Voxel Earth

# Voxel Earth > Real places, in Minecraft. (https://img.shields.io/discord/308323056592486420?label=&logo=discord&logoColor=ffffff&color=7389D8&labelColor=6A7EC2")](https://discord.gg/8MK8J9EQGe) Voxel Earth is a full pipeline for turning photogrammetry and 3D Tiles into block-based worlds. It streams Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles (and other sources) into Minecraft as voxelized chunks, so you can walk through real cities, mountains, and landmarks — block by block. - 🌍 Stream real-world 3D Tiles into Minecraft - 🧱 CPU voxelization, no GPU required on the server - ⚡ Designed to work hand-in-hand with FastAsyncWorldEdit (FAWE) - 🌐 Web client for browser-side experiments and previews - 🧪 Separate CLIs for each pipeline stage (download → decode → voxelize) --- ## Links & Community - **Website:** https://voxelearth.org - **Play server:** `play.voxelearth.org` - **Web client demo:** https://beta.voxelearth.org (browser viewer) - **Discord:** https://discord.gg/8MK8J9EQGe - **Monorepo (reference):** https://github.com/ryanhlewis/VoxelEarth --- **What is Voxel Earth and why should I use it?** Voxel Earth is a Minecraft + web ecosystem for exploring real-world geometry as voxels: - **3D Tiles to blocks** Fetches photogrammetry tiles (e.g. Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles), normalizes them, and converts them into Minecraft block palettes. - **On-demand streaming** Tiles are pulled and voxelized as players move around, so you can “walk into” a real city and watch it appear around you. - **Flexible pipeline** Each major step (download, Draco decode, voxelization) exists as a separate CLI tool and as embedded code in the plugin. You can test each stage locally before wiring everything together. - **Server-friendly** The Minecraft plugin is built as a single shaded JAR, with CPU voxelization and async integration with FAWE for high-throughput placement. --- ## Downloads > **Note:** Links below are placeholders / targets; some may not exist yet. - **Minecraft plugin (core Voxel Earth JAR)** - GitHub Releases: https://github.com/ryanhlewis/VoxelEarth/releases - Modrinth: https://modrinth.com/plugin/voxelearth - SpigotMC: https://www.spigotmc.org/resources/voxel-earth.130155/ - **Web client** - GitHub: https://github.com/voxelearth/web-client --- ## Minecraft Plugin ### Requirements - **Server:** Paper or Spigot **1.20+** with **FastAsyncWorldEdit (FAWE) installed** - **Java:** **Java 21+** --- ## Commands VoxelEarth’s plugin adds commands for geocoding, tile loading, and per-player preferences: ```yml /visit <location> Teleport to a geocoded location (city, landmark, etc.) and stream tiles around it. /visitradius <tiles> Configure how many tiles /visit loads around the target area. /moveradius <tiles> Set how many tiles are loaded as the player moves. /movethreshold <blocks> Movement distance (in blocks) required before triggering new loads. /moveload <on|off|toggle|status> Enable/disable movement-based loading for yourself. /visitother <player> <location> Teleport another player to a geocoded location and stream tiles. /visitradiusother <player> <tiles> /moveradiusother <player> <tiles> /movethresholdother <player> <blocks> Admin variants that adjust settings and notify other players. /voxelapikey <google-api-key> Store a Google API key for geocoding and tile access (per server). ``` Permissions are namespaced under `voxelearth.*` and default to `true` or `op` as appropriate (see `plugin.yml` for full details). --- ## Web Client If you just want to experiment with tiles and voxelization **in your browser**, use the web client: * **Repo:** (https://github.com/voxelearth/web-client) * **Live demo:** (https://beta.voxelearth.org) The web client: * Fetches Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles in the browser * Normalizes/rotates them into a viewable frame * Can hand off data to the Voxel Earth voxelization pipeline * Is ideal for exploring regions, testing zoom/SSE parameters, and visually inspecting tilesets before you spin up a Minecraft server --- ## License Voxel Earth and its companion CLIs are released under the **MIT License**, unless otherwise noted in sub-projects. See the `LICENSE` file in this repository for full terms. “Minecraft” is a trademark of Mojang AB. Voxel Earth is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mojang AB, Microsoft, or Google.