I think magma blocks in water should push the player up rather than down because magma releases heat boiling the water creating air to rise to the surface of the water. I think soul sand should pull players down because the souls are trying grab at the players to take them as well. To summarize, pretty much just reverse the roles of soul sand and magma blocks, the only issue I see is an easy way by not going to nether to get soul sand by grabbing it in ocean's, but then that would just be magma blocks then.
Similar logic has been put forward by others, but (although there are counterarguments for the effect of magma blocks) the reason I expect an effectively zero chance of this change being made has to do with gameplay, not verisimilitude towards 'real-world' physics:
Magma blocks occur 'naturally' in the 1.13 overworld and are thus more (or more early game) accessible to players, they aer thus given the role that makes them a hazard to ocean navigation and is of less use to the typical player. [Simply swapping soulsand for this role would dameage the verisimilitude as it is a fantasy creation depicted as found 'naturally' only in the hell dimension of the nether.]
Soulsand is thus given the more useful effect that can be transformed into elevators. [Particularly useful since 1.13 breaks bubble-vators for hostile mobs.]
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Honestly, I think the Far-more simpler reason they Chose to do it this way is, not to change the pre-existing Game Mechanics, solely. Magma Blocks emit light.
They wanted Players to be-able to see And Explore stuff UnderWater. So the Light is a beacon of interest (making us like curious organisms which get-eaten while exploring "what's that?" light, In Real Life, yes [and see-probably: "deer in 'headlights'" ; "look out, deer!" just doesn't work, is-probably the Problem {or "Denialism," whatever}]).
SoulSand is darkish brown. Do you Really want to be sucked-into something you can't even See (ignore the deer-headlights /curious organisms analogy for this as "getting eaten" , et. al. maybe-shouldn't have a "reward"..?!)? (especially UnderWater, where it's still-Darker, if less-Dark than-before, over-Time??)
I mean, we could talk about: "oh, maybe the Magma Block 'consumed' that Ruined Village [or the Land-underneath..?] and /or is 'eating' that Ocean floor to-Make that - New - UnderWater Ravine" ; or "oh, there're a lot of '"Souls" /min. ' being-generated and-pushing us away-from that SoulSand Block (in Water only..?)." But I disagree with the would-be physicist's take above: Magma Blocks only somewhat-resemble Real-World lava, Anyway (sort of like a low-grade MC Lava, already pre-1.13 Aquatic Update); and SoulSand resembles nothing-on (Real Life) Earth (other than maybe mud..?).
"'Souls'-'in' , 'souls'-'out'," meh. "Religion's" "tried" those "explanations."
And yeah, personally I kind-of thought what the O(riginal)P(oster) did already. So - (it's - kinda - random) - there.(.?)
Magma Blocks in the Overworld were specifically Created(-there) For 1.13. Could've just as easily've been SoulSand ("Sea Muc, er Mud," anyone? [a.k.a. "Benthic ooze," is I think its again Reality-based name]).
I think they did it because they wanted to add whirlpools, and it made sense for magma blocks to be underwater (but not soul sand).
I agree with the OP that it would make more sense for bubbles going up from magma and down from soul sand. However, I don't think this would be a good change to make, since it would remove natural whirlpools.
I think magma blocks in water should push the player up rather than down because magma releases heat boiling the water creating air to rise to the surface of the water. I think soul sand should pull players down because the souls are trying grab at the players to take them as well. To summarize, pretty much just reverse the roles of soul sand and magma blocks, the only issue I see is an easy way by not going to nether to get soul sand by grabbing it in ocean's, but then that would just be magma blocks then.
Similar logic has been put forward by others, but (although there are counterarguments for the effect of magma blocks) the reason I expect an effectively zero chance of this change being made has to do with gameplay, not verisimilitude towards 'real-world' physics:
Magma blocks occur 'naturally' in the 1.13 overworld and are thus more (or more early game) accessible to players, they aer thus given the role that makes them a hazard to ocean navigation and is of less use to the typical player. [Simply swapping soulsand for this role would dameage the verisimilitude as it is a fantasy creation depicted as found 'naturally' only in the hell dimension of the nether.]
Soulsand is thus given the more useful effect that can be transformed into elevators. [Particularly useful since 1.13 breaks bubble-vators for hostile mobs.]
Honestly, I think the Far-more simpler reason they Chose to do it this way is, not to change the pre-existing Game Mechanics, solely. Magma Blocks emit light.
They wanted Players to be-able to see And Explore stuff UnderWater. So the Light is a beacon of interest (making us like curious organisms which get-eaten while exploring "what's that?" light, In Real Life, yes [and see-probably: "deer in 'headlights'" ; "look out, deer!" just doesn't work, is-probably the Problem {or "Denialism," whatever}]).
SoulSand is darkish brown. Do you Really want to be sucked-into something you can't even See (ignore the deer-headlights /curious organisms analogy for this as "getting eaten" , et. al. maybe-shouldn't have a "reward"..?!)? (especially UnderWater, where it's still-Darker, if less-Dark than-before, over-Time??)
I mean, we could talk about: "oh, maybe the Magma Block 'consumed' that Ruined Village [or the Land-underneath..?] and /or is 'eating' that Ocean floor to-Make that - New - UnderWater Ravine" ; or "oh, there're a lot of '"Souls" /min. ' being-generated and-pushing us away-from that SoulSand Block (in Water only..?)." But I disagree with the would-be physicist's take above: Magma Blocks only somewhat-resemble Real-World lava, Anyway (sort of like a low-grade MC Lava, already pre-1.13 Aquatic Update); and SoulSand resembles nothing-on (Real Life) Earth (other than maybe mud..?).
"'Souls'-'in' , 'souls'-'out'," meh. "Religion's" "tried" those "explanations."
And yeah, personally I kind-of thought what the O(riginal)P(oster) did already. So - (it's - kinda - random) - there.(.?)
Magma Blocks in the Overworld were specifically Created(-there) For 1.13. Could've just as easily've been SoulSand ("Sea Muc, er Mud," anyone? [a.k.a. "Benthic ooze," is I think its again Reality-based name]).
I think they did it because they wanted to add whirlpools, and it made sense for magma blocks to be underwater (but not soul sand).
I agree with the OP that it would make more sense for bubbles going up from magma and down from soul sand. However, I don't think this would be a good change to make, since it would remove natural whirlpools.
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