1.8
See also other instances of 1.8
Additions
General
Splash
Difficulty
Difficulty is per world
No more global difficulty option
Prevents accidentally changing the difficulty when joining the world
Can be locked for each world
Prevents the temptation to change to an easier difficulty in difficult situations
Locking can not be undone without external editors
However, using the /difficulty command will still work
Gameplay
Target selectors
@e
Targets entities
Can specify type of entity by entity ID to either include or exclude with [type=Chicken] or [type=!Skeleton]
Example: /kill @e[r=50,type=Chicken] - kills all chicken within a radius of 50 blocks
Example: /tp @e[r=5] ~ ~5 ~ (<x >|<destination>) - any entity within a radius of 5 blocks will be teleported five blocks in the air\
Commands
/blockdata
Modifies NBT data at a specific coordinate. The <dataTag> merges with the block at that position
Can be used to change the contents of a chest
Usage: /blockdata <x> <y> <z> <dataTag>
/clone
Clones all the blocks (not entities) from a given area to a different given area
Up to 4096 blocks can be copied
The clone can be masked or replace - replace will copy every block, masked will only copy non-air blocks
Usage: /clone <x1> <y1> <z1> <x2> <y2> <z2> <x> <y> <z> [mode]
Example: /clone 1001 3 1002 1011 3 992 1001 5 992 masked
/fill
Fills a given volume with a specified block
Up to 4096 blocks can be filled
oldBlockHandling works like with, but with additional options: hollow to only fill the outer layer of blocks and fill the inner part with air, outline to fill the outer layer of blocks and ignore the inner part
Works similarly to /setblock
Usage: /fill <x1> <y1> <z1> <x2> <y2> <z2> <TileName> [dataValue] [oldBlockHandling] <dataTag>
Example: /fill 1001 3 1002 1011 5 992 wool 6 replace
/particle
Used to create particle effects[2] [3]
Usage: /particle <name> <x> <y> <z> <xd> <yd> <zd> <speed> [count]
NBT Tags
{CanDestroy}[4]
Mostly for use in adventure mode
Items with this tag display the names of the blocks that they can destroy in the item tooltip
Example: /give @p minecraft:diamond_shovel 1 0 {CanDestroy:["minecraft:sand","minecraft:grass"]} to give a Diamond Shovel that can break grass and sand)
{Lock:"Secret"}
A way to lock containers from being opened using NBT tags
Mostly useful for adventure maps in adventure mode
Containers can be unlocked by clearing their String for Lock
Locked containers can only be opened while holding anything renamed to the given string, item is not removed on use[5]
The lock can be completely removed utilizing the command /blockdata
Gamerule
logAdminCommands
This is used to hide actions taken by command blocks.
World Generation
Underground
Granite, Andesite and Diorite generate in pockets within Stone terrain
Similar size and abundance to Dirt and Gravel
Blocks and Items
Diorite
Crafting recipe: 2 Cobblestone and 2 Nether Quartz in a checker board pattern
Can be crafted into Polished Diorite
Andesite
Crafting recipe: 1 Cobblestone and 1 Diorite
Can be crafted into Polished Andesite
Granite
Crafting recipe: 1 Nether Quartz and 1 Diorite
Can be crafted into Polished Granite
Polished Diorite
Crafting recipe: 4 Diorite in a 2x2 configuration
Polished Andesite
Crafting recipe: 4 Andesite in a 2x2 configuration
Polished Granite
Crafting recipe: 4 Granite in a 2x2 configuration
Slime Block
Players and mobs that land on their top side will bounce, like on a trampoline
Bounce rebound velocity is scaled by impact velocity, can reach up to 60%
Currently does not affect item entities
Prevents fall damage
Walking on it is slower than walking on Soulsand, close to one's speed whilst sneaking
Crafting recipe: 9 Slime Balls
Can be crafted back into 9 Slime Balls
Changes
General
Skin
Right and left arms and legs are now editable independently
Uses a char.png file with new layout and new dimensions
Dimensions for the file are now 64x64
Overlay now includes the whole body
Overlays are called hat , jacket , sleeves and pants legs
New "Skin Customization" button in the options menu
Cape visibility is now toggled from here
You can toggle the visibility of overlays, independent for each limb/body part
Skins are now more "stable" [6] [7]
Skins are less likely to reset to default in-game
Changing skins is more instant in servers
Backward-compatible
Player Heads
Player heads are no longer only one layer
F3 debug screen
Now shows which axis you are facing after the cardinal direction - "Towards positive/negative X/Z"
Block IDs
NBT data in commands can now use block/item names in place of numerical ids
Old ids still work, but are being phased out slowly
Other occurences of blocks/items now need to be named ids
Chat
Improved chat communication
Messages are now either chat, system or action bar messages
Action bar messages are always shown, chat and system messages are only shown if chat settings are configured that way
Some instances of usernames in the chat will now show the player's UUID when hovered on when debug tooltips are enabled
Performance
Overworld, Nether and End are stored differently, increasing performance
Gameplay
Villager Trading [8]
Rebalanced villager trading
Offers will be less random and probably more useful
Existing villagers will not be affected
Trading now gives experience
Villager profession is now displayed in trade GUI
Villagers start out with 2-4 trades unlocked
Trading any offer will unlock up to 3 new trades or reactivate old ones
There are now more villager professions (only notable trade changes and additions listed)
White robe:
Librarian (now buys stacked written books, can now offer different enchanted books)
