Rock layers in TFC 1.7.10 are fairly boring. They contribute a lot to gameplay in the form of restricting access to resources, which forces the player to explore in search of various different rock types or categories. However, due to the random nature of rock layer distribution, there is no strategic element to finding specific rocks. Additionally, while there are three layers, the top is by far the most utilized due to the difficulty mining and/or searching for ores in the second / third layers.
- Add interesting gameplay elements to searching for specific rocks.
- Add more reasons for players to explore and utilize lower layers.
- Lower sea level from 140 to 90-ish.
- Create geological "zones" which contain specific rock categories.
- Replace 3 independent rock layers with influences from different "zones"
- Add secondary rock generation conditions for specific rock combinations
- Lower sea level from 140 to 90-ish.
This is fairly self explanatory. The dev team has already talked about lowering TFC's sea level because of how unused the extra height is in practical gameplay. This will make rock layers smaller, allowing more to be explored, and also enable certain areas to have one or two large rock layers, increasing variety .
- Create geological "zones" which contain specific rock categories. and
- Replace 3 independent rock layers with influences from different "zones"
The idea of this is to create the following zones:
- Extrusion Zone (Igneous Extrusive)
- Subducton Zone (Igneous Intrusive, Metamorphic)
- Deposition Zone (Igneous Extrusive, Sedimentary)
- Smooth Uplift Zone (Igneous Extrusive, Sedimentary)
- Chaotic Uplift Zone (Sedimentary, Igneous Intrusive, Metamorphic)
Then during world generation, similar to how TFC currently generates layers such as pH, EVT, Stability, etc., the influence from these "zones" is distributed over the map. For example:
- Deep ocean, Low elevation, Low geological activity area. Rock layers: Top 30% = Deposition Zone, Bottom 70% = Extrusion Zone
- Plains, Medium elevation, Moderate geological activity area. Rock layers: Top 30% = Smooth Uplift Zone, Middle 30% = Deposition Zone, Bottom 30% = Extrusion Zone
- Hills, Medium elevation, High geological activity area. Rock layers: Top 40% = Chaotic Uplift Zone, Middle 20% = Smooth Uplift Zone, Bottom 40% = Subduction Zone
- Mountains, High elevation, Moderate geological activity area. Rock layers: Top 30% = Smooth Uplift Zone, Middle 30% = Deposition Zone, Bottom 50% = Subduction Zone
Rock layers are still scattered randomly within the zones similar to how they are now within the world. The difference is that players will be able to search for these zones, by searching for specific land features (elevation, biomes, other geological influences i.e. fissures, etc.)
This also adds consequences to finding certain features. (i.e. finding mountains with high geological activity -> the low layer is probably a subduction zone, which contains specific rocks, or finding an ocean means there will be extrusion zones underneath in a radius around the ocean). The goal is that this has a direct influence on how useful the lower layers are. Instead of current behavior (the lowest layer is completely random), players will be able to guess more precisely what the lower layer contains, or search for lower layer rocks by traversing the surface. Thus it can be easier to use them, especially if the layer is ~50 blocks closer than usual.
Another goal is for the zones to more smoothly taper off from each other. So instead of large vertical boundaries from one rock layer to another, rock layers can shrink and grow, subduct under different layers / zones, or disappear altogether as the terrain changes.
- Add secondary rock generation conditions for specific rock combinations
The idea here is to add a few custom conditions for rock areas to appear, such as "Marble rarely spawns in pockets within limestone", "Conglomerate can spawn on the surface instead of gravel", "Slate can spawn in the lower half of a shale layer".
These add some gameplay to searching for rocks, but they are more intended to be a way of finding smaller amounts of specific rocks given the rock layers that a player already has access to.