Hell Portal is Done

My hell portal is complete! Now once the update comes through, I can explore hell. Making one is pretty simple, just make a ring of obsidian that is 4 wide and 5 tall. This leaves a hole in the center for the portal, which is 2x3. To ignite the portal, just use flint and steel to light the bottom of the ring, and you'll get a portal to the hell dimension!

It's probably a good idea to make your hell portal rooms small, so Ghasts won't spawn in them. Ghasts reportedly need a room of 5x5x5 to spawn near portals, so just keep this in mind when building your portal room. A big extravagant portal room may come back to 'haunt' you!

See you all in hell!

Minecraft Biome Test

Check out this preview of the new biomes feature in Minecraft. Looks like we'll be getting some variety in environments now.


The official list of biomes that will be available is:

• rainforest
• temperate rainforest
• seasonal forest
• forest
• savanna
• shrubland
• taiga
• desert grass
• desert ice
• desert
• and tundra

This Ghast Will Give You Nightmares

This Blender rendering of a Ghast (by DeviantArt user Riyuzakisan) shows how a Ghast would look in non 8-bit...

Ghast 3D - Minecraft by ~Riyuzakisan on deviantART

Halloween Update Preview

PC Gamer has an article with some previews of the new Halloween update. This is the first screenshot I've seen with a full Ghast in sight. The Ghast is one of the new creatures that Notch is including in the Halloween update.

Read the article on PC Gamer >>

Halloween Update

Minecraft will be adding a new update this Halloween, including some awesome new features [wiki]:

• A "Hell" world that can be used for quick travel, where you "portal in" walk ten meters and then "portal out" and you're hundreds of meters away 
• New monsters 
• More danger at deeper depths in-game 
• Torches that eventually burn out, but are re-lightable, and the introduction of lanterns as a new infinite light source 
• Fishing 
• Multiplayer fixes 
• Craftable Jack-O-Lanterns and pumpkin helmets 
• Craftable watch 
• Infinite fire source

Click the picture to the right for more details.

Sounds like it's going to be an awesome update!