Pick-Axes & Mines

[Solnaga]

I remember when I reached about Day 60 I had mined out all the stone on my map and started wondering, "What do I need a pickaxe for anymore?" So this suggestion is mainly to have a continued utility for pick-axes once they become otherwise irrelevant. I was thinking maybe a mine or two that work similar to ponds (repeated attempts increases the duration). This could create more stone, more flint, coal/charcoal, rare ruby drops (and remove them from hounds?) as well as allow the introduction of many other ores. Just a thought; what do you think?

[Happysailor]

I think it would be cool but more as something you build, like you build a mineshaft, and every few days or so it lifts a boulder out for you to destroy with your pick.

[Solnaga]

I personally don't like the idea of being able to create it; being able to build a mineshaft is somewhat unrealistic and abusable (ie building a mineshaft in the middle of beefalo or mine-farming). I envision it more as something like the pig-king; valuable, immovable, and un-amassable. That way it would serve as an additional base location at the discretion of the player, esp if rubies are only available at a mine.

[mobius187]

I too have pondered the question: What happens when the last boulder is mined? Obviously gold ore isn't an issue with the pig king, but stone and flint are a finite resource. To this end there are been two suggestions that I've promoted to help, in one way lessen and the other way resolve, this issue.

The first suggestion was to add underground caverns. This would be done by adding a crevasse, or simply a large hole in the ground, about the size of the pond (if not slightly larger). To descend into the crevasse players would need to use rope or a new invention, the grappling hook (gold ore + ropes). The "climbing" would actually be a map transition, taking the player from the surface world to the underground cavern. I'll skip the details and jump to the point, boulders would be far more common in the caverns, as one might expect. Of course they would still be finite.

This leads to the second suggestion... a volcanic (or "lava") biome. This biome would be very dangerous, with lava pools, flame hounds (i.e. spawn from lava pools daily, like frogs from ponds), scalding steam vents, randomly spawning impassable rivers of lava, and flaming cinders which cause fires. I suggested that every few days or every moon cycle, the area suffers an eruption and earthquake that hurls newly spawned boulders into the air (from lava pools) and they land randomly around the biome. If they land on another object, that object is destroyed. A falling boulder could also kill a player if it landed on them, but like the hounds you know when this is going to happen and a shadow will show where a boulder is just about to hit.

Anywho, the second suggestion creates an infinite respawner for these resources, but places them in a highly dangerous area to counter-balance the benefits.

[Solnaga]

Ooooh Mobius responded

My problem with the first suggestion is still the finite quality of mining, the additional yet awkward addition of territory just for mining, and the incongruity of a cavern system compared to the rest of the world (pitch black = need light/buff mining hat, ability to collect food/stay fed while underground, inability to plant anything). Personally a mining pool for pick-axes would serve the same general idea however it also begs realism (mining seemingly the same chunk of rock for hours to collect ore and still not leave a dent)

A lava biome would be very interesting however, ruby drops would have to be changed to prevent the abuse of farming flame hounds. Also, randomly spawning lava would have to be generated in a way where it doesn't auto-gimp you. Personally I would love this second idea if they added new functionality to flint and stone, changed what the pig king dropped, or somehow removed the gamebreaking-ness of gold tools that eliminate the necessity of flint except for spears (amongst craftables).

[Kalmageddon]

About stone and flint, correct me if I'm wrong, but once you made your crock pot and your fireplace and you switched to gold tools there's basically no use for flint and rock, right? So it being finite doesn't sound like a problem to me, unless future updates don't introduce stuff that get used up and can only be made with rock and/or flint.

[Solnaga]

Well my issue is not the finite nature of flint and stone but rather the finite utility of a pickaxe unless for some bizarre reason you would prefer to fight with a pickaxe only. Stone can be used to make houses, farms, etc. Flint is still required for spears unless you farm tentacles or don't mind fighting with tools.