Avoyd Voxel Editor Documentation

Updated 01 Jun 2023

This document describes how to use the Avoyd Voxel Editor to create voxel models and voxel art renders.

If this is your first time using Avoyd or a voxel editor, and even if you are familiar with MagicaVoxel, you should start with the Tutorial to learn the basics of how to edit voxels in Avoyd.

The documentation covers the following functionality of the Voxel Editor:


Avoyd Voxel Editor screenshot - A scene opened for editing in the voxel editor showing a landscape generated by importing a Mandelbrot fractal image as a heightmap. Procedural boxes were added using the Edit Tool's procedural generation tool. The user interface shows the windows: Edit Tool, Materials, Light and Atmosphere settings, Replace Material, Pick and Inspect Material, Cameras and Render tools.
Screenshot of the Avoyd Voxel Editor showing the user interface surrounding a 3D voxel scene.


Table of Contents





Introductory Tutorial: how to edit voxels in Avoyd



Step by step tutorial for making basic voxel shapes in the Voxel Editor with the Edit Tools Set, Paint, and Delete.

To begin with, download Avoyd from www.enkisoftware.com and install it on your machine. (If you get a virus warning, see the FAQ.)

1. Create a simple voxel shape with 'Set'

The folowing steps show how to use the Voxel Editor Edit Tool to create a yellow cube made of 3x3x3 voxels:

  1. Open the Voxel Editor: start Avoyd and click on Voxel Editor in the main menu.
  2. Open the Edit Tool window: in the top menu bar, select Tools > Edit Tool and open the Shapes tab.
  3. Check the following parameters before you start using the Edit Tool in this tutorial:
    • Ensure the Edit Cursor is visible. You can either:
      • Open the Edit Cursor section and enable (tick) Show Wireframe and Show Brush Preview.
      • Or mouse right-click on the 3D world and select Move Edit Cursor here from the context menu.
    • The Anchor setting is off (unticked).
    • The Sticky mode is off (unticked).
  4. Select Set from the list of tools in the left-hand column of the Edit Tool > Shapes.
  5. Select Cube from the Shape drop-down.
  6. Adjust the cube parameters as follows:
    • Set Size to 3 voxels.
    • Set Amount to 255.
    Note: To edit a value, double click in the field and type the value then Enter; or drag the cursor horizontally across the field.
  7. Choose a material: open the Palette and click on a yellow colour swatch to select it.
    Note: If you can't see a yellow square swatch, open Tools > Materials and click on Reset.
  8. Move the mouse pointer outside the Edit Tool window and over the 3D world. The Edit Cursor, a yellow 3x3x3 cube preview with a green wireframe, follows the movements of the mouse pointer.
    If you can't see the edit cursor: right-click over the 3D world and select Move Edit Cursor here from the context menu. This should bring the cursor in front of you.
    Note: To move the cursor closer to you or further away, use the middle mouse button wheel.
  9. Click the left mouse button to create a 3x3x3 solid yellow cube.
    Note: You create a new shape every time you click in the world with Set enabled.
Voxel Edit Tool Set configuration and use in Avoyd: before and after edit
Edit Tool Set configuration and use (click to enlarge)
BEFORE: Edit Tool option Set selected, Cube size 3 in yellow material; Edit Cursor on, Anchor off, Sticky off
AFTER: Created a yellow cube using Set (the edit cursor with its green wireframe is above)

2. Change materials with 'Paint'

Painting changes not only the colour of the voxels, but more importantly the material the voxels are made of. The following steps describe how to paint voxels with a blue material:

  1. Select Paint in the Edit Tool > Shapes.
  2. Select the cube shape and set its size to 2 voxels.
  3. Select a blue material from the Palette.
  4. Move the mouse pointer over the world: the Edit Cursor, a blue 2x2x2 cube preview with a green wireframe, follows the movements of the mouse.
  5. Move the cursor until it touches and intersects with a solid shape, for instance the yellow cube we created previously.
  6. Click the left mouse button to paint a piece of the solid shape blue. Painting replaces the original material with the blue material.
Voxel Edit Tool Paint configuration and use in Avoyd: before and after edit
Edit Tool Paint configuration and use (click to enlarge)
BEFORE: Edit Tool option 'Paint' selected, Cube size 2 in blue material
AFTER: Painted the 2x2x1 intersection of the edit cursor and the yellow cube blue (the edit cursor is above)

3. Erase voxels with 'Delete'

The following steps show how to delete voxels from the world:

  1. Select Delete in the Edit Tool > Shapes.
  2. Set the cube size to 2 voxels.
  3. Move the mouse pointer over the world: the Edit Cursor, a red 2x2x2 wireframe and cube preview, follows the movements of the mouse.
  4. Move the cursor until it intersects with a solid shape.
  5. Click the left mouse button to delete a piece of the solid shape.
Voxel Edit Tool Delete configuration and use in Avoyd: before and after edit
Edit Tool Delete configuration and use (click to enlarge)
BEFORE: Edit Tool option 'Delete' selected, Cube size 2 (material doesn't apply); red Edit Cursor with red wireframe overlaps with the yellow and blue cube
AFTER: Deleted the 2x2x1 intersection of the edit cursor and the cube (the red delete cursor is above)

4. Going further with Editing



Documentation



Cameras: Moving around in the 3D World

Menu Tools > Camera


How to switch from interacting with the menus to 3D movement, and how to use the camera in 3D.

Menu and Movement Modes

By default you are in "Menu" mode. It lets you access the user interface controls: opening tools and windows. To move around in 3D you need to be in "Movement" mode:

  1. To activate "Movement" Mode, press the Tab key or hold the right-mouse button down.
  2. Move around in 3D using the mouse and keyboard.
  3. Go back to "Menu" mode: press Tab again, press Esc, or release the right-mouse button.
    Tip: The status bar indicates which mode you are in (bottom-right corner).

First Person and Arcball Cameras

When in "Movement" mode, you can use one of two types of camera: "First Person" or "Arcball".

  • The First Person Camera lets you move around in 3D using the same controls as in a first person game.
  • The Arcball Camera lets you circle around a centre point. Use the controls to move around and closer / away from the centre.

To choose the camera type, toggle to "Menu" mode and open Tools > Camera or use the context menu (right-mouse click).

Orthographic and Isometric Projections

In the Arcball Camera and Orthographic Projection section, tick Orthographic projection then choose the Pitch and Yaw angles.

For Isometric projections set the angles values as follows:

  • Pitch a multiple of 35.264 degrees
  • Yaw a multiple of 45.000 degrees

Align Camera to Axes

Cameras > Align to Axes automatically aligns the camera to the nearest axis, or aligns to an axis of your choosing.

When Align to Axes is on, use the roll controls to toggle the camera view up or down, or in quarters if Auto Align is on.

Saved Cameras

You can save as many camera positions as you want from the Cameras > Saved Cameras window. You can also use the shortcuts in the Status bar to add cameras and move to the next / previous saved camera.

To reuse saved cameras in other worlds:

  1. Save them as a Camera Template File > Save Template > Cameras.
  2. Load Camera templates with File > Load Template > Cameras or drag & drop the template file into Avoyd.


Edit Tool: the Edit Cursor and using Anchor

Menu Tools > Edit Tool tab Shapes


When the Edit Tool window is open, the Edit Cursor is displayed. It is composed of three 3D elements: the Brush Preview, the Wireframe, and the Anchor guizmo. They are designed to help you place the shapes you're editing the 3D world with.

