Over an hour of a developer playing and talking? AWESOME!!!

I loved every minute of this. It's like watching Bob Ross play Minecraft: You know exactly what you're talking about, you have a calming voice, and you provide some very valuable insight.

I was instructed to call you sentimental. 0:00 Intro 2:56 Continentalness 10:22 Erosion 11:07 Temperature & Humidity 13:38 Erosion and Mountain Placement (Tibet) 17:58 Peaks & Valleys, Weirdness 20:24 Peaks & Valleys and Saddle Valley generation 22:38 5D noise + unpredictability 26:15 Challenges of microbiomes, no minimum biome size 32:14 Weirdness, Intervals and the selection of biomes 34:36 Floating blocks 35:29 Erosion values and cliff formation 39:58 nearWater: Aquifers and coastlines 42:07 Water caves, dry caves, barriers 43:22 MC quirks and the "door trick" 44:47 Carvers and dead ends 47:32 2D vs 3D noise maps 48:44 New vs Old MC generation (tradition) 49:22 Continentalness, Erosion, coastlines, and Swamp placement 51:11 Factor: Shattered Savannahs and Extreme Hills 56:09 Old 1.17 3D variation (mostly forests) 56:53 The challenge of fixing rivers vs land traversal 57:55 nearWater: Aquifers and rivers 59:22 The necessity to code Aquifers 1:00:35 Aquifers interacting with rivers, realism vs gameplay 1:02:05 Trouble with coding Badlands, esp. without minimum biome size tech. 1:03:54 Choice of "let them be crazy" with respect to crazy big cave entrances 1:04:51 Deserts and Badlands, Intervals + microbiome "Oases" 1:10:02 1.17 vs 1.18 Badlands

30:48 Henrik: That's a cool way to die! Henrik: *Almost dies* Henrik: That's not a cool way to die :/

1. Have you considered making the foliage and water colors depend on the underlying temperature and humidity noises instead of the biome colors? 2. Could the gradient of the noise values be helpful with dealing with microbiomes?

45:55 I love how he just casually increased the amount of magma because he doesn't like the doors

This is such an insightful look into how and why Minecraft terrain generation changed. This was such a good seed for this playtest, and I definitely do have to agree that the new 1.18 badlands are much more interesting and unique now. The one thing I am curious about is how new surface biomes will be added in the future, considering the temperature and humidity chart of normal surface biomes looked pretty full with only a little wiggle room. Also, it really puts into perspective how many excessive height variants of biomes were removed when terrain and biome generation was decoupled.

As a developer, I greatly appreciate some cool insight into solutions, dev stories and lessons learned. This unstructured format is highly entertaining to me! Keep 'em coming. I'd be very interested to see some of the actual terrain generation stages under the hood and how it all comes together. The image from before flattening was very interesting

Please PLEASE do more of these! Probably one of the best ways to lose an hour of my day, and as a programmer, it is super interesting to here about the behind the scenes of how Minecraft works

Developers leave floating trees too?! This is unacceptable! Seriously interesting stuff though, I love learning more in depth festures and thoughts of people on the inside of Mojang.

Hi henrik! Thank you so much for all the hard work you and your team has made to bring us the best update Caves&Cliffs could be. I was wondering, in this particular clip 29:39, that if a skeleton tries to spawn on a snowy mountain biome (grove, snowy slopes, lofty peaks, and snow-capped peaks), it would spawn as a stray instead. That way, it would be more consistent with other snowy biomes. Anyways, have a nice day!

29:40 I'm only here for that kind of "tech" explanation, so keep doing it!

It's such a pleasure to hear your insights and explanations, Henrik! Your passion and care for this game and update is so inspiring, and refreshing to watch. Thanks so much to you and the team for your work; we players really are lucky to have such thoughtful devs making the game!!

17:55 Have you considered adding fog to the game as weather? Imagine standing on those mountains and seeing a sea of clouds beneath you, with other peaks protruding like islands.

