Build a Minecraft Castle with Python

Feel like building a Minecraft castle using the Python API? If so then take a look at my Python script. You can build a castle in your Minecraft world complete with a keep, walls, battlements and a moat.

Here is the finished castle:

Setup

To use the castle building script below you will need to have Minecraft and the Python API setup. If you don’t have Minecraft listed under the “Games” menu then you can install using the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install minecraft-pi

Download Minecraft Castle Script

You can download the script directly to your Pi using:

wget https://bitbucket.org/MattHawkinsUK/rpispy-misc/raw/master/minecraft/castle.py

Build the Minecraft Castle

With Minecraft running you position your character where you want the castle to be built. Press the Tab key to free your mouse cursor and in a terminal window run the following command:

python3 castle.py

The time it takes to build will depend on the Raspberry Pi model you are using. It may take up to 30 seconds on an original Model B but is much faster on a Pi 3 or Pi 4.

How it Works

The script consists of some function definitions with the main script at the end just calling these functions. This makes it easier to tweak a function once and it then be used multiple times.

In general operations are based around a starting point (x, y & z). X and Z are the North/South & East/West. Z is up and down. Walls are built the the left and right of the starting block so a wall width of “21” will result in a wall 21+1+21 wide. Whereas a height of 10 will simply result in a wall 10 blocks high.

The “CreateLandscape” function prepares the ground for the castle.

The perimeter walls and the keep walls are all created using the function “CreateWalls” with a different width and height. They both have a wooden walkway on the inner edge as well as battlements.

The Keep is created using “CreateKeep” which in turn calls “CreateWalls”. The Keep is just a set of walls that are taller than the others. It has battlements and a wooden walkway at the top.

A loop creates floors inside of the keep splitting it up into a number of rooms. You can make the Keep taller by increasing the “keepFloors” variable.

More loops add windows, stairs and a torch to each floor.

The “CreateKeep” function also punches a hole in the ground floor wall to form a doorway.

In general the Python API is really easy to use. The hard bit is working out the x, y, z co-ordinates so that blocks end up in the correct place.

Variables

The script has a block of variables that you can tweak:

keepFloors=4
keepSize=5

outerWallSize=21
outerWallHeight=5

innerWallSize=13
innerWallHeight=6

moatDepth=5
moatWidth=5

The “size” variables are the number of blocks either side of the starting point. So they will result in a wall that is double the value plus one wide. So a “keepSize” of 5 will result in a keep that is 11 blocks wide.

The “height” variables will result in a height equal to that number of blocks.