Map

The map is an item used to view explored terrain.

While a map is being held in the player's hand, it will gradually be drawn as the player explores the world. When the item is later selected, the player can see the area explored so far.

Each map is 128&times;128 total pixels, with each pixel representing a variable area of world space. When created, one pixel corresponds to one block. By re-crafting an existing map with eight more sheets of paper, zoomed out versions of the map can be generated. This can be done up to four times, producing zoom factors of 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, 1:8 and finally 1:16. A map therefore initially covers a 128&times;128 block area, or 8&times;8 chunks, and can be zoomed out to a maximum area of 2048&times;2048 blocks, or 128&times;128 chunks, which is slightly over 4 km².

Before weekly release 12w34a, maps' zoom factors were fixed at 8:1 giving coverage of 1024&times;1024 blocks, or 64&times;64 chunks, which gave a map area of about 1 km².

Since Infdev (and including Alpha, Beta, and Official versions), Minecraft worlds have essentially unlimited area to explore. One map could not possibly cover an entire world. Multiple maps can be crafted, and as from release 12w34a the area they cover is determined when they are 'activated' by right-clicking while holding a blank map. Prior to this, a map's centre was fixed when it was crafted. For further details see Multiple maps below.



Crafting
To craft a map from scratch, you will need nine sugar cane (every three pieces of sugar cane makes three sheets of paper), four iron ore, fuel to smelt that ore, a piece of Redstone Dust (requires an iron pickaxe or better) and access to a crafting table.

To 'activate' an empty map, move to the area you want it to cover, then right-click while holding it. The map will then start drawing the area around it. Zoomed out maps conform to a grid, which means when you craft a zoomed out map you won't necessarily be at its center.

Future
Beginning in Snapshot 12w34a, crafting a map creates an empty map. The map will be drawn for the first time when it is held and right clicked, and will be centered near the location of the player when clicked (not as before where it was centered on the location it was crafted.) The center of the map will be set to the nearest central point of 8 by 8 chunks. For instance, if the first map is generated between coordinates x:63 to -63 and z:63 to -63, the center will be 0,0 and the map will cover that entire area. Furthermore, maps can be zoomed out to different scales and they can be cloned, allowing players to share identical maps. There are new crafting recipes for each of these functions. Cloned maps are stackable. The center point of a new map will be the same as the initial map.

Zoom out
The zoom function from the time when you centered the map (zoom level 1) to the largest size (zoom level 5).

Cloning
Even already zoomed out maps can be cloned and keep their zoom level and original center, the already explored and mapped parts of the world are not copied.

There might be a way to allow maps to support more colours and texpack customizations.

Behavior
Each map is created with three parameters:
 * A map type, which can either be Overworld, Nether, or End. Overworld maps are created with a regular compass on the overworld. Nether maps are created in the nether, End maps in the End. If a map of any type is viewed in another realm, it shows whatever information had already been collected but it does not show the position/direction pointer, and moving about does not update it.
 * A center, which prior to snapshot 12w34a was where the map was crafted. From the 12w34a snapshot onwards, new maps are crafted as empty maps and are 'activated' by right-clicking. At this point the map center is fixed at the central point of the 8&times;8 block you are standing in.
 * A zoom level, which is fixed at 1:1 when the map is crafted, and can be increased to a maximum of 1:16 by re-crafting an existing map with an additional eight sheets of blank paper. Each re-crafting doubles the zoom factor; four re-craftings produces the largest possible map scale. This feature was first mentioned by Notch quite some time ago, but has only come into use with weekly release 12w34a. Maps used to have a fixed scale of 1 pixel to an 8&times;8 block square, equivalent to zoom level 4.

A map's parameters are fixed when the map is created. This means the map does not remain centered on the player, as happens in some games. When a player moves off the edge of a Minecraft map, the position/direction pointer disappears, and will not reappear until the player re-enters the area covered by that map. To cover a new region, a new map must be crafted. As of weekly snapshot 12w34a the pointer no longer disappears when leaving the map, but will transform into a white dot. This dot indicates on what side of the map you are. When placing a map into a Item Frame, the map will be shown and a green pointer will be placed at the location of the item frame.

