Create a Minecraft Adventure Map

Minecraft has been one of the most popular indie games over the past few years after its initial release. It can be played however you wish, since there are no rules you must follow to get to where you want. Some people use this freedom to make other types of games within Minecraft. One of the popular ways to play is through adventure maps. An adventure map in Minecraft is a quest to get from point A to point B, with certain restrictions to follow. Restrictions such as you can only explore the interior of the map, you cannot go into creative, you cannot break blocks unless you have this, and the list can go on. But here's the question, how does one simply create an adventure map?

Steps

Planning your maps

  1. Plan your map. Planning is one of the most important steps; while you can try to make a map on the fly, it is more likely to turn out badly.
  2. Pick a type of map. There is a wide range of different map types; some of the more popular map types are:
    • Survival. These maps involve the player trying to survive within the parameters of the map. Players can break blocks, build items and generally do whatever it takes to reach their goals.
    • Adventure. This particular map type is much more linear. Usually the player isn't allowed to break or place blocks, and generally has to follow whatever path the map maker has set for them, although the adventure can be more open.
    • Parkour. A subset of the adventure theme that has gained a following all of its own. In this type of map, you have to reach whatever the goal is, usually by going through a series of skill based challenges, such as a series of very precise jumps.
  3. Write your story. Write down everything that is necessary to your story, whether it be backstory, notes the player will find, dialogue, or anything else.
  4. Draw the map. Once you have the story fleshed out, and you know what type of map you are going to be building, draw out the floor plans for your map. Include everything you feel is necessary for the map.
    • Grid paper is recommended for this step.
    • Figure out how you will implement all the features that the map should have. Observe the latest update and decide how will you have it all figured out. Remember that the game is limited and that it might have changed in your favor or not with the ongoing updates. If there is an upcoming update that might drastically change the game, you might want to wait for it. Decide what are the requirements for the map.

Building your map

  1. Build your map. With your plans set up, you are now ready to build.
  2. Build the landscape. Before you can start building the structures of your map, you need a good landscape. There are several ways to do this.
    • You can try to shape the world by hand, but unless you are doing a pretty small project, and have lots of free time, you are going to want to use one of these programs, or mods:
    • World Edit. World edit is part of the Single Player Commands mod, which can be accessed via the aforementioned link. It lets the player change and shape the terrain from within the game, although it does have a bit of a learning curve.
    • World painter.[1]This is a program that allows you to "paint" a Minecraft Landscape. It is a standalone program with a wide variety of options, though it is not as precise as world edit, working on a much larger scale.
    • MC Edit.[2] MC edit is an open source program which allows you to edit your current world. It is a bit clunky, but has many important features, such as the ability to use certain MC edit filters to do a plethora of things.
    • Voxel Sniper. Voxel Sniper is a very powerful tool for terraforming your world. It is very versatile and a great compliment to world edit.
  3. Build the structures. Build for what is needed for your adventure/parkour map.
  4. Add the story/details. When you have finally built everything, you can add the story. There are several ways of implementing the story:
    • Sign dialogue. With this you use a sign to convey dialogue being spoken to or by the player. If the former, you usually need to trap a villager, NPC, or similar in the area.
      • If you are using the most recent snapshots, you can use Sethbling's MC-edit filter to customize what the villager is going to trade. It can be found in the description in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13LyPP43twE.
    • Found notes. There are several ways to implement this:
      • Books. In the 1.3 update you can write books, and leave them in a chest for the player.
      • Image to map.[3] This converts an image to an in-game map, though this requires some sort of image editor to use.
      • Note signs. These are signs that say "read note 1" or something similar, and require the player to pause the game, go find the corresponding text edit document that you include with the map download, and then read it. It is perhaps the most cumbersome, but also the most versatile.
      • Command Blocks. Command blocks are the most "powerful" block in the game, but you must be in creative mode with cheats enabled to use them. Some amateur redstoners use pressure plates connected to command blocks with the "say <message>" command. Professional redstoners can use the /tellraw command. In this example, the command makes "Example Text" appear in chat, in a red color: tellraw @a {"text":"Example Text",color:"red"} And instead of pressure plates they use the test for command which tests for players within a given radius. Check out the Minecraft wiki for use of these commands. Or just search it up on YouTube
    • Another option (though not encouraged) is to not include a story, which may be used in some maps, though rarely.
  5. Add loot, and extra features. All that's left to do is add loot for the players (if you have any to add) and anything else you might want to add, such as red stone contraptions.
    • It is recommended that you are at least somewhat handy with redstone, as it can greatly affect your maps impressiveness.

Publishing the map

  1. Publish your map on a site like Planet Minecraft or Minecraft Forums. Once the map is finished, it's ready to be posted for the whole world to see.
  2. Test the map. This is one of the most important steps. If the map doesn't work, then it is a frustration for the players, and more work later.
  3. Open the "saves" folder. It can be found in the .minecraft folder in your apps directory.
  4. Compress the map folder. You need to compress the map's folder into either a .zip file, or a .rar file.
  5. Choose a file hosting site to host the file on, such as drop box, or media fire.
  6. When publishing your map, adhere to the site's rules. Be sure to also make your post interesting, adding information about the map, reviews, and most definitely pictures, as most people won't download your map if it doesn't have pictures in the post. Once this is all done, the map is posted and finished!



Tips

  • Always be polite to other players when they critique your map or help to make it.
  • Don't be afraid to add new things to your map after you have posted it. Who knows? Maybe it could make you map better!
  • Try to keep it simple but be creative. You can have anything you want.
  • Don't make boring houses, get creative! Make pillars, turrets on castles, gates, temples, just not in the shape of a box. Also, make sure you plan the building before constructing.
  • Keep it original - No one's going to want to play a map they've already played before.
  • Include hidden chests, secrets, or 'easter eggs' for your players to find.
  • Make sure the map is completable, and test it multiple times.
  • Make sure you know roughly what you want to build.
  • When using mods and plugins on your map always make sure you include them in the map files and make sure they are compatible with every computer and program

Animal mods can also add excitement to your map. However, mods might decrease the amount of players who download. It's better to use command blocks and maybe even resource packs, though it's harder.

  • If you don't know what to build, start by building a lot of houses, roads, bridges, and farms to create some form of a village, then just add chests and you're all set.
  • Keep lots of backups.
  • Monitor your post, and look for bugs, or ways to improve your map.
  • You can custom make a resource pack to go with your map in particular, this is optional but will make your map look and feel exactly how you want it to! Make sure to include the files in the download for the people who are going to play your map.
  • Try to get an appropriate resource pack to go with your map. If the theme is set in the past, look for something medieval - If it's in the future, get a pack with bright colors!
  • Command blocks can be used for the story, just do /say <what you want to be broadcasted>. On a multiplayer server use /w <player> <message>. If you want it to look fancier, use /tell raw <raw json message>, however /tellraw is more complicated.
  • Make sure you test or have others test your map before publishing it, so you can fix any mistakes or bugs, if you don't, less people will play your map, because of the unfixed bugs or mistakes.

Things You'll Need

  • Grid paper or similar and markers
  • Minecraft
  • Suitable programs/mods that tie in with the game

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/231255-worldpainter-new-map-creatorgenerator-work-in-progress/
  2. ↑ http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/13807-mcedit-minecraft-world-editor-now-open-source/
  3. ↑ http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/394966-imagetomap-v112-in-game-text-and-images-on-map-items/
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