Jeb is adding the long requested "super flat" map option, so now we can get flat grass maps without having to download a map off the internet!
But there are a few additional map options I think we could use. I'm not going to suggest biome preferences like "infinite snow world" although those would be nice, but instead some major fundamental map changes to support different kinds of gameplay and construction entirely.
Perhaps some of these can be checkboxes, so you could apply multiple special conditions to a single world.
Flat & Low Grass - Creates a flat plane of grass at y=1 above a flat plane of bedrock at y=0 and turns off void fog. This is to allow very tall structures without raising the height limit.
Infinite Void - Creates a map with no blocks at all, just an infinite empty space. The only blocks generated with the map are a small obsidian platform at 0, 64, 0 that the player spawns on. This map is to create structures hanging in mid-air.
Finite World - Creates a map limited in size. Void fog turns on if players too far away from spawn at any altitude, and players suffer damage and cannot place blocks too deep into the fog. Depending on technical feasibility there may be a few different sized finite world maps to choose from (from tiny to huge), or perhaps an option to create a finite map of any size by entering in a custom number of chunks. This map is to prevent players to wandering too far, useful for servers that want to limit the size of the world.
Finite Earth - Only places blocks in chunks up to a certain distance from spawn, has empty void beyond it. Unlike the finite world map you can build into the emptyness an infinite distance, there just aren't any blocks there to begin with. Perhaps the border will be a little rough, so if a player does get there it seems like semi-natural terrain rather than a stark flat surface.
Island - Like Finite Earth, except it places nothing but ocean biomes beyond a certain point. Blocks are still generated infinitely, they're just underwater.
Eternal Noon - Time is frozen at noon, weather is turned off.
Sourceless Light - All blocks and entities are perfectly illuminated at all times, even without a light source. You can still places torches, glowstone, etc. but just for ornamental purposes. Useful if you want to show off massive constructions without worrying about how to light everything.
Flat Nether - The nether in that world is replaced with a flat layer of bedrock at the bottom and top of the map, with a single layer of netherrack above/below it. No other blocks are generated.
No Nether - Nether portals cannot be created in that world.
EDIT - A few more useful options came to me:
Flat & Not Quite As Low - Creates a flat plane of bedrock at y=0, a flat plane of grass at y=15, and fills the space in between with stone. This is to allow a little bit of underground construction and man-made terrain variation, while still lowering the surface to allow taller structures.
Occasional Flatness - The map generates normally, but randomly includes frequent large areas of perfectly flat grass without tall grass. For example, you might have a flat grass field generate in the middle of a hilly forest, or a mountain might end with a flat plateau on top. This is to provide plenty of ideal spaces for easy construction, but within a normal seeming world rather than a weird alien flat grass plane. The terrain generator would be designed to make these flat areas mesh with the surrounding non-flat regions as naturally as possible.
Parallel Worlds - Instead of the nether portals link to another Earth map. The 1:8 ratio isn't used, instead portals link to portals in as close to the same coordinates as possible, and create a new portal if there isn't one within 100 blocks. This is useful if you want to allow easy shifting between structures/environments, without dealing with an alien lava world or fast travel displacement.
I added a couple more map options I'd like to see:
Flat & Not Quite As Low - Creates a flat plane of bedrock at y=0, a flat plane of grass at y=15, and fills the space in between with stone. This is to allow a little bit of underground construction and man-made terrain variation, while still lowering the surface to allow taller structures.
Occasional Flatness - The map generates normally, but randomly includes frequent large areas of perfectly flat grass without tall grass. For example, you might have a flat grass field generate in the middle of a hilly forest, or a mountain might end with a flat plateau on top. This is to provide plenty of ideal spaces for easy construction, but within a normal seeming world rather than a weird alien flat grass plane. The terrain generator would be designed to make these flat areas mesh with the surrounding non-flat regions as naturally as possible.
Parallel Worlds - Instead of the nether portals link to another Earth map. The 1:8 ratio isn't used, instead portals link to portals in as close to the same coordinates as possible, and create a new portal if there isn't one within 100 blocks. This is useful if you want to allow easy shifting between structures/environments, without dealing with an alien lava world or fast travel displacement.
