Java Edition removed features

Since the beginning of the development of Java Edition, there have been a number of features that were removed from the game. These features may have been replaced, or a developer decided against the feature later on.

Note: This page documents only game features that were removed; features of a particular game element that were removed are noted in that element's history. See Java Edition unused features for features that are still currently in the game.

Prior to Java Edition 1.3.1, the Creative inventory (added in Beta 1.8) was a basic 8x9 item selection menu, it was closeable by key (instead of ) and it lacked categories, search and access to survival mode inventory.

In snapshot 12w21b for 1.3.1, the old Creative inventory was removed and replaced with present-day tab-based Creative inventory.

In Java Edition Classic 0.0.20a, the inventory was added as simple screen with selection of blocks. Unlike the beta Creative inventory from Beta 1.8, the classic Creative inventory was fundamentally different, it didn't had any sliders nor pages (because all blocks fitted into one page) and instead of clicking on block and dragging it into inventory, simply selecting blocks with left click made them instantly appear in hotbar. Classic Creative inventory was accessible with key.

Classic Creative inventory was absent in Survival Test, and it was fully removed in Indev 0.31 20091231-1856 and replaced with survival inventory, while the default key to open/close inventory was changed from to (that was later in Beta 1.4 again changed to ).

Starting with Classic 0.0.2a, all subsequent versions until RC2 had text displayed in the top left corner of the screen that displayed the version. Versions between Beta 1.6.5 and Beta 1.7.3 did not have this text. From Classic 0.0.2a to Indev 0.31 20100206-1437, only the version number was displayed, but after Indev it switched from being "0.31" to being called "Minecraft Indev" (Indev 20100206-2034), the word "Minecraft" was shown before the version number. In the Alpha development stage, the text read "Minecraft Alpha v#.#.#(_0#)." In the Beta development stage, the text read "Minecraft Beta #.#(_0#)." This feature was only partially removed, for, among other things, the version number can now be shown by opening the debug screen while in-game. Before Alpha v1.2.2, the version number did not display on the main menu screen.

• 👁 Image
  
  Version display in the top left of the screen (Java Edition Beta 1.6 Test Build 3).
• 👁 All-text version display in the top left of the screen (PC Gamer Demo).
  
  All-text version display in the top left of the screen (PC Gamer Demo).

From Beta 1.6 Test Build 3 to Beta 1.7.3, a message reading "Minecraft Beta #.#.#(_0#) Unlicensed Copy :( (Or logged in from another location). Purchase at minecraft.net" was shown in the top-left corner if the player was detected to be running an unlicensed or cracked version of the game.​^{[more information needed]} This would also force the version number to be displayed, including in Beta 1.6.5 and later which normally had the version number hidden. The message was removed in Beta 1.8.

Demo gameplay timer was a feature (in PC Gamer Demo) that showed the player a visual indication of the remaining time of gameplay before the game locks and the player would need to purchase the full game. Players had 100 minutes for gameplay (equal to five days in-game) and the timer was located in the upper right corner of screen.

Block indicator was added in rd-20090515 to indicate currently selected block. It was located in the upper right corner of screen. Block indicator was removed in 0.0.19a and replaced with hotbar.

In Survival Test and early Indev versions, the score was displayed in the upper right corner. Players could get score by killing monsters.

This was removed in Java Edition Indev 0.31 20100130. Score was later made functional again in 1.0.0, however it is gained by collecting experience points (rather than by directly killing monsters).

• 👁 The removed score indicator.
  
  The removed score indicator.

In early Indev versions, the player could open the inventory screen and view their name and three stats: "ATK", "DEF", and “SPD”, probably standing for attack, defense, and speed. These existed only briefly; when asked, Notch stated he could not remember exactly why they were implemented and subsequently removed, and he assumed they were placeholders for "vague plans".^[1]

During Survival Test and early Indev versions, an arrow indicator appeared above the hotbar which indicated how many arrows player has left.

On-menu screen notices was a feature that allowed players to receive important notices about major game changes. This feature was used only two times during history of Minecraft.

• In 1.5.2 - "NOTICE! Minecraft 1.6 is available for manual download. Please click for more information."
• Between 1.18.2 and 1.20.4 - "32-bit system detected: this may prevent you from playing in the future as a 64-bit system will be required!"^{[note 1]}

Achievements were available between Beta 1.5 and full release 1.11.2 (snapshot 17w06a). They were ultimately replaced by advancements. Editions other than Java Edition still have achievements instead, although they use a different system, being synced per Xbox Live or PlayStation account and not separated by worlds.

It was possible to use a sword in main-hand to block attacks with right click. This feature was removed in 1.9 and attacks are now blocked with shield instead.

Prior to Java Edition 1.8, it was possible to shuffle enchantment options by swapping items in the input slot. From 1.8, this behavior was removed and enchantments the player would get on a specific kind of item do not change until the enchantment happens.

Between Java Edition 1.0.0 and 1.2.5, it was possible to enchant equipment with levels ranging from 31 up to 50 (which required up to 30 bookshelves). These extra higher enchantment levels were removed in 1.3.1 (Snapshot 12w22a), and maximal enchantment level was reduced to 30.

In Indev 0.31 20100129-1447, players were supposed to smelt ores by igniting fire with flint and steel and throwing items into it (or into lava). This mechanics was removed in Indev 20100219 and furnaces were added for smelting instead.

During Survival Test and early Indev versions, it was possible to mine and collect rocky materials (like stone, coal ore, iron ore, gold ore and diamond ore) with hand. This was removed in Indev 0.31 20100201-2227 and mining rocks now always require a pickaxe, otherwise nothing drops when broken.

For some reason, attempting to mine rocks with hand in Indev 0.31 20100201-2227 was not possible and mining progress lasted for eternity. This was fixed in next Indev version.

Between Java Edition Beta 1.8 and 1.5.2, it was possible to break blocks with swords in Creative mode. This ability was removed in 1.6.1, probably to prevent players from accidentally destroying their buildings while fighting mobs.

