Minecraft has a lot of blocks, but what if they had more? Why do we need them? Please don't just add lists of things - these will be marked as spam and removed! Also, no furniture, guns, or vertical/"sideways"/"upright"/"standing" slabs (yes, we see you).

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Books of maps (Atlas)

An explorer needs to carry more and more maps. Even at 4 to 1, the number of maps necessary can eventually overload the total inventory. This makes exploring very difficult, since if you are carrying maps of the explored area you eventually have to leave out critical supplies: wood, stone, iron, coal, and food.

If maps can be held in a book, an atlas, you can explore with only one or two maps exposed either in hand or in inventory. This frees up the vast bulk of inventory slots for your necessary survival equipment.

I think that a map atlas should be restricted to a single size of map. With the ability to hold a large number of maps in the atlas, this shouldn't be a concern.

My characters tend to be explorers and adventurers. As the bear, they like to go 'round the mountain to see what they can see. Being able to make books with large number of accessible maps would make this style of gameplay much more enjoyable.

My current largest map room has 16:1 maps on the wall in a 3 by 5 grid. Not all individual maps are complete because of travel time and difficulties. It's obvious that to travel from the center to the frontier requires carrying several maps just to avoid getting lost.

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    Registered User commented
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    Updated subject to make it easier to find in search.

  • 1
    Registered User commented
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    With that, a Book of Maps just makes sense to carry instead of eighteen different maps at once.

  • 2
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    I feel like holding the atlas in you left or right hand should display the map corresponding with the current player location.

    If empty map are added to the book. they also should automatically consumed whenever a new area is explored

  • 3
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    I came here for this same reason for bedrock edition. Here is how I think it could work.

    To create an atlas:
    Place an empty book into the top slot of a cartography table and a filled out map into the bottom to convert the book into an atlas by adding the first map to the book. Use the same method to add additional maps to the atlas.

    To select a map to view in main or off-hand:

    1. With the atlas selected in the hot-bar, seen as a map with a book-like border, "use" the atlas. The atlas will open to the cover page containing information about the atlas (number of maps it contains), or the last map selected.
    2. Navigate through the atlas as one would a book until the desired map is viewed.
    3. Close the atlas and the selected map is now shown as the in-hand item.

    Thoughts:

    1. maps that can be added (filled or partially filled)?
    2. be able to remove maps or not
    3. limit the number of maps that can be added or not
    4. Xavier Hervy comment is also a good idea
    5. use locator maps to be able to see where other players are. this is very helpful when working with other on a survival realm.
  • 1
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    also maybe you'd still being able to write in it. say you have a map on one page then the next page you could write POIs, etc.

  • 2
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    It makes sense that all of the maps in an atlas must be to the same scale. There is no reason that a player couldn't work on different atlases at different times - each in a different scale if desired.

    My vision is that the atlas starts out like an empty binder to which the player can add pages (maps). The first page added would determine the scale of the atlas and limit all future additions to that scale. Also, once added a map couldn't be removed.

    There should be a way to duplicate a page though to provide features for multi person game play. That way a veteran explorer could copy a map to give to a novice for his use. As at present, the copy would need to stay linked with the original so any changes to one would change all.

  • 0
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    There was a mod like that Bibliocraft I think that had an Atlas (among other things) also adding (to your idea) a function to add markers/footnotes would be cool, give it kind of a Adventure/Explore the vast unknown feel :3

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    Registered User commented
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    I want to add a suggestion that the cartography table could be used to add maps to the atlas just as paper expands a map's reach.

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    to add to this have the atlas actualy a big map we know this is possible cause that's only way treasure maps work cause it generates that chunk for the treasure map into the map so has to naturaly make the big map lead towards it. and I think there was way to generate world map and save it to jpeg.  

    now if there is a global map under the engine so to speak   say your base is in area A   slap down 9 item frames  tap each frame with atlas and it displays the areas corisponding on that location thus can make a big map room or town map using said atlas. so  now you go to area B and do same with item frames  can make a map there corisponding to that area depending on scale of atlas.  instead of having to guess the chunks or count the blocks to make perfect map transition for markers 

  • 4
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    I would be happy with just the ability to put maps into written books. The cartography table would probably be the best block to enable that. To keep things balanced, the maps should be non-locating. If this is implemented, the books MUST retain the ability to be copied, otherwise many uses will cease to be practical.

  • 2
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    I have a couple suggestions to add to this.

    1: there should be two types of atlasses, locator and non-locator maps.

    And 2: the atlas should automatically change maps as you cross their boundaries, provided you have the maps for those areas.