Edit Cursor Brush Preview and Wireframe

Menu Tools > Edit Tool tab Shapes, Edit Cursor


  • The Brush Preview is an approximation of the 3D shape you use to edit.
  • The Wireframe is a box displayed as a grid that contains the 3D shape. The gridlines are the voxel edges. It is sometimes referred to as the AABB (axis-aligned bounding box).
  • You can choose to hide them, both or individually, in the Edit Cursor section. You can also change their appearance from Settings > Display, 3D Spatial Interface

Cursor Movement and Anchor

The Anchor affects the movement of the Edit Cursor. It is set in the Edit Tool window or from the context menu (right-mouse click).

  • When Anchor is off, the Edit Cursor follows the movements of the mouse.
  • When Anchor is on, the Edit Cursor is fixed (anchored) in the 3D world.
    • The Anchor is represented in the 3D World by a guizmo showing the axis X (red), Y (green) and Z (blue). You can move the Edit Cursor around and resize it using the guizmo:
      • Click and drag the white square in the centre to move anywhere.
      • Click and drag on the coloured squares to move in a single plane: orthogonal to X (red square), Y (green square) or Z (blue square).
      • Click and drag the chosen axis to move along a line: along the axis X (red line), Y (green line) or Z (blue line). Each axis has a single colour in the positive direction and black stripes in the negative direction.
      • Click and drag the grey spheres to resize. Note this will cause the Edit Cursor to move.
      • If you Lock the Anchor position, the guizmo will only let you resize it, not move it. Its centre will remain fixed.
    • Whether the Anchor is locked or not, you can change the position of the centre in the Edit Tool or from the context menu.

Tip: Use the Camera functions Focus or Centre on Anchor (Tools > Camera or from the context menu).


Materials

When editing, each voxel added, painted etc. has a Material assigned. Materials are grouped in Material Types. You can choose any material from the Material Types list in the Materials window, the Edit Tool's Palettes, or using the Pick tool to choose from the world. Materials can be swapped using the Replace tool. You can create custom Palettes of materials for easy access.

Materials and Material Types

Menu Tools > Materials


Every voxel in Avoyd has a Material that defines its properties: colour, reflexivity, strength, etc.

Material Types

Material Types are groups of Materials. They can have similar properties or be unrelated. When you import a file into Avoyd, it creates a new Material Type and names it after the name of the file you imported.

Materials

When editing, you can choose the material to use from the Materials window or the Edit Tool Palette. You can also use the Pick tool to choose a material from another voxel in the 3D world.

To change the material of a voxel or a group of voxels, swap its material with another using the Edit Tool's Paint function. To swap a material with another throughout the entire voxel world, use the Replace tool.

Once you've placed a voxel in the world, you can edit its material properties in the Materials window. But beware: every voxel that uses the same material is also affected!

Each and every voxel in Avoyd is made of one Material. Materials have several properties. To modify a Material, select it, then modify its parameters in the Properties section:

  • Name (optional)
  • Colour in red, green, blue (RGB) or hue, saturation, value (HSV)
  • Metallic
  • Smooth
  • Emissive
  • Surface Transmission (Transparent) - see the section on transparent materials for explanations.
    • Absorption Length
    • Scatter Length
    • Index of Refraction
    • Phase
  • Strength (read only) - affects how easily the material is damaged during gameplay.
  • Unique Id (read only number, automatically assigned).
  • Material Type and an identifying number within the Type. The type is the name of a group of materials, for example "Gold", "Clay", or the name of an imported palette. Example: the red material Id 240 is the 160th member of the 'Clay' type: '240 - Clay 160'.
Transparent Materials

Important: Transparency is currently only visible in the CPU path traced renderer available through the Render menu item.

Avoyd includes several default transparent materials showing a range of possibilities and the example settings to achieve them. To find them, open Tools > Materials and choose the following Material Types:

  • Glass
  • Water and Ice
  • Cloud Smoke Fire

To make a material transparent follow these steps:

  1. Open Tools > Materials.
  2. Choose the Material Type and click on the swatch of the material you want to modify.
  3. Set the Surface Transmission (Transparent) to any number larger than zero. This controls how much light passes through the surface of a material. The higher the transmission number, the more transparent the material is.
  4. Set the following parameters to control how the light behaves in the transparent material:
    • Absorption Length - after passing this distance in the material white light will take on the colour set for the material. Set shorter for more absorption, longer for less.
    • Scatter Length - distance at which it becomes likely the light will scatter. Set shorter for more scattering, longer for less.
    • Index of Refraction (IOR) - controls the refraction (bending) and reflection of light. Glass is 1.5, water 1.3, air 1.0.
    • Phase - controls the phase of scattering; positive phase scatters more light forwards (in nature forward scattering gives water clouds their silver lining), negative for more backwards scattering.
Adding Materials

To add a new Material, you can:

Material Types can be saved as Material Template to be reused in other worlds: File > Save/Load Template > Materials or drag & drop the template file into Avoyd.

Palettes

Menu Tools > Edit Tool > Palette


Palettes are part of the Edit Tool and are there to make it easy to use a subset of materials when editing.

  • You can add (and remove) individual Materials or entire Material Types to a palette.
  • You can use the 'Default' palette or create and edit as many different palettes as you need.
  • Palettes are saved together with the World.
  • Palettes can be saved as Material Template: File > Save Template > Materials

Notes:

  • When editing you don't have to use only the materials that are in the palette: you can also select them in the Materials Types or in the world using Pick.
  • Creating and filling a Palette is probably easiest from the Materials window. The Pick tool is also useful to retrieve a material from a voxel in the world.
  • Palettes are mostly used with the Edit Tool but also with functionality that enable a choice of Material, for example Import Image (File > Import > Image...)

Pick and Inspect

Menu Tools > Pick Material


The Pick tool is used to get information from and select specific voxels in the 3D world. When open and active, the cursor size is reduced to 1 voxel so you can select one voxel at a time.

  • Hovering over a voxel shows its summarised info in the Inspect section
  • Clicking on the voxel selects it. You can then use it to edit with in the Edit Tool, add it to or remove it from the Palette and the Material window will show its type and potentially modify it.
  • Note the currently selected material is displayed in the status bar at the bottom-right of the screen.

Note the Amount is independent from the material (it is not part of the material). Each voxel has an amount which affects the shape of the voxel. It is set using the Edit Tool.

Replace

Menu Tools > Replace Material


This tools work the same way as a 'Replace All' in a text editor, but with materials. In other words, when replacing, every voxel in the world with the first material assigned is assigned the new material.

To replace: open the Replace Material window. Click on the first material line and it will automatically update to the current material. (To change the current material, select a voxel in the world with the pick tool, or click on a material swatch in a material type or in a palette). Do this for the material to replace and the material to replace it with, then click the Replace button to update the world.


Light and Atmosphere

Menu Tools > Light and Atmosphere


The light and atmosphere settings are physics based. They control the following aspects:

  • Light controls the main light source. It is a single emissive point at an infinite distance. You can think of it as the sun.
  • Atmosphere controls what is in the air. It can emulate the void of outer space or a planet's atmosphere on a hazy day. The atmosphere changes the properties of the light.