As a mapmaker and someone who has played the game for 10 years, I really enjoy these developer commentary-type videos. I would love to see more. The interesting thing is that the generation has been very predictable for so many years. With the 5-d noise, there are so many more possibilities, which make it less predictable. I think if you, as a developer, can get surprised by what is generating, the variation will not be predictable for players either. Would you still remove the floating blocks if you had the tech so that cool terrain wouldn't be lost? I honestly like the crazy weird terrain, but maybe I am biased from pre-beta 1.8 terrain that was a lot more shattered. Especially the bigger rare floating landmasses have a kind of wonder to them. It is not very realistic, but I don't think Minecraft would be as interesting by just mimicking real life. The floating landmasses feel less predictable, which makes exploration better. For the same reason, I like how bigger caves bleed into the terrain. It is almost like another complexity layer is added on top of the 5d noises. Some really nice cenotes can generate where you look down a vertical cave and you can see a pool of water, but you can't easily see the edges of the pool as the entrance from above is bigger than the pool of water. Just so much cool stuff is possible with caves carving into the terrain. (and then having a chance of a mineshaft generating in it in badlands biomes!) I wouldn't mind if abandoned mineshafts or strongholds could occur a bit higher up and add to the terrain in some way. (although strongholds aren't really designed to look good above ground I believe) Like the idea of a mineshaft generating on the side of a mountain cliff. This does sound hard/time-consuming to implement in a way that isn't jarring for people who like the clean mountains, so I understand it is most likely not possible with the time constraints of the update. I do find the idea of adding a carver-like generation that is more like structures an interesting idea. Basically to vary up the underground even more, kinda what strongholds and mineshafts are already doing as well, even though they are uncommon. 37:40 I have indeed already done this with the experimental world settings in 1.16. I can't wait to generate cool things when 1.18 is finally released. 1:08:45 I think it is cool as it has some variation that isn't jarring. Minecraft is a game that you can play for many years, so the more varied generation, the better for long-term play. For the same reason, I would agree with the choice made described at 1:10:02. I used to get bored of badland biomes as their magick wore off after a few updates. I think the badlands are one of the most interesting biomes as there isn't grass on the floor and there are giant rocky Bryce-Canyon-like spikes protruding everywhere. Especially if they generate against a jungle or cliffs it could create some very unique terrain. This is such an interesting and educational video. You explained a lot of the F3 details and noises really well. The explanations of design philosophy were also were clear! I would be down to see another video if there is more material to talk about in the future!

yess this is the content mr henrik should make 1 hour of him play testing snapshots

i really love how you bluntly refer to ugly terrain as "stupid terrain" lol

Listening to you talking about how to Deal with microbiomes, i am trying to come up with a not too Ressource intensive algortihm how to remove them: for example, when you have the surface biome map after the previous calculations, you could detemine the most common biome for each chunk. Then for each chunk check whether there is at least 2 of the 8 neighbouring chunks with the same most common biome. If not, then it's likely very isolated and you can start a recursive check that from a block in the center chunk turns all neighboring positions which are the microbiome into what's the most common of the 8 most common biomes of the neighborhood. The algorithm should of course have a recursion limit of like 1024 or so. And there is a maximum of one call per chunk. I know that there are 3d biomes now, but since there can only be one surface biome at a time the arrays should all be 2D and the calculations rather fast. It's a bit like the game of life

Interesting, the new f3 debug info seems like it could help you find biomes.

This is my first time watching a long Minecraft “let’s play” in years and I long the insight on the game’s development! Seeing how you and the team solve the problems and add new things is so fun for me. And I am exiting to see what the whole team has worked on for Minecraft Live 2021.

This is awesome! Thank you for sharing this with us! Edit: Just hit the half hour mark. I very much enjoy hearing about the technical pieces of terrain generation! Learning about the 5D noise system was very cool, would love some more insight about this stuff!!

This is very very interesting. Would absolutely not mind more of those long playthrough with you explaining stuff videos. (If you have time to do so :) )

About the temperature and humidity biome placements; where would the mushrooms island fit? More so, what would be the conditions for a mushroom island to generate?

tbh this encouraged me to make a custom dimension with multi noise, it looks fun to set up the different parameters and how different biomes are placed

I loooooooooooooove this. You are amazing Henrik. Thanks for sharing some incredible insights into your daily work and thoughts. So valuable for the community and fun to watch.

Watch this video of an actual developer talking about how he is building the terrain in minecraft is like seing Slartibartfast talking about how he and the Magratheans builds the planets in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, lol loved it

[edit: I was thinking about being abble to breathe inside doors, I am sorry for the misscomunication, a lot of people already made me aware of this] 45:30 I don't really think people care that much about these querky features like floating blocks and non waterlogable doors (as in they don't want it to be removed)... I feel similar about things like those floating sand patches in deserts. These kinds of things are part of the games identity, and the community want's it to continue arround. Also, really nice to see how things work and what's in you guys minds, and it's way better coming out of the developer's mouth.

I think that good solution for balancing rivers is to introduce fords... both land and water passege would be possible through those.

What if there was a small chance that the saddle valley and fjord could be combined, so for example on 56:56 there could be forming sort of an natural bridge or natural tunnel, also making it: a) good for land transportation b) good for water transportation c) cool terrain generation

Well.. here's my overdose of minecraft update. Imma get a popcorn just a sec.

