Questions on volume rendering

nfries88 · 2012-08-28T05:26:25

I've become extremely interested in the notion of volume rendering, using each voxel as if it were a pixel (IE, creating and rendering 3D pixel art) to create an isometric game. However, it seems that nearly everything I can find online in regards to volume rendering are focused on creating 3-dimensional games (and most of them, minecraft clones) or working with medical technology, and very rarely do these articles provide much information in simple terms. Though, admittedly, I will probably find the articles on volumetric terrains quite useful. Does anyone have any pointers on rastering larger volumes directly to a pixmap, in real-time, without converting to a mesh? It seems as though the simplest method would be similar to rotating a 2D image in software, but does anyone know a better way?