Here's a little test project that I made to try out very simple rendering from a height map. It uses code similar to a raycaster, but checks the height at regular distances all along the ray. It renders from front to back, with an algorithm to stop it drawing over anything previously drawn. It uses the diamond-square algorithm to generate the terrain height map, and reads from a chunk of sprite memory to texture the ground.
Arrow keys move the camera. There's no game mechanics, or functionality beyond just flying around. I'm not ruling out coming back to this, but I think my curiosity about these sorts of systems is satisfied for now. I have even more respect for people who have made fun and playable games out of this sort of tech!
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