Heres the thing. I'm playing on a server named civcraft.
Now the server is all kinds of great, however, there is one problem I have with it. Because the map is like a 15km radius circle it means that this takes a massive toll on the server. This is why the amount of chunks surrounding a player is capped.
Now there are so many grand things created on this server that this is a real bummer, as you can't fully enjoy the view over your city/town/whatever. This is why I want a client-sided mod that can increase the render distance.
Now let me tell you how I imagine this will work before you scream at me and tell me I don't understand computers.
The idea here, is that when you first join a server. That has a big chunk cap limit, it'll look like it normally does. However, the chunks that are being sent to you from the server will be saved onto your computer. Well, save for whatevers under Y64, as that's not necessary. Anyhow, after you've mapped out an area just by walking around, you will be able to see much further. While the active server chunks around you are still the same. The distance after that will be the chunks you've saved on your computer.
So the computer basically whips out these inactive, chunks and you'll be able to see much further! The drawback here is that the client-sided chunks might be outdated. But it's much better to look at some slightly out of date houses than just void. Also, whenever you get close enough to those out-of-date chunks for the server to send you new version, the mod would automatically update it. So you'll always have the most updated versions possible.
Now I'm not a master at explaining things, but here is a silly illustration.
# = inactive client-sided chunk
¤ = active server chunk
P = player
###¤¤¤P¤¤¤####
So basically, the first three chunks will be active, the next chunks will just be something that your client whips out because it has saved the chunks to your computer.
Also some additional features would be nice, like a config while where you'd either have this to be the default on all servers, or only servers that you write in. And if pressing F3 will show how many client sided chunks there are then that would be great. And if possible, make it so people can share their folder with these chunks and easily merge them. So say my friend also plays on the server that I play on. Then he would easily be able to just send me his files, and I could just drop them into a folder, and it would merge.
Here is another illustration:
And here is the source code for world downloader: https://github.com/d...WorldDownloader
I guess that could be handy if you got permission from the guy. As this is mostly just an extension from his mod.
And just a BTW guys.
This isn't just helpful for the few servers that has a cap limit like this. If this mod becomes popular it means that many servers could lower their cap, meaning that the server you played on would have a lot less lagg, and with only minor drawbacks.
The "viewdistance" is controlled by the server, you can't change it if playing in multiplayer, not even clientside.
Minecraft will only show you the chunks if the server sends the terrain data to you.
What stellardawn wants the mod to do is save chunks sent by the server into a local cache. So if the server has a render distance of 5, and you explore a 20 by 20 chunk area, then the 5 by 5 chunks around you will be kept active by the server and the rest will be rendered based on what they were when the server last sent them. So if your render distance is max (10 chunks) and the server's is 5 chunks, then the inner 5 chunks will be active (kept updated by the server) and the outer 5 will be inactive (loaded from terrain data stored in the local cache). And the cache will be updated whenever the server sends terrain data.
What stellardawn wants the mod to do is save chunks sent by the server into a local cache. So if the server has a render distance of 5, and you explore a 20 by 20 chunk area, then the 5 by 5 chunks around you will be kept active by the server and the rest will be rendered based on what they were when the server last sent them. So if your render distance is max (10 chunks) and the server's is 5 chunks, then the inner 5 chunks will be active (kept updated by the server) and the outer 5 will be inactive (loaded from terrain data stored in the local cache). And the cache will be updated whenever the server sends terrain data.
Thank you! You worded it a lot better than what I did.
What stellardawn wants the mod to do is save chunks sent by the server into a local cache. So if the server has a render distance of 5, and you explore a 20 by 20 chunk area, then the 5 by 5 chunks around you will be kept active by the server and the rest will be rendered based on what they were when the server last sent them. So if your render distance is max (10 chunks) and the server's is 5 chunks, then the inner 5 chunks will be active (kept updated by the server) and the outer 5 will be inactive (loaded from terrain data stored in the local cache). And the cache will be updated whenever the server sends terrain data.
That would be quite impractical, and probably very laggy and space consuming on your hard drive..
That would be quite impractical, and probably very laggy and space consuming on your hard drive..
Valid concerns, but the WorldDownloader mod does it with minimal lag and the same hard drive space as a single player world. Plus this could be stored mostly in memory and only swapped to disk if needed. And since it's a cache the game could clear it on each run so it would never get to big.
Heres the thing. I'm playing on a server named civcraft.
Now the server is all kinds of great, however, there is one problem I have with it. Because the map is like a 15km radius circle it means that this takes a massive toll on the server. This is why the amount of chunks surrounding a player is capped.
