Mojang's runaway hit sandbox game Minecraft has received a very interesting update for the title's Windows 10 and Pocket Edition versions. With the new update, users would be able to take advantage of a new feature that originally started as a bug.

Redstone Quasi-Connectivity

Minecraft's redstones are among the most notable features of the game that have emerged recently. Capable of transmitting power, redstones have been found to work in a variety of scenarios that are quite groundbreaking in the game.

In Mojang's official Minecraft blog, the developer described how redstone use has evolved among PC and mac users.

"In the PC edition of Minecraft, pistons can receive redstone power from a distance of two blocks when they are placed in a very specific diagonal position, rather than from a block right next to it. But blocks only get updated when something affects adjacent blocks. It means that you can power a piston and then remove the power without the piston detecting it! It puts the piston in this state where it actually needs to be deactivated, but doesn't know yet," Mojang stated.  

"Clever minecrafters exploit that to build elaborate trigger mechanisms known as Block Update Detectors: when something happens to a block next to a piston - like a block being placed or destroyed, gravel falling, fire igniting, rails re-orientating or even cake being eaten - the piston will 'wake up,' notice that it isn't powered anymore, retract and trigger something else."

From Bug to Official Feature

What is particularly admirable about Mojang's decision is that instead of curbing the community's creativity (which would be pretty ironic, considering Minecraft's premise), the developer has instead opted to capitalize on the bug and turn it into a full-blown, official feature of the game.

"We never really intended this - but the community quickly showed us its potential, using it to build automatic farming contraptions, flying machines and so much more," the developer wrote.

"When remaking Minecraft for Pocket, we had to rethink how redstone works: we decided it'd make more sense to remove the bug - or, rather, never put it in - but offer an alternative, official way to achieve the same result. And so we've introduced the Observer block. It checks for changes in the environment and, if triggered, switches between emitting a strong signal and an unpowered state - but without relying on a bug to do so."

Redstone Update is Only the Beginning 

True to form, Mojang has also assured Minecraft players that the redstone update is only the beginning. With the community practically responsible for the creation of the new feature, the developer has stated that it is encouraging the Minecraft gaming community to keep the creativity in the game. Mojang has also promised Minecraft's massive user base that it would refine the new redstone function as much as possible. 

Tags: minecraft windows 10 minecraft pocket edition Minecraft quasi-connectivity redstone