Super exciting snapshot today!
They’re introducing a friends list for Java Edition that allows you to play peer-to-peer with your friends on local worlds, similar to LAN play! No more need for a dedicated server or a Realms subscription just to play Minecraft with a friend!
They’ve also added new music tracks, a new music disc, and finally what we’ve all been asking for, the ability to trigger geysers manually! By placing lava instead of a magma block under the potent sulfur, you can create indefinite geysers and toggle them at will!
There’s some more, so check out the linked changelog.
I wonder if mods can backport the P2P system to older versions in the future, or if it’s going to be like Bedrock where it isn’t really peer to peer (as far as i know)
There are mods that let you use LAN as an online server. There’s also e4mc that does the same but using reverse proxy, I personally tried it and it worked even with heavily modded worlds, the only downside is that due to the nature of such mods being free during peak times the proxies can become overloaded and won’t let you connect.