Caves!!!!!!!!!!!

[D3RPN3SS]

i would love it if they put caves into dont starve it would add so much variaty to the game so its not just walking around on flatland i really think they should put secret caves in certain parts of the maps.

[largilloquent]

so far this is the best idea i have seen or at least top 10, it could add so much stuff! new monsters new items maybe even a house to live in! just clear it out and build a door! 3 sizes maybe? small is just 1 large room (perfect for a house) medium is 3-5 medium sized rooms connected via tunnels, and large can be 5-10 large rooms. maybe larger?

[mobius187]

As you can well imagine underground caverns have been a popular suggestion on the forums. In fact, I've always supported the idea and it's on my personal list of "Great Suggestions", under the sub-category "Major Update". As I've discussed the topic a lot and collected the ideas from many other users, I'll share them here so you can add your own input. So tell me what you think.

The general problem with caves is that they occupy space when on the surface and, as you may have noticed, the Devs are attempting to prevent anything from being too large to avoid issues with the camera rotation and navigation. That, along with the fact that there's no elevation (i.e. 2.5D nor 3D lanscape) means that caves are difficult to include, unless they're made small (i.e. pig house).

For those players who wanted to explore a large cavern area the best solution was to transition to a new area/map. The most commonly suggested means to do so was via a hole or crevasse in the ground. The player would then craft a rope or grappling hook (i.e. new item, gold ore + ropes), and by clicking it on the crevasse it would transition (i.e. loading screen) the player to an underground cavern illuminated from above (assuming it's day). From there the player needs to use artificial light sources to navigate the various caverns and tunnels.

A rough collection of the ideas associated with caverns include: mushrooms (various effects/randomly determined when map loads to prevent players knowing in advance), blind albino cave fish (in pools), gemstones (i.e. ruby), new ores (i.e. iron ore), coal, crystals (i.e. quartz), and various new monsters (i.e. giant tunnel worms).

[darklyt750]

I think with adding caves they would need to increase how long the torch lasts. I don't know the exact amount of time they last but it isn't much to me.

Also another idea for caves would be bats (obviously) and they act just the same as birds on the surface, but they drop guano which could be a better or worse manure than beefalo or pigs poop. If you kill a bat it has a chance to drop bat wings (no ideas as to what it would be used for at the moment but sounds cool haha) and a morsel.

And in some regions of the cave (like a swamp on the surface) there could be a special monster that is only in there. Like some big rock man thing that appears after mining too much iron? (Big as in roughly the same size as the tree guard.) When killed, drops quite a bit of iron and stones and possibly flint. And if you use a spear against it, it wont do as much damage so use the pickaxe, but make each hit take away only 1%, and even less with the opulent pickaxe.

In this (insert awesome name) biome there is an abundance of iron veins (not boulders because in the cave there would already be plenty, right?) and some sort of a glowing shrub that you can use to also fuel your miners hat when picked. After you pick it and it has to grow back it could be significantly darker, but still enough so you can see.

And if that wasnt enough, maybe when you dig up a special jackalope hole (Special as in ig king, only one in the world) with only a regal shovel, you can enter a "wonderland" cave with loads of iron and bats and glowing shrub but with no harm to you? Might be a bit much, but thought it would be funny none the less

Sorry if this is a little too much but my mind went a little crazy with the idea lol

[mobius187]

I think with adding caves they would need to increase how long the torch lasts. I don't know the exact amount of time they last but it isn't much to me.

Well there's that, but if you extend the duration of torches then this impacts the entire game (even outside the caverns). Rather, as torches are so each to craft, why not simply have 2-3 torches ready, plus the resources to craft several more? Worst case you can also put down a camp fire or firepit to give you more time to think...

Also another idea for caves would be bats (obviously) and they act just the same as birds on the surface, but they drop guano which could be a better or worse manure than beefalo or pigs poop. If you kill a bat it has a chance to drop bat wings (no ideas as to what it would be used for at the moment but sounds cool haha) and a morsel.

The guano idea is interesting, but I usually expect this when bats roost... only they hang upside down to roost and we won't be able to have/see a cavern ceiling. I would have to naysay the bat wings, because as you pointed out there's nothing for that yet. Killing them for meat is possible, but the main issue I have with avian creatures is "How do you fight them?". I wouldn't want stationary flying creatures, like Dingbats from Final Fantasy, as that would look silly. It's acyually why I suggested in the past that bats could act like birds, but only flying by the character to spook them and create the proper mood/atmosphere.

And in some regions of the cave (like a swamp on the surface) there could be a special monster that is only in there. Like some big rock man thing that appears after mining too much iron? (Big as in roughly the same size as the tree guard.) When killed, drops quite a bit of iron and stones and possibly flint. And if you use a spear against it, it wont do as much damage so use the pickaxe, but make each hit take away only 1%, and even less with the opulent pickaxe.

I agree there should be unique creatures. I'm not sure if it needs to be connected to mining boulders, only because then it would exactly mirror the treeguard in behavior. And do we need a guardian for every resource? Another forum member (MilleniumCount?) made a different suggestion with their "stone turtle" creature. It didn't guard boulders, but it looks like when, and should the player "mine" it, the turtle wakes up and attacks him. I liked that idea better.

In this (insert awesome name) biome there is an abundance of iron veins (not boulders because in the cave there would already be plenty, right?) and some sort of a glowing shrub that you can use to also fuel your miners hat when picked. After you pick it and it has to grow back it could be significantly darker, but still enough so you can see.

I think iron ore should be uncommon, after all we don't want to make it too easy. The players should have to hunt for it. Also, rather than a shrub, how about a glowing mushroom or fungus? As for the Miner's Helmet, in another thread I made some suggestions for replacing fireflies with a candle. Simply have bee hives/boxes produce beeswax, allow silk to be refined to string, and then combine beeswax and string to create a candle. Then use the same crafting formula for the Miner's Hat, but replace the fireflies. It wouldn't last longer though, but it could be used in connection with another idea that would let you turn the helmet on/off (i.e. extinguish the candle's flame). I wouldn't want to tamper with the light durations because darkness is such an important aspect to the game.

And if that wasnt enough, maybe when you dig up a special jackalope hole (Special as in ig king, only one in the world) with only a regal shovel, you can enter a "wonderland" cave with loads of iron and bats and glowing shrub but with no harm to you? Might be a bit much, but thought it would be funny none the less

Anything is possible, just keep making suggestions.

Lastly, I mentioned in my previous post that crystals could be dug-up in the caverns. Well the key purpose for this resource would be as a reflective surface (or prism). You remember the action/horror movie, "The Mummy"? Remember when they entered the treasure chamber near the end and used those polished bronze/copper mirrors to reflect light and illuminate the chamber? Well my suggestion is that for the caverns the players could craft similar "reflectors" using crystals. Then by placing one at an entrance (i.e. crevasse chamber) it would catch rays of light from above and reflect them in a direction. The player could rotate the "reflector" pedastle until the beam of refracted light goes in the direction they want. From there, by placing more "reflectors", the player can create a path of light. The path would be narrow, but create a safe area... but only during the day. Once the sun sets the beams would fade and plunge the caverns back into darkness.

Just a thought.