MMO legend Raph Koster is countering World of Warcraft with Stars Reach, his dream project

In Stars Reach, rain falls. Water pools. Rivers carve paths through terrain. Lakes freeze in winter. Trees propagate. Forests burn. Cave ceilings collapse due to overmining. Every cubic meter of every planet has temperature, humidity, geology, and hundreds of material properties. Koster proudly explained how players can melt stone into lava, cool it into new rock formations, or accidentally create ecological disasters. I had a pretty simple question, devoid of judgment: Why?