Minecraft Nether realm's terrain generation has been the same for over a decade 

The Nether is a fiery and otherworldly Minecraft dimension and has seen its fair share of revisions and updates. However, one aspect of the Nether appears to have remained constant: terrain generation.

This fact was pointed out by a Minecraft Redditor named CarotteAtomique, who posted screenshots comparing the game's 1.2.0 Alpha and the current 1.19.4 update. The same seed was used, and as the images show, the terrain is almost exactly identical regardless of what version the seed was generated in.

Sure, the Nether may have gotten new biomes and generated structures, but it appears that the shape of the terrain itself generates consistently across versions.

A Minecraft Redditor compares the shape of the Nether's terrain between versions (Image via u/CarotteAtomoique/Reddit)

After the post went live, Minecraft fans across the subreddit began to discuss the state of the Nether and whether its terrain needs an update.

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Minecraft Redditors discuss the Nether's unchanging terrain shape

While the Nether has certainly received plenty of attention, particularly in the 1.16 Nether Update, it appears that not every facet of it has changed. The two examples provided by CarotteAtomique show that although the Nether in version 1.19.4 certainly has more features in the environment, the base shape of the generated netherrack terrain has remained consistent since Minecraft's Alpha.

However, players were split as to whether the Nether should receive an update to its terrain generation code to make it similar to how the Overworld's terrain is created.

Plenty of fans such as Jtrout 5 remarked that the Nether has worked perfectly fine when it comes to terrain generation and doesn't require any massive shifts.

However, other players pushed back, stating how numerous mods have displayed untapped potential in the Nether's terrain creation. To hear the user Achilles_Deed tell it, just because something has worked well in the past doesn't mean it can't be improved upon.

Minecraft Redditors remark that the Nether doesn't require a change to its terrain generation (Image via u/Jtrout5/Reddit)

Achilles_Deed certainly makes a good rebuttal, as Minecraft is certainly a game about change and evolution. If Mojang had assessed the state of the game after its full release and decided against rejuvenation, players may not have received many of the fun and innovative updates that arrived in the years since.

The world's most beloved sandbox game thrives on creativity and its free updates and changes arrive regularly, even if one doesn't necessarily love every implementation.

The conversation in the comments eventually shifted to the End dimension as well. Multiple Minecraft enthusiasts remarked that the End felt quite empty, much like the Nether in its early days. However, players debated as to whether this was an intentional design choice by Mojang, or if the End was better served to be empty or filled with more structures, biomes, and creatures.

If the Nether isn't getting another look, perhaps Mojang should examine the End. (Image via u/Memil8/Reddit)

During the debate, which spanned over 300 comments, some Minecraft Redditors disputed the notion that the terrain hasn't changed within the Nether. Since new biomes like the crimson and warped fungus biomes have been added alongside basalt deltas and various generated structures, the terrain had to be partially tweaked to accommodate them.

However, this doesn't change how the foundational process of generating terrain has remained the same. Furthermore, new content and changes have just been layered atop the way that the game creates Nether terrain.

To be more specific, Minecraft creates terrain across all three of its dimensions using noise generation algorithms. These dictate the size and shape of rendered landscapes, which is the bedrock of how worlds are created.

Other sound generation algorithms are reserved for caves and other features, but the base terrain's shape remains essentially unchanged when it comes to the Nether.

Players discuss the overall state of terrain generation in the Nether and whether it has really changed (Image via u/keeper420/Reddit)

Regardless of the discussions in the community, such a vested interest in how the game creates terrain in the Nether may warrant Mojang's attention.

Obviously, the developers are currently working to complete the 1.20 Trails & Tales update, which will add plenty of content to the Overworld. However, players don't want the other dimensions to be neglected, so the Nether and End may warrant an examination from Mojang and Microsoft in the future.