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ZonifiedBeta

A small mod to use the previously unused ZonedChunkStorage present in b1.2_02-20110517

Ornithe
Loaders
Ornithe
Downloads on Modrinth
4
Followers on Modrinth
0
version
1
Updated
October 30, 2026Oct 30
Published
in 2026
Warning when you try to load a vanilla world · swipe

At a glance

Runs on Ornithe
Works on either side — install it in the game, on the server, or both
Latest version — 1.0.0 from October 30, 2026
License MIT — free
Where it's needed
In gameoptionalOn serveroptional

Works both in the game and on the server — install where you need it

Game versionsGame versions not specified
ZonifiedBeta icon

ZonifiedBeta

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A small mod to use the previously unused ZonedChunkStorage present in b1.2_02-20110517

[!NOTE] The Zone File Format has many flaws, one of which causes "chunk saving issues" due to how the filenames are generated (in reality, the chunks are saved, but the flawed code doesn't always load them)

Outside of the 'corruption bug', one of the main issues you will find is that a single world can quickly eat hundreds of MB to even GB of space. This is due to the fact that Zone files are completely uncompressed.

The filename issue is fixed via the LoadZone mod, which you can download here. (View Sources)
More info about the filename bug can also be found at the LoadZone README.

Companion mods
  • LoadZone (View Source)

    • Fixes zone filenames which patches a critical chunk loading bug
  • NotSoSecret (View Source)

    • Disables Notch's SecretMode test code that forcefully drags the player into the secretLevel on load.
    • Also fixes the inventory bind not existing
Installation
  • Download the mod from the releases

    • Theoretically, the mod SHOULD work between Fabric-based loaders, as there is no dependency on the OSL itself, and b1.2_02-20110517 is already deobfuscated.
    • This has not been tested though. Should it not work on your loader, please continue with the installation steps yourself.
  • Instructions still need to be written for this as Ornithe does not currently support b1.2_02-20110517 outside of an experimental devenv made by somebody else.

What's different?

After the Zone file format was introduced in inf-20100624, Notch and the playerbase had found serious issues that made the format unusable in its current state. Because of this, it was reverted in the very next update to the Alpha Save Format.

However, the Zone format and the code to use it were still present in the codebase at the time this b1.2 dev build was compiled.

This mod forces the game to use this 'Zone save format' (known as ZonedChunkStorage in code) instead of the Alpha Save Format (known as OldChunkStorage in code)

A warning screen that appears when the user attempts to load a world which uses ZonifiedBeta, without ZonifiedBeta installed
A warning screen that appears when the user attempts to load a world which uses ZonifiedBeta, without ZonifiedBeta installed.
Click the image to watch a showcase video of LoadZone, ZonifiedBeta, and NotSoSecret on YouTube

[!IMPORTANT] Worlds created with ZonifiedBeta will not properly load on vanilla clients due to the fact that there is no converter unlike AFS→McRegion.

Likewise, worlds created in vanilla are NOT compatible with clients running ZonifiedBeta.

Loading a ZonifiedBeta world on vanilla and vice versa is most likely to cause the player to spawn in a wall, or up in the sky.
This is because the game's ChunkStorage looks for files using its respective save format structure, and when they're not found it will then generate new chunks.
The chunk that generates at the player's last logout position might not be the same, so if you logged off in your house, the chunks that generate around the same position may actually form say a mountain instead, and the player will then spawn inside the mountain and suffocate to death.

To help prevent accidental loading, ZonifiedBeta checks for a marker file (.zonifiedbeta) before loading a world to determine whether it is safe to load. In the event the file does not exist (such as the world being vanilla), the player is notified that they are about to load a vanilla world, and is given the option to cancel.

But, what are zones?

It is essentially McRegion before McRegion, with the format being written by Notch during the Infdev era of Minecraft.

More info can be found at the Minecraft Wiki page for the Zone File Format, which was previously mostly undocumented before our discoveries during the development of libLodestone.

FAQ

How to install ZonifiedBeta?

Install Ornithe for your Minecraft version, download ZonifiedBeta for the same version and loader, put the file into the mods folder and launch the game with the loader profile.

Is ZonifiedBeta needed on the server?

Works on either side — install it in the game, on the server, or both

License and source
MIT Licensefree to use and share with credit to the author
Original — Modrinth↗Files unchanged, verified with SHA-512Is this your mod? For rights holders

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