Minecraft’s 1.18 snapshot debuts the caves for the Caves and Cliffs update

After splitting the Caves and Cliffs update in two in April, Mojang has released a new experimental snapshot for 1.18 yesterday, which debuts the new world generation. 

The new experimental snapshot isn’t quite the finished build for Minecraft’s new world generation, as that’s releasing sometime this Holiday season, but it is the first time we’ve been able to explore the new higher mountainous highs and the lower cavernous lows. 

With the increased world height and depth being introduced in this snapshot, you’ll see more verticality expressed in the terrain generation which can push mountains even higher towards the skies, and caverns down even deeper towards bedrock. 

It’s not just added verticality which this new terrain generation creates, as the upcoming updates titular Caves have been expanded from twisting labyrinthian tunnels into vast open gorges filled with flora, waterfalls, and stunning vistas galore that are just begging out for an underground base to be built into them. 

According to the changes Mojang has listed for this snapshot update, the new types of cave generation all have delicious sounding names such as “cheese, spaghetti, and noodle caves,” depending on how squiggly they are. Sadly the new mountain biomes don’t sound quite as tasty, but “lofty peaks, snowcapped peaks, grove, meadow, and snowy slopes,” are all at least descriptive. 

Ready your pickaxe, your finest dusty old typewriter, and preferably your Minecraft client too!

Our latest experimental toggle & snapshot is testing world generation for Caves & Cliffs: Part II, and we need YOUR feedback! Learn how you can join in:

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— Minecraft (@Minecraft) July 13, 2021

If you want to test out Minecraft’s new 1.18 experimental snapshot for yourself then you can download the build here. The full 1.18 update, which is the second part of the Caves and Cliffs update, is expected to launch sometime this Holiday Season, although no specific date has been confirmed yet.