Sir_Reginald_Duff_III Posted March 2, 2025 Report Posted March 2, 2025 "And I looked, and behold a pale world: and his name that created it was Tyron, and igneous rock followed with him. And power was given unto them over the entirety of the earth, to bestow granite gravel, granite sand, and granite rock, on every continent as they saw fit." A good three or so hours ago, when I was but a humble and eager young player seeking to set foot past the encampment I set up, only a mere fifty or so blocks away from the world's origin, I found myself eyeing up the leather-making mechanic (as well as plaster, for the rammed earth walls were appearing far too primitive for the bronze age which I just so happened to reach) and after a good amount of preparations, I set out on my own little Louis & Clarke expedition, heading westward in search for naught but one venerable material—chalk. Oh, how foolish I was! You see, in that era, I had never set foot more than a good 1500 blocks out from the world spawn. Most of what I had is what I needed, and most of what I needed was only a hop, skip, and a jump away from me. Throughout my meager, Lilliputian travels, one thing had remained very consistent; the presence of granite. At first, I enjoyed the igneous rock. The grey was a neat color, and it went along nicely with the wood I erected on the edges of my abode. I had no need to go deep underground to gather the materials for a quern when the precious rock was embedded right in the mountain down thither! Now, ninescore and seven minutes later, and I have travelled nigh of 8000 blocks westward. No matter where I search, I am met with granite. There is granite everywhere I look, face, and turn. I walk on ghostly gravel, I leap into lakes encircled by smoky sand, and I scale monochrome mountains in search of this pure, divine, white rock that all tanners seek so desperately. I have foregone any attempts at cartography, and I have even begun to ignore all things that are not this abraxas of stone. Copper, tin, and meteoric iron bits are stomped on as I march by wordlessly. I only pay minor attention to berry bushes, as I snatch their contents to fill my stomach. I have been rationing the one crock I brought well. I hope that it will last me. My fingers feel gaunt, my eyes are blurry, and my PC's fans are sobbing uncontrollably, pleading with me to stop forcing it to load so many chunks with each passing moment. Unfortunately for my dear computer, I have decided to continue my journey westward. At this point, I am not doing it in an attempt to find chalk, but solely to find where this madness ends. I do not feel as if I will be a complete man the next time I load up Vintage Story if I do not find a mountain that is not made up of granite in this world. I need to find the end of this grey wasteland. The anemic deserts are driving me mad, yet I must reach the end! Pray tell, how long do these layers usually stretch out for? I remember in my first playthrough these rock layers only lasted a good 2000 or so blocks! Not this utter insanity, expanding out for what I estimate to be 10,000!
LadyWYT Posted March 2, 2025 Report Posted March 2, 2025 Welcome to the forums! It sounds like your world spawn might be a bit sub-optimal, although it entirely depends on what of game you're after. How far a particular rock type extends varies; usually there's a good mix and it changes every couple thousand blocks or so, but sometimes you get those spawns that are just nothing but granite(or other similar igneous rock) for miles and miles. In that case, it's best to start over in a new world if you don't want that kind of challenge, or if you're up to the task...finding and fixing broken translocators is a good way to locate different rock types and resources. In regards to needing chalk for leatherworking though, you don't actually need chalk. Chalk is only one of the methods to acquire lime. You can also use marble(though it's rare and if you find it you'll probably want it for building) and limestone for acquiring lime, as well as seashells. Each shell will grind down into two pieces of lime, though seashells are a bit rare so you probably won't want to resort to that unless you have no other good options. Borax is perhaps the more efficient material for leatherworking, instead of lime, and you'll need borax anyway when it comes to steel production. You do, however, need sedimentary rock in order to locate a source of borax, so this isn't really an option if all you have access to is igneous rock. Last but not least, if you have access to a survival goods or commodities trader, you can always check with them periodically to see if they have lime for sale. It will cost you some rusty gears, but it can be a good quick fix for your leather production needs if you'd rather play the trading game instead of walking. 1
Sir_Reginald_Duff_III Posted March 2, 2025 Author Report Posted March 2, 2025 30 minutes ago, LadyWYT said: In regards to needing chalk for leatherworking though, you don't actually need chalk. Chalk is only one of the methods to acquire lime. You can also use marble(though it's rare and if you find it you'll probably want it for building) and limestone for acquiring lime, as well as seashells. Each shell will grind down into two pieces of lime, though seashells are a bit rare so you probably won't want to resort to that unless you have no other good options. ... Last but not least, if you have access to a survival goods or commodities trader, you can always check with them periodically to see if they have lime for sale. It will cost you some rusty gears, but it can be a good quick fix for your leather production needs if you'd rather play the trading game instead of walking. I am reliant on chalk's appearance in my world for the reason of plaster as well as leatherworking, so it is really in my best interest to find such material in order to kill two birds with a singular strike. I do know that lime (and plaster) are readily available from merchants, but at that rate gathering the gears for a consistent lime (and plaster) supply would surely end with me in efflorescencent debt, and I would rather go mad in grey deserts than give up my stock of gears to the wretched, calloused hands of greedy mercantilist pigs, even if it would bestow upon me the holy lime (and plaster).
dakko Posted March 2, 2025 Report Posted March 2, 2025 (edited) I don't know the answer to your question, but I'm curious to hear the progress of your quest. [deleted] p.s. I have an amusing mental image of your journey westward with a different rock type running parallel to your path, but just out of sight. pps: I enjoy your writing style Edited March 4, 2025 by dakko clarity and add pps
Sir_Reginald_Duff_III Posted March 3, 2025 Author Report Posted March 3, 2025 @dakko This morning, after a cruel and unforgiving slumber plagued by nightmares of granite, with the occasional distant appearance of hopeless mirages of chalk stone, I made a copy and went into creative to find that for 10,000 blocks eastward and 10,000 blocks westward it is granite, with occasional splotches of sedimentary stone. After 12,000 blocks conglomerate stone appears, and I have found a sprawl of andesite south from where I was travelling. So you are right that there was a separate rock just out of sight. Yet I still do not count this as a victory as it is still an igneous rock and nothing that I require. Of greater importance, though, I have caught sight of an entire land of chalk 10,000 blocks south, and as soon as I return home, I will make my voyage there. I suppose this is the end of my insanity. I will set out for the chalk world as soon as I possibly can. Now, all I require is slate for my roof and my soul shall truly be complete. I pray that my search for the dark stone will not be as mentally damning as my search for the light one. 1
Solution Maelstrom Posted March 4, 2025 Solution Report Posted March 4, 2025 Granite is the default rock strata and is overridden by other rock types determined by the world gen algorithms. Since granite is the default rock type there can be vast sprawling expanses of this rock type for mind boggingly large distances. Finding ANY sedimentary rock in such a vast sea of granite is futile. It's rare that such massive wastelands of granite exist, but the world gen gods can (and obviously do) conspire to smite us with such copriciousness. My condolences for your experiences @Sir_Reginald_Duff_III. May your next world not be the same.
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