Minecraft Forums

[EDIT: Brief Update - Lots going on in real life. Moving to another state in a couple months, family health issues, and other obligations. So I haven't had time lately to even play Minecraft, let alone work on it.
But I'm not "abandoning" the pack. I welcome anyone and everyone who wants to contribute textures to post them here, in this thread. Perhaps if XSSheep is able, he can coordinate for me.
I do intend to resume work on the pack, but I'm not sure when that will happen. Keep the faith!]
UPDATED 5/24/11 WITH NEW ORE TEXTURES!

Glimmar had mentioned that, to the best of his knowledge, no one has ever made a texture pack styled after the Mesoamerican nations such as the Aztec and Mayans. It's a pity, because their style of architecture is so well-suited to Minecraft's blocky aesthetic!

Well, I'm going to do something about that. Introducing MayanCraft - Cities of Gold!

MayanCraft will feature textures inspired by the structures, equipment and lifestyle of Mesoamerican nations including the Aztec, Mayans, Inca, Toltec, Olmec, etc. It was initially planned for 32x, but thanks to Kroc and XSSheep, I now have access to the textures needed to realize this in 64x as I had originally hoped!

Here is a sneak peek at the ore textures - handmade by me over a stone texture generously donated by XSSheep.


PLANNED FEATURES:
New cobblestone and mossy stone textures - especially the mossy stone for recreating those Meso-American ruins. Bricks and clay can be reworked to match the color of the area soil, and/or to provide a different stone-like building texture. Likewise for sandstone.

New doors - Kind of a materials mismatch, but the wooden door could be made to look like a stone door, and the iron door to look like a golden door. Or vice-versa.

Special textures for lapis ore and lapis blocks - perhaps a different color, such as turquoise or emerald? Special texture for gold blocks also.

New tree textures - I don't think pine and birch are even present in Central America and Mexico, I could be wrong. Textures for bark and leaves of jungle trees... and definitely WildGrass support!

In the same vein, probably different pictures for flowers and mushrooms, to more closely correspond with flora in the area. Not sure what to do with cactus and pumpkins - they probably could be found in the area, but not quite the same.

Custom item images (weapons, tools, and armor especially) to reflect the equipment of the era and area.

Artwork to suit the images used in the region - that's something where there's plenty of reference material to use.


CHALLENGES:

Snow and ice are almost non-existent in the region, aside from high mountaintops. These will probably be the last things done for the pack.

Colored wool - I'm inclined to make non-natural colors (that is, those not shorn from sheep) into alternate blocks, but perhaps still as some sort of textiles (tapestry fabric, etc)

Minecarts and rails - what to do in a pack based on a place and time that had no such things?

Glowstone and jack-o-lanterns - I think they'd work best as some sort of ceremonial fire-holders.


I've done a couple more things in the past week. First off is the NEW background image for the loading screen, with the pack icon:


I also intend to modify the Minecraft title image and the buttons.

Next, some changes to the item bar. I want to use golden item frames and possibly a turquoise selection frame:

(This will be upgraded for 64x soon!)

You will also notice that the lapis block is a turquiose block in this picture. I may attempt to modify the tooltips in the language folder to reflect this.

I also plan to include my Turtle-Shell Bedrock texture in this pack:


There's a lot of work to be done, so I don't expect to release the pack any time soon. I do, however, welcome ideas, constructive advice, or contribution of textures you would like to see in the pack - providing that they are, of course, your own original work. I will be certain to properly credit all contributions, and if anyone wants to work with me on the project, please let me know!

I like what I see so far. Great job. Maybe for dispensers, an aztec god image, for the redstone, rubies?

I'm making one inspired by them, but I would love to see one that makes your structures look as though they were built by the Mayan themselves. Keeping an eye on this, cannot wait to see more pics.

Aztecs had allot of cacti, as they were essentially the people of Mexico. Mainly Agave though. They ate squash too.

Quote from FXStrato »

I like what I see so far. Great job. Maybe for dispensers, an aztec god image?

Thanks. I had mentioned a similar idea to XSSheep for oni dispensers in his Nagareru pack... and then completely forgot about the idea for my own!

I also want to make the bed look like a sacrificial altar. I'm not even close to satisfied with the first attempt but I do want to refine the idea. Sleep well... and forever!

