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Minecraft, a game known for its vast world sizes, has been used as the building structure for a virtual map created using actual Ordinance Survey data to accurately resemble Great Britain.
The map, in area covering the equivalent of 224,000 sq km (86,000 sq miles) and using around 22 billion blocks, is the result of a fortnight’s work by intern Joseph Braybrook working with the OS’s Innovation Labs team and OpenData OS software to create a map that’s as accurate as possible and like all Minecraft worlds, completely breakable and customisable. The OS map products, OS Terrain 50 and OS VectorMap, create the 3D map of the earth’s surface with features such as rivers, forests and roads included.
Speaking about the map Graham Dunlop, the Manager for OS’ Innovation Labs said that this could be the largest Minecraft world ever created using real-life world data. He believes this proves that Minecraft shows ‘massive potential’ as a tool for geographical and computer technology use within schools, but also as a way to demonstrate the scope of OpenData and applications that could be created for it too.
The map covers the entire of the mainland part of Britain, comprising of England, Wales and Scotland as well as some islands but does not contain any parts of Ireland, North Ireland, the channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Upon download players enter the map through the OS’s building in Southampton and from there can explore the lay of the land around them, building upon the land with their own ideas or recreating British landmark buildings if they want.
Southampton Water --- X = 9000 Y = 100 Z = 26000
London -------------- X = 10632 Y = 100 Z = 24422
Mt Snowdon ---------- X = 5218 Y = 200 Z = 20913
Outer Hebrides ------ X = 2110 Y = 100 Z = 10000
Shetland Islands ---- X = 8900 Y = 100 Z = 4969
Poole Harbour ------- X = 8020 Y = 100 Z = 26235
Weymouth ------------ X = 7300 Y = 100 Z = 26440
Foulness Essex------- X = 12000 Y = 100 Z = 24174
Lake Windermere------ X = 6800 Y = 100 Z = 18080
Ordnance Survey ----- X = 8745 Y = 100 Z = 25695
Use the values above with the teleport command, for example /tp 6800 100 18080.
The image below may help you find your bearings:
It shows the coverage of Minecraft GB expressed in world coordinates and the relationship with National Grid 100 km squares.
You’ll also notice in the image above the metal lines and brick on the map
The table below lists the materials used for each map feature:
Motorways
Diamond
A roads
Emerald
B roads
Pumpkin
Minor roads
Gold
Water
Water
Foreshore
Sand
Forest
Leaves
Plains
Grass
Built-up areas
Brick
So where there is a brick area, denotes a town/city so you can find where you live and the metal lines are roads that you can follow to where you want to go
We will be putting this map up on the station Minecraft server for a short time (starting tomorrow) to have a play with and if you like the map, we may keep it for later (or we could use the tool to make the world)
If you want to join us on the station Minecraft server, goto Multiplayer on the front screen of Minecraft and in the server address box, put www.sanitarium.fm and come and join us
Upgrading to the digital version of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Watch Dogs or Battlefield 4 on PS4? Then you’ll need to remember not to sell the PS3 version.
Sony has revealed that each of the above games on PS3 come with a single use code that can be entered on the PlayStation store for a discounted PS4 version, however for this digital PS4 edition to work the original PS3 disc must be in the drive.
Even though the PS3 versions do not actually work in the PS4, we’re guessing that Sony has implemented some code within the disc to allow this to work and therefore combat a huge amount of second hand games from flooding the market.
Check here for detailed instructions on how the upgrade from PS3 disc to PS4 digital will work. There is currently no mention of other titles being upgradable such as FIFA 14.
Sony double-slapped surprise on many people’s faces yesterday in a Press Conference hosted by Sony Japan. First was the revelation of production issues delaying the launch of the PS4, meaning the PS4 will release late in eight territories – including its native Japan. The shock here was the revelation that US and UK launches are so far unaffected, so PS4 pre-order customers can start feeling even more smug.
However, the big news came in hand-held form. Sony announced the Playstation Vita is about to be revitalised with a brand-new redesigned model. Called the Vita 2000, the new Vita is functionally similar to the existing Vita hand-held console and will support the same software; but is even more portable with a 15% thinner and 20% lighter build. Additionally, Sony has ditched the old OLED screen for a 5-inch LCD display and extended the device’s battery life by one hour, for a total of six.
Launching in Japan on October 10th (worldwide release dates not yet discussed) at a retail price of 18,980 yen (US$190), the PS Vita 2000 will also be available in six colours, with three pastel shades – pink, orange and pale blue – joining the “every console has them” varieties of black, white and grey. The original version will also include Wi-Fi connectivity. Even more interesting is the new consoles will have 1GB free memory on-board, meaning external storage will no longer be required – however, should 1GB not be enough (and let’s face it, if you’re serious about gaming, it won’t be), how about adding 64GB external memory with the new 64GB Memory Stick? Twice the size of the current highest 32GB, these higher memory sticks will also hit the market soon alongside all existing capacities.
Finally, to give you something to play on the new console, Sony has announced they expect about 100 Vita titles by the end of the year; with some brand new ones releasing very soon for all Vita consoles. These include God Eater 2, Gundam Breaker, Final Fantasy 10 and Phantasy Star Nova. There will also be limited-edition bundles of the Vita with some of the upcoming games.
