This post is the first of a series focused on unique, independent and interesting games/mods that many game lovers may have missed, but would have loved to know about.
The first game gem in my series is a minecraft mod that is a nearly full recreation of Middle Earth from the Lord of the Rings movies and books. The map area is 29,000 by 30,000 blocks, which is 336 square miles. That is roughly the same size as Dallas. Each block in minecraft is 1 cubic meter.
The path taken by Frodo to Mordor will take you at least 10 real life hours of walking in the game. That is one huge map!
The creators have been working on the mod for over 10 years, along with a ton of volunteers that have joined the cause. The project is still not finished. The areas of Middle Earth are based mainly on what is shown in the movies, but there are also a lot of areas that are book specific.
I've curated the best videos showcasing different Middle Earth areas, along with some reminder text if it's been awhile since you're studied Tolkein. They're all pretty short and impressive. Usually I add a bunch of pictures for my posts, but I'm trying to respect derivative copyrights.
Summary Video
Minas Tirith Ray Traced (Burning White Tree)
Rivendell (Elf capital)
Helm's Deep (battle at the end of two towers)
Dol Amroth (Major city of Gondor, not in the movies)
Isengard (Place where Saruman's tower is)
Pelargir, Gondor's main port (where aragorn used the ghosts)
Osgiliath (Where Faramir fought /got injured in ROTK - Brother of Boromir)
Pillar of Kings - Argonath (The really big statues pointing on the sides of the river)
Bag End - You don't care about this article if you don't know this one.
I've tried to have every youtube file be playable on this post, but some locations I felt I had to mention,even if I couldn't.
This is a free mod, if you have minecraft, and can be found at
https://www.planetminecraft.com/server/minecaft-middle-earth/
I've read you have to install it a certain way for the best graphics, and of course ray tracing is a different story. If you're going to try it out, do a little research first.
Thanks for reading and watching!