Minecraft Bedrock beta/preview 1.20.20.21 patch notes: Added sleeping percentage gamerule, updated recipe search, and more

After Minecraft: Bedrock Edition's release of update 1.20.10 comes a new preview/beta known as Preview 1.20.20.21. A few major features have been removed from the Experimental Feature toggle, and some new /gamerule additions should make things interesting. Plenty of Java Edition parity and bugfixes have also been implemented for good measure.

As a preview, this update to Minecraft Bedrock is in its beta stages, and all of its changes and improvements may not be implemented or stay in the future final build. Regardless, it's not a bad idea for players to familiarize themselves with the new changes so they can use them to the best of their ability.

Although the full list of changes can be found on Minecraft's official site, it doesn't hurt to examine the highlights of this particular preview.

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Breaking down the most impactful changes of Minecraft Bedrock Preview 1.20.20.21

Many of the same features and additions in recent Minecraft Java updates are making their way to Bedrock, courtesy of recent versions and previews. This can also be seen in the 1.20.20.21 preview, as many of the most pointed changes are made in the interest of bringing Java and Bedrock Edition closer together in gameplay respects.

This isn't to say that both editions of Minecraft will be indiscernible someday, but changing the properties of blocks to make them equal across platforms certainly isn't a bad thing. The Java/Bedrock split will certainly persist, but Bedrock Previews like 1.20.20.21 are at least making the two similar in many foundational aspects.

Most important changes in Minecraft Bedrock Preview 1.20.20.21

• The recipe book search function has been revamped for Survival Mode. Search functions will now focus on the first few letters in the term. Searching now also works better in cohesion with the recipe unlocking feature, allowing players to search recipes they haven't unlocked yet.
• Recipe unlocking has moved from an Experimental Feature to an official vanilla feature. It can be turned on and off based on a world's settings. Mojang has confirmed that there is a bug where the recipe unlocking option is missing during world creation, but it can be circumvented by editing the world after its creation.
• Screen narration now immediately notifies players when they alter their sliders and toggles within their settings.
• 188 blocks have had their breaking times adjusted to be on par with Java Edition. According to Mojang, obsidian has remained unchanged, but the developers intend to change its break time in the future once they settle on a good time for both Java and Bedrock.
• The player sleeping percentage game rule has been added. When set to a value between one and 100, this game rule setting determines how many players must fall asleep to fast forward to the next day. A value of 100 means that nighttime cannot be skipped.
• Bone meal can once again be used underwater on sand, gravel, and clay.
• Shulker boxes no longer take a long time to mine when broken without a pickaxe.
• Falling blocks can now fall and break on cocoa beans, and breaking allows for drops to work as usual.
• Projectiles will now sink in top snow blocks.
• Name tag rendering is now based on the position of a Minecraft player's camera.
• Notifications have been added for iOS devices pertaining to low storage space.
• Sculk sensors and shriekers no longer risk a loss of signal when they receive them near the periphery of a Minecraft player's set simulation distance.
• The lapis lazuli icon seen in the enchanting table will now match the same one seen in the smithing table interface.

As previously mentioned, this Minecraft Preview is an experimental update, meaning there is still room for Mojang to change things in subsequent updates and official builds.

Nonetheless, fans playing Bedrock Edition on Windows PCs, mobile devices, and Xbox consoles can enjoy the Preview Program and test the full scope of changes made.