The first publicly released pre-Classic version of Minecraft, known as rd-132211, was launched on May 13, 2009, at 22:11 CEST. This version is the oldest available in the Minecraft launcher and represents the earliest fully archived release, though the launcher copy was last updated on August 6, 2013, so it is not entirely original.
Additions
Gameplay
Controls & Mechanics:
- Placing and Destroying Blocks – Left-click places a block, while right-click destroys it.
- Respawn Feature – Holding down R respawns the player at a random X and Z coordinate high above the map repeatedly until the key is released.
- Block Placement – All blocks placed are stone, except at Y=52, where grass blocks appear.
- World Boundaries – The world generates down to Y=9, beyond which players fall into the void indefinitely unless R is pressed.
- Height Limit – Blocks cannot be placed above Y=73, and players cannot place blocks outside the world border.
- Block Overlay – A flashing white overlay highlights the side of any block the player is pointing at.
- Saving Levels – Pressing Enter saves the level; the game also saves automatically upon exit.
Changes
World Generation
- The level generation became flatter and more uniform, moving away from the messy, random layouts seen in the Cave Game tech test. It resembled a superflat world.
- Caves were removed, simplifying exploration.
- Block placement and destruction were officially introduced.
Bugs
- Players could place blocks inside their own space, a bug that persisted until Classic 0.0.9a.
Trivia
- The “rd” in the version number (old_alpha rd-132211) refers to RubyDung, a previous game by Notch whose code was reused in early Minecraft.
- Level data is stored in a single level.dat file within the launcher folder, unlike later versions that created separate folders for each world.
- The player always spawns at Y=74 in this version.