Minerals_SK: A rimworld mod for the Hardcore SK project

This mod adds various mineral-related content and replaces the textures and mechanics of all rocks in the game.

Dynamic minerals

These spawn, grow, and shrink depending on conditions.

Coldstone Crystal

An active deposit of coldstone. Grows slowly on cold bright days, but evaporates in the heat. Only found in permanently frozen terrain. Some glitterworld exobiologists belive these to be a kind of living crytsal since they seem capable of reproduction and they stress the need to safeguard these rare organisms. People on this rimworld however, tend to dig them up and use them to stop meat from spoiling.

defName: ColdstoneCrystal

Beauty: 15

Glowstone Crystal

An active deposit of glowstone. Grows in wet hot places deep underground, but rarely active on the surface. Thought to be related in some way to the living deposits of coldstone in colder climates. They are prized by the native population for light sources, so there are few accessible deposits left in the more habitable parts of this rimworld.

defName: GlowstoneCrystal

Beauty: 20

Salt Crystal

A deposit of salt formed by evaporation of nearbly salt water. Grows quickly on hot sunny days, but dissolves in the rain or incomming tides. Only persists in dry climates. Can be harvested to preserve food.

defName: ZF_SaltCrystal

Beauty: 2

Sulfur Crystals

A deposit of elemental sulfur formed by volcanic gases. This deposit seems to be actively growing.

defName: SulfurCrystal

Beauty: 1

Static minerals

These are randomly spawned when a map is created and are never respawned in a given map.

Calcite Crystal

Crystals of calcium carbonate. A common mineral found underground, particulary in limestone caves. Interesting, but not otherwise very useful. Yeilds rubble if mined.

defName: CalciteCrystal

Beauty: 5

Quartz Crystal

Crystals of silicon dioxide, the same material glass is made of. A common mineral found underground. Yeilds glass batch when mined. Once in a while a gem-quality peice might be found.

defName: QuartzCrystal

Beauty: 10

Amethyst Crystal

Crystals of silicon dioxide. Impurities of iron make these crystals a beautiful purple. A common mineral found underground. Yeilds glass batch when mined. Sometimes a gem-quality peice might be found.

defName: AmethystCrystal

Beauty: 15

Schorl Crystal

The most common and least valuable form of tourmaline, a boron silicate mineral.

defName: SchorlCrystal

Beauty: 4

Rubellite Crystal

A type of tourmaline, a boron silicate mineral with many chemical variations. This red variety often yeilds high quality gemstones.

defName: RubelliteCrystal

Beauty: 20

Indicolite Crystal

A type of tourmaline, a boron silicate mineral with many chemical variations. This blue-green variety often yeilds high quality gemstones.

defName: IndicoliteCrystal

Beauty: 20

Magnetite Crystals

Formations of iron(II,III) oxide, a common iron ore in sedimentary and igenous rocks.

defName: MagnetiteCrystal

Beauty: 20

Lodestone

Formations of iron(II,III) oxide, a common iron ore in sedimentary and igenous rocks. This particular one seems to be the rare magnetized variety known as lodestone.

defName: LodestoneCrystal

Beauty: 15

Cassiterite Crystals

Formations of tin oxide, a common ore of tin. Occasionally used for gem stones.

defName: CassiteriteCrystal

Beauty: NA

Rubies embedded in rock

Crystals of aluminium oxide embedded in rock. One of the hardest minerals and often cut into gems. Impurities of chromium color this patch is a deep red.

defName: RubyCrystal

Beauty: NA

Sapphires embedded in rock

Crystals of aluminium oxide embedded in rock. One of the hardest minerals and often cut into gems. Impurities of iron color this patch a deep blue.

defName: SapphireCrystal

Beauty: NA

Emeralds embedded in rock

Crystals of beryl, a type of beryllium aluminium silicate, a rare mineral often used for gemstones. This variety is green due to trace impurities of chromium.

