Bountiful Update

The Bountiful Update is the name for version 1.8, a major update that was released on September 2, 2014. The update has two main themes, one being features added for mapmakers and the other being new survival features.

Development began the month after 1.7.4 was released. Fifty-two development snapshots were released, from 14w02a to 14w34d – the second most for any major update to date. During a long development period – 236 days long – six subsequent versions of 1.7 were released. The time between releases of 1.7.2 and 1.8 is the second longest time span between major updates, at 312 days. That is over a month longer than the development of Infdev and Alpha combined, and slightly over 2 weeks shorter than the development of Beta. Several iterations of the launcher were also released during this period, from 1.3.9 to 1.5.3.

The official name for the update, the Bountiful Update, was announced on August 22, 2014 in a blog post on the Mojang website.

Mojang released the first pre-release on August 22, 2014, the second pre-release on August 25 and the third pre-release on August 28.

Mapmaking features

 * Additions
 * 5 new gamerules
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 * 5 new statistics
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 * 12 new commands
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 * 13 new NBT tags
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 * Selector  for targeting entities
 * Changes
 * Interaction with blocks in Adventure Mode is disabled by default
 * Many new arguments and scopes for existing commands
 * Block models are now customizable via resource packs
 * Signs and books can use JSON-formatted text
 * Monster spawners can be quickly changed using spawn eggs

Survival features

 * Additions
 * 36 new blocks: granite, andesite and diorite along with polished variants; 3 types of prismarine; 5 blocks relating to red sandstone; 5 new varieties each of doors, fences and fence gates; as well as sea lanterns, wet sponge, slime blocks, coarse dirt, barriers, iron trapdoors and banners
 * New underwater dungeon content: the ocean monument
 * New mobs including Endermites, Guardians, Elder Guardians and rabbits
 * Sheep now drop mutton
 * Armor stands
 * Potion of Leaping, Depth Strider enchantment and Overpowered achievement
 * Spectator gamemode, customized and debug mode world types
 * Additional 'jacket' layer for player skins
 * Additional default skin Alex with smaller arms


 * Changes
 * Rebalances to the enchanting and repairing systems
 * Enchanting now consumes lapis lazuli
 * Beacons may be colored with stained glass
 * Mossy cobblestone, mossy stone bricks, and chiseled stone bricks now obtainable by crafting
 * Cracked stone bricks and sponge now obtainable by smelting
 * Item frames now emit a redstone signal, and can rotate to 8 directions
 * Daylight sensors may now be inverted
 * Powered activator rail now dismounts entities riding minecarts
 * Arrows decelerate much more quickly underwater, and extinguish if on fire
 * Improvements to mobs' behavior and AI
 * Most mobs can now swim - notably, Slimes
 * Most mobs can now pathfind as zombies have - notably, angry Zombie Pigmen
 * Skeletons flee from wolves
 * Spiders no longer see players through solid blocks
 * Iron Golems attack Creepers
 * Babies' growth can be accelerated by feeding them
 * Most mobs flee from a Creeper about to explode - though this feature was reverted in 1.8.1
 * Creepers, Skeletons, Wither Skeletons and Zombies drop their heads when killed by charged Creepers
 * Villagers
 * Now harvest crops
 * Breed only when willing
 * Have additional villager professions and trading schemes
 * Turn to witches when struck by lightning
 * Pets show death message if named with a name tag

Performance changes

 * VBOs (Vertex Buffer Object) toggle added to Video Settings menu
 * Anisotropic Filtering removed
 * Advanced OpenGL removed in favor of a new Advanced Cave Culling Algorithm
 * Render Distance slider maximum increased to 32 chunks when using 64-bit Java and 2GB allocated RAM

Trivia

 * This update has nine minor versions, the most out of any major update in the full release of Java Edition.

Further revisions

 * 1.8.1 brought performance optimizations and bug fixes.
 * 1.8.2 brought new statistics and a frame time graph for the debug screen, as well as performance optimizations and bug fixes.
 * 1.8.3 was released soon thereafter to fix a crash from 1.8.2.
 * In 1.8.4, 1.8.5, 1.8.6 and 1.8.7, a number of exploits and vulnerabilities were patched.
 * 1.8.8 saw a new Realms mini game, the ability to use resource packs with Realms, and patches to more exploits.
 * 1.8.9 added Realms notifications, as well as some bug fixes.