Informal “desire paths” can form with as few as fifteen traversals of an unpaved route, creating spontaneous new trails shaped by pedestrians effectively voting with their feet. These paths frequently become self-reinforcing: others intuit the potential advantages of a newly-forming route and follow it, thus eroding it further and enhancing its visibility
99% Invisible
Hi there,
Happy New Year. Hope you’re well.
It’s been an…interesting few months over here on my end. Been a little burnt out on code and having a hard time getting back into it.
An idea came to me today while playing some good ol’ survival Minecraft with a friend (thanks for the inspiration, Bandy). What if trails were worn into the ground as you walked through your Minecraft world? So I had a quick fiddle and managed to get exactly what I wanted, and I’ve called it “Thoroughfare”.
This plugin will gradually wear trails into your world as you (or mobs that you’re riding) walk over the same blocks. Grass, dirt, podzol, and mycelium will wear into coarse dirt; coarse dirt will wear into path blocks; and path blocks wear into cobblestone slabs (this last transition can be disabled).
Of course, different mobs have heavier footfalls. Horses, Camels, Donkeys, Mules, and Llamas all will wear paths faster than just walking. Sneaking will also prevent blocks from wearing.
Thoroughfare is available for download at SpigotMC (1.20+)