Pocket Edition v0.16.0 alpha

v0.16.0, the first release of the Boss Update,^[1] was a major update to Minecraft: Pocket Edition that was released on October 21 and 25, 2016. It added many new features, such as commands, beacons, ocean monuments and guardians, as well as the Wither and elder guardian.

The update was intended to be released on all platforms on October 12, 2016, when discussed at MINECON 2016. However, near the intended release time, a critical bug was discovered, forcing the release to be delayed by a few days. The iOS release did not come out until 4 days after the other platforms' release date due to a long certification process.

Also, the update was the last in the Alpha development phase of the game – the next update, 1.0.0, would mark the "full release" of Pocket Edition.

Additions[]

Blocks[]

Beacons

Intended as an endgame block
Continuously glows and gives a selected status effect to players within 16 blocks while beaming a beacon of light directly upwards (as bright as glowstone)
Activated by building a solid pyramid of iron/gold/emerald/diamond blocks underneath and selecting an effect
- The cheapest configuration requires 9 blocks, while the best configuration requires 164 blocks
Has to be directly exposed to the skylight to work
Building square platforms of increasing size and the same material per layer will activate it and increase range and status effect selection
Viable materials are iron, gold, diamond, and emerald blocks
Changing selected status effects costs 1 emerald, diamond, gold ingot, or iron ingot
Unlockable effects, with an increasing amount of required layers of blocks required:
- Speed and Haste
- Resistance and Jump Boost
- Strength
When all 4 layers of blocks underneath are built correctly, a second status effect can be chosen
- This second status effect is Regeneration or tier II of the previously chosen effect
Effects given by the Beacon will have less intrusive particles than others on the screen, such as those of potions

Prismarine

Generates in ocean monuments.
Can be crafted with prismarine shards.
The cracks in prismarine slowly change color between brown, blue, gray and purple.

Sea lantern

Generate in ocean monuments.
Can be crafted with prismarine shards and prismarine crystals.
Emit light at a light level of 15 and have a subtle animated texture.

Wet sponge

Obtained when a sponge soaks up water.
Smelting a wet sponge yields a dry sponge.
- When smelted, they fill empty buckets in the fuel slot with water if possible.
Emits water dripping particles while placed.
Dropped by elder guardians on player kills.

Items[]

Nether star

Drops from withers
Used to craft beacons
Glows like an enchanted item
When dropped, it will take more than twice as long to despawn than other items

Prismarine crystals

Drop from guardians.
Used to craft sea lanterns.

Prismarine shard

Drop from guardians.
Used to craft all three kinds of prismarine blocks and sea lanterns.

Version exclusive Potion of Decay and Splash Potion of Decay

Can be crafted into Arrow of Decay
Same as wither effect in Java Edition

Spawn eggs

Mobs[]

Elder guardian

A boss-like variant of Guardians, with greater health, greater size and different appearance.
There are 3 elders in each ocean monument.
A flashing boss guardian appears on screen when close to the boss guardian, and Mining Fatigue III is inflicted on the player for 5 minutes.
Drops wet sponge.
Version exclusive: Is considered a boss mob.^[1]

Guardian

Spawns in ocean monuments.
Attacks squid and players with a beam.
- The beam itself only warns of an imminent attack.
- It has a few seconds of cooldown between each shot.
When on land it flops around but remains hostile.
- Unlike squid they don't suffocate.
Drops prismarine shards, prismarine crystals and raw fish.
Makes wet noises when hurt and squeaky wet noises when flopping around on land.
The player also gets damaged with a thorns-like effect if it damages the guardian while their spikes are deployed (as if it's being prickled).

Wither

Three-headed flying player-created boss mob shooting projectiles at any mob that isn't undead and players
Place 4 pieces of soul sand in a T-shape and place 3 wither skeleton skulls on top to summon it
After spawning, it flashes blue, builds up health, grows slightly, and is invincible for a few seconds - Then it explodes and starts attacking players and mobs
Each head can fire projectiles, so-called wither skulls, at different targets - Projectiles explode on impact
Shoots two kinds of projectile - a blue one from the little heads, targeting mobs, and a dark one from the big head targeting players
When hit by projectiles, players get the Wither II effect, which acts like a slower poison effect that can kill and turns affected players' health bars' hearts black
Constantly regenerates health
Gains wither armor when taken down to half health, making it immune to arrows
Drops a nether star when killed
Darkens the sky when spawned in the Overworld
Version exclusive: When its health reaches 50%, it spawns 3-4 Wither Skeletons (Normal and Hard difficulty only)
Version exclusive: New animation and sounds when created and killed.
Version exclusive: New 'Charge' attack when its health is below 50%.

