Boulefield (RECOVERED)

*Disclaimer*

This is not my map, and I did not have any part in creating, restoring, or altering it. All credit for this map, including its provision to me for re-upload, was from its original creator, Preistbob, otherwise known as Sam Della-Valle. His YouTube channel and website can be found below. This map was uploaded with explicit permission for archival purposes only.

Sam's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Preistbob4
Sam's website: https://samdellavalle.com/

*End of disclaimer*

Boulefield is a heavily story-driven adventure map made by Preistbob/Sam Della-Valle over the course of 2011 to 2013. It is a map full of vivid detail, extensive quest mechanics, and multiple full-fledged endings. It was very well-regarded in its heyday as a map with distinct craftsmanship and attention to all of its components. As with my previous recovery project, 80 Days Around the World by Milis5 and Riot5, this map came into prominence, at least very heavily, due to its appearance on the previously active YouTube channel Batclone (his playlist of this map can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfWr2cEL1-LynHuFIYFap9jTQT83itcrT). There, the first episode alone garnered over 50 thousand views, and led to a spike of over 30 thousand downloads of the map at the time. Another YouTuber of the time, PaperBatVG, made a series of this map with similar fame, which likely also contributed to its notoriety. In all, with just the first episodes of each of these individuals' series on Boulefield, it connected with over a hundred thousand people. With this, I see it as another entry into historically significant Minecraft maps, and one definitely worth preserving for later appreciation.

However, and rather unfortunately, this map shared another striking similarity with Around the World: its endangerment on the internet. Both this map and Around the World were only available through Minecraft Forum posts, both of which have been inaccessible for many years due to their deprecation from the site. As such, download links for both maps were very few and far between, if present at all. In the case of Around the World, no official download links existed, and I instead had to rely on other techniques to obtain someone's old and significantly altered save of the map, for which I had to commit extensive restoration efforts. With a bit of determination and assistance from other valuable members of the community, I was able to return the map to its original state, and preserve it on the internet for ourselves and those after us.

Boulefield was a different story. No readily available download links existed, and even my other techniques that I used previously yielded nothing at all. The only link I had managed to find during my research was one in the description of a video by YouTuber silencil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMp3JZ-TJq0&ab_channel=silencil), which led to a much earlier and less complete version of the map, made for Java Edition version 1.0. The one that appears in both Batclone and PaperBatVG's videos is likely version 9.6, made for either release version 1.5 or 1.5.1. This later version, the much more well-known example, was completely wiped from the internet.

I did, however, manage to find Sam's channel and contact information from this video, which I used to reach out to him, asking for permission to re-upload the version I had found, and for any further information he could provide. To my complete surprise, he responded very quickly, within a matter of days, not only expressing his interest in my cause, but also providing me with a direct download link to the map I was after. It is version 9.75, but as far as we are aware, no significant differences are present between the two versions, besides minor fixes or additions.

Whatever the case, I am incredibly excited to have this opportunity to share another of my favourite maps from my childhood, and extend my thanks to everyone involved in its re-upload.

Best,
periwinkl

All instructions, notes, texture packs, and required map files are contained in the downloadable ZIP. Simply extract the files and follow the instructions to play it for yourself!

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SPECIAL THANKS:

Preistbob/Sam Della-Valle (original creator, provider)
Batclone/Stephen
silencil
and all of you <3