Minecraft is one of the most recognisable games in the world.
Played by millions, Minecraft’s unique approach to open-world gaming still has many hooked to this day.
In 2010, an intrepid group of Minecraft and LOTR fans set out to recreate the incredible Middle Earth in the game.
Now, ten years on, the server is free-to-join for Minecraft players, and it’s incredible.
Let’s take a look at the aptly named MCME (Minecraft Middle Earth) now!
The Server – MCME
The server itself has been built over the course of ten years by some dedicated fans.
Including a number of key locations from the franchise, and indeed everything in between, the server is a whopping 30,000x29,000 blocks.
This makes the server roughly 870 square kilometres, or as the website says, the size of Fort Worth!
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A server of this size deserves a true viewing experience, so players are first asked to download a new texture pack to play the map in.
The Build
The build started back in 2010, when many world edit tools that we have grown to love didn’t exist.
As such, the build team had to rely on careful planning and organisation, as well as just freestyling many parts of the project.
The team also had to begin their build on an auto-generated Minecraft world.
This means they had to edit the entire landscape, whereas modern builds can be started form the ground up on a flat world.
The Community
The greatest feature of the server is the 300 or so dedicated members that have helped the team out.
With various staff positions, and a number of builds to manage at a time, the extended community have all managed to get involved help in one way or another.
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The staff team also put on various build contests, helping to keep the community engaged.
The Inspiration
The team have used both the movies and the books for inspiration throughout the build.
For areas not explicitly described, the builders have used their imaginations to an extent to fill in the gaps.
However, the team has done a phenomenal job of piecing together the scraps of information that they had to construct a truly breath-taking server for you to enjoy.
You can access the server for free on the Java version of the game, by visiting their website!