Mud and Quicksand

[Cameron Textor]

Quicksand that you could sink in and get stuck or drown in should be added as a hazard that can be found in game. Usually quicksand is not bottomless like Hollywood shows it to be. In real life you float in quicksand, but it can be quite hard to escape if it's just the right mixture of silt or sand.

Some forms of quicksand that could be found in game.

Quicksand found on beaches, if it traps you where you can't escape, your doomed until the tide comes in and finishes you off or wildlife or the sun does the dirty work like in real life.

Wet Quicksand found in deserts fed by tiny springs, can trap you and the sun does the rest like in the video.

peat bog quicksand - Wet peat found near the eye of a bog, You could go down in it and drown very quickly if you struggle. anyone who has jumped into a bog should know how grabby this can be.

Mud Volcano - Clay like mud ejected at the surface by a mud volcano, some mud volcanoes are cold and can be bathed in for health benefits. Some are boiling hot like Yellowstone and are two hot to touch and if jumped in would do massive damage like boiling water or lava. This is a must add if adding mud and quicksand. Mud volcanoes are usually found in groups close to each other like in Yellowstone or the middle east or a single one in the middle of nowhere like the ones in Brazil. Hot springs of water with health benefits / Boiling hot springs of water too hot to swim in should be something that comes with the mud volcano too.

Mud found in rivers and swamps etc - similar to peat bog quicksand but may be thicker and harder to escape from.

Dry Quicksand - Found in deserts very rarely and it can swallow you whole in seconds if you step on top of and disturb it, similar to grain bin quicksand for those who have ever heard of grain bin entrapment.

Quick Snow - Deep enough snow with the right fluffiness to it that you can sink in it very quickly like dry quicksand and get trapped and freeze to death.

Tarpit - very thick and sticky boiling hot pit of thick petroleum / crude oil that has erupted to the surface. lethal to the touch because its very hard to escape and boiling hot and super toxic.

ARTIFICIAL QUICKSAND TYPