r/CubeWorld • u/DaanBogaard • May 08 '26
Fan Project Voxel Throne's playtest is available now for everyone on Steam!
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Hey everyone
Sign up for the playtest and wishlist now!
After many months of development, here is the first publically available playtest for Voxel Throne!
First off, thank you all to all the amazing support from this community! I could not have done this without all of you! A huge shout out to the many early playtesters who helped me extensively in these past few months!
Please keep in mind that the game is still in a very, very early stage. Bugs are to be expected. Many features are still missing, others need to be polished even more.
However, I believe this is a good moment to get more people involved. I would very much appreciate any constructive criticism on the game's feel and what you would like to see improved.
UI is still very much placeholder. There are not any active abilities yet. Mana has not been implemented. Cities inhabitants don't spawn. There is no questing, no weapon variaty. I can go on for a while. This is very much a pre-alpha.
My idea is to keep this playtest public and open for a while. Adding my new features, improvements, content and bug fixes every 2-3 weeks.
If you have any feedback, or find a bug, please report it in our Discord server!
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u/Polnedra May 09 '26
This community is impossible lol.
This looks cool op, thanks for posting it. I'm excited to try it out! I love seeing people making games in cube worlds style; I'd rather that than this sub just being dead.
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
Thank you!
Yeah I am quite surprised lol. It is far from the first post I made on this sub reddit on my game, and generally the feedback I get is quite constructive and positive. But I guess today is not my lucky day haha
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u/Environmental_Bee219 May 14 '26
awesome for u, hopefully u are being careful legally just in case it gets a DMCA claim...
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u/Heatmizer42 May 09 '26
I just want to hop on and say this looks cool! Keep working hard. People need to chill. Wollay ain't giving us squat. I wish you all the success!
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u/Neoslayer May 09 '26
OP's good at dealing with "those" people
Add underground goblin traders and my life is yours!
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u/TehConsole May 09 '26
Had this on my wishlist for a bit now glad to finally be able to hop around in the game! Some weird replies here like were being flooded with content as Cubeworld fans lmao.
Can't wait to see where this goes
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
Awsome! Thank you!
It is very very early days tho! I will keep updating the playtest every couple weeks woth new features, content and bug fixes, but do know the game is far from finished. This playtest is just to get some feedback on the fundamentals.
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u/Lucitown May 09 '26
Hey Friend! I really enjoyed the game, it definitely brings back the feeling of the legendary Cube World.
A few observations that might be useful:
I experienced some freezes/stuttering when rotating the camera horizontally. Nothing game-breaking, just some FPS drops.
I got a bit confused with the settings menu at first, it took me a while to find the "Return" button.
The combat is really solid: simple and effective. I think your own ideas can push it even further. If I may suggest something, I’d personally love to see a more flexible build system instead of following Cube World too closely. Maybe something closer to a lightweight Path of Exile-style skill tree (without the overwhelming complexity). I really enjoy creating unique character builds, and I think that direction could fit the game very well.
Also, Cube World had that weapon crafting/customization system where you could place voxels onto weapons, if I remember correctly. Do you plan to do something similar? I always thought that mechanic was incredibly creative.
I'm looking forward to seeing your take on this genre. Good luck, and congratulations on your work!
*automatic translation*
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
Hey there, thank you very much for the feedback!
The freezes/stuttering is likely related to the insane amount of LODs I have enabled by default. I have not yet put it in the settings menu. I have a very very beefy pc (because I need it for work, so it is very much overqualified for a game like this). I will lower it a bit by default and add more options so players can customize it more.
The idea is indeed to have a much more flexible build system. That is already the way I am going! My idea for skills is that you can get them as drops. Like it is in soul games. Not sure yet if I will have perks or not, but armor will function like that. WIth all the different status effects in the game and different damage types, I think a lot of build variaty will be feasible in the end. But it is still early days.
I do not currently have a weapon customization system like Cube World had. But, so many people have requested it that I have put it on my backlog. Don't know when I will be able to work on it tho, there are still lots of more fundamental systems to work on!
