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[LuuBluum]

As I mentioned above, it looked like it was specifically in a small pocket of obsidian.

Then again, a reply I got on the FotF thread about this makes me think this is some sort of new mechanic or something. Hard to say. There might be some sort of magic involved.

[A_Curious_Cat]

Interesting, if I’m reading things right, ultrapottasic rocks are characterized by having very little silica.  Obsidian, on the other hand, has very high levels of silica.  Therefore, it would seem that these sapphires, diamonds, and rubies shouldn’t be appearing in it.

[LuuBluum]

Probably. I'm just spitballing here because I have no idea. For all I know there could be, like, a demon trapped inside or something, and that explains the existence.

[LuuBluum]

Uh... I dug up some.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I got a pop-up after the third saying "Deep within this strange place, we've uncovered what must be a treasure of the gods!" Inside were several pieces of artifact jewelry made out of angelic metal.

So, I guess that answers that. They're not geologically coherent because the gods themselves placed these here.

[Tarnish]

I've been calling these things Obsidian Pillars or "lootboxes" with my friends. I can confirm they pop up in most/every cavern layer, are 1 Z-level tall, and are occasionally Warm, which makes me suspect they have randomized contents. I highly suspect that while some of them will contain, y'know, good stuff, or be empty, someone is going to crack one and have a demon or Forgotten Beast pop out. I'd also say that the current edition of the game allows for multiple levels of sedimentary rock, which is nice, but also has seriously nerfed mineral frequency (or made it a function of embark depth.) In .47 games, Sparse resources still produced significant veins in sedimentary levels and routine veins in lower levels, while here I can dig through 40 z-levels on a map with four or more ore types and not hit anything. It remains to be seen if this is intentional--there may be a reason the game starts us off with Minerals Everywhere as default.

[LuuBluum]

I think it just depends on the embark. The game used to have it as "shallow" and "deep" metals; you might've just generated all shallow, no deep. My embark, for instance, has shallow iron and deep gold, under the sparse setting.

[Tarnish]

I think it just depends on the embark. The game used to have it as "shallow" and "deep" metals; you might've just generated all shallow, no deep. My embark, for instance, has shallow iron and deep gold, under the sparse setting.

I doubt it, because even then I'd have expected more in the first 40 z-levels. Gemstones also seem to drop off precipitously, I used to have trouble digging out workshops without running into one, now I can exploratory mine multiple layers without finding anything.

[LuuBluum]

To note, the "shallow" and "deep" were just a signifier; each generated layer (and there can be a lot!) come with their own set of ores and gems, and aren't guaranteed to have any particular amount. You might've just embarked on a particularly unfortunate embark. I know there were one or two embark sites that I saw that had no metals listed at all.

[Man of Paper]

If it’s what I think it is (and it seems like it was), you probably got a notification mentioning finding some strange gem-studded wall the moment they were uncovered, potentially missed with the simultaneous popup of discovering a cavern or magma layer. The game outright lets you know something is off when you discover the, as the game describes it, “gem-studded obsidian wall” or something to that effect. Short of a clip of toady screaming “THERES MAGIC AFOOT!” I think that’s a fair enough heads up on “unrealistic” gem distribution.

[Bumber]

I found one consisting of multiple (~5) z-levels in the magma sea, with a candy cane hidden under it. It had pockets of lava and water inside, which made mining through it a chore. Is that typical?

Also:

Spoiler: HFS (click to show/hide)

I found an angel (Diseased Spirit) inside wielding a number of divine metal weapons. He wasn't fire proof and magma flooded in sideways though the stairs I had dug safely from above, killing him in short order. I also encountered two demon blobs (of water, IIRC,) which were easily dispatched by my miners.

[LuuBluum]

If it’s what I think it is (and it seems like it was), you probably got a notification mentioning finding some strange gem-studded wall the moment they were uncovered, potentially missed with the simultaneous popup of discovering a cavern or magma layer. The game outright lets you know something is off when you discover the, as the game describes it, “gem-studded obsidian wall” or something to that effect. Short of a clip of toady screaming “THERES MAGIC AFOOT!” I think that’s a fair enough heads up on “unrealistic” gem distribution.

Curiously enough, I didn't get any such notification. At least, not as far as I can tell.

[satan]

I found a pickaxe made of divine metal in one of the obsidian clusters. Pretty neat.

[Salmeuk]

after spending a few more weeks digging around, it appears that geology is significantly different (beyond superficial changes of HFS) -

1. when aquifers are present they are found in thicker layers, often with a break in between of non aquiferous stone. they seem to be also found in the first cavern layer, leading to some embarks with 'weeping walls' and lag-inducing water flooding. I am still looking for another save with this happening

2. mineral distribution seems more fluid, and / or more common overall. I am no real scientist about this but it seems as though certain kinds of metal-bearing stone can now be found much deeper than before. premium at 900 metal frequency is much more generous with hematite, lignite, bit coal, magnetite than before. and you can find the coal stones in more locations.

now, these changes might just be the results of a fix for a previously-extant bug where iron bearing stone was overwritten, or something like that, during worldgen leading to a serious lack of the stuff where one might expect it. but something has changed, I spent far too long with the 47.05 geology to not feel like something is different here. these stones have changed

gem frequency... cannot say. it does seem a little less than before but, I'm not all that sure. honestly, just generate custom worlds with higher frequency if that's what you want from the game, it's easy enough.

[Saiko Kila]

gem frequency... cannot say. it does seem a little less than before but, I'm not all that sure. honestly, just generate custom worlds with higher frequency if that's what you want from the game, it's easy enough.

It's based only on a single fortress, but my gemcutter cut all gems available, and there's nothing in the stockpile. This is the first, never happened to me before, in earlier versions. I see some gems in the wall, but less than I'm used to, which contrasts with abundance of bituminous coal, lignite, and all three forms of iron ore.

[satan]

Some gem clusters have monsters inside them.

They seem to be immune to cage traps.