TotalBiscuit is doing video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a good overview of the project, but us more obsessive types won't pick up much new.

lol this is totally true.
I wonder when they are going to release another update..

Did you miss the giant hint at the end that they're experimenting with a voxel-based engine? That would definitely be a big deal if implemented and could have a significant impact on the gameplay.

Uhh, I think you mean castle story, which does use a kind of voxel principle.
I don't really see the point in using voxels for this kind of game, except for the generating craters part, but that would need so much voxels, that it would use up way too much power.

There is a reason, Minecraft's blocks are that large. (so you have less of them)

Isn't it sad? ;_;

You are thinking of Voxels as a graphical representation. Voxels can also simply be a data structure and the state of the Voxels is used to generate a specific geometry. (Look at Miner Wars 2081 for instance.)

Ummm? Not at all. Minecraft used large blocks because that's how Notch wanted the game to look. There are already functioning voxel engines that track billions of tiny voxels and their interactions (they just haven't made it into mainstream gaming yet). Computational power is far from being an issue in this area.

If planets are made from voxels, that opens up a whole world of possibilities. On the most obvious level, as you pointed out, is ability for impact craters. That's pretty unimaginative. For one, it introduces the possibility of terraforming the planets. Players could build or remove mountains. Voxel based water would ripple and flow appropriately. It could fill in canyons the player cuts into the terrain cutting off land routes or flow away from a secret island the player makes in the middle of the ocean. It'd also be necessary to achieve the meteor tidal waves that Uber is interested in implementing.

This could totally change the resource system too. Since voxel planets would be filled in you could literally mine ore deposits and mineral veins. When the deposit runs dry you would have to move on to another. Asteroids could be strip mined into non-existence, for example.

A voxel engine would also be necessary for planets and asteroids to be able to break apart like they do in the trailer.

You can still terraform with a heightmap.

Exactly, SupCom had terrain deformation as well. A mod was built to add it to nearly all weapons, which I've always used.

Ok Miner Wars looks nice, made by guys from Descent and Redfaction... two elements I could see in the game made me see what they did there. Some tech I will probably look into, Could enhance my procedural modeling skills. Thx

Also, of course the blocks in Minecraft also give it that distinct look Notch went with. The problem with voxels is, that video cards they are currently not very optimized for rendering true voxels. Sure modern computers can handle them, that doesn't mean its the best way to go. You end up with a lot of polygons which you can't see on screen. Polygons that are not used for robots and explosions are wasteful

Also keep in mind I am simplifying, its not exactly how they work.

I didn't realize TotalBiscuit was a TA fan. Neat. Learn something new every day.