Luanti mod geodesy 🔗

A mod that adds surveying tools for measuring distances in your world.

How to use (player guide) 🔗

What you need 🔗

This mod adds two items for measuring distances:

• Levelling Staff (measuring rod) - a tall striped pole you place at the target location
• Theodolite (viewing instrument) - a tool you use to look at the staff and measure distance

Craft these items using the recipes defined in the mod (check your crafting guide).

Quick start guide 🔗

Basic measurement in 3 simple steps:

1. Place the staff at your target

   • Take the levelling staff and place it at the location you want to measure to
   • The staff consists of two parts: place the bottom part first, then right-click it with the top part to complete the staff
   • You should see a tall pole with colored stripes (ticks)

2. Stand at your starting point and use the theodolite

   • Go to the location you want to measure from
   • Hold the theodolite and right-click (place/use button) to activate zoom mode
   • You'll see a magnified view with crosshairs on the screen
   • Look at the staff you placed earlier

3. Count the colored stripes (ticks)

   • Count how many colored stripes on the staff are visible between the crosshair lines
   • More ticks = farther distance
   • Fewer ticks = closer distance
   • Right-click again to exit zoom mode

Understanding the measurements 🔗

The theodolite works on a simple principle: objects appear smaller when they're farther away.

• If you count 6 ticks at a distance you know is 20 blocks, and later count 12 ticks, the new distance is 40 blocks (double the ticks = double the distance)
• If you count 6 ticks at 20 blocks, and later count 3 ticks, the new distance is 10 blocks (half the ticks = half the distance)

Formula for calculating distance:

distance = known_distance × (ticks_now / ticks_at_known_distance)

Calibration (optional but recommended) 🔗

For more accurate measurements, calibrate first:

1. Place a staff at a known distance (for example, count 20 blocks from where you're standing)
2. Use the theodolite and count the ticks - let's say you see 6 ticks
3. Now you have your reference: 6 ticks = 20 blocks
4. For any future measurement, use: distance = 20 × (new_ticks / 6)

Example: If you later see 9 ticks, the distance is: 20 × (9 / 6) = 30 blocks

Tips for best results 🔗

• Stand at the same height as the staff for consistent measurements
• Use flat ground when possible - hills can affect accuracy
• Use round numbers for your reference distance (10, 20, 50 blocks) - makes math easier
• Place the staff precisely on the target block
• The measurement works the same regardless of your screen resolution

Test environment command 🔗

To quickly create a set of test stations use the chat command:

/geodesy_create_test_place <count> <distance>

• Example: /geodesy_create_test_place 4 20 will create 4 stations at 20, 40, 60 and 80 nodes from your current position in the direction you are looking.
• Privilege: requires the creative privilege.
• The command checks for the signs_lib mod and will abort with an error if it is not enabled.
• The node under your current position will be changed to a gold block and each test station consists of the down and up staff nodes plus a sign showing the distance.

Recommendation: run the command on a flat map (use a flat map generator) to avoid terrain interfering with the test stations.

Found bug? Want improvements? 🔗

If you foun bug, have improvment idea etc, use https://github.com/sfence/geodesy/issues . Author is opened to help via PR, but strongly recommend to consult improvment idea first via issue or different comunication platform.