But there are a few additional map options I think we could use. I'm not going to suggest biome preferences like "infinite snow world" although those would be nice, but instead some major fundamental map changes to support different kinds of gameplay and construction entirely.
Perhaps some of these can be checkboxes, so you could apply multiple special conditions to a single world.
Flat & Low Grass - Creates a flat plane of grass at y=1 above a flat plane of bedrock at y=0 and turns off void fog. This is to allow very tall structures without raising the height limit.
Infinite Void - Creates a map with no blocks at all, just an infinite empty space. The only blocks generated with the map are a small obsidian platform at 0, 64, 0 that the player spawns on. This map is to create structures hanging in mid-air.
Finite World - Creates a map limited in size. Void fog turns on if players too far away from spawn at any altitude, and players suffer damage and cannot place blocks too deep into the fog. Depending on technical feasibility there may be a few different sized finite world maps to choose from (from tiny to huge), or perhaps an option to create a finite map of any size by entering in a custom number of chunks. This map is to prevent players to wandering too far, useful for servers that want to limit the size of the world.
Finite Earth - Only places blocks in chunks up to a certain distance from spawn, has empty void beyond it. Unlike the finite world map you can build into the emptyness an infinite distance, there just aren't any blocks there to begin with. Perhaps the border will be a little rough, so if a player does get there it seems like semi-natural terrain rather than a stark flat surface.
Island - Like Finite Earth, except it places nothing but ocean biomes beyond a certain point. Blocks are still generated infinitely, they're just underwater.
Eternal Noon - Time is frozen at noon, weather is turned off.
Sourceless Light - All blocks and entities are perfectly illuminated at all times, even without a light source. You can still places torches, glowstone, etc. but just for ornamental purposes. Useful if you want to show off massive constructions without worrying about how to light everything.
Flat Nether - The nether in that world is replaced with a flat layer of bedrock at the bottom and top of the map, with a single layer of netherrack above/below it. No other blocks are generated.
No Nether - Nether portals cannot be created in that world.
EDIT - A few more useful options came to me:
Flat & Not Quite As Low - Creates a flat plane of bedrock at y=0, a flat plane of grass at y=15, and fills the space in between with stone. This is to allow a little bit of underground construction and man-made terrain variation, while still lowering the surface to allow taller structures.
Occasional Flatness - The map generates normally, but randomly includes frequent large areas of perfectly flat grass without tall grass. For example, you might have a flat grass field generate in the middle of a hilly forest, or a mountain might end with a flat plateau on top. This is to provide plenty of ideal spaces for easy construction, but within a normal seeming world rather than a weird alien flat grass plane. The terrain generator would be designed to make these flat areas mesh with the surrounding non-flat regions as naturally as possible.
Parallel Worlds - Instead of the nether portals link to another Earth map. The 1:8 ratio isn't used, instead portals link to portals in as close to the same coordinates as possible, and create a new portal if there isn't one within 100 blocks. This is useful if you want to allow easy shifting between structures/environments, without dealing with an alien lava world or fast travel displacement.
Could be interesting, but there wouldn't be much you can do there without wood.
Flat & Not Quite As Low - Creates a flat plane of bedrock at y=0, a flat plane of grass at y=15, and fills the space in between with stone. This is to allow a little bit of underground construction and man-made terrain variation, while still lowering the surface to allow taller structures.
Occasional Flatness - The map generates normally, but randomly includes frequent large areas of perfectly flat grass without tall grass. For example, you might have a flat grass field generate in the middle of a hilly forest, or a mountain might end with a flat plateau on top. This is to provide plenty of ideal spaces for easy construction, but within a normal seeming world rather than a weird alien flat grass plane. The terrain generator would be designed to make these flat areas mesh with the surrounding non-flat regions as naturally as possible.
Parallel Worlds - Instead of the nether portals link to another Earth map. The 1:8 ratio isn't used, instead portals link to portals in as close to the same coordinates as possible, and create a new portal if there isn't one within 100 blocks. This is useful if you want to allow easy shifting between structures/environments, without dealing with an alien lava world or fast travel displacement.
I'd love a retooled, survivable, inescapable Nether just for Nether survival challenges.
Enter that and you'll score one hundred thousand rupees for us both, along with a spiffy card!