minecraft update 1.17 caves and cliffs

Minecraft Update 1.17 Everything You Need to Know

Everything you need to know about the new Minecraft Update 1.17 caves and cliffs. After the latest Minecraft announcement we have some great news for all you Minecrafters out there.

minecraft update 1.17 caves and cliffs

Minecraft Update 1.17 Caves and Cliffs

With the update date imminent they have released a new announcement to clear up a few questions many of us have had. Through this article we will be covering the difference between versions. Update dates and what the plans are for after the updates part 1 and 2.

More we will be finding out a bit more about caves, cliff’s and world generation and how it will work with our existing worlds. This subject has been talked about a lot by the Minecraft community. There has always been a worry about how new chunks will load, if any of our worlds wont work or get corrupted and how it will all blend together.

You will be happy to hear that all this and more has been answered.

To Skip to The Minecraft Update Video Click Here.

Table of Content

  1. When Are Both The Updates Happening?
  2. Why Aren’t All The Features Being Released at Once?
  3. How Will The Version Numbers Work In Part 1 and 2 of the Minecraft 1.17 Update
  4. How Will Biomes Work In Part 2 Will They Be 3D?
  5. How Will Mountain Generation Work In Part 2?
  6. Is Minecraft Becoming Less Simple With These Updates?
  7. What Are The Goals For World Generation?
  8. How Will The Borders of Worlds Work?
  9. Will Branch Mining Still Be Do Able?
  10. Will The Split Between Caves and Cliffs Effect Future Updates?
  11. Will Part 1 Be Updated On Both Platforms at Once?

1. When Are Both The Updates Happening?

Minecraft have announced the date of part 1 and thats the 8th of June 2021! with only a few days to go the anticipation is growing with all Minecraft Fans. Although the update has been split into 2 part, everyone has understood that we want quality over speed of the update coming out.

Part 2 we have been told is at the end of the year or “the winter update” So although we don’t have a specific date we at least know that by the end of the year we will have both parts of this huge 1.17 Minecraft Update.

2. Why Aren’t All The Features Being Released at Once?

One of the reasons is to focus on certain features of the game. As releasing one part and then a second means they get to focus on a smaller amount of features for each update making sure they test every to make sure it is working and doesn’t have any bugs.

There is nothing worse than a game or update coming out only to find out it is riddled with bugs and either make it unplayable or just not fun to play.

By splitting it up they have been really able to focus on features, for part one we will be expecting lots of new blocks and mobs along with other features they haven’t discussed. As even Minecraft likes to leave a few surprises for us to find out ourselves whilst playing.

The second reason is so they can gather as much player feedback as possible to make sure everything is running well and most of all is enjoyable to play. Minecraft has a very specific game play fashion and its important to keep the same feel through out all the updates.

minecraft update 1.17
Curtesy of Pixabay

3. How Will The Version Numbers Work In Part 1 and 2 of the Minecraft 1.17 Update?

They were very clear in letting us know that they will both be major version numbers. So Part 1 will be 1.17 and part 2 will be 1.18.

The reason for this is due to both the parts being such major updates that they feel they both deserve a whole number update rather than a  decimal point.

We hope this will be more successful than last year when we had a series of small updates that left many players either loosing worlds or unable to log into Minecraft it self. Resulting in many people giving up on the game all together! How ever this new update it ready to bring every body back to the number 1 selling game in the world!

4. How Will Biomes Work In Part 2 Will They Be 3D?

So to explain what we mean by 3D biomes. We mean an area where you might have one biome on the top on the world and have a different biome under it. For instance you might have a dessert over ground level. How ever underneath you will have a lush caves biome.

Admittedly they said this part is still in development for part two but they give us  good reference to it looking nice as they have seen it already. Again we want to remind everyone that the Minecraft update 1.17 and 1.18 will be such a big update with so many major things changed that we need to allow a creator time to perfect the product. Bit updates like this need a lot of testing from both Minecraft employees but also the beta testers.