Those giant rivers are like lakes, which is very nice. They are also pretty nice for drowned farms, so I like them

I really appreciate this sort of run-down of how the new terrain works, and the F3 knowledge will definitely come in handy. Thanks for explaining it. I actually like the large rivers a lot. As for the border jungle weirdness, it's honestly fine. Doesn't look spectacular or anything, but it's also a nice change in scenery. And a little wood goes a long way if you spawn in a desert.

I really enjoyed this kinda dev commentary walkthrough explaining how terrain generation works, i hope you consider doing more videos like this and explain some more things like how cave biomes get placed. Interested because apparently there isn't really a "height" parameter to generate them underground or maybe it's hidden, although i don't think so because all biomes are able to generate above each other. So i wonder if it might be possible to make a "floating islands" biome in the sky above other surface biomes using these parameters (maybe lowering factor a lot?), i'd love to see that.

I love how Henrik's version ID is "MOJANGSTAAAAAA"

1:09:26 I always really liked how the leaves change colour with the biome, It adds more variety.

I thought this was a short video. Then I looked at the video time. This is practically a podcast and I love it.

I loved this talk thru-explanation! I'm loving the terrain generation, and that there are now factors we can see that might help us plot a course through the landscape. That last river was amazing, odd, but amazing. I found myself wanting to tap the spacebar to help you climb those mountains too. Please share more of this kind of thing.

This type of content is very much appreciated! I love the new terrain generation and understanding just a bit more about how it works is such added value! Please keep making more of these!

30 minutes in so far, this is great. I'd love to see more of these.

I actually find these videos very entertaining and educative at the same time. I have been learning how to code and how minecraft code works, and the tech videos are rather helpful.

Please make a lets play series in 1.18. I really enjoyed you playing survival like this..

34:35 About floating blocks

What an awesome video- I watched it all the way through! Thank you Henrik, I super love these! It was relaxing and interesting hearing your point of view from the development side of things.

Map makers having control over the generation based on the noise values would be so much fun! I think one thing I would love to have more control over would be structures. Including our own custom structures in the generation could make for some incredible custom world generation. To be able to create our own type of procedurally generated maps with our own lore, parkor challenges, mazes, etc. That would be the absolute best. To have it as just a resource pack to include in the generation. I LOVE learning about the technical details and decisions that were made. I also love that the generation is starting to bring in the craziness that used to exist in the older versions of minecraft. I love it so much! I look forward to more of these!

Thank you for the upload! I am really enjoying the technical play thru aspect. It's awesome to come from a game dev. Thank you!

Loved every bit of the video!! Thank you for taking the time to explain things and do these stuffs!!! Very excited about the 1.18 update

Thanks for sharing this with us, Henrik! Absolutely fascinating insight, I would love to see stuff like that more often. :)

This was a great video. Hoping to see more of them!!

Thank you for sharing, I loved to see you exploring while explaining technical side and it would be cool to have more!

This was super enjoyable and informative! Really appreciated listening to all the explanations along with the footage of the new terrain generation. A very nice pairing :)

This was fabulous, thank you for making this. Very informative and I love hearing you talk about the development process.

Love the tech talk and love the format! :)

Loved this video so much!!! Thank you so much for making it and sharing so many details with us!!! This is SO COOL!!!!

Love these types of video Henrik...keep them coming!

I love all technical details, thanks and keep it up!

I enjoyed every minute of this play through. It’s so interesting to see how the minecraft world generates and you explained it perfectly and clearly which made it more interesting to learn about. Please do more of these kinds of videos, it was even just so relaxing to watch. I loved it! :D

i absolutely loved this, and i seriously crave to watch more. please continue making these

I watched the heck out of this. The tone was really nice, the same feeling as when I first started watching minecraft videos in early beta. Keep em coming!

very interesting and insightful! devlogs like this are not something i would expect to see from such a big game, but they are very welcome! thank you so much for sharing, i would love to see more!

This is brilliant! I would absolutely love to see more of these!

This update really makes me want to start up a minecraft server again in the future. It's actually such a treat to see the unique landscapes and structures that appear in just one random world.

This was so fantastic, I absolutely love this style of video. Thank you so much, I really hope this becomes a recurring series!

This is incredible! I knew you guys put in a lot of work for the new terrain, but this is truly going above and beyond! Thank you so much for the inside look!

soooooooo glad this just popped up in my recommended. I love hearing from you guys!!! Thanks for doing thisssss.

I really loved and appreciate this video I hope more of these are made eventually because it gives a much more intimate and in detail look at what's been done in a way that twitter cant convey. i especially love that you did it in survival that way you could properly look at the details of land with us and really explore. keep up the great work this made my day

This is such a cool job! (honestly just a nice thing to be able to watch also) thanks for sharing

This video is AMAZING, you're really good on doing commented playthrough.

