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[Arkenstone]

*Minor Spoilers Ahead*
(But if this is really spoiling anything for you, then you don't need this mod.)


*NOTE: This is just the idea pitch.  I haven't coded any values yet, although I know where to begin.  I just don't want to start testing/tweaking it until I know I've got some support.*


The purpose of this mod is to add a bit of variety to the *Deep Stuff* that isn't just superficial: each addition has seperate qualities that would make it preferable over the others in certain situations.

The mod adds six new materials, three base metals, two alloys and one gem; only three of the metals are useful for weapons/armor (falling roughly between steel and adamantine).  Adamantine itself remains identical to the vanilla version, excepting the strand extraction process which has been (will soon be) moved to a new building requiring fuel and/or magma and the ores from whence it is extacted.

Thoughts behind the mod:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

At the risk of sounding cliche...

Mithril! All folk desired it. It could be beaten like copper, and polished like glass; and the Dwarves could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel. Its beauty was like to that of common silver, but the beauty of mithril did not tarnish or grow dim.

A few days ago, I remembered one important fact from this quote that no modern representation of mithril seems to get right: mithril is SOFT.  Its soft and light and would probably just bend and deform if you tried to hit someone with a weapon made out of it.  It was only after the dwarves processed it, probably alloying it with a brittle metal like iron, that it was harder than steel.

This made me think of what other properties mithril might have instead that would make it useful, and I realized that softness is a very useful trait for metal to have sometimes, something adamantine definately lacks.  Then I thought of both metals' lightness, and realized this can be a liability too.  So I came up with a new metal, the most desirable property of which was weight; perfect for bludgeoning weapons.  Then I thought of a few more things, each of which occupies a distinct and seperate niche, with little overlap in usefulness.


Then I thought to control the ratios in which they appear in the tubes (I won't be including appearances in in stone layers in the basic mod).  I wanted to keep adamantine the most prevelent deep metal, with lodestone and blood gold the least (this is by no means set in stone).  I assume there is an even probability of each given deep stone comprising a given tube, so this would mean making at least two of each ore besides blood gold/lodestone, and even more for adamantine, resulting in a half-dozen or more duplicates.

But then I thought, instead multiple identical ores, why not vary them too?  What if I were to include multiple metals on a single rock, instead of just one?  Then I could have unique ores too, and the variety my mod adds will be seen in-game more often.  I even came up with a few neat little properties the ores themselves could have.


The only other thing I can think of to say is that I'm really glad with some of the names I came up with.

List of Materials:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Basic Materials:

Adamantine:	Extremely hard, strong, and sharp; only metal with fibers extracted from rock then pressed/pounded into wafers. Still king of metals.
Mithril:	Raw state useful for decorating, or drawing out into strands (good tensile strength, but poor compression).  Can be made into various alloys (see below).
Obdurium:	Very heavy copper-colored metal. Strong, but brittle. Holds an edge no better than steel.  Better off alloyed for anything other than hammers/maces.
Blood Gold:	Gold pretty enough to kill for. (Like you need the excuse...)  Really though, we're talking two to three times as valuable as adamantine!  The catch is, it's fickle -there's only a 20% chance of successfully smelting it.  Other than its insanely high cost though, it's as useless (for weapons) as regular gold.
Lodestone:	A strange substance indeed.  It takes the form of a purple gem, (like this) which may be safely cut and used for its high value.  Or, when I get around to it, you'll find it a bit more Fun...

Alloys:

Orichalcum:	Golden Bronze. An alloy of various materials, including at least one of mithril and obdurium.  Heavier than steel and stronger overall, but not as heavy as obdurium or as strong as adamantine.
Mithril Steel:	Mithril alloyed with pig iron in the presence of flux stone and carbon.  Stronger than steel and on par with Orichalcum, but not as strong as adamantine.

