A Superflat world.
Superflat (sometimes called Flatlands) is a world type replacing the normal varied terrain of the Overworld with a thin flat layer of dirt.
The terrain consists of one layer of bedrock, two layers of dirt, and one layer of grass; the surface of the world is completely flat and at height y = 4, with the exception of NPC villages. Since the height limit (256) is unchanged, there is then slightly less than one-third more vertical height available to build above-ground structures as compared to a normal world. Mobs spawn as normal, including Slimes; however, there is no “Void Fog” as would ordinarily be caused by being close to the bottom, even for areas that are completely shielded from sunlight, whether in Survival or Creative mode.
Because of there being chests in villages, and villages frequently spawning near the spawn point, it is possible to use Superflat as a challenge map. However, the high amount of slimes makes this extremely difficult to an inexperienced player.
The Nether and the End generate normally; they are not flat, although there is no possible way for the player to travel to the end in superflat without using creative mode or a mod, as there are no Strongholds. In order to create a Superflat world in SMP, the level-type flag in server.properties must be "FLAT", instead of "DEFAULT".
Customization
In 12w37a, customization options were added to the world creation screen. Upon selecting "Superflat" in the World Type box, a new button appears underneath called "Customize". The customize menu starts out with the "Classic Flat" preset of one layer of grass, two dirt layers, and then bedrock underneath. Three buttons, 'Add Layer', 'Edit Layer', and 'Remove Layer', allow you to completely change the world, including filling all 256 layers with block types of your choosing. Currently (as of 12w37a) the add and edit options are marked 'NYI', to show they are not yet implemented. There are seven presets available, and provided you can understand the layer syntax you can still create presets of your own by entering the correct block IDs into the 'preset code box'.
| Preset | Description (from surface downwards) |
|---|---|
| Classic Flat | Default; one layer of grass, two layers of dirt, then a layer of bedrock. |
| Tunnelers' Dream | One layer of grass, five layers of dirt, 230 layers of stone and then a layer of bedrock. |
| Water World | 90 layers of water, five sand, five dirt, five stone, and then one layer of bedrock. |
| Overworld | Similar build to Tunnelers' Dream, except 59 layers of stone and three of dirt. This is to mimic the height of default world generation. |
| Snowy Kingdom | Same as Overworld, but with a layer of snow on top. |
| Bottomless Pit | This option currently has an error.[1] The current settings are exactly like Classic Flat, but the bottom layer was supposed to be cobblestone, not bedrock. (Image showing correct layers) You can correct the preset by manually entering a layer generation code of 1;4,2x3,2;1. |
| Desert | Eight layers of sand, 52 sandstone, three stone, then one layer of bedrock. |
Presets are shareable. As a preset is selected, a box on top of the screen has a code you are able to highlight and copy. Similar to how new worlds are shared through seeds, presets can be entered into this box to recreate someone else's preset. Information on the syntax of the presets will follow.
History
| r | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12w01a | Added Superflat world type. | ||||
| 12w25a | Slime spawning in Superflat is reduced. | ||||
| 1.3.1 | Prior to 1.3.1, there was no consistent spawn point unless the player had slept in a bed; the player could respawn far from the previous spawning location without anything in sight. This may have been due to the lack of ground at the usual height of about 64. | ||||
| u | |||||
| 12w36a | Editing a specific part of your level.dat can give you a customized Superflat world.[citation needed] | ||||
| 12w37a | Added customization options. | ||||
Resources that can be found in Superflat world
The resources below can always be found, regardless of the "Generate Structures" option.
| Icon | Dec | Hex | Block type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | 00 | Air | |
| 02 | 2 | Grass | |
| 03 | 3 | Dirt | |
| 07 | 07 | Bedrock |
The resources below can only be found if the "Generate Structures" option is enabled. These do not include trading with villagers.
| Icon | Dec | Hex | Block type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04 | 4 | Cobblestone | |
| File:Wooden Plank.png | 05 | 5 | Wooden Planks |
| 09 | 9 | Stationary water | |
| 11 | B | Stationary lava | |
| 13 | D | Gravel | |
| File:Wood.png | 17 | 11 | Wood |
| 35 | 23 | Wool | |
| File:Double Stone Slab.png | 43 | 2B | Double Stone Slabs |
| 44 | 2C | Stone Slabs | |
| 47 | 2F | Bookshelf | |
| 50 | 32 | Torch | |
| File:Wooden Stairs.png | 53 | 35 | Wooden Stairs |
| 54 | 36 | Chest | |
| 58 | 3A | Crafting Table | |
| File:Crops.png | 59 | 3B | Wheat Seeds |
| 60 | 3C | Farmland | |
| 61 | 3D | Furnace | |
| File:Wooden Door.png | 64 | 40 | Wooden Door |
| File:Ladders.png | 65 | 41 | Ladder |
| 67 | 43 | Cobblestone Stairs | |
| File:Wooden Pressure Plate.png | 72 | 48 | Wooden Pressure Plate |
| File:Fence.png | 85 | 55 | Fence |
| 101 | 65 | Iron Bars | |
| 102 | 66 | Glass Pane |
Village chests may contain these items:
| Icon | Dec | Hex | Block type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 06 | Sapling | |
| 49 | 31 | Obsidian | |
| 257 | 101 | Iron Pickaxe | |
| 260 | 104 | Red Apple | |
| File:Diamond (Gem).png | 264 | 108 | Diamond |
| File:Ironitm.png | 265 | 109 | Iron Ingot |
| File:Golditm.png | 266 | 10A | Gold Ingot |
| 267 | 10B | Iron Sword | |
| 297 | 129 | Bread | |
| 306 | 132 | Iron Helmet | |
| 307 | 133 | Iron Chestplate | |
| 308 | 134 | Iron Leggings | |
| 309 | 135 | Iron Boots |
Bugs
- If the player breaks the Bedrock barrier, the player can see that the Void has the same color of the sky while the player is above y=0, but looks normal (black) when the player is below y=0.
- Superflat worlds may contain chunk errors that will generate default worlds.
- If you overwrite a Superflat world with a default world of the same name, some chunks (and sometimes massive areas) may remain Superflat, though the grass color will change with the biome.
- Water World spawns you on top of the dirt layer, making Survival impossible in a new world. Workarounds are either spawning in Creative and flying up, or editing the save files after world creation to move spawn.
Trivia
- The volume of an entire Classic Flat world, not including villages, bonus chests, or air, is 3.6 million km3, and the world is composed of 3,600,000,000,000,000 blocks.
- NPC Villages seem to spawn more frequently on Superflat worlds than normal worlds, due to the fact that the entire world generates as a Plains biome.
- Before 12w25a, Slimes spawn in huge numbers in Superflat because they are only four blocks away from the bedrock layer.
- In creative, if one digs through bedrock in the right place but does NOT fall in, the moon/sun can be observed at noon/midnight respectively.
- Even though air layers cannot be added by typing 0, you can add them by typing an item ID.
Gallery
Slimes spawning in the Superflat world.
An image tweeted by Jeb of a village spawned in a Superflat world.
- 2012-01-15 10.15.56.png
A Village spawned in Superflat world type.
Some of the new Preset world gens.[2]
- -Atlantis-.jpeg
"Atlantis"[3]



![Some of the new Preset world gens.[2]](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/minecraft_gamepedia/images/7/72/Preset_superflats_image.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/120?cb=20191229135219)
