Minecraft 1.20.5 snapshot 24w05a patch notes: Vault block, bug fixes, and technical changes

After teasing it in the recent Minecraft Monthly, Mojang has finally added Vault blocks to Minecraft. January 31's 1.20.5 snapshot 24w05a features this new addition that is related to the upcoming subterranean Trial Chambers. Vault blocks have been added as part of the experimental features for the next 1.21 update expected to be released later this year.

Alongside these blocks, several technical changes to the resource and data packs used in this game have been made in the 1.20.5 snapshot 24w05a. These alterations are followed by a few bug fixes for the 1.20.5 update that are related to wolf armor, sniffer, and fog.

That said, the main focus of Minecraft 24w05a is the Vault block. With that in mind, let's look at the complete patch notes for this snapshot.

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Minecraft snapshot 24w05a patch notes

Vault block is now added to the game(Image via Mojang)

Experimental features in Minecraft snapshot 24w05a

The Vault block is now finally available for testing in the 24w05a snapshot. This new item is for the multiplayer aspect of Minecraft. Here's everything you need to know about the latest snapshot:

Vault

• A block that holds locked treasure and loot - find the right key to eject its rewards
• Found throughout Trial Chambers, containing the structures' most valuable loot
• Vaults in Trial Chambers require a Trial Key to be unlocked
• Can be unlocked by an unlimited amount of players
• After a player has unlocked a Vault, they cannot unlock that Vault again
• If a player has not unlocked that Vault before, an orange stream of particles will flow from the player to the Vault when nearby
• Has a keyhole that will be open or closed depending on the players nearby
• If any nearby player has not unlocked that Vault, the keyhole will be open
• If all nearby players have unlocked that Vault, the keyhole will be closed
• Within its cage, it will cycle through and display items which are possible to eject from its loot table
• The rewards it ejects are randomized from its loot table each time it is unlocked
• Cannot be crafted or obtained in Survival, and does not drop anything when mined
• Explosion-resistant and cannot be moved
• Vaults currently reuse the same loot table that reward chests previously used in the Trial Chambers
• This loot table is temporary and will be completely revised as development continues

Trial Key

• Updated texture to reflect new Vault visuals

The Vault block will arrive with the Minecraft 1.21 update. Based on feedback from the community, it might see significant changes in future snapshots.

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Bug fixes in snapshot 24w05a

• Normal matrix scaling broken in some situations
• Sniffer's snout shading changes during sniffing
• The fog on armor worn by entities occurs too early
• Wolf armor loses custom display name and other NBT when equipped

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Technical changes in snapshot 24w05a

• The Data Pack version is now 30
• The Resource Pack version is now 25
• Added a reserved region file compression id for third-party servers to use for custom compression implementations
• Added an option to not compress region files
• Allowed server operators to view dedicated server TPS debug chart

Region file compression algorithm

• Added a third value to the dedicated server configuration property region-file-compression:
• none does not compress the data. Consumes significantly more space and requires significant time to read and write, even though CPU is used less. Might make sense together with filesystem level compression

Reserved compression ID for third-party servers

• Compression id 127 can now be used for custom implementations of region file compression
• When used, the version id must be followed by a namespaced string representing the custom algorithm used

The new snapshot introduces numerous changes for both the Resource Pack and Data Pack. Players interested in creating custom Resource Packs or Data Packs can check out more details regarding the official 24w05a patch notes available here.