...
I'm the developer of the World Downloader Mod. This is an excellent idea and it seems entirely feasible without using much extra memory over what World Downloader already uses. The next time I'm putting some time into WDL, I'll look at what it would take to pull this off. In case is wasn't obvious, you would not see things updating that were outside the range of the "active" chunks from the server. They would be static and unchanging but could be viewable which is what you are asking for.
That would be quite impractical, and probably very laggy and space consuming on your hard drive..
If it only took up blocks from Y64 and upwards then it would be a lot less space-consuming than having a normal single player world. Also, a minecraft world really doesn't take up a lot of space. My survival world was on over 100mb, and that world I had played on like forever. A fraps video that lasts like a minute takes up several gigabytes.
I'm the developer of the World Downloader Mod. This is an excellent idea and it seems entirely feasible without using much extra memory over what World Downloader already uses. The next time I'm putting some time into WDL, I'll look at what it would take to pull this off. In case is wasn't obvious, you would not see things updating that were outside the range of the "active" chunks from the server. They would be static and unchanging but could be viewable which is what you are asking for.
That's great to hear!
I'm going to be very happy if this actually becomes a mod. And yeah, This is a purely aesthetically thing, so them being viewable is all that matters!
I'm the developer of the World Downloader Mod. This is an excellent idea and it seems entirely feasible without using much extra memory over what World Downloader already uses. The next time I'm putting some time into WDL, I'll look at what it would take to pull this off. In case is wasn't obvious, you would not see things updating that were outside the range of the "active" chunks from the server. They would be static and unchanging but could be viewable which is what you are asking for.
Hopefully this new mod is open source as well, oh and might I suggest a name for it? Maybe something like World Cacher, the name is straight to the point and clean, not to mention it and World Downloader could share a downloads page since they are so similar and I'm assuming you're developing this one as well cubic.
This is a great idea, though you will have to be careful when using it, since it would be easy to overload the RAM and CPU on the client. You can load up optifine and set the view distance to very long distances to see what impact it will have on performance. It still has to keep the chunks in RAM if its going to render them, so it doesn't take a whole lot to blow up your computer. Remember that you are increasing the system requirements by a power of 2 for every chunk you add in any direction.
I do think this mod is a great idea, especially if integrated with WDL, perhaps you can also add some visual cue as to what chunks are live and what ones are cached? It would make downloading worlds easier too, so you can more easily see what chunks you already have.
working code, if you feel like compiling it. Works here anyway, but I can't guarantee it won't blow things up. Works in SP no interaction needed (aside from choosing your render distance in settings) and in SMP if you have a download running.
Hey, is it possible for you to add a way to change the render download distance so we can download all of the world if we want!? If you can, you could also add a way to change how many blocks out you want it to download, and then if possible, add how much time is left for the download to complete.
Thanks for creating an amazing mod!
working code, if you feel like compiling it. Works here anyway, but I can't guarantee it won't blow things up. Works in SP no interaction needed (aside from choosing your render distance in settings) and in SMP if you have a download running.
It looks like awesome work, MamiyaOtar! I checked out the code at your github. I'm so busy and not in a position to compile and distribute this as a compiled mod right now. I might have time to compile it and update also once I'm working on WDL for upcoming versions.
Hey, is it possible for you to add a way to change the render download distance so we can download all of the world if we want!? If you can, you could also add a way to change how many blocks out you want it to download, and then if possible, add how much time is left for the download to complete.
Thanks for creating an amazing mod!
What you are asking for is not possible. Just like World Downloader, the client only has access to what you as a player would already be seeing in the map. The client cannot change the view distance in multi-player mode. If you want to see more of the world, you have to walk around and explore.
Just ran across this and it sounds amazing. Any progress on finding something that does this?
Thank you! I'm not sure because I forgot about it, I'll have to do some search to see if anyone made a working version. If not then I'll try pestering someone
Now the server is all kinds of great, however, there is one problem I have with it. Because the map is like a 15km radius circle it means that this takes a massive toll on the server. This is why the amount of chunks surrounding a player is capped.
Now there are so many grand things created on this server that this is a real bummer, as you can't fully enjoy the view over your city/town/whatever. This is why I want a client-sided mod that can increase the render distance.
Now let me tell you how I imagine this will work before you scream at me and tell me I don't understand computers.
The idea here, is that when you first join a server. That has a big chunk cap limit, it'll look like it normally does. However, the chunks that are being sent to you from the server will be saved onto your computer. Well, save for whatevers under Y64, as that's not necessary. Anyhow, after you've mapped out an area just by walking around, you will be able to see much further. While the active server chunks around you are still the same. The distance after that will be the chunks you've saved on your computer.
