Pretty Scary Update

This article is about the 2012 Halloween update. For the 2010 Halloween update, see Halloween Update.
Pretty Scary Update
Pretty Scary Update announcement.png: Infobox image for Pretty Scary Update the theme in Minecraft
Release date

October 25, 2012

Version(s)

Java Edition 1.4.2

Pretty Scary Update logo.
There is a guide for this update!
 
See Java Edition guides/Pretty Scary Update for a guide to all of the new features introduced in Pretty Scary Update.

The Pretty Scary Update is the name for Java Edition 1.4.2, a major update officially released on October 25, 2012.[1] Among the main changes were a number of new mobs and variants (witches, bats, zombie villagers, wither skeletons), wearable and placeable heads, a new boss (the wither), the command block, the anvil, the beacon, new food (potatoes, carrots and pumpkin pies), carrots on sticks for controlling pigs, the Nether star, and new decoration items (such as item frames, flower pots and cobblestone walls).

The official name of the update was revealed at PAX Prime 2012 during the Minecraft panel, then later with snapshot 12w36a.[2] Dinnerbone first revealed the 1.4 release date with snapshot 12w40a, where he stated that he was fully into the "Prepare for release" mode.[3]

Development on the Pretty Scary Update began the week after 1.3.1, which was released on August 1, 2012. 15 development snapshots for 1.4 from 12w32a to 12w42b were released. During the development period, 1.3.2 was released. The 1.4 Pre-release was unveiled on October 19, 2012, so that modders could start preparing their mods before the launch on October 24, 2012.[4]

Mojang found a mob suffocation bug after this was released, and was forced to delay the launch by a day. The 1.4.1 Prerelease was unveiled on October 23, 2012,[5] and the release was pushed back a day.

Mojang then found yet another bug, and fixed "a severe memory leak in the server". This, as well as correct rendering of fences and cobblestone stairs, came in the 1.4.2 Prerelease, released on October 24, 2012.[6] 1.4.2 was the first official release of 1.4, available through the launcher on October 25, 2012.

A bug was introduced whereby a player could not achieve the The End? achievement.

The Pretty Scary Update was originally intended to include the Modding API, however it was pushed to a later version.[7]

Lighting bugs present in 1.3.2 were partially fixed. Dinnerbone first introduced changes in snapshots 12w39a/b. Dinnerbone tweeted to revert and push this to 1.5.[8][9]
Other changes postponed to 1.5 include redstone changes[10] and a rendering overhaul.[11][12]

