Setting what can be mined.

Japcil · Post by **Japcil** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 7:16 am

Is there a way to set what can be mined in a room, so no matter what skill level a pc is in the mine trade, they can only mine what you set the room as?

Dalvyn · Post by **Dalvyn** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 8:31 am

It's not settable at the room level but I think it can be done at the area level.

In the area headers, I think there is a #MINING option. It should be described on the web pages.

Japcil · Post by **Japcil** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 8:42 am

Ah, I only looked at area templates and never saw the lesson on all the headers. For reference for others:

Builder's Lessons wrote:#MINING MATERIAL_TIN This sets the material that can be mined in an area. This header does not always need to be used. Its purpose is for underground mining areas where a set metal can be found.

Kelemvor · Post by **Kelemvor** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:58 am

I have concerns about setting an area to a specific metal type.

Low level types might not be such an issue, but iron, metal ore, platinum, gold.. these are coded to more valuable or durable and should remain limited by player mining skill I feel.

Dalvyn · Post by **Dalvyn** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 12:10 pm

They still remain limited by player skill... if an area is set to produce gold, people with low level skill at mining won't be able to get anything out of it.

I think it makes sense that, if an area is a gold mine, miners visiting it would find gold, and not copper/tin/iron.

Kelemvor · Post by **Kelemvor** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 12:58 pm

That's a circular argument..

You dont need to make it a gold mine then...

If low level miners won't be able to mine gold in your gold mine, fair enough though, hehe

Dalvyn · Post by **Dalvyn** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 1:37 pm

Erm... most mines have a set type of mineral.

I can't really imagine making a mine area with mobs who answer "What do you mine here?" by "Oh, well, it depends, lad. Before last copyover, we used to mine silver... but now, I don't know. Ye see, Tanduil was the first to pick at the rock after the copyover, so, for all I know, we could be mining titanium now. I really hope we'll have a crash or a copyover soon though, 'cause my skill ain't that high yet... I can barely mine tin."

Kelemvor · Post by **Kelemvor** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 4:31 pm

From circular to facetious... *wags a finger and says 'meanie' *

Yes, OOCly there is a mechanism by which mining metals are set and yes it is not easy to explain ICly.

However, to say that I have called this area a gold mine and will set it to gold would be an equally OOC decision to ignore my original comment that valuable and durable metals might be better left to skill. It could just as easily be called a copper or tin mine with far less consequence to game balance.

Dalvyn · Post by **Dalvyn** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 5:11 pm

I'm not sure we are talking about the same thing, actually.

What I had in mind was this: if there are area elements that would indicate that the area is a mine of a specific type of metal, then it's all fine to set it. For example, imagine an area with miner mobs, overseers, shops where items crafted of the mined gold are sold, and a quest that consists in protecting a caravan with a gold shipment... in such a case (when the type of the mine is set by the contents of the area), then I think it's fine to set the #MINING type to gold.

If it's not set, then a random PC miner might come in and set the area to tin or copper, which would not be consistent with how the mobs are described, what they sell, and what they say during quests.

That's just what I meant.

I'm not for setting the #MINING type when there is no IC reason to do it though. Except perhaps to set it to lower types of metal for areas that are supposed to be visited by low-skill miners, in order to avoid experienced miners from flagging the area Platinum.

Kelemvor · Post by **Kelemvor** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 6:33 pm

I think we're back on the same wavelength then. Probably Radio Luxembourg

We can always come back and thwap Japcil later when he makes it a diamond mine

Japcil · Post by **Japcil** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 7:47 pm

I wonder how hard it would be to alter the code to allow a room flag to set the mined ore instead and if none was set it would go off of skill.

Like flag_mine_gold or flag_mine_none(if area shouldnt have people picking at the walls)

Careful Kel I thwap back.