So the computer basically whips out these inactive, chunks and you'll be able to see much further! The drawback here is that the client-sided chunks might be outdated. But it's much better to look at some slightly out of date houses than just void. Also, whenever you get close enough to those out-of-date chunks for the server to send you new version, the mod would automatically update it. So you'll always have the most updated versions possible.
Now I'm not a master at explaining things, but here is a silly illustration.
# = inactive client-sided chunk
¤ = active server chunk
P = player
###¤¤¤P¤¤¤####
So basically, the first three chunks will be active, the next chunks will just be something that your client whips out because it has saved the chunks to your computer.
Also some additional features would be nice, like a config while where you'd either have this to be the default on all servers, or only servers that you write in. And if pressing F3 will show how many client sided chunks there are then that would be great. And if possible, make it so people can share their folder with these chunks and easily merge them. So say my friend also plays on the server that I play on. Then he would easily be able to just send me his files, and I could just drop them into a folder, and it would merge.
Here is another illustration:
And here is the source code for world downloader: https://github.com/d...WorldDownloader
I guess that could be handy if you got permission from the guy. As this is mostly just an extension from his mod.
http://www.minecraft...downloader-mod/
This isn't just helpful for the few servers that has a cap limit like this. If this mod becomes popular it means that many servers could lower their cap, meaning that the server you played on would have a lot less lagg, and with only minor drawbacks.
Minecraft will only show you the chunks if the server sends the terrain data to you.
Jesus christ dude, did you read the topic? ;_;
What stellardawn wants the mod to do is save chunks sent by the server into a local cache. So if the server has a render distance of 5, and you explore a 20 by 20 chunk area, then the 5 by 5 chunks around you will be kept active by the server and the rest will be rendered based on what they were when the server last sent them. So if your render distance is max (10 chunks) and the server's is 5 chunks, then the inner 5 chunks will be active (kept updated by the server) and the outer 5 will be inactive (loaded from terrain data stored in the local cache). And the cache will be updated whenever the server sends terrain data.
Thank you! You worded it a lot better than what I did.
Your welcome! I came from /r/civcraft btw.
That would be quite impractical, and probably very laggy and space consuming on your hard drive..
Valid concerns, but the WorldDownloader mod does it with minimal lag and the same hard drive space as a single player world. Plus this could be stored mostly in memory and only swapped to disk if needed. And since it's a cache the game could clear it on each run so it would never get to big.
I'm the developer of the World Downloader Mod. This is an excellent idea and it seems entirely feasible without using much extra memory over what World Downloader already uses. The next time I'm putting some time into WDL, I'll look at what it would take to pull this off. In case is wasn't obvious, you would not see things updating that were outside the range of the "active" chunks from the server. They would be static and unchanging but could be viewable which is what you are asking for.
If it only took up blocks from Y64 and upwards then it would be a lot less space-consuming than having a normal single player world. Also, a minecraft world really doesn't take up a lot of space. My survival world was on over 100mb, and that world I had played on like forever. A fraps video that lasts like a minute takes up several gigabytes.
That's great to hear!
I'm going to be very happy if this actually becomes a mod. And yeah, This is a purely aesthetically thing, so them being viewable is all that matters!
Hopefully this new mod is open source as well, oh and might I suggest a name for it? Maybe something like World Cacher, the name is straight to the point and clean, not to mention it and World Downloader could share a downloads page since they are so similar and I'm assuming you're developing this one as well cubic.
I do think this mod is a great idea, especially if integrated with WDL, perhaps you can also add some visual cue as to what chunks are live and what ones are cached? It would make downloading worlds easier too, so you can more easily see what chunks you already have.
Well, cubic likes the idea. And I just posted this http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/1444862-172-world-downloader-mod/page__st__1100#entry28022233 which means he'll get reminded of it. So I wouldn't be surprised if he starts working on it soon!
Thanks for creating an amazing mod!
It looks like awesome work, MamiyaOtar! I checked out the code at your github. I'm so busy and not in a position to compile and distribute this as a compiled mod right now. I might have time to compile it and update also once I'm working on WDL for upcoming versions.
What you are asking for is not possible. Just like World Downloader, the client only has access to what you as a player would already be seeing in the map. The client cannot change the view distance in multi-player mode. If you want to see more of the world, you have to walk around and explore.
Thank you! I'm not sure because I forgot about it, I'll have to do some search to see if anyone made a working version. If not then I'll try pestering someone