Hatch anatomy/farming, where the coal comes from, etc.

[Smoopadoop]

Here's my idea on how hatches might work.
Lore-wise, a Hatch's body is made of a weird type of flesh with a massive concentration of carbon. Its... "adventurous" appetite serves a strange biological purpose. Any non-carbon matter a hatch eats begins to replace its carbon body. If a hatch eats something carbon-based, like some meal lice, then the carbon in the lice replaces the carbon in its body, leading to no change at all, and a lump of coal excrement as normal. If the hatch eats some copper, however, parts of the hatch's body begins to crystallize, causing shards of copper to jut from the hatch's hide. This will happen with any other element too, copper is just an example. As more and more of the hatch is replaced, more and more carbon is "created". When the hatch's body is nearly completely crystallized, it has neared the end of its life cycle and must reproduce. It will gather one hatch-worth of coal, if possible, and begin to... compress it. The hatch's increased mass and density due to its crystallization helps with this process. When the hatch has finished, a diamond-and-graphite egg is all that is left behind, as the crystal hatch dies, leaving behind everything it has eaten, and the usual 2x meat.

Mechanics-wise, lets say one adult hatch is made of 1000kg coal, and one baby is 800kg coal. An adult can excrete 800kg coal before dying, leaving 200kg for the meat left behind. The baby grows into an adult after reaching 1000kg coal, which it can do by eating the meat (hooray for cannibalism). Leaving one hatch and 800kg non-coal in a closed chamber will cause the hatch to die and reproduce forever. This can't be exploited by dupes for food. Not unless we add more carbon. Which we are totally capable of doing. So drop 200kg normal food in there, and the hatch will become an adult normally, leaving the meat behind for you to eat. "But Smoop, then we're just converting meal lice into meat 1:1!". Okay, that's true, but only with my numbers. If the exact numbers are changed if this is added to the game, then a net gain of meat can be added if the devs want. I just didn't want to spontaneously create any matter with my idea.

[heckubis]

I really like it. Needs something similar to the plants system for propagation of the species. A way for the hatch numbers to be increased naturally without it being exploitive. a reduction in the coal output or a need for non carbons to metabolize to achieve optimal breading health. It would make them more of a farm animal than a simple conversion tool for excess resources and encourage players to figure out a good diet for the most useful pet in the game.