Introduction

Chances are if you're reading this, you're into Minecraft - whether it be skinning, playing the game, or building in creative... The thing about projects such as Xin Tiantang and others posted on Planet Minecraft is - you don't have to like Minecraft or be involved to appreciate the beauty and complexity of such projects. This specific one was built by the team NewHeaven. Maybe you've heard of them, maybe you haven't. Regardless, this interview covers everything about the team, their building process, inspiration and a few interesting things in between!

When we originally tweeted about Xin Tiantang, it was difficult to contain the awe and excitement we had. We felt inspired to learn more about not only the building process, but also about the team behind this epic build. So without further a due, we present to you (the first time in Planet Minecraft history) an official interview.

A Brief History of NewHeaven

NewHeaven was founded by Nohoumad in August of 2012, who was 17 when it all started. At the time, NewHeaven (and their audience) was strictly French, and made up of only a few people “But the team quickly got wider” states NewHeaven. “It was this community that helped us grow by having local websites talk about us, YouTubers mentioning us, and winning some contests”. One of their biggest breakthroughs, however, was their Lothaven Project which gained a lot of visibility and views especially on YouTube. People began inquiring about being part of the team, and just a short amount of time they expanded their horizons and became international – both in team members and audience.

Their Lothaven Project was posted 5 years ago on PMC and still remains popular today with over 21,000 views and 1,850 downloads (as of April 9th, 2018). It's still their most viewed Timelapse on YouTube with over 900,000 views. Safe to say, even their oldest submissions remain as popular as ever.

The Meaning behind NewHeaven

We were curious to know if there was any meaning behind their team name.

“Well to be honest, it came out from nowhere, sort of. Heaven sounded great, and we added "New" before it and tada! While its origins are unclear, when we look back at it, it has a hidden meaning...Instead of that old Heaven where you just spend your afterlife walking on clouds, what if the NewHeaven was a place you could create yourself. Everything could be the way you want it to be. That would be amazing right? Well, Minecraft lets you do just that! Well, kind of, but anyway, you get my point.”

Today

The founder, Nohomad remains active in the group while also attending university, giving opinions about things and making sure the team is having fun. "He also has fun with us" says NewHeaven.

Today, NewHeaven is now made up of approximately 50 architects, developers, terraformers, organic makers.. and they're from all around the world! While the mix of skills and origin is special in itself, it does have it's down sides, as NewHeaven explains.


And their ages?


You're only as old (or young) as you feel (or act)!!

Despite the language barrier and time zone differences, team NewHeaven is unstoppable.

The Building Process

If you check out NewHeaven's PMC Submissions, it's clear to see that they like to spend their time creating the “whole package”. Renders, Cinematics, Timelapses, picturesque stories – they showcase their builds in every way possible and so professionally. It made us curious to know what their process was to make such well rounded submissions.


Infamous

Their first step is brainstorming – ideas of specific styles are shared and discussed. Once agreed upon, they start experimenting on a flat map with designs they think could fair well with the style. Next, they organize. They think of a terraform and scene and find spots where structures would fit well.


NewHeaven likes to give their team members a lot of freedom when it comes to their projects.

The team then does some research, spending time looking at and sharing pictures they find inspiring and fitting to their style.

Oh, and one other important thing - they never create a time limit for their projects – meaning, when it gets done, that's when it's done. “One of the key aspects of all this (the building) process is that there are no deadlines to follow, which results in people building when they want to.” They went on to explain that such large builds become very tedious and so team members take a break and work on other things. This makes it so that team members don't get tired of building on one specific project, and they continue to be inspired when they do choose to work on the project.

In fact, NewHeaven usually has at least one “side project” in addition to their large project. The side projects are smaller, however. For instance – while they were working on Xin Tiantang, they have enough time to start and finish many other projects such as Musee Du Louvre and Alice in Wonderland. While their side project's are smaller than their main one, the detail and quality certainly do not lack.



When they've finalized the details on their builds, they start thinking about the potential cinematic and time-lapses (which, more often than not, they end up doing). “ It goes without saying that at the same time, we like to make a bunch of renders of everything we've made. (Shoutout to Iskillia).”

Lastly, they post their package to PMC for the community to admire, and more often than not, download.

….so, what is their motivation? As if their build's aren't enough to make you appreciate the team, NewHeaven replied with this:

Xin Tiantang – Inspiration, Challenges and the Feels

Now.... to the reason behind this interview - their massive and most recent project Xin Tiantang. On top of how impressive this project is, the thing that caught our eye was the amount of time and people it took to build this. A total of 200 people (that includes renders, cinematographers, etc..) over the course of 2 years! Now that's some dedication.

“As a team, we have always been fascinated by eastern Asia's culture. I mean, how can you not? And so we took the freedom of hand picking all the elements that we liked about it and made structures out of them.”

If you've seen the build - which you most likely have - you know that there's a mix of Asian cultures. Specifically, Japan and China.

“We are aware of the ongoing tensions between these two parts of the world which in itself justifies the fact that it is an utopia, where cultures have mixed and where tensions have disappeared. We also wanted it to be grand and to represent a true imperial city like the ones you read about in tales and everything."



There are sure to be some challenges when building large maps. Aside from filling a 2500x2500 map, NewHeaven says that it's not the first challenge that comes to mind.

“The main city and its big palace were definitely the hardest things to make. The style of the structures is rather detailed, and so is the palace. As if that wasn't enough, we quickly found out during the timelapses that the structures we had made were not really fitted to that kind of thing. And don't get me started on the rice fields... But anyway, we are still happy with the end result :) "

Make sure to watch their 3 part YouTube documenting the building process and showcasing the map:







As the project was coming to an end, the team had mixed feelings.

“We know that one of our member, Dedelush, would have wanted to spend the rest of his life building on this map! Others though were relieved to finally be able to publish a map on which they had spent countless months on. But overall, it feels good to finally turn the page because we know that the future is promising and filled with other projects such as this one.”

What's Next?

“Well, all I can say is that the last Assassin's Creed was rather inspiring to say the least.” We'll be on the edge of our seat, waiting for this one!!

End Note

If being a part of NewHeaven peaks your interest, you're in luck! They're open for recruitment - apply here.
NewHeaven's PMC Profile: https://www.planetminecraft.com/member/newheaven/
To learn more about NewHeaven, you can visit their official site: http://www.new-heaven.fr/team