To modify the light and atmosphere, open Tools > Light and Atmosphere and adjust the following parameters:

  • To change the position of the light source, either:
    • Modify the Light Azimuth Angle and the Light Elevation Angle. (recommended)
    • Modify the Light Direction.
    The two methods are linked.
  • Use the Presets to quickly change the Light and Atmosphere settings. You can then tweak the parameters manually.
  • To increase a fog effect, choose the Fog atmosphere preset or modify one or both of the following:
    • Decrease the Half Length which represents how far one has to go before half the geometry is hidden by the atmosphere.
    • Increase the atmosphere Amount which represents how dense the atmosphere is.
  • To render a scene with emissive voxels, consider turning the main light source off. To do so select the None (emissives only) Light preset.
  • To see the colours of the voxels unaffected by e.g. the light colour or atmospheric scattering, choose the Neutral Global preset.
    (If you need to visualise debug properties such as Normals, Raycast Ambient Occlusion, Shadows, Albedo, etc., open Settings > Voxel Style and select the property from Display Mode.)

Save your Light and Atmosphere settings as templates to use in other worlds:

  • To save a Light and Atmosphere template select File > Save Template > Light and Atmosphere, name the file and save.
  • To load an existing template, got to File > Load Template > Light and Atmosphere, select the template and open. Alternatively drag and drop the file into Avoyd.

Render: Raytracing Scenes

Menu Render


When the Render window is open, pressing the Do Raytrace Scene button renders the scene with CPU path tracing using the parameters you've set.

How to do a Render

  • Open menu Render.
  • Click Preview for a quick render.
  • Adjust the Image Size, Depth of Field and other parameters.
  • When you're happy with the scene, click Do Raytrace Scene.
  • Click Accumulate to run the raytracing again and increase the quality of the render. Note that after several accumulations the result will stop improving.
  • When you're satisfied with the result you can Denoise the render to remove artefacts such as small white dots and smooth grainy appearance.
  • Finally, save the image.

Options

Preview

Renders can take time to generate. Use Preview for a quick render to see how the final image will look like and adjust parameters.

You can denoise the preview to quickly improve it. It's especially effective if it's a scene containing emissives to quickly see how the emissive voxels (light sources) affect a scene:

  1. in the Render window, pick a small image size (so the raytracing is faster)
  2. set Emissive Material Intensity to a large number (e.g. 1000)
  3. press Preview
  4. press Denoise
Accumulate

The Accumulate function improves the quality of the image by running a render and adding the result to the current render / previous renders: it accumulates the results.

  • Continuous accumulation will accumulate renders up to the Max Continuous Accumulate setting, improving image quality.
  • You can add accumulations whilst the renderer is working by increasing the Max number.
  • To pause the continuous accumulation press Stop or un-tick Continuous.
Denoise

You can denoise the image using the OIDN (Intel open image denoiser). Denoising smoothes the image but can introduce artefacts. Increasing the number of accumulations usually gives better results than denoising, but takes a lot longer.

  • Installation: click the information button for instructions on how to download and install the denoiser.
  • You can denoise both previews or raytraced scenes.
Image Inspector

Hovering over the rendered image with the mouse opens a zoomed in view of the area under the cursor.

Mode, Auto-Save and Output Channels
  • To view different outputs from the renderer, use the Mode drop-down in the Post Process section.
  • To save the Colour and Denoised Colour channels automatically every time the render is changed, tick Auto Save in the Image Settings.
  • To save the output channels image, click the Save Render Image button.
Depth of Field

To render an image with Depth of Field (DoF) blurring of the foreground and background:

  1. Tick the Use Picked Position checkbox to use the focus point for the Focus Distance.
    (The Focus Distance is the distance between the camera and the focus point. It updates automatically when you pick a different focus point or you move the camera. You can edit the value manually by unticking Use Picked Position.)
  2. Use the Pick tool to select a focus point in the scene.
  3. Set the Aperture to a non-zero value. This is in Voxel units. A value of 0.5 is a decent starting point to use.
  4. Raytrace the scene.
Exposure

Use Exposure to make the rendered image more or less bright. You can set the exposure after rendering.

Tips and Settings
  • Use the Samples Per Pixel setting to change the rendering quality and speed. However you should consider using Accumulate instead as it gives better feedback for convergence.
  • There is no limitation on the size of render images, other than the memory of your machine and time.
  • Use the Emissive Material Intensity setting to increase or decrease the light emitted by all emissive materials.
  • Enable the Full Voxels setting for faster renders, but be aware all voxels will represented as cubes.
  • Set the render image Format (jpg, png, hdr and exr), jpg Quality and exr Precision in Render > Image Settings. For the highest quality results save your image as exr with 32 bit float precision in order to post process in an image utility whilst retaining the full dynamic range of the render.

Render Tutorial

This video gives a good general overview of how to render in Avoyd (not limited to Minecraft maps nor isometric angles). You'll find the Transcript of the Video in the Avoyd devlog.


Import

Menu File > Import or drag & drop

Importing models, heightmaps or 3D binary arrays bring both shapes and materials into Avoyd. It helps speed up building worlds. It enables creating voxel shapes that would be too time consuming or difficult to create manually in Avoyd. You can also import designers' colour palettes directly as materials.

Minecraft Maps and Structures

Menu File > Import > Minecraft Map or Structure (.mca, .nbt) or drag & drop


Importing Minecraft maps or structures into Avoyd turns all the Minecraft blocks into voxels. In Avoyd you can view entire Minecraft maps, explore the world with large view distances and custom atmosphere and lighting, and render your chosen views.

How to Import a Minecraft Map or a Structure into Avoyd

Before you start, make sure you have a Minecraft map or structure available:

  • Find the worlds you generated when playing Minecraft. They are stored in %appdata%.minecraft\saves\.
  • Generate a Minecraft Map with WorldPainter. Any world generation software that outputs worlds for Minecraft should also work for Avoyd.
  • Download a map or a structure from PlanetMinecraft for example, and save the file to disk. If it is a zip or any other type of compressed file, extract it.

In Avoyd Voxel Editor, follow the steps:

  1. Open the Minecraft file using one of the two methods:
    • Drag and drop a .mca or .nbt file into Avoyd.
    • or
    • Open menu File > Import > Minecraft Map or Structure (.mca, .nbt).
      1. Depending on the file type:
        • Map: Select the region file directory that contains the .mca files.
        • Structure: Select the .nbt file.
      2. Press Open.
  2. If you have The Nether or The End dimensions as well as The Overworld, a pop-up opens so you can choose which dimension to import.
  3. Wait for the import to finish. For large maps this operation may take a while.
  4. Save. This creates a .avwr Avoyd world file. .avwr files open faster and you can use them as a paste brush.
How to Explore a Minecraft Map in Avoyd

To move around in the voxel editor, you use the camera. You can control its position using the mouse and keyboard (WASD FPS controls) or by entering 3D coordinates. Before you begin check the camera is set properly.

Camera Settings

Set the camera to First Person and lock it to the y axis to make it easier to use with Minecraft maps as follows:

  1. Use the First Person Camera. You control the camera as if you were in a FPS game. (The alternative is the Arcball camera where you rotate around a point you fix. It is more useful for editing.)
    How to set the Camera to First Person:
    1. Open menu Tools > Camera.
    2. Open First Person Camera.
    3. Tick Use First Person Camera.
    Or as a shortcut, toggle between the First Person and the Arcball cameras using one of the methods:
    • Press keyboard shortcut c.
    • Click the First Person / Arcball camera button in the Status Bar.

