Block Identification (Prospector Pick Alteration)

[Crysyn 179]

THIS IS NOT TO MAKE THE PROSPECTOR PICK MORE ACCURATE

That is at the top for those who were not part of the IRC conversation that lead to this post. The idea here is to give the prospector pick a secondary functionality in identifying the type of block that it is tapped on directly as well as scanning the area around you. With an alternate tap (shift click maybe?) it will identify the block type that it is clicked on telling you it is Granite or Basalt or Tetrakedrite.

That's it!

[flamestrider 35]

Seems intriguing, but why would you need the ability? It's not like it's that much work to pick a block.. What is the benefit to having the ability?

[xAxis27 2]

I second this idea. For a pick that can find traces of minerals, it should also tell you the obvious.

[Crysyn 179]

Seems intriguing, but why would you need the ability? It's not like it's that much work to pick a block.. What is the benefit to having the ability?

Time saving and convienance mostly. Second would be just learning through exposure. Tap a rock get its name remember it eventually, Tap and ore, do the same.. Tap rock and ore and get the association as to where the two are found, etc. Just seems like a natural extension of the pick to me.

[cornbread4u2 13]

• yeah i am kinda getting tired of having to mine one up as i run along my cave, it would save me a lot of time and might get me to remember them faster, cause im still getting chalk and like marble or androit apart or someting , i dunno.

[vgcatsfan 5]

trust me for us folks who are new to this mod this idea will be a heck of a good idea.

[AlexDC 8]

Time saving and convienance mostly. Second would be just learning through exposure. Tap a rock get its name remember it eventually, Tap and ore, do the same.. Tap rock and ore and get the association as to where the two are found, etc. Just seems like a natural extension of the pick to me.

Also if you have some of that stone in your inventory and have some other types as well you have to remember all the numbers for each type of cobble you have which can be a lot in this game. This idea would definitely fix this problem plus has other benefits that you mentioned.

[djames 0]

and it could tell if the rock itself has other things inside it like gemstones obviously after you "check" the stone it will no longer be random but what was told (ie you check and if it tells you there is nothing then the chance is zero basically doing the random drop chance before actually mining the stone and the "contents" of the stone would be added as a tag to that block in the chunk data as to reduce lag and read/writing of the hard drive) because if it can find traces of a ore within a 100 blocks of your location then then it should be able to tell if a block has other things inside it

[Crysyn 179]

and it could tell if the rock itself has other things inside it like gemstones obviously after you "check" the stone it will no longer be random but what was told (ie you check and if it tells you there is nothing then the chance is zero basically doing the random drop chance before actually mining the stone and the "contents" of the stone would be added as a tag to that block in the chunk data as to reduce lag and read/writing of the hard drive) because if it can find traces of a ore within a 100 blocks of your location then then it should be able to tell if a block has other things inside it

What gems would be in there are up there with knowing which ores spawn in which rocks and should be left as a learning experience for the players I think.

[NegiMagica209 2]

This is true. Bioxx wants it to be a learning experience. Something you gain over time with constant playing. It is a good idea and it does add a sence of your character learning rather than just you, so I kind of agree with it do long as continuous use leads to posting what block or ore you're looking at on the screen.

Edit: Something vanilla is lacking as well.

[oreostix 0]

Everytime I find Chalk, I think it's Granite so I support this...

[Reepime 1]

THIS IS NOT TO MAKE THE PROSPECTOR PICK MORE ACCURATE

That is at the top for those who were not part of the IRC conversation that lead to this post. The idea here is to give the prospector pick a secondary functionality in identifying the type of block that it is tapped on directly as well as scanning the area around you. With an alternate tap (shift click maybe?) it will identify the block type that it is clicked on telling you it is Granite or Basalt or Tetrakedrite.

That's it!

I do like this idea, but possibly make a different item that does this, might be an item that can't normally be obtained until later in the "ages", but kind of like a (go ahead and laugh at me) Pokedex. You have it in your hand and click on a block and it will tell you the name and what materials are commonly found in it. I realize this is a little more extravagant than what was originally thought of, but sometime's it would be easier than having to alt tab out to look up a material on the wiki (mainly to see if it's used for anything at the moment).

[Michidez 9]

I do like this idea, but possibly make a different item that does this, might be an item that can't normally be obtained until later in the "ages", but kind of like a (go ahead and laugh at me) Pokedex. You have it in your hand and click on a block and it will tell you the name and what materials are commonly found in it. I realize this is a little more extravagant than what was originally thought of, but sometime's it would be easier than having to alt tab out to look up a material on the wiki (mainly to see if it's used for anything at the moment).

Lets make it less technoligical-> a book. Every rock type you have used with it comes in there and with the book in your hand right click for inspection.

[Brodiggan 77]

Much more interesting to me (assuming it's feasible), would be identifying the type of stone dirt is formed from. Enter a new area, scratch at the dirt a bit, and get a message like "Flecks/pebbles/shards of <stone> are visible in this dirt." No need for an alternate click even, since the uses are separated by the type of block you're clicking on.

And hey.. it fits right into the existing gameplay where the color of dirt helps to identify the stone below.

[Crysyn 179]

Lets make it less technoligical-> a book. Every rock type you have used with it comes in there and with the book in your hand right click for inspection.

I am a bit against this as I am looking forward to writing these books on my own when we get them in 1.3. I would not want it to be automagically filled out for me, I want to pick the dirt, figure out the stone layers, note the biome and list what I have found there (trees/rocks). Then put the book in a public library with core samples, etc...

Much more interesting to me (assuming it's feasible), would be identifying the type of stone dirt is formed from. Enter a new area, scratch at the dirt a bit, and get a message like "Flecks/pebbles/shards of <stone> are visible in this dirt." No need for an alternate click even, since the uses are separated by the type of block you're clicking on.

And hey.. it fits right into the existing gameplay where the color of dirt helps to identify the stone below.

Haha, I am against this idea too because I love pro picking dirt to find ore actually. Its a very nice way to get into ores as you are scanning JUST the surface so when you are dealing with stone tools you limit to a more manageable area where to find your ores.

[valkupo 17]

I am a bit against this as I am looking forward to writing these books on my own when we get them in 1.3. I would not want it to be automagically filled out for me, I want to pick the dirt, figure out the stone layers, note the biome and list what I have found there (trees/rocks). Then put the book in a public library with core samples, etc...

Librarian, yet another potential job on a server when updates come about. I like this a lot. I do like his idea of using something else, though. Perhaps something to obtain the core samples you speak of?

Haha, I am against this idea too because I love pro picking dirt to find ore actually. Its a very nice way to get into ores as you are scanning JUST the surface so when you are dealing with stone tools you limit to a more manageable area where to find your ores.

It is indeed incredibly effective. I started doing it after seeing it in your video.

[Lumireaver 101]

It would be kind of neat if all stones were simply labelled as stone/cobblestone unless/until tapped with the prospecting pick in this way. If only because not everyone has encyclopaedic knowledge of different kinds of rock.

...It would kind of neat, but also kind of a pain in the butt, honestly. What's you're take?

[Riyaah 1]

I think the OP is a great idea, because it totally makes sense to be able to get the name of a rock without having to break it, and does not make anything too easy, just a small and plausible convenience.

Think of it as breaking of a splinter with the propick in order to identify it.

I'm against adding books or other items with more extensive knowledge. But what the OPs suggests is basically to be able to see the tooltip of a placed block, no new knowledge really.