The problem is that this is only the first step to creating a fully-accurate world: human-generated structures are rebuilt by the mod as part of the landscape, so Egypt's pyramids just become. The video shows a number of vast landmarks realised in Minecraft, such as Mount Everest, the Grand Canyon, and Half Dome from Yosemite National Park in the US. The next stage is applying the Terra 1-1 mod, which takes information from geographical data archives (such as Google Maps) and converts it into Minecraft blocks. "With the Cubic Chunks mod breaking Minecraft's vertical limitations, we can now experience the Earth in Minecraft, just as it is, with no downscaling of any kind." Using Cubic Chunks "changes the shape of Minecraft chunks to 16x16x16 cube, giving you infinite build depth in both vertical directions". As explained by PippenFTS, Minecraft normally has a height limit of 255m, which would have made full-scale Earth terrain impossible. It's been made possible through the use of two mods, Terra 1-to-1 and Cubic Chunks. It’s an escape in dark times, an act of remembrance, and a method of exerting control in a world where we feel increasingly powerless.Seeing as nobody's going outside at the moment, it would be pretty great to have an entire version of Earth to explore in a video game, right?Įnter PippenFTS, a YouTuber who claims to have made a 1:1 scale version of the Earth in Minecraft for the very first time. It’s an effort to capture a moment in time-the Earth as it was in 2020 in all its chaotic beauty. Minecraft builders who want to help with the project are encouraged to fill out an application. “We have decided that unless there is significant change or other circumstances, we will be building the Earth as its most recent update of 2020,” evilpauwse said. It’s also possible that the planet will change dramatically in the time it takes the group to finish its recreation. Our goal is to make sure those pieces keep moving and that they're moving the best that they can be.”
“This whole endeavor is one of great size and has a lot of moving pieces.
“We currently do not have any solid estimates on a time frame as we are constantly optimizing and accepting new builders all of whom work at different paces,” he said. The group has no idea how long it will take to finish the project. “Right now we are working on implementing a new system that will streamline the building process and ensure that all the areas are built up,” he said. With so many volunteers, it’s hard to keep builders focused and working together. “Something of this scale has never been done before, and is ready for anyone who wants to take on the challenge of doing it.”Īccording to evilpauwse, the project’s biggest roadblock right now is organization. “I work on developing and implementing systems that our staff and builders can use to make their lives much easier.”Įvilpauwse said that people are constantly asking why? Why rebuild the Earth within Minecraft. “My role in all of this is to ensure that our team of builders, reviewers, and our staff work together to help this project move along smoothly,” evilpauwse added. “This project satisfies a lot of people's desires to do so.” “I have played Minecraft for a significant time now and like many others, I have expressed an interest in creating massive structures and builds,” he said in an email. He’s a college student in New York studying cyber security who joined the project after watching PippenFTS’ video. The project has a Patreon, a Reddit group of more than 6,000 members, and an active Discord.īuilder evilpauwse is a moderator in the Discord for the project. He put the call out for builders to help make the dream a reality, and they’ve answered in droves.
More than 60,000 people have at least nominally joined the project by becoming a part of his Discord server. He wants to recreate every brick, every building, and every wonder of the world within the bounds of Minecraft. PippenFTS has assembled a team of builders to dive into a persistent map and recreate the Earth’s human-made structures too. “Elevation data, tree cover data, roads, even climate data and soil suborder data, to make the planet Earth map as accurate to the real thing as possible.”
“The terra 1-to-1 mod takes the information from Google Maps and other geographical data archives and compiles it to create the 1:1 scale of the Earth in Minecraft terrain generation,” Minecrafter PippenFTS, who is working on the project, said in YouTube video. Using the cubic chunks mod to allow for infinite height and depth and the Tera 1-to-1 mod to scan the planet’s surface, modders are recreating the planet Earth on a 1:1 scale within a Minecraft map.