A new wave of updates hits both Hytale and Minecraft, bringing significant gameplay changes, performance boosts, and a mountain of bug fixes. Here’s your comprehensive breakdown.
Hytale: Update 5
Hytale’s latest update delivers a massive overhaul to its core systems and creative tools. The shift in development focus towards the upcoming Chapter 1 content signals a major milestone for the game.
New Core Features
- Trigger Volume Tool: A game-changer for mapmakers. You can now place 3D volumes that trigger configurable effects—like sounds, NPC spawning, or teleportation—with no coding required.
- Controller Support: The initial iteration now supports Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch controllers, with a dead zone range of 5% to 95%.
- Social Sidebar: A new friends list, online status indicators, world invitations, and Discord friend integration make socializing seamless. A blocking functionality is also included.
- Server Discovery: Server owners can submit their worlds for review, while players can browse, search, filter, and favorite servers directly.
Creative Mode and Building
The building toolkit has been completely reimagined.
- New placement modes include Replace, Type Replace, Extrude, Draw, Fast Place, Eraser, Free Place, No Physics, and Highlight Block Target.
- The Extrude Tool has been reworked and merged with the Flood Tool, adding new filters and modes.
- A 3D interactive preview is now available in the prefab list.
- Per-stack custom item names and descriptions are now supported with rich formatting.
Audio and Music
- Over one hour of new music has been added for the Emerald Wilds, Howling Sands, and Whisperfrost Frontiers.
- Audio occlusion and diffraction have been implemented for more immersive soundscapes.
Character Customization
- New eye types: Cat Eye, Demonic Eyes, Goat Eye, and Reptile Eye.
- New mouth options: Large Mouth and Tiny Lips.
- A new hair color (Lavender) has been added; the Bangs hairstyle has been reworked; the Dark Brown color has been brightened.
- The Featherbound Hood is now correctly displayed for Supporter edition owners.
World & Environment Updates
- Underground jungles now house dinosaurs and other NPCs (requires new area generation to appear).
- Devastated Lands sewers have improved atmospheric effects and creature spawns.
- Areas beneath volcanoes now use appropriate volcanic environmental effects.
- An invisible filler block in the Forgotten Temple has been removed.
NPC, Creature & Combat Changes
- Knockback resistance has been added to NPCs that previously lacked it.
- Fire-themed NPCs are now immune to fire damage but still visibly catch fire.
- The Crystal Earth Golem's combat behavior and spin attack have been improved.
- Skeletons no longer take drowning damage.
- Kweebecs are now immune to environmental damage from cactus and brambles.
- Cautious wildlife predators (e.g., the Fox) will only engage players if attacked.
- The regular Burn effect generally deals less damage; lava-applied burn remains unchanged.
Crafting, Items & Farming
- Backpack accessibility has been dramatically lowered: The base backpack now requires a Tier 1 Workbench (was Tier 2) and costs 8 Medium Leather (was 16). The first upgrade requires a Tier 2 Workbench (was Tier 3).
- Processing hide into leather now takes 10 seconds less.
- Crafting bench range increased to 14 blocks horizontally (from 7) and 6 blocks vertically (from 4).
- Raw fruits and vegetables now grant only Health Regen I; cooking provides additional benefits.
- Torches and handheld light sources can now be placed on the ground from the Utility Slot while wielding a pickaxe or hatchet.
Quality of Life & UI
- Players can now sleep starting at 7:30 PM.
- The game now warns when launching pre-release versions or opening worlds from different versions.
- Field of view while sprinting is limited to 160°.
Modding Changes
- API deprecations and removals include the HUD manager, Movement API, and DisplayNameComponent.
- New features include Trigger Volume custom effects, item overrides, scripted brushes, and WorldGen V2 updates.
Minecraft: Java Edition
Crafting Name Tags and major performance upgrades headline this snapshot.
Snapshot: Baby Mob Visuals, Crafting, and Performance
Key Features- Craftable Name Tags: A long-requested feature is now reality. You can craft name tags using 1 Paper and 1 Metal Nugget (Copper, Iron, or Gold).
- Baby Mob Visuals and Sounds: Updated models and textures for baby Cows, Sheep, Pigs, Cats, Ocelots, Mooshrooms, Wolves, and Chickens. New animations for Rabbits.
- Golden Dandelion Particles: Distinct particle effects now indicate mob aging (green particles moving downward for stopping, upward for restarting).
- Strider Behavior: Baby Striders now correctly inherit warmth from Striders they stand on.
- RAM Allocation Doubled: The default has jumped from 2 GB to 4 GB.
- Garbage Collector Change: Switched from G1GC to ZGC for compatible devices, intended to provide smoother gameplay and reduce stutters.
Java Edition 26.1 Snapshot 9
This snapshot addresses issues introduced in the previous snapshot, including fixes for kitten meowing loops and entity shadow elevation.
Minecraft: Bedrock Edition (Release 26.0)
This is the first release using the new numbering system.
New Features
- Nautilus Creatures: Updated swimming animations for this underwater mount.
- Nether Portals: Can once again be lit using lava.
Gameplay and Interaction Improvements
- Cancelling server transfers no longer causes players to become softlocked.
- Newly bred baby Horses, Mules, and Donkeys now display the correct number of hearts upon reaching full growth.
- Numerous interactions now correctly trigger the player's hand-swing animation, including leashing, feeding, trading, shearing, and milking.
UI and Settings Fixes
- The Escape key now correctly opens the game menu from the death screen.
- The Settings button on the Game Menu has been reverted to a text button.
- Incorrect character follow-cursor behavior in inventory has been resolved.
- Marketplace behavior packs no longer listed as a reason for achievements being disabled.