At this point is there anything for them to add that isn't part of a mod?

Hi. I make fun of this too but it's worth pointing out that Mojang does 100x the work to the game's internals for speed, stability, modability, etc. It's effectively a completely different codebase from version 1.0

You can download both and see which one tickles your fancy more, but I prefer Mineclonia. There WILL be differences as Luanti is a fundamentally different engine from Minecraft, but generally you'll feel right at home.

Currently the biggest differences for me are that lapis lazuli is stupidly rare compared to Minecraft, and there are no unique stepping sounds for other mobs so it's like Alpha and Beta where a creeper's footsteps can blend in with chickens, cows, and pigs. Dual wielding is also currently primitive, and Nether portals tend to put you in the middle of lava seas. Caves are stupidly dark but that might get improved on.

But I did manage to build myself a nice big house with an inner courtyard, and get myself to the End and come back with an elytra and shulker boxes.

I just gave it a go a week or two ago and it's been so fun. Caves are basically infinitely deep, and the cave gen produces a lot of cool things. We just found a MASSIVE opening in a cave, we've been exploring a single room for hours and still haven't found it all, we're probably going to build a base in the cave cuz it takes 15 minutes just to get down there. Not everything feels finished, like the mobs are way less interesting, and the surface is generally less dense, but some things like mining are just so much cooler.

Isnt the sift the thing they were working on in the background?