Similarly, it was possible to break blocks with tridents in Creative mode in 18w07a (and subsequent snapshots), which was ultimately removed in 18w20a.^[2]

Before 1.3.1, players named "Notch" would drop an apple along with the rest of their inventory upon death. Apples were otherwise unobtainable before Beta 1.8 Pre-release.

Prior to Java Edition Beta 1.8 before hunger bar was added, eating food directly increased health.

Prior to Java Edition 1.13, the oxygen bar instantly refilled upon leaving the underwater. This behavior was removed in 1.13 and oxygen bar now gradually refills.

Prior to Java Edition 1.13, the player could sprint in water. This feature was removed in 1.13 and replaced with swimming mechanic.

Prior to Java Edition Beta 1.5, players could climb ladders spaced every other block, which was especially useful to save materials. This feature was removed in Beta 1.5.

Prior to Java Edition 1.9, survival mode players could hide by walking into tall plants (such as tall grass, large ferns, peonies, rose bushes, lilacs, sunflowers, sugar canes or vines) to prevent monsters from attacking them. This feature was removed in 1.9.^[3]

Before Alpha v1.0.9, the walking animation for the player and the human mob was different; the player and the human mob would swing their arms wildly to their sides while walking like cartoons.

Before 1.6.1, on player death while playing in multiplayer, the player would stay standing, leap a little bit, and then disappear. In 1.6.1, this was replaced with the player falling onto the side and then disappearing.

Before the 1.6.1 update, custom player skins would revert to the default Steve skin on the death screen. This feature was removed sometime during the 1.6 full release update's development.

When player entered rideable entity (such as minecarts or boats), switched to third-person view and then switched back to first-person view, player's hand was visibly misplaced. This was fixed in 1.9 (snapshot 15w44b).^[4]

When View Bobbing is enabled, vertical player movement affects the camera by pivoting it up and down. Upwards movement pivots the camera upwards whilst downwards movement pivots the camera downwards. Removed in 1.14 for performance reasons.

Third-person view in Alpha v1.0.11 was reworked to be off-center, giving it an "over-the-shoulder" appearance. This third-person view appearance was reverted in Alpha v1.0.17.

Different versions in Minecraft's history had items pre-spawned in the player's inventory. Here is a table below:

Since Java Edition 1.3.1, creating a new world in Creative mode no longer spawns the player with any items in their inventory.

Brick pyramids were tall experimental generated structures made up exclusively of bricks. They were added in Java Edition Infdev 20100227-1414 and they were removed from the game in Java Edition Infdev 20100327.

These were entirely composed of bricks - the pyramids did not have any rooms inside, however caves could generate through them Java Edition Infdev 20100325-1640 due to caves being able to generate through any blocks at the time (including trees and other structures they should not be able to).

These were most likely intended for testing structure generation in infinite worlds. As blocks did not drop items at the start of Infdev due to entity code still being reworked, brick blocks could not be collected from pyramids for most of their existence.

The starting house was a building which generated at the center of Indev maps. The player would spawn inside of the starting house when the world was first generated.

This structure was added in Java Edition Indev 0.31 20100124-2119, and was initially comprised of mossy cobblestone, with two Torches inside. The starting house was reworked in Java Edition Indev 20100213, having a stone floor and walls made of oak planks.

Early iterations of the starting house contained a series of chests, which would harbor almost every block and item in the entire game at that point. These chests went through a series of changes, before being removed from the starting house entirely in later iterations.

The starting house was removed at Java Edition Infdev 20100227-1414 due to terrain generation being redone to accommodate infinite worlds, ditching the limited worlds of Indev and earlier.

In Java Edition Infdev 20100227-1414, two obsidian walls generated in the world as to mark the orthogonal directions. One of these walls would appear where the X-axis was at 0, and another where the Z-axis was 0. The player would spawn at the point where these two walls intersected.

Like with the brick pyramids, these were a debugging feature, and were not implemented as a source of obsidian for players due to the inability for blocks to drop items at the time.

These walls would no longer generate as of Java Edition Infdev 20100313.

Monoliths were a terrain bug which existed from late Infdev to late Alpha. Occurring when the noise generators for handling the shape of terrain output specific values, these structures would consist of the terrain being "inverted" in a given region of space. Outwardly, they appear as sheer stone cliffs which reach the top of the world. Ore and sediment blobs could be seen to generate in the sides of these, as could water and lava springs. Further examination of these reveal that the area underneath these monoliths is completely empty all the way down to the bedrock layers, further proving that the terrain is "inverted", as air regions and solid regions have completely switched places. Water would generate in this empty space below monoliths, as the game would consider any air space below a given point that did not belong to a cave or other structure as an "ocean", and fill it with water accordingly.

Due to being "inverted" sections of terrain, it is exceedingly likely that monoliths would generate up infinitely (or at least up until the vertical Far Lands) were they given sufficient space. Due to their version range, they were limited to 128 blocks. Monoliths could also fully enclose regions of normal terrain - when seen from below, these would appear as sheer cliffs, like all non-monolith terrain.

Monoliths came with the Java Edition Infdev 20100611, which overhauled terrain a third time in the Infdev development period, they persisted up until Java Edition Alpha v1.1.2_01. Alpha v1.2.0 redid terrain generation once more, such that completely different noise generators were used for terrain, which no longer had the potential to cause these bugs. However, despite this, Old Customized worlds were still capable of generating monolith structures by defining a negative "Biome Scale Weight" value^[5] from snapshot 14w17a for Java Edition 1.8 to snapshot 18w05a for 1.13, prior to the removal of the "Customized" world type altogether in the next 1.13 snapshot 18w06a. Monoliths could also be generated from 1.16 to 1.17.1 by using customized worlds to set a biome's scale to a negative number.

• 👁 A large monolith as seen from atop another large monolith.
  
  A large monolith as seen from atop another large monolith.
• 👁 A section of regular terrain inside a monolith.
  
  A section of regular terrain inside a monolith.
• 👁 The area underneath a monolith, next to a beach.
  
