Minecraft Brings Fog Enhancements, Projectile Tweaks & Bug Fixes

Mojang has rolled out a new Minecraft Java Edition snapshot (25w19a)—the second for May 2025—introducing gameplay improvements, visual enhancements, and a slew of bug fixes. These snapshots are part of Mojang's development strategy, allowing players to preview and test features ahead of official updates.

The first 1.21 snapshot was released on May 3 with an extensive changelog containing over 900 modifications. Now, snapshot 25w19a is live with even more changes, following the previous update that added the Happy Ghast mob, dried ghast block recipes, and an overhaul of leads.

🌫️ Fog Overhaul Enhances Immersion

One of the most impactful changes in snapshot 25w19a is the separation of environmental and render-distance-based fog. This visual update is designed to make the game feel more atmospheric:

• Environmental fog now reflects the player’s surroundings—such as water, lava, or rainy biomes—and defines the game’s ambiance.
• Render-distance fog remains responsible for hiding far-off terrain edges, scaling with user settings.

💡 Visual impact: During rainfall, players will notice a thicker fog effect, lending a cozy or spooky ambiance that many fans likened to older Minecraft versions or popular visual mods.

🎯 Improved Projectile Targeting Precision

Combat mechanics have also been updated with a dynamic projectile targeting system:

• Previously, all projectiles had a fixed 0.3-block target tolerance margin.
• Now, projectiles start with zero margin for the first two ticks of flight. The margin then gradually increases by 0.05 blocks per tick until it reaches 0.3.
• This improves precision for close-range shots, while still allowing slight leeway at longer distances.

🔧 Technical Improvements & Developer Tools

Several backend and gameplay systems have been tweaked for better performance and modding flexibility:

🛠️ Technical Changes

• Data Pack Version updated to 76New scale cap for Happy Ghasts: max 1.0

🔢 Entity Data

• TNT now logs the UUID of the player or mob that ignited it.
• Vex mobs now store their summoner’s UUID for improved AI tracking.

🎨 Resource Pack Version 60

• All panorama textures must now be square and uniform in size.
• Dried Ghast Block sounds have been reworked.
• Mob Effect sprites now support GUI scaling and are included within the GUI atlas (Mob Effect atlas has been removed).

✨ Shader & Fog Rendering Upgrades

Major changes have been introduced to fog rendering logic:

• Fog now split into:Environmental fog (spherical distance)
• Render-distance fog (cylindrical distance)

🔄 Fog Uniform Block Adjustments

• FogStart → FogRenderDistanceStart
• FogEnd → FogRenderDistanceEnd
• FogEnvironmentalStart and FogEnvironmentalEnd added
• FogShape removed, with fog shape now determined by context (cylindrical or spherical)

🔇 Sound Event Updates

• Removed: block.dried_ghast.hit

🐛 Bug Fixes in Snapshot 25w19a

This snapshot addresses numerous issues, including entity behavior, UI bugs, and visual glitches. Highlights include:

• TNT now retains owner info after world reload (MC-69821)
• Vex summoner data now correctly saved (MC-118430, MC-118432)
• Fog rendering and cloud visuals fixed at high altitudes (MC-297235)
• Happy Ghast collision/movement bugs resolved (MC-296432, MC-296494, MC-296797)
• Panorama flickering and sign text issues addressed (MC-296813, MC-297339)
• Fire and bed UI bugs fixed (MC-295690, MC-297142)
• Numerous issues with NBT data, creative inventory, waypoints, and equipment loading have also been patched.

🧪 What’s Next?

While the snapshot is exclusive to Java Edition for now, players on Bedrock Edition will have to wait for Mojang to confirm a rollout. Community response has been enthusiastic, with many praising the fog changes for adding depth and atmosphere that previously required mods.

With Minecraft 1.21 on the horizon, these iterative changes hint at a more immersive and mechanically refined future for the iconic sandbox game.