defName: EmeraldCrystal

Beauty: NA

Diamonds embedded in rock

Crystals of pure carbon. The hardest known substance and a valuable gemstone.

defName: DiamondCrystal

Beauty: NA

Uraninite Deposit

Formations of uranium oxide, a major uranium ore. Often assocaited with silver.

defName: UraniniteDeposit

Beauty: NA

Malachite Deposit

Beautiful green deposits of copper carbonate hydroxide, sometimes used for gemstones or a source of copper ore. Often found near copper ore, azurite, calcite, and limestone rock.

defName: MalachiteDeposit

Beauty: NA

Giant minerals

These are large versions of other minerals in this mod and have a chance to drop a special minified version of the mineral that can be installed like art. They are very rare and valuable and only occur where their smaller versions are abundant.

Rocks

The minerals mod enhances the aesthetic and practical aspects of rocks, including walls and passable obstacles like boulders. Unlike the vanilla rock walls, these rocks might drop other resources like rubble, sand, gems, obsidian, and flint, depending on the type. Each type of rock (limestone, granite, etc) has distinct advantages and disadvantages. Below are how each type might affect gameplay, in order of hit points.

Claystone

• Hit points / time to mine: lowest
• Chunk drop rate: very high
• Always drops: crushed rock
• Often drops: soft clay, flint (MineralsCraft mod)
• Landscape: few rocks and some cover
• Beauty: high

Claystone is a soft sedimentary rock, so is quite easy to work with and mine. Unlike other rock type, mining claystone yields soft clay along with crushed rock.

Sandstone

• Hit points / time to mine: very low
• Chunk drop rate: highest
• Always drops: crushed rock, sand
• Often drops: flint (MineralsCraft mod)
• Landscape: few rocks and little cover
• Beauty: highest

Sandstone is a soft sedimentary rock, so is quite easy to work with and mine. Since sandstone erodes faster than other rocks, sandstone landscapes tend to be less rocky overall and provide less cover. Unlike other rock type, mining sandstone yields sand along with crushed rock.

Slate

• Hit points / time to mine: low
• Chunk drop rate: medium
• Always drops: crushed rock
• Often drops: slate blocks, flint (MineralsCraft mod)
• Landscape: not rocky and little cover
• Beauty: medium

Slate is a fine-grained metamorphic rock formed from compacted volcanic ash or silt. It forms in regular layers that are rectangular enough to be used for buildings without stoneworking.

Limestone

• Hit points / time to mine: medium
• Chunk drop rate: high
• Always drops: crushed rock
• Often drops: flint (MineralsCraft mod)
• Landscape: somewhat rocky and some cover
• Beauty: low

Limestone is a hard sedimentary rock. Its uniformity and medium hardness makes limestone a good building material.

Marble

• Hit points / time to mine: high
• Chunk drop rate: medium
• Always drops: crushed rock
• Often drops: Rough gems
• Landscape: somewhat rocky and lots of cover
• Beauty: high

Marble is a metamorphic rock of melted and recrystallized limestone. It is often used in decorative applications but is also quite hard.

Basalt (Nature Pretty Sweet mod required)

• Hit points / time to mine: high
• Chunk drop rate: low
• Always drops: crushed rock
• Often drops: obsidian (MineralsCraft mod)
• Rarely drops: Rough gems
• Landscape: very rocky and some cover
• Beauty: lowest

Basalt is the most common igneous rock and is often associated with recent volcanic activity. Recent lava flows can make basalt landscapes variable, very rocky, and difficult to build on.

Granite

• Hit points / time to mine: highest
• Chunk drop rate: lowest
• Always drops: crushed rock
• Often drops: Rough gems
• Landscape: somewhat rocky and lots of cover
• Beauty: medium

Granite is an igneous rock which cooled slowly deep underground, allowing for large crystals to form. It is very strong, but difficult to quarry.

Rock types

There are three sizes of rocks, which vary in how they restrict movement and provide cover.