  2. Lock the Camera to the y axis. When you open a Minecraft map in Avoyd, check the axis of the camera is locked on. This defines the horizontal plane and makes it easier to move around the map.
    How to lock the camera to y:
    1. Open menu Tools > Camera.
    2. Open Align To Axes.
    3. Tick Align Camera to Axes.
    4. Select the y axis
    5. Set the Axis Preference to 0.80 or above.
    Or as a shortcut:
    • Click the Align Camera to Axis button in the Status Bar until it shows y.
Move the Camera

There are several ways to move the camera:

  • Move to Minecraft coordinates
    Enter the set of coordinates in the camera position system as follows:
    1. Open the camera window: menu Tools > Camera
    2. Enter the Minecraft coordinates in the camera Position field:
      • If you have three coordinates (x, y, z): enter them in the three fields in that order.
      • If you have two Minecraft coordinates (x, z): enter them in the first and the last field in the same order. Ensure the middle value (y height) is positive or you might end up under or inside the landmass.
    Or as a shortcut:
    • Use the Camera Position field in the Status Bar.

  • Teleport to a place you see on the map (this is the fastest)
    Use the context menu Move Camera here as follows:
    1. Move the mouse cursor to point to the area of the map you want to go to
    2. Right-click to open the context menu
    3. Select the option Move Camera here. You'll instantly move above the position you are pointing to.

  • Fly to a place on the map (similar to a FPS game)
    Follow the instructions on how to use the First Person camera in movement mode.
How Minecraft Blocks are Represented in Avoyd, and How to Modify Them
  • Avoyd does not use textures. The materials in Avoyd match the Minecraft default materials as closely as possible. Each material colour is based on Minecraft textures averages. They have specular reflection, transparency and emissive properties where relevant e.g. water, glass, metal, lava, torch...
  • Note that emissive voxels representing torches, lava etc only emit light when rendered. The same applies to transparent materials: they are only see-through when rendered.
  • Each block and most of their variations are mapped to a material in Avoyd. We've mapped the vast majority of Minecraft Java Edition blocks to the appropriate materials settings in Avoyd
  • For Minecraft versions prior to 1.13 (the flattening) we now use both both block Id and data value to assign the correct namespace Id to a an imported block. For versions post 1.13 we directly use the namespace Id provided. The namespace Id of every Minecraft block is part of the material name in Avoyd.
  • To edit the Minecraft materials individually in Avoyd, open menu Tools > Materials and choose Minecraft from the Material Type drop-down. Click on a colour swatch to edit the material properties. You can also access the materials from the Palette in Tools > Edit Tool
  • Make specific block types (for example barrier) invisible in renders by making the material entirely transparent. In Tools > Materials, select the material and set its parameters as follows:
    • Colour = White (R=255, G=255, B=255)
    • Metallic = 0
    • Smooth = 0
    • Emissive = 0
    • Surface Transmission (Transparent) = 1
    • Absorption Length = 1,048,576
    • Scatter Length = 1,048,576
    • Phase = 0
  • To reuse your material alterations in other maps, save them as a template in File > Save/Load Templates > Materials. After you've imported a new Minecraft map, load your materials template and it will overwrite the defaults.
Tips
  • Tune the Graphics properties under Settings > Graphics. Increasing the Graphics Quality improves detail but can reduce performance.
  • Save the map or structure as an Avoyd world file. It will load faster and you can use it as a paste brush.
  • If you imported Minecraft worlds into a version of Avoyd older than 0.13.0, you should install the latest version of Avoyd and import again to ensure the latest materials are used.
Limitations
  • It is not possible to re-export any edits made in Avoyd back to Minecraft
  • Avoyd only supports Minecraft Java Edition maps. It does not support Bedrock.
  • Avoyd does not currently support schematics import
  • Avoyd does not use textures nor block models so all the Minecraft decorations, half-blocks, steps, objects such as torches etc. appear as full voxel blocks made of a single material in Avoyd.
  • It is currently not possible to hide block types in Avoyd: you have to delete them manually using the Edit Tool, or make the block type invisible (see tips section) before you render the scene. We intend to add block hiding in the future.

MagicaVoxel .vox

Menu File > Import > MagicaVoxel (.vox) or drag & drop


You can import VOX files complete with all their material properties as set in MagicaVoxel. Avoyd merges scenes made of multiple models in the same order as in MagicaVoxel.

To import a .vox file you can either:

  • Drag and drop the .vox file into Avoyd.
  • or
  • Use the menu:
    1. Open the menu File > Import > MagicaVoxel (.vox).
    2. Select the .vox file.
    3. Select Open to import.
Tips
  • Save the model as an Avoyd world file. It will load faster and you can use it as a paste brush.
  • Edit the materials properties using Tools > Materials. Avoyd groups the imported materials under the same name as the vox file.
  • To reorder the grid of material swatches to look like the MagicaVoxel palette:
    1. Open menu Settings > Display.
    2. Tick Invert Materials Grid.

Images as Heightmap and Palettisation

Menu File > Import > Image Heightmap (.jpg, .png, .tga) or drag & drop


You can import image formats .jpeg, .png and .tga and turn them into a heightmap based on their RGB information or the alpha channel.

  • Open the menu File > Import > Image Heightmap (.jpg, .png, .tga)
  • Select an image file and Open
  • Set the parameters and Import
Tips
  • To import a flat image (1 voxel thick), set the following parameters:
    • Scale (maximum height) = 1
    • Amount = 255
    • Smooth Surface = Off
  • Enable Palettise Image Colours to import the image colours. The principles are the same as for Import Image as Material Type (see the Colour Palettes section)
  • Setting the Amount to 255 and enabling Smooth Surface results in full columns of voxels, except for the top one which amount is proportional to the remain and therefore morphs and creates a smooth surface effect
  • Use Invert to get the elevation that would be produced by the negative image, but keep the colours
  • Add a floor to avoid leaving holes if the value is 0 or max (depending on invert)
  • When on, the Surface Layer Only option results in only the top voxels of the heightmap to be saved, like a cloth. You can adjust the thickness. This can be useful for creating complex curved structures.

Colour Palettes

Menu File > Import > Image (.jpg, .png, .tga) as Material


Images and colour palettes of type .JPG, .PNG and .TGA can be imported to create Material Types and Palettes in Avoyd.

How to Import a Discrete Colour Palette

For discrete colour palettes import we recomment to use the PNG or TGA format and set the 'Maximum Number of Colours' to the maximum value allowed. Discrete palettes can be downloaded from sites such as Lospec.

  • Download your palette in .PNG or .TGA format and save it to your computer
  • Open the Avoyd Voxel Editor and select File > Import > Image (.jpg, .png, .tga) as Material
  • Find the palette file you downloaded and click Open
  • Set the 'Maximum Number of Colours' to the maximum allowed. This ensures the discreet colours are kept as they are. (1*)
  • Click Import and open menu Tools > Materials
Steps for importing a colour palette - PNG image of discreet colours - from Lospec as a material type in Avoyd, creating a Palette from the Material Type. The Palette is used in the Edit Tool to select materials (colours) to create voxel art with. Step 1: Download a .PNG from e.g. lospec.com. Step 2: In Avoyd Voxel Editor: open menu File > Import > Image (.jpg, .png, .tga) as Material Type. Select the PNG file and import with the highest maximum colours. Step 3: A new Material Type is created. Use Auto + to create a new palette. Step 3: in the Tolls > Edit Tool, select the newly created palette and click on a coloured material swatch to use it to edit the 3D voxel model.
Importing a colour palette (PNG image of discreet colours) from Lospec as a material type in Avoyd and creating a Palette from the Material Type. The Palette is used in the Edit Tool to select materials (colours) to create voxel art with. (click to enlarge)
Image Palettisation

You can palettise any image (.jpg, .png, .tga) by following the same steps as above and choosing the 'Maximum Number of Colours' during import. (1*)

Tips
  • Importing an Image creates a Material Type with the same name as the image.
  • the 'Maximum Number of Colours' setting defines the maximum number of Materials in the Material Type.
  • Only colours are imported. Material properties such as Metallic, Smooth, Emissivity, Transparency etc. have to be set manually.
  • You can quickly create a Palette directly from the Material Type using the Auto + Palette:
    • Open menu Tools > Materials
    • In the Material Types section, choose a Material Type from the drop-down
    • In the Palettes area, press Auto + to create a new Palette with the same name and Materials selection as the selected Material Type.
  • You can add any number of Material Types or individual Materials to any palette

Notes:
1* To ensure that the imported colour values are identical to those in the original image, set the 'Maximum Number of Colours' to a number greater or equal to the number of colours in the original. Explanation: when the image contains less than the 'Maximum Number of Colours' requested, the exact colours are imported. If the image contains more colours than the 'Maximum Number of Colours', the colours are interpolated during import and therefore modified.