Orichalcum Recipe Examples:

• 2x Mithril + Gold + Tin
• 2x Obdurium + Nickel Silver + Electrum
• Mithril + Obdurium + Bronze + Brass

List of Ores:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Stone:	Ore of:	Notes:
Raw Adamantine	Adamantine (100%)
Truesilver	Mithril (100%)
Obstinite	Obdurium (100%)	Usable for stone weapons.
Phonosium	Blood Gold (20%)	Not valuble in raw form.
Galvorn	Mithril (80%), Blood Gold (5%)
False Orichalcum	Obdurium (80%), Blood Gold (5%)
Hepatizon	Mithril (50%), Obdurium (50%),
The Net	Lodestone (80%), Adamantine (40%)

Most ores can be 'Laced', meaning Adamantine fibers are laced through it.  A 'Laced' ore must have these strands extracted before it can be smelted.  Such extraction takes place at a special building; extracting strands yields adamantine fiber 40% of the time and the unlaced ore 80% of the time.  The following ores can be laced:

• Truesilver
• Obstinite
• Phonosium
• Hepatizon

There are lodestones hiding in the ores; these lodestones precipitate during the smelting process.  The following ores precipitate with a 5% chance:

• Galvorn
• False Orichalcum
• Hepatizon

Mod Synopsis:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Only half the new materials are weapons-grade; and one of those you'll only want for hammers.  Adamantine remains king of all metals, best for everything but hammers.  However, it's somewhat more scarce than the new materials that have been introduced, so you might want to ration it even more carefully.

If you find Mithril, you must choose between Mithril Steel and Orichalcum if you want to make weapons; the former should be a bit better except for hammers, but you might want to choose the latter if you lack access to flux or maybe want to stretch it out more (the ratios still need adjusting).

Any Obdurium you find would be best used for Orichalcum, unless you happen to like hammers a lot.  Even if you don't, no self-respecting Hammerer would be without a matched pair of Adamantine and Obdurium hammers. (One for legendary dwarves, the other for vampires...)


The odds of any given tube having at least some of a metal is as follows:

• Adamantine: 50%
• Mithril: 50%
• Obdurium: 50%
• Orichalcum*: 67%
• Blood Gold: 33%
• Lodestone: 33%

Expected value of amount of metal from random processed ore:

• Adamantine: .25
• Mithril: ~.292
• Obdurium: ~.292
• Orichalcum*: ~.583
• Blood Gold: .045
• Lodestone: .0825

*'Orichalcum' in this case refers to Mithril and Obdurium, the foundations of Orichalcum alloys.

Please tell me if the idea piques your interest, as I'm elsewise like as not to forget and move on to the next thing that pops into my mind.  Post your thoughts on what sounds cool/lame, what should be included but isn't (yet), how it could be properly 'balanced', and if you would consider using it yourself.


Some sources of inspiration:

• J.R.R. Tolkien (obviously)
• Edgar Rice Boroughs (indirectly via John Carter of Mars series)
• Awemedintine (I think it's somewhere on this thread...)
• narhiril's Mithril Mini-mod
• Adamantine Science and physics quirks thread

[narhiril]

Some sources of inspiration:

• J.R.R. Tolkien (obviously)
• Edgar Rice Boroughs (indirectly via John Carter of Mars series)
• Awemedintine (I think it's somewhere on this thread...)
• narhiril's Mithril Mini-mod

You know what became of that little project?  This. 

Modding is kind of like heroin - you can't stop, and if you try, you get withdrawal.  And withdrawal has some nasty CE_IMPAIR_FUNCTION tags.

[Arkenstone]

Modding is kind of like heroin - you can't stop, and if you try, you get withdrawal.  And withdrawal has some nasty CE_IMPAIR_FUNCTION tags.

Well, I hope my natural ADD will counteract that effect; and if not, well then good for me.

Anyways, so I've fleshed out the idea a lot more, but for now none of the numbers are set; it'll all need tweaking for balance later.