain which will only generate if the mountain is high enough.
 * Generates if the surrounding biomes are too cold for lofty peaks.
 * Covered in snow, snow blocks, ice, and packed ice.


 * Ore veins
 * Long and rare ore formations.
 * Copper ore veins mixed with granite and raw copper block generate above Y=0.
 * Iron ore veins mixed with tuff and raw iron block generate below Y=0.

Blocks

 * Sculk Sensor
 * Have been re-added to the Creative Mode inventory.

Items

 * Bundle
 * Have been re-added to the Creative Mode inventory.

Mobs

 * Axolotls
 * Now only spawn in lush caves.
 * Goat
 * Now only spawn in the new mountain biomes.
 * General
 * Hostile mobs will only spawn in areas where the light level is equal 0.
 * This change only affects block-light and not sky-light.

World generation

 * Lush Caves and Dripstone Caves
 * Now generate naturally underground and inside hills or mountains.
 * Azalea trees now generate above lush caves.


 * Deep Warm Ocean
 * Now generates naturally.


 * Ore distribution
 * New ore distribution has been implemented, see the chart.
 * Changed the maximum height of small iron ore blobs from 64 to 72.
 * Reduced copper spawning a bit, to compensate for large ore veins.
 * Slightly reduced the amount of normal-sized iron blobs, to compensate for large ore veins and the increased range of smaller blobs.


 * General
 * Terrain generation is now independent from biomes, with biomes adapting to whatever terrain they happen to generate throughout.
 * This allows for natural variation in the terrain of any individual biome, both in terms of shape and elevation.
 * For example, forests and deserts could form up on a hill without needing a special biome just for that purpose.
 * This additionally allows for smoother transitions between biomes.
 * Terrain is now smoother and more extreme.

General

 * Height limit
 * Has been increased to 384 blocks, expanding 64 blocks up and 64 blocks down, with 320 being the limit upward and -64 being the limit downward.


 * World types
 * Removed the Large Biomes and Amplified world types.

Issues

 * This version is not supported on the bug tracker and therefore issues affecting it will be closed as "Invalid" on the bug tracker.

Trivia

 * A  for a version called   was mistakenly uploaded instead of this snapshot at first.
 * This is the first time that the light level requirement for common hostile mob spawning gets changed for more than 11 years, since the "light level 7 and below" rule was implemented on February 4, 2010, while the game was still in its Indev phase.
 * This is the first development version using the term "Experimental Snapshot", which starts the update development before the initial snapshots will begin, sometime in September.

Video
Video made by slicedlime: