Chunk Meshing

Chunk meshing transforms raw voxel data into renderable 3D geometry. Understanding how meshes are built helps you customize the visual appearance of your world.

The Meshing Pipeline

The server handles steps A-E, sending compressed geometry to clients. The client reconstructs geometry and applies textures.

Customizing Appearance

All visual properties are controlled through chunk uniforms. You can set them at initialization or modify them at runtime:

Chunk Uniform Configuration

import * as VOXELIZE from "@voxelize/core";
import { Vector4, Color } from "three";

const world = new VOXELIZE.World({
  chunkUniformsOverwrite: {
    ao: { value: new Vector4(100, 170, 210, 255) },
    sunlightIntensity: { value: 1.0 },
    minLightLevel: { value: 0.04 },
    lightIntensityAdjustment: { value: 0.8 },
    fogColor: { value: new Color("#B1CCFD") },
    fogNear: { value: 100 },
    fogFar: { value: 200 },
  },
});

Ambient Occlusion

AO darkens corners where blocks meet, adding depth. Each vertex gets an AO level (0-3) based on neighboring blocks:

Level	Neighbors Blocking	Effect
0	Both sides + corner	Darkest
1	Two neighbors	Dark
2	One neighbor	Subtle
3	None	No darkening

The ao uniform maps these levels to brightness values (0-255):

AO Customization

world.chunks.uniforms.ao.value.set(80, 150, 200, 255); // dramatic shadows
world.chunks.uniforms.ao.value.set(200, 220, 240, 255); // subtle shadows
world.chunks.uniforms.ao.value.set(255, 255, 255, 255); // disable AO

Lighting

Three uniforms control light rendering:

Uniform	Default	Purpose
sunlightIntensity	1.0	Multiplier for sky light (0 = night)
minLightLevel	0.04	Ambient brightness floor
lightIntensityAdjustment	0.8	Overall light scaling

Night Mode

world.chunks.uniforms.sunlightIntensity.value = 0.1;

Day/night transitions happen automatically based on sunlightStartTimeFrac, sunlightEndTimeFrac, and sunlightChangeSpan world options.

Fog

Fog blends distant chunks with the sky. Distance is calculated horizontally (XZ plane) for consistent depth perception:

Fog Control

world.chunks.uniforms.fogNear.value = 50; // start blending
world.chunks.uniforms.fogFar.value = 120; // fully fogged
world.chunks.uniforms.fogColor.value.set("#ff9966"); // sunset

Fog scales automatically with render radius: fogNear = radius * 0.7 * chunkSize, fogFar = radius * chunkSize.

Example: Stylized Dungeon

This example creates a dark, dramatic dungeon aesthetic:

Dungeon Style Configuration

import * as VOXELIZE from "@voxelize/core";
import { Vector4, Color } from "three";

const world = new VOXELIZE.World({
  minLightLevel: 0.02,
  chunkUniformsOverwrite: {
    ao: { value: new Vector4(40, 100, 160, 255) },
    sunlightIntensity: { value: 0.3 },
    lightIntensityAdjustment: { value: 1.2 },
    fogColor: { value: new Color("#1a1a2e") },
    fogNear: { value: 30 },
    fogFar: { value: 80 },
  },
});

The strong AO values (starting at 40) create deep shadows in corners, while low sunlight and close fog create an oppressive atmosphere. Boosted lightIntensityAdjustment makes torches pop against the darkness.

Server Configuration

The server controls mesh generation throughput:

Mesher Configuration

let config = WorldConfig::new()
    .max_chunks_per_tick(4)  // chunks meshed per tick
    .sub_chunks(8)           // vertical subdivisions
    .build();

More sub-chunks means better frustum culling but more draw calls. For 256-block tall chunks:

• .sub_chunks(4) - 64-block sections, fewer draws
• .sub_chunks(8) - 32-block sections, balanced
• .sub_chunks(16) - 16-block sections, aggressive culling

Transparent Blocks

Blocks with is_transparent or is_see_through have special face generation rules:

• Faces render between different transparent types
• Same-type faces only render if transparent_standalone is true (useful for leaves)
• AABB intersection determines visibility for partial blocks

Related Pages

• Block Registry - Server-side block configuration
• Block Textures - Client-side texture application
• Custom Block Rendering - Block entity rendering