40d Talk:The Non-Dwarf's Guide to Rock

Interesting color to help the newbies for things that have no other use.--Zchris13 01:27, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Color Column

I think breaking out the color into a separate column (perhaps featuring a block of the actual color) would be very useful. Thoughts? --Aristoi 17:04, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

That would be kinda awesome. Any chance someone could could do a breakdown of "How to find"? I've had 12 different embark sites, and I can't for the life of me find one with bauxite... Decius 17:34, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Color columns: +1. Do it! You could also just copy/past the tiles from the original table on the stone page - that would be even better, more info. --Albedo 22:35, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Bauxite has a chance of being in any Sedimentary layer.--Mrdudeguy 19:26, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

How to Find

Re "How to Find" - that would be a diff article, but maybe another we need. This is NOT intended as a guide to everything about the rocks! This is uses for rock - for newbies - so KISS is the rule. Important associations and significance when a new stone is discovered, not where to find them or why they are not so valuable. Other articles are expected to have "complete info", and newbies should get used to doing their own simple research if they are interested. Trying to include minor info will clutter this sort of presentation, which is fairly large as it stands. For now, click bauxite, read that page, look at the relationships, click those links - figure it out.--Albedo 22:35, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

This is also going to be irrelevant in later versions due to more rocks having realistic melting temperatures and therefore more magma safe.--Mrdudeguy 22:54, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

I didn't intend to ask for a complete guide, just enough that I could target my exploration efforts to where it could actually be. Is the standard way of finding things really "Exploratory mining throughout all areas of all biomes that could contain it"? (Or reveal.exe?) Even showing all features in the map, I don't know of a better way to find coal, much less adamantine. Decius 23:50, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Added a basic "how to", not a complete guide. And yes, that's it - there's no magic to it. There is a bit of local knowledge re what layers/stones might contain what, and depending on what you're looking for (layers, features, large clusters, veins, small clusters) the exact choice of tactics for the exploratory mining varies, but yeah - you dig blind until you stumble upon what you're looking for. That's how "mining" works (in the absence of Reveal.)

Example: For coal: We know it's in sedimentary, we know it's a vein, and we know (from veins & clusters that a vein covers about 3-4 tiles wide and rarely goes in a straight line. So a shaft-grid every 6 tiles is bound to stab into it or right next to it, either of which will reveal it. We also know that area blocks are 48x48. So once we find an area block with a sedimentary layer, we count and find its borders, and dig our starting shaft in 6 diagonal from one corner - and we find out how deep those sedimentary layers go. Then maybe 12 diagonal in from that, and then 12 and 12 more across the block, from one corner to the other. That's 4 shafts in a diagonal across the whole thing. 4 more form a "cross" on the other diagonal if we want. At most, that's 16 to pepper the whole thing at 12-tile intervals - just to start, to get a feel for "what's down there". If we find a large cluster of cheap stone in the middle, we ignore that whole central area and stick to the edges - no sense digging in the middle of a large cluster of microcline, at least not on that z-level. (And we know from that veins & clusters page that a "large cluster" is about 20x40 - nice big area to avoid.) From there, if we have to, we fill in with a 6-wide pattern to search where we want. If that doesn't find it, either we're incredibly unlucky, or it's not in that block and we move on to the next one.

And that's mining, RL and DF.--Albedo 00:29, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

And here I am, thinking you were keeping the arcane knowledge secret. I thought that there was some equivalent of exploratory and mining geology to be had. (E.G. x forms near boundary between Y and Z) RL geology has elements of "Figure out where it is" and "Look for it" too, but modern geology leans more toward "Figure out where it is" then "Dig shafts everywhere". Decius 01:25, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

I won't say there isn't - just no one's noticed/deciphered it (or if they have they're not talking). Toady has some skill at both geology and simulation - what elements he's incorporated, and how that is presented in the game, I have no idea.--Albedo 01:48, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

Column Size

The sizes of the columns are rather excessive, especially Aluminum, bauxite, and magnetite. Also includes some unnecessary humor. Bad jokes.--Zchris13 18:05, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

Edit - I missed Lamp's earlier edits - just came here and saw your comments. After a series of edits, it's back to where it should be. I hope.

Lamp - your changes were not consistent with the text of the rest of the article, nor the layout of other stones. There are 4 "value" categories for metals - low, mid, high, and highest (2, 10, 30 & 40). The diff between 30 & 40 is only 33% - significant enough for a rough distinction, and that's all this article is presenting - a new-comer's rough understanding. Adamantine is clearly explained as "not exactly a metal", w/ additional emphasis on its value. --Albedo 22:26, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

Purpose of Article?

What was the original purpose of this article? I get this feeling that some of what is here, although useful, is not part of the original purpose. I might be wrong.--Zchris13 18:42, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

As defined in the opening paragraph of this article (always a good place to look, at least to start), if a new user strikes X type of rock, this article will tell them whether it's valuable or not. So, at a base level, it gives a basic idea of the uses of that rock - so you've struck microcline or platinum or rhyolite or obsidian, so what?. That has necessarily broadened a bit to add a minimum understanding of concepts like "material value" and "smelting", without which the comments might be largely meaningless.

Since it's a wiki, some small latitude should be allowed - but we're not here to tell people where to find rock, nor what the obscure implications are between a layer and rocks within that and the gems within those - just "What does this rock mean?" at a basic level. What you need to know the first day you play.--Albedo 03:12, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

In other words, what should be in the quick-start rules of the manual. It's hard to get new alpha testers when the bar to entry is too high. Decius 04:39, 26 May 2009 (UTC)