Initially, 1.7 was supposed to be dubbed the “Adventure Update”; however, as the communities’ thirst for pistons overwhelmed Mojang, they’ve decided to release pistons in their very own update, with a few additonal goodies thrown in.
As a quick sidenote, we're giving away 100 copies of Minecraft to those who "like" us on Facebook! Head on over to our newly created Facebook page, and hit the "like" button, and you'll automatically be entered into to win! The contest will run from now until August 1st, 2011, and everyone is able to participate.
Take a look at the exciting new additions in 1.7 Minecraft:
Pistons
The largest update to Minecraft in 1.7 is the addition of pistons. Pistons - the brainchild of Minecraft community member Hippoplatimus - rapidly surged in popularity over the past few months, and were then announced by Mojang that they would be added to the official game. Pistons are poised to change the way people build in Minecraft - we’ve already seen some amazing mechanisms come from the community, their creativity seemingly knowing no bounds.
Pistons allow the user to move blocks using redstone circuitry to control their action. There are two types of pistons: regular and sticky. Regular pistons will push a block when powered, and then retract when not powered.
Sticky pistons work in much the same way, but with one caveat: they’re sticky! These pistons will push a block away when powered, but pull the block back when retracted.
TNT Changes
TNT can no longer be triggered by clicking on it, which for most, should be a good thing! Instead, you must now use either redstone circuitry, or a good old fashioned flame to ignite the destructive block.
Shears
Shears allow you to cut the leaves off of trees in one quick swipe, as well as trim wool of sheep without killing them. Killing sheep will no longer give you wool however, just the death of a cute, blocky sheep on your conscious.
Stackable Fences
Fences have a welcome improvement for architects - they can now be stacked on top of one-another when placed in the world. This removes the need for complex block-place-remove routines, which until now, were the only way to stack fence posts vertically. Additionally, players may now place torches on top of fences.
1.7 is out now so it may be time to start building all the amazing contraptions you’ll build with pistons. If you come up with a really good one, don’t forget to add it to our video's section, and it could be used in a Digital Diamond!
i'm i and my friend the only two that can't go after the Mojang Logo after we connect to minecraft ?
Misspelled conscience.
also, try not being a **** next time.
Yes, we need to have a "stable" release that we can rely upon to be essentially bug-free, and a "testing" version that includes all of the coolest features. I know that Minecraft is still technically "beta" software, but this still isn't an excuse to go back to Alpha testing standards for what should be some software being prepared to "go gold".
I do realize that you can add on features which "roll back" Minecraft to earlier versions. Thanks goodness I have version 1.6.6 backed up right now and even a copy of 1.5.4 at the moment. If you are having trouble getting the 1.7 update, make sure you remember to back up the 1.6.6 version right now! You won't regret it.
There are some already up in the Released mods section of the forum. Some folks have been pretty quick about it.