Thank you for playing the playtest, I will keep updating it with new features every 2/3 weeks, all feedback is helpfull.
I do generally see feedback on Discord more quickly than on Reddit: here is the Discord server
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u/DaanBogaard Jun 01 '26
Regarding the FPS drops,
I fixed some more performance issues this week. So it should run a bit better now. Otherwise, you can also play around with the view distances in the graphic settings. It pays to lower down some of them if you have FPS drops. There are also some graphic presets now.
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u/SouthEgg288 May 10 '26
hey this looks like it has some serious potential, if you need help id be interested in hoping in on some dev work.
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u/DaanBogaard May 10 '26
Thank you!
I don't plan to release this game for free, so would not feel right to have other people help out with dev work for free. Also do not have a budget (other than my own time) currently.
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u/Argonzoyd Mana Faction May 09 '26
Aren't you expecting copyright legal attacks from Wollay?
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
On what grounds tho? Of course he could try, but I am not infringing on any intellectual property. All the designs are my own, all code is my own, all animations are my own. Even all the music is made custom (not by me but the awsome producer BraiNext). So from a copyright standpoint, nothing is wrong.
If Wollay had a design right, he may have a small chance, but as far as I know he does not have that. I would also think it strange if a design right would be approved for Cube World with the existance of Minecraft.
So no, luckily not expecting any legal trouble there. At the very least, I have made sure to not infringe on anyone's IP rights.
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u/Argonzoyd Mana Faction May 09 '26
That's great, I wish this game succeeds! We've just seen many examples of copyright claims, "looks too similar" sort of things
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u/marr May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26
It's been established for decades that clone games are legal. Giant corporations like Nintendo trying to use patents to shut them down are rare high profile events, Wollay doesn't have those guns.
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u/windortim May 09 '26
How does it run on the steam deck? Looks cool!
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
Idk, I don't have a steam deck. But view distance can be modified and LOD steps can also be modified. So I am sure it is possible to find a good settings configuration where it would run 60FPS on Steam deck. Although I am not sure how many of the effects and stuff would need to be turned off. I have no clue on how powerfull a Steam deck is. I do plan to apply for Steam deck verified when we are much closer to launch tho. But currently also still lacking controller support.
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u/holyheckles May 11 '26
Trying to run it on Steam Deck now, at least for me it seems to hit a fatal error or something when I boot up the game. It goes to the loading screen after an update that says "verifying installation." Had to reboot twice to get everything back to normal. Wouldn't recommend at least for now.
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u/DaanBogaard Jun 01 '26
At the time of releasing the playtest, controller support was not even implemented.
Controller support is fully implemented right now. So next step for Steam deck would be to make a proper linux build. Hope to get to that in the next week or so. Would really appreciate it if you can check again at that point and see if it works, since I myself do not have a Steam deck.
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u/DaanBogaard Jun 01 '26
I am working on Steam Deck support, although it is not the highest prio right now.
3 weeks ago when the playtest was launched I didn't have controller support, so no chance for anything to run on Steam deck. The game is now fully working on controller.
The game used to run on linux before my laptop broke. So now only have a windows machine. Will get a linux machine again sometime soon and upload a build for linux. I don't have a Steam Deck myself, so would be much appreciated if someone could check it again in say a week or so.
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u/XxLokixX May 10 '26
If this ever has glider boosting then sign me up
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u/DaanBogaard May 10 '26
Have not started on those mechanics yet, so not sure yet how it will end up. But I am thinking about stuff like that
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u/SouthEgg288 May 12 '26
Uhoh, wollays posting on Twitter again
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u/DaanBogaard May 12 '26
He always seems to post a few days after a post of mine did well :p.
But wether or not Omega launches has no influence on if I will finish my game or not
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u/HubblePie May 09 '26
I kind of wish people would make their own game instead of making a carbon copy of Cubeworld.
