This started as a reply to a post by Carl_Jokl (quoted in part below) in which I suggested developing his ideas and starting a new thread…
In the course of writting the reply, i realized that I had included enough detail, that doing so myself made sense…
quote=Carl_Jokl
It struck me that the seemingly most obvious missing biome to me was a Volcano biome. This isn't simply covered by mountains randomly having some lava on the surface. Volcanos have a shape and structure that is quite distinctly different from just a mountain.
The volcano typically is roughly more conical with the distinct pit in the top that dips down into the lava in the middle. The chance of this shape / structure occurring on extreme hills / mountainous biomes is remote. The odd bit of lava might be present on the surface or flow down a mountain but it still won't really look like a Volcano.
Beyond just the aesthetics a Volcano biome could have other characteristics that mirror some real world properties of volcanic areas.
Areas formed from volcanic activity tend to be rich in minerals and quite fertile. Perhaps offsetting the danger associated with the region. This could be manifest with crops growing faster and the presence of ores or at least some kinds of ores being higher and closer to the surface. This could be true of things like iron and gold. Volcanic activity doesn't play a role in the formation of coal and diamonds as far as I know. It does in the case of igneous rocks such as granite and marble. This could lead to a higher proportion of granite / diorite / andesite.
APPEARANCE:
The biome would be generated by selecting one, or more rarely multiple, X&Z coordinate pairs as "cores" (6.25% chance of two, 3.13% chance of three, 1.6% chance of 4 ).
Each core would form the center of a sort of column of wrapped layers of (mainly igneous) rocks types and ores (other than coal). [See stone types section below for description of the idea.]
The first core would be generated, then each of any secondary cores in turn; each merging with and replacing any overlapping area with the previous material.
Height of the biome would be as Extereme Hills M, save that as a last step of generating each core the central area would be collapsed downward a percentage of its height (~10%?) to from a caldera.
Biome base temperature needs to be >0.32 for the eruption mechanic to work in amplified worlds, although warmer desert or jungle variants would also work.
ORES & LAVA:
There are already biome influenced ores:
Emeralds being limited to Extreme Hills, and
Gold being significantly more common in Mesa Biomes.
Given that gold is already associated with mesas, and many different ores exist for iron (in RL);
I would prefer to see Volcano biomes increase the likelyhood of Diamond and/or Redstone ores.
[In RL one of the major geologic structures with which diamonds are associated is kiberlite pipes and most diamonds are thought to have formed in the upper mantle and been conveyed to (comparatively) near the surface by vulcanism. Which information need not be relevant to MC, although it does remove an argument against such association as being unrealistic ]
(As any move to increase overall diamond availability tends to generate significant opposition, this could be countered by shifting the diamond ore from the peripheral chunks of the volcano [Volcano Edge Biome ?] into the center.)
Lava (and potentially magma blocks now that these are no longer confined to the nether) ought to be more common and occur at higher levels within the central area of a Volcano Biome as well; this would provide a countervailing influence on mine location.
Additionally, the affected ores might be found at higher (or at least different) levels than outside Volcano Biomes. [As is currently the case with Gold in Mesas, and Coal & Iron in Extreme Hills]
Coal ore should be absent (or very notably less common) in Volcano Biomes (at least in the central Biome).
STONE TYPES:
Of the RL counterparts of the current Overworld stone types:
Sandstone/Red Sand Stone are sedimentary.
the rest (Diorite, Andesite, Granite, Obsidian) are igneous.
[Stone and Cobblestone are a peculiar cases: both form from a type of interaction between lava and water – which would clearly make them igneous, but appearance and distribution suggest to me they are sedimentary.
For the purposes of this suggestion, I will be classifying them as sedimentary]
Were the occurence frequencies of the various types altered in Volcano Biomes to make them largely (90%?) igneous so that stone and cobble became rare in Volcano biomes, this would greate an interesting resource deficiency that could add a challenge to the game. [Similar to that found in current desert & mesa biomes.]
While only aesthetic, Obsidian could also be generated in vertical pipes (rather than forming in sheets).
