1.8 Update Branch

My idea is that there should be a second branch of updates that add in the new blocks, entities, etc, but keep the movement/combat mechanics of 1.8, removing stuff like shields or things that go against/previously made up for removed stuff in the 1.9 combat update.

This would allow servers that run 1.8 for its mechanics to be able to use the new blocks and items that are released in each update while maintaining any PvP related things in the server, so it doesn't lose players by converting to another version without it.

I know this is a lot to ask for and it would take a lot of time, but it'd be amazing to see.