Michael Schenck
@mike.pixelatedramblings.com
XR Developer | Unity and C# | Meta Quest
Making Zotbox a VR sandbox inspired by Minecraft
I like Fantasy, SciFi, Nature, Space, Art, Maps, Books, and RPGs
https://pixelatedramblings.com
Making Zotbox a VR sandbox inspired by Minecraft
I like Fantasy, SciFi, Nature, Space, Art, Maps, Books, and RPGs
https://pixelatedramblings.com
The head of PR would like to inform you that his human worker is currently busy with a new freelance project and that there will likely be fewer updates for a while on Zotbox the cool and amazing Minecraft inspired VR sandbox! 😺
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
October 31, 2025 at 1:24 AM
The head of PR would like to inform you that his human worker is currently busy with a new freelance project and that there will likely be fewer updates for a while on Zotbox the cool and amazing Minecraft inspired VR sandbox! 😺
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
A few screenshots of my own new block textures that I described in the previous post. My programmer are style at work! I am still following a color palette similar to vanilla Minecraft though because that is classic. 🎨😎
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
September 28, 2025 at 2:28 AM
A few screenshots of my own new block textures that I described in the previous post. My programmer are style at work! I am still following a color palette similar to vanilla Minecraft though because that is classic. 🎨😎
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
So finally I am working on my own set of block textures and like programmer art there is also such a thing as programmer art style! Yes I am attempting to develop my own art style or aesthetic. Here is an example of the side of the grass block.
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
September 25, 2025 at 4:06 AM
So finally I am working on my own set of block textures and like programmer art there is also such a thing as programmer art style! Yes I am attempting to develop my own art style or aesthetic. Here is an example of the side of the grass block.
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
@stevenlevy.bsky.social This was a huge inspiration to me during high school as a nerdy computer kid in the 80s. Thank you for writing it!
September 24, 2025 at 10:50 PM
@stevenlevy.bsky.social This was a huge inspiration to me during high school as a nerdy computer kid in the 80s. Thank you for writing it!
What could be hiding in the grass? A giant spider waiting to shoot it’s venom in your direction or maybe an undead skeleton torso crawling toward the sound of your footsteps? A lush environment is crucial for immersion and suspense!
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
September 17, 2025 at 2:01 AM
What could be hiding in the grass? A giant spider waiting to shoot it’s venom in your direction or maybe an undead skeleton torso crawling toward the sound of your footsteps? A lush environment is crucial for immersion and suspense!
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
A night time shot. The grass blocks interact with the block lighting so they cast some occlusion like the rocks but less. I am also using a position based deterministic hash to randomly size them. Once i have block state and chunk palettes I probably with use state to control stuff that grows.
September 16, 2025 at 12:50 AM
A night time shot. The grass blocks interact with the block lighting so they cast some occlusion like the rocks but less. I am also using a position based deterministic hash to randomly size them. Once i have block state and chunk palettes I probably with use state to control stuff that grows.
Here are some pictures of some grass. Yes I am still working on grass! I have my block models working now and this is simple cross plane grass vs a detail model for larger plants. It even looks nice in VR in a retro way. Making them move next.
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
September 16, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Here are some pictures of some grass. Yes I am still working on grass! I have my block models working now and this is simple cross plane grass vs a detail model for larger plants. It even looks nice in VR in a retro way. Making them move next.
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
#vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames
Was poking around my reddit account which I have not been into for a very long time. In the downvote history was Palmer's post on r/oculus 12 years ago when they sold out to Facebook! I doubt there will be much VR news next week at Meta Connect. Enjoy! #vr #metaquest
September 11, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Was poking around my reddit account which I have not been into for a very long time. In the downvote history was Palmer's post on r/oculus 12 years ago when they sold out to Facebook! I doubt there will be much VR news next week at Meta Connect. Enjoy! #vr #metaquest
This is the starting area of the Lost Loot test map. Hopefully it adds some context to the videos. Really can't wait to get to the stage of generating random shipwrecks, treasure, and sea creatures - including sharks! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames #cozygames #rpg #gameart
September 8, 2025 at 5:29 AM
This is the starting area of the Lost Loot test map. Hopefully it adds some context to the videos. Really can't wait to get to the stage of generating random shipwrecks, treasure, and sea creatures - including sharks! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames #cozygames #rpg #gameart
A reasonably dense scene of detail models (trees, plants, rocks etc.) running on Quest2 without crushing the GPU! These also have physics and block based AO. Next up is shader based vertex displacement. #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames #cozygames #rpg #gameart
September 7, 2025 at 7:22 PM
A reasonably dense scene of detail models (trees, plants, rocks etc.) running on Quest2 without crushing the GPU! These also have physics and block based AO. Next up is shader based vertex displacement. #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames #cozygames #rpg #gameart
I finally have runtime texture atlases working for the blocks in addition to the details. Check out these atlases! Still using vanilla Minecraft blocks for testing though - I need to spend more time on art! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames #cozygames #rpg #gameart
September 6, 2025 at 7:06 PM
I finally have runtime texture atlases working for the blocks in addition to the details. Check out these atlases! Still using vanilla Minecraft blocks for testing though - I need to spend more time on art! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame #adventuregames #cozygames #rpg #gameart
For the curious here is what the chunk generation looks like. Each chunk is 16x16x16 and the map is 3 chunks vertically. Each block is .5m so the chunk is 8m on a side. This is twice the resolution of Minecraft and is a good size in VR not too big or small. #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
September 4, 2025 at 1:12 AM
For the curious here is what the chunk generation looks like. Each chunk is 16x16x16 and the map is 3 chunks vertically. Each block is .5m so the chunk is 8m on a side. This is twice the resolution of Minecraft and is a good size in VR not too big or small. #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
Here is the view in Quest 2 running smoothly. Before this would just crushed the GPU. More work to do though. I need to get the block based lighting tied back in and work on update optimizations. The original details are going to transition to dynamic details where separate models are required.
