Python in Minecraft

Advanced Challenge

Setup a more modern Minecraft server, such as PaperMC.

Then try to get the Raspberryjuice plugin to work with it so you can use it with Python. This is not easy; I couldn’t do it!

Setup Minecraft

Run the Minecraft launcher you downloaded from minecraft.net. We will not be using the default which is the latest version of Minecraft. Instead we will be using version 1.12.

Run the Minecraft Launcher. Click Installations then New Installation, then select version release 1.12. Then click Create. Then click Play next to the new installation in the list.

Minecraft will run. Click multiplayer. Then add server. Enter the server address as

localhost

Click ‘done’. Click on your server to connect to it.

Setup Mu

Mu is the Python editor we have already been using, so you probably already have it installed. However you need to make sure you have the latest version. You can download it from the links at the top of https://codewith.mu/en/download.

Run Mu. Click Mode and select Python3. Then click the small gadget icon in the bottom right hand corner of the window. Click third party packages. Type

mcpi

into the box. Click OK. The library will download.

If you are not using Mu you can install mcpi from the command line like this:

pip3 install mcpi

Summary

You need to have the Minecraft server, Minecraft (the client) and Mu all running at the same time. It may be useful to arrange them in separate windows. Your Python program will talk to the server, and Minecraft will also talk to the server, allowing you to see the results of your program in Minecraft.

Hello Minecraft

This program tests you have a connection to the Minecraft server and displays a message on the client.

from mcpi.minecraft import *
mc = Minecraft.create()
mc.postToChat("Hello Minecraft World")

Program 13.1 Hello, Minecraft

Coordinates

This program gets the player’s co-ordinates and prints them to the chat.

from mcpi.minecraft import *
import time

mc = Minecraft.create()

while True:     # loop will make sure your game runs forever
    time.sleep(1)
    pos = mc.player.getTilePos()
    print(pos)
    mc.postToChat(pos)

Program 13.2 Getting player coordinates

Changing the player’s position

Find the coordinates of a location in your world, either by pressing F3 in the game, or running Program 13.2 Enter these coordinates in this program and run it to teleport to that location.

from mcpi.minecraft import *

mc = Minecraft.create()

# change these to where you want to go
x = 10
y = 11
z = 12

mc.player.setTilePos(x, y, z)

Program 13.3 Changing the player’s position

Build a teleporter

Before you run this program, build two tiles in the game to be your teleporters and write down their co-ordinates.

from mcpi.minecraft import *

mc = Minecraft.create()

# CHANGE THESE NUMBERS TO THE CO-ORDS OF YOUR TELEPORTERS

teleporter_x = 742
teleporter_z = 955

destination_x = 735
destination_z = 956

while True:
    # Get player position
    pos = mc.player.getTilePos()
    print(pos)

    # Check whether your player is standing on the teleport
    if pos.x == teleporter_x and pos.z == teleporter_z:
        mc.postToChat("teleport!")
        pos.x = destination_x
        pos.z = destination_z
        mc.player.setTilePos(pos)

Program 13.4 Teleporter

Exercise

Add this line to the end of the program:

time.sleep(5)

Then add another line that teleports the player somewhere else.

Teleport player into the air

from mcpi.minecraft import *

mc = Minecraft.create()

# CHANGE THESE NUMBERS TO THE CO-ORDS OF YOUR TELEPORTERS

teleporter_x = 9
teleporter_z = 12

height = 30

while True:
    pos = mc.player.getTilePos()

    # Check whether your player is standing on the teleport
    if pos.x == teleporter_x and pos.z == teleporter_z:
        mc.postToChat("teleport!")
        pos.y += height  # up in the air!
        pos.x += 1  # move off the teleporter tile
        mc.player.setTilePos(pos)

Program 13.5 Teleport player into the air

Teleport jump

This program does a series of teleports in quick succession to give the effect of a jump.

from mcpi.minecraft import *
import time

mc = Minecraft.create()

# CHANGE THESE NUMBERS TO THE CO-ORDS OF YOUR TELEPORTERS

teleporter_x = 9
teleporter_z = 12

height = 20

while True:
    pos = mc.player.getTilePos()

    if pos.x == teleporter_x and pos.z == teleporter_z:
        mc.postToChat("teleport!")
        # move off the teleporter tile so we dont land on it again
        pos.x += 1
        for i in range(0, height):
            pos.y += 1  # move up a bit
            time.sleep(0.1) # short delay of 0.2 seconds
            mc.player.setTilePos(pos)

Program 13.6 Teleport jump

Exercise

• Change the height of the jump.

Exercise

• Make the jump faster.

Exercise

• Move the player in X and Z directions as well as Y during the jump.

Create a block

This program creates a block. Each type of block has it’s own number, but if we import mcpi.block we can use names instead remembering numbers.

from mcpi.minecraft import *
from mcpi.block import *

mc = Minecraft.create()
pos = mc.player.getTilePos()
x = pos.x
y = pos.y
z = pos.z
blocktype = 1
mc.setBlock(x, y, z, blocktype)

Program 13.7 Create a block

Exercise

Make the block appear a short distance from the player.

