Build the Earth explained

Build the Earth
Type:1:1 scale recreation of Earth in the video game Minecraft
Founder:PippenFTS

Build the Earth (BTE) is a project dedicated to creating a model of Earth within the sandbox video game Minecraft.

History

Build The Earth was created by YouTuber PippenFTS in March 2020 as a collaborative effort to recreate Earth in the video game Minecraft.[1] During the COVID-19 lockdowns, the server aimed to provide players with the opportunity to virtually experience and construct the world. In a YouTube video, PippenFTS called for prospective participants to recreate man-made structures over a rudimentary model of Earth's terrain.[2] [3] A Discord server created to help coordinate the project[4] attracted over a hundred thousand users by April 2020.[5]

Following unsuccessful attempts to generate terrain using a Mercator projection, organizers opted for a modified version of the Dymaxion map projection. The alternative approach prioritized minimizing distortions in land masses, at the cost of highly distorted oceans.[6]

Minecraft developer Mojang Studios featured the project on their website on Earth Day 2020.[7] In July 2020, YouTuber MrBeast released a video where he and 50 other people built his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina within the project.[8]

In 2020, a full sized recreation of the Taj Mahal was completed on the server by Daniel Tan.[9] In 2022, a team of over 2,000 players constructed a recreation of many places in New York City on a 1:1 scale, including many famous sites such as the 9/11 memorial, New York County Supreme Court, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Soho. A team of over 400 players has completed construction on multiple buildings from Portugal, including the Algarve International Circuit.[10]

Software

The Build The Earth project primarily depends on two Minecraft modifications to function: Cubic Chunks and Terra++. Cubic Chunks removes Minecrafts limitation on building structures beyond a certain height. Terra++ uses information from geographic data services, such as OpenStreetMap,[11] to automatically generate terrain to ease the building process. The project originally used the Terra 1-to-1 mod instead of Terra++.[12] PippenFTS stated that "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."

Notes and References

  1. News: Cooke. Alex. 28 March 2021. 21 October 2020. Halifax teen working to 'Build the Earth' in Minecraft. CBC News. 2021-04-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210429004710/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-teen-working-build-the-earth-minecraft-1.5764364. live.
  2. Web site: Clayton. Natalie. 28 March 2020. Minecraft mod recreates the Earth to scale – and now it wants players to fill in the gaps. 11 September 2020. Rock Paper Shotgun. en-US. 2020-12-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201205033145/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2020/03/28/minecraft-mod-recreates-the-earth-to-scale-and-now-it-wants-players-to-fill-in-the-gaps/. live.
  3. Web site: Gault. Matthew. 2 April 2020. Thousands of People Are Building a 1:1 Recreation of Earth in 'Minecraft'. 11 September 2020. Vice. en-us. 2020-09-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200913074851/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/n7jykw/thousands-of-people-are-building-a-11-recreation-of-earth-in-minecraft. live.
  4. Web site: Kent. Emma. 27 March 2020. Someone's built the entire Earth in Minecraft - to scale. 11 September 2020. Eurogamer. en. 2021-04-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210417220525/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-03-27-someones-built-the-entire-earth-in-minecraft-to-scale. live.
  5. News: Cuthbertson . Anthony . Tens of thousands of people are building the Earth on a 1:1 scale in Minecraft . 21 June 2021 . . 2020-04-07 . 2021-06-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210624235807/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/minecraft-build-earth-discord-coronavirus-lockdown-a9452861.html . live .
  6. Web site: Karel . Daniel . 2022-03-10 . The 2,731-Person Project to Build New York City in Minecraft . 2024-02-22 . Curbed . en.
  7. Web site: Dankis. Sofia. It's Earth Day Again!. Mojang Studios. 22 April 2020. 23 September 2020. 2021-04-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210411102616/https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/it-s-earth-day-again-. live.
  8. News: Aldridge . Bailey . North Carolina-based YouTube star MrBeast builds his hometown Raleigh in Minecraft . 21 June 2021 . . 6 July 2020 . 2021-07-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210727020440/https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article244033857.html . live .
  9. Web site: 2021-07-04 . Gamers Recreated the Taj Mahal in Minecraft With 1:1 Ratio & It Looks Stunning . 2024-02-22 . MensXP . en-IN.
  10. Web site: Building Portugal – Virtually . 2024-02-22 . www.theportugalnews.com . en.
  11. Web site: Home · BuildTheEarth/terraplusplus Wiki . 2022-03-13 . GitHub . en . 2022-03-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220313191902/https://github.com/BuildTheEarth/terraplusplus . live .
  12. Web site: Prescott. Shaun. 30 March 2020. A 1:1 scale model of Earth is possible in Minecraft, with mods and your help. 11 September 2020. PC Gamer. en-US. 2020-10-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201010212910/https://www.pcgamer.com/a-11-scale-model-of-earth-is-possible-in-minecraft-with-mods-and-your-help/. live.