[The mesa biome land formation already generates 'sheets' or terracotta; generating the volcano biome by rotating this algorithm 90°, 'wrapping' the result around one or more columns in the volcano volume, then generating ores and obsidian seems like it might produce the effect desired. ]
SOIL FERTILITY / TYPES:
Given the ease with which most crops can currently be grown, I am disinclined to increase soil fertility. [It would also seem to require altering the plant growth algorithms to account for a variable in addition to soil hydration.]
Allowing Podzol to generate in the Volcano Edge Biome (and possibly in the outer fringe of the central Volcano Biome), with Coarse Dirt replacing part of the dirt in the central Volcano Biome could alter the fertility to represent the lower values associated with recently active volcanoes.
Coarse Dirt would also replace gravel in the central Volcano Biome. [Gravel beds seem an unlikely feature for volcanos]
At this point, I am reluctant to add new blocks, but somethingthat suggests iteslf is Pumice [Looks like a coarsely textured bone block and with the same blast resistance but with a mining speed as netherrack and can be mined by hand. No non-decorative use as yet…]
ERUPTIONS:
Perhaps the most unusual part of the proposal, natural lightning strikes [but not those produced by the Channeling enchantment] on any of the naturally occuring Grass, Dirt, Sand, or Stone type blocks (but including Path Blocks) from the list @ List_of_solid_blocks would convert the block struck to a lava source block simulating an eruption.
[While this would technically make lava sources a renewable resource, the small number produced and the rarity of the event strike me as mitigating this issue.]
EDITS:
15Feb18-1220: Added note about minimum biome base temperature.
17Feb18-1315: some extensions to the idea (explosive eruptions & player caused eruptions) added in Comment #7 in response to the preceding post by ahelmigamerz
17Feb18-1420: discussion in Comment #8 of some ideas by Vermillion Twilight: an alternative way of implementing explosive eruptions, an improved mechanic for generating lava flows, possible underwater biome variant
I am not sure I see the logic in how a lightning strike would change rock or dirt into a lava source, but Minecraft isn't all about reality.
That post was getting long enough that I cut the reasoning behind using lightning stikes to creates "eruptions".
You're correct that it's not logical (or at best logical only under 'cartoon physics').
I tend to be conservative when proposing mechanics to implement suggestions.
The lightning strike mechanics are already well established and produce fire & damage (which I think of as blast damage) thus making sense under 'cartoon physics' . [I'd consider it more realistic if a lighting strike hitting sand had a chance to produced glass, possibly random colored.]
I want eruptions that occur with enough frequency one would be likely to experience them if living near a volcano, but not so often that the would become a dominant and constant part of play in the biome.
Lightning strikes frequency seems to be well choosen so that the average player will experience at least nearby strikes while rare enough not to make players blasé…
Rereading, I also need to edit in that the biome temperature needs to be >0.32 so rain can fall – and thus lightning strike – up to y=256 (to allow for the increased altitude of biomes in amplified worlds ).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Why does everything have to be so stoopid?" Harvey Pekar (from American Splendor)
WARNING: I have an extemely "grindy" playstyle; YMMV — if this doesn't seem fun to you, mine what you can from it & bin the rest.
One question.How you gonna make the volcano explode?I didnt think its a bad idea but it still use to be added.For some reason,player do not want discover place or biome like that.Eventhough, keep going with your idea.
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Projectile physics allow TNT and arrows to be propelled in arcs. Rather than simply pushing up lava, it would be simpler and less weird to use a new projectile entity (lava bomb), that during an "eruption" is generated and propelled from the crater similar to an arrow or explosion-propelled TNT. Where it hits, it generates 3x3 flowing lava (not source) around a Magma Block.
Additionally, the use of Magma Blocks within the crater and lining the volcano's internal structure gives a way to obtain Magma Blocks outside the nether.
With the new water+magma effects in ocean update, volcanos adjacent to the ocean would create the appearance of undersea volcanic vents.
quote=ahelmigamerz
One question.How you gonna make the volcano explode?I didnt think its a bad idea but it still use to be added.For some reason,player do not want discover place or biome like that.Eventhough, keep going with your idea.