  The area underneath a monolith, next to a beach.
• 👁 Same position, different angle.
  
  Same position, different angle.
• 👁 Looking at the beach from directly below the monolith.
  
  Looking at the beach from directly below the monolith.
• 👁 The previously mentioned regular terrain affecting the area underneath the monolith.
  
  The previously mentioned regular terrain affecting the area underneath the monolith.
• 👁 An isometric render of a map with many monoliths. (12 total)
  
  An isometric render of a map with many monoliths. (12 total)

There are several cases in the game in which unique species of tree use the logs and leaves primarily associated with other trees. Two prominent examples are pine trees, which use spruce logs and leaves, and swamp trees, which use oak logs and leaves, rather than either of these having dedicated blocks. As a result of this, they cannot be grown from saplings, and can only be encountered when generating new chunks.

In Java Edition 1.7.2's development, when biomes were being added to the game, two trees were added to the then-new biomes which also reused the logs and leaves of existing trees. However, these were a temporary measure, as later in development, they were given logs and leaves of their own, alongside saplings, planks and further wood products.

Specifically, these were the acacia tree, and the dark oak tree. The acacia tree reused jungle logs and oak leaves, and dark oak trees used spruce logs and oak leaves.

• 👁 An acacia tree with jungle logs and oak leaves.
  
  An acacia tree with jungle logs and oak leaves.
• 👁 A dark oak tree with spruce logs and oak leaves.
  
  A dark oak tree with spruce logs and oak leaves.

Villages have seen multiple changes in generation since their introduction. Due to these changes, some may consider villages which generated in previous versions, or at least certain buildings within them, as "removed" structures.

Old villages and old zombie villages could generate in plains, savanna, taiga, and desert biomes. The type of village, and therefore the style of all structures within it, was determined by the biome where the village well was located. All village biome variants were essentially palette swaps of each other. The "old villages" were not known as such until Java Edition 1.14.

Before Java Edition 1.10, villages used gravel with cobblestone underneath to signify roads; however, in Java Edition 1.10, grass paths were added to signify village roads. However, grass paths sensibly were only generated where they replaced grass blocks, and gravel paths still existed until Java Edition 1.14, when the jigsaw system broke it.^[6]

Prior to Java Edition 1.10, plains villages would generate in savanna biomes. Plains villages was replaced by savanna villages made out of acacia derived blocks.

Prior to Java Edition 1.3.1, plains villages would generate in desert biomes. Plains villages was replaced by desert villages made out of sandstone derived blocks.

Prior to Java Edition 1.8, plains wells would generate in desert villages. Plains wells was replaced by desert wells made out of sandstone derived blocks.

{
 "title": "Glass Pillar",
 "rows": [
 {
 "field": "Any",
 "label": "(link to Biome article, displayed as Biomes)"
 },
 {
 "field": "No",
 "label": "Generates in<br>existing chunks  "
 },
 {
 "field": "<span class=\"nowrap\"><span class=\"sprite-file\" style=\"\">(link to File:BlockSprite glass.png article, displayed as 16x16px|link=Glass|alt=|class=pixel-image|)</span>(link to Glass article, displayed as <span class=\"sprite-text\">Glass</span>)</span>",
 "label": "Consists of"
 }
 ],
 "invimages": [],
 "images": [
 "Glass Pillar.png"
 ]
}

Glass pillars were a debug element of end portal rooms used to mark the location of strongholds, since the eye of ender's functionality of pointing toward strongholds did not exist yet. One pillar extended from the main entrance and another from the portal room, both from the Stone Bricks to the build limit. They were accidentally left in the public release of Java Edition Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3, and were removed in the next update.

• 👁 A glass pillar reaching into the sky.
  
  A glass pillar reaching into the sky.
• 👁 A glass pillar reaching into the ground, showing a stronghold hidden beneath.
  
  A glass pillar reaching into the ground, showing a stronghold hidden beneath.

Prior to Java Edition Beta 1.8, clay blobs were a terrain feature that existed as a way for clay blocks to generate naturally. They were removed and clay is now found as disks instead.

Prior to Beta 1.8, beaches existed as a terrain feature and generated in two variants (sand beaches and gravel beaches). Beaches were removed in Beta 1.8, then returned as biome in Java Edition 1.1 but without gravel variant.

Prior to Java Edition 1.18, water lakes were small bodies of water source blocks in the Overworld. They could generate both on the surface and underground, in the latter case, air pockets would generate above them. Water lakes generated in almost all Overworld biomes (except desert). Water lakes were removed in Java Edition 1.18 and replaced with aquifers.

In Java Edition 1.17, dripstone clusters were generating in regular caves due to revamped caves (including dripstone caves where dripstone was supposed to generate) being disabled in 21w15a. In Java Edition 1.18, dripstone clusters are no longer generating in regular caves due to dripstone caves being re-implemented to game.

Between Java Edition 1.3.1 and 1.7.10, desert pyramids had decorations (both outside and inside) made from wool (instead of terracotta) that made entering the secret fosse underneath it very easy. In 1.8, wool no longer appeared on decorations of desert pyramids and was replaced with terracotta that made entering secret fosse require a pickaxe.

Between Java Edition Beta 1.8 and 1.4.7, mineshafts initially had loot stored in chests. In 1.5, mineshaft chests were removed and replaced with minecarts with chests.

In Java Edition Beta 1.8, support beams in mineshafts were generated from oak planks instead of oak fences. In Beta 1.8.1, oak planks in support beams were replaced with oak fences.

Between Java Edition Alpha v1.2.0 and 1.12.2, only carved pumpkins were naturally generating, while un-carved pumpkins were unused in game. This was changed in 1.13 (snapshot 17w47a) and un-carved pumpkins are now naturally generating, while carved pumpkins could be now only obtained by using shears.

Prior to Java Edition 1.9, end spikes were generated randomly across the end island. In 1.9, this was changed and end spikes now generate in a circular pattern. Attempting to respawn ender dragon in 1.9, in worlds that were created before 1.9 generates new end spikes in location that follows new circular pattern, leaving the old end spikes existing in map along with new ones.

