Varnathin

I don't know, personally I feel like this would make things a bit too confusing (as some people still have enough trouble with the prospector's pick). I do like the idea of leveling up to improve the ore output, though - that could be pretty cool, and would also add incentive to specializing in multiplayer (i.e.: Bob has high Mining, so he's the miner - Jim has high Agriculture, so he's the farmer - etc.). Also, by easier to see, do you mean that the ore block looks like any ordinary piece of stone until the character becomes proficient in identifying it? Because that would entail having to re-texture the blocks until the player got to the appropriate level, and then suddenly everything would have weird lines and stripes all over them.

This would totally open up a new profession path, now that I think of it.

Perhaps a way to create incentive to upgrade your shears could be that they have a higher and higher chance of producing more wool? For example, the knife would get you what it gets you now - nothing new there. Copper Shears would get you the same amount, but can be used to create tattered clothing. Bronze Shears would have a 25% chance of producing 1 extra wool (3 instead of 2) and can be used for simple clothing.Basically, the Bronzes would have a slightly higher chance to produce more wool depending on which metals are most expensive/difficult to make. The Bronze tier would not improve clothing from metal to metal, though. Iron Shears would have a 100% chance to get you 3 wool, but an extra 25% chance to get 4. Would also be for basic clothing. Steel Shears would have a 75% chance to get 4, and would be used for elaborate clothing. The highest tier of steel (Blue and Red) would both have a 100% chance to get 4 pieces of wool. These would be used for exquisite clothing. Also, if clothing is going to be something that's implemented (which would be awesome), they should also be craftable with dyes, somewhat like Leather Armor. If you go an extra mile or two, make it so you can have primary and secondary dyes for the clothing:You craft the clothing from the wool cloth, and it's just white-and-white clothing (since it's wool, which defaults to white anyway). You craft a purple dye above the clothing item, and it turns the 'primary color' purple. In the same window, craft a yellow dye below the article of clothing and it'll turn the 'secondary color' yellow. This way, people can all be wearing the same pieces of clothing, but not be restricted to the same color schemes. You can have your blue-and-cyan peasant's tunic, and I'll have my purple-and-gold one. Everybody's happy!

There's also the idea of graveyards and crypts. The crypt would be a bit more difficult to implement (seeing as it's underground as well as above), however it would be pretty neat. http://imgur.com/a/6vqHb

I believe that chiseled blocks may or may not work with the world generation, so I'd like to keep structures like that to a minimum. If not to keep them from being buggy, to keep them from being a hassle on whoever decides to try and implement this. On another note, I have some screenshots of a small villager-style house with a well next to it. Obviously, there should be more variation, but I did this right before I had to go off and do something. http://imgur.com/a/zkgda

I edited my post to have an imgur link for some previews of what I would kind of like to see. Obviously, letting the community give it a go would be much more sufficient, since my building skills are a bit basic, haha.

You have a good point... I believe that the easiest things to generate in the world would be simple structures like houses and towers. If anyone could figure out how to get a little more control over some of the world gen, it might be a bit more feasible. The wall does seem like a bit of an extreme idea, though, so I can see where that would run into some issues. As for letting the community build and implementing the best buildings, that would be a fantastic idea! We should worry about how this would be implemented in the first place first and foremost.

I'm not personally sure if this has been suggested or not, but has anyone tried making it so the world can randomly generate weathered structures? I mean, I'm no expert with modding in Minecraft, and TFC seems like a whole new story. But what if? Perhaps there could be different structures that generate as well? Not just a bunch of houses with villagers (because I know that creating NPCs is not on the creators TODO list). No, not like that - but weathered and torn down into ruins. I can think up a few different things off the top of my head, but it's probably asking too much. 1. Perhaps a small cluster of houses? Not an entire village or anything, but just three or four small huts or one-room buildings, with wood for the walls, cobblestone for the foundation and floors, and a thatch roof. The buildings can each have a few bits of the walls broken down and torn apart, and the roof can be sort of "caving in", or perhaps just have a hole here and there to create the facade of the thatch rotting. 2. A long, 10-block-tall and 3-block-thick stone brick wall with several gaps and holes in it. I just think it would be interesting to be trekking through the woods, gathering materials, when suddenly happening upon this enormous wall that spans several feet (er, blocks) in either direction. The wall should be at least 200-300 blocks long, and each side should end with a small structure or some geography. Perhaps guard towers on either end? 3. Towers - ranging from 10 to 30 blocks in height - that are in some form of disrepair. Some of the structures might even be toppled over, where the bottom half stands and the top half has fallen over to the side (through battle with man or with time). I feel like it would be a pretty intense sight. Perhaps one could even find a chest with a little bit of loot inside, such as an iron weapon or a piece of armor? That might be asking a bit much, but if they're spread out sparsely, would there be that much harm in it? 4. Old run-down forts. Forts held small villages and communities within them, so this would be the big "Whoa, I can't believe I just found this!" ruin. The buildings should be especially worn down, and at one end there should be a barracks with a pantry nearby. If there is to be a reward from such a place, it could be that the barracks (made primarily of stone) is not entirely destroyed and still stands. Perhaps a few weapons could be found inside, a few beds - the general utilities of soldiers. The walls wouldn't be much more than 8 to 12 blocks tall, but could have a few 12-16 block tall guard towers positioned at the corners. Much of the walls and towers would be in ruin, with brick blocks clustered around the walls here and there, but it would be a magnificent sight to see. Not to mention that if a player had the tools, they could set up right inside, possibly even repairing the fort to what it would have looked like and turning it into a bustling community! (On a server, anyway) If this doesn't get put into TFC by the makers, I would love to see this made into a mod - even for vanilla. Of course, another issue could be "What type of wood or stone are these things made of?" I don't know for certain. Perhaps make it so that it generates those materials based upon the trees and stone generated in the chunk? A basalt fortress would be rather intimidating, while a marble or granite fort would be awe-inspiring. I'm not sure, I just had an idea that I can't stop thinking about. I might build some structures in creative mode and attach some screenshots later to give an idea of what I'd like to see. The only problem I could see for the addition/mod game-wise is that it could just outright break the difficulty. If your world generates with you standing right next to one of these structures, then why bother going anywhere else, right? A bit troublesome... Edit: Here are some screenshots I took for possible tower designs. Since the type of stone and wood in each varies greatly, you could have several combinations when finding a structure. http://imgur.com/a/3kSH8