I'd not discussed adding explosive eruptions both because they seemed too destructive and because I thought the mechanic to generate an occasional random lava flow [based on the current lightning mechanic] was already pushing the general tolerance for novelty…
If this ever gets added (an that already unlikely event almost certain to be through a mod) and there is sufficient interest in adding explosive eruptions…
I supposed
the lightning mechanic could be retained for selecting the base location,
then some few random blocks "near" that location could be changes to activated TNT (probably with a zero fuse setting),
after the explosion, one or more blocks (also "near" the base location) could be changed to lava sources.
This might occur in some small percentage of the already rare eruptions; the amounts (and distributions) of both the TNT and lava created could also be varied to produce explosive eruptions of varing degrees of destructiveness…
[For those bent on even greater destructiveness: generating a layer or half-shell of TNT with the usual random 10 to 30 game tick just above the 0-tick fused blocks might satisfy…. ]
And, for those hoping to make mining in the central biome more hazardous;
both the current block data and the planned block states for 1.13/14 supports a block of TNT that drops primed TNT rather than the item when broken…
Were an alternate form of TNT reskinned to appear as the stone (or even ore) types common to the biome (similar to how monster eggs are hidden) mininng the concentrated diamonds of the central biome could be made quite risky….
This could be used as a way of emulating player caused eruptions.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Why does everything have to be so stoopid?" Harvey Pekar (from American Splendor)
WARNING: I have an extemely "grindy" playstyle; YMMV — if this doesn't seem fun to you, mine what you can from it & bin the rest.
quote=VermillionTwilight
Projectile physics allow TNT and arrows to be propelled in arcs. Rather than simply pushing up lava, it would be simpler and less weird to use a new projectile entity (lava bomb), that during an "eruption" is generated and propelled from the crater similar to an arrow or explosion-propelled TNT. Where it hits, it generates 3x3 flowing lava (not source) around a Magma Block.
Another idea for adding explosive effects to eruptions; HUZZAH!
Adding one (or a few) of these "lava bombs" just above an explosive eruption would be an easier way of generating the lava flows in an explosive eruption than my concept above… (a neatly synergenic dovetailing with the explosive eruptions addition and likely easier to code than adding a pressure mechanic [desirable as that may be in its own right]).
Generating lava as flowing rather than source blocks is also a great way of completely avoiding any issue with making lava sources even slightly renewable and with it that constraint on the size/numebr of flows.
Additionally, the use of Magma Blocks within the crater and lining the volcano's internal structure gives a way to obtain Magma Blocks outside the nether.
I'd mentioned (but downplayed) the idea of allowing magma blocks to generate as part of the volcano structure because there is no good information on how common they will be in the new oceans and there seems to be a general resistance to suggestions making normally nether only resources available in the overworld.
Depending on the preferences of whomever ends up coding this [assuming anyone does], I can see magma blocks working as anything from rare threads through the central biome to a major constituent of the "cores" and calderas.
With the new water+magma effects in ocean update, volcanos adjacent to the ocean would create the appearance of undersea volcanic vents.
Another interesting possible extension; I'd not given thought to allowing the biome (or a version of it) to generate partly or wholely underwater…
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Why does everything have to be so stoopid?" Harvey Pekar (from American Splendor)
WARNING: I have an extemely "grindy" playstyle; YMMV — if this doesn't seem fun to you, mine what you can from it & bin the rest.
This started as a reply to a post by Carl_Jokl (quoted in part below) in which I suggested developing his ideas and starting a new thread…
In the course of writting the reply, i realized that I had included enough detail, that doing so myself made sense…
quote=Carl_Jokl
APPEARANCE:
The biome would be generated by selecting one, or more rarely multiple, X&Z coordinate pairs as "cores" (6.25% chance of two, 3.13% chance of three, 1.6% chance of 4 ).
Each core would form the center of a sort of column of wrapped layers of (mainly igneous) rocks types and ores (other than coal). [See stone types section below for description of the idea.]
The first core would be generated, then each of any secondary cores in turn; each merging with and replacing any overlapping area with the previous material.
