So, if i understand it correct the guy on the first page said: Voxels sais where on a 3d grit is a colored dot and also renders that dot, correct?
Well maybe that was how the voxels were first intendet. Now they still say where on a 3d grit is something but with more information like, what material is, how reacts to.., what form, and many more infos. If the Voxel engine now still would render it, it would maybe too much calculatin power needet. Instead it only transfers the how it looks data to an render enigne, in this case forgelight. Now if something happens to the Voxel(material change, color change) it only informs the render engine to change that.
Basicly the voxel is the architect and the forgelight the guy who builds it.
I know it's a lot to ask of the internet, but can we please stop arguing things we know nothing about? All you basically need to know is that voxels are technology used to map volume. There are a multitude of ways this technology can be used, from medical, to particle simulations (usually involving fluids). How these get rendered is an entirely different matter. Rendering is basically how the computer takes that 3d data and makes it visible to us.
EQN absolutely uses a voxel system, this much is obvious once you see how one interacts with the environment. This is why you see the ground rounding in weird ways when you dig a hole through it. If it were polygons, there would essentially be predefined shapes that disappear when removed from the world.
- As for minecraft, it doesn't use a voxel engine, but it basically uses polygons to simulate a similar system. Only instead of having actual voxels it uses cubes instead. You can see this as you mouse over things ingame (it outlines the polygons for you).
Personally, I don't care if they use or call it voxels, moxels, toxels, or rockels.. I do not like green eggs and ham.. To me it is more of a gimmick, then a world building design tool.. Having parts of the ground break up, is just another damn thing my graphics card has to draw on top of the annoying Disney spell effects as well.. Is voxels worth the trade off? No, not in my opinion it isn't.. Then you couple that in with the "procedural" world and you get a pain in my arse.. LOL
Lets use EQ as an example.. Back in the day when I first started playing, it was an incredible find for me to stumble across the entrance to Blackburrow.. That entrance never changed, nor should it.. Now we have EQN that has tiers of dungeons? Does this mean that I have to DIG my way into Blackburrow? I sure as hell hope not.. I would hate to think I have to redig my way into a dungeon after each procedural regeneration of a hole.. Grrr..
Then you get into the hypothetical of using a tool or spell that blast a hole into the ground opening up a hole to drop down into a new cavern.. How long does that hole stay open? How do I get back out if I drop down? Will the game have rope? Then lets assume that hole regenerates after 10 minutes.. Will it always be 3 feet thick in that area? if the thickness never changes, then it really isn't procedural then.. Same problem with destroying a voxel bridge.. The bridge heals itself after a period of time.. Who fixes it? etc etc.. This whole thing about voxels and procedural all sounds like a marketing gimmick that sells well on paper, but I suspect it will become an annoyance after awhile in game..
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So, if i understand it correct the guy on the first page said: Voxels sais where on a 3d grit is a colored dot and also renders that dot, correct?
Well maybe that was how the voxels were first intendet. Now they still say where on a 3d grit is something but with more information like, what material is, how reacts to.., what form, and many more infos. If the Voxel engine now still would render it, it would maybe too much calculatin power needet. Instead it only transfers the how it looks data to an render enigne, in this case forgelight. Now if something happens to the Voxel(material change, color change) it only informs the render engine to change that.
Basicly the voxel is the architect and the forgelight the guy who builds it.
Understanding of a Voxel /thread
I know it's a lot to ask of the internet, but can we please stop arguing things we know nothing about? All you basically need to know is that voxels are technology used to map volume. There are a multitude of ways this technology can be used, from medical, to particle simulations (usually involving fluids). How these get rendered is an entirely different matter. Rendering is basically how the computer takes that 3d data and makes it visible to us.
EQN absolutely uses a voxel system, this much is obvious once you see how one interacts with the environment. This is why you see the ground rounding in weird ways when you dig a hole through it. If it were polygons, there would essentially be predefined shapes that disappear when removed from the world.
- As for minecraft, it doesn't use a voxel engine, but it basically uses polygons to simulate a similar system. Only instead of having actual voxels it uses cubes instead. You can see this as you mouse over things ingame (it outlines the polygons for you).
Personally, I don't care if they use or call it voxels, moxels, toxels, or rockels.. I do not like green eggs and ham.. To me it is more of a gimmick, then a world building design tool.. Having parts of the ground break up, is just another damn thing my graphics card has to draw on top of the annoying Disney spell effects as well.. Is voxels worth the trade off? No, not in my opinion it isn't.. Then you couple that in with the "procedural" world and you get a pain in my arse.. LOL
Lets use EQ as an example.. Back in the day when I first started playing, it was an incredible find for me to stumble across the entrance to Blackburrow.. That entrance never changed, nor should it.. Now we have EQN that has tiers of dungeons? Does this mean that I have to DIG my way into Blackburrow? I sure as hell hope not.. I would hate to think I have to redig my way into a dungeon after each procedural regeneration of a hole.. Grrr..
Then you get into the hypothetical of using a tool or spell that blast a hole into the ground opening up a hole to drop down into a new cavern.. How long does that hole stay open? How do I get back out if I drop down? Will the game have rope? Then lets assume that hole regenerates after 10 minutes.. Will it always be 3 feet thick in that area? if the thickness never changes, then it really isn't procedural then.. Same problem with destroying a voxel bridge.. The bridge heals itself after a period of time.. Who fixes it? etc etc.. This whole thing about voxels and procedural all sounds like a marketing gimmick that sells well on paper, but I suspect it will become an annoyance after awhile in game..