The next massive update to Minecraft is rolling off the assembly line as this blog post is typed and the 1.7.2 patch is a real doozy. Developer Mojang has announced its availability and it’s already rolling out to the launcher so that people have it ready to go. No doubt many servers will soon follow.

Just run your launcher now, it is available for download and your game will update automatically.

Amid the spectacular parts expected—such as new biomes, more trees, flowers, stained glass, etc.—there’s also a number of bug fixes that should make player’s lives easier. According to the developers over a half-million lines of code have been altered in this groundbreaking patch that will, in a rather literal sense, change the world of Minecraft.

Specifically: the world changes will affect and add new biomes, new stuff, and change how biomes are situated near one another. Biomes will grow more naturally out of one another avoiding unlikely pairings, such as no more deserts right next to tundra; and oceans will be filled with more land masses so that there’s no endless reaches of water to stretching from horizon to horizon. Alternatively, a biome that makes oceans much deeper has also been added.

Here’s a huge list of the updated elements:

• New world generation!
  • Double the amount of biomes, with new trees/flowers/blocks.
  • New “Amplified” world option.
  • Less ocean, more awesome.
• New blocks!
  • Two new types of wood.
  • Stained glass! With both blocks and panes.
  • Packed ice, red sand, podzol.
  • Lots of new flowers, including double-tall versions of current plants.
  • Portals can be bigger sizes!
• Fishing!
  • Added more type of fish.
  • Redone the fishing mechanics. Can now catch junk and treasure too.
  • Fishing rod enchantments!
• Maps!
  • Put them in an item frame and hang them on your wall. They’re extra big!
  • Lots of new colours for lots of blocks!
  • Now with less lag!
• Achievement & Statistics overhaul!
  • Now both world (or server) specific.
  • In multiplayer, it’s announced to everybody when you get an achievement.
    • You can move your mouse over this in the chat to see what it was!
  • Some new achievements and statistic types were added.
  • Zoomable achievements screen!
• Multiplayer enhancements!
  • Servers can now put a 64×64 image called “server-icon.png” in their folder, that you will see on your server list.
  •  You can see who’s online before joining a server; move your mouse over the player count!
  • Lots of hidden preparation for allowing name changes.
• Resource pack changes!
  • You can now have multiple selected.
  • They can completely re-do your sounds, adding new ones or changing current ones.
  • Servers can now recommend a resource pack for you to use.
• Chat & command improvements!
  • New commands to spawn mobs or blocks of any type.
  • Command block minecart!
  • Clickable links to achievements and items.
  • Click on somebody’s name in the chat to message them!
• Lots and lots of technical work!
  • Completely rewrote how the network (multiplayer) works.
  • Completely rewrote the sound manager.
  • New graphics options.
  • Basic shader support testing.

Interested in more information? Then look no further than Mojang’s blog post on the subject.