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Minecraft-likes are among one of the most successful game formulas. Some examples: No Man's Sky (survival, voxel, proc gen) Astroneer (survival, voxel, proc

Minecraft-likes are among one of the most successful game formulas. Some examples: No Man's Sky (survival, voxel, proc gen) Astroneer (survival, voxel, proc gen) Valheim (survival, proc gen) Enshrouded (survival, voxel) Terraria (survival, proc gen) Like it or not there's a lot to be gained from learning how to make a Minecraft-like. Does making one guarantee success, NO, but same goes for any other type of game.

im3w1l 2y ago
Of these, I'm familiar with Enshrouded. Although I suppose it's voxel based in a sense it's not really voxel-based like minecraft is. Like instead of displaying the voxels as is, the game interpolates them into smooth shapes. Also characters and placables are high-poly like you would expect from any other game rather than blocky like in minecraft. The effect of this is that it's actually quite non-obvious that it's voxel based unless you pay careful attention.
- RoyalHenOil 2y ago
  I don't totally follow how this is relevant to the thread? If you make your own game engine, you can design it to display the voxels however you wish. It seems odd to dismiss Minecraft-like games as unsellable when many Minecraft-like games have sold very well by expanding on the gameplay and visuals. There is no reason why the developer in this article can't do the same.
  - im3w1l 2y ago
    There's also the fact that the map is fixed rather than procedurally generated, that there is a story with voice acting and plenty of lore scattered. To me the differences are large enough that I don't consider it minecraft-like. But I guess that's a matter of opinion.
nox101 2y ago
No Man's Sky Astroneer, Enshrouded are not voxel games AFAICT. Of those, I've only played No Man's Sky, which I agree at some level is similar to Minecraft in gameplay
- earthling8118 2y ago
  Astroneer is indeed a voxel game. With some trickery to make it appear differently.
- notnullorvoid 2y ago
  They may not look it, but the underlying terrain is done with voxels. It's harder to notice because the voxels are smaller, and use techniques like marching cubes to render smooth looking angled surfaces. Here's a GDC talk about No Man's Sky world generation: https://youtu.be/sCRzxEEcO2Y?si=H0r5zPRfO1CCeZ_m https://youtu.be/sCRzxEEcO2Y?si=H0r5zPRfO1CCeZ_m Voxels doesn't necessarily mean something looks blocky like Minecraft.
  - pests 2y ago
    Yep, tons of games behind the scenes use it. I used to read this guy over at procworld.blogspot.com (as I type this I'm not sure if it even works anymore) who developed a very nice Voxel engine he ended up eventually licensing to game studios like SOE named Voxel Farm which was intended to be in EverQuest Next. It had tons of features way beyond a simple Minecraft clone. I was always blown away at what was possible and the tech behind it.
    - nox101 2y ago
      I think we have different definitions of Voxel
      - pests 2y ago
        I don't think so? They use voxels under the hood but still render smooth graphics with techniques like marching cubes. I think you are underestimating voxels or don't understand how they are applied in modern game development. If those aren't voxel games, neither is Minecraft. That's like saying games don't use polygons or triangles to render because when you zoom in everything looks smooth / no triangles.

im3w1l 2y ago

Of these, I'm familiar with Enshrouded. Although I suppose it's voxel based in a sense it's not really voxel-based like minecraft is. Like instead of displaying the voxels as is, the game interpolates them into smooth shapes. Also characters and placables are high-poly like you would expect from any other game rather than blocky like in minecraft. The effect of this is that it's actually quite non-obvious that it's voxel based unless you pay careful attention.

RoyalHenOil 2y ago
I don't totally follow how this is relevant to the thread? If you make your own game engine, you can design it to display the voxels however you wish. It seems odd to dismiss Minecraft-like games as unsellable when many Minecraft-like games have sold very well by expanding on the gameplay and visuals. There is no reason why the developer in this article can't do the same.
- im3w1l 2y ago
  There's also the fact that the map is fixed rather than procedurally generated, that there is a story with voice acting and plenty of lore scattered. To me the differences are large enough that I don't consider it minecraft-like. But I guess that's a matter of opinion.

nox101 2y ago

No Man's Sky Astroneer, Enshrouded are not voxel games AFAICT. Of those, I've only played No Man's Sky, which I agree at some level is similar to Minecraft in gameplay

earthling8118 2y ago
Astroneer is indeed a voxel game. With some trickery to make it appear differently.
notnullorvoid 2y ago
They may not look it, but the underlying terrain is done with voxels. It's harder to notice because the voxels are smaller, and use techniques like marching cubes to render smooth looking angled surfaces. Here's a GDC talk about No Man's Sky world generation: https://youtu.be/sCRzxEEcO2Y?si=H0r5zPRfO1CCeZ_m https://youtu.be/sCRzxEEcO2Y?si=H0r5zPRfO1CCeZ_m Voxels doesn't necessarily mean something looks blocky like Minecraft.
- pests 2y ago
  Yep, tons of games behind the scenes use it. I used to read this guy over at procworld.blogspot.com (as I type this I'm not sure if it even works anymore) who developed a very nice Voxel engine he ended up eventually licensing to game studios like SOE named Voxel Farm which was intended to be in EverQuest Next. It had tons of features way beyond a simple Minecraft clone. I was always blown away at what was possible and the tech behind it.
  - nox101 2y ago
    I think we have different definitions of Voxel
    - pests 2y ago
      I don't think so? They use voxels under the hood but still render smooth graphics with techniques like marching cubes. I think you are underestimating voxels or don't understand how they are applied in modern game development. If those aren't voxel games, neither is Minecraft. That's like saying games don't use polygons or triangles to render because when you zoom in everything looks smooth / no triangles.