Where does the elevation data come from, and how detailed is it?

Elevation comes from open terrain data (AWS Terrain), which is globally available but limited in resolution. It can rebuild large-scale relief like mountain ranges, valleys and coastlines, but small features down to a meter or two—little mounds, steps, man-made micro-terrain—are usually smoothed away. This is an approximation, not survey-grade precision.

Why did the mountain area I picked come out fairly flat?

Two possibilities: one, that region has sparse elevation coverage, so the relief got smoothed out; two, the world area is small with little relative elevation change, so once converted to blocks the height difference is not obvious. The free quality score shown before generating flags how well the data covers the area—check the score and the 3D preview before deciding.

Are coastlines and water rebuilt?

Yes. Water features (coasts, rivers, lakes) come from OpenStreetMap's public data and are layered onto the elevation terrain when generating. But like the terrain, it is an approximation of public data—it does not guarantee every little stream is present, and features may be missing where coverage is sparse.

How is real terrain and elevation rebuilt in Minecraft?

Where elevation and terrain come from

When you generate a world from a real map, the rise and fall of the ground is not random—it comes from open elevation data (AWS Terrain). TopoBlocks reads the altitude at every point inside the area you box-select and converts it into the corresponding ground height in Minecraft, so large-scale relief like mountain ranges, valleys, slopes and coastlines is rebuilt into terrain you can walk on and climb.

On top of the elevation terrain, it then layers building outlines, roads and water from OpenStreetMap public data, assembling the overall texture of this real place. To understand how that OSM data turns into blocks, see How OpenStreetMap generates a Minecraft world.

It’s an approximation, not survey-grade precision

This needs to be stated clearly: what open elevation produces is an approximation, not survey-grade precision, and not a block-by-block replica of the real landscape.

Large-scale relief is rebuilt fairly well—mountain ridges, incised valleys, coastline outlines and other height differences of tens of meters or more are usually visible.
Small-scale detail gets smoothed away—micro-terrain like a one- or two-meter mound, a man-made step or a field ridge is often flattened out by the limits of data resolution.
Remote, data-sparse areas come out flatter—elevation coverage is uneven, and the more remote and sparsely surveyed an area is, the more the relief tends to be weakened, generating flatter.

So before generating, TopoBlocks gives the area a map-quality score for free and provides a low-resolution 3D preview. The quality score is an estimate of data coverage, not a guarantee of precision—it helps you judge whether an area is worth generating, so you can look before you buy. For more on how accurate and lifelike the results are, see How accurate and lifelike are worlds from a real map.

How to adjust when a mountain area is too flat or too empty

If the mountain shape in the preview isn’t pronounced enough, or the place is too empty, try this:

Switch to a denser area or a different location—getting closer to well-covered areas means more complete elevation and buildings. Rural or sparsely surveyed areas tend to be empty; see What to do when the place you picked is too empty with no buildings.
Enlarge the area somewhat—when the area is too small, the relative elevation change is not obvious once converted to blocks; expanding the range makes it easier to enclose a complete mountain or coastline.
Pick a template by purpose—choose “Faithful rebuild” for the highest fidelity; for digging and building on real terrain, choose “Survival-friendly” to generate solid, diggable ground.

However you generate, TopoBlocks never overwrites your existing worlds—each run outputs a brand-new importable .mcworld that you can save separately and keep track of, without touching any of your old worlds. Pricing is tiered by area across 6 levels (about 0.2–500 km², ¥19–¥239); prices are as shown in the app, and failed jobs are refunded automatically, so feel free to use the free quality score and preview to judge first, then decide whether to generate.

How is real terrain and elevation rebuilt in Minecraft?

Where elevation and terrain come from

It’s an approximation, not survey-grade precision

How to adjust when a mountain area is too flat or too empty

FAQ

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