Some thoughts on the Caves and Cliffs Update announcement, Part 3

I thought this will only be a two-parter, boy was I wrong.

Over the last two articles, I went through lush caves, mountains, and the new underground caves and structures. Basically, the main subject of the Caves and Cliffs Update. Now, I’ll be talking about the other things that are being added into this update.

Bundles are a way to get 64 of any assorted items into a single inventory space. And honestly, this is amazing for projects when you have a lot of items you need to use, but you only need a couple of each item. What’s also interesting is the UI for this. If a similar UI is used for Shulker Boxes, that will make them more user-friendly.

There is also a new ore added. Copper reminds me a lot of my old Tekkit days, where copper is one of my most used materials since I like building giant workshops. Copper in this update, however, seems to be mostly used for building. I like the colour, but I find the groove running down the centre of the block rather weird.

Copper can be crafted into blocks, stairs, and slabs. It also comes with a oxidisation mechanic, where copper blocks will slowly develop patina on it over time.

The lead gameplay developer, Agnes Larsson, has confirmed on Twitter that the copper blocks and its variants can be locked in its semi-corroded or pristine state. Which is great, because I really like having that option.

I wonder if there will be electronics added into Minecraft, or more machinery/technical items. I did enjoy my old Tekkit days, but I am not sure if I want that in vanilla Minecraft. It feels a bit excessive, like it is starting to deviate too much from how I feel Minecraft should be. But I might be just old, cranky, and stuck in my ways.

Copper can also be used to craft lightning rods, which can draw lightning towards it. This is the item that I am really unsure about. It may be a way to easily create charged creepers or brown Mooshrooms, but that will be such a niche use that most people will only use it for decoration.

The last new thing shown is the Archeology system. Occasionally, you’ll find ruins in the world. The dirt and gravel blocks there may hide relics from a long lost civilisation, which you can uncover.

You can now craft Brushes to slowly brush away layers from the dirt and gravel blocks, revealing the relics hidden within. It can either be valuables, like an Emerald Block, or clay shards.

These clay shards can then be applied on large clay pots, and once you’re satisfied with the placement, you can light a fire under the pots to bake them and fix the design.

Personally, I find this feature rather neat. However, I wish they can make it so that we can dye the pot in different colours, much like how we can dye terracotta blocks. Also, since these pots are larger, I wonder if we can now put 2-block tall flowers in them. That will be nice.

And that is about all I gathered from the video. I am quite excited about this new update, and I, like most people, cannot wait to build in one of those caves. Right now, my plan is to gather a lot of glow berries, shroomlights, and mushroom blocks and make an underground fantasy wonderland. And I am going to do it in the Mushroom Island biome so I don’t have to mob proof anything.