Raw 3D Binary Arrays

Menu File > Import > Raw 3D Binary Array


Avoyd can import raw 3D binary arrays of 8bit voxels. The data should be a continuous 3D array of bytes. Each byte should represent a voxel material with 0 being an empty voxel. All other values (1-255) will be mapped to a unique material instance which can then be modified after import. The amount of material will be set to 255. The 3D array is treated as a set of voxels in the order x + y * size_x + z * size_x * size_y.

  • Open File > Import > Raw 3D Binary Array and select the binary file to import.
  • The Raw 3D Binary Array import dialogue opens with settings for x and y size. The importer automatically calculates the z size using size_z = file_size / ( size_x * size_y ) and warns if the provided sizes do match the file size.

Export

MagicaVoxel .vox [Avoyd 0.15+]

Menu File > Export > MagicaVoxel (.vox)


MagicaVoxel .vox is a popular file format voxel artists and game developers use. Voxel editors like MagicaVoxel, Qubicle, voxel game engines like IOLITE, RPG in a Box, and games like Teardown and Idu are applications that can open .vox files. The MagicaVoxel .vox format is limited compared to Avoyd's .avwr worlds. Avoyd can handle some limitations automatically such as the number of materials, but for other such as scene size you have to edit the world manually before you export it.

To export a world file to MagicaVoxel .vox:

  1. Open the World file in Avoyd.
  2. Export with File > Export > MagicaVoxel (.vox).

When exporting an Avoyd world to .vox, you should take into account the three main limitations of the .vox format and how Avoyd can work around them:

There are additional limitations you cannot work around:

  • Amount: Avoyd's voxel amount information is lost. All voxels are considered full in MagicaVoxel .vox.
  • Multiple models: when you import a .vox file that contains several models, Avoyd merges them into one world. When you export the world to .vox, Avoyd creates new model boundaries.
  • Materials parameters: Avoyd attempts to match them as closely as possible but they differ in MagicaVoxel so exporting to .vox will result in slight differences visible mostly in renders.

As a consequence, importing then exporting a .vox file is not idempotent. In other words the .vox file you export may be different from the .vox file you imported in Avoyd.

Complying with the Format Limitations
Material Count or Palette Reduction

Check the number of Materials in use using View > World Properties. If your world has a Number of Materials in Use greater than 255 you have too many and Avoyd will use automatic palette reduction during export. Alternatively you can reduce the material count manually before you export.

  • Automatic palette reduction works as follow: during export, Avoyd automatically merges all similar materials in use until it reaches the allowable limit of 255. The automatic palette reduction always runs if you have more than 255 materials in use when you export. This method doesn't modify the source file.

  • Manually reducing the number of materials lets you to decide which Materials to keep and which to discard. You need to go through this process before you export:
    1. To make this easier, before you start:
      1. Open Tools > Materials to display the materials.
      2. Run Edit > Merge Materials into one Material Type to put all the materials in one group.
      3. Run Edit > Remove Unused Materials to only keep the materials that are used in the scene.
    2. Repeat the following steps until you have 255 or fewer materials in use.
      1. Press Refresh in View > World Properties to check the Number of Materials in Use.
      2. Use Tools > Replace Material to replace the materials you want to discard with the ones you choose to keep.
      3. Use Edit > Remove Unused Materials to remove the discarded materials from the list.
    3. Save the world file and export.
World Size Reduction

Check your world dimensions using View > World Properties. Refresh and if the Dimensions are greater than 2000 x 1000 x 2000 voxels:

  1. Open Tools > Edit Tool and use Copy to select a smaller volume to export.
  2. Save it using Save Paste Brush as World.
  3. Open the smaller world and export to .vox.
File Size Reduction

If the export fails because your .vox file would be larger than 4GB, you can try the following:

  1. Reduce the dimensions of the world.
  2. Tick Remove Hidden Voxels when you export.
Export Options
Remove Hidden Voxels

Remove Hidden Voxels can potentially reduce the size of the .vox file. Avoyd removes voxels which are surrounded by opaque (i.e. not transparent) voxels on all sides. It is similar to MagicaVoxel's "Hull" but applies to the entire scene (all models). You should only use it if internal voxels are not important.

Warning: you shouldn't use it if you intend to export the result to a mesh. It adds surface area which in turn increases the polygon count.

Fit Model Boundaries to Voxels

Fit Model Boundaries to Voxels fits the MagicaVoxel model size to the AABB of the voxels inside it. You should leave it on by default. Turn it off for applications that require a specific size for their models, for example the game Idu.

Maximum Model Size

Maximum Model Size: MagicaVoxel's .vox format only supports model sizes up to 256 voxels a side. As a consequenmce larger scenes are split into many models. By controlling the models size you can help performance when the model is imported in some engines such as the IOLITE Voxel Game Engine. This might help with exporting to Teardown but we've not tested it. Note that when Avoyd exports a single model, it centres it horizontally (xz plane).

Unlimited Size

Unlimited Size ignores MagicaVoxel's 2000 x 1000 x 2000 voxels limitation. This is useful for applications that can handle large scenes such as IOLITE. Note that the material count and maximum file size limits still apply.

Games Modding

Use Avoyd's .vox exporter to mod voxel games like Teardown or Idu.

Teardown

Teardown support is untested

  1. Download the Teardown palette teardown_palette.vox.
  2. Import the Teardown palette into Avoyd.
  3. Follow the principles in the Modelling for Teardown documentation. (Ignore the "Object Order" as Avoyd exports objects that don't overlap.)
  4. Export to .vox with the following options:
    • Untick Remove Hidden Voxels.
    • Tick Fit Model Boundaries to Voxels.
    • Set Maximum Model Size to 128 or smaller.
Idu

Use Avoyd to create maps for the plant growing game Idu.

