Building Your Map

In order to start building you're going to need something more than a creative world and a vanilla client. While there are a few options to go with, your best bet is a Bukkit server with world edit. A basic guide to downloading and running Bukkit can be found here. This may sound daunting, but if you're only going to be using this server for building maps on your own, the process is really as simple as downloading Bukkit and running it. Once it's run once and created the rest of the files, download WorldEdit from here and place it in the plugins folder. Then run it for real, and connect to it from Minecraft with the address “localhost” (127.0.0.1).

Once you're ready to start building, familiarize yourself with these common WorldEdit tools:

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Optional Plugins/Tools:
VoxelSniper – An alternative to WorldEdit that allows for much better control over terrain and terraforming.
NBTEditor – Allows you to define custom items, mobs, and spawners ingame.
WorldEditCUI – Clientside mod that displays your WorldEdit selection as a wireframe.

Once your map is built according to your sketches, you have a chance to make large changes that won't interfere with aesthetics. You'll likely want to make some now that you can look at your design in three dimensions, so don't skip over this step. Start looking at expected player flow (and in the case of a competitive map, theorycraft positioning), and make adjustments to the dimensions of just about every part of the map until you're satisfied. Examine line of sight from as many angles as possible, and remember that sometimes the strongest cover comes in the form of larger map geometry. Finally, tweak chokepoints and individual pieces of cover as needed.

Last: Design