Height of the biome would be as Extereme Hills M, save that as a last step of generating each core the central area would be collapsed downward a percentage of its height (~10%?) to from a caldera.
Biome base temperature needs to be >0.32 for the eruption mechanic to work in amplified worlds, although warmer desert or jungle variants would also work.
ORES & LAVA:
There are already biome influenced ores:
Emeralds being limited to Extreme Hills, and
Gold being significantly more common in Mesa Biomes.
Given that gold is already associated with mesas, and many different ores exist for iron (in RL);
I would prefer to see Volcano biomes increase the likelyhood of Diamond and/or Redstone ores.
(As any move to increase overall diamond availability tends to generate significant opposition, this could be countered by shifting the diamond ore from the peripheral chunks of the volcano [Volcano Edge Biome ?] into the center.)
Lava (and potentially magma blocks now that these are no longer confined to the nether) ought to be more common and occur at higher levels within the central area of a Volcano Biome as well; this would provide a countervailing influence on mine location.
Additionally, the affected ores might be found at higher (or at least different) levels than outside Volcano Biomes. [As is currently the case with Gold in Mesas, and Coal & Iron in Extreme Hills]
Coal ore should be absent (or very notably less common) in Volcano Biomes (at least in the central Biome).
STONE TYPES:
Of the RL counterparts of the current Overworld stone types:
Sandstone/Red Sand Stone are sedimentary.
the rest (Diorite, Andesite, Granite, Obsidian) are igneous.
Were the occurence frequencies of the various types altered in Volcano Biomes to make them largely (90%?) igneous so that stone and cobble became rare in Volcano biomes, this would greate an interesting resource deficiency that could add a challenge to the game. [Similar to that found in current desert & mesa biomes.]
While only aesthetic, Obsidian could also be generated in vertical pipes (rather than forming in sheets).
[The mesa biome land formation already generates 'sheets' or terracotta; generating the volcano biome by rotating this algorithm 90°, 'wrapping' the result around one or more columns in the volcano volume, then generating ores and obsidian seems like it might produce the effect desired. ]
SOIL FERTILITY / TYPES:
Given the ease with which most crops can currently be grown, I am disinclined to increase soil fertility. [It would also seem to require altering the plant growth algorithms to account for a variable in addition to soil hydration.]
Allowing Podzol to generate in the Volcano Edge Biome (and possibly in the outer fringe of the central Volcano Biome), with Coarse Dirt replacing part of the dirt in the central Volcano Biome could alter the fertility to represent the lower values associated with recently active volcanoes.
Coarse Dirt would also replace gravel in the central Volcano Biome. [Gravel beds seem an unlikely feature for volcanos]
At this point, I am reluctant to add new blocks, but somethingthat suggests iteslf is Pumice [Looks like a coarsely textured bone block and with the same blast resistance but with a mining speed as netherrack and can be mined by hand. No non-decorative use as yet…]
ERUPTIONS:
Perhaps the most unusual part of the proposal, natural lightning strikes [but not those produced by the Channeling enchantment] on any of the naturally occuring Grass, Dirt, Sand, or Stone type blocks (but including Path Blocks) from the list @ List_of_solid_blocks would convert the block struck to a lava source block simulating an eruption.
[While this would technically make lava sources a renewable resource, the small number produced and the rarity of the event strike me as mitigating this issue.]
EDITS:
15Feb18-1220: Added note about minimum biome base temperature.
17Feb18-1315: some extensions to the idea (explosive eruptions & player caused eruptions) added in Comment #7 in response to the preceding post by ahelmigamerz
17Feb18-1420: discussion in Comment #8 of some ideas by Vermillion Twilight: an alternative way of implementing explosive eruptions, an improved mechanic for generating lava flows, possible underwater biome variant
quote=Carl_Jokl
I am not sure I see the logic in how a lightning strike would change rock or dirt into a lava source, but Minecraft isn't all about reality.
That post was getting long enough that I cut the reasoning behind using lightning stikes to creates "eruptions".
You're correct that it's not logical (or at best logical only under 'cartoon physics').