  1. Open a world template for Idu (simplest) or add the Idu materials to an existing world:
    • Use Idu_Template.avwr or one of the examples.
    • or
    • Add Idu Materials to a world: load Material Template Idu_Materials.avmt.
      Materials Reference
      Id in Avoyd Material in Idu
      0 Concrete
      1 ConcreteOrnament
      2 Soil
      3 SeedBox
      4 Metal

  2. Build the world that will become a map in Idu with the following in mind:
    • Materials: only use the materials Ids that correspond to Idu ones.
    • Voxel Scale: a voxel in Avoyd is a block 20cm a side in Idu.
    • Vertical axis: orient your model with the y axis up. (Use the Edit Tool's Anchor guizmo to see it: +y is the full green arrow.)
    • Water Level: the water level reaches half-way up your world's 19th voxel along the y axis. The bottom 18 voxels are completely underwater.
    • World Size:
      • Optimal world sizes for Idu are cubes multiples of 16 voxels a side. So you should build inside volumes that are, for example 32 x 32 x 32 or 80 x 80 x 80 voxels.
      • Idu crops out the voxels that touch the boundaries of the world. So if for example your world size is 32, ensure all your voxels are within a 30 x 30 x 30 cube.
      • The maximum world size is 128. (In theory the maximum is 256 a side but larger than 128 may cause performance issues in Idu).
      • Keep track of the world size with View > World Properties Dimensions. Use Refresh to update.
    • Worlds are mirrored in Idu.
  3. Export to .vox filename.vox with the following options:
    • Untick Remove Hidden Voxels.
    • Untick Fit Model Boundaries to Voxels.
    • Set Maximum Model Size to your world size: a multiple of 16 up to 128.
  4. To open the map in Idu, run the command line from the Idu directory: main.exe -c path/filename.vox

Mesh .obj

Menu File > Export > Mesh (.obj)


Avoyd exports voxel models to polygon mesh in the Wavefront .obj file format. Mesh, material and optionally texture files are used in applications such as:

  • Art Tools
    • Blender 3D
    • any other Art Tool which supports directly importing the .obj format
  • Game Engines
    • Unity 3D
    • Unreal Engine
    • any other Game Engine which supports directly importing the .obj format

Depending on what you plan to use the exported files for, the output varies:

  • Art Tools: a .obj mesh file and a .mtl material file are usually sufficient.
  • Game Engines where further optimisation is needed for performance: .png texture files supplement the mesh and material files.

When exporting, Avoyd creates the following files usually in the Documents/Avoyd/Exports directory:

  • filename.obj
  • filename.mtl
  • filename_*.png (game engines)
Exporting a Model

To export a voxel model from Avoyd, follow these instructions:

  1. Open your model in Avoyd. (Repository of permissively licenced .avwr Avoyd world files, voxel models)
  2. Select File > Export > Mesh (.obj)
  3. Enter the .obj file name.
  4. Set the export options according to what application your model is destined for as in the following table:
    Avoyd Export Options - export to mesh settings for art tools and game engines
    Export Option Blender Unity Unreal
    Optimise Mesh -
    Centre on Origin - - -
    Export Normals
    Export opaque and transparent materials with parameters in texture
    Blender Compatible Metallic Materials - -
    Unity style material properties in texture -
    Export roughness instead of smoothness - -

  5. Select Export.
  6. Go to the relevant application guide for instructions on how to set up your model:

Example voxel model open in Avoyd which will be exported to Unity. The model is an orange camper made of several materials including metallic, emissive and transparent. Credit: original model by Rebecca Michalak
Example camper voxel model open in Avoyd. The model includes diffuse, metallic, emissive and transparent materials.
Download permissively licensed Avoyd voxel model Camper.avwr
Isometric render of example model in Avoyd. The render shows the metallic materials reflecting the ground and sky, emissive headlights, and transparent windows, light lenses and exhaust fumes.
Avoyd isometric render of the camper shows the metallic materials reflecting the ground and sky, emissive headlights, and transparent windows, light lenses and exhaust fumes.
Export Options

This section explains each parameter in the Options screen. To see how to set them up according to the export file destination refer to the options table in the export instructions

Optimize Mesh

Optimising the mesh reduces vertex and triangle count, making the files smaller and the models faster to manipulate in other applications. The option should be on by default. Turn it off if you want every individual visible voxel face to have vertices at their corners; or if you want to export faster.

The current optimization process works on 32x32x32 size volumes to reduce memory consumption for large models, so does not do a full optimization.

Centre on Origin

Translates the output model so that cente of the bounding volume is at the origin (0,0,0).

Export Normals

Export normals adds a face normal per vertex. This increaases file size and is sometimes not required as the program used to import the obj may calculate normals on import. If you are unsure leave this on.

Export opaque and transparent materials with parameters in texture

This options determines where the material data is stored:

  • On: Avoyd exports the entire model using a single material. The material parameters are embedded in textures.
    • Usually more efficient for real time rendering.
    • As a downside, the import process requires extra work setting up the materials (unless only diffuse colour is required) and changing material parameters is harder once imported.
    • Explanation: limitations of the obj format mean that other tools will only import the albedo colour channel correctly. The other texture channels must then be assigned to control the metallic, smoothness/roughness and emissive parameters.
    • It emits the following textures (with Unity style material properties in texture off):
      • filename_col.png RGBA texture with:
        • Albedo Colour and Transmission in Alpha
      • filename_metal_smooth_emissive.png RGB texture with:
        • Metallic in Red
        • Smoothness (or Roughness if 'Export roughness instead of smoothness' is on) in Green
        • Emissive Intensity in Blue
  • Off: Avoyd exports the materials separately.
    • More suitable for further modelling and offline rendering in 3D tools such as Blender.
    • Enables setting up and modifying materials once imported.
Blender Compatible Metallic Materials

Only available if 'Export opaque & transparent materials with parameters in texture' is off.

The materials output are in a non-standard format which Blender uses to represent metallic material parameters. Use this if you are exporting to use in Blender for further modelling.

Unity style material properties in texture

Only available if 'Export opaque & transparent materials with parameters in texture' is on.

Unity requires the metallic and smootheness parameters to be in the Red and Alpha channels of a texture, and emissive in another RGB texture.

Enabling this will thus emit the following textures:

  • filename_col.png RGBA texture with:
    • Albedo Colour and Transmission in Alpha
  • filename_metal_1_1_smooth.png RGBA texture with:
    • Metallic in Red
    • 1 in Green/Blue
    • Smoothness in Alpha
  • filename_emissive.png RGB texture with:
    • Emissive Colour (emissive intensity * albedo) in Red/Green/Blue

See the Import in Unity Guide below.

Export roughness instead of smoothness

Only available if 'Export opaque & transparent materials with parameters in texture' is on and 'Unity style material properties in texture' is off.

Exports roughness as 1-smoothness in the Green channel of the filename_metal_smooth_emissive.png texture.

Import in Blender Guide

This section explains how to set up the model in Blender.

Exporting a voxel model for Blender using Avoyd creates the following files:

  • filename.obj
  • filename.mtl

To import into Blender, follow these steps:

  1. Open Blender 3D and delete the default cube.
  2. Select File > Import > Wavefront (.obj).
  3. Select the .obj file.
  4. Click on Import OBJ.
    Scene with Avoyd voxel model 'Camper' imported in Blender 3D
    Scene with Avoyd voxel model 'Camper' imported in Blender 3D.

Your model should now be ready to use in Blender and have metallic, emissive and transparency working.

Import in Unity 3D Guide

This section explains how to set up the model in Unity.

Exporting a voxel model for Unity using Avoyd creates the following files:

  • filename.obj
  • filename.mtl
  • filename_col.png
  • filename_metal_1_1_smooth.png
  • filename_emissive.png

To import into Unity, follow these steps:

  1. Open up or create a Unity 3D project. (For this example the standard Unity 3D project is used.)
  2. Drag and drop the files into the Assets window and wait for Unity to finish processing.
  3. Drag the filename.obj model from the assets window into the 3D Scene window to create an instance of the model.
    Initial view of the Unity 3D project with an exported Avoyd model. The colour and materials setup is not yet complete.
    Initial view of the Unity 3D project with an exported Avoyd model. The colour and materials setup is not yet complete.
  4. Select the filename_col.png texture in the Unity Assets window. It should open the texture Inspector.
    Unity Inspector window open with the Default texture import settings.
    Unity Inspector window open with the Default texture import settings.
  5. Correct the default texture import settings as in the following table:
    Unity Material import settings for default texture
    Setting Value
    Advanced > Non-Power of 2 None
    Advanced > Generate Mip Maps Off
    Wrap Mode Clamp
    Filter Mode Point (no filter)
    Max Size 256
    Resize Algorithm Bilinear
    Format RGBA 32 bit

    Once these are changed the colours of diffuse (non metallic) materials should look more like they do in Avoyd as shown in this screenshot:
    Unity Inspector open with the fixed texture import settings.
    Inspector open with the fixed texture import settings.