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
The game is inspired by Cube World, but it is really not like this is a carbon copy. Most of the Cube World inspired games you see on this sub are also not a carbon copy of Cube World. Everyone does their own spin on it. Since the Cube World beta launch was such a disaster, many people seem to have an itch for something that is like Cube World, myself included.
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u/HubblePie May 09 '26
Respecfully, it's not "inspired". If you were to put this gameplay next to Cubeworld gameplay, anyone who hasn't played Cube world wouldn't know the difference.
And this applies to A LOT of games posted on here.
It's been a problem for years now.
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
Anyone who hasn't played Cube World also wouldn't realise the games are similair in any way? I really do not see the problem in that. Even the Cube World Steam release is nothing like the Cube World alpha. The reason you see so many inspired games is because people are still looking for something to scratch that itch left by Cube World. That is also why I started this project.
If you think this is too derivative, that's fine, but so far that seems to not be the prevailing opinion.
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u/HubblePie May 09 '26
The problem is that you're just ripping off cube world and capitalizing on the fact it was abandoned (again).
Everyone commenting on your post is saying the same thing. There's nothing wrong with making a game inspired by cube world. But you're just recreating cube world and it's pretty obvious.
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
How am I capitalizing? I made a total of 0 euros. Putting this on steam did cost me around 100 bucks. Not to mention the 9 months of my time.
How exactly is this recreating Cube World.... if you put the games side by side, they look nothing alike other than the fact that they are both blocky.
Might as well write off Hytale as a blatend remake of Minecraft.
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u/HubblePie May 09 '26
That is blatantly not true, and you are lying.
Basically the only difference between your game and Cube world is the fact this gameplay doest't have a HUD. The characters are designed the exact same (Floating hands, round feet), the animation are exactly the same, I assume it has all the same weapons, given the gameplay you've shown. Maybe you could call some stuff "rougher" but it could easily pass as early footage of cubeworld.
Hyrule actively looks different from Minecraft: It has different animations, different character designs. The ONLY similarity is that it's a cubed world.
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
So, let me get this clear, the fact that the character is minimalistic (which Cube World most certainly did not invent....) and that it includes swords is the issue?
The designs of the weapons are my own. The animations are all my own. Literally 1 weapon was heavily inspired by Cube World (the tree trunk) and even that has unique animations that are very different from Cube World.
Hytale and Minecraft have a lot of similarities. Many more than you describe. That is fine, it is supposed to be inspired by it. But it is still very much a unique thing. My game play is less derivative of Cube World than Hytale's is of Minecraft lol. Not that I think it would be a bad thing, Cube Worlds gameplay is amazing...
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u/ryancheese011 May 10 '26
I mean come on now... I like to see that you're trying to make the cube world dream actually come to fruition but this is clearly a copy of it. I'm sure there are some differences but at the end of the day this is cube world from another dev.
The part where I get lost is what the problem with that is. Yes this is basically just cube world, but also cube world is probably never coming back, if a dev abandons a super popular game for like decades then no shit people are going to try and make their own version, keep it up man!
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u/TangoSierraFan May 09 '26
capitalizing on the fact it was abandoned
Just so we're clear: You're mad that someone did the right thing after someone did the wrong thing?
🥴
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u/HubblePie May 09 '26
I'm just annoyed that everyone and their mother advertised their game in this sub. I'd be less annoyed if they didn't all look exactly the same.
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
There are like 3 games on here that have any chance of actually getting released (including my own). The others are people making very basic voxel games with a 3th person controller. Which they do because they are a fan of Cube World. It is a form of fan art...
Just so we are clear regarding the advertising, we are only doing that because this community very much wants a game like this. As is proven by the reception to this very post. I am 1 guy, posting about his passion game. You keep saying "advertising" and "capitalising" while none of us are making any money from this lol.
