Mojang has releaset the latest snapshot of its upcoming horse update. A few need features were added followed by a lot of bug fixes. 

• Added new UI for horses, to control saddle/armour/inventory.
• Started to move over various things to a new Attribute system. You may see some new tooltips, don’t be scared!
• Lots of work towards a new Resource Pack system, but not finished yet. Currently still compatible with texture packs.
• New internal chat system; lots of messages should be translated now that weren’t previously.
• [Bug MC-1497] – Damaged Anvils do not show damage in inventory or item frame
• [Bug MC-13626] – XP Bar in creative
• [Bug MC-13640] – Hay Bales do not burn when set on fire
• [Bug MC-13662] – XP, Health and hungerbar are buggy with horses
• [Bug MC-13770] – Using a horse spawn egg on a horse works only when riding the horse
• [Bug MC-13852] – Can’t throw enderpearls while mounting a horse
• [Bug MC-14220] – Player appearance not updating in multiplayer (armor, tools)
• [Bug MC-14417] – No way to remove armor or saddles off a horse
• [Bug MC-14422] – Horse name tag is shown while riding
• [Bug MC-15138] – Sides of cauldron has compass texture after placing compass in Item Frame
• [Bug MC-15201] – Bottom part of some types of horses-harness is misplaced
• [Bug MC-15416] – Selected item disappears when armor breaks

To get the snapshot, use the new launcher available in the link below. To return to 1.5.2, simply start the old launcher and play as normal.

• 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

Server files:

• Cross-platform jar:http://s3.amazonaws.com/Minecraft.Download/versions/13w21a/minecraft_server.13w21a.jar
• Windows EXE:http://s3.amazonaws.com/Minecraft.Download/versions/13w21a/minecraft_server.13w21a.exe

Source: http://mojang.com/2013/05/snapshot-13w21a/

This 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
• New launcher

To get the snapshot, use the new launcher available in the link below. To return to 1.5.1, simply start the old launcher and play as normal.

• 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

Source: Mojang

The month of March is coming to an end. We have been running server for close to 2 years now and this month was by far the best single month in our history. 

We have more then doubled our player base across all servers and were able to generate 5x the number of votes generated last month. We have receive 800 new forum users in the month alone which has almost doubled the number of users registered on the forums. 

Since day one my goal for Pitforge has been ambitious and I have faced numerous challenges and barriers in the recent months. I would like to thanks all the dedicated loyal players and mods who have stuck with us durring the good and bad times.

We have taken a huge leap forward in March and we are getting ready to take another huge leap in April. In preparation I will be upgrading both servers.

PVP Server: 

A new server has been ordered which the PVP server will be migrated to. This new server will double the PVP servers current amount of RAM. Going from 32GB to 62GB of RAM and will also add a boost in CPU power. Hopefully this will allow us to increase the current player cap and provide a better experience for the players.

Survival Server: 

The survival server will also see extra RAM added. Going from 16GB to 32GB of ram. We will also be introducing a unified voting system across all our servers giving us a better chance to reach the top of server lists and reaching more users.

Thanks again to all the players and staff, lets get ready for April :)

Minecraft 1.5 has a release date! Wednesday March 13th. As ussual our server will not upgrade till bukkit releases a stable version and all our plugins have been tested with the new release. This normally takes a few days so we recommend that you do not download the update when it comes out.  

IF YOU UPDATE, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PLAY OUR SERVERS TILL WE UPDATE

Changelog:

• Added Redstone Comparator (used in Redstone logic)
• Added Hopper (collects items and moves them to containers)
• Added Dropper (similar to Dispensers, but always drops the item)
• Added Activator Rail (activates TNT Minecarts)
• Added Daylight Sensor
• Added Trapped Chest
• Added Weighed Pressure Plate
• Added Block of Redstone
• Added Nether Brick (item)
• Added Nether Quartz and ore
• Added Block of Quartz, with half blocks and chiseled variants
• New command: /scoreboard
• New command: /effect
• Containers and mobs can have custom names
• Inventory management has been changed, for example you can drag-place items over slots
• Texture packs now have separate images for each block and item, and can have animations
• Nether Quartz Ore now spawns in the Nether
• Smooth lighting now has three settings (none, minimal, maximum)
• More detailed death messages
• Some hostile mobs now are harder in Hard difficulty
• Many, many, bug fixes
• Removed Herobrine

We have a new Ventrilo server for our community members! Bellow you will find the details. Join today! 

Download link: http://www.ventrilo.com/download.php

Hostname or IP: vent.pitforge.com

Port: 4100

Hi Guys,

The kit server (kit.pitforge.com) and the survival server (s.pitforge.com) have been taken down for emergency maintenance. Earlier tonight someone logged into the servers and caused some problems with the server’s kernel and key OS files. I am looking into this incident and hope to have everything up and running soon. Some data loss may have taken place, I am not 100% sure at this point.

UPDATE: Issue has been resolved.

Read More

Over the past few days we have been working on a little trailer for the PVP server. I’m happy to announce the trailer is finished! Be sure to check it out!

(Source: youtube.com)

Earlier today Jeb tweeted out an image of a new block called “Quartz” which should make its debut in the next update (the redstone update). The block looks really cool and from the screenshot bellow we should expect to see it in multiple forms, similar to sand stone. No news on how you will be able to craft this in game, perhaps a new ore will be introduced.

No official word on how you will be able to craft these new blocks in game, but I think it is safe to say that it will utilize the new Quartz ore found in the nether. 

I am excited to see what you guys build with it. 

*Update #1* 

Textures have been released on the by Jeb on the wiki

(Source: reddit.com)