Raspberry Pi, Minecraft and Python

Today I'm talking about something that has existed for a long time and several sites have already spoken : the Minecraft edition on the Raspberry Pi. Now it's my turn to (finally) discover this game other than iOS edition !

To discover the possibilities of the API (because that's mostly what I wanted to test), I therefore used a light distribution (see here how to install very simply) to which I added an X Server. I so get the bare minimum. But if you already have a Raspberry Pi that works, you can skip the step to install Minecraft.

1. Update of the system

   apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y

2. Installation of packages for a minimal X Server

   apt-get install -y xserver-xorg xinit xserver-xorg-video-fbdev lxde lxde-common libsdl1.2debian

3. Download and install Minecraft

   wget https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.minecraft.net/pi/minecraft-pi-0.1.1.tar.gz

   tar -zxvf minecraft-pi-0.1.1.tar.gz

   cd mcpi

4. Run Minecraft

   ./minecraft-pi

   Si vous avez une erreur Failed to Add Service - Already in Use , make sure you have defined at least 64Mb of video memory.

5. The files needed to use the API are in the directory api/python (sf you prefer Java, It is api/java).
   Copy the files in a particular directory

   mkdir apiTest

   cp -R api/python/mcpi/* apiTest/

6. Go to the created directory

   cd apiTest

7. Create a file, for example test.py with the following content :

   import minecraft mc = minecraft. Minecraft.create()
   mc.postToChat("Hello Pi Home Server !")
   

   The execution result :
   

8. The position of the player. You can easily get or set the position of the player in the universe via the methods player.getPos() and player.setPos(). You will be working in 3 dimensions. X and Z are the horizontal axes. Y the vertical one.
   Here is an example for changing the position of the player and to drop high !

   # POS will contain x, y and z position of the player pos = mc.player.getPos()
   # another way to get player coordinates x, y, z = mc.player.getPos()
   # set player position. In the air and fall ...
   mc.player.setPos(x, y   100, z)
   

9. Create a block with the method setBlock
   An example to create a block of stone in front of the player

   mc.setBlock(x   2, y, z, block. STONE)
   

10. Create blocks with the method setBlocks
    An example to create a block of 3×3 Stone front of the player

    mc.setBlocks(x   1, y   1, z   1, x   4, y   4, z   4, block. STONE)
    

    

11. Other blocks type than stone. All types are defined in the file block.py. Here is the list :

    AIR                 = 0
    STONE = 1
    GRASS = 2
    DIRT                = 3
    COBBLESTONE = 4
    WOOD_PLANKS = 5
    SAPLING = 6
    BEDROCK = 7
    WATER_FLOWING = 8
    WATER = WATER_FLOWING WATER_STATIONARY = 9
    LAVA_FLOWING = 10
    LAVA = LAVA_FLOWING LAVA_STATIONARY = 11
    SAND                = 12
    GRAVEL = 13
    GOLD_ORE = 14
    IRON_ORE = 15
    COAL_ORE = 16
    WOOD                = 17
    LEAVES = 18
    GLASS = 20
    LAPIS_LAZULI_ORE = 21
    LAPIS_LAZULI_BLOCK = 22
    SANDSTONE = 24
    BED                 = 26
    COBWEB = 30
    GRASS_TALL = 31
    WOOL                = 35
    FLOWER_YELLOW = 37
    FLOWER_CYAN = 38
    MUSHROOM_BROWN = 39
    MUSHROOM_RED = 40
    GOLD_BLOCK = 41
    IRON_BLOCK = 42
    STONE_SLAB_DOUBLE = 43
    STONE_SLAB = 44
    BRICK_BLOCK = 45
    TNT                 = 46
    BOOKSHELF = 47
    MOSS_STONE = 48
    OBSIDIAN = 49
    TORCH = 50
    FIRE                = 51
    STAIRS_WOOD = 53
    CHEST = 54
    DIAMOND_ORE = 56
    DIAMOND_BLOCK = 57
    CRAFTING_TABLE = 58
    FARMLAND = 60
    FURNACE_INACTIVE = 61
    FURNACE_ACTIVE = 62
    DOOR_WOOD = 64
    LADDER = 65
    STAIRS_COBBLESTONE = 67
    DOOR_IRON = 71
    REDSTONE_ORE = 73
    SNOW                = 78
    ICE                 = 79
    SNOW_BLOCK = 80
    CACTUS = 81
    CLAY                = 82
    SUGAR_CANE = 83
    FENCE = 85
    GLOWSTONE_BLOCK = 89
    BEDROCK_INVISIBLE = 95
    STONE_BRICK = 98
    GLASS_PANE = 102
    MELON = 103
    FENCE_GATE = 107
    GLOWING_OBSIDIAN = 246
    NETHER_REACTOR_CORE = 247
    

    Here is an example that will create a bloc and change its type (except water and lava to avoid floods ;-)) every seconds (I do not handle types that do not exist) :

    # loop on all block types (except water and lava)
    for blockType in range(0, 300):
    	if blockType < 8 Gold blockType > 11:
    		mc.setBlock(x   2, y, z, blocktype)
    	sleep(1)
    

12. More fun examples ! You can use the power of programming to animate the blocs in the world. You can create an analog clock or digital (Bravo SleepyOz):

With this trio you can entertain you (or your children) and learn programming in General with Python, which is a relatively accessible language. Other languages are possible : Java, JavaScript with NodeJS, Ruby or SmallTalk.

As in the game, your imagination will be a limit.

If you have any images or original videos or incredible of what is done with the Minecraft Pi edition, do not hesitate to let us enjoy !

Sources

• https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33427
• https://www.raspberrypi.org/learning/getting-started-with-minecraft-pi/worksheet/
• http://www.stuffaboutcode.com/p/minecraft-api-reference.html