World generation[]

Ocean monuments

New underwater generated structure made out of prismarine, prismarine bricks, dark prismarine and sea lanterns.
8 gold blocks can be found at the center of the monument, surrounded by dark prismarine.
Clusters of wet sponge blocks can be found on some rooms.
A flashing boss guardian appears on screen when close to an elder guardian, and Mining Fatigue III is inflicted on the player for 5 minutes.
Also generates in old worlds.

Gameplay[]

Achievements

Version exclusive: More achievements. ^{[more information needed]}

Add-ons

Added user-created resource packs that can be installed by world. Similar to the ones in Java Edition
Version exclusive: Added user-created behavior packs. These allow the player to change files coded in JSON to change how the game works. Similar to mods, but have an official API
Does not work on Windows Mobile in this version

General[]

Options

Ability to customize keyboard controls.
New settings bar (Android and iOS)
Added search tab to creative inventory (Win 10 only).
Added mouse UI sensitivity slider in VR options (Win 10 Rift only).
New UI for options menu.
New UI for creating and editing servers menu.
New UI for world option menu.
More options.
- Version exclusive: Toggle Crouch.
Added warning before exiting the game.
You can import an Add-on, Resource Pack, or World by double-clicking it on Mobile Devices (Currently not working on Android).

Realms

Realms admin users can add moderators in their Realm.

Commands[]

/clone

Clones all the blocks from a given area to a different given area.
Up to 32768 (32³) blocks can be copied at once.
The command accepts the tags: replace , masked or filtered.
- replace copies every block (default).
- masked copies only non-air blocks.
- filtered removes specified blocks.
It can additionally accept the tags: move, force or normal.
- move moves the selection from the first location to the second location, which may overlap.
- force forces the cloning operation, even if the areas overlap.
- normal needs to be specified only if using filtered.
Syntax: /clone <x1> <y1> <z1> <x2> <y2> <z2> <x> <y> <z> [mode].
- Example: /clone 1001 3 1002 1011 3 992 1001 5 992 masked Targets the cuboid volume defined by the opposite corners: [1001,3,1002],[1011,3,992] and clones it such that the old corner coincides with the destination (and orientation) at [1001,5,992].

/deop

Takes op of someone

/enchant

Used to give specific enchantments to tools and weapons.^[2]