Types of block

Create a block inside a loop

This program creates a block over and over again in a loop. Move around to see it.

from mcpi.minecraft import *
from mcpi.block import *

mc = Minecraft.create()

while True:
    pos = mc.player.getTilePos()
    x = pos.x
    y = pos.y
    z = pos.z
    blocktype = WOOL
    mc.setBlock(x, y, z, blocktype)

Exercise

Make the block appear one meter below the player’s position.

Exercise

Change the block to something else, e.g. ICE

Create a tower of blocks

We will use a for loop to easily build a tower of blocks.

from mcpi.minecraft import *

mc = Minecraft.create()
pos = mc.player.getTilePos()
x = pos.x + 3
y = pos.y
z = pos.z

for i in range(10):
    mc.setBlock(x, y + i, z, 1)

Program 13.9 Tower of blocks

Exercise

How high can you make the tower?

Exercise

Change the program to create three towers next to one another.

Clear space

The setBlocks() function lets us create a large cube of blocks. If we create blocks of type AIR this has the effect of removing all blocks! This is such a useful thing that we will need it in the future, therefore in this program we put it in its own function. Make sure to save the program as clear_space.py so you can import it into the next program.

from mcpi.minecraft import *
from mcpi.block import *

def clear_space(mc, size):
    pos = mc.player.getTilePos()
    mc.setBlocks(pos.x-size, pos.y, pos.z-size, pos.x+size, pos.y+size, pos.z+size,
                 AIR)

mc = Minecraft.create()

clear_space(mc, 10)

Program 13.10 Clear space

Build a house

Make sure you have saved the previous code-e09_clear_space to the same directory before you run this program because we are going to import the function from clear_space.py. Save this program as house.py.

from mcpi.minecraft import *
from mcpi.block import *

# This MUST be the name you gave to your clear space program!
from clear_space import *

def make_house(mc, x, y, z, width, height, length):
    mc.setBlocks(x, y, z, x + width, y + height, z + length, STONE)

    # What happens if we make AIR inside the cube?
    mc.setBlocks(x + 1, y + 1, z + 1,
                 x + width - 2, y + height - 2, z + length - 2, AIR)

mc = Minecraft.create()
pos = mc.player.getPos()
x = pos.x
y = pos.y
z = pos.z

width = 10
height = 50
length = 60

# Use the function from the other program
clear_space(mc, 10)
make_house(mc, x, y, z, width, height, length)

Program 13.11 A simple house

Exercise

Run the program and manually bash a hole in the wall to see what is inside and to give you a way to get into the building.

Exercise

Change the program so it automatically makes a hole for a door.

Exercise

Lower the floor in your house.

Exercise

Add some furniture, torches, windows.

Advanced

Make the windows get bigger if you increase the size of the house.

Build a street of houses

Make sure you have saved the previous Program 13.11 to the same directory before you run this program because we are going to import the function from house.py.

from mcpi.minecraft import *
from mcpi.block import *

# This MUST be the name you gave to your clear space program!
from clear_space import *
# This MUST be the name you gave to your house program!
from house import *

mc = Minecraft.create()
pos = mc.player.getTilePos()

x = pos.x
y = pos.y
z = pos.z

width = 10
height = 5
length = 6

clear_space(mc, 100)

for i in range(1, 100, 20):
    print(x+i, y, z)
    make_house(mc, x+i, y, z, width, height, length)

Program 13.12 A street of houses

Exercise

How many houses are there? Make the street longer with more houses.

Exercise

Make the houses get taller as the street goes on.

Exercise

Add some towers to the street.

Advanced

Put a loop inside the loop to create multiple streets.

Advanced

Make some roads or fences.

Exercise

Make your houses out of TNT. Use flint tool on them.

Chat commands

This program can read chat messages posted by players. It builds a block next to any player who says “build”. This is the first example that will work for more than one player.

from mcpi.minecraft import *

mc = Minecraft.create()

while True:
    events = mc.events.pollChatPosts()
    for event in events:
        print(event)
        if event.message == "build":
            id = event.entityId
            pos = mc.entity.getTilePos(id)
            x = pos.x
            y = pos.y
            z = pos.z
            mc.setBlock(x, y, z, 1)
            mc.postToChat("done building!")

Program 13.13 Chat commands

Advanced

Build a house around the player if the player says “house”.

Advanced

Build a lava trap if the player says “trap”.

Turtle

This requires the minecraftstuff package to work. You can install it in Mu by clicking in the bottom right gadget and adding minecraftstuff to list of third party packages

In olden days at school we used robotic turtles to draw on paper. You may have done similar on the screen in Python or Scratch. This is the same but in Minecraft.

from mcpi.minecraft import *
from mcpi.block import *

from minecraftstuff import MinecraftTurtle

mc = Minecraft.create()
pos = mc.player.getTilePos()
pos.y += 1

turtle = MinecraftTurtle(mc, pos)

turtle.forward(5)
turtle.right(90)
turtle.forward(5)
turtle.right(90)
turtle.forward(5)
turtle.right(90)
turtle.forward(5)

Program 13.14 Turtle