40d Talk:Gem

So... What's the difference between large gems and cut gems? Xaque 09:42, 7 November 2007 (EST)

Large gems are a "finished produce." Cut gems are used to decorate stuff VengefulDonut 19:12, 9 November 2007 (EST)

So how do I make large gems for a mandate? All the ones I have cut just end up ordinary sized (no label). Yvain 04:45, 3 April 2008 (EDT)

Ok there is a small percentage chance that a gem will be cut into a large gem. Had to cut some 20+ gems to fill my mandate. Yvain 06:12, 3 April 2008 (EDT)

You make large gems by having a legendary gem cutter try several times. Rkyeun 00:00, 11 September 2008 (EDT)

most of the gems have specific environments, but it would be a huge pain to organize it VengefulDonut 19:12, 9 November 2007 (EST)

Toady One said under such metals as Bismuth bronze that he was trying to avoid using names specific to real-world places. I see several gems where he wasn't able to avoid it. --Alfador 23:10, 9 November 2007 (EST)

Glass bar

However, this appears to requires a Glass Bar, which is not possible to create at the current time.

I'll have to double check this when I get back to the machine with dwarf fortress on it - but I seem to recall being able to make 'raw glass' which made a glass block. I would also suggest changing the redirect for glass to gem - there is a significant amount of material that is unique to glass that is not appropriate for gems in general. --Shagie 03:22, 10 November 2007 (EST)

Can't make glass bars. You can make raw glass which comes out as a rough gem, or you can make glass blocks. Glass blocks are not gems and one cannot become the other. Rkyeun 00:00, 11 September 2008 (EDT)

Availability

Alright, during my hours of game play, I've found out that depth(in z-levels) and the maximum rarity/value of available gems within the current layer are connected. The deeper you dig, the more valuable gems you'll find. However... With modding I've discovered that it's impossible to find very valuable metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous extrusive only gems. Since those layers never reach the necessary depth. It also means that more valuable metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous extrusive only gems are a lot more rarer than their igneous intrusive counter parts. Could anyone conform this? Noctis 13:29, 20 November 2007 (EST)

Whoops! I messed up the layers! Fixed it. Oh, and the rarity of a gem seems to be dependent on it's value. Noctis 08:58, 21 November 2007 (EST)

Have you tried maps with steep cliffs? VengefulDonut 14:37, 21 November 2007 (EST)

I haven't run tests on steeper than 4 Z-level cliffs, but from what I gather, the maximum rarity of gems available at the any given depth is calculated based on the relative depth not absolute depth. Meaning that, wherever you are, you need to dig the same amount of Z-levels to reach any specific rarity of gems. It's the same as stone layers. If there's a cliff within a biome, then the underlaying layers will begin at a higher Z-level below the cliff, depending on high the cliff is. I hope, that I'm not too confusing here... Noctis 08:38, 22 November 2007 (EST)

I suspect it may work by the listed depth. The number that shows up when you look at a tile, which refers how many levels you would need to count directly upward to reach the surface. On a severe cliff map you can easily have a "depth" of 15+ among the sedimentary layers. VengefulDonut 16:36, 23 November 2007 (EST)

Once I found a star sapphire(?) quite shallow within the mountain, I found it when I was building my prison so I only had about 70 Dorfs at the time, bug or luck? Hoborobo 08:30, 10 August 2008 (EDT)

Rock crystal

Can anyone confirm that this gem can be found in this version? In what stone layers/at what depth did you find one? It's material value should better be like that of a diamond because raw crystal glass is needed for moods from time to time.--Another 09:38, 22 November 2007 (EST)

According to forum, people have round it Coelocanth 12:24, 23 November 2007 (EST)

I can confirm finding a cluster of rock crystal in ver 40d. It was on the bottom level of my map (z=134) in a layer of diorite. --Jellyfishgreen 16:37, 5 January 2009 (EST)

