mcmap vs Tectonicus

mcmap creates isometric pixel-art maps from Minecraft save files. It reads saves from the standard folders on Linux, macOS and Windows, and produces a PNG image by default; an option divides maps into square image tiles. Rendering settings include circular or coordinate-bounded areas, dimension selection, shading, lighting, water and beacon toggles, and map direction. A JSON color file lets users customize block colors and rendering types. The renderer uses all computer threads and processes terrain in batches. Rendering a whole map at once may require 10+ GB of RAM, and a fragment-size option can manage batch size. Use is through a terminal or PowerShell, with an experimental GUI available for Windows. The v3.0.0 release specifies Minecraft 1.13+ support. The project is distributed under GPL-3.0, with precompiled binaries and source code available for free. Building it uses CMake and depends on zlib, PNG, fmt and spdlog. The project notes that merged batches can produce visible lines in oceans; changing fragment size or water rendering settings may help.

Tectonicus generates a detailed, zoomable map from a Minecraft Java world by building a 3D model and rendering map images. Its stated aim is to make maps resemble what players see in Minecraft. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows; maps can be viewed offline or served from a web server. Setup involves downloading a release, preparing an XML configuration file, and running the program from the command line with Java. Later runs using the same options are quicker after the initial render because only changed tiles are rendered. Players can filter which signs appear, and signs marked with #view can create first-person views with configurable height, angle, field of view, and nighttime rendering. Release 2.31 supports Minecraft 1.21 through 1.21.11, but not Minecraft 26.1. It also adds rectangular world subsets and arm64 LWJGL libraries for M-series Macs and possibly other ARM systems. Generated images can consume gigabytes of disk space depending on world size; WebP or JPG output and closestZoomSize can reduce storage use. Copper golem statues do not work, and shelves render only partially.