A "renderblock" is a 16 x 16 section of the game data or "map". lunacraft stores pieces of the map in separate files for each 128x128 Superblock, but for drawing on the screen ("rendering") it breaks the map up into smaller 16x16 pieces.
- This photo taken from a high vantage point shows the edges of several 16x16 renderblocks
Renderblocks in Gameplay
As you move around the moon, bits of the map that are getting closer are shown on the screen in 16x16 pieces. If you move quickly enough, the game can fall behind and you might see something like this:
- Some of the blocks aren't being drawn yet, but Entities (like these Turrets and Mini_Lights) are shown
- All renderblocks are now filled in
If you change the "View Dist" setting in the game options, it affects how many renderblocks are displayed.
Bugs
There are a number of bugs in how lunacraft does lighting (particularly in Version_1.8.0) that show up on renderblock boundaries. Here is an example:
- A Light block has just been removed, but part of the floor (top-right in this image) is still illuminated.
When these bugs happen, the "edge" of the oddly lit area is always along the boundary of a 16x16 renderblock.
The transparency bug described by Scooter8pie does not depend on renderblocks. However, sometimes while drilling one will encounter transparent surfaces where there should be solid blocks:
- Transparent wall encountered at a renderblock boundary while drilling a tunnel towards the north.
These transparent surfaces always occur at the edges of 16x16 renderblocks.