I tend to be conservative when proposing mechanics to implement suggestions.
The lightning strike mechanics are already well established and produce fire & damage (which I think of as blast damage) thus making sense under 'cartoon physics' . [I'd consider it more realistic if a lighting strike hitting sand had a chance to produced glass, possibly random colored.]
I want eruptions that occur with enough frequency one would be likely to experience them if living near a volcano, but not so often that the would become a dominant and constant part of play in the biome.
Lightning strikes frequency seems to be well choosen so that the average player will experience at least nearby strikes while rare enough not to make players blasé…
Rereading, I also need to edit in that the biome temperature needs to be >0.32 so rain can fall – and thus lightning strike – up to y=256 (to allow for the increased altitude of biomes in amplified worlds ).
One question.How you gonna make the volcano explode?I didnt think its a bad idea but it still use to be added.For some reason,player do not want discover place or biome like that.Eventhough, keep going with your idea.
Projectile physics allow TNT and arrows to be propelled in arcs. Rather than simply pushing up lava, it would be simpler and less weird to use a new projectile entity (lava bomb), that during an "eruption" is generated and propelled from the crater similar to an arrow or explosion-propelled TNT. Where it hits, it generates 3x3 flowing lava (not source) around a Magma Block.
Additionally, the use of Magma Blocks within the crater and lining the volcano's internal structure gives a way to obtain Magma Blocks outside the nether.
With the new water+magma effects in ocean update, volcanos adjacent to the ocean would create the appearance of undersea volcanic vents.
quote=ahelmigamerz
One question.How you gonna make the volcano explode?I didnt think its a bad idea but it still use to be added.For some reason,player do not want discover place or biome like that.Eventhough, keep going with your idea.
I'd not discussed adding explosive eruptions both because they seemed too destructive and because I thought the mechanic to generate an occasional random lava flow [based on the current lightning mechanic] was already pushing the general tolerance for novelty…
If this ever gets added (an that already unlikely event almost certain to be through a mod) and there is sufficient interest in adding explosive eruptions…
This might occur in some small percentage of the already rare eruptions; the amounts (and distributions) of both the TNT and lava created could also be varied to produce explosive eruptions of varing degrees of destructiveness…
[For those bent on even greater destructiveness: generating a layer or half-shell of TNT with the usual random 10 to 30 game tick just above the 0-tick fused blocks might satisfy…. ]
And, for those hoping to make mining in the central biome more hazardous;
Separate reply in an attempt to stay organized...
quote=VermillionTwilight
Projectile physics allow TNT and arrows to be propelled in arcs. Rather than simply pushing up lava, it would be simpler and less weird to use a new projectile entity (lava bomb), that during an "eruption" is generated and propelled from the crater similar to an arrow or explosion-propelled TNT. Where it hits, it generates 3x3 flowing lava (not source) around a Magma Block.
Another idea for adding explosive effects to eruptions; HUZZAH!
Adding one (or a few) of these "lava bombs" just above an explosive eruption would be an easier way of generating the lava flows in an explosive eruption than my concept above… (a neatly synergenic dovetailing with the explosive eruptions addition and likely easier to code than adding a pressure mechanic [desirable as that may be in its own right]).
Generating lava as flowing rather than source blocks is also a great way of completely avoiding any issue with making lava sources even slightly renewable and with it that constraint on the size/numebr of flows.
Additionally, the use of Magma Blocks within the crater and lining the volcano's internal structure gives a way to obtain Magma Blocks outside the nether.
I'd mentioned (but downplayed) the idea of allowing magma blocks to generate as part of the volcano structure because there is no good information on how common they will be in the new oceans and there seems to be a general resistance to suggestions making normally nether only resources available in the overworld.
Depending on the preferences of whomever ends up coding this [assuming anyone does], I can see magma blocks working as anything from rare threads through the central biome to a major constituent of the "cores" and calderas.
With the new water+magma effects in ocean update, volcanos adjacent to the ocean would create the appearance of undersea volcanic vents.
Another interesting possible extension; I'd not given thought to allowing the biome (or a version of it) to generate partly or wholely underwater…