It's a big two week for Minecraft news with the 1.4 update releasing March 31st, reports of impressive sales dollars of the game, and news of weather and achievements coming with the 1.5 update and this morning's news that Minecraft has an official full version release date.

Adding to the blocky fun also comes news from Notch that the Minecraft 1.5 update will release next week and with it, the possible inclusion of a very cool and innovative user mod. Read on for the details.

[Update: Minecraft 1.5 update was pushed back another week. Read the details about the update here.]

[Update 2: Minecraft 1.5 update is out - read our guide!]

In his blog update this morning, Minecraft creator Markus Persson (Notch) not only confirmed the Fall release date of the game to finally leave the beta stage, but he also confirmed details and a timeframe for the next game update. As we expected, achievements and stat-tracking (which didn't make it in time for the 1.5 update) will be completed along with the newly announced weather systems.

Here's the update from Notch himself, detailing what the weather effects will entail and also mentioning the possible inclusion of a very cool mod:

"We’ve been working on finishing up Achievements and Statistics for 1.5, I ran into some issues with JSON, got frustrated, and added weather instead. Developing new features like that is what I enjoy doing the most, so I ended up covering a lot of ground. There’s periodic downfall (snow in snowy areas, rain in others, nothing in deserts) that make the sky darker, hides the sun, moon and stars, and makes everything wet. Ice grows back in cold regions, and snowfall covers the ground when it’s snowing. During rain/snow, there can be occasional thunderstorms with lightning. I haven’t finished the actual lightning bolt yet, but everything else is fairly done.

Once the stats are done and the weather has been tested through, we’ll release 1.5. I’m guessing this will be next week. The piston mod might get added, but it will not be in time for 1.5."

If you're unfamiliar with the Piston mod, watch this amazing video of what it can do and better yet, what users can do using pistons with a little creativity:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHAhRl1X6T0

Unfortunately, we may have to wait a little longer to use this in-game (officially). It'll likely come as part of the Minecraft 1.6 update - whenever that is.

As for the weather, we knew rain and snow were coming for different biomes, but the details of how it affects day lighting and adds water to the environment. The addition of thunderstorms and lightning is an unexpected surprise as well which sounds very cool. Nothing like a midnight zombie/creeper attack during a thunderstorm...

What are your thoughts on the upcoming Minecraft updates?

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Source: Notch