Prior to Java Edition 1.9, exit portals were generating in location where ender dragon was killed. In 1.9, this no longer happens and unfilled exit portals are now pre-generated, and will become filled after ender dragon is defeated.

In Indev versions of Minecraft, it was possible to customize the color of the sky, fog, and clouds via map editing, but this feature was removed in Infdev. Unlike some customizations now available via custom world generation, these are yet to see a return.

In the Indev versions of Minecraft, players could take a screenshot of the map from an isometric perspective using . When the game captured an isometric image, it would save the current location of all mobs and show any and all alterations to the map the player had made that would be visible from the perspective of the sun (at sunrise). The player would not be visible unless the player was in third-person view before taking the isometric screenshot.

The isometric screenshot would save to their local user folder as "mc_map_####.png" where #### represents the number of the screenshot starting at 0000 up to 9999.

There are some limitations that existed with the screenshots:

• They could capture the player's model only when in third-person view.
• Due to a glitch, the screenshot would render only those blocks that are in the player's FOV, and everything else is either black or shows underground sections that would have been obstructed.

This feature was removed in Infdev due to the addition of infinite worlds, and was later replaced by the Infinite Map Visualizer.

• 👁 An isometric screenshot displaying the bug of not capturing chunks which are not in the player's FOV
  
  An isometric screenshot displaying the bug of not capturing chunks which are not in the player's FOV
• 👁 Another bugged isometric screenshot
  
  Another bugged isometric screenshot
• 👁 Another bugged isometric screenshot
  
  Another bugged isometric screenshot
• 👁 An isometric screenshot of test.mclevel
  
  An isometric screenshot of test.mclevel

During the development of Indev, there were settings to change level's theme, type, shape and size.

"Winter Mode" was a randomly occurring map type in Alpha. It was added on July 9, 2010, in Alpha v1.0.4 and was the first "biome" to appear in Minecraft.

There were a couple of differences compared to normal worlds. First, there was the presence of snowflakes, which fell constantly. There were four different kinds of snowflakes. These snowflakes would create snow on surfaces directly exposed to the sky, provided that it was a solid block. Due to a lack of unfrozen water, reeds were rare. The second element unique to "Winter Mode" was the presence of ice. When a map was generated, most exposed water blocks would be frozen into ice. The water did not freeze completely near gravel beaches. The third element was a decrease in the spawning rate of passive mobs.

Whether a world was in "Winter Mode" was determined with a 25% chance at creation.

"Winter Mode" was removed in Alpha v1.2.0 with the addition of proper biomes.

• 👁 A rare occurrence: reeds that generated in a "Winter Mode" world
  
  A rare occurrence: reeds that generated in a "Winter Mode" world

The "Default 1.1" world type was added in 1.2.1 (snapshot 12w03a). Initially it was permanently applied to old worlds in order to prevent chunk borders but from snapshot 12w07a onwards, this world type only got used during the conversion process from the Region file format to the Anvil file format which stored biomes in chunk data. After conversion, old worlds would switch back to the default world type which allowed for world generation to create jungles. The world type was accessible in later versions by changing the "generatorName" property in the level.dat of a world created in 1.2 to "default_1_1" and it would persist across world saves. When it was first added, the "Default 1.1" world type was simply the same as the default world type but without jungles. In 1.7.2, it was changed to match the updated biome generation with the only difference being that warm climate regions were replaced with regions containing biomes from 1.1, those being deserts, forests, extreme hills, swamps, plains and taigas. With another biome overhaul occurring in 1.18 (experimental snapshot 1), the "Default 1.1" world type was removed.

Versions prior to 1.7.2 had two biomes that were later removed from the world generator. Despite being unused, they continued to exist until Java Edition 1.18, in which mountain edge got removed.

The following biomes became unused in 1.7.2:

• Mountain edge (became available in the "Buffet" world type)
• Frozen ocean (restored in 1.13 as a very different biome)

In Beta 1.8, biomes received a major overhaul, removing and changing many of them. Prior to these changes, there were 13 biome types that were much smaller and less distinct.

In 1.18, terrain height is no longer controlled by biome, so the following height variations biome have been removed and had their code merged into the main one:

Removed biomes
👁 Image Badlands Plateau
👁 Image Bamboo Jungle Hills
👁 Image Birch Forest Hills
👁 Image Dark Forest Hills
👁 Image Deep Warm Ocean
👁 Image Desert Hills
👁 Image Desert Lakes
👁 Image Giant Spruce Taiga Hills
👁 Image Giant Tree Taiga Hills
👁 Image Gravelly Mountains+
👁 Image Jungle Hills
👁 Image Modified Badlands Plateau
👁 Image Modified Jungle
👁 Image Modified Jungle Edge
👁 Image Modified Wooded Badlands Plateau
👁 Image Mountain Edge
👁 Image Mushroom Field Shore
👁 Image Shattered Savanna Plateau
👁 Image Snowy Mountains
👁 Image Snowy Taiga Hills
👁 Image Snowy Taiga Mountains
👁 Image Swamp Hills
👁 Image Taiga Hills
👁 Image Taiga Mountains
👁 Image Tall Birch Hills
👁 Image Wooded Hills

"Customized" was a world type that gave control over many settings that affected terrain generation, such as ores, sea level, biomes, structures, and many variables that govern the random shape of the terrain. It was introduced in snapshot 14w17a for 1.8, and was removed in snapshot 18w06a for 1.13. Although customized worlds were added back in the 1.16 snapshot 20w21a, there is currently no in-game menu to modify worlds; custom worlds can be generated only by importing a JSON file.