  • 0
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    I would like to see this idea even more flexible\versatile with individually each page of the book have some kind of config that can change its state from a page to one that u can write or one that I can put a map on it. That way the books could be filled with so much information and the possibility of sharing ideas in an item would be beyond anything archived in this game. (e.g; books explaining topics assisted by images)

    But yeah, anybody that know this game mechanics (java edition, I don't know about bedrock) understands that there is a limit in the amount of data per chunk and the possibility of having thousands of books in the same chunk (lets say MB's of info) could bring serious performance issue like lag spikes and probably a chuck duplication glitch somehow. The only way of this feature would be implemented would take changes in the deep core of game mechanics and memory usage.

    I only know that nothing I know

  • 0
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    I logged on to suggest this myself... then was delighted to see someone had beat me to it... then was saddened to see how long ago the OP's post is with so few up votes. How is this not more popular? Would be SO handy.

  • 0
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    An atlas would definitely encourage people to explore more, and use the sort of "waypoint" feature mojang implemented with banners a while back. This would be a great blend of minecraft and minimap mods.

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    I think the atlas must be made by a writtable book and the map. 

     

    For crafting it, you would put the writtable book in the cartography table as if you were going to add a compass or a glass pane to the map, but giving the possibility to choose the page of the book, or, if not, just add it as another page if the book has the free space (then you would choose where the map's page would be). About if it takes all the map (as you "lose" the compass or glass pane"), or it just copy the map in a book's page, I consider the last option as the best. 

    For some parity between Bedrock and Java (cause the books interface is different), there would be one map per page, and, as long as the maps are squares and gives some free space to the books, it may be possible to place the map in the upper or lower place of the page, and leting the player add some notes in the free space. 

     

    For the use, I don't think it should work as a normal map. The maps take an slot from the inventory for it's use, so being able to have the map updating itselve while you have the atlas would be a bit "overpowered". So, as long as it wouldn't take you map, you would be able to update the atlas whenever you want. 

     

    About the use of the atlas, it would let the community to make more interesting creations, and, maybe, to add some atlas on the ruins (maybe from the deep dark city or other places). 

     

    A last use for the atlas is to have the possibility to have images in books; that would be fun. 

  • 0
    Registered User commented
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    While an atlas could automatically switch to a contained map that covers the current area, it should not automatically create one since that would destroy the value and mechanics of the current two ways of creating a map. Additionally, it can confuse the plain map/locater map process. 
    Suppose you moved to an unmapped area. If you had no compasses, an automatic process would need to generate a plain map; but what if your atlas were filled with locater maps?

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    Should it be possible to duplicate an atlas? Maybe. It depends on the number of books, papers, compasses, etc. were required to produce the source atlas; as well as how large an atlas can be. With some number of maps in the source, it would be impossible to inventory enough supplies to recreate it.
    Perhaps that could set the upper size of an atlas. It would still make it a major chore to create the copy though. It's probably better to allow individual maps to be copied but not the entire atlas.

     

  • 0
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    An atlas should be able to be named and have a set maximum of pages based on the level of maps in the atlas.  A level 4 atlas could have 9 pages, level 3 atlas 12 pages, etc. The atlas would display the current map (if in the atlas), or the nearest map to the player if the map is not in the atlas.  Crossing the map border would flip to the correct page if the map is in the atlas.  

    The atlas can be looked at and pages turned as if reading a regular book. The pages would be auto sorted based on coordinates, with the northwestern-most map occurring first.  

    Maps in the atlas would update any duplicate copies of the map. 

  • 0
    Registered User commented
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    it would be nice to have the maps manually inserted into book and quills using a cartography table, allowing you to put it in certain pages.

  • 1
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    My thoughts on Atlas game mechanics:

    1. The atlas is crafted with maps (not empty maps). More maps can be added later on. Map size does not matter. 

    2. The maps that are placed in the Atlas are locked, but can be replicated with the cartography table to unlock them. (this is mainly to prevent lag, but also can be used to make an art book)

    3. The maps can be displayed on a lectern, or you can right click with the atlas to view the maps like a written book. At the top of the map screen, the page is labeled with the name of the map.

    4. the cloud texture from the map is replaced with the paper texture.

    5. Maybe there could be a way to combine Atlases, maps, written books, banners, etc...

  • 0
    Registered User commented
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    Yes, I like this and it would also be cool if you could add maps to it as you go. Even if you were restricted to twenty maps, like how written books restrict the number of pages, it would be pretty cool to have your own atlases and be able to name them and place them into shelves.

  • 0
    Registered User commented
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    I find that the Atlas mod demonstrates this concept very well.