World's Smallest Minecraft Computer

The Full Computer The MC² computer in its full glory

MC14500B Chip The MC14500B chip that inspired the MC² design

Block Diagram Block diagram of the MC² overall architecture

Simple demonstration program summing two 4-bit numbers

Overview

Built the smallest turing complete computer in Minecraft, designed to be simple enough for survival mode construction. The MC² (MineCraft MicroController) is a 1-bit Harvard architecture computer inspired by the 1970's Motorola MC14500B logic controller chip, featuring a 4-bit music disc encoded ISA and fitting in a footprint barely larger than a chunk.

Key Features

  • 4-bit music disc encoded instruction set with 15 instructions
  • 1-bit internal register with 2 additional flags for control flow
  • 8 I/O ports for interfacing with peripherals
  • Optional infinitely expandable tape memory unit for turing complete operation
  • 14 game tick (0.7 second) clock cycle
  • 1458 instruction program memory (182 bytes)
  • Compact footprint of 14x12x17 blocks (excluding tape memory)

Technical Details

  • Designed novel jukebox-based instruction memory system using music discs as dense ROM
  • Implemented shulker box loader/unloader system for 27x faster program reset
  • Created predication-based control flow system inspired by MOVfuscator
  • Developed custom assembler with recursive macro system in C++
  • Used innovative slimestone tower design for compact vertical signal transmission
  • Implemented dual tape memory system for working memory and program counter

Technologies & Techniques

  • Redstone circuit design and optimization
  • Computer architecture principles (Harvard architecture, pipelining, predication)
  • Custom instruction set architecture (ISA) design
  • Assembly language and compiler/assembler development
  • C++ for tooling (assembler/emulator)
  • Python for worldedit automation scripts

Resources