Weathered rock walls

These replace the vanilla rock walls that are unroofed when the map spawns. They have lower hit points than rocks under a mountain.

Solid rock walls

These replace the vanilla rock walls that are roofed when the map spawns.

Hewn rock walls

These replace the vanilla rock walls that are on the inside of the mountain. They are only seen when mining.

Boulders

Large rocks that can be climbed over, but cannot be stood on. They provide very good cover.

Rocks

Low numerous rocks that slow movement a little.

Ores

All the ores in Hardcore SK have been replaced with rocks with similar properties in this mod.

Installation

You can download the current development version by clicking the green "clone or download" button near the top of this page. You can also download specific "stable" releases here, although they will probably not be updated too often. Once you have downloaded the mod, uncompress the file and up the folder in the Mods folder of you rimworld installation.

Extension mods

Check out these optional extension mods that add more mineral-related content:

• MineralsCraft_SK
• MineralsExtra_SK

To xml modders and potential contributers:

This mod is set up so that new minerals, both static and dynamic, can be added and configured using only XML changes. Adding:

<ThingDef ParentName="StaticMineralBase" Class="Minerals.ThingDef_StaticMineral">
        <defName>MyNewMineral</defName>
    ...
</ThingDef>

or

<ThingDef ParentName="DynamicMineralBase" Class="Minerals.ThingDef_DynamicMineral">
        <defName>MyNewMineral</defName>
    ...
</ThingDef>

to an XML file in Defs/ThingDefs_Minerals will cause a new mineral to be added to the game.

To add a mineral:

• Copy the ThingDef for an existing mineral that is most similar to the one you want to make. Modify the XML how you want and add it to an XML file in Defs/ThingDefs_Minerals. Make sure to change the defName.
• Create textures for the new mineral and add to them to Textures/Things/Mineral in the same format as the others there.
• If you want to have you changes added to this mod for others to use, consider forking this repository and submitting a pull request. I welcome contributions!

Ideas for future work

Events

Rich mineral deposit

An ally gives you the location of a location with a high concentration of some mineral. This is an area with a naturally high level of that mineral. The natural abundance of that mineral is increased for the quest map. Some amount of the minerals are mined over time at a rate depending on the distance from other settlements and the average temperature. There is a chance that raids will occur based on how valuable the minerals are and the elapsed time since the quest was given. There is a chance that a temporary base is already there, with tents, pack animals, and some mined minerals.

Fossil beds

An ally gives you the location of a location with a high concentration of fossils. This is an area with a naturally high level of fossils. The natural abundance of fossils is increased for the quest map. Some amount of the fossils are mined over time at a rate depending on the distance from other settlements and the average temperature. There is a chance that a temporary base is already there, with tents, pack animals, and some mined fossils.

Rich ore deposit

An ally gives you the location of a location with a high concentration of some rock ore. Some amount of the ore is mined over time at a rate depending on the distance from other settlements and the average temperature. There is a chance that raids will occur based on how valuable the ore is and the elapsed time since the quest was given. There is a chance that a temporary base is already there, with tents, pack animals, and some mined ore.

Visiting scientists (requires hospitality mod)

A group of travelling scientists comes to visit your base to study your mineral and fossil collection. They offer to give insights into your research in extange for your hospitality. When they leave, they might offer to buy some of your specimens.

Cavern expedition

A group of scientists contact you to help them explore a massive cavern system rumored with remarkable mineral deposits. They want you to provide protection from any dangerous creatures or raiders while they study the cave. After they finish their study they will leave, you are free to mine the cave, since word of the cave has spread and it will likely be plundered anyway. However, you must preserve the mineral deposits until they complete their survey.

Hidden minerals found

One of you colonists notice some minerals on your map. Only applies to minerals embedded in rock that might be overlooked, like gemstones and flint.

Strange green crystals

"A cluster of strange green crystals have been left behind by a meteor. They are glowing and seem to be growing."

A type of proto-mechinoid terraforming event that evolves over time.

