New Minecraft Map Format, “Anvil” by Jens Bergensten on February 14, 2012 Hello! Jon and I have been working on a new map format for Minecraft that we’ve dubbed “Anvil” (it’s just a name). The purpose of the new format is to prepare for modding, especially to allow for more block types, but also to improve other areas of the game (such as map height). The changes are: Maximum build height has been increased to 256 (was 128) Empty sections of the world are not loaded into memory Block ids have been increased to 4096 (was 256) by adding a 4 bit data layer (similar to how meta data is stored) Block ordering have been changed from x/z/y to y/z/x in order to improve compression Packets for sending chunks have been updated (a full 128-high chunk is smaller than the old format, and a chunk with lots of empty space is much smaller) Biomes are saved per x/z column, which means they can be altered by tools The next snapshot, and Minecraft 1.2, will automatically convert worlds to the new format. The files of the current format (“McRegion”) will remain in your save folder, if you need to restore them for some reason. I’ve prepared a converter (with source code) for tool makers that wants to be prepared. You do not need to use this to convert your maps! It’s only for reference! Download the converter+source here Some info: The 16x128x16 “Blocks”, “Data”, “SkyLight” and “BlockLight” tags are removed A “Sections” tag has been added with up to 16 compound tags Each section has 16x16x16 “Blocks”, “Data”, “SkyLight” and “BlockLight” tags Each section has a “Y” integer tag saying which section it is (note that some Y positions can be skipped). 0 is at the bottom of the world and 15 is the topmost section Each section also has a “AddBlocks” tag, which is a DataLayer byte array just like “Data”. The “AddBlocks” tag is not included in the converter since the old format never had block ids above 255. This extra tag is created whenever a block requires it, so the getTile() method needs to check if the array exists and then combine it with the default block data. In other words, blockId = (addBlock << 8) + baseId. Each chunk has a 16×16 byte array with biome ids called “Biomes”. If this array is missing it will be filled when the game starts. The converter doesn’t include any biome sources, though (it had too many dependencies to be included). Note that the old format is XZY and the new format is YZX (see the difference between DataLayer and OldDataLayer). The new format uses the extension “.mca” instead of “.mcr” (the old format is kept for safety, with the level.dat backed up as “level.dat_mcr”) Finally, a shoutout to Robinton’s hard work on his mods: http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/310298-100robintons-mods/ Cheers, // jeb_ This is just the exact news I quoted. It does not make any guarantees to SMP, Bukkit Dev or EMC
That is my understanding of Jeb's post. However, nothing is concrete as we use a heavily modified environment to run Minecraft here on EMC... Check out the link to Robinton's mods... This shows some of the amazing possibilities from his original work.
Very nice I would once again like to add my disclaimer. Mojang focuses on single player. No mention or though of multi player goes into any of this. We still can not be fully aware of what the impact will be once this stuff comes out
Yes, I edited my post... Meant to include that info... This is just the exact news I quoted. It does not make any guarantees to SMP, Bukkit Dev or EMC
Best news so far: Sorry about the spacing, nothing I could do to it... I would just link his twitter, but this is just awesome news.. » jeb_Jens Bergensten Added info about the new world format called "Anvil": http://www.mojang.com/2012/02/14/new-minecraft-map-format-anvil/ 6 hours ago » TheAngryBr1tDaniel Blackett @ @jeb_ wht do these map changes mean for smp? Will i have 2 make new map n lose builds? Or will unloaded chunks change while curent stay same 6 hours ago in reply to ↑ @jeb_Jens Bergensten @TheAngryBr1t I've done a lot of SMP testing, you should be fine 6 hours agovia TweetDeck replies ↓ » TheAngryBr1tDaniel Blackett @ @jeb_ didnt think you would reply, cheers btw i have a tribes ascend closed beta key, dont want it, do you want to see if you can use it? 6 hours ago » RockCalledSteveMoose @ @jeb_ Is ground level going to remain at 64? Please say yes... 6 hours ago
The wild is torn to shreds as it is, and although its hazardous to go past spawn, people have made due with bridges and what not over the canyon created by miners too lazy to venture out too far haha. I do not think we should ever reset the wilds and it should just be left as is, cause it will only just be destroyed once more if reset anyhow. Thanks for the info on the upcoming update Twitch1! I will be doing some single player when it comes out just to have fun, good thing I have 2 computers to work with or I would be stuck out of EMC if worse case scenario happens. Mojang needs to keep up the good work! Cannot wait to see more developments coming out for this game. It gets better and better as time goes on.
I can disagree with that. Check out SMP2: you'd think you were playing Fallout rather than Minecraft. I mean, only the periodic rest area should be altered rather than the whole Wilderness, though it means nothing when you go so far into the Wilderness, it takes a real Earth hour to get all the way back. Though, I'm pumped for the update!
Your thinking about it all wrong... If you pretend the areas around the spawn is a crazy parkour course its much more fun!
Haha, built bridges, dug through moutains, built walk ways. I was only pointing out that it would be pointless to reset the wilds as it would only turn out the same way as it looks now and besides, that would only give people a second opportunity to do quick mining right out side the spawn. I think the spawn should just be completely surrounded by water and we would have to swim/take boat to the closest island to mine. Thats how I did it any how haha, I didnt like how many people were destroying the surrounding area of my spawns so I just used (world edit) my wood ax and dug a trench all around the spawns and filled them with water. It worked haha. I love the idea of the single player end being expanded, it will mean more stuff to experiment with.
