Key Takeaways
- Minecraft's minecarts have historically been outpaced by elytra and other modes of travel.
- A recent snapshot has introduced changes to minecarts, though, including maintaining vertical momentum.
- Mojang is seemingly aiming to revive the use of minecarts in Minecraft by making them more fun and efficient.
Minecraft's latest snapshots have brought many experimental changes to Java, including some that promise to fix one of the game's oldest problems. The posterchild of these snapshots is the array of changes made to Minecraft's minecarts, a number of levers Mojang can pull on in the future.
Travel in Minecraft has been defined by elytra and little else. Even ice-track boat highways, which can achieve incredible speed, are outclassed thanks to the great investment needed to construct them—especially next to the ease at which an elytra can be used. Minecarts in particular have been left far behind in the arms race of travel, supplanted long ago by the advent of travel. They're relatively slow and require a great deal of building, not only for the track itself (formed from mass quantities of iron, gold, and redstone) but the ground track can be laid on. The days of minecart rollercoasters and far-stretching railways are, to a degree, behind the players of present Minecraft.
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Minecraft Java's Latest Snapshots Have The Potential To Bring Back Minecarts
Fortunately, Minecraft's latest snapshot might be what evens the playing field. While this release of experiments (as well as those in the prior snapshot 24w33a, which introduced much of what will be discussed here) put the reintroduction of the bundle front-and-centre, players have a variety of proposed minecart changes to play with. In a climate where the minecart has been relegated to old news, these small tweaks could usher in a new age for Minecraft transport.
Two Changes Send Minecarts Into The Stratosphere, Literally
24w33a is the Minecraft snapshot that really switched up minecarts, with two major features being used to create all manner of machines. The first of these two particular changes is that minecarts now maintain vertical momentum; when a minecart travels off a vertical slope, it will now continue traveling at a diagonal (before tilting back to the ground) rather than immediately falling straight down. The second is a new gamerule that can modify minecart speed that defaults at 8 and maxes out at 1000, which translates to a speed of 1000 blocks per second.
Naturally, a helping of player ingenuity turns this gamerule into the impetus for terrifying launching machines. The changes to momentum and the potential for crazy speeds combine with a simple contraption, one where a subject spins around at max speed on a rail loop. A user can then pull a lever to divert the rail, sending the subject onto a slope. After building up such speed, the subject in the minecart is shot off into the air like a railgun bullet. This is, of course, an exercise in gamerule extremes that would never come to vanilla survival, but the base concept certainly could heighten the potential of Minecraft's minecarts.
Minecarts Need More Than Physics Changes
The text found in the patch notes of snapshot 24w33a makes Mojang's intention clear; in addition to building into some big changes to Minecraft's parity-scarce redstone, the snapshot's minecart changes serve as a 'foundation' for the future, a future where minecarts can become 'viable' once more. This is self-evident within the snapshot, as most changes are part of a total rework for the minecart's physics and object interactions, a trend that continues into 24w34a.
Though these changes are essential, and have made minecarts much more fun, the vehicle is still beaten by Minecraft's horses. For minecarts to see widespread usage, they need a flat speed increase and more efficient means of obtaining powered rail. It's already great that basic minecart tracks can be stolen from mineshafts, but this quality should be extended to other structures and broadened to include more types of rail.
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Minecraft is a game made up of blocks, creatures, and community. You can survive the night or build a work of art – the choice is all yours. But if the thought of exploring a vast new world all on your own feels overwhelming, then fear not!
Minecraft has no set goal and can be played however you’d like! This is why it’s sometimes called a “sandbox game” – there are lots of things for you to do, and lots of ways that you can play. If you like being creative, then you can use the blocks to build things from your imagination. If you’re feeling brave, you can explore the world and face daring challenges. Blocks can be broken, crafted, placed to reshape the landscape, or used to build fantastical creations.
Creatures can be battled or befriended, depending on how you play. The world of Minecraft allows for epic adventures, quiet meditations, and everything in between. You can even share your creations with other players, or play in community worlds!
Sandbox
Survival
Systems
- Top Critic Rating:90/100 Critics Recommend:84%
- Franchise
- Minecraft
- Platform(s)
- 3DS , Android , iOS , Nintendo Switch , Nintendo Wii U , PC , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , PS Vita , Xbox One , Xbox 360
- Released
- November 18, 2011
- Developer(s)
- Mojang
- Publisher(s)
- Mojang
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op , Online Multiplayer
- Engine
- LWJGL, PROPRIETARY ENGINE
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- How Long To Beat
- N/A
- X|S Enhanced
- No
- File Size Xbox Series
- 1.42 GB (August 2024)
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical or Horizontal
- Number of Players
- 1-4
