Being a Minecraft player can be a little like living on a fault line. Every update represents a seismic shift in one area or another, and a longer wait often means a bigger shake-up once the quake finally hits. The wait for 1.3 has been the longest in Minecraft’s history, largely because of significant changes made to the game’s engine. “I was a little scared to push it to the public,” says Jens Bergensten. “But waiting even longer is not a solution.” Oo-er.
The Minecraft 1.3 patch is nearly complete, according to Mojang’s Jens, and will be with us in the next few days. According to the Mojang blog, the patch is to be released a week early so that “mod-makers and server admins” can get a headstart.
Minecraft's 1.3 update is to launch on August 1st. The update will bring LAN support to single player games, new block types, and the ability to leave messages for other players in books.