Java Edition removed features

Since the beginning of Minecraft's development, there have been a number of features that were removed from the game. These features may have been replaced, or a developer decided against the feature later on.

Note that this page only documents game features that were removed; features of a particular game element that were removed are noted in that element's history. See unused features for features that are still currently in the game.

Horse saddle


Horse Saddles were items that were added in snapshot 13w16a during the development of 1.6.1, along with horses that worked just like regular saddles, but for horses instead of pigs. Taming a horse was required before putting a horse saddle on it. The horse saddle was craftable using the following recipe:

The item ID used was 416, which refers to the armor stand in current versions.

Horse saddle items were later removed from the game in 13w18a, and normal saddles are now used for both pigs and horses.

Infinite water source


The infinite water source was a block that would create infinite water, which would replicate infinitely to fill up volumes. They were added originally in Indev (January 24, 2010) to allow for infinite lakes on floating maps.

It was available as block ID 52, until it was replaced with the monster spawner in Infdev Seecret Friday 2 (June 25, 2010).

Infinite lava source


Similar to the infinite water source, the infinite lava source was a block that created infinite lava which would replicate infinitely to fill up volumes. It was also added in Indev (January 24, 2010).

It was available as block ID 53, until it was replaced with oak stairs in Alpha 1.0.0 (June 28, 2010).



Locked chest
Locked chests were an April Fools block. Pressing on the chest would bring up a screen, and clicking on the "Go to Store" button would forward you to the "Minecraft Store".

Powered comparator
During the development for 1.5, the comparator at first used two separate block IDs to represent its powered and unpowered states, with names  and , and numeric IDs 149 and 150 respectively. As of 13w05a, the  block was removed from use in the game, replaced by a powered block state on the   block. It can still be placed using, though it will not function, and will transform into an   block if its facing side is powered, then unpowered.

Rose


The rose was removed from the Computer Edition in 1.7.2 snapshot 13w36a, from the Pocket Edition in Alpha 0.9.0 and from the Console Edition partially in and fully in. In both cases, the rose was simply replaced by the poppy as a wild flower which gives a red dye, though in the Console Edition it was still named 'rose'.

Blocks previously obtainable as items
for a full list of unobtainable blocks

The game prevents certain blocks from being obtained through normal gameplay methods, such as crafting, the creative inventory, the pick block key, and the silk touch enchantment. It also prevents such blocks from being given through less legitimate methods, such as inventory hacking, mods, and commands. Until release versions 1.7.2 and 1.8, there had been a wide variety of blocks that could be hacked into the inventory; over time, however, the game was developed so that these blocks became entirely unavailable, even through hacking.

Currently, the game only accepts name IDs (such as ) in most commands, and uses only name IDs when assigning blocks to the inventory and save files. The old method of obtaining a block via numerical IDs is no longer an option. In addition, the game automatically removes blocks with illegitimate name IDs from the inventory, so using inventory editors is also no longer an option. Furthermore, certain blocks such as  cannot be obtained in their block form; however, since the game has a corresponding item named , the item form is given instead.

Obtainable until 1.7.2
In snapshot 13w37a, the command was modified so that it would notify the name of the item in chat. Due to this, 26 blocks were made unavailable:

Air block
The air block was briefly available as an item during 1.7.2 snapshot 13w38b, while Grum had been redefining the code that represented air in-game. This availability only lasted for one snapshot, as it was the focus of several bugs.

Obtainable until 1.8
In snapshot 14w25a, changes were made to the way the icons of items were rendered, and the way block data was internally represented. Due to this, 12 blocks were made unavailable:

Obtainable until
In snapshot 15w49a, 1 block was made unavailable:

Brick pyramid


For a brief time, brick pyramids were large structures that generated far away from the spawn point. These pyramids were completely solid; they had no interior rooms. A strange quality about these pyramids is that if one dug under it, a layer of dirt and stone extended under the pyramid. This suggests it spawned right on top of the terrain instead of being a complete pyramid with the bottom underground (such as desert temples). Pyramids were removed in later versions of Infdev.

Obsidian wall
Obsidian walls were used in Infdev to mark the positions of the cardinal directions. This created two intersecting planes extending just above the surface of the solid material that surrounds them. This has long since been removed.

Far lands


The Far Lands were the area that formed the “edge" of the “infinite" map in PC versions prior to Beta 1.8. They were removed as a result of an update to the terrain generation. They are currently found in the Pocket Edition.

Trees
Some types of trees can no longer be grown with saplings, and no longer generate naturally in new terrain. They were often the result of the fact that new log and leaf types had not yet been added; new trees subsequently "borrowed" logs and leaves from other trees. For example: acacia trees, when they were first added, used jungle logs and oak leaves.

The "cold-en" oak, or winter oak, was a tree formed by a rare glitch in older versions of Pocket Edition prior to 0.9.0. It causes a small tree with a leaf arrangement the same as that of small oak or birch to be generated on the border of a forest and a snowy area (one of which is usually mountainous). It is composed with spruce leaves and spruce logs (seen in the lite and newer versions prior to 0.9.0) or oak logs (paid only).