/execute

The syntax of /execute has been split off.
- Modifier sub-commands can change how the command is run:
  - /execute as <entity> <chained command> executes a command using the entity <entity> (but doesn't change position).
  - /execute at <entity> <chained command> executes a command using the position, rotation, and dimension of the <entity> (but doesn't change entity).
  - /execute positioned <pos> <chained command> executes a command using the position of <pos>.
  - /execute positioned as <entity> <chained command> executes a command using the position (x y z) of the entity, but nothing else.
  - /execute align <axes> <chained command> executes a command after aligning the current position to the block grid (rounding down), <axes> is any combination of x y and z (for example: x,xz,zyx and yz).
    - Examples:
      - x=-1.8,y=2.3,z=5.9 using x will become x=-2,y=2.3,z=5.9
      - x=2.4,y=-1.1,z=3.8 using yxz will become x=2,y=-2,z=3
  - /execute facing <x y z> <chained command> executes a command as though the executor is facing x y z.
  - /execute facing entity <entity> (eyes|feet) <chained command> executes a command as though the executor is facing the entity's eyes or feet.
  - /execute rotated as <entity> <chained command> executes a command as though the executor is rotated in the direction of the entity.
  - /execute rotated <y x> <chained command> will run the command as though the executor is rotated in the specified direction.
  - /execute in (overworld|the_end|the_nether) <chained command> executes a command as though the executor is in the specified dimension.
  - /execute anchored (feet|eyes) <chained command> will make the rest of this command use feet or eyes for ^ ^ ^ coordinates or facing commands.
- Conditional sub-commands can let the player prevent the command from running at all:
  - /execute (if|unless) block <pos> <block> <chained command> executes a command if (or unless) <pos> matches <block>.
  - /execute (if|unless) blocks <begin> <end> <destination> (all|masked) <chained command> executes a command if (or unless) the region between <begin> and <end> matches <destination>.
  - /execute (if|unless) entity <entity> <chained command> executes a command if (or unless) <entity> exists (returns 1 or more entities).
  - /execute (if|unless) score <target> <targetObjective> (<|<=|=|>=|>) <source> <sourceObjective> <chained command> executes a command if (or unless) <target>'s score relates to <source>'s score based on the chosen criterion.
  - /execute (if|unless) score <target> <objective> matches <range> <chained command> executes a command if (or unless) <target>'s score is in the range (ie 1, 1..5).
- As replacement for /stats, a new sub-command store lets players store the result or success of a command somewhere:
  - result is the result of a command, which replaces these old stats: AffectedBlocks, AffectedEntities, AffectedItems, QueryResult.
  - success is how many times the command was successful. This is usually 0 or 1, but if the command split up (for example as @a) then it may be more than 1. This replaces SuccessCount.
  - The value will be stored when the full command has finished executing.
  - If a command isn't successful (success is 0), result will always be set to 0.
  - It will be made clear what the expected result of each command is.
  - /execute store (result|success) score <name> <objective> <chained command>
    - The value is stored into the scoreboard under <name> and <objective>.
    - The objective must exist, but unlike with /stats the player doesn't need to set an initial value for <name>.
  - /execute store (result|success) block <pos> <path> (byte|double|float|int|long|short) <scale> <chained command>
    - The value is stored in the nbt data at path of the block at pos as a byte, double, float, int, long, or short.
  - /execute store (result|success) entity <target> <path> (byte|double|float|int|long|short) <scale> <chained command>
    - The value is stored in the nbt data at path of one target entity as a byte, double, float, int, long, or short.
    - Like /data, /execute store can't modify player nbt. Nbt inside the tag key of items in the player's Inventory or EnderItems is an exception and can be modified by /execute store.^[3]
  - /execute store (result|success) bossbar <id> (value|max) <chained command>
    - The value is stored in the value or max setting of the boss bar with ID id.
  - Data paths look like this: foo.bar[0]."A [crazy name]".baz.
    - foo.bar means foo's child called bar.
    - bar[0] means element 0 of bar.
    - "quoted strings" may be used if a name of a key needs to be escaped.
  - Examples:
    - /execute store success score @a foo run say hi
    - /execute as @e[type=pig] at @s store success entity @s Saddle byte 1 if entity @p[distance=..5]
- The player can chain all sub-commands together.
  - After every sub-command the player needs to write another sub-command.
  - When the player is done with chaining sub-commands, run lets them write the actual command to be executed.
    - / is no longer allowed before the command.
  - /execute as somebody at somebody run say hi
- Example of old commands:
  - /execute @e ~ ~ ~ detect ~ ~ ~ stone 0 say Stone! is now /execute as @e at @s if block ~ ~ ~ stone run say Stone!
  - /execute @e ~ ~ ~ detect ~ ~ ~ grass 0 summon pig is now /execute at @e if block ~ ~ ~ grass_block run summon pig
  - /execute @e ~ ~ ~ say Hello! is now /execute as @e run say Hello!

/experience

/xp is now an alias for /experience.
Split up into 3 different subcommands:
- /experience add <players> <amount> [points|levels]
  - Adds <amount> of either points or levels to the target <players> (defaults to points).
  - Adding points can cause players to level up, as usual.
  - Negative numbers are supported, to subtract points instead.
  - Subtracting points can cause players to level down.
- /experience set <players> <amount> [points|levels]
  - Sets <amount> of either points or levels on the target <players> (defaults to points).
  - The player cannot set more points than their current level allows.
  - When changing levels, the points will stay at the same percentage as the previous level.
- /experience query <player> (points|levels)
  - Returns either the number of points or levels on the given <player>.

