Does anyone here know about voxels?
by Frederick · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 07/11/2001 (8:53 am) · 8 replies
Im half curious about them, but Im no programmer :p
Just looking for some tips as to where I could find out more.
Just looking for some tips as to where I could find out more.
About the author
#2
--Rick
07/12/2001 (8:50 am)
If you find any good links add them to the GarageGames resource database.--Rick
#3
although Im ashamed to admit that most of this stuff is way over my head.
Searching for an answer to a hypothetical question is almost impossible without some grasp of the material, so I might have better luck posting it here once I got the idea/question baked properly in my head.
07/12/2001 (3:23 pm)
Will do ;)although Im ashamed to admit that most of this stuff is way over my head.
Searching for an answer to a hypothetical question is almost impossible without some grasp of the material, so I might have better luck posting it here once I got the idea/question baked properly in my head.
#4
Er... I suppose GF3 can, since you control what it does... have to look into that I guess.
Anyways, there's been a number of great games (again IMO) that used voxels. Shattered Steel by BioWare, Most of Nova Logic's games, etc. Didn't Dynamix tinker with voxels in the past?
08/20/2001 (12:46 pm)
There is so much potential for voxels IMO, but there is little to no support for them in the industry. Look at Delta Force. It had an AMAZING terrain system using voxels, that allowed for realistic looking grass. But those rendering engines are stuck with being software only. Will OpenGL or DX ever support voxel technology? Will graphics GPU's ever provide true acceleration for voxels?Er... I suppose GF3 can, since you control what it does... have to look into that I guess.
Anyways, there's been a number of great games (again IMO) that used voxels. Shattered Steel by BioWare, Most of Nova Logic's games, etc. Didn't Dynamix tinker with voxels in the past?
#5
what I was looking for was a power savings while generating an immense ammount of outdoor surface area.
assuming there was a way to accelerate it, I think that photorealism is within grasp at least for the terrain itself.
even with v-12 terrain ability, its still no where near what I need. I would have to work around that.
08/20/2001 (12:57 pm)
The potential of voxels impressed me with deltaforce 2 I think it was. my lowley 266 drawing about 10 miles of terrain at a playable speed. what I was looking for was a power savings while generating an immense ammount of outdoor surface area.
assuming there was a way to accelerate it, I think that photorealism is within grasp at least for the terrain itself.
even with v-12 terrain ability, its still no where near what I need. I would have to work around that.
#6
08/20/2001 (7:07 pm)
I don't know if V12 supports it but, incremental level loading like in half-life can allow you to make bigger levels without completely loading a new level every time you hit the edge of a map section. It might be tricky with the long LOS in V12 outdoors though.
#7
Sigh, can't remember the name at all. AHH! Tips from the Game Programming Gurus, book 2. Well, I'm pretty sure it was book 2 (:
Anyways, check it out if you can find it... explains ray-casting voxel engines quite well.
-bw
08/22/2001 (6:20 pm)
I wrote a small voxel engine a few years ago. They're pretty cool to mess around with. I'm on the road right now, so I can't check my library, but there's a 2 book set, one of the books covers a voxel engine... Sigh, can't remember the name at all. AHH! Tips from the Game Programming Gurus, book 2. Well, I'm pretty sure it was book 2 (:
Anyways, check it out if you can find it... explains ray-casting voxel engines quite well.
-bw
#8
Ill give it a go.
<--- still chewing through "beginners guide to C++"
the incremental loading wont work I think.
the problem is not just scrolling over alot of terrain like if your walking along on the ground.
its comming from if you have to view the terrain at high altitudes.
We need a alot of exposed surface at a relatively high detail level. :/
08/27/2001 (5:46 am)
ok, thanks ;)Ill give it a go.
<--- still chewing through "beginners guide to C++"
the incremental loading wont work I think.
the problem is not just scrolling over alot of terrain like if your walking along on the ground.
its comming from if you have to view the terrain at high altitudes.
We need a alot of exposed surface at a relatively high detail level. :/
Torque 3D Owner Phil Carlisle
Nothing to voxels really, do a google search for voxel and I'm sure you'll get a billion hits.
Phil.