To record the world on a map, that specific map item must be held in the player's hands while the player moves about the world. The world will be recorded as it is at exploration time, meaning that if the world is modified a player must revisit the area while holding the map in order to update the map's view. Maps are positioned low down in the player's field of view so as not to obstruct the player's view in front of them. The player must look down to view a map.

Multiple maps
In order to map a new area, an empty map must be carried into (or crafted in) that area and then 'activated' by right-clicking while holding it. The point where a map is activated determines its permanent center, and can never be changed.

Only the map being held will be drawn, even if another map covers the same area. A map that is never held will remain blank, even if another map in the player's inventory has already drawn its area.

From release 12w34a onwards, maps can be copied by crafting them with an empty map.

Between version 1.0.0 survival mode and weekly release 12w34a, to obtain a new map the user should not hold down shift when picking up the created map from the crafting table: holding shift while picking up the map will always create a clone of map_0, the first map created in that world. Every map cloned this way is named exactly the same (map_0) and is automatically updated with all the rest. In Creative mode, map_0 is automatically created, centered at the initial spawn point, and all maps taken from the creative mode inventory will be map_0. Maps of other regions can still be obtained by crafting them.

Map display
Each pixel of a map corresponds to a variably-sized area of the world, and is always aligned to X and Z coordinates that are multiples of 8. Generally, the color of a map pixel matches the color of the most common opaque block in the corresponding area, as seen from the sky. However, some blocks are seemingly colored incorrectly. For instance, sandstone, gold blocks, Huge Red Mushroom, Wool and netherrack are drawn in gray. 'Minority blocks' in the target area have no effect the color of the pixel, thus small features tend to be undetectable on zoomed-out maps.

Maps will also show ground up to about 15 blocks below the surface of the water in oceans as slightly lighter blue,so you can see where the ground rises. This is not true with land above water.

Maps are 128&times;128 pixels in size, giving coverage varying from 128&times;128 to 2048&times;2048 blocks – or 8&times;8 to 128&times;128 chunks depending on their zoom factor.

Multiplayer
In multiplayer, the maps have a strong social aspect, since it is possible to give one map to another player so they can observe what has been explored. Maps are able to be "cloned" so that players with the same map can combine the results of their exploration. The position of other players holding the same map is visible.

Usage
Maps are mostly used to give the player a sense of direction when lost. In SSP it can also be used to re-locate mineral deposits. In SMP, players are able to view others' maps and explorations by giving one another different maps. Maps are also an essential tool in PvP Servers, as to know where you and your enemies are located.

While maps in the Nether work, it has a ceiling, and all that will be shown is red and gray. The only useful function is finding where you are in relation to where you made the map. Additionally, the direction indicator rapidly spins and is not a good indicator of direction. Remembering that maps are north at the top and that the L corner of nether blocks points west is more reliable. And as long as the map was created near a portal, that map's center will always be that portal. Maps are only somewhat useful for knowing which parts of The Nether you have explored, especially since you may be re-visiting the same map area at a different height. (This also applies in the Overworld, but is more important in the Nether due to the latter's form.)

Maps made in the End show a similar red and gray pattern, despite the lack of a (visible) ceiling. The direction indicator does work properly, however.

Maps can also show elevation. Higher elevations in the world mean lighter colors on the map.