  6. Adjust the shadow parameters Normal Bias and Bias for the Unity standard 3D pipeline. You need to tweak those values because Normal Bias does not work well for non-smooth polygons. It results in gaps in the shadows.
    As a general rule for default scaled scenes, lowering 'Normal Bias' to a very low value (0.001) and increasing Bias to 0.15 works reasonably well. Remember that you may need to take into account the scale you use for your Unity project.
    Unity - Adjusted Bias and Normal Bias to remove light leakage and shadow acne.
    Adjusted Normal Bias and Bias to remove light leakage and shadow acne.
  7. Edit the Materials. Since Unity doesn't allow users to modify imported model materials, the simplest workaround is as follows:
    1. Select the .obj asset in the Assets window and click Extract Materials in the Inspector window.
    2. Select the folder you want the materials extracted to. You can now modify the new materials.
      Unity - Scene with materials extracted.
      Scene with materials extracted.
    3. Set the filename_transparent material to use the Transparent Rendering Mode in the material Inspector.
      Unity - Scene with transparent material set to use the Transparent Rendering Mode.
      Scene with transparent material set to use the Transparent Rendering Mode.
    4. Add metallic and smoothness properties to the materials as follows:
      1. Click on the circle before the Metallic property to open the texture selector.
      2. Select the filename_metal_1_1_smooth.png texture.
    5. Add emissive materials if applicable:
      1. Select the Emission checkbox.
      2. Click on the circle to the left of the Color property to open the texture selector.
      3. Select the filename_emissive.png texture.

      Repeat the steps above for both the transparent and opaque materials.

  8. Correct the filename_metal_1_1_smooth.png texture settings using the same parameters as for filename_col.png above.
  9. Correct the filename_emissive.png texture settings using the same parameters as for filename_col.png above, except the 'Format' should be RGB 24bit.
    Unity - Scene with metallic and smoothness along with emission textures applied to material.
    Scene with metallic and smoothness along with emission textures applied to material.
  10. Correct the Unity High-Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP) import settings if applicable. Use the same parameters as for filename_col.png above, except the emissive properties are handled slightly differently:
    1. Click the circle to the left of the Emissive Color property.
    2. select the filename_emissive.png texture.
    3. ensure Use Emission Intensity is off.
    4. Select the HDR colour picker and set the color to full white with a large Intensity - depending on your scene lighting you might need 10 or more.

Your model should now be ready to use in Unity and have metallic, emissive and transparency working.

Import in Unreal Engine Guide

This section explains how to set up the model in Unreal Editor. It is valid for UE4, and UE5 with a workaround using Blender.

Exporting a voxel model for Unreal using Avoyd creates the following files:

  • filename.obj
  • filename.mtl
  • filename_col.png
  • filename_metal_smooth_emissive.png

To import into Unreal Engine, follow these steps:

  1. If you're using Unreal 5.0 or above you need to first open filename.obj in Blender to convert it to .fbx
    1. Open Blender
    2. Delete Camera, Cube, and Light from the Scene Collection.
    3. Select File > Import > Wavefront (.obj).
    4. Select the file filename.obj then click Import OBJ.
    5. Select File > Export > FBX (.fbx).
    6. Name the file filename.fbx and click Export FBX.
  2. Open the Unreal Editor.
  3. Import filename.obj (or filename.fbx if you're using Unreal 5.0 or above) and the .png files in Unreal Editor.
  4. Drag the static mesh into the view. (You may need to rotate or reflect the mesh.)
  5. Set up the Materials as follows:
    1. Double click on the filename_opaque material. (It is in your content browser along with the imported mesh.)
      1. Drag the texture filename_metal_smooth_emissive.png into the node view.
      2. Set the texture up as in this screenshot:
        avoyd_opaque material set up in Unreal Engine
        Scene with filename_opaque material.
    2. Double click on the filename_transparent material.
      1. Select the filename_transparent node block and set the following to make this work for transparency:
        1. Set Details > Material > Blend Mode to Translucent.
        2. Set Translucency > Lighting Mode to Surface Translucency Volume.
      2. Drag the filename_metal_smooth_emissive.png into the node view
      3. Set the texture up as in this screenshot. Note that the emissive channel (blue channel) isn't connected since it appears to cause problems for transparent materials.
        avoyd_transparent material set up in Unreal Engine
        Scene with filename_transparent material.
    3. Save both materials.
    4. Close the material window.
      Scene with Avoyd voxel model 'Camper' imported in Unreal Engine
      Scene with Avoyd voxel model 'Camper' imported in Unreal Engine.

Your model should now be ready to use in Unreal and have metallic, emissive and transparency working.


Graphics Settings and Performance

Menu Settings > Graphics


The graphics quality settings are:

  • Very Low
  • Low
  • Medium (default)
  • High
  • Very High
  • Custom

For a low end PC you may want to use Very Low, whereas for a powerful machine you can select Very High. Avoyd is designed to take full advantage of powerful machines, whilst still being able to run on the lowest minimum specification possible.

When tweaking the graphics settings, try to ensure the framerate stays above 30 Frames Per Second (FPS). To display the framerate, tick Show Performance. If you're still under 30 FPS at the lowest quality setting, you'll have to your keep voxel world size small, typically under 128 voxels a side (see menu View > World Properties > Dimensions).

Level Of Detail

The most visible difference between low and high quality settings rests with the Level Of Detail (LOD) system. It simplifies the voxel world in real time to keep the framerate high, grouping together voxels that are far away. In other words, on low quality settings the LOD system groups voxels together to render them easier, starting at a given distance. The lower the settings, the closer to the camera position the LOD starts simplifying scene. To see more details, increase the LOD Change Distance. (Note that there is also an LOD Far Change Distance which is a second level of LOD simplification, even further away).

Avoyd voxel editor graphics very low and very high quality setting comparison, showing the user interface, graphics settings values, and on the voxel model the improved shadows and increased details (due to increased LOD changed distance) in high quality. Voxel model by Niklas Mäckle knosvoxel
Graphics very low and very high quality comparison, showing the user interface, graphics settings values, and on the voxel model the improved shadows and increased details (due to increased LOD changed distance) in high quality. Voxel model by Niklas Mäckle knosvoxel. (click to enlarge)

Power Saving

Increasing the quality usually increases the energy consumption. To save power without compromising your experience, you should:

  • Keep the Power Save Mode ON (default).
    It stops redrawing the screen when no computing nor user interaction happens (e.g. when the mouse doesn't move). This doesn't affect the graphics quality in any way.
  • Turn VSync (vertical synchronisation) ON.
    If you experience motion sickness, turn it back off.


Controls and Shortcuts



Avoyd requires a mouse and keyboard. Controls and shortcuts are currently hardcoded.