Notable features

Main article: Java Edition 1.4.2
Pretty Scary Update block and item additionsInvicon Beacon.png: Inventory sprite for Beacon in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Beacon with description:Invicon Command Block.png: Inventory sprite for Command Block in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Command Block with description:Invicon Potion of Night Vision.png: Inventory sprite for Potion of Night Vision in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Potion of Night Vision with description: Potion of Night Vision Night Vision (03:00)Invicon Splash Potion of Night Vision.png: Inventory sprite for Splash Potion of Night Vision in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Splash Potion of Night Vision with description: Splash Potion of Night Vision Night Vision (03:00)Invicon Carrot.png: Inventory sprite for Carrot in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Carrot with description: CarrotInvicon Golden Carrot.png: Inventory sprite for Golden Carrot in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Golden Carrot with description: Golden CarrotInvicon Potato.png: Inventory sprite for Potato in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Potato with description: PotatoInvicon Baked Potato.png: Inventory sprite for Baked Potato in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Baked Potato with description: Baked PotatoInvicon Poisonous Potato.png: Inventory sprite for Poisonous Potato in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Poisonous Potato with description: Poisonous PotatoInvicon Flower Pot.png: Inventory sprite for Flower Pot in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Flower Pot with description: Flower PotInvicon Item Frame.png: Inventory sprite for Item Frame in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Item Frame with description: Item FrameInvicon Oak Button.png: Inventory sprite for Oak Button in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Oak Button with description: Oak ButtonInvicon Cobblestone Wall.png: Inventory sprite for Cobblestone Wall in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Cobblestone Wall with description: Cobblestone WallInvicon Mossy Cobblestone Wall.png: Inventory sprite for Mossy Cobblestone Wall in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Mossy Cobblestone Wall with description: Mossy Cobblestone WallInvicon Potion of Invisibility.png: Inventory sprite for Potion of Invisibility in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Potion of Invisibility with description: Potion of Invisibility Invisibility (03:00) When Applied: -100% Waypoint Transmit RangeInvicon Splash Potion of Invisibility.png: Inventory sprite for Splash Potion of Invisibility in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Splash Potion of Invisibility with description: Splash Potion of Invisibility Invisibility (03:00) When Applied: -100% Waypoint Transmit RangeInvicon Empty Map.png: Inventory sprite for Empty Map in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Empty Map with description: Empty MapInvicon Creeper Head.png: Inventory sprite for Creeper Head in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Creeper Head with description:Invicon Player Head.png: Inventory sprite for Player Head in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Player Head with description:Invicon Skeleton Skull.png: Inventory sprite for Skeleton Skull in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Skeleton Skull with description:Invicon Wither Skeleton Skull.png: Inventory sprite for Wither Skeleton Skull in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Wither Skeleton Skull with description:Invicon Zombie Head.png: Inventory sprite for Zombie Head in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Zombie Head with description:Invicon Painting.png: Inventory sprite for Painting in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Painting with description: Painting Wither Mojang 2x2Invicon Nether Star.png: Inventory sprite for Nether Star in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Nether Star with description:Invicon Carrot on a Stick.png: Inventory sprite for Carrot on a Stick in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Carrot on a Stick with description: Carrot on a StickInvicon Pumpkin Pie.png: Inventory sprite for Pumpkin Pie in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Pumpkin Pie with description: Pumpkin PieInvicon Bat Spawn Egg Revision 1.png: Inventory sprite for Bat Spawn Egg in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Bat Spawn Egg with description: Bat Spawn EggInvicon Witch Spawn Egg Revision 1.png: Inventory sprite for Witch Spawn Egg in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Witch Spawn Egg with description: Witch Spawn EggInvicon Anvil.png: Inventory sprite for Anvil in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Anvil with description: AnvilInvicon Chipped Anvil.png: Inventory sprite for Chipped Anvil in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Chipped Anvil with description: Chipped AnvilInvicon Damaged Anvil.png: Inventory sprite for Damaged Anvil in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Anvil with description: Damaged Anvil
New blocks
New items
New painting
Picture Name Size Artist
Wither 2x2 Mojang (Jens Bergensten)
New mobs
  • Bat
    • Ambient mob that spawns in low light levels.
    • Hangs on the ceiling and flies off when close to the player.
  • Witch
  • Wither
    • A new boss mob summoned by playing four soul sand in a T-shape, and three wither skeleton skulls on top of it.
    • Upon summoning, the wither slowly charges up and is invincible. After a few seconds, the area around the wither explodes and it starts attacking players and non-undead mobs.
    • Its heads can fire wither skulls that explode upon impact.
    • It can also break any nearby blocks.
    • Any kills made by the wither regenerates its health.
    • At half-health, the wither will put up a shield to reflect any projectiles, meaning close combat is required to finish it off.
    • Drops a nether star when killed.
  • Wither Skeleton
  • Zombie Villager
    • A zombified version of a villager.
    • Spawns when a zombie kills a villager, with a 50% chance on Normal difficulty, and a 100% chance on Hard difficulty.
    • Can be cured by using a splash potion of Weakness and a golden apple.
  • Baby Zombie and their villager variant
    • A smaller, more miniature version of the zombie that runs faster compared to regular zombies.
New non-mob entities
New structures
New gameplay
  • New effect:
    • Wither
      • Damage is inflicted to players and mobs.
      • Unlike Poison, Wither can kill a player or mob.
Other additions
Notable changes

Further revisions

Trailer

A trailer by Hat Films documenting some of the Pretty Scary Update's major features was released on Mojang's official YouTube channel on October 26, 2012.

Trivia

  • This version was released exactly 11 years before 23w43a, which coincidentally changed the model, animations and textures of bats.

Gallery

References

  1. "We found the animal suffocation bug!!!11oneone Unfortunately that means a 1.4.1, and aim for Thursday morning instead of Wednesday afternoon"@jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), October 23, 2012
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/0/http://www.mojang.com/2012/09/minecraft-snapshot-12w36a/
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/0/http://www.mojang.com/2012/10/minecraft-snapshot-12w40a/
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/0/http://www.mojang.com/2012/10/minecraft-snapshot-12w42b-preprerelease/
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/0/http://www.mojang.com/2012/10/minecraft-1-4-1-pre-release/
  6. https://web.archive.org/web/0/http://www.mojang.com/2012/10/minecraft-1-4-2-pre-release/
  7. "Yes, eventually"@jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), September 13, 2012
  8. "I think I'm going to revert the new lighting stuff and come back to it for 1.5. I'd rather get other (actually working) bugfixes in 1.4."@Dinnerbone (Nathan Adams) on X (formerly Twitter), September 28, 2012
  9. "Lighting is really annoying me now. Reverting everything I've done to it, will come back to it in 1.5 : ("@Dinnerbone (Nathan Adams) on X (formerly Twitter), October 4, 2012
  10. "The redstone changes we did yesterday will not be in 1.4. We fixed incorrect behaviours, but those behaviours are used in many contraptions"@jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), October 4, 2012
  11. "Looks like we can keep the lighting code; Managed to selectively revert the worldgen portion. Nether is good, but blackspots are back."@Dinnerbone (Nathan Adams) on X (formerly Twitter), October 1, 2012
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/0/http://www.mojang.com/2012/08/weekly-chunk-paxmineconsnapshot/
  13. https://web.archive.org/web/0/http://mojang.com/2012/10/minecraft-pretty-scary-update

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