0.12.0 Feature Info and Release Date

General

As many of you already know, Minecraft: Pocket Edition is currently on version 0.11.1, which was a bug fix update for the last major update (aka 0.11.0).

The 0.11.0 update added various new features, including Skins, Boats, Fishing, New Mobs (such as Magma Cubes!), and a bunch of new items in Creative – and that’s not the half of it. (Add picture of creative inventory.)

In short, 0.11.0 was the biggest update in Minecraft: Pocket Edition history. Emphasis on was. There’s a new update coming to Minecraft: Pocket Edition, one that’ll be the biggest and best update MCPE has ever seen. The new update will boost us closer to the PC version of Minecraft than we’ve ever been.

There are a lot of features that will be added in update 0.12.0, as Tomasso Checchi confirmed on numerous occassions.

It's a bit awkward for me to announce stuff I didn't work on myself, but 0.12 will get lots of new stuff! And when I say lots I mean lots 🙂

— Tommaso Checchi (@_tomcc) June 26, 2015

Features Coming in Update 0.12.0

The 0.12.0 update is, in all seriousness, the coolest update ever. One of the main features introduced in 0.12.0 is the Nether.

By the way, Nether
*drops mic* pic.twitter.com/VzBS5VoVQC

— Tommaso Checchi (@_tomcc) April 22, 2015

The Nether is a different dimension in Minecraft. Basically, mobs that don’t naturally spawn above ground (like Ghasts, or Zombie Pigman, or Magma Cubes) do spawn in the Nether.

The Nether has very dangerous terrain: with Lava Oceans everywhere and Netherrack, which is a block that remains on fire until it is destroyed. There is also a special type of ore in the Nether known as Nether Quartz Ore (because it drops Nether Quartz).

The addition of the Nether in 0.12.0 will render the Nether Reactor useless and non-functional. Any blocks related to the Nether Reactor will be for decorational purposes only.

The developers have stated however, that the Nether Reactor and all blocks related to it, might be used for something else in a future update.

INTERESTING FACT: People are actually calling the 0.12.0 Update the Nether Update. Yes, that’s how important the Nether will be.

Besides the Nether, there are a bunch of other really big and cool features that will be added in 0.12.0 – take a look at this tweet:

Here's a handy and clearly readable list of the initials of the new features which is totally not a tease:
N,S,C,O,H,G,E,P,A,FP,CS

— Tommaso Checchi (@_tomcc) June 26, 2015

The Nether is N obviously. The S is probably Sprinting/Sneaking (Slower and faster movement).

The C is most likely Commands, O is definitely Ocelots (even Daniel Wustenhoff confirmed that Ocelots would be added in update 0.12.0)!

Good luck taming these! 🙂https://t.co/hZsXJPlWfnhttp://t.co/t4GWrqHch3

— Daniel Wustenhoff (@darngeek) June 10, 2015

(The video included in the Tweet might not load for you, so you might have to click on the Gyfcat link, or watch the youtube video.)

H is definitely for Hunger, E is for Enchanting – as Tomasso Checchi has confirmed:

Yay, I've actually coded one feature for 0.12, the enchantment table UI! Ok I lied, I just made the interface. pic.twitter.com/flF3U06jE9

— Tommaso Checchi (@_tomcc) July 10, 2015

We even have enchanting tables that glow now. YAY!

Yay for bugs that suddenly become features! The book wasn't supposed to glow, but it looks cool pic.twitter.com/kMjsTfFAUY

— Tommaso Checchi (@_tomcc) July 15, 2015

P is for Potions, A is for Anvils, FP is probably Flower Pots (okay, we agree – Flower Pots aren’t too exciting), and CS is controller support.

You might have noticed by now that we skipped the letter G. Take a look at this.

To everyone asking what G is: I forgot and now I can't tell if it's a typo.

— Tommaso Checchi (@_tomcc) June 26, 2015

DARN! THERE IS NO G! Wait, what’s that below?

@iamJ_Christian AH RIGHT

— Tommaso Checchi (@_tomcc) June 26, 2015

WOOHOO! GOLEMS!

To those of you that don’t know, Golems are Mobs that attack other Mobs to protect Villagers.

Iron Golems and Snow Golems will both be added in Update 0.12.0.

BUT WAIT – THERE’S EVEN MORE:

In Update 0.12.0, Experience Points and Weather (Snow, Rain) will most likely be introduced to MCPE.

In-Game Music, Anvils, Potions, and Mob Heads are planned to be in update 0.12.0, and hopefully they won’t get pushed back to a future update*

*In-Game Music is basically what it’s called – it’ll add In-game Music.

*Anvils allow you to rename objects (so with Anvils you could name a cow “Steve”, as we’ve always wanted to do).

*Potions are basically like status effects, except you can craft them.

*Mob heads are decorations. However, they can be worn as if they were helmets (they don’t give Armour points though!)

Some other features that may come in Update 0.12.0 are Nether Fortresses, Rabbits, Blazes, Zombie Villagers, and Wither Skeletons. Ghasts are going to be re-introduced to the game, and what’s more – we’ll get to play Multiplayer with the Windows 10 version of Minecraft. (There are way more things coming in the new update.) **

**Nether Fortresses are structures that spawn in the Nether. They are kind of like the Nether version of a Dungeon.

**Rabbits are rabbits. If you don’t know what a Rabbit is… I don’t know what to say to you.

**Blazes are mobs like Ghasts and Zombie Pigmen, because all three of those, (And a few more mobs) spawn in the Nether only (naturally).

**Blazes can fly and shoot fireballs at you and are very dangerous because they generally spawn in groups of 2 or 3.

**Ghasts are mobs like Blazes, and spawn naturally in the Nether only. They are also like Blazes because they can fly and they shoot fireballs at the player. Unlike Blazes however, Ghasts are much bigger and the fireballs that Ghasts shoot are exploding fireballs.

**Zombie Villagers are just Villagers that have become Zombies. That’s basically all there is too them. Wither Skeletons are essentially the Nether version of Skeletons. Unlike Skeletons, they are black and use a stone sword to attack which gives you a status effect similar to Nausea when hit except you can die from this status effect.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…. THE RELEASE DATE!

The Release Date

The release date was confirmed by the Developers and at Minecon to be July 29th. On July 20th however, Tomasso Checchi, one of the developers for Minecraft: Pocket Edition, confirmed that the Release Date would not be July 29th, and that it would actually be sometime in August.

So, we actually wanted to release MCPE on the 29th, but it would have no Enchanting, Music and Controller support… so August, hopefully 🙂

— Tommaso Checchi (@_tomcc) July 20, 2015

Don’t cry though – that’s not too bad considering 0.11.1 came out only a month ago (approximately). All things said and done, this is probably the fastest update yet in all Minecraft Platform Versions History with the most features, as it has things like new mobs, and the Nether, and Multiplayer with the Windows 10 Version of Minecraft.

The tweet above also confirms that Enchanting, Music, and Controller support would be added in the 0.12.0 update.

Let us know in the comments what you think of updates 0.12.0 and its features (we think the Nether wins at life – but Multiplayer with the Windows 10 Version of Minecraft is pretty cool too)!

-Note- The Update is now being called Update 0.12.1.