The Buffet world type used to have two extra generator types which were removed in Java Edition 1.18 due to bugs and lack of support.^{[citation needed]} They were:

• Caves: Uses generation settings that are similar to those of Nether in Overworld. The world generates with a bedrock floor at the Y=0 lower height limit and a bedrock ceiling at Y=127, and the world is generated in between these two like a giant cave complex, much like the Nether. Like other Buffet world types, this world type makes Overworld only have one selected biome.
• Floating Islands: Uses generation settings that are similar to those of End outer islands in Overworld. There is no bedrock ceiling or floor to the world, and the entire Overworld is generated in the shape of a series of floating islands, much like the End outer islands. Like other Buffet world types, this world type makes Overworld only have one selected biome.

Several historical file formats existed before the current Anvil file format during early development of Minecraft.

• McRegion (from Beta 1.3 to 1.1)
• Alpha level format (from Infdev 20100327 to Beta 1.2_02)
• Zone file format (used exclusively in Infdev 20100624)
• Indev level format (from Indev 0.31 20100122-2251 to Infdev 20100325-1640)
• Classic level format (from pre-Classic rd-132211 to Classic 0.30)

Prior to Java Edition 1.18, ore distribution was different. Ores were generating at different heights and different abundances because caves were smaller and worlds had smaller height. Ore distribution was overhauled in 1.18 after large caves and large mountains were added and world height was increased, while the old ore distribution was removed.

Spawn chunks were chunks found around the world spawn. Spawn chunks were always loaded, unlike normal chunks, which unload when no players are nearby. They were removed in Java Edition 1.21.9.

Several cave sounds prior to version 20w10a had variations with different pitches, ranging from 0.8 to 0.9.^{[note 7]}

Loops were unused sounds, found in the game files, and were possibly meant for when the player is in a specific type of location (i.e., in caves, forests, oceans and beside a waterfall). These sound effects only appeared in C418's June 4, 2009 Sound Test.^[7]

They were found in .minecraft/resources/sound/loops/, and could be converted to reveal four loops, of birds chirping, cave chimes, ocean and waterfall noises.

calm4.ogg was a music track that was included in Java Edition Classic 0.0.22a when Notch used it to test the music system. It was removed an hour later because Notch thought "it was horrible and didn't fit at all."^[8] It seems to have briefly been available from the minecraft.net resources from around December 16-17, 2010 and was removed sometime from December 22-27, 2010.

"Link to the original piano2.ogg from Alpha v1.0.14" .

piano2.ogg was a music track that was added in Java Edition Alpha v1.0.14. However, this version is different from the version most known.

It characteristically has an alternate ending, only having one piano track, unlike the later version's 2 piano tracks.

This track was later replaced with a new version in Java Edition Alpha v1.2.0.

"Link to the original piano3.ogg from Alpha v1.0.14" .

piano3.ogg was a music track that was added in Java Edition Alpha v1.0.14. However, this version is different from the version most known.

It characteristically has about 3 minutes of the music truncated from the track, being 01:26 in length, rather than the later version's length of 04:41.

To accommodate the short length, it has an ending somewhat similar to that present in the Alpha v1.0.14 variant of piano2.ogg.

This track was later replaced with a new version in Java Edition Alpha v1.2.0.

In Java Edition Alpha v1.2.2a, players had the ability to spawn nether portals by pressing . In Alpha v1.2.2b, spawning nether portals using was removed.

In early Indev versions, pressing would toggle between rain and clear.

In Beta 1.8 Pre-release, as a result of remaining debug code, players had the ability to use and to control in-game time. In Beta 1.8 Pre-release 2, the functionality of and was removed.

In 0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST, it was possible to spawn oak signs by pressing . This was removed in 0.26_SURVIVAL_TEST.

In Indev 20100129-1447, it was possible to access the 3×3 crafting grid UI by pressing . This was intended only as temporary way, and it was removed shortly after in Indev 20100129-2332 after addition of crafting tables.

Between 0.0.12a and Beta 1.7.3, pressing would cycle between levels of render distance (Far, Normal, Short and Tiny). A separate "Toggle Fog" key bind option in Controls options menu also existed up until Beta 1.7.3.

In pre-Classic and early Classic, it was possible to spawn human mobs by pressing . As human mobs were removed from normal gameplay in Survival Test, this functionality was also removed as well.

In 0.0.22a_01, pressing would toggle muting/unmuting all sounds in game. This was removed in 0.0.23a due to addition of options screen.

Between 0.0.12a and 0.0.12a_03, it was possible to generate new level by pressing . This was removed in 0.0.13a due to addition of pause menu from where player can generate, save and load levels.

In pre-Classic, early Classic and late Classic (except for versions with Survival mode), it was possible for player to respawn on default position in world by pressing , which was especially useful if player was stuck somewhere. This was removed in Indev.

Between mc-161616 and 0.0.22a_05, pressing would invert mouse controls. This was removed in 0.0.23a due to addition of options screen.

Between 0.0.10a and 0.0.12a_03, pressing would unhook the mouse from game window. In 0.0.13a, this functionality was removed and pressing now opens pause menu instead.

Between 0.0.14a_04 and Indev 0.31 20091223-1459 (except Survival Test versions), pressing would set new spawn point location, from which player would be respawned with . This was removed in Indev 0.31 20091231-1856 when creative mode was removed and survival mode readded.

Prior to Beta 1.8, entity numbers shown above mobs when player opened debug screen with . This feature was removed probably to prevent unfair progress, because it allowed players to see where caves and dungeons were located due to monsters in them being labeled by numbers.^{[citation needed]}

When menu screen was firstly added in Indev 0.31 20100131-2156, the dirt background had slow vertical scrolling animation. This was removed in Indev 20100206-2034.

In Java Edition Alpha 1.0.4, when Minecraft logo in menu screen was changed from cobblestone to stone, it received animation upon entering menu screen. When Minecraft logo was changed again in Java Edition Beta 1.4, the animation was removed.

Between Infdev 20100629 and Alpha 1.0.3, a "Loading..." screen with dirt background appeared upon starting the game. Unlike Mojang splash screen, the "Loading..." screen was hardcoded and the dirt background in it hadn't texture independent from the dirt background in the menu screen itself. This was removed in Alpha 1.0.4 and replaced with Mojang splash screen.

