Have 2.5D objects been discussed?

[Horus]

By 2.5D I mean essentially flat objects that use up a fraction of a block that could be added onto an object that's already occupying part of a block.

One especially important example, and there are not that many, but they would matter: Signs. I like to put signs on things but when said "thing" doesn't terminate a block, the sign hangs in mid-air instead of adhering to the surface.

This would allow for some interesting and much more polished constructions.

[Lesh-9]

By the community, sure. A few times over the years.
By the devs? -No.

And I can't blame them. The CPU resources needed for structural integrity alone would make that an absolute nightmare. It already is.

Clustering the voxel universe even more would pull this game out of "possible with today's technology" than it already is.

They're doing a great job with what is available with current tech. Maybe when technology catches up.

[SylenThunder]

Originally posted by Lesh-9:

By the community, sure. A few times over the years.
By the devs? -No.

And I can't blame them. The CPU resources needed for structural integrity alone would make that an absolute nightmare. It already is.

Clustering the voxel universe even more would pull this game out of "possible with today's technology" than it already is.

They're doing a great job with what is available with current tech. Maybe when technology catches up.

Actually, slightly incorrect here. Early-on in development they did consider switching to micro-voxels, and looked into it. They discovered that it would require re-writing most of the base code for the voxel blocks, and that it would add a huge level of complexity to further development. They made the choice to stick with what they have. Off the top of my head, that was around a12 or a13 that this was discussed.

Landmark had a similar system, but with a fixed terrain. So disappointed that one didn't pan out.

[Crater Creator]

I have thought it would be useful to have an invisible sign. That is, just the writable aspect with no backing, so it could be placed in front of whatever block. But for lying flush against a partial shape block… I don’t see how that could happen for the reasons described above.

One thing the devs have discussed more recently is a more robust decal system, e.g. for road markings. If we’re lucky maybe that (still theoretical) tech could be borrowed for the case OP us describing.

[Crashtian]

Originally posted by Crater Creator:

One thing the devs have discussed more recently is a more robust decal system, e.g. for road markings. .

It still blows my mind that the white lines on roads are independent voxels and not just road with a different texture. It's a minute thing, just...so odd the first time you notice it.

[Horus]

Originally posted by Crater Creator:

I have thought it would be useful to have an invisible sign. That is, just the writable aspect with no backing, so it could be placed in front of whatever block. But for lying flush against a partial shape block… I don’t see how that could happen for the reasons described above.

One thing the devs have discussed more recently is a more robust decal system, e.g. for road markings. If we’re lucky maybe that (still theoretical) tech could be borrowed for the case OP us describing.

That would be perfectly... awesome.

Oh and mods for paint finishes? Or some new-looking paints?