Mentioned features/Sand Layer

This article documents a feature that has only been mentioned.

 

This feature is unlikely to be added to the game in the foreseeable future.

This topic is named by the community.

 

An official name has not been given. Please update the name if confirmed by reliable sources.

Sand Layer

{
    "title": "Sand Layer",
    "rows": [
        {
            "field": "Retexture",
            "label": "Designation"
        },
        {
            "field": "<span class=\"nowrap\"><span class=\"sprite-file\" to File:BlockSprite snow.png article, displayed as 16x16px|link=Snow|alt=|class=pixel-image|)</span>(link to Snow article, displayed as <span class=\"sprite-text\">Snow</span>)</span>",
            "label": "Version of"
        }
    ],
    "invimages": [],
    "images": [
        "Sand layers.jpg"
    ]
}

Sand layers are a retexture of snow used for testing the game's lighting engine that were accidentally shown in the background of a picture featuring camels.

On August 2, 2023, Jacek Wołkowicz posted an image to social media, joking that the changelog for Java Edition 23w31a "missed camel tables." Behind the "table" was a series of sand layers.^[1]

Following the release of the post, many believed it was a teaser for a new feature, leading to an explicit deconfirmation and explanation.

“

For those that get hyped up from my previous post - its my bad. I just, by accident, was using the same world for fixing camel standing up into block and to test light effect on retextured snow layers with high random tick speed. Nothing more than that...

„

— Gnembon^[2]

• 
  Screenshot of the "camel table", with sand layers in the background.

• 
  Recreation of a sand layer
• 
  Recreation of two stacked sand layers