[2021] Is the bedrock layer even still necessary? Could more be added to the game if much of the depth was removed?

Originally posted by MoistGamer: Is there a secret gnome that lives there?

*looks at my name and avatar*
…Yes, and I shall play you the song of my people.

Really, it’s too late to abandon voxels, in whole or in part. My sense is they’ll do that for their next game.

The way a non-voxel game performs better is by baking in things like light maps, collision physics, and AI paths, taking advantage of a world that, for the most part, doesn’t change shape at unpredictable times or places. So the savings wouldn’t come automatically just from cutting down on the number of voxels. The game’s already smart enough with occlusion and structural integrity and whatnot to not do more calculations on that huge mass of voxels under your feet than it actually needs to do.

Many find bedrock useful for its properties as a flat layer that can’t be destroyed. They don’t feel truly ‘safe’ from potential base damage unless the Blood Moon zombies are walking on bedrock, that’s impervious to any number of demolishers, explosives, etc.

I’ve thought digging all the way down to bedrock is more trouble than it’s worth. I’ve only done it to make absolutely sure my most important pillars are solid for SI purposes. However, my ultimate A19 base did rely on a deep pit, so that all incoming zombies would take fall damage. There’s really no substitute for sheer fall height with that design. Now, I always end up making new base designs, so this wasn’t my only path to success on horde night. But I’m sure others rely on a depth of blocks to do their own thing. Keep in mind by reducing the depth of the bedrock, you’re taking lots of sand out of the sandbox, figuratively but also literally. Also, if you reduced it too much, POIs with deep underground caves/sewers/bunkers/whatever would have nowhere to spawn.