/fill

Fills a given volume with a specified block.
It cannot replace or fill block entities with specific data tags.
Up to 32768 blocks can be filled.
Syntax: /fill <x1> <y1> <z1> <x2> <y2> <z2> <TileName> [dataValue] [oldBlockHandling] [dataTag].
- The oldBlockHandling parameter determines the fate of the blocks, occupying the volume about to be filled,
  - It takes the same values here as it does in /setblock: destroy, keep and replace – as well as two additional values:
    - hollow to fill only the outer layer of blocks, and fill the inner part with air,
    - outline to fill the outer layer of blocks, and keep the inner part the same.
Example: /fill 1001 3 1002 1011 5 992 wool 6 replace Fills the given area with pink wool.
It can be made to filter specified blocks.
Syntax: /fill [x] [y] [z] [x] [y] [z] [BlockName] [Data] replace [filterBlockName] [filterData].

/gamemode

Used for changed the gamemode of entity

/give

Gives an item to an entity

/help (with alias /?)

Shows commands ^[verify]

/kill

Gives 3.4×1038 damages to selected entity

/list

Lists the players

/op

Gives someone op

/say

Sends message to chat

/setblock

Replaces a block in selected coordinate

/setworldspawn

Changes the players world spawn

/spawnpoint

Changes the player spawn

/summon

Summons a entity to spesific coordinates

/tell (with aliases /msg, /w)

Used for private messagings

/testforblocks

Compares two areas of a world, to check if they share the same blocks on the same configuration (including orientation).
The mode can be set to all or masked
- all is the default, while masked ignores air blocks.
Syntax: /testforblocks <x1> <y1> <z1> <x2> <y2> <z2> [mode].
- Example: /testforblocks 100 64 100 107 69 107 0 64 0 masked.

/time

Used for changing the game time

/toggledownfall

Changes the weather between sunny and rainy

/tp (with alias /teleport)

Usage: /teleport <Entity> [x] [y] [z] [<y-rot> <x-rot>]
- Example: /teleport @e[type=Cow] ~ ~ ~ 5 1
Teleports a selected entity to the executor's or player's relative position.

/testforblock

Checks for blocks in specific locations.
Syntax: /testforblock <x> <y> <z> <TileName> [dataValue] [dataTag].

/weather

Changes the current weather and optionally set the duration for the new weather
/weather [clear | rain | thunder]

/wsserver

Used to connect to a WebSocket server which uses command messages to communicate with clients.
Syntax /wsserver <serverUri: text> ^{[more information needed]}

Changes[]

Blocks[]

Sponge

Readded to survival mode.
Now can absorb water.
Now uses Java Edition 1.8 texture.

Bed

Now have a sound when placed.

Furnace

Better description (Input, Fuel, Result) for devices that do not use a controller.

Chest

Custom name no longer appears in GUI.

Items[]

Bucket

New sound when using.

Maps

Version exclusive: Now have different colors for different biomes.

Grass path

Added sounds when making.

Camera

Removed completely and is now exclusive to Minecraft Education.

Cocoa beans

No longer has a crafting recipe.

Steak

Version exclusive: Renamed to cooked beef.

Minecarts

The player cannot destroy a minecart they are riding on.

Monster eggs

Added to the creative inventory.

Mobs[]

Husk

Add new sounds.

Stray

Add new sounds.

Squid

Version exclusive: Added new sounds.

Wither skeletons

Version exclusive: Now spawn when the wither's health is 50% (Normal and Hard difficulty only).

Iron golems

Version exclusive: Will now damage player in peaceful difficulty.

Wolf

Version exclusive: Will now damage player in peaceful difficulty.

Villager

Non-functional "open" button when sneaking.

