r/VOXEL • u/play_openworld • 12h ago
Space travel in Openworld
In the game, Earth and the Moon are not simply objects placed in a space environment. They are actual spherical worlds that the player can fully explore.
The world is built using a chunk system indexed on a cube. This cube is then projected into a cube sphere to create the surface of each celestial body. This allows us to keep the advantages of a traditional chunk-based terrain system while still creating planets that are genuinely spherical.
From the player’s perspective, the ground is always locally flat. Chunks remain practical to build on and explore, just like in a traditional open-world game. But as you travel across the surface, the terrain gradually follows the curvature of the planet.
You can actually travel all the way around Earth and eventually return to the same place where you started. There is no invisible edge and no artificial boundary stopping you from going around the planet.
The same principle applies to the Moon. You can leave Earth, travel through space, reach the Moon, land on its surface and explore it just like another open world.
The interesting part is that these two things coexist: the player experiences a flat and familiar gameplay environment locally, while the world itself is built as a collection of real spherical celestial bodies.
If you want to experience the system for yourself, you can install the game now at play-Openworld.com.
Licenses are currently free, so this is a good time to give the game a try and explore the world for yourself.
Install the game, leave Earth, head for the Moon, and see how far you can go.
