Daniel Schroeder
@dan5sch.bsky.social
I've been doing more research and thinking about this recently -- the merits of porting this into an engine vs. building out the engine features I'd need for a game myself. I'm increasingly favoring the path of doing a custom engine, for a range of reasons, but the jury's still out
October 30, 2025 at 11:27 PM
I've been doing more research and thinking about this recently -- the merits of porting this into an engine vs. building out the engine features I'd need for a game myself. I'm increasingly favoring the path of doing a custom engine, for a range of reasons, but the jury's still out
Ok, this is relatable
August 19, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Ok, this is relatable
Thanks! Though needless to say, I'm making some very particular tradeoffs to get there, compared to a general-purpose modern renderer...
August 18, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Thanks! Though needless to say, I'm making some very particular tradeoffs to get there, compared to a general-purpose modern renderer...
Thanks! And yeah, shadows are something I'll be thinking about in the future. I mention this briefly in the blog post in the thread
August 18, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Thanks! And yeah, shadows are something I'll be thinking about in the future. I mention this briefly in the blog post in the thread
For more information on what I've been up to and where I plan to go with this project from here, or to get in touch, see this blog post: blog.danielschroeder.me/blog/voxel-r...
Voxel Renderer — Handling Objects and Animated Characters
Introduction Somehow, it's been over a year since I wrote the first two posts introducing my small-voxel renderer, inspired by the look of classic 90's 3D games. These posts and the video received mor...
blog.danielschroeder.me
August 18, 2025 at 7:30 PM
For more information on what I've been up to and where I plan to go with this project from here, or to get in touch, see this blog post: blog.danielschroeder.me/blog/voxel-r...
I've made a new trailer-style video to show where the project stands today. Make sure to watch to the end... www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN9n...
Leveling up my small-voxel renderer
YouTube video by Daniel Schroeder
www.youtube.com
August 18, 2025 at 7:30 PM
I've made a new trailer-style video to show where the project stands today. Make sure to watch to the end... www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN9n...
To add those elements, I now support voxelizing detailed triangle meshes, producing voxel meshes that match the aesthetic of the environment geometry. The voxelizer tolerates off-the-shelf assets and produces good results across foliage, characters, and hard-surface meshes.
August 18, 2025 at 7:30 PM
To add those elements, I now support voxelizing detailed triangle meshes, producing voxel meshes that match the aesthetic of the environment geometry. The voxelizer tolerates off-the-shelf assets and produces good results across foliage, characters, and hard-surface meshes.
In last year's work, I modeled the environment as low-poly geometry and used textures with displacement maps to apply fine voxel detailing. This workflow is efficient for structures and terrain, but it can't handle things like foliage, small props, or animated characters.
August 18, 2025 at 7:30 PM
In last year's work, I modeled the environment as low-poly geometry and used textures with displacement maps to apply fine voxel detailing. This workflow is efficient for structures and terrain, but it can't handle things like foliage, small props, or animated characters.
The pain is real. I had a mouse that developed this a few days before a deadline when I didn't have time to go buy a replacement. Much annoyance ensued
August 18, 2025 at 4:35 AM
The pain is real. I had a mouse that developed this a few days before a deadline when I didn't have time to go buy a replacement. Much annoyance ensued
He, to be very clear, meaning me
August 1, 2025 at 11:29 PM
He, to be very clear, meaning me
Having no gameplay beyond being able to walk around? Nothing wrong with that, he says, self-servingly
August 1, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Having no gameplay beyond being able to walk around? Nothing wrong with that, he says, self-servingly
Left feels practical, right has more personality IMO. Right feels like the posture of someone who feels threatened
July 24, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Left feels practical, right has more personality IMO. Right feels like the posture of someone who feels threatened
I ran into this too recently, though not as a user. I was researching the APIs and their differences, and discovered that the early bug reports on the "gpuweb" spec repo are a great resource for discovering these differences.
June 26, 2025 at 2:07 AM
I ran into this too recently, though not as a user. I was researching the APIs and their differences, and discovered that the early bug reports on the "gpuweb" spec repo are a great resource for discovering these differences.
I experimented with the same trick recently. Very useful when you're lighting an area with non-shadow-casting lights and don't want to use a huge number of them. Being able to configure *per light* what fraction of the light is ambient is also useful
May 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
I experimented with the same trick recently. Very useful when you're lighting an area with non-shadow-casting lights and don't want to use a huge number of them. Being able to configure *per light* what fraction of the light is ambient is also useful
Only took a quick look so far, but the interactive demos are very cool!
April 12, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Only took a quick look so far, but the interactive demos are very cool!
When I'm looking for info about how older engines solved problems, I try to find old modding community websites that are still active. There's usually somebody who has compiled this kind of information, or links to it
March 30, 2025 at 6:24 PM
When I'm looking for info about how older engines solved problems, I try to find old modding community websites that are still active. There's usually somebody who has compiled this kind of information, or links to it
I took care of that days ago but my suitcase is still half packed. Results inconclusive.
March 26, 2025 at 1:01 AM
I took care of that days ago but my suitcase is still half packed. Results inconclusive.
OK, now this is super intriguing. Will have to look into your plugin...
March 25, 2025 at 11:08 PM
OK, now this is super intriguing. Will have to look into your plugin...
Yikes. Thankfully I haven't met many people who talk this way. That said, I bet a lot of us have made the mistake of getting carried away and talking for too long about something we're working on that we care about. I sure have
March 25, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Yikes. Thankfully I haven't met many people who talk this way. That said, I bet a lot of us have made the mistake of getting carried away and talking for too long about something we're working on that we care about. I sure have
Heck, I didn't even get sick and I feel destroyed. It's a draining week!
March 25, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Heck, I didn't even get sick and I feel destroyed. It's a draining week!