The latest Minecraft snapshot (24w40a) introduces an eerie new experimental feature called "Winter Drop," bringing the mysterious Pale Garden biome, Pale Oak trees, and a terrifying new mob called the Creaking that only moves when players aren't looking at it. Released on October 2, 2024, this snapshot also includes technical changes, bug fixes, and accessibility improvements.
Explore the Mysterious Pale Garden
The Pale Garden is a haunting variation of the Dark Forest biome with several unique features. It's home to Pale Oak trees, which can be crafted into a complete woodset including logs, planks, doors, fences, and more. The ground is covered with Pale Moss blocks and carpets, while Pale Hanging Moss dangles from tree foliage, creating an otherworldly atmosphere.
What makes this biome truly special is its ambiance - new biome-specific sounds enhance the eerie feeling, and notably, animals don't naturally spawn here. It's a perfect setting for Minecraft's newest horror element: the Creaking mob.
Meet the Creaking: Don't Turn Your Back
The Creaking is a new hostile mob with a unique mechanic - it only moves when players aren't looking at it, freezing in place when under direct gaze. Unlike other mobs, the Creaking is invulnerable to damage and has fire resistance, making it impossible to defeat through conventional means.
These unsettling entities spawn at night from Creaking Heart blocks that generate naturally within Pale Oak trees. When struck, a particle trail reveals the connection between the Creaking and its Heart - the only way to remove a Creaking is by destroying its Heart block.
How Do Creaking Hearts Work?
Creaking Hearts are "living" blocks that generate hidden within Pale Oak trees. Active at night and dormant during daylight hours, they can spawn a Creaking when placed between two aligned Pale Oak logs. Players wearing carved pumpkins gain an advantage - they can look at Creakings without freezing them in place.
Technical Improvements and Bug Fixes
Beyond the spooky additions, snapshot 24w40a brings several quality-of-life improvements:
- A new 'rotate' command for manipulating entity rotation
- Bundle coloring recipe changes, now unlocked by Dye rather than uncolored Bundle
- New accessibility option for more visible block outlines
- Data Pack version updated to 56 and Resource Pack version to 40
- New particles: block_crumble and trail
- 21 bug fixes addressing issues with teleporting passengers, bundle mechanics, and block outlines
How Can You Try These Features?
To test these experimental features, enable the "Winter Drop" toggle when creating a new world or use the "Edit" button on existing worlds. The snapshot is available through the Minecraft Launcher by enabling snapshots in the Installations tab.
Remember that testing versions can potentially corrupt worlds, so Mojang recommends creating backups before experimenting with new features. Feedback on the Pale Garden and Creaking can be shared through the Pale Garden feedback thread and Creaking feedback thread.
