Block Damage

[ikabod-kee]

Block damage is a mechanic that I've not seen a single voxel sandbox have, and I think it could mix well with Cubyz.

Basically, every block in Cubyz has 255 health, which means it can be stored as an 8-bit value. Once it hits 0, the block will break. Every block also has a different hardness value, which is referenced from the zig.zon when said block is damaged (think of it as the block's defense.) Blocks can regenerate over time via random ticks (#77), or alternative methods can be used to repair them, such as mortaring or using a magic spell.

Pros of having block damage:

• Enemies can interact with players in a new way by slowly chipping away at their base's defenses. They can deliberately damage blocks to get to players.
• Explosions can damage blocks instead of outright destroying them.
• You don't have to painstakingly hold down your mine button to destroy a block. (Minecraft Obsidian)
• IDEA: You could potentially mine blocks faster by manually clicking to swing. You can hold down the mouse button to auto-swing, but it will be slightly slower.

Cons of having block damage:

• Potential performance issues and file bloat.

Related issues:

• Calculate time to break a block from tool properties in survival and add a block breaking animation. #620
• Rework pickaxe power/time to break a block #232

[IntegratedQuantum]

While this could open up some really interesting possibilities, I'm not sure if it's worth the cost. I fear that this will cause too many mesh updates on the client due to the random tick regeneration.

I think many of the advantages you have here could also be achieved by just storing the health of just one block per entity/player.