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Without knowing the technical terms or details, I think of voxels as the things in Minecraft. A voxel game world, to me, is one where I could destroy or place a

Without knowing the technical terms or details, I think of voxels as the things in Minecraft. A voxel game world, to me, is one where I could destroy or place any random voxel I want anywhere in the game world and have the game world smoothly and faithfully incorporate my decision. If voxels just mean the smallest rendering primitive is a cube instead of a triangle then I agree it seems just like an artistic preference.

namrog84 5y ago
While voxels are often represented in cubes like minecraft, they don't have to be. A voxel is just a data point in 3d space. It can be rendered or visualized many different ways including smooth curves or many other things. While blocky cubes are common that is not all they are or can do.
- beebeepka 5y ago
  For the longest time I thought the deal with voxels is that they are 3d objects in 3d space. I need to do some reading.
- convolvatron 5y ago
  yeah, actually i was going to ask in my earlier message - there must be some form of subdivision-surface-like smoothing model? you can certainly also do a gaussian with alpha if you dont mind drawing jello...are there other approaches you know of for direct rendering?
  - foota 5y ago
    One of the most common is marching cubes, although I think voxels can also be used directly, either with Ray tracing techniques or rasterization.
shultays 5y ago
I think Minecraft changed the definition a little. Before Minecraft, a voxel was just a 3d pixel. Imagine drawing a single pixel using on paint, a voxel engine does that in a 3d space. A Minecraft voxel is much more complicated than a pixel in 3d. It has textures, the shape/graphics changes depending on what angle you see it from and can even have animations. I guess the term has evolved now but I find naming Minecraft as a voxel game mostly as a marketing gimmick. No one calls 8x8 block of a NES background tile a pixel
- thaumasiotes 5y ago
  > No one calls 8x8 block of a NES background tile a pixel They might, if the point of the NES game was to arrange those blocks into personal artwork.

namrog84 5y ago

While voxels are often represented in cubes like minecraft, they don't have to be. A voxel is just a data point in 3d space. It can be rendered or visualized many different ways including smooth curves or many other things. While blocky cubes are common that is not all they are or can do.

beebeepka 5y ago
For the longest time I thought the deal with voxels is that they are 3d objects in 3d space. I need to do some reading.
convolvatron 5y ago
yeah, actually i was going to ask in my earlier message - there must be some form of subdivision-surface-like smoothing model? you can certainly also do a gaussian with alpha if you dont mind drawing jello...are there other approaches you know of for direct rendering?
- foota 5y ago
  One of the most common is marching cubes, although I think voxels can also be used directly, either with Ray tracing techniques or rasterization.

shultays 5y ago

I think Minecraft changed the definition a little. Before Minecraft, a voxel was just a 3d pixel. Imagine drawing a single pixel using on paint, a voxel engine does that in a 3d space. A Minecraft voxel is much more complicated than a pixel in 3d. It has textures, the shape/graphics changes depending on what angle you see it from and can even have animations. I guess the term has evolved now but I find naming Minecraft as a voxel game mostly as a marketing gimmick. No one calls 8x8 block of a NES background tile a pixel

thaumasiotes 5y ago
> No one calls 8x8 block of a NES background tile a pixel They might, if the point of the NES game was to arrange those blocks into personal artwork.