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# System prepended metadata

title: "\n    Minecraft Map of BRITAIN: 22 bn Blocks used to Create Interactive Map"

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    Minecraft Map of BRITAIN: 22 bn Blocks used to Create Interactive Map</h1>
    <html><body><p><p><br/> The Minecraft map of BRITAIN: 22 billion blocks are used to build the virtual world that even includes famous landmarks<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Ordnance Survey used 22 billion blocks from the popular building game<br/></p><br/><p><br/> The interactive 3D map covers the UK mainland and its surrounding islands<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Each block is 50m2, and the map covers 220,000 square kilometers.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> By Victoria Woollaston<br/></p><br/><p><br/>  Updated: 10:59 EDT, 5 March 2014<br/></p><br/><p><br/> e-mail<br/></p><br/><p><br/> 31<br/></p><br/><p><br/> View comments<br/></p><br/><p><br/> The well-known building game Minecraft lets players create their own worlds. However, a new 3D gaming map allows them to explore the UK and create new settlements inside their virtual back gardens.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Minecraft Britain was built using Ordnance Survey maps of the UK as a basis. It was constructed with 22 billion building blocks from the game.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> It covers approximately 86,000 square miles of mainland Great Britain and the surrounding islands and each block represents 50 square metres.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Ordnance Survey used 22 billion blocks from the popular game Minecraft to create the interactive 3D map of the mainland UK and the islands surrounding it. The OS Minecraft world covers the equivalent of 86,000 square miles. This is the Minecraft Stonehenge in Wiltshire.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> This is how Stonehenge in Wiltshire is in real life.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Ordnance Survey also published a list of coordinates for various markers in the UK, including Stonehenge, Wiltshire, to help players navigate the virtual world.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Are you over 30? Then it's game over: Tetris, Pac-Man and the Atari... Are Bitcoin about to become mainstream?  <a href="https://minecraft-servers-list.biz/">https://minecraft-servers-list.biz/</a> Canadian coffee shop...<br/></p><br/><p><br/> The map was created using OS OpenData - maps and mapping tools that Ordnance Survey lets developers use to create maps that are different from the ones they currently have.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> They can then explore a variety of terrains, including forests and caves.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> For a bird's-eye view the landscape, players can also fly high in the air.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Although the original game was originally designed to be played on the PC, there are now versions for mobile and Xbox 360.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> For each 100x100 km grid square, developers from Ordnance Survey used height information for various buildings and landmarks.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> The left-hand image shows the Minecraft version of Snowdonia and the right-hand image shows how the North Wales mountain range looks in real life. Because the elevation of many landmarks and buildings in the UK is taller than Minecraft's built-in height limits, developers have scaled them down so that they would fit<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Minecraft was first introduced in 2009. The game's launch was in 2009. The player is then able to explore the world and create towns and cities. The game was initially made for the PC but there are now Xbox 360 and mobile versions available, as shown<br/></p><br/><p><br/> HOW TO INSTALL THE MAP HOW TO INSTALL THE MAP MINECRAFT<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Players will need to have a licensed copy Minecraft and 5GB of disk space on their computer.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> The world has approximately 3.6GB of uncompressed data . It requires at least 4GB of memory.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Players must download the MinecraftGB.zip archive to install the map<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Save the archive to a temporary folder. Open the readme.html file using the browser. Follow the installation instructions.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Then, they loaded images from the OS VectorMap District files of all UK locations.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Each 20 x 20 pixel region of the map was analysed to allow the designers to select the right color, material and size of block.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> The raw height data was stored as meters. This meant that developers had to be scaled down to fit within Minecraft's 256 block height limit.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Ben Nevis, for instance, is approximately 2,500m high. It was converted into 128 blocks.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Ordnance Survey said in a blog post: 'Although it exaggerates the actual height, it helps preserve low-lying coastal features like the cliffs of Bournemouth, which add interest to the landscape.'<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Developers utilized diamond blocks for motorways, emerald blocks to build A roads and pumpkin blocks for B roads. The typical leaves, water and brick blocks were used to create forests, waterways and built-up areas.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> After that 32 x 32 pieces were created and then reassembled as regions. Ordnance Survey stated that the entire process took seven hours.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> The image shows the River Thames in East London Ordnance Survey stated that the entire mapping process took seven hours. Each 20x20-pixel area of the map was analysed so that developers could select the appropriate color, material and block size.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> These images show a birds-eye view of Minecraft London with the River Thames flowing through the middle, left, and satellite views of the same area of Thames, right.<br/></p></p></body></html>
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