1. A single cluster of crystals are left by a meteor.
2. These grow slowly in light, but grow faster when parasitizing anything biological nearby. They begin to reproduce once big enough.
3. Once full sized, they spawn other types, some natural metal ores and some more exotic. These turn the ground they grow on to wasteland once full size.
4. Once full size crystals are spawned a fixed distance from the meteor, a type is spawned that is impassible and creates a wall and encloses an area, while other crystals continue to spread outwards.
5. Once metal ores are full size, a new type is spawned that explode into "micromech swarms". Another type produces defensive "seekers", which patrol the area and fly into any intruders with a small explosion.
6. micromech swarms begin to harvest the ores and build full size mechs which attack the colony once mature.

Image sources used

I based some of the textures off of images with licenses for non-commercial reuse. Here are the list of images used:

• Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0 link
• Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0 link
• Didier Descouens – GNU 1.2 link
• Piotr Sosnowski – GNU 1.2 link
• Tjflex2 of flickr - CC-BY-SA-3.0 link
• https://www.maxpixel.net/Crystal-Jewelry-Clear-Quartz-Value-2187139
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/31856336@N03/3108675089
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sapphire_Gem.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cornflower_blue_Yogo_sapphire.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_obsidian.JPG
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Different_rocks_at_Panum_Crater.jpg
• https://pixabay.com/en/obsidian-stone-volcanic-rocks-glass-505333/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/36696371493
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Egyptian_flint_knives,_predynastic._Wellcome_M0016545EB.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Native_tribes_of_South-East_Australia_Fig_14_-_Stone_axe.jpg
• https://github.com/Rikiki123456789/Rimworld/tree/ab7930661284c19e5dc4b9b01f2499bd88116378/CaveBiome/CaveBiome
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pyrite-Tetrahedrite-Quartz-184642.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pyrite-258273.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2780M-pyrite1.jpg
• https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Una_mazza_Maquahuitl.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elbaite-Lepidolite-Quartz-gem7-x1a.jpg
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/31997092221
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schorl-181669.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quartz-Schorl-k-142a.jpg
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/orbitaljoe/5030069066
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tourmaline-164039.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tourmaline-34580.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elbaite-Lepidolite-Quartz-gem7-x1a.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sulfur-es67a.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sulfur-20edd1ea.jpg
• https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Sulfur_(16_S).jpg
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/17541066095
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corundum-275089.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corundum-215245.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corundum-tmix07-151a.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corundum-190228.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corundum-119783.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beryl-Quartz-Emerald-Zambia-85mm_0872.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gachala_Emerald_3526711557_849c4c7367.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diamant_sur_kimberlite_(R%C3%A9publique_d%27Afrique_du_Sud).JPG
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diamond-21988.jpg
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diamond-dimd5b.jpg
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/17440851983
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diamond-dimd5a.jpg
• https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%E1%BA%ADp_tin:Pitchblende_schlema-alberoda.JPG
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/jahansell/5379933134
• http://www.geograph.ie/photo/4763916 © Copyright Eric Jones and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/29921127566 CopyrightJames St. John
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/brewbooks/757551002/in/photostream/ Copyright brewbooks
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/98425334@N00/130957324/
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:River_side_pebbles_and_rocks.jpg Shashank ghosh
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/32770894262 James St. John
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dioptase-285219.jpg Rob Lavinsky
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Native_copper_in_calcite_crystal_(late_Mesoproterozoic_mineralization_age,_1.05-1.06_Ga;_Quincy_Mine,_Hancock,_Keweenaw_Peninsula,_Upper_Peninsula_of_Michigan,_USA)_5_(17300587602).jpg James St. John
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calcite-20188.jpg Robert M. Lavinsky
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/43729746151 James St. John
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calcite-Chlorite-Group-67816.jpg Rob Lavinsky
• https://torange.biz/smoky-quartz-44694
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/42778129494
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hoodoos_at_Bryce_Canyon.jpg