Isometric screenshot
In the Indev versions of the game, you can take a screenshot of the map from an isometric perspective using F7. When the game captures an isometric image it will save the current location of all mobs and show any and all alterations to the map the player has made that would be visible from the perspective of the sun (at sunrise). The player will not be visible unless the player was in third person view before taking the Isometric screenshot.

The Isometric screenshot will save to your local user folder as "mc_map_####.png" where #### represent the number of the screen shot starting at 0000 up to 9999.

There are some limitations that existed with the screenshots:
 * Can only capture the player's model when in 3rd person mode.
 * Due to a glitch the screenshot will only render blocks that are in the player's FOV, and everything else will either be black or show blocks under the ground.

Indev map shape
The map shape is the general dimensions the level generator uses to create maps. Added in 0.31, it alters the length, width, and height of the map. There are three kinds of shapes:


 * Square is a map of equal length, width and height.
 * Long is 2x the length and 1/2 the width of a normal map.
 * Deep is 4x height and 1/2 the width and length of a normal map.

Indev map theme
A map theme (comparable to biomes) was the general style the level generator uses to create maps. Added in 0.31 update in January 7, 2010, it dramatically affects Indev mode's game mechanics. Paradise and Woods themes were added in Indev update on February 14, 2010. Themes were removed for later on in the middle of Infdev.

There were four map themes:


 * Normal features sporadic trees, clouds and equal length of day and night. Ores can be found and lava is found near bedrock.
 * Hell features less lighting allowing for mob spawning at all times, lava instead of water, dirt instead of grass and grass instead of sand. Mushrooms are abundant on the surface. Farming works at a much slower rate (one plant stage per day cycle). This was later replaced with The Nether.
 * Paradise features larger beaches and plentiful flora, the time is always set to "Noon" and hostile Mobs will only spawn underground. Farming works at a much faster rate (from planting to harvestable in 30–45 minutes).
 * Woods features constant overcast during the day that reduces light and higher tree density. Additionally, mushrooms are spotty throughout the overground areas.

Indev map type
The map type is the general format the level generator used to create maps. Added in 0.31, it dramatically affected Indev mode in the availability of water, sand, and gravel. The further the player travelled towards the end of the map, the slower they moved. There were four map types:


 * Island is the default map type featuring minor hills and water existing at the borders.
 * Floating contains multiple floating islands. Falling from these islands results in death as the surface is covered in bedrock. Floating gravel and sand is common, while water is rare.
 * Flat is similar to superflat today - it features flat grass with flowers, trees and a starting house.
 * Inland features a slightly hilly landscape, which is essentially the Island map type with infinite flatland at its borders as opposed to water. Sand and gravel are common.

Winter mode


Winter mode was a randomly occurring map type for Minecraft Alpha. It was added on the 9th of July, 2010 and was the first other "biome" than the generic one to appear in Minecraft. It was removed in the Halloween Update. Four different types of snowflakes fell constantly, creating snow tiles on any block that was directly exposed to the sky, provided that it was solid. When a map was generated, all exposed water blocks would be frozen into ice. Also, animals would not spawn as much as in the normal world.

Pre-Beta 1.8 biomes
In Beta 1.8, biomes received a major overhaul, removing and changing many biomes. Prior to these changes, there were 13 biome types which were much smaller and less distinct.

Beast Boy, Black Steve, Steve, Rana
Beast Boy, Black Steve, Steve and Rana were human mobs originally in-game as a test during the Indev phase. They were made by "Dock", Minecraft's past artist, and were removed from the game when Dock left the development team in early 2010. These mobs had no animation and glided around in the same pose. Upon death, Beast Boy, Black Steve and Steve could drop 1-2 string, 1-2 feathers, 1-2 gunpowder and 0-1 flint and steel, while Rana could drop 0-2 apples, 0-5 roses and 0-2 feathers. Beast Boy, Black Steve and Steve each had while Rana had.

Human


Humans were hostile mobs which take the form of clones of the default skin. In Classic mode, humans could be spawned by pressing. Strangely, they did not use the punching animation that a normal player would use; they only ran into the player like a zombie would.

Otherwise, humans would just move around the map aimlessly, walking in slightly imperfect circles, flailing their arms and heads, and jumping occasionally. They could not move or delete blocks, and were not affected by liquids. Changing your own skin would not change the skin of the human mob.

Generic villager


Generic villagers were a type of villager with a green robe. In 1.3.1, the ability to spawn them was added, though it required external tools or mods. In 1.7.2 and above, they could be spawned using. They only had the default trade available: 7-9 gold ingots for 1 emerald. In 14w02a, due to changes in the trading system, there was no longer a default trade, and thus attempting to trade with generic villagers will crash the game. In 14w20a, generic villagers were removed from the game, as villagers with negative profession IDs become farmers. Despite being removed, the texture still remains in minecraft.jar. A green-robed zombie version exists in snapshots of 1.9.

Unused
These features never had any use in game.

Cog


On January 25, 2010, Notch posted a video of the cogs being placed onto the wall of a cliff.