Save level, Load level and Generate new level were features in game menu between Classic and Indev. Save level allowed player to save world which was currently opened, Load level allowed player to load previously saved worlds, while Generate new level allowed player to generate new world. This was removed in Infdev 20100327 and replaced with Select World menu and Autosave.

In 0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST, Save level and Load level options were disabled.

Between Infdev 20100327 and Beta 1.2_02, players could create only up to 5 worlds. If players wanted to create a new world, they had to delete an existing world. World slots were removed in Beta 1.3 and players could create as many worlds as they want.

Texture packs were added in Alpha v1.2.2, and were replaced with resource packs in snapshot 13w24a for 1.6.1.

The "Super Secret Settings", added in snapshot 13w38a for 1.7.2, were removed in snapshot 15w31a for 1.9 due to an internal rewrite. It was a button under the options menu that, when pressed, would blare a random game sound with a lower pitch, and activate a shader.

"3D Anaglyph" was an option (added in Java Edition Classic 0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST) in video settings that applies a red-cyan stereoscopic effect, enabling the use of red-cyan 3D glasses to experience the game in more depth. This option was removed in snapshot 17w43a for 1.13 due to low usage of the feature.^{[citation needed]}

Note: It sometimes leaves a stain on your skin when you turn it off.

"Limit Framerate" was an option (added in 0.26 SURVIVAL TEST) in video settings that allowed player to toggle framerate of game by changing the setting between ON and OFF. It was removed in Beta 1.6.5 and replaced with "Performance" option.

"Performance" was an option (added in Java Edition Beta 1.6.5) in video settings that allowed player to configure framerate of game. It had three states, Balanced (limits to 120 maximum FPS), Power Saver (constantly limits to 35 FPS) and Max FPS (sets no limit to maximum FPS). It was removed in Java Edition 1.7.2 and replaced with Max Framerate slider.

For some reason in Beta 1.6.5, this option was named "Framerate cap" and instead of Balanced, Power Sawer and Max FPS states, it had numerical states (200, 90 and 40 FPS).

"Maximum" and "Minimum" (added in Java Edition 1.5) were states of the Smooth lighting option. "Minimum" state used the original smooth lighting rendering that existed since Beta 1.3, while "Maximum" state existed as way to correct lighting of certain blocks (like back of stairs). Over time, there wasn't any difference between these states and in Java Edition 1.19.3 RC1, the "Minimum" state of smooth lighting was removed and the "Maximum" state was renamed to ON.

"Advanced OpenGL" was an option (added in Java Edition Beta 1.5) in video settings that allowed players to use occlusion culling which disabled the rending of blocks that weren't in the players field of view. This was meant to improve performance in graphics cards that supported it, but many players complained that it was counterproductive.^{[citation needed]} This option was removed in 1.8.

"Use VBOs" was an option (added in Java Edition 14w29a) in video settings that allowed players to toggle VBOs which offered a ~10% performance increase when set to ON. It was removed in Java Edition 18w44a and VBOs are now always used.

"Show FPS" was an option (added in Java Edition Classic 0.0.23a) that allowed players to show debug screen. It was removed in Alpha 1.1.1 and debug screen is now opened with key.

"Alternate Blocks" was an option (added in Java Edition 14w28a) that allowed players to enable (or disable) weighted alternative block models. When turned off, the least complex highest priority model is always used for each block. It was removed in Java Edition 1.9.

"Server Textures" was a client-side option (added in Java Edition 1.3.1) in video settings that allowed players to enable (or disable) texture pack/resource pack used by server. It was removed in Java Edition 1.7.6 and replaced with server-side "Server Resource Packs" option and moved from video settings to Edit Server Info.

"Hide Address" was an option in Edit Server Info that allowed players to toggle display of IP addresses in server list. It was removed in Java Edition 1.7.2, probably for privacy reasons.^{[citation needed]}

"Touchscreen Mode" was an option (added in Java Edition 1.4.2) in controls settings that allowed player to use touchscreen-optimised inventory drag mode. It was removed in Java Edition 26.2.

Prior to Java Edition 1.8.3, after dying in hardcore mode world, singleplayer players were supposed to delete their hardcore world using "Delete world" button in death screen (while multiplayer players were banned after clicking "Leave server" option). In 1.8.3, this behavior was changed and when attempting to delete singleplayer world (or leave multiplayer world) in death screen, it redirected player to main menu instead, without actually deleting their world (or without being banned from server). In 1.9, players received option to spectate hardcore world instead, and in 1.15 the Delete world option was removed and replaced with Title screen option.

The "Player Activity" button in "Minecraft Realms" was added in 1.5, but it was removed in 1.14.4 for unknown reasons.​^{[more information needed]} This button was used to show the online activities of players.

Chat preview was a feature (added in Java Edition 1.19) which displayed a server-controlled preview above the chat edit box, showing how messages appeared when sent. Chat preview sent chat messages to the server as they were typed, even before they were sent, the server then sent back the styled preview in real time. This allowed servers to apply dynamic message stylings while still allowing chat to be securely signed. Chat preview was removed in Java Edition 1.19.3.

Native Twitch.tv integration was added in snapshot 13w47a for 1.7.4, and was removed in snapshot 15w31a for 1.9. It integrated Twitch chat into the game.

• 👁 Image
  
• 👁 Image
  
• 👁 Image
  
• 👁 Image
  

Starting with 0.0.13a, people with registered accounts were able to save/load levels up to 5 worlds, while the feature coexisted with local level saving/loading. It was disabled in Indev 0.31 20100129-2332 (presumably intended temporarily), but was later never re-enabled. This feature was fully superseded by local world saving/loading.​^{[more information needed]}

Wolds could be played at the URL http://www.minecraft.net/play.jsp?name=<username>&id=<the slot saved in, starting from 0>.

Note: When a line of splash text is removed, the line it occupied in splashes.txt is deleted, meaning the line number of all subsequent splashes lowers by one.

Prior to 1.13, several abbreviated forms of /gamemode command existed.

In Java Edition Classic, several old server.properties keys existed.