September 2, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Here is the view in Quest 2 running smoothly. Before this would just crushed the GPU. More work to do though. I need to get the block based lighting tied back in and work on update optimizations. The original details are going to transition to dynamic details where separate models are required.
I have a basic texture atlas being generated at runtime from the details defined in a region and it's biomes. These are the textures pulled directly from the detail models I make in Blockbench! I could have different atlases over chunks since the SRP batcher would still batch them.
September 2, 2025 at 4:29 PM
I have a basic texture atlas being generated at runtime from the details defined in a region and it's biomes. These are the textures pulled directly from the detail models I make in Blockbench! I could have different atlases over chunks since the SRP batcher would still batch them.
So the detail layers are working well. I have them generated by chunk and the SRP batcher is just batching all the chunks/layers together - blocks, detail, water etc. The SRP batcher has less work to do reducing 233 draw calls down to 10 vs 1600 before! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
September 2, 2025 at 4:13 PM
So the detail layers are working well. I have them generated by chunk and the SRP batcher is just batching all the chunks/layers together - blocks, detail, water etc. The SRP batcher has less work to do reducing 233 draw calls down to 10 vs 1600 before! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
Testing out generating detail layers that combine into a single mesh for each chunk. Relying on SRP batching more for combining chunks/layers vs individual detail models. Much more grass here with Quest 2 at 120% render scale. Looks promising! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
August 29, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Testing out generating detail layers that combine into a single mesh for each chunk. Relying on SRP batching more for combining chunks/layers vs individual detail models. Much more grass here with Quest 2 at 120% render scale. Looks promising! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
Another reminder for all Unity devs out there – switch to Visual Studio Code now! It's a fantastic IDE with full Unity support and is a dream to work with. It’s just cleaner, simpler, and has a more streamlined workflow than Visual Studio. I will never go back! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
August 26, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Another reminder for all Unity devs out there – switch to Visual Studio Code now! It's a fantastic IDE with full Unity support and is a dream to work with. It’s just cleaner, simpler, and has a more streamlined workflow than Visual Studio. I will never go back! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
Here's an example of the SRP Batcher in action with the frame debugger showing 1649 draw calls being reduced to 53. But I am pushing the limits of the Quest 2 here with what is going on. The triangle count can probably be pushed higher here to around 500k or so depending on shader complexity.
August 18, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Here's an example of the SRP Batcher in action with the frame debugger showing 1649 draw calls being reduced to 53. But I am pushing the limits of the Quest 2 here with what is going on. The triangle count can probably be pushed higher here to around 500k or so depending on shader complexity.
Here is a nice sunset walk with some test plants using the alpha clipping option in the detail models! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
August 17, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Here is a nice sunset walk with some test plants using the alpha clipping option in the detail models! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
My second attempt at grass. I think it needs to be a little thicker and larger. It's supposed to be a clump of tall grasses. Eventually there will be various grass blocks with variation and the ground won't be so uniform. These will also have some different plants to give some variety.
August 16, 2025 at 10:27 PM
My second attempt at grass. I think it needs to be a little thicker and larger. It's supposed to be a clump of tall grasses. Eventually there will be various grass blocks with variation and the ground won't be so uniform. These will also have some different plants to give some variety.
This first test grass is terrible but so excited how much better it makes the islands look. The detail model AO really makes it work. I am excited to try some more interesting plants next. I want to make a better three angled quad grass and then try a flower. #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
August 16, 2025 at 1:52 AM
This first test grass is terrible but so excited how much better it makes the islands look. The detail model AO really makes it work. I am excited to try some more interesting plants next. I want to make a better three angled quad grass and then try a flower. #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
I always seem to be grappling with performance! I set up the alpha clipping option in my shaders but Quest just does not handle clip() well. Far away (left) is ok but close up (right) with lots of pixels spikes the GPU. My X quad test grass isn't too bad! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
August 15, 2025 at 11:23 PM
I always seem to be grappling with performance! I set up the alpha clipping option in my shaders but Quest just does not handle clip() well. Far away (left) is ok but close up (right) with lots of pixels spikes the GPU. My X quad test grass isn't too bad! #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
Here are some basic water effects that I ported over from the original Lost Loot. Surface splashes and bubbles appear when the player or items move. There are also particles drifting in the water which are a little hard to see but look nice in VR. #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
August 14, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Here are some basic water effects that I ported over from the original Lost Loot. Surface splashes and bubbles appear when the player or items move. There are also particles drifting in the water which are a little hard to see but look nice in VR. #vr #metaquest #unity3d #indiegame
Really liking this reef art here on the Vintage Story update. I desperately want to work on my own coral blocks and detail models! Too many directions to work on at once when you are alone. Although I will go towards a brighter more tropical feeling palette.
www.vintagestory.at/blog.html/ne...
www.vintagestory.at/blog.html/ne...
August 13, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Really liking this reef art here on the Vintage Story update. I desperately want to work on my own coral blocks and detail models! Too many directions to work on at once when you are alone. Although I will go towards a brighter more tropical feeling palette.
www.vintagestory.at/blog.html/ne...
www.vintagestory.at/blog.html/ne...
A few photos for a relaxing Saturday morning!
August 9, 2025 at 12:25 PM
A few photos for a relaxing Saturday morning!