Camera Controls in Movement Mode

Camera controls are enabled in Movement mode (input trapped). In other words Movement mode gives you control of the camera: you can move around in 3D using the mouse and keyboard. To engage Movement mode click and hold the right-mouse button. Alternatively, press Tab to toggle between the Menu mode and the Movement mode. The camera controls in the voxel editor are similar to a first person shooter FPS game in zero gravity without collision nor inertia.

Function Control
Engage Movement Mode Mouse right click and hold, or
Tab (toggles between the Menu and Movement modes)
Escape Movement Mode Mouse right button release, or
Esc, or
Tab
Camera Aim Mouse (Invert mouse Y and sensitivity in Settings > Controls)
Move Forwards W
Move Backwards S
Strafe Left A
Strafe Right D
Roll Left (counterclockwise) Q
Roll Right (clockwise) E
Move Up Space
Move Down Left Ctrl
Speed Increase Left Shift
First Person Camera / Arcball Camera toggle C
Saved Camera: Add Alt + ↓
Saved Camera: Previous Alt + ←
Saved Camera: Next Alt + →


Edit Tool Controls

These controls are available when the Edit Tool window is open and active. Menu Tools > Edit Tool tab Shapes.

Function Control
Open Edit Tool window Menu Tools > Edit Tool tab Shapes, or
Alt+E (Shapes tab) or Alt+G (Procedural Generation tab)
Menu to Movement Mode Mouse right click and hold, or
Tab to toggle between the Menu and Movement modes
Movement to Menu Mode Mouse right button release, or
Tab to toggle between the Menu and Movement modes, or
Esc
Show Edit Cursor Edit Cursor section in the Edit Tool window: select Show Brush Preview and Show Wireframe
Move Edit Cursor Mouse (in Menu Mode and with Anchor Off)
Move Edit Cursor closer/further Mouse wheel (with Anchor unlocked; wheel sensitivity in Settings > Controls)
Anchor toggle On / Off Alt + A
Shape (and edit cursor) size change by 1 voxel in all directions ↑ ↓, or
Shift + Mouse wheel
Perform edit action F, or
Mouse left click over the 3D World, or
[ Do... ] button
Cut from the 3D World Ctrl + X
Copy from the 3D World Ctrl + C
Paste into the 3D World Ctrl + V
Undo the last change in the 3D World Ctrl + Z
Redo - Reverse the last Undo in the 3D World Ctrl + Y
Select custom Preset edit tool 0..9, or
select from the 'Presets' dropdown
Context Menu Mouse right click over the 3D World
Show / Hide all user interface elements Ctrl + M
Take a Screenshot F10 (screenshots are saved in ..\Users\username\Documents\Avoyd\Screenshots)
Open worlds, load templates, or import Mouse click on file then drag and drop into Avoyd, or
Menus File > Open; File > Load Template; File > Import


Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts listed alphabetically.

Note: keyboard shortcuts using the Ctrl modifier are disabled in Movement Mode so they don't interfere with the camera's Ctrl key (Move Down).

Shortcut Function
0..9 Select custom Preset in the Edit Tool (Edit Tool active)
A Strafe Left
C First Person Camera / Arcball Camera toggle
D Strafe Righ
E Roll Right (clockwise)
F Perform edit action in the 3D World (Edit Tool active, Shapes tab)
P Pause game
Q Roll Left (counterclockwise)
S Move Backwards
W Move Forwards
Alt + Enter Toggle between fullscreen and windowed modes
Alt + ↓ Saved Camera: Add
Alt + ← Saved Camera: Previous
Alt + → Saved Camera: Next
Alt + A Anchor toggle On / Off
Alt + C Camera window Open / Focus on / Close
Alt + E Edit Tool window Shapes tab Open / Focus on / Close
Alt + G Edit Tool window Procedural Generation tab Open / Focus on / Close
Alt + L Light and Atmosphere window Open / Focus on / Close
Alt + M Materials
Alt + P Pick and Inspect Material window Open / Focus on / Close
Alt + R Replace Material window Open / Focus on / Close
Alt + X Close all windows
Ctrl (left) Move Down
Ctrl + C Copy from the 3D World (Edit Tool active, Shapes tab)
Ctrl + M Show / Hide all user interface elements
Ctrl + N Create a new empty World
Ctrl + O Open an existing World file *.avwr
Ctrl + R Revert to last file save or import
Ctrl + S Save current World to file
Ctrl + V Paste into the 3D World (Edit Tool active, Shapes tab)
Ctrl + X Cut from the 3D World (Edit Tool active, Shapes tab)
Ctrl + Y Redo - Reverse the last Undo in the 3D World
Ctrl + Z Undo the last change in the 3D World
Esc Escape from Movement mode onto Menu mode, then onto Main menu
F1 Help window / In-game: toggle between first and third person view
F10 Take a Screenshot (saved in ..\Users\username\Documents\Avoyd\Screenshots)
Shift + Mouse wheel in / out Shape (and edit cursor) size decrease / increase by 1 voxel increments, in all directions (Edit Tool active)
Shift (left) Speed Increase (camera)
Space Move Up
Tab Toggles between the Menu and Movement modes
Shape (and edit cursor) size Increase by 1 voxel in all directions (Edit Tool active)
Shape (and edit cursor) size Decrease by 1 voxel in all directions (Edit Tool active)


Mouse Controls

Control Function
Mouse (Menu Mode) Move the mouse pointer when over the user interface
Move the edit cursor when over the 3D world (if the Edit, Pick or Replace Tool is active and the Anchor is off)
Mouse (Movement Mode) Camera aim
Left click over the 3D world / voxels Perform edit action (if the Edit Tool is active)
Pick a voxel and make its Material current (if the Pick or the Replace Tool is active)
Wheel in / out Move Edit Cursor closer / further (if the Edit Tool is active and the Anchor is off or unlocked)
Shift + Wheel in / out Shape (and edit cursor) size decrease / increase by 1 voxel increments, in all directions (if the Edit Tool is active)
Right click over the 3D world Open the Context menu
Right click and hold / release Movement mode (input trapped) engage / escape
Drag and drop a file into Avoyd Open worlds, load templates, or import



Definitions



Voxel
Representation of data on a 3D (three dimensional) grid. Since voxels are data, they can be represented many different ways: cubes, spheres, lego bricks, textured shapes that are deformed according to their neighbours (for smooth shapes) etc. Voxels are used in video games, in medical imagery (for instance to store MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans 3D data and visualise it in 3D or slices), to make art. Voxels can be monochromatic or have a texture applied.

Voxel Art
3D art made of voxels. Each voxel is typically represented as a single colour cube, although there can be stylistic variations such as visible edges or rounded corners. Voxel editors are commonly used to create voxel models and render them as voxel art.

Voxel Editor
3D art tool used produce voxel models and render them for voxel art, to produce assets for video games, animation, etc. Examples of voxel art software are our application Avoyd, open sourced Goxel, popular MagicaVoxel, Qubicle aimed at games developers, and many more.

Voxel Model
3D object made of voxels. The file format for voxel models in Avoyd is *.avwr (Avoyd world). It is a heavily compressed proprietary binary format. In MagicaVoxel the file format is .vox. Avoyd can open .vox files. You can download free permissively licensed voxel models from our repository.

Voxeliser
Tool that convert 3D meshes into voxel models. An example of a voxeliser is VoxTool, which converts textured .obj meshes to .vox files. To voxelise models for Avoyd, follow this guide for voxelizing 3D meshes and textures for use in Avoyd using VoxTool and MagicaVoxel. For textureless .obj files you can use MagicaVoxel.


Avoyd is a voxel editor and game developed and published by enkisoftware  •  ©enkisoftware 2001-2023