Just looking at this means I'm going to have to add a WHOLE LOT of thing for the next update. The updated graphic set looks SOO COOL I'm going to have to step it up just to be able to keep up with you.
Actually, I'm thinking of adding two more colors (
dark gray and
aqua blue) and fine tuning the brightness and saturation a bit. I may even change the dark red into brown (for mud). But that's about all I will change for a while.
Honestly, you should not feel obligated to create a creature for every tile or to even keep up. In fact, I'm thinking it might be best to leave a few of these
without a corresponding creature for future expansion. Some other DF fans might want to add a few slimes/blobs/jellies of their own to what you've created (for their own games, if not for public release).
So just pick and choose which ones you want (e.g., to fit your creature's traits) by specifying the creature's color. I'll try to fit my graphics tiles to match your color choice.
However, one type of creature I really wish you
would add at some point are those with a cold attribute or special attack. I want my
frost slimes / jellies.
I have nothing against
aqua-colored water slimes. But I created the
light blue color with frost in mind.
I have this weird idea of dwarves utilizing a
Flintstones-esque refrigeration system using caged frost creatures. I've thought up some workshop reactions that could
require the use of such refrigeration in order to work. (One involves a poison extract that evaporates into a poison gas at room temperature. I would have it use naturally cold
Nether-cap wood ammo to deliver it to an enemy, at which point it should - in theory - explosively boil.)
Ah, that gives me another idea! Perhaps we could have a type of blob that would explode when exposed to above room temperature (like
body temps of [HOMEOTHERM:10059] or higher) or even from a minor injury? Something like this was discussed in the
MODDER'S WORKSHOP thread over a week ago:
You can give a creature burning hot vapor for blood. If you don't make the creature resistant to high temperatures, it will melt itself after being injured the first time. Change the blood tags to something like this...
That would be similar to those floating
Bomb creatures in Final Fantasy Tactics or
Prinnies in Disgaea. It may not be very useful in Fortress Mode. But I could see it used as a thrown weapon in Adventure Mode (like how that
bronze colossus was decapitated by throwing a fluffy wambler at its head).
Finally, I have some suggestions on the type of tissues and materials that slimes and blobs could be made of. I was reading the
Siliceous ooze page on the wiki (which is a type of soil found on the floors of deep oceans) and it reminded me that
silicon-based life is said to be theoretically possible (being analogous to Earth's carbon-based life). Such is discussed
here and
here.
While the stereotype is for silicon-based life to be rock-hard and resemble stone or crystal, many silicon compounds also exist in liquid and gas. For example,
silane is theorized to be a precursor to silicon life and it's a gas that is
spontaneously flammable on exposure to air, even at low temperatures. [See my exploding blobs suggestion above.] Another sign of silicon life that astronomers look for is traces of silicones... Yes,
that silicone, a family of soft, gelatinous plastics! And there are various liquid silicon compounds, such as
silicic acid.
In the oceans, silicon exists primarily as orthosilicic acid (H4SiO4), and its biogeochemical cycle is regulated by the group of algae known as the diatoms. These algae polymerise the silicic acid to so-called biogenic silica, used to construct their cell walls...
Interestingly,
Wikipedia also says that orthosilicic acid is found in humans (and other animals) and:
...found in numerous tissues including bone, tendons, aorta, liver and kidney. Compelling data suggest that silica is essential for health...
OK, so silicon does not exist in DF as a pure mineral. (Pure silicon crystals are very rarely found in nature.) But silicon just happens to be the most common element in the universe. And it's the second most abundant element (after oxygen) on Earth, making up nearly a third of the mass of the crust (surface). Basically, most rocks and minerals contain large amounts of silicon. In fact, many types of
gemstones are crystalline forms of silicon compounds, with other elements and compounds giving rise to the various bright colors which are so highly prized.
What I'm saying is that describing these blobs and slimes as having a "rock affinity" could make sense. It may not be simulated in game, but perhaps some of these literally eat (digest with acid) rock for sustenance? At the least, this would explain why they have gem cores and how rough gems can be extracted from their goo. And since studies show that "bioavailable orthosilicic acid" is useful as a nutritional supplement, perhaps this would explain why eating slime jelly could be nutritious for growing dwarves?
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Topic: Slimes,Blobs,and Jellies (Read 17830 times)