Quote from XSSheep »

I think cobble and mossy cobble should be large slabs of stone than the mossy in the picture though, and they would probably be a bit better if they were horizontally placed instead of vertical, but that's just my opinion :tongue.gif:

I'm inclined to agree. I really just want to capture the look of the source picture, but it seems I'm far better at manipulating photos than I am at creating raw work by hand. That's why the dispenser and bedrock look so much better than the cobnble and the bed.

Quote from XSSheep »

I have a whole bunch of 64x mayan and incan textures from my tomb raider pack if you want them!
There are some REALLY awesome textures in there.... :biggrin.gif:

Oh my God YES. I love you (totally non homo). I had a look at that thread and it's EXACTLY the sort of thing I need!

Quote from Glimmar »

I am so glad you are doing this, you have a good eye for detail and judging by the pics you're more than up to the task. Best wishes for it's success mate. If I can help with any advise (as humble as that may be) let me know. Just lookout for those thieving f*£$&+!!!, moneygrabbing £*&£*&+!!!

Thanks - most of all I could use advise on how to use the various effects and features of Paint.NET. I used to use Photoshop many many years ago but it's not quite the same, and I've forgotten almost everything anyhow.

As for the folks who'll steal others' work for their own texture packs, I'm not too worried. Right now I haven't got much worth stealing, and by the time I release the pack, I expect we'll have the issue addressed.

Thanks to everyone for the support and encouragement.

Minor update:

Thanks to Kroc and XSSheep, I now have access to a vast library of textures that will permit me to make the pack in 64x resolution. That's the resolution I prefer to play at, as it provides the best balance between high detail and good performance (at least on machines like my own).

This will also allow me to get an initial pack out much quicker!

Nonsense, my friend - it was you who gave me the inspiration to do this from the start - and now I can do it in the 64x style I would have preferred, as you mentioned.

I've got a number of screenshots from my first pass on the terrain sheet!

Many thanks to Kroc and XSSheep for the Tomb Raider textures and other contributions, and to Grugsy for the stone! Here we go:

I'm really pleased with the way the monster spawner came out:



Here's the obsidian block and the dispenser:



The netherrack and the soul sand:



The turquoise (lapis lazuli) and gold blocks:



My well, made from mossy stone and wooden posts and steps:



The castle gate, featuring the new cobble and Sheep's wooden door:



The new glass, dispenser/furnace side, and Sheep's chest top:



New bricks and windows!



Here's the new stone half-blocks:



I wanted bookshelves that looked like scroll holders or something similar. This is subject to change:



The new lava - I'm not yet sure how to animate it, will be looking into that eventually:



and finally for now, the new ladders.



I hope you enjoy the new pictures! I'll keep working on the rest, and any help is welcomed!

Yes, I noticed that when I posted the screenshot, but wasn't sure if that's what it was. But it's fixed now. Thanks for catching that.

I've got to say, your cobble and mossy textures really define the look of the pack. I really appreciate you contributing the use of them and the other textures you made!

So is this what's becoming of the Tomb Raider texture pack, or are you just going to use some of the textures? I'll help, though I'm not sure how I can.

My own texture pack is using a few of the Tomb Raider game tiles, and I'll likely include some more. You're welcome to use some of my textures if you can find a place for them.

I'm going to employ the textures that are appropriate for the Mesoamerican setting - but there are so many other good ones that we could easily make other packs as well. But I think that trying to include all the different settings in one pack (Central/South American, Asian, North African) may leave it with less of a theme I'm noticing enough stuff to attempt a 64x version of ModernCraft though, so I'm going to assemble the textures that fit in that theme as I come across them... and meanwhile, I'll try to come up with a good name for that pack as well.

OK, I'm back - though I'm totally unable to log into my old account. None of the recommendations worked, so... I guess this is me, now.

I fixed the mossy stone (and that one stray purple pixel in the bottom left corner of the spawner) and I'm seeing what else I can use from the Tomb Raider textures I've got, then I'll have a better idea of what needs to be made from scratch or begged from elsewhere.

OK, that is totally weird... since they re-loaded the member database, the username "Blackwolf67" is now showing as "xXSypherXx". I have no idea where that came from or if it means someone else is now using that login, but I sure didn't choose it.

Glad my original username is working again!