5. How Will Mountain Generation Work In Part 2?

Thankfully they have made a big point about how it will be an extension of the current terrane generation meaning that although there ill be big changes they will be mixing it together so that players wont even notice the how they have blended together.

Minecraft 1.17 update will be adding a 2 types of mountains to the game.

The first type of mountain generation they have told us about is Hilly. Compared to Mt Fuji or Kilimanjaro this mountain generation will have a a large style mountain with a very hilly top of the mountain.

Minecraft 1.17 mountain generation
Picture From The Official Update Video

The second type of mountain will be Steep. Compared to mountains such as Patagonia or Matterhorn. These mountains have much steeper sides and have a different feel to the hilly mountains from the first Minecraft .1.17 mountain generation.

Picture From The Official Update Video

There has been a large emphasis on re creating the adventurous feeling of mountaineering. With the addition of powdered snow and winding trails you can follow to the top or use to explore the mountain, this is set to be a huge bonus for all the survivalists out there.

6. Is Minecraft Becoming Less Simple With These Updates?

With all these updates coming out with more life like world generation and mountain generation. Items that you can interact with further and other things coming out in the 1.17 update. They have answered the question of “is Minecraft Becoming Less Simple” like so:

They want to keep the important aspects of Minecraft such as simple integration with blocks and an easy playing style. So rather than changing this they want to enhance the experience so that anyone can play and interact with the normal Minecraft world. Once you have learned the simple factors it then leads to more complex gameplay if you choose to take it further. This means you wont be getting bored of your game as there is always something else to discover.

In essence they state it is still looks like the Minecraft we know and love but with exiting new features.

7. What Are The Goals For World Generation?

Although this is for part 2 of the update and we are told it is still a work in progress. We are re assured that they have in fact had a look at the world generation for the update and tell us it looks really good. Always a worry after updates is the way the new chunks will load, especially in this case there the whole world will have different height limits.

Agnes and Alex are very clear in stating that it is very important that they are able to combine both world generation in well from the old chunks to the new ones.

minecraft 1.17 update
Curtesy of Pixabay

8. How Will The Borders of Worlds Work?

Thankfully they start by explaining that it is important we are able to play the same worlds for many years. This comes as great news to sceptics of world generation for the new Minecraft 1.17 update. Furthermore wanting to be respectful to all our existing worlds.

The word they use is blending in terms of how the generation will work after the update. Rather than a sharp change in the world they will blend the two terranes using chunks you have seen and not explored. The way it will work is that chunks that you have visited will stay un changed. Chunks you haven’t visited but have seen will be the start of the blending process prior to the new chunks and then the new chunks will be updated to support the new biomes, mountains etc.

  • Visited Chunks – Wont Update
  • Seen But Not Visited Chunks – Will be Blended
  • New Unseen Chunks – Will be Updated

9. Will Branch Mining Still Be Do Able?

This has explicit from the get go of the update, its clear that Minecraft do listen to their player base and this is a main mining method for many players. Loosing this feature would put many off as they cant use their preferred method of mining.

All this is, is adding more possibilities to what your already able to do in the Minecraft worlds.

10. Will The Split Between Caves and Cliffs Effect Future Updates?

Its is important that Part 1 and Part 2 are of good quality. Rather than taking on one huge project they have split it up to make sure that each element will be the best.

Some exiting news is that they are already planning on the New Minecraft Update after 1.18! Very exiting news and seems like the good news just keeps coming. They haven’t let us know whether it will be a large update. Potentially updating to 1.19. And if you want to check out the announcement of this New Minecraft Update, it will be announced at Minecraft Live 2021. But they wont tell us more than this.

11. Will Part 1 Be Updated On Both Platforms at Once?

The simple answer is yes, both Bedrock users and Java users will be receiving the Minecraft 1.17 Update on the same day. The date the update is coming out is the 8th of June 2021. And we all cant wait to get started!

The Official Update Video 04/06/21

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James Flarakos
I love to make Minecraft content, and easy quick tutorials for others to use. And you can see more video and tips at www.jdogofficial.com