Digital Engineering with Minecraft™

Digital Engineering with Minecraft™

by
Released October 2015
Publisher(s): Que
ISBN: 9780134213293

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Book description

Digital Engineering with Minecraft


Create amazing objects for Minecraft—and learn valuable real-world 3D design skills!


Transform yourself into a Minecraft “engineer!” Discover how to create great Minecraft objects and structures fast, and push your creative skills to the max. You’ll have a blast, but that’s not all! You’ll learn how to use powerful 3D digital design and CAD tools—the same kinds of tools professionals use to earn big money in the “real” world!


Best-selling tech author James Floyd Kelly covers all you’ll need to know, starting nearly every chapter with an amazing project. Kelly guides you through each step of designing your objects outside Minecraft, and then importing them to your game, where they can come to life! You’ll master powerful techniques using Tinkercad, 123D Creature, 123D Catch, 123D Sculpt, MCEdit, i-funbox, Online-Convert, and more.

Think you can’t create incredible Minecraft stuff like this? Using Digital Engineering with Minecraft’s crystal-clear, step-by-step instructions and full-color photos, you can!

  • Find great 3D objects on Thingiverse and import them to Minecraft with MCEdit

  • Create hidden “secret entrances” with maze makers and Online-Convert

  • Master key Tinkercad skills, including shape creation, rotation, resizing, and grouping

  • Create and export monsters with 123D Creature

  • Put yourself in the game with 123D Catch: stitch your selfies into a complete 3D model

  • Generate rollercoasters and other landscapes in 123D Sculpt—without slow block-by-block in-game editing

  • Create hollow wireframe domes to transform any terrain into a battle arena

  • View your Minecraft worlds in 3D using a simple technique

    • James Floyd Kelly is an avid maker, tinkerer, CAD expert and teacher. He excels at taking complex technology and finding a way to demystify it for non-technical readers. Kelly has written more than 25 guides to a wide variety of technical subjects, including Open Source software, LEGO robotics, 3D printing, and game programming. His recent books include Ultimate iPad and 3D Printing. He has degrees in both industrial engineering and English.

    Minecraft is a trademark of Mojang Synergies / Notch Development AB. This book is not affiliated with or sponsored by Mojang Synergies / Notch Development AB.

    Table of contents

    1. About This eBook
    2. Title Page
    3. Copyright Page
    4. Contents at a Glance
    5. Table of Contents
    6. About the Author
    7. Dedication
    8. Acknowledgments
    9. We Want to Hear from You!
    10. Reader Services
    11. Introduction
    12. 1. Taking Over a Castle
      1. Digital Tools Make Great Shortcuts
      2. Finding a Castle with Thingiverse
      3. Preparing the Castle with Tinkercad
      4. Importing the Castle into Minecraft
      5. Exploring the New Castle
      6. Up Next…
    13. 2. Creating Your Own Castle
      1. Downloading and Opening MCEdit
      2. Discover Your Own Castle…or Something Else!
      3. Introduction to CAD Software
      4. Using Tinkercad to Prepare Your 3D Model
      5. Preparing Your Model For Importing With MCEdit
      6. Using MCEdit with Your 3D Model
      7. Up Next…
    14. 3. Crafting a Super Maze
      1. There’s Almost Always a Solution
      2. Creating Your Own Hedge Maze
      3. Preparing the Maze with Tinkercad
      4. Landscaping for Your Minecraft World
      5. Exploring the Maze
      6. Up Next…
    15. 4. Getting Lost (in a Maze)
      1. Creating Your Maze
      2. Converting the Maze with online-convert.com
      3. Importing the Maze into Tinkercad
      4. Learning to Use MCEdit’s Select Tool
      5. Up Next…
    16. 5. Modifying a 3D World
      1. More Tools Means More Options
      2. Finding a 3D Model with 123D Sculpt+
      3. Converting Files with Binvox
      4. Importing and Sizing the Robot
      5. Binvox Opens Up Many Possibilities
      6. Up Next…
    17. 6. Creating Your Own Monster Island
      1. Monster Making for Beginners
      2. Using Binvox
      3. Converting with Binvox
      4. Placing a Monster with MCEdit
      5. Up Next…
    18. 7. Seeing Your World in 3D
      1. Having Fun Outside Minecraft
      2. Viewing with the Oculus Rift
      3. Using a 3D Viewer
      4. Taking Minecraft Screenshots
      5. Locating Your Screenshots
      6. Finding Minecraft Screenshots on a Windows Computer
      7. Finding Minecraft Screenshots on a Mac
      8. Preparing Your Screenshots
      9. Creating 3D Image Cards
      10. Up Next…
    19. 8. Viewing Your Worlds—Full 360!
      1. Creating a 3D Model with Photos
      2. Starting with Screenshots—Lots of Them
      3. Capturing Screenshots
      4. Converting Image Files
      5. Using 123D Catch to Create 3D Models
      6. Uploading Your Image Files
      7. Running the Create Capture Process
      8. Up Next…
    20. 9. Custom Creations, Part 1
      1. Creating Your Own Designs with Tinkercad
      2. Starting a New Project
      3. Breaking Ground on the Future City
      4. Designing Custom-Shaped Buildings
      5. Up Next…
    21. 10. Custom Creations, Part 2
      1. Rotating, Twisting, and Turning
      2. Deleting, Cutting, and Removing
      3. Up Next…
    22. 11. A Super Project To Test Out Your New Skills
      1. You’ve Got Skills!
      2. The Shape Generator
      3. The Align Tool
      4. Dome Cities
      5. Up Next…
    23. 12. Discover More MCEdit Tools
      1. MCEdit Mastery
      2. Copy and Paste
      3. Mirror, Mirror
      4. Clone Clone Clone Clone
      5. Conclusion
    24. A. MCEdit for Tablets
      1. Introducing iFunbox for Mac and Windows
      2. Connecting a Tablet to iFunbox
      3. MCEdit for Android Mobile Devices
    25. B. Adding Interactive Elements With Redstone
      1. Redstone Basics
      2. A Simple Circuit
      3. Advanced Redstone
    26. C. Resources
      1. Books
      2. Videos
      3. Websites
    27. Index

    Product information

    • Title: Digital Engineering with Minecraft™
    • Author(s):
    • Release date: October 2015
    • Publisher(s): Que
    • ISBN: 9780134213293