Digital Preservation: Minecraft edition
February 28, 2020 9:42 AM Subscribe
Is it possible to preserve cross platform Minecraft maps in older console editions in such a way as to be playable in other console Bedrock editions and/or Minecraft Java edition? What is the best version of the game to convert older maps to in order to best preserve them for a later date?
One of the earliest games my son and I played together was Minecraft on the PS3. We have since moved on to playing it on the Xbox One (initially the Xbox version and later the Bedrock edition) and a Switch version waiting in the wings. Minecraft has brought us both a lot of joy and is often a great bonding time for us. Those maps and structures have a lot of emotion attached to them. So I would like to know a few things, which I suspect, are related:
Is it possible to preserve the earlier maps from the PS3 with the ultimate goal to be able to play them ideally in a Bedrock edition of one of the consoles we currently have (Xbox or Switch we do not have a PS4 available)?
Would best practice going forward, in order to preserve our creations with maximum playability & minimum entity loss, be to convert them to the Minecraft Java edition rather than maintaining them on Bedrock console editions? And if so how would one go about doing that? Can the process also be reversed?
I recognise and frankly expect that there will be some or all entity loss in conversion (if it is possible at all) and red stone contraptions will cease to work correctly. My ultimate goal here is preserve the structures on the maps as best as possible and to be able to explore them in a still playable version of Minecraft for at least the immediate future. Is this a pipe dream?
I have at my disposal a PS3, Xbox One, Switch and PC. Versions of Minecraft we own: PS3, Xbox version and the Bedrock version for Xbox and the Switch version of Bedrock. We do not have a PS4 nor do we have Minecraft Java edition.
Thanks and I look forward to your suggestions!
One of the earliest games my son and I played together was Minecraft on the PS3. We have since moved on to playing it on the Xbox One (initially the Xbox version and later the Bedrock edition) and a Switch version waiting in the wings. Minecraft has brought us both a lot of joy and is often a great bonding time for us. Those maps and structures have a lot of emotion attached to them. So I would like to know a few things, which I suspect, are related:
Is it possible to preserve the earlier maps from the PS3 with the ultimate goal to be able to play them ideally in a Bedrock edition of one of the consoles we currently have (Xbox or Switch we do not have a PS4 available)?
Would best practice going forward, in order to preserve our creations with maximum playability & minimum entity loss, be to convert them to the Minecraft Java edition rather than maintaining them on Bedrock console editions? And if so how would one go about doing that? Can the process also be reversed?
I recognise and frankly expect that there will be some or all entity loss in conversion (if it is possible at all) and red stone contraptions will cease to work correctly. My ultimate goal here is preserve the structures on the maps as best as possible and to be able to explore them in a still playable version of Minecraft for at least the immediate future. Is this a pipe dream?
I have at my disposal a PS3, Xbox One, Switch and PC. Versions of Minecraft we own: PS3, Xbox version and the Bedrock version for Xbox and the Switch version of Bedrock. We do not have a PS4 nor do we have Minecraft Java edition.
Thanks and I look forward to your suggestions!
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Redstone has not-insignificant functional differences between Bedrock and Java, so worlds with machinations may be impacted when bouncing between versions. It will depend on the specific redstone mechanisms being used in the contraption.
Best practice moving forward IMHO is almost certainly to use the Java edition as your "default" edition. Conversion between editions is complex. Additionally, Java is (at least to date) the version that receives updates & new content first. Also, with Java you have the ability to 1. manually back up your Java saves, keeping multiple copies of a given world easily, and 2. downgrade the Minecraft Java Edition version should some new mechanic be introduced that fundamentally breaks old worlds, allowing you to continue to enjoy them forever.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/bofs7s/how_to_convert_any_minecraft_java_version_to/
https://help.minecraft.net/hc/en-us/articles/360034754912-Backing-up-Minecraft-worlds-
https://mcversions.net/
Java edition is surprisingly tolerant of old maps created in prior Java versions. It will run through an update process if the Minecraft Java Edition version has changed since creation. A couple of years ago I took one of my Minecraft Java ALPHA worlds and ran it through the update process. It was largely unaffected. Here's a thread I made at the time:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/2f4am1/recently_found_my_old_alpha_world_and/
If you're inclined to spend money to solve this problem, you can also host worlds on Realms. I have not explored this and cannot attest to the usefulness in your specific scenarios, but it's a way to get a world out of your hands and accessible.
https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/realms/
The PS3 version is no longer current. It is considered "legacy", and did not receive the Bedrock "Better Together" update bringing all Bedrock editions into parity.
Additional resources:
https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Java_Edition
https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Bedrock_Edition
https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Legacy_Console_Edition
https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Official_pages/Parity_issue_list
posted by radiosilents at 12:26 PM on February 28, 2020