Redirects

There should be a redirect for each gem type to the subsection containing that gem. For example, I just created Heliodor as #REDIRECT [[Gem#Semi-Precious]]. IMO, any game item should go straight from the search box to the most relevant article: that is what redirects do. So if when a whole slew of redirects show up linking here... yeah, ididit.GarrieIrons 04:55, 11 February 2008 (EST)

What the various gems look like in real life

I got bored one afternoon and put together a website with pictures of most of the various gems listed in the game. It is located at [1] --Gemmy 16:04, 14 March 2008 (EDT)

http://www.geocities.com/dwarven.gemologist/gems.html

"Sorry, the page you requested was not found." --Savok 18:00, 14 March 2008 (EDT)

Wow, I thought after ten years of building websites that I would automatically double check my links. It's fixed now. --Gemmy 01:05, 17 March 2008 (EDT)

Organization

Is there any reason the page is organized as it is? Wouldn't it make more sense to sort gems alphabetically within rarity categories? Or at least group similar gems (ie, Opals, etc...) within rarity categories? Because the current layout is not useful for locating particular gems. --Squirrelloid 01:02, 25 April 2008 (EDT)

You're right. You should go and organize it.--Richards 01:11, 25 April 2008 (EDT)

Went ahead and did it, since it was getting on my nerves as well. --Sinergistic 22:22, 4 January 2009 (EST)

quality

can gem cuts get quality modifiers?

no, but normal rough gems will occasionally be cut into a large gem- the item does get a quality modifier. (and that is usually how legendary gem cutters are born)

moonstone

isn't a gem unless some new version was released

Yep, it is a gem. I can post a screencap if needed. --Toloran 21:16, 9 August 2008 (EDT)

I found it t0o... I'll see if I can add the info. Zara 11:45, 10 August 2008 (EDT)

Template:Game DataVengefulDonut 11:25, 12 August 2008 (EDT)

Game vs. Real Gem Locations

Am I the only one getting annoyed at some of the bizarre decisions made by Toady One with respect to gems? Rubies and Sapphires are both produced in igneous rock, although generally mined from placer deposits because they are sparsely distributed. Ruby forms in extrusive igneous, typically basalt. Why they are found in Bauxite in the game I can't even begin to fathom, especially as Bauxite is only notable as an *aluminum* ore (although not within the technology level of the game). Placer deposits should be gravels or the sedimentary compressions thereof (probably sand and/or sandstone in the game, although that's not quite right because the game doesn't handle riverine deposits at all - or we should have dwarves able to pan for gold/gems).

And diamonds igniting when contacting magma is really funny considering Kimberlite is cooled magma that brought the diamonds up from the lower mantle.

--Squirrelloid 11:14, 3 December 2008 (EST)

I don't know enough geology to say anything about the Rubies and Sapphires, but the Diamonds catching fire does actually make sense. Diamonds are nothing but pure carbon, add a bit of oxygen and a good deal of heat and soon nothing will be left. The Diamonds form slowly as the magma cools into Kimberlite, and the reason they don't combust when surrouned by warm stone is due to the lack of oxygen for the carbon to bond with and the massive pressure. --Alkyon 13:24, 3 December 2008 (EST)

Diamonds are much older than the Kimberlite deposits. They don't form in the Kimberlite - they form in the upper mantle and are brought to/near the surface by the Kimberlite. Most diamonds on the market are over 1 billion years old. So the actual diamond survives magma temperatures for its trip to the surface. Just because they're carbon doesn't mean that carbon is easily available for oxidation - at some temperature diamonds revert to graphite and then can burn, but that requires temperatures in excess of 1700 degrees C. As magma (in-game) is between 1300-1400 deg C, it shouldn't cause diamonds to become graphite, and thus they shouldn't burn. --Squirrelloid 14:00, 3 December 2008 (EST)

The thing that really gets to me is the adamantine. Gairabad 18:22, 11 December 2008 (EST)