A Minecraft 1.20.1 Modpack and SMP
The Modpack
A unique collaboration between the Minecraft Bloc and Reclamation developer ACCBDD.
What will it take to bring forests back to this desolate planet? What happens when you play not for yourself but For The Trees? Following in the footsteps of questing modpacks like Regrowth and Reclamation and inspired by ecogames like Eco, Terra Nil and Endling, For The Trees explores deep ecological themes and challenges you to play Minecraft very differently whether alone, with friends, or even on our solar powered SMP server.
In a world of scarcity brought on by climate change, life still lingers— can we still learn to work with nature and find a way to thrive together!
Modpack launches May 24- check back for the link!
100+ MODS
Featuring Botania, Nature’s Aura, Primal Magick, Enchanted: Witchcraft, Theurgy, Create, Agricraft, Quark, and many more…
FTB QUESTS
5+ chapters of quests will guide you through the steps of bringing forests back to world, and living well while doing it
CUSTOM STRUCTURES
The world is not as empty as it may seem. There are remnants of the past and visions of the future.
PLAY DIFFERENTLY
Find new ways to interact with the world and the resources it generates.
The SMP
From May 24th to July 4th 2026 we will host a For the Trees survival multiplayer (SMP) server.
It’s dangerous to go alone! Join players from around the world in tackling the challenge of re-forestation. Team up to clear quests, participate in server events, and build up your post-post-apocalyptic community— all on our custom designed solar powered server! That’s right… have the unique experience of playing on a server subject to the whims of Montreal weather, where you need to watch your energy consumption just as much as your hunger bar if you want to survive. Save power and walk (don’t fly), as you explore the barren landscape. Or make a Solar Sword and become vengeance in the midday Montreal sun (but easy pickings for mobs once the actual sun goes down).
Don’t miss this rare chance to experience the future of sustainable multiplayer gaming in an SMP custom-made for the occasion.
Join our Discord Now!
For The Trees modpack and SMP are made possible by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada called, “Material Allegories and Minecraft.” This is a live research project to explore the possibilities of using modded Minecraft as a platform for bringing players together to engage creatively with issues of climate change, energy transition, resilience and social imagination.
Players wishing to participate in the SMP will need to sign a research ethics consent form and be 18 years or older.
The SunBlock Solar Sever
For The Trees:SMP will be hosted on the SunBlock Solar Server
A series of 100w solar panels reside on top of a building on Concordia University’s downtown campus in Montreal, Quebec. These panels charge a 100Ah lithium-ion battery, which powers the SunBlock server that hosts our games.
Through the SunBlock Core mod, players can see the status of the battery and the amount of incoming solar energy. Real-time updates tell players how their in-game actions affect the amount of power the server draws, and a collection of custom items bring the dynamics of solar energy into the game itself.
DIY Solar Set-UP
SunBlock (One and Two) are constantly evolving constructs hosted at Concordia University in downtown Montreal. The configuration may change depending on the season, the weather forecast, or the whims of the reasearch team.
Solar Tools
Craft a full suite of solar tools that respond to the shifts in solar power.
At full sun you can hit harder, dig faster, and even mend your tools. When you play impacts how you play.
Solar HUD
The Solar HUD gives in-game information on the status of the server, the battery, and the amount of solar energy coming through the panels.
Power Button
The Power Button lets players shift the server between power-saver and performance mode. Power-saver uses less energy but can make for a laggy game, while performance mode drains the battery to ensure smoother play.
FTT Dev Logs
Our team has been blogging about the process of developing For The Trees. Read the selection below to gain insight into our process and motivation.
Spinal Landscapes
“This sort of playtesting is emotionally fraught. On one level, you have helped make a Thing that you enjoy using with others. On another, you are supposed to break the Thing, coldly and systematically, and to be able to describe what you did and what happened in a manner that’s useful to your teammates writing the code, to prevent others from experiencing what you have just experienced.”
Legacies of Regrowth
“This idea of regrowth or reclamation had a singularly humanist pretension in that the game’s progression, especially in the solipsistic single player world of Minecraft, was all for my own benefit. I wasn’t greening the world; I was greening MY world and indeed I only needed to change the land as much as my eye could see (if that). So, this grand ecological gesture which seemed at first so poignant suddenly struck me as just an enthusiastic form of gardening.”
Carrying Water
“In industrialized societies with ubiquitous indoor plumbing, standing at the sink in your kitchen is very much like having an infinite water source in Minecraft and the closest you might get to the outside is looking through the window. Running for buckets could be a poor analogy for thinking about water scarcity (because Minecraft water is not actually scarce at all) but it is also very effective for thinking about the material ideologies of insides and outsides, culture and nature, and a mindfulness about infrastructure.”
Look at the Computer
“There are so many different connections. Is the server connected to the battery? To the controller? To the panels? To the power supply? To the internet? Am I connected to the internet? Can I connect to the server? Are the Minecraft authentication servers down? Do I have the right password, the right IP address, the right port, the right account, the right profile, the right amperage, the right solder, the right room?”