General[]

Performance improvements.
Skin picker no longer shows the silhouette of the skins behind it when choosing a custom skin.
Tweaked mouse sensitivity for vertical vs. horizontal motion in UI in Rift (Win 10 Rift only).
Increased maximum view distance for capable GPUs (Win10 and EDU only).
Tweaked the clock texture, so it has all the correct pixels.
No Generating World Screen when entering Nether Portal

Fixes[]

From released versions before v0.16.0

MCPE-5272 – Empty buckets can't collect water when underwater (Creative only)
MCPE-7848 – Grass does not grow on dirt under fences or cobblestone walls
MCPE-8212 – Arrows bounce off tamed dogs but not tamed cats
MCPE-8424 – When breaking a block in front of me, it breaks the one I'm on.
MCPE-9096 – Cannot place beds on top half slabs anymore
MCPE-9669 – Creative inventory Mundane potion duplicate bug
MCPE-9846 – Mobs wearing armor drop that armor 100% of the time
MCPE-10353 – Some keyboard keys are dead
MCPE-11013 – Autojump allows you to jump over fences and cobblestone walls
MCPE-11214 – Player can go through solid block walls and fences using a boat
MCPE-11241 – Moving fuel into the furnace draws units from the first stack touched instead of from the one you tap
MCPE-11583 – Milking a cow or mooshroom with a single bucket or bowl immediately consumes the milk, or stew, if the player is hungry
MCPE-11796 – Nether Wart only drops one Wart when broken
MCPE-12279 – Lever, buttons, redstone, etc. can not be placed on monster spawner
MCPE-12467 – Nether mobs can die in any bodies of lava
MCPE-12922 – Water is invisible when you reload the world
MCPE-13304 – Double Flower Duplication Bug
MCPE-13421 – Wolves can be fed with raw and cooked fish
MCPE-13640 – Maps blink red when player take damages
MCPE-13802 – Clocks in item frames have extra pixels
MCPE-13891 – Hoppers suck item entities only one at a time
MCPE-13966 – Mobs do not drop spawned equipment
MCPE-14142 – Strange font behavior (width, size...)
MCPE-14250 – Beds don't make sounds when placing them
MCPE-14487 – All mobs take knockback damage from splash potion of harming II
MCPE-14514 – Creepers are mute when attacked
MCPE-14521 – Undead/Passive mobs still alive when get hit by tipped arrows of healing/harming
MCPE-14525 – Horses show open button before fully tamed
MCPE-14526 – Horse is unrideable while tied to a fence, and ride button is shown
MCPE-14529 – Boats placed halfway inside a wall shake violently
MCPE-14691 – Skins not showing up in skins area
MCPE-14761 – Doors act as tools
MCPE-14776 – Holding Flint and Steel when focusing on a Creeper doesn't show ignite button
MCPE-14801 – Furnace texture bug
MCPE-14971 – Skeleton Horses & Zombie Horses Bug
MCPE-15034 – Villagers get stuck facing 90°
MCPE-15052 – Breaking ice creates water source block in the Nether
MCPE-15086 – Baby horses don't show feed button
MCPE-15268 – Blocks are blinking on piston
MCPE-15586 – The void below bedrock is a bottomless pit
MCPE-15696 – Lead turn red when the leashed mob getting hit
MCPE-15981 – Armor take damage when we break blocks with them
MCPE-15983 – Using A Bed Whilst Riding A Horse / Boat etc. Does Not Dismount Player
MCPE-16009 – Trying to tame horse while holding saddle bug.
MCPE-16160 – Mobs don't burn in sunlight while on soul sand.
MCPE-16283 – Redstone torch burn/turn off when placed on the side of a piston
MCPE-16292 – Wither Skeletons and Blazes Do Not Spawn Again in Nether Fortresses
MCPE-16417 – Inception achievement not unlocking
MCPE-16529 – Chest UI is not accessible when mounted on a pig, boat or minecart.
MCPE-16743 – Items on the ground are facing the opposite direction
MCPE-16863 – Minecarts and their variants always despawn when they are in motion, and the game crashes

Video[]

Video made by slicedlime:

Trivia[]

This is the third Pocket Edition update to receive an official name by Mojang.
There is a developer version of 0.16.0 released on MINECON 2016.

Gallery[]

References[]

↑ ^a ^b "Sneak Peek: Boss Update coming to Pocket & Win 10" - Mojang, August 29, 2016
↑ This change occurred between the 1.4.3 pre-release and the full release of 1.4.4.
↑ MC-123307

[MojangPEPost-1] "Sneak Peek: Boss Update coming to Pocket & Win 10" - Mojang, August 29, 2016

[release-2] This change occurred between the 1.4.3 pre-release and the full release of 1.4.4.

[cmd_bug-3] MC-123307

[1]