How to add Google Earth - tf2mandeokyi/BTETerraRenderer GitHub Wiki

2025-02-09_15 52 23

This guide will walk you through using this mod to add Google Earth holograms to Minecraft.

You will need:

  • This Mod: Version 1.03.4 or higher
  • Google Cloud Account: Requires a credit card for billing
  • Text Editor: Such as Notepad++ or any preferred editor

⚠️ Notes ⚠️

  • Each map reload gives you 3 hours of session time. Try reloading if they don't appear.
  • Google offers a free credit. The free credits are as follows:
    • Until March 1st, 2025, free 200 USD credits per month
    • From March 1st, 2025, free 1,000 root tile requests per month
  • Every time a root tile request happens it will cost you a 0.006 USD fee.
  • The root tile requests happen when you hit the Reload Maps button or enable the hologram for the first time after launching Minecraft.
  • Secure your API key against anyone to prevent unauthorized usage.

Obtaining Your Google Maps API Key

Follow these steps to acquire an API key from Google Maps:

  1. Log In to Google Cloud Console
  2. Enable the Map Tiles API
    • Navigate to the Map Tiles API page.
    • Click the Enable button to activate the API for your project.
  3. Set Up Billing
    • If you haven't set up a billing account, you'll be prompted to enter your credit card details.
    • You can verify your billing status on the Billing page.
  4. Create API Credentials
    • Go to the Credentials page.
    • Click on Create credentials and select API key.
    • Copy the generated key. It should resemble AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
    • Click Close after copying the key.

For a more detailed overview, please visit these websites:

Adding it into Minecraft

  1. Navigate to the Mod's Map Configuration Folder
    • If you were running Minecraft,
      1. Enter a single-player world or a server.
      2. Press the tilde/backtick key ~ next to the 1 key on your keyboard.
      3. Click the Open maps folder... button.
    • But if you weren't,
      1. Launch the Minecraft Launcher and navigate to the Installations tab.
      2. Choose the installation profile where the mod is installed.
      3. Hover over the selected profile and click the folder icon to open the .minecraft directory.
      4. Go to config > bteterrarenderer > maps.
  2. Create a New YAML Configuration File
    • Create a new file with a .yml extension inside the maps folder.
    • Note: Recommended file name is google_earth.yml.
    • Note: Ensure the extension is .yml, not .txt or .yml.txt.
  3. Edit the YAML File
    • Open the newly created .yml file in your text editor.
    • Paste the following content:
categories:
  Global:
    google_earth:
      type: ogc3dtiles
      name:
        en_us: "Google Earth 3d"
      hud_image: https://i.imgur.com/pCnsj6x.png
      copyright:
        en_us: [{"text":"Google Terms of Service","color":"aqua","underlined":true,"clickEvent":{"action":"open_url","value":"http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/terms"}},{"text":"\n\n","color":"white"},{"text":"Google Privacy Policy","color":"aqua","underlined":true,"clickEvent":{"action":"open_url","value":"http://www.google.com/policies/privacy"}}]
      tile_url: https://tile.googleapis.com/v1/3dtiles/root.json?key=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
      max_thread: 8
      rotate_model_x: true
      geoid: egm96
  1. Insert Your API Key
    • Replace AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA with the API key you obtained earlier.
    • Ensure there are no extra spaces or characters in the key.
  2. Save and Close the File
    • After inserting the API key, save the file and close the text editor.
  3. Launch Minecraft or Reload
    • Start Minecraft. If Minecraft was already running during this setup, click the Reload Maps button within the mod's UI to apply the changes.

Configuring Map settings

Customize how the holograms are rendered in your Minecraft world using the following settings:

image

  • Render radius: Sets the minimum distance from the camera at which tiles begin rendering
  • LOD factor: Determines the detail level of the rendered models. Lower values enhance performance; higher values provide more detail
  • Culling: Controls whether only the front-facing sides of meshes should be rendered. This change is purely visual and does not affect performance
  • Texture: Toggles the display of model textures. If disabled, models appear white with shading
  • Render surroundings: Controls whether additional, potentially unnecessary tiles are rendered during building. Disable to improve performance, or enable to see more details
  • Apply Y-axis distortion: Prevents models from appearing "squished." This corrects the appearance of 3D models in areas with significant geographic distortion (e.g. Nordic regions, East Asia, Western Australia, Argentina)
BTE distortion map
image
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