South-east rule

The south-east rule, also known as the Z-X rule, is an unintentional mechanic in Minecraft wherein various effects occur based on the cardinal directions, specifically in a south-east variant.

Effects
The following list contains effects that happen in Minecraft, relating to the south, east, or south-east cardinal directions.

Others include:


 * Rails on individually-placed tracks will orient north-south. They will curve south or east when they are initially placed at a "T" intersection or a "+" intersection. They will also curve away from the south or east when powered.
 * An exception to this is if there is an intersection on a downhill rail track, the minecart will continue the downhill track, even if the south-east rule applies. (see Rail)
 * Any mobs that are spawned by spawn eggs, monster spawners, the player, or by breeding, will always appear to be facing the southern direction initially.
 * TNT cannons tend to fire farther when facing east or south. Designs that don't account for spread also exhibit horizontal drift eastward or southward as well.(As of 1.14.4 the opposite is now true)
 * Many bugs cause problems relating to south and east, such as villagers trying to cram into the house that is mostly in the southern-eastern area of the village.
 * When the player is exactly inside the middle of a block, they are pushed out of the block north-east.
 * 2×2 trees are unable to grow, if north, west or northwest diagonal block is occupied up to the final height of the tree.
 * When the player first spawns into the world, they spawn facing south.

Model/Texture orientation
Blocks can be split into 3 categories based on the model behavior.
 * Always the same way (only has 1 orientation, no other facing version exists)
 * e.g. Cobblestone, planks, bookshelf, obsidian, ores, etc.
 * The texture orientation will be based on the location of the block, not dependent on the placing direction
 * Dirt, grass block
 * Based on the mode of placing, it will use a certain predictable orientation/block state
 * e.g. Terracotta, furnace, piston, logs