Minecraft 1.2: New map format on the pipeline!

You can find the new here, but I will quote the most relevant data in this post:

• Maximum build height has been increased to 256 (was 128)
• Empty sections of the world are not loaded into memory
• Block ids have been increased to 4096 (was 256) by adding a 4 bit data layer (similar to how meta data is stored)
• Block ordering have been changed from x/z/y to y/z/x in order to improve compression
• Packets for sending chunks have been updated (a full 128-high chunk is smaller than the old format, and a chunk with lots of empty space is much smaller)
• Biomes are saved per x/z column, which means they can be altered by tools

The next snapshot, and Minecraft 1.2, will automatically convert worlds to the new format. The files of the current format (“McRegion”) will remain in your save folder, if you need to restore them for some reason.

Also,

The 16x128x16 “Blocks”, “Data”, “SkyLight” and “BlockLight” tags are removed

A “Sections” tag has been added with up to 16 compound tags

Each section has 16x16x16 “Blocks”, “Data”, “SkyLight” and “BlockLight” tags

Each section has a “Y” integer tag saying which section it is (note that some Y positions can be skipped). 0 is at the bottom of the world and 15 is the topmost section

Each section also has a “AddBlocks” tag, which is a DataLayer byte array just like “Data”. The “AddBlocks” tag is not included in the converter since the old format never had block ids above 255. This extra tag is created whenever a block requires it, so the getTile() method needs to check if the array exists and then combine it with the default block data. In other words, blockId = (addBlock << 8) + baseId.

Each chunk has a 16×16 byte array with biome ids called “Biomes”. If this array is missing it will be filled when the game starts. The converter doesn’t include any biome sources, though (it had too many dependencies to be included).

Note that the old format is XZY and the new format is YZX (see the difference between DataLayer and OldDataLayer).

The new format uses the extension “.mca” instead of “.mcr” (the old format is kept for safety, with the level.dat backed up as “level.dat_mcr”)

What does that mean? Well, I foresee a problem with the non-vanilla Minecraft maps including new blocks (like the ones with RedPower, or Industrialcraft, or Forestry...), more than likely due to the change in ID's. Aside from that, I can happily say that a lot of mods will be played together after Minecraft 1.2... if more Sprite IDs are included, that is :S

 

Buildcraft 3.0

SpaceToad just released a video of the upcoming Buildcraft 3, with wiring and two logic gates integrated into the pipes (AND & OR). I sent him a message asking for ways to craft pipes with the wiring already in place (so if we wanna make a pipe system using the four avaiable colors, we wont need to walk & put stuff 5 times, but just put together the wiring and the pipes in a crafting table). Here you have the video:

I really like the part about being able to turn off the engines if they hit the red zone, since for some reason I always end running out of water to cool the engines XD.
I also found this thread in the Buildcraft forum about tips & tricks related to Buildcraft. Just one detail: I bet when they say "redstone engine" they refere to a hot engine (in the yellow level).

Finally, I'll be releasing some videos about Equivalent Exchange, BC2, Tale of Kingdoms, and all the other stuff I'm using. Because, to be truthful, I want to show my base before the next round of upgradings turns it to dust XD.