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Biomes Example

"To the right of the player is a Taiga (mostly over the ocean), to the left is either a Forest, or Woods, I can’t remember. In the distance is probably tundra." -Notch

File:Biomes Graph.jpg

The biomes graph from Notch.

BiomesGraph

The graph above recreated.

According to Wikipedia, biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems.

In Minecraft, from the Halloween Update onwards, this means different areas with different heights, temperatures, humidity ratings and foliage colors are created.

Before the Halloween update, when a map was generated it got a theme of either Snowy or Grassy. After this update, a single world includes all themes in a logical fashion determined by the biomes graph.

A demonstration can be viewed here.

Pre-Update Saves

Worlds generated prior to the update remained unchanged save for alterration of the grass color. This "biome" is called Shrublands. However, any new chunks generated (by the player moving outside of the pre-biome world's generated bounds) do generate biomes, just as The Nether is generated when you first enter it using a portal.

Biome Types

Grasscolor

A .png from the minecraft files that determines the color of the grass at certain temperatures and rainfalls.

File:Grassgradient.PNG

A border between two grass-based biomes. To the right, the grass is more dull/brown; to the left, it is greener.

Biome types may be easily distinguished by the differentiating grass and leaf colors in conjunction with the kind of blocks present, i.e. cacti in desert, etc. Biomes are randomly created during the generation of the world and they are affected by the seeds. There are 11 biome types: (note: these names come from Notch's notes) In addition, there is a biome called Ice Desert that is in the code, but doesn't spawn naturally.

Biome Characteristics Image
Rain Forest A biome with many trees and lakes. Some trees may also have leaves extending to the ground, covering the entire trunk. Has a 33% chance to create branched trees, compared to the usual 10%. Has, on average, five more trees per chunk than woods. Rainforest
Swamp A biome with many small pools. Stalks of Sugar Cane are commonly found. Swampland
Seasonal Forest Has, on average, two more trees per chunk than woods. SeasonalForest
Forest A biome with many trees. Has, on average, five more trees per chunk than woods. Wolves are also found on this biome more commonly than others. Forest
Savanna A biome with mostly flat terrain, almost no trees, and dull colored grass. Savanna
Shrubland A biome with some trees and dull colored grass. Usually found on the fringe between forest and savanna. Shrubland
Taiga A snowy biome composed of mostly mountainous terrain and, on average, twenty trees per chunk. This biome is also the most common. Wolves are also found on this biome more commonly than others. Taiga
Desert A biome consisting mostly of sand, dead shrubs, and cacti. Trees do not generate in deserts unless the player brings in dirt, as dirt does not generate naturally in deserts. Very little, to no rain occurs in this biome. Desert
Plains Just like desert, only with grass in the place of sand. The occasional tree does exist, though very rarely. Plains
Tundra Snowy, barren terrain with very few trees. The occasional tree does exist, though very rarely. Tundra
The Nether This is not an official biome, as it is not usually found in the normal world, but it does have unique geographical features, making it similar to a biome. In rare occasions, most likely due to glitches, nether biomes can be found in the normal world. Nether 'biome'

Biome Screen-shots

These screenshots were made by editing code in Minecraft's java files, creating worlds made up of only one Biome. This was done consecutively with each Biome type and their screen-shots are collated here. The original topic is on the Minecraft forum, here.

Difficulty

Starting in a biome with almost no trees, like desert or plains, can prove much more difficult than starting in a biome like Rain Forest because the player won't have as many trees to create a pick or shelter. Even though one can travel to another biome at the very start of the game if the biome is unpleasant, the player would be wasting precious time that could otherwise be spent preparing for nightfall.

Remaining Work

Remaining work on biomes include variable elevations in certain biomes (flat elevation in desert biomes, etc.) in addition to improving the border between arctic and tropical biomes.

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