Dynamic AI System
Something lacking in previous versions of Blockland was an AI system. AI is now present, in the form of NPCs. These are generated from npc bricks. NPCs have a variety of needs and aspirations. They will find food and eat it if they are hungry. If they don't have food, they steal it. Certain bricks or items can be set to be owned by an NPC. If you jump into an NPC's pick-up, for example, it will chase after you and try and take it back. If they have weapons, they will kill you.
The AI is smart now, taking cover behind bricks or any available cover, even other people and vehicles.
Next, the weather system and climate system.
The time of day is taken from your system clock. If you start the game up at 12 at night, it will be dark out. Weather systems are generated from real data, collected by NOAA. For example, the new "Bedroom" map is located in Charleston, South Carolina. Streaming weather data is taken from the noaa.gov server and used to generate simulated weather patterns. This service is only available to cities in the US. Through a server option, you can pick what location you want your map to be located in, from a list of about 200 locations.
The maps.
Terrain maps are generated using real terrain from USGS data. Advances in rendering software allow the terrain to have caves and other features. Like stated before, weather and light are calculated from data on your computer.
The bricks.
Bricks are back and better then before. Rendered engine side in full 3d, these bricks look better then any previous incarnation. Through a server option, players may toggle on "wear and tear." Bricks will now be generated with random scratches. If one is unlucky, bricks may even be deformed, missing pegs, chewed, or split in half.
Bricks can be dynamically modified in game. Through the new physics, players can saw bricks in half. However, quickly sawing will result in jagged edges, so sawing must be done carefully. There are also various sanding, carving, and polishing tools.
Brick gibs are now fully featured, with collisions. If a brick is destroyed, small gib pieces fly around. It is possible to accumulate piles of gibs, creating hills of plastic bits. Large piles may collapse and flow, killing players and blocking doors. These pieces can be cleaned up using the broom tool.
Physical joints.
Bricks can now be connected through LEGO Technic style pieces and various sized strings, winches, and rubber bands. This allows for the construction of many interesting weapons.
Vehicles.
Vehicles are now constructed from scratch. For people who do not want to spend a lot of time building the ultimate car, various prebuilt cars and car pieces for quick assembly are included. Players may also save their vehicles and load them in other servers. Support is fully supplied for flying, floating, and land vehicles.
Coming soon... Fighting, Deathmatch, Items.
