Mojang is nothing if not diligent in its constant, and consistent updates of Minecraft. Today, the studio released the latest snapshot of the game, which brings it up to version 13w16a.
The new version, which is based on the development of 1.6, comes packed with an all new game launcher. The new launcher uses Java 6 instead of Java 5. The developers state that they are aiming to raise the required version of OpenGL up to version 2.0 (from 1.2 and 1.3, which versions prior to Minecraft 1.5 are using).
The new launcher will add new support for these newer libraries and also come with a bunch of new features including version changing, detailed game settings, and so forth.
In case you're wondering what the new update actually adds to the game, here's the snapshot in bullet-point form:
– Added horses, based on the work of John Olarte (DrZhark), of Mo’ Creatures fame
– Added hay bales
– Added leashes
– Added carpets
– The “Respiration” enchantment now also helps seeing underwater
Yep, it's got horses and an assortment of features relating to the new mounts, which you can ride.
To download the snapshot, simply use the launcher available in one of the links below. If you'd like to run the existing version of the game, just start the old launcher.
Windows: http://s3.amazonaws.com/Minecraft.Download/launcher/MinecraftDev.exe
Mac/OSX: http://s3.amazonaws.com/Minecraft.Download/launcher/MinecraftDev.dmg
Linux/Other: http://s3.amazonaws.com/Minecraft.Download/launcher/MinecraftDev.jar