Bugs

 * If you try to look at a map while in 3rd or 2nd person, it will just appear that the player is holding the inventory picture of a map, instead of displaying the land around the player.
 * If you hold a map and enter a boat or minecart in 1st person view, switch to 3rd person view, then return to 1st person, the left hand is out of position. This can also happen if you open your inventory while sitting in a boat or minecart.
 * Maps can rarely map void areas but more often than not cause a saving chunks screen to appear followed by a crash. This is because maps aren't programmed to show the Void.
 * Maps do not work correctly on some servers with low viewing distances, and walking around only produces a few mapped pixels.
 * When holding a map while breaking a block, the map clears and increments the map index to the next number. (map_0 to map_1, etc.) (not in 1.0.0)
 * When loading your world, if you turn to the left, the player arrow will become off by a pixel (about 22.5 degrees); if you rotate right it will be fine. It also 'tracks' the number of rotations you've made in either direction.
 * Some maps in SMP will display normally while exploring, but once the user relogs vertical lines appear in the map that will go away. Giving the map to another player to look at for a moment most often seems to fix the issue.
 * When creating a new map in SMP, previously created maps currently in the player's inventory may become the new map.
 * All colors of wool show up as light gray on a map.
 * When you craft and look at a map with a structure at 230 blocks high, it will display "Saving chunks" and crash. (reported once)
 * In 1.2 if you make multiple maps it will only create a duplicate of map_0.
 * In 1.3.1 : when you craft a new map in SSP, it may be a duplicate of map_0 instead of a new one. This happens when you hold the shift key while picking up the map upon crafting.
 * In 1.3.1 : when viewing a map inside of a Boat, the directional arrow may point in the wrong direction (pointed in a direction that is not synced to the direction the player is facing even when in motion).

Trivia

 * In PVP Multiplayer servers, be cautious making/using maps as it will reveal your position and if another player makes a map at another time or is currently using a map you will show up on their map, revealing your base location if it was hidden. Note: This can be used to find other players bases but it is highly advised to craft your map at spawn or away from your base so they cannot use their map to find your base as stated above.
 * The map will record the surface even as you move through a cave, making it useful for determining if there are hazards (water, sand, lava) above you when you're digging a tunnel to the surface.
 * Maps and the drawn bow are the only two items in Minecraft that require two hands to hold.
 * When the player walks off the edge of a map, their location will momentarily jump to the other side of the map.
 * When edited into the player's inventory, the map's name (unless damage value was correctly specified) is always "map_x", where x is the number of the map. The first one will be map_0.
 * Maps, despite being made of paper, can be used in the rain and underwater.
 * Maps are currently the most heavily detailed object in Minecraft, having several times more pixels than a large painting.
 * Notch has said that maps' ability to save custom data could lead to the creation of real books written by players, or even paintings/signs that use custom textures. While such books were implemented in the 1.3.1 release, they do not store data in the same way as maps.
 * There can be no more than 65536 (216) unique maps per world.
 * If there are too many maps, when trying to craft one it will relay the message "Can't craft map: too many maps".
 * A map created using the "give" command can be any map by using the data parameter to specify the map number desired. If no data value is supplied it will default to Map_0. If Map_0 has not ever been crafted, it will be centered on the original spawn point (not moved with beds).
 * The map item currently only maps the surface, but Notch said that having "cave maps is an interesting idea".
 * Notch said that he would try to make maps place-able on walls. This feature is not currently in the game however. A Planned Feature including Item Frames makes it possible to place maps on the wall. Item Frames are most likely part of the 1.4 release.
 * The maps are stored separately as their own data (.dat) file as map_x.dat with (x) being the map number, see Map Item Format for more info. By manipulating this number, players can organize their maps to suit them, or if they accidentally create a map in the same location, they can delete their extra map so as to save the number they make.
 * Maps can map the void in SMP.
 * The center of the map is the block you were standing on when it was created, not at the point where it was first used, and not (necessarily) exactly the same location as the workbench it was crafted on.
 * Arm textures are rotated and show the back of the arm, because the player is holding the map in the palms of their hands.
 * Unlike compasses brought into The Nether or The End, the direction indicator of the map crafted in the Nether randomly spins in slow motion.
 * Maps are rectangular in item form, yet when viewed, they are clearly in a perfect square shape of the world.
 * In the Xbox 360 Version, you will have a map in your inventory when you spawn in a world for the first time.