This was awesome and very illuminating. Thats a really cool system I don't know if I Ould have come up with as clever of a system so honestly hats off! It's also super interesting to see how you play the game!

This is a super calming video to just relax to while learning some cool info, thanks for making this :)

I loved the techy stuff. Really loved you playing it in survival. I hope for more.of these!

Thank you so much for this, this tour was amazing! I really do enjoy the technical explanations, so please feel free to do more of this in the future. The idea of setting up little camps is brilliant; it makes it feel like an adventure, a person exploring and surviving the wilderness.

Def a very cool and insightful video, Henrik! I’d love to see more of these, it’d be cool if you did one for like the Deep Dark once it’s been released.

I've gone through this entire video and I've enjoyed it a god damn whole lot :) It's so interesting seeing how the generation works, how cool it can get and also hearing some fun facts. Definitely would like to have these coming whenever you want to show some new stuff!

I love these kinds of videos! I love hearing an actual voice behind the game, I love learning about the game, and I also think you're a great talker! I wasn't feeling bored or annoyed a single moment!

My new favorite Minecraft let’s player! I could listen to you talk about the technical details of the game for hours. That’s what I’m personally most interested in. Though it’s also fun to see how you play the game!

Oh my! This is Christmas! Thank you so much for this, 1h of you talking is such a treat

I totally loved it! How interesting and exciting to hear the changes to the terrain generation, from my favorite videos of a lifetime, enjoy every second. :) It is incredible and admirable all the work that you are doing, I have already said it several times but it is true and you deserve to know it! :D Thank you so much for this update devs!

This was super interesting. I hope you'll do more of these videos!

Outstanding! Thanks for putting this video together. I really love the jungle edge/oasis biomes!

I love the realism with how terrain generates, especially with what you mentioned around 14:22. It's cool having swamps being placed in the lowest and flattest points whereas mountains are inland. It makes it more intuitive to just follow the shaping of the land to try and find a biome

Very informative and fun to watch. More of this type of content, please!

very informational, i loved it!!! i find it super fascinating to have all this technical info and developer jargon decoded for me as a player, or at least elaborated on :)

I loved the in-depth explanation and demonstration of the new changes in the terrain and I'd love to see more thank you for sharing this with us it was a fun and insightful experience.

This was so insightful to watch. Please make more of these!

Thank you so much, this video was amazing! I'm on the edge of my seat, waiting to learn more.

Really love this video and hearing a bit of the dev comentary of things as you encounter things or play with things. I would say about the door trick in water is that I think the role of having early access water diving is also filled by the magma block so idk.

I've just started playing the experimental snapshots and man the whole world is wild now. You guys are doing such a great job! Btw I honestly liked the quirk with the badlands in the later half of the video.

Very nice video, i like explanation of behind the scene stuff so i can better understand what i see in the world. Looking for more!

I enjoy this type of video so much! It's very cool to hear you talk about the snapshots and new stuff, but also it is interesting to see a dev play the game. Minecraft is a game in which everyone plays differently and a developer is a very unique perspective!

It's so interesting to hear about the world generation - thanks for sharing this!

This was fascinating and also entertaining, thank you for sharing! My main observation is about the excitement for the cave entrances; I think the excitement with sharing screenshots and videos is in part because it's new, and I think your original inclination to make them a bit less common was a good one. The excitement will still be there, and if the giant caves are less common, they'll be more exciting to find, and less likely to become commonplace. They're absolutely beautiful, but they are practically everywhere you look... making them less special than I feel they should be. Either way, I'm excited about this update! Real mountains, and in particular the giant veins of ore and now veins of calcite and other rock in the mountains, this is what I have wanted since I started playing in 2012! Thank you!

I have a proposition to make underground rivers. If terrain is too high to make river, make river underground. This would add new type of cave, and fullfill needs for river world traversers and land traversers. Also I think that would look really interesting to have parts of river underground that connect to overworld river on both sides.

Ive enjoyed reading your Tweets and found your Yt Channel now. I was surprised but ive watched the whole Video. I have nearly no Idea how the Development works but its really interesting and entertaining to watch you play the Game ^^

Keep these coming! I loved this as a developer myself, hearing your insights and explanations!

This is great. I hope you do more videos like this. Amazing being able to watch a Minecraft dev explore their game and explain things. Thank you!

Thank you for this, and all the work you + the Minecraft team do!

I love learning how stuff works, especially Minecraft! This was awesomely informative and great to learn about the processes as well as the cool tech going into the mind blowing gen in 1.18 tests

I really enjoyed watching this , hope to see more of this playtesting

This was a fun watch, I hope we could get another episode of this in the future! If that does happen, I am curious about the version in the F3 menu.

I love these survival playthrough with technical lectures, very informative