Several old statistic types existed in old versions of Minecraft.

• Removed in 1.7.2 - Times Played, Worlds Created, Saves Loaded and Multiplayer Joins.
• Removed in 1.11.1 - Junk Fished and Treasure Fished.

Several old creative inventory tabs existed in old versions of Minecraft.

• Removed in 1.12 - Materials.
• Removed in 1.19.3 - Transportation and Brewing.

During development of 1.19.1, three removed player reporting categories (specifically "Extreme violence or gore", "Nudity or pornography" and "Profanity") existed before they were removed in 1.19.1 RC 1.

Prior to Java Edition 1.13, all blocks and items had unique numeric IDs alongside namespaced IDs. Numeric IDs were removed during The Flattening in 1.13 and all blocks and items now only have namespaced IDs.

Prior to the release of Launcher 2.1.497x, the launcher contained multiple easter eggs. If the player hovered their cursor over the "Play" button for a few seconds, a random mob would appear in the bottom right corner of the launcher. In the top left corner of the launcher, the player could see a translucent creeper face. There was about a ¹⁄₁₁ chance of the creeper face being replaced with a shrugging kaomoji, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. When the player clicked on either of these, they turned solid white. Clicking them again would return them to their translucent state. In addition, if the player pressed +, the experience orb pickup sound would play ().

From snapshot 14w07a for 1.8, dispensers had the ability to place command blocks, when activated. This feature was removed as of 1.8.6 to solve a security issue.^[12][13]

In snapshot 16w20a for 1.10, water evaporated on top of magma blocks when randomly ticked. From snapshot 18w07a for 1.13, whirlpool bubble columns are produced on top of magma blocks instead.

Prior to 1.14, it was not possible to place non-full blocks (such as buttons, levers, pressure plates, tripwire hooks, etc...) on top and on side of transparent blocks (such as glass, glowstone, ice, sea lanterns, etc...). In snapshot 19w13a for 1.14, these restrictions were removed.

Prior to Java Edition 1.13, placement of chests (and trapped chests as well) was restricted and players had to place a new chest with an 1 block-wide gap between an existing double chest. In 1.13 (snapshot 17w47a), this restriction was removed and players were able to place a new chest directly next to an existing double chest (or hold shift-click to place a new chest next to a single chest).

Between Java Edition Alpha v1.0.6 and v1.0.10, it was possible to place cacti directly next to blocks and it was also possible to place cacti on any blocks, and not only on sand. This was removed in Alpha v1.0.11 and attempting to place a cactus next to the block destroyed it and its placement was restricted to sand.

Between Java Edition Alpha v1.0.6 and v1.0.10, attempting to break cacti hurt the player. This feature was removed in Alpha v1.0.11.

When redstone dust was firstly added in Java Edition Alpha v1.0.1, walking on it would destroy it (much like crops). This feature was removed in Alpha v1.0.2_01. It is unknown whether this behavior was intentional or accidentally implemented. ​^{[more information needed]}

Prior to Java Edition 1.4.2, it was possible to open and close wooden doors by hitting them with left click. This feature was removed, probably because destroying doors was more difficult.

In Java Edition Classic 0.30, it was possible to defuse primed TNT by hitting it with left click. This feature was removed in Indev.

Prior to Java Edition Beta 1.6, tilling a grass block with a hoe had a small chance of dropping wheat seeds. This feature was removed and wheat seeds are now obtained by breaking a short grass instead.

Prior to Java Edition 1.1, players (and other mobs as well) could trample farmland by walking on it. To avoid this, players had to use sneaking. This feature was removed and farmland is now trampled only when a player jumps onto it.

When sponges were firstly added in 0.0.19a, they disappeared when certain amount of time passed after player placed them.​^{[more information needed]} This behavior was removed in 0.0.19a_01.

When dandelions, roses and mushrooms were added in 0.0.20a, they decayed when placed in darkness. This behavior was removed in 0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST.

Between pre-Classic and early Indev, it was possible to place plants (saplings, mushrooms, and flowers) on any blocks, even on top of another plant, and not only on grass blocks or dirt. Last version where this was possible is Java Edition Indev 0.31 20100202-2330 (the exact removal date is uncertain because Indev versions between 20100202-2330 and 20100206-2103 are not archived).

In pre-Classic and early Classic versions, block interactions behaved differently.

• Prior to 0.0.9a, blocks were placed by left click and destroyed by right click. After 0.0.9a, this behavior was changed and players would toggle block placing/destroying by right click and use configured interaction with left click. Survival Test reverted this behavior to that before 0.0.9a with only difference that left click and right click are doing opposite, like today.
• Block outline appeared as white glowing square (instead of black outline box). Prior to 0.0.9a, it appeared only on side of block at which player was pointing (rather than around entire block). After 0.0.9a, block outline appeared around entire block, and before placing block a transparent preview cube appeared as visual indication of block placement. This outline behavior was removed in Survival Test and replaced with black outline box, that is used until today.
• In rd-132211 and rd-132328, it was not possible to select blocks. Grass had pre-defined placement on surface layer (Y=0), while cobblestone placement was possible anywhere below or higher.
• Between Classic 0.0.14a and Infdev 20100617-1531, placing sand or gravel above an air block made them appear instantly at the lowest point they can go rather than turning into falling block entity.

Prior to Java Edition 1.13, throwing items into water made them instantly fall to the floor of water. In 1.13, this was changed and items slowly submerge into water before they slowly float to the surface.

Prior to Java Edition 1.21, throwing ender pearls at a nether portal made them pass through portal blocks. In 1.21, this was changed and ender pearls now teleport players to The Nether if thrown into portal.

Additionally, prior to Java Edition 1.4.2, throwing ender pearls at a nether portal made them collide into portal blocks and player teleported into portal, however without entering The Nether.

Prior to Java Edition 1.9, crashing boats at high speeds instantly broke them into planks and sticks. In 1.9, this behavior was removed as many players complained about it.^{[citation needed]}

This was even more strict in Alpha 1.0.6 where boats instantly shattered even at low speeds, and even placement of boats outside water was impossible due to them being destroyed, but all this was changed in Alpha 1.0.6_01.