Purple robe:
Cleric (now only sells a single piece of redstone, sells lapis, buys rotten flesh)
Brown robe:
Fisherman (buys string, coal, cooks normal fish, sells enchanted fishing rods)
Farmer (no longer sells melons, buys melon blocks, pumpkins, potatoes, carrots, sells cake and pumpkin pie)
Fletcher (buys string, sells bows, converts 10 gravel into 10 flint)
Shepherd (sells colored wool)
White apron:
Butcher
Leatherworker (buys leather, sells leather armor, enchanted leather armor, and saddles)
Black apron:
Armorer (Sells enchanted diamond armor, iron armor, chain armor)
Tool Smith (sells enchanted iron shovel/pick and enchanted diamond pick)
Weapon Smith (sells enchanted iron sword, enchanted diamond sword, enchanted diamond axe, iron axe)
The disabled trade arrow now has a descriptive tooltip
Trades are now unlocked more freely
Villager Breeding
Villagers will now only breed when willing
The first time a specific trade is done, the villager will become willing, any other time there's a 1 in 5 chance the villager will become willing
When a baby villager is born, both parents lose their willingness
Finding out a villager's willingness in survival is difficult: The only tell is the amount of xp they give when trading; Normal trading yields 3-6 experience points, trading and making a villager willing yields 8-11 experience points
Enchanting
Enchanting will now cost 1 to 3 levels, but you still need the same minimum total levels
For example, an enchantment may only become available for enchanting after reaching 13 levels of experience, but will only cost 2 XP levels and 2 of a resource.
Additionally, there is now a material cost - Enchanting also costs 1 to 3 pieces of lapis lazuli now
The actual enchantment calculation is the same
One of the enchantments will be displayed in the tooltip
The enchantments you would get on a tool will not change until you enchant something - This enchantment seed is stored per player
Leveling up now takes longer
Level V enchants can now appear on an item without the use of an Anvil
Anvil repairing
Costs reduced to balance out with the new enchanting system
Renaming items will now only cost 1 level
Repairing will costs from 2 to 5 levels and tools can be repaired longer and with better enchantments
Repairing costs can no longer be kept down by renaming items
Adventure mode
Block hitboxes no longer appear in Adventure mode if interaction with the block is impossible
Block interaction is now impossible by default
The CanDestroy NBT tag can be used to determine which blocks can be allowed to be broken (see above for usage)
Commands
/clear
Can now be used to clear only a specific number of items and can be restricted to certain NBT data
Example: /clear @p 383 120 34 {display:{Name:Michael}} will remove up to 34 villager spawn eggs named Michael from yourself
/kill
Can now be followed by an @e entity parameter
Example: /kill @e[type=!Player]
/testfor
Can now also check for dataTags
Example: /testfor @p {foodLevel:20}
No longer is exclusively usable in command blocks
/tp
Now supports rotation arguments
Example: /tp @p ~ ~ ~ ~20 ~40 (<x >|<destination>) teleports the player so that he faces 20 degrees to the right and 40 degrees downwards
Target Selectors
Now supports cubic areas
Example: @e[x=0,y=0,z=0,dx=10,dy=10,dz=10] gets all entities between 0,0,0 and 10,10,10
New radius value usable in target selectors, based on the block centre
A radius of 0 works for exact block positions
Teleporting
Relative teleporting is smoother and no longer brings players to a stop; it preserves their velocity from before the teleport
Item tooltips
Now show the internal name for use in commands (F3+H mode)
World Generation
Underground
Villages
Gravel roads in villages have cobblestone underneath, to prevent them from collapsing into caves
Desert Temples
Now spawn with Stained Clay rather than Wool
Blocks and Items
Chiseled Stone Bricks
Now craftable
Crafting recipe: Two stone brick slabs on top of each other
Moss Stone
Now craftable[9]
Crafting recipe: One cobblestone and one vine
Mossy Stone Bricks
Now craftable
Crafting recipe: One stone brick and one vine
Doors
Stackable up to 64[10]
The crafting recipe for doors now gives 3 doors instead of one
Furnaces
When a furnace runs out of fuel, the smelting progress will pause instead of resetting
Carrots
Restore 3 hunger points instead of 4
Baked Potatoes
Restore 5 hunger points instead of 6
Mob heads
Player heads now show the skin's hat layer
Can now be placed by Dispensers [11]
Buttons
Can now be placed on Ceiling and on the ground [12] [13]
Comparators
Can now determine what way an item frame is rotated [14]
Mobs
Baby animals (sheep, pig, cow, chicken, cat, dog, horse)
Baby animal growth can now slowly be accelerated using the animal's breeding item
It appears holding the right mouse button speeds up this process
Villagers
When struck by lightning, villagers turn into witches
Can 'Bully' the player by breaking the crops they plant [15]
Iron Golems
Are more reliable
Have much greater natural spawn rates in villages
Now attack the player as soon as he is attacking the golem in survival
Now only drop iron when killed by the player, either through combat, potions, or player-activated mechanisms such as manually lit TNT
If killed without player intervention, only drops poppies
Zombie Pigmen
Now only drop gold nuggets/gold swords when killed by the player, either through combat, potions, or player-activated mechanisms such as manually lit TNT
If killed without player intervention, only drops rotten flesh
References