Overview#
The Antique Atlas mod introduces a unique, immersive mapping system to Minecraft. Unlike traditional GPS-style mini-maps, the Antique Atlas is a craftable item that functions as a hand-drawn ledger of your travels. It features a distinct aesthetic reminiscent of old-world parchment maps, providing a stylized view of biomes, structures, and terrain.
The map is infinite in all directions, automatically recording the landscape as the player explores. It supports custom markers, zooming, and even the ability to export your map as an image file for use outside of the game.
Items#
The mod adds two primary items that facilitate the mapping process.
Empty Antique Atlas
The Empty Antique Atlas is the base item required to start your journey. It does not contain any map data until it is activated by the player.
Antique Atlas
Once an Empty Antique Atlas is used (right-clicked), it becomes an active Antique Atlas. This item stores all the geographical data, markers, and exploration progress. Each Atlas is assigned a unique ID, allowing players to have multiple different maps or copies of the same map.
| Item | Description | Stack Size |
|---|---|---|
| Empty Antique Atlas | A fresh book ready to be used for mapping. | 64 |
| Antique Atlas | An active map containing exploration data. | 1 |
Crafting Recipes#
The Antique Atlas is accessible early in the game, requiring only basic materials.
Creating an Atlas
To create an Empty Antique Atlas, combine a Compass with a Book in any crafting grid.
| Ingredient A | Ingredient B | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Book | Compass | Empty Antique Atlas |
Copying an Atlas
You can create a duplicate of an existing Atlas. This is useful for sharing your map progress with other players or keeping a backup in a chest. Both Atlases will share the same ID and will update simultaneously as either player explores.
| Ingredient A | Ingredient B | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Antique Atlas (Active) | Empty Antique Atlas | 2x Antique Atlas (Linked) |
Merging Atlases
If you have two different Atlases with different exploration data, you can combine them. The resulting Atlas will contain the combined data of both maps.
| Ingredient A | Ingredient B | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Antique Atlas (Map A) | Antique Atlas (Map B) | Antique Atlas (Combined) |
Mechanics and Controls#
The Antique Atlas interface is intuitive and offers several features for navigation and organization.
Navigation
- Opening the Map: Right-click with the Antique Atlas in hand.
- Panning: Click and drag the mouse to move the map view. You can also use the W, A, S, and D keys to scroll.
- Zooming: Use the Mouse Wheel or the on-screen plus (+) and minus (-) buttons to zoom in and out.
- Centering: Click the 'Center' button to snap the view back to the player's current location.
Markers
Markers allow you to label points of interest such as bases, villages, or rare structures.
- Adding a Marker: Right-click any location on the map to open the marker creation menu.
- Marker Types: You can choose from various icons including houses, towers, caves, skulls, and more.
- Editing/Deleting: Click on an existing marker to change its icon, label, or remove it entirely.
Exporting the Map
The mod includes a feature to export the current map data into a PNG file. This is typically done via a button in the GUI or a console command. The exported image will be saved in a folder named antiqueatlas_exports within your Minecraft directory.
Visuals and Biomes#
The Atlas uses a tile-based system to represent the world. Each biome is assigned a specific texture that reflects its environment.
| Biome Category | Visual Representation |
|---|---|
| Forests | Dense clusters of hand-drawn deciduous or coniferous trees. |
| Deserts | Sparse dots representing sand dunes and occasional cacti. |
| Oceans | Wavy horizontal lines indicating water depth and surface. |
| Mountains | Craggy peaks and shaded slopes. |
| Plains | Open spaces with small tufts of grass. |
| Swamps | Darker water tiles with lily pads and gnarled trees. |
Structures like Villages, Strongholds, and Temples are automatically marked with specific icons if the player passes close enough to them.
Customization and API#
Antique Atlas is highly extensible, allowing players and modpack creators to modify its appearance and functionality.
Texture Editing
For versions 6.0.0 and newer, textures are handled via the standard Minecraft Resource Pack system. You can override the default parchment look by placing new textures in assets/antiqueatlas/textures/gui/. This includes the background, buttons, and biome tiles.
Adding Custom Markers
Custom markers can be added by creating a JSON file in a data pack. This allows for mod compatibility, where unique icons can be assigned to structures from other mods. The JSON must define the marker ID and the path to the texture icon.
API for Developers
The mod provides a documented API that allows other mods to:
- Register new biome textures.
- Programmatically add markers to a player's Atlas.
- Query map data for integration with questing mods or navigation tools.
Configuration#
The mod's behavior can be adjusted via the antiqueatlas-client.toml and antiqueatlas-common.toml files.
- auto_reveal_structures: (Boolean) If set to true, the map will automatically place markers for structures like villages when discovered.
- marker_max_distance: (Integer) Sets how far away a player can be from a marker for it to still be visible on the map edges.
- export_size_limit: (Integer) Limits the maximum resolution of exported PNG maps to prevent memory issues.
- do_draw_player_coords: (Boolean) Toggles the display of numerical X and Z coordinates in the map GUI.