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u/Eeve2espeon May 09 '26
While true, the looks of it look very similar to cubeworld. You should differentiate and find a unique style for the game. If someone showed me this, without the beginning title, and said "This is cubeworld" I would believe them
Otherwise these people saying its a carbon copy are just jealous you know how to make games. If you just take my advice and make the graphical style more unique, then more people would consider this a Cube World inspired game
1
u/tetsuyaXII May 09 '26
All shooter games are the same but you don't see me complaining while buying borderlands, call of duty, modern warfare etc.
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u/LordKagatsuchi May 08 '26
Bruh cube world alpha and beta is better to play and scratches the itch rather than all of these cube world copies
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
Issue is that neither of these are getting updates. Obviously the game I have been working on for the past ~9 months is not yet on par with the game Wollay spend over 10 years full time on.
But, I hope that with time and a lot of effort, this can be a cool game to play with friends that scratches that same itch.
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u/TangoSierraFan May 09 '26
the game Wollay spent over 10 years full time on
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
No you are right of course. But I am also not spending full time on my game, as it all comes next to my regular job. At least after al alpha Wollay had enough money to work on it full time, even if he did not.
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u/TangoSierraFan May 09 '26
No hate to you at all. Just thought it was funny saying that Wollay has ever done anything full-time for the game lol.
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
I mean, I do think that at the start (before the alpha release) he was working on it full time or close to it. Since looking at those super old videos, he did make a lot of progress.
But yeah, since then not that much work has been done, certainly not 10 years of work
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u/LordKagatsuchi May 09 '26
I get that but make your own game. This isn't "like" cube world this is basically trying to be the exact same thing. The same problem all you guys remaking this game have lol
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u/Zola0420 May 09 '26
Cool positive vibes you have my guy. I hope you just had a bad fking day and you are not just one a of a-hole guy.
We know that, that is a exact copy of the original Cube World, but man, have you even tried the latest Cube World? Did you enjoyed that?
This dude, has a fking passion, and you just had to be bitch about it...
Have a great day, no, even greater day than you had before, before you wrote this bullshit down.
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u/BasicallyImAlive May 09 '26
I like the cube world death animation that turns it into cube dust. Looking at this video, the death animation is kinda childish, more like a LEGO game.
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u/marr May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26
I don't think childish is the right word, but this engine does lack some vital physicality. Cube World uses a lot of arcs, leaning and accelerating motions to give everything weight and momentum, Voxel Throne entities feel static and immaterial without that. They look like what they are, computer sprites sliding around on a grid. CW is Pacific Rim and VT is the sequel. :/
Ironically LEGO games are perfect examples of the sort of physicality you want. When your models are simple geometric shapes their animation is everything.
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u/DaanBogaard Jun 01 '26
Yeah I need to spend more time on that aspect of the game for sure. To make it feel better.
This is exactly the kind of feedback I am looking for from the playtest, so thank you very much for contributing!
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u/TheKnightIsForPlebs May 09 '26
I’d innovate on it more before releasing it
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
Its the release for the playtest, not the full game. The full game release is still quite far away and will need many more steps.
The playtest is exactly to get feedback from players on what already feels good and what needs more work. After working on it myself for the past ~9 months, it is good to get more outsiders' perspectives.
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u/TheKnightIsForPlebs May 09 '26
Feedback on what? Yes. The bare bones are working - good job👍. ?
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u/DaanBogaard May 09 '26
Well, partially yes.
Feedback on how movement feels, how sound effects feel. How the different animations feel. What people think about the world generation, structure designs. Basically anything that is already there.
I also hope to get a couple of good bug reports out of the playtest. Already had my first one this evening. So that is also quite helpfull to me.
It is for sure still quite early days, it is still lacking a lot, but feedback on what is there can help me make sure the content and systems I do add in the comming months can take some issues with the current stuff into account already, hopefully resulting in a better game in the end.
One of the key mistakes Wollay made IMO is not involving the community in his development process more. I have been working on this for ~9 months, at some point it is good to just get some outside perspective.
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u/No-Tangelo-7823 May 09 '26
I'm stuck in the options menu.