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[nordo]

http://www.offbeatearth.com/coober-pedy-underground-desert-cave/

[Lord Dullard]

Methinks this is in the wrong forum.

[frostedfire]

least they don't have bat problems like we do when we try to carve into the cliffside.

that and I thought coober pedy was rather flat instead of cliff-ey 

[Makrond]

It is flat, more or less...

I think they've built houses in the vacant mines, or something.

[Osmosis Jones]

I think they've built houses in the vacant mines, or something.

This man wins. Opal mines for the most part, although I'd say they've probably since made more money for the town via tourism than they ever did by opals.

[Andir]

Why do all the pictures of the "church" look like some sick twisted cult gathering place in a movie.

[Mephansteras]

Man, a lot of those homes need to have proper smoothed walls. And some decent engravings wouldn't hurt things any.

Of course, you can't expect humans to do things properly. Need dwarves to make a real underground home.

[sneakey pete]

Given the number of houses that are flattened by tornadoes in places like the US every year, i'm surprised people still build above ground. Or maybe i've been led astray by the media or something

[Aqizzar]

Given the number of houses that are flattened by tornadoes in places like the US every year, i'm surprised people still build above ground. Or maybe i've been led astray by the media or something

Because a mobilehome can cost as little as a few thousand, and prefab crackerboxes not much more.  Hiring someone to specifically dig out a hole to live in would cost exponentially more, and topsoil, which that town doesn't have, complicates things further.  Also, US property law means you don't own the ground more than a few feet under the grass unless you actually buy it too, which is rarely possible.  Given unlimited resources, yes living underground is safe and economically saving, but unless you've got a big unused mineshaft handy like these people did, it's totally impractical.

What I wonder is, how long did those shafts take to did out?  Cause man that place rules.

[Eita]

Man, a lot of those homes need to have proper smoothed walls. And some decent engravings wouldn't hurt things any.

Of course, you can't expect humans to do things properly. Need dwarves to make a real underground home.

They were planning to, but they stopped after the church was filled with renditions of Dwarves burning.

[sneakey pete]

*reasons*

well, makes sense

What I wonder is, how long did those shafts take to did out?  Cause man that place rules.

Actually (if i remember correctly), most of these houses have been custom built, or at least he bigger and more luxurious ones: mine shafts are not dug for their ability to house a room: however, the mining equipment, and expertise was quite handy, so they went ahead with making them

[Shakes]

Theyre a mix of under flat ground and dug into hills/rock faces actually. I live only a few hours from coober pedy. Hee hee the resident priest at that church married my parents (though not there unfortunately). Its an interesting town. Playing DF actually gives me a hankering to go back there strangely enough. All those homes are really cool even on scorching hot days (high 30s C or 100 F), and not cold in winter.

Once again the dwarves have the right of it...

Theres also a lot of that kinda thing in Turkey around the cappadocia region, but carved into cliffsides and interesting chimney like rock structures. The Byzantines literally hid in their thousands from invaders in little chasm-side dwellings, with vast interconnecting tunnel systems. They even had these cool round rock doors (slice of salami shaped, maybe half a metre thick and 1.5m diameter) that sat perched on a little ledge, which they could easily push to cover their entrances when invaders came. Getting the doors back up to the ledges looked like it wouldve required a bit more effort though, being almost as heavy as a car.

[LeoLeonardoIII]

Aboveground spaceship wtf?

And is it my imagination or do these people have no taste? Some rooms looked alright, but you can't use blue bedding in an opal cave. Urist Stewart would have a cow.

[Pickerel]

Considering it looks to be sedimentary stone, probably sandstone, that they are digging into, I would argue that you don't need to hire someone to dig out your cave house, it is very much a do-it-yourself project.  Take out a few meters squared each day before going to sleep in a temporary aboveground trailer, and you have your home.  I've often said I would like to do something like this someday...

[Alenth Eneil]

I live in Arizona, and I think that there are probably some underground houses around here somewhere, and on a trip to New Mexico we actually got to go inside a cave system that had a house built into it, didn't get to go inside because the owner(s) weren't home at the time, but considering how hot it is around here (it was 110 degrees farenheit yesterday...) it makes a lot of sense.

Let alone that Arizona is where those old cliff dwellings are.

Modelling a fort on the Coober Pedy would be rather insecure though, with all the entrances and what are most likely unconnected caves.  Might be fun to play up until the goblins came.