New Minecraft redstone experimental changes explained

Minecraft Snapshot 24w33a for Java Edition arrived on August 15, 2024, and made plenty of changes and tweaks, but one of the most intriguing aspects of the update was for fans of redstone engineering. Specifically, redstone dust used as wiring for redstone blocks has been updated to be more responsive based on how they're configured and connected to the blocks around them.

The explanation is slightly technical for Minecraft fans who don't work with redstone dust robustly, but this experimental change is still worth exploring in case it makes its way to the base version of the Java Edition. Additionally, it should be noted that these changes are still in active development and more tweaks may be made in future snapshots before the overhaul is fully introduced.

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Explaining the redstone wiring changes in Minecraft Snapshot 24w33a

Redstone currents are now more reactive based on block placement in Minecraft Snapshot 24w33a (Image via Mojang)

Listed under "Redstone Experiments" in the Experimental Features menu, these redstone changes can be toggled on and off just in case Minecraft players aren't keen on the alterations. Mojang also made clear that these changes may not arrive in the base game in the future, but that these changes had been implemented for testing and feedback collection purposes.

Whatever the case, Minecraft players can find a breakdown of all of the Snapshot 24w33a redstone wiring changes below:

• Redstone wire will now only trigger block changes/updates on blocks that can receive power from the wire.
• Before any wire causes block changes or updates, the signal strength of all other attached wires is set.
• When a wire is activated, the connected wires closest to the power source will update blocks first.
• When a wire is deactivated, the wires closest to where the power source was will update blocks first.
• When two wires are the same distance from a power source, the choice of which wire causes block updates first is randomized.
• When blocks are placed around updating wires, the order in which the blocks will update is based on the direction the wires receive an update from. The current priority order is: back, front, left, right, down, and up. However, the left and right directions are interchangeable if the wire activation is randomized. The same order of priority is applied even when redstone wires are transmitting signals through solid Minecraft blocks.

According to Mojang, the objective of this rework is to ensure that the wiring works the same concerning block updates and signal strength regardless of how the wires are placed and oriented. This should allow players to worry less about how they place their wiring and power sources, ensuring that redstone signals will remain consistent and providing more freeform redstone machine building.