Prior to Java Edition 1.5, using bone meal on crops and saplings made them grow instantly. This behavior was removed in 1.5 and bone meal was severely nerfed.

In 1.8, mobs ran away from creepers that were about to explode. In 1.8.1-pre1, this feature was removed because every mob that had the ability to run from a creeper was looking for an exploding creeper every tick, degrading performance.

Prior to 1.8.1, iron golems would attack and kill creepers if they were within the golem's detection range range (like any other monsters). This was removed in 1.8.1 to prevent accidental destruction of buildings.^[14]

Prior to 1.18, vindicators, evokers, illusioners and pillagers would attack and kill baby villagers, which was controversial.^{[citation needed]} This was removed in 1.18 (snapshot 21w37a) and illagers now spare baby villagers.

In 1.14, vindicators were able to spawn in pillager patrols (along with raids) and sometimes also spawned as patrol leaders. This was removed in 1.14.3 and vindicators now only spawn in raids and woodland mansions.

In 1.0.0 and 1.1, villagers used same AI as pigs. This was removed in 1.2.1 and villagers now use their own AI.

Prior to 1.13, when zombies were underwater for too long, they started taking drowning damage and died. In 1.13 (snapshot 18w11a), this behavior was removed and zombies will now start converting to drowned instead. Skeletons were also drowning underwater, and in 1.13 (snapshot 18w19a) this was also removed, however skeletons would simply sink into water without converting to any other mob.

Prior to 1.8, when slimes (as well as magma cubes) entered water, they were not able to get out and if water was deeper than one block, they would drown and die. In 1.8 (snapshot 14w06b), this was changed and slimes can now swim as a result of the update to the new AI.

In Survival Test and early Indev versions, zombies and skeletons weren't burning from sunlight and were able to live at day on surface for infinite long time. This was removed in Java Edition Indev 20100213 and now both zombies and skeletons burn at sunlight, and if they are not able find cover in time (like hiding under tree or jumping into water) they will die.

Between 1.4.2 and 1.12.2, baby zombies weren't burning from sunlight (unlike adult zombies) and were able to live at day for infinite long time. This was fixed in Java Edition 1.13 (snapshot 18w10d).

Prior to 1.14, cats were initially meant to be tamed from ocelots. In 1.14, ocelots can no longer be tamed and cats can be tamed from stray cats instead. Attempting to tame ocelots, a player can gain an ocelot's trust instead by feeding it raw cod or salmon until heart particles show, causing it to no longer flee from players.

Prior to 1.9, baby horses were gradually growing when fed or when certain amout of time passed. This was removed in 1.9 and baby horses now grow only after they turn adult.

Between Indev and Beta 1.6.6, hitting sheep with left click made them drop wool. This feature was removed in Beta 1.7 due to addition of shears.

When player hit any mobs with arrow using bow, arrows stayed attached to their bodies. This feature was removed in 1.0.0 and arrows no longer visually appears on mobs.

Between Java Edition Beta 1.8 and Beta 1.9 Pre-release 4, monsters were trying to attack players in Creative mode. This behavior was removed in Beta 1.9 Pre-release 5 and all monsters remained neutral towards Creative mode players, unless player provoked them by hitting (until versions 1.6.1 and 1.7.2 where provocation was gradually removed).

Between Java Edition Beta 1.4 and 1.2.5, angry wolves were hurting players in Survival mode even when peaceful difficulty was enabled. This was removed in 1.3.1 and behavior of angry wolves is now respectful towards players in peaceful difficulty.

Prior to Java Edition Beta 1.8, passive mobs spawned much more often and their spawning was determined by two primary conditions: a light level (at least 9 light level) and a surface (specifically grass blocks). After Beta 1.8, passive mob spawning was determined by chunk properties and new passive mobs spawned very rarely if player killed all mobs in all nearby chunks (instead of building mob farms).

From Java Edition Beta 1.8 Pre-release up to its removal in Java Edition 14w34c, a fog effect and particles would appear in the lower 16 blocks of the world.

The lower sky was a visual effect in the Overworld in which a colored plane existed below the horizon in the world, similarly to the sky opposite it. It was removed in 1.14 after the ability to turn off VBOs was also removed.

Prior to Java Edition Beta 1.6, fire spreading was very aggressive and fire was able to spread infinitely. This behavior was removed in Beta 1.6 and fire spreading was severely nerfed.

Survival Test introduced block drops, which were mapped as follows:

Block drops were reworked in Indev.

In Survival Test, item drops were restricted to the cube shape used for blocks. The projected texture was the same on all faces and the texture scale was closer to those of blocks, making it look cropped.

In Survival Test, mobs (pigs, sheep, skeletons, zombies, spiders and creepers) had different walking animations.

In Survival Test, creepers did melee damage (4HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
) to the player. In Indev 0.31, this feature was removed.

In Survival Test, brown mushrooms added health (5HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 💔
), while red mushrooms depleted health (3HP👁 ❤️
👁 💔
) if player ate them. With start of Indev, this feature was removed.

Baby villagers used to accept poppies (originally roses) offered to them by iron golems since their addition in Java Edition 12w08a. This feature was removed at some point during the development of Java Edition 1.14. Iron golems still offer poppies to baby villagers, but they don't take the flower from the golem's hand.^[15]

Erosions, also known as basins, are terrain features that strip away the surface layer of blocks in a small area, exposing the stone underneath. They were accidentally removed in 1.18 (Java Edition 21w41a).^[16]

Mushrooms generated in caves from Java Edition Classic 0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST until 1.18 (Java Edition 21w39a), when underground mushroom patches were (probably accidentally) removed from Java Edition, and have yet to be re-added.^[17]

When 1.3 split client and server logic, several features lost significant functionality. While some of these have been effectively restored or at least substituted, many of them remain removed to this day, such as expanding ghasts or dimensional text.