In Indev on January 26, 2010, the code for cogs (originally named Gear) was added. It could only get obtained by inventory hacking and was invisible in the inventory. When hacked into the game, cogs could only be placed on a side of any block, placing them in a space where two sides are next to each other would cause two cogs to appear on both sides. Placed cogs were impossible to destroy; any mining directed at a cog phased through to the block behind it, much like water. If the block a cog was on was destroyed, the cog was not removed, but oddly, was invisible. The cog still existed in the map and would show up again if a solid block was replaced. Cogs placed in mid-air using a map editor were also invisible and would show up if a block was placed next to them. Cogs can be only removed using water to flow on them. A cog's sprite consisted of two parts; the center rod and the animated gear.

In Infdev on February 27, 2010, Gear was renamed to Cog, and later on June 27, 2010, it was removed.

Cogs had a data value of 55, which was replaced by redstone in Alpha 1.0.1.

Crying obsidian


Crying obsidian was a texture in Minecraft for an abandoned project to implement a spawn-point changing obelisk. It was abandoned after the introduction of beds. It would have been crafted with an obsidian block and lapis lazuli.

The texture for crying obsidian was removed in Beta 1.5.

On February 9, 2012, Jeb was asked "Can you bring back Crying Obsidian or add some new color/texture blocks?" to which he responded "As soon as I've made preparations for more texture space."

Furniture


In Indev's terrain.png were two textures which might be interpreted as a chair (side and front). The actual purpose of those textures is unknown. The second texture may be the side view of a table, or possibly the front of the chair. On Notch's blog, The Word of Notch, furniture, and more specifically chairs, are mentioned a few times.



Pigman
Minecraft user Miclee came up with the idea for pigmen. He was given the Bacon Cape as a reward, but when Notch was asked for personal capes by other users, the Bacon Cape was taken away from Miclee to prevent further commotion.

Notch mentioned April 25, 2011 that he might add pigmen as villages' townspeople, although in the Beta 1.9 pre-releases, a different villager mob was introduced.

In 1.6.2, the texture file was removed.

Plate.png
In c0.30_01c, there was a folder called "armor", which contained two files in development, showing only a helmet and chestplate. One was finished and called "chain.png" and resembled chain armor, and the the other was unfinished and called "plate.png". Plate.png remained unused and eventually removed. It is possible that this was replaced by the iron armor or that this was originally supposed to be iron armor.

Studded armor


Studded armor were several sprites that were added sometime around in items.png. They were taken from Notch's unfinished game, Legend of the Chambered, along with other armor sprites. The sprites were never implemented into gameplay and were eventually removed.

Play Tutorial Level button
An unclickable Play Tutorial Level button was added during Indev. It could be found on the main screen. It was finally removed during the transition from Alpha to Beta stage, but no such tutorial level existed between Indev and Beta.

Skis


A texture known in the game files as "skis.png", was added in the 1.4.6 update. Its textures were added by Dinnerbone as a red herring. The texture was removed in 1.6.

Calm4.ogg


Calm4.ogg was a music file (alongside the other tracks) that was beta-tested and created by Notch himself. The song is 3:13.

It consists of an up-beat, battle-like tune. At 1:36 in the song, you can hear Notch saying "Mojang Specifications" in a slowed-down voice.

The track was released around, but it is unknown when and why it was omitted from the downloaded game files. As such, players who had the game while the song was still in it will continue to hear it being played, as the game will play any song in the  folder.

With the introduction of the 1.6.1 launcher, playing older versions with the track Calm4.ogg will not allow the track to be heard, since music is downloaded separately from the .jar files.

Lighting updates
World generation lighting issues were temporarily fixed in snapshot 12w39a during the development of 1.4.2, but Dinnerbone reverted these changes due to performance decreases. Bi-directional lighting changes were also reverted, with Dinnerbone promising that he'll "come back to it in 1.5", however this never eventuated.

Many of these changes were implemented in 1.8.

Void fog


Starting in Beta 1.8, black Void fog existed which increased with depth as the player descended past Y=17. As the player traveled deeper, the fog at the edge of the render distance would become grow closer, until the player reached the deepest depths, where visibility was reduced to just a few blocks, beyond which lay only blackness. There were also dark gray void particles that appeared at level 16 and below, plus in the void.

Void fog and the void particles were removed in snapshot 14w34c for release version 1.8. The main reason for its removal was to increase performance.

Minecart changes
In snapshot 14w11a during the development of 1.8, the physics of minecarts were changed. Their collision and position handling was improved, and they could go faster and farther, derail at corners if going too fast and refuse to go uphill. However, these changes were reverted in 14w17a after the developers decided that the behavior was too buggy.

Dispensing command blocks
From 1.8 snapshot 14w07a, dispensers had the ability to place a command block that it contained, when activated. This feature was removed as of version 1.8.6 to solve a security issue.

Mobs running from creepers
In 1.8, mobs ran away from creepers that were about to explode. In 1.8.1-pre1, this feature was removed due to issues with lag, as every mob that had the ability to run from a creeper was looking for an exploding creeper every tick.

Splashes
When a splash is removed, the line it occupied in splashes.txt is deleted, meaning the line number of all subsequent splashes lowers by one.