Java Edition 20w17a

20w17a is the thirteenth snapshot for Java Edition 1.16, released on April 22, 2020, which added the command, tweaked bastion remnant loot, and lowered the spawn rate of ruined portals.

Command format

 * Commands
 * Added the command.
 * Used to get, set, or modify attributes.

General

 * Options
 * Added an "Entity Distance" scale option ranging from 50% to 500%.
 * Sets the distance at which mobs render into frame.


 * Tags
 * Added block tag
 * Contains light and heavy weighted pressure plates, as well as the  and   block tags.
 * Added block tag
 * Contains stone and polished blackstone pressure plates.


 * Sounds
 * Added new sounds for chains.


 * World creation
 * Difficulty and game rules can now be changed from the "Create World" screen.

Blocks

 * Gilded blackstone and nether gold ore
 * Now use the same sounds as nether quartz ore.


 * Smithing table
 * Improved UI.
 * Added an ingot outline to the second input slot.
 * Added a hammer icon above the input slots, similar to the anvil UI.


 * Soul fire torches and soul fire lanterns
 * Renamed "Soul Fire Torch" and "Soul Fire Lantern" to "Soul Torch" and "Soul Lantern", respectively.
 * IDs have been changed from to, respectively.


 * Walls
 * Now change into posts when pressure plates and banners are placed on them.

Items

 * General
 * Inventory tab names, which appear in the description of items when in the Search tab, now display in boldface.
 * Other information, such as tag names, will display in boldface as well.

World generation

 * Bastion remnants
 * Bastion remnant loot has been tweaked.
 * Ancient debris and netherite scrap have been made generally rarer.
 * Netherite gear can no longer be found in bastion remnants; instead, diamond gear is found.
 * The chances and stack sizes of various items have been tweaked.


 * Ruined portals
 * Now spawn less frequently.

General

 * Block storage format
 * Block storage format in chunks has been slightly changed to speed up various tasks (rendering, pathfinding, world generation, etc.).


 * Fonts
 * Chat component style can now select font.
 * Full range of Unicode characters is supported, making it possible to type emojis and other unicode characters outside of the Basic Multilingual Plane.
 * However, custom resource packs must be used to display correct characters instead of tofu, due to the lack of these characters in the default font.


 * Raw JSON text format
 * The JSON  component now supports 6-digit hexadecimal colors to specify custom colors other than the 16 default color codes.
 * Example:
 * The  chat component now uses the parameter.
 * The  argument is now deprecated, but still supported.


 * Main menu
 * The "Singleplayer" button will jump directly to "Create World" screen if there are no worlds to select.


 * Tags
 * Changed the block tag to include the  block tags.

Video
Video made by slicedlime: