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Author Topic: Magma crops  (Read 2167 times)

Psieye

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Re: Magma crops
« Reply #15 on: April 30, 2010, 12:35:18 pm »

Rich people will spend money on it just because it's rare.

Foie gras and Salmon Roe anyone?
The 3 I remember out of a "Top 5 former junk foods which are now gourmet dishes" list are: lobster, mussels and sushi. They all used to be dirt-cheap commoner food which used to be considered disgusting.
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Military Training EXP Analysis
Congrats, Psieye. This is the first time I've seen a derailed thread get put back on the rails.

Atanamis

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Re: Magma crops
« Reply #16 on: April 30, 2010, 12:52:45 pm »

The fact that we have critters now that live in magma should be all the proof we need that surviving in magma is not ridiculous in the world of DF. Knowing that things CAN live there, it becomes only a matter of personal taste what should and shouldn't live there. Looking at what is "realistic", we begin having to consider what the ecosystem of a DF magma layer would be like. Obviously we have creatures that live down there, would those existing creatures need to eat? Even if the answer is yes though, they might not need anything like plant life to eat, but could eat rocks, magma, or other substances. If we do decide that there should be a "magma ecosystem", we begin to need to work out food chains and nutrient cycles.

It does seem to me that it would be unexpected that anything that grows in magma would be edible to dwarves, though it could be possible that after removing a thick heat resistant core they could find something edible. Finding things that could be useful though wouldn't be so hard to believe though, whether as armor, as decoration, or as a trade good. Personally, I don't see any overwhelming NEED for magma crops, but the world would definitely allow for their existence without any real breaking of realism beyond what already exists. Do those who feel magma crops are unbelievable have a similar problem with existing magma life?
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ItchyBeard

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Re: Magma crops
« Reply #17 on: April 30, 2010, 05:13:27 pm »

Anything to make the underground more interesting has my vote. I'd assume that the plants would only be useful for crafting or extracts or similar though - I can't imagine eating anything which lives in molten rock.

However, the idea should also apply to the oceans. The world should not be devoid of seaweed (or magmaweed ;)).
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Pilsu

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Re: Magma crops
« Reply #18 on: May 01, 2010, 05:39:42 am »

Do those who feel magma crops are unbelievable have a similar problem with existing magma life?

The existing magma life consists largely of golems. Imps and crabs having edible meat, fat and organs admittedly makes little sense. Thing is, creatures actually do something. Plants just sort of sit there, being pointless.
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Psieye

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Re: Magma crops
« Reply #19 on: May 01, 2010, 07:24:33 am »

Plants give a reason for players to interact more with the magma. Creatures can be baited out or trapped off. Plants give you more incentive to do something Fun.
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Military Training EXP Analysis
Congrats, Psieye. This is the first time I've seen a derailed thread get put back on the rails.
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