Minecraft:Ruby

Template:Outdated Template:Infobox item Rubies were a mineral planned to be added in Minecraft:Java Edition 1.3.1 as a currency for trading with Minecraft:villagers, but were scrapped and replaced with Minecraft:emeralds.

Obtaining

Rubies were obtained from mining ruby ore and from trading with villagers, in the same way as the emeralds that replaced them.

Usage

Rubies were used for purchasing items from villagers, and would presumably have been craftable into blocks of ruby.

History

Rubies were intended to be the original currency used for Minecraft:trading. They could be seen in a screenshot released by Jeb on 21 May 2012,<ref>Template:Tweet</ref> in which the trading system was first being tested. While it was later decided that Minecraft:emeralds would take their place as a currency, a ruby texture was still in Minecraft:Java Edition 12w21a's items.png file alongside the emerald. The unused ruby texture, which was present in the game, differed from the version shown in the screenshot.

Alongside emeralds, 12w21a also implemented Minecraft:emerald ore as a method of obtaining them. However, the texture used for emerald ore was accidentally set to a texture seemingly intended for ruby ore,<ref>Template:Tweet</ref> and translation strings in the game's language files included references to rubies and ruby ore:

• item.ruby.name=Ruby
• tile.oreRuby.name=Ruby Ore

Minecraft:Java Edition 12w21b was swiftly released to give emerald ore its intended release texture, and the translation strings were removed in the full release of Minecraft:Java Edition 1.10.

Emeralds were decided upon over rubies as Minecraft:Dinnerbone stated he had difficulty distinguishing between ruby ore and Minecraft:redstone ore from a far distance, which he attributed to his red-green colorblindness.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

The unused texture remained in the game files until it was ultimately removed in Minecraft:Java Edition 21w13a.<ref name="UnusedFiles">Template:Bug</ref>

The texture was added to Pocket Edition in Minecraft:Pocket Edition v0.8.0 alpha build 2. It was eventually removed in the first v0.14.0 build, but later re-added and is still present in the vanilla resource pack. The texture was also added to the Xbox 360 Edition in TU9, and remained in the console editions until TU54 and equivalent versions, in which it was replaced by one of the textures used for Minecraft:bed items.

The name "Ruby" was reused for a currency in the now-discontinued game Minecraft:Minecraft Earth, using completely different textures from those present in the main game.

Rubies were reimplemented as a joke feature in Minecraft:23w13a_or_b snapshot, where they could replace the Minecraft:emerald item model via a specific vote.

Gallery

• Jeb's screenshot showing rubies.
  Jeb's screenshot showing rubies.
• The unreleased ruby texture as seen in Jeb's screenshot
  The unreleased ruby texture as seen in Jeb's screenshot
• The unused ruby texture present in released Minecraft versions
  The unused ruby texture present in released Minecraft versions
• Emerald ore in its first iteration, using the "ruby ore" texture
  Emerald ore in its first iteration, using the "ruby ore" texture
• Emerald ore in its second iteration, using its intended texture
  Emerald ore in its second iteration, using its intended texture
• An alternative design for rubies, in the form of a recolored Minecraft:programmer art emerald.<ref>Template:YouTube link</ref>
  An alternative design for rubies, in the form of a recolored Minecraft:programmer art emerald.<ref>Template:YouTube link</ref>
• The unused design of the ruby during April Fool's 2018.
  The unused design of the ruby during April Fool's 2018.