Minecraft’s procedurally generated worlds are already quite impressive after the Caves & Cliffs Update, but as a player, you can achieve so much more. That’s why terraforming projects are incredibly popular since you can dismantle every block in the world and create something new. Whether as purely natural projects, for further developments, or simply to beautify your world, you can do whatever you want. However, terraforming is not easy and often takes many days, weeks, or even months. Proper planning is therefore essential to avoid losing track in between and to achieve a great result in the end.
Definition and Importance of Terraforming
Terraforming describes the process of altering a landscape. This term is not only related to Minecraft but is also used in the real world. For example, the term is also used concerning space travel and the exploration of other planets, to make them more like our Earth (Latin “terra”).
Specifically related to Minecraft, this means working with natural resources and shaping the landscapes as desired. You can spruce up certain areas or completely demolish and rebuild them. There are no limits to your own creativity here!
Geographical Basics and Important Tools for Minecraft Terraforming
First and foremost, it’s important to have an idea of what you want your world to look like in the end. You should find images that match your desired landscape and use them as templates or inspiration. Of course, you can also use your own photos! Pay attention to aspects such as climate zones, altitude differences, and other geographical features. You can also create complete fantasy worlds, but they should be cohesive and logically structured in terms of landscapes.
If you want to build in Survival mode, then you must have the right tools at hand. Therefore, such large-scale projects are more suitable for later when you have all these things available.
Shovel and Pickaxe: To remove natural resources. Both tools should have the maximum enchantments “Efficiency” and “Unbreaking.” “Mending” is also practical!
Beacon: Use a beacon to instantly mine many resources. (Building a Minecraft Beacon: All Effects & Materials Explained!)
Scaffolding: You should also use scaffolding made from bamboo to reach difficult areas.
Ghast: The new happy Ghast can be helpful in such projects, as it can serve as a flying platform to build high mountains, for example.
Terraforming is, of course, also possible in Creative mode, or you can use mods that make it easier for you. WorldEdit and Axiom are just two examples of mods that are perfect for this! These are worthwhile for particularly large and time-consuming projects. Minecraft itself also offers some commands that allow you to copy, delete, or replace blocks.
Detailed Guide to Terraforming in Minecraft
Before you start terraforming, you should have a vision of your end goal and find a suitable location. The better the Minecraft terrain already fits your idea, the less work you have ahead of you. Use a map tool or go on explorations yourself to find the right place and realise your project. For our tutorial, we will show you how we have integrated a waterfall into a mountain.
1. Start with Scaffolding and Rough Plans
First, you should set rough guidelines for where exactly you want to place or remove certain shapes. Set up a kind of scaffolding by marking the largest outlines with easily recognizable blocks. You can later orient yourself by these and know approximately the scale of the terraforming. If you have to remove many resources, now is the right time to do so.
Depending on your ideas, this first step can look very different. However, it is important in any case that you can clearly recognize the general shape of your project. In a way, you are drawing a sketch of what you want to build later.
2. Plan “Points of Interest”
At the same time, you should already think about interesting places. If you want to build a village later, for example, then mark where exactly buildings will go and how they will fit into the landscape. You should also mark natural elements accordingly, such as rivers, custom-designed trees, or artificially created ponds.
In the end, you can still make changes, but you should always consider the direction in which you want to go. Paths and roads are also a wonderful way to plan your landscapes organically.
3. Calculate Distances
Terraforming can take an extremely long time, especially if your ideas are on a large scale. A huge mountain doesn’t build itself, so you should break it down into small steps. Once you have the scaffolding, you can also see the scale it involves. Is it too small or too big? How long does it take to walk from one end to the other?
Just like in real life, nature can have extremely different effects. Try to harmonize all the features of your new landscape so that nothing seems out of place in the end.
4. Fill in the Land
Now comes the most labor-intensive step, as you have to fill in all your ideas, scaffolding, and rough shapes. This can take a long time, and you will also need a lot of materials. Therefore, ensure in advance that you have a way to obtain soil, stone, and other resources. For large projects, you will need several thousand blocks, which takes a lot of time.
5. Detail Work
Especially in Minecraft, it pays off to work with full blocks first and take care of the details later. As the guide surely makes clear, we work from large to small or from simple to complex. You should first get a good feel for the landscape itself before diving into detail work.
Once the rough terraforming is completed, you can start with decoration work. Use different blocks that add more texture. Large areas can be loosened up in this way. Use natural blocks to give it the final touch.
Conclusion
With terraforming, you can shape your Minecraft world as you wish. You have many blocks available to put your ideas into action. It may take a while, but in the end, it’s always worth it to create your own landscapes. You can rent your own Minecraft server with us and take on such a project together with your friends! The more people work on it, the faster it goes.
