hi. my name is smallun12. this is is the review for the new 1.2 patch that is coming out. you may have already visited MC wiki and found out the changes already. but notice the title says "for the beginning miner". i will try to update this whenever i get more info or another snapshot comes out. scroll down to the bottom of the page if you want the most recent information. so if you wish to know about 1.2, here you go;

additions:

firecharge:
this item acts like a flint and steel when crafted and used. but when put into a dispenser and shot, it acts much like a blaze's fireball, dealing damage on impact and setting the player or environment on fire. crefting recipie;
NOTE** this can be crafted in the personal crafting section

B=baze powder
G=gunpowder
C=coal
O=empty

O B O
G C O
O O O

bottle o' enchanting:
this is a creative item only. it is a splash potion that grants 1-3 XP orbs when it hits the ground. even though in creative, you cant see the XP bar, it will still give you the XP that comes out.

ocelots:
these are a jungle-specific mob that is a bit shy. when the player aproches the cats, they will sprint away. (they are the first minecraft mob to have the sprinting capability) in order to tame these mobs, the player must aproach the ocelot very carefully with raw fish in the player's hands. sneaking is a good way to come up to them. once the player has the ocelots atention, it will slowly creep up to the player. if the player moves or looks around too quickly, it will run away. when it stops in front of the player, you can feed it multiple fish untill it becomes your pet. it will then change its texture to either a black cat, saimese, or orange tabby. (i think there is more, but i dont exactly know.) you can breed them with more fish. (there spawn egg is in creative, as well)

jungle saplings:
in the jungle biome, you can now find... well... jungle saplings. these grow into tall trees that supply you with a lot of wood. however, when you put 4 in a 2X2 box and use bone meal on them, they will grow into a monsterous tree, fit with vines and a LOT of wood.

desert wells:
these are rare and randomly generated through out deserts. there just something to look at. there official purpose has yet to be confirmed.

changes/updates:

updated language files
NOTE** with the Afrikaans language, there is offensive language on the singleplayer button (as of 12w4a, witch was removed in the 12w5a snapshot)

mobs have a better pathfinding AI

zombies and skeleton archers will now attempt to avoid sunlight by going to shade or water

sapling and dispenser textures changed slightly

wolves can now breed with meat

vines are climbable when on a solid surface

latters regained collision box

dispensers will spawn mobs when mob egg is inserted

WEEKLY SNAPSHOT 5 OPEN! click HERE to go to the mojang download page.
Details:

:::WARNING::: IF a Creeper is killed in the middle of the fuse, its dead body will explode:::WARNING:::

there really is no additions...

but LOTS of changes:

lots of mob and over all bug fixes

ocelots are now easier to tame, and cats can be told to sit still, just like wolves. BUT, when a creeper approaches a tamed ocelot, it will turn around and flee.

villagers will try to stay near or in there home at all times. they can now open doors on there own. improved AI, as well.

language files updated

creepers have a new path finding AI. (yes, it has now happened.) meaning they move AROUND blocks an d walls to seek you out.

lava now makes bubbling and popping noises, witch prove to be good warning signs when mining.


no XP is needed to enchant items while in creative mode.


creepers now stalk players by going in to a sort of sneak mode sometimes.

12w06a NOW OUT FOR TESTING!!! client: http://assets.minecraft.net/12w06a/minecraft.jar
server: http://assets.minecraft.net/12w06a/minecraft_server.jar

TONS of minor bug fixes and tweaks

double door mechanics improved dramatically. to see these affects, destroy and replace the doors.

villagers now go inside during rain or night. they also socialize.

zombies can break doors on hard difficulty

added cat sounds

improved mob movement in water

added rare mob drops. these all have a chance to happen:

skeletons drop bows

pigmen drop gold swords

zombies drop random tools

you will have to figure out the rest. i don't know what else. but that's the general idea.

12w07b is out for download! client:http://assets.minecraft.net/12w07b/minecraft.jarserver: http://assets.minecraft.net/12w07b/minecraft_server.jar
the fixes, additions, and tweaks:

a new map format, called "anvil", increases the normal world height.

Multi-player light calculations no longer cause affected blocks to be transmitted to the clients, instead the clients will recalculate the light on their own

villagers will re-populate villages based on how many homes are available.

some nights will be worse than others... (i don't know what that means. im assuming more monsters will spawn.)

added a redstone controlled light. (YES!)

decreased chance for rare mob drops. (see in the 06 snapshot for details)

ALL mobs use a new AI system.

a few minor bug fixes.

NOTE** The game cano t use the full range of IDs yet because there are still some assumptions that IDs above 256 are items.

weekly snapshot is out: 12w08a. i really dont feel like listing the changes, so if you wana know about it, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIAsQLI2sho&feature=g-all-u&context=G258442cFAAAAAAAAAAA this video is made by the famous captainsparkles, so you can trust him.

the mojang team has planned to release 1.2 tomorrow. minecraft has come such a long way since the very first moments of classic. so lets give the mojang team 3 cheers!! the full update log is available on the minecraft launcher, so i will wait so you can read the changes yourself!

that's bout' it. have a nice day!