From abba5e1b2f54f27d689d74031aafd47142960f27 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Andrew Brown Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:02:14 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] added a readme --- README.txt | 86 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 86 insertions(+) create mode 100644 README.txt diff --git a/README.txt b/README.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..60ec1d0 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.txt @@ -0,0 +1,86 @@ +==================== +Minecraft Overviewer +==================== +By Andrew Brown + +Generates large resolution images of a Minecraft map. + +In short, this program reads in Minecraft world files and renders very large +resolution images. It performs a similar function to the existing Minecraft +Cartographer program. + +I wrote this with an additional goal in mind: to generate large images that I +could zoom in and see details. + +Using the Overviewer +==================== + +Requirements +------------ +This program requires: + +* Python 2.6 +* PIL (Python Imaging Library) +* Numpy + +I developed and tested this on Linux. It ought to work on Windows and Mac, but +I haven't tried it. + +Running +------- +Right now there's only a console interface. Here's how to use it: + +To render a world, run the renderer.py script like this: + + python renderer.py + +The is the path to the directory containing your world files. + +Cave mode +--------- +Cave mode renders all blocks that have no sunlight hitting them. Additionally, +blocks are given a colored tint according to how deep they are. Red are closest +to bedrock, green is close to sea level, and blue is close to the sky. + +Cave mode is like normal mode, but give it the "-c" flag. Like this: + + python renderer.py -c + +Deleting the Cache +------------------ +The Overviewer keeps a cache of each world chunk it renders stored within your +world directory. When you generate a new image of the same world, it will only +re-render chunks that have changed, speeding things up a lot. + +If you want to delete these images, to save space or perhaps you've changed +texture packs, run the renderer.py script with the -d flag: + + python renderer.py -d + +To delete the cave mode images, run it with -d and -c + + python renderer.py -d -c + +Using More Cores +---------------- +The Overviewer will render each chunk separately in parallel. You can tell it +how many processes to start with the -p option. This is set to a default of 2, +which will use 2 processes to render chunks, and 1 to render the final image. + + python renderer.py -p 3 + +Bugs +==== +* This program is memory intensive. Obviously if you have a 20000x10000 pixel + image, it's going to take up quite a bit of room. This program may not work + if you have a gigantic world. I am working on a solution to this, possibly + splitting up the final image so it's not as big. Even if the image is + successfully generated, my image viewer has quite some trouble showing it. + +* Some types of block are not rendered correctly yet. This includes torches, + mushrooms, flowers, and anything that is not a traditional "block". They are + still rendered, but look funny. + +* Water transparency is not working yet. I'm trying to come up with a good + solution, but I think it has to do with the image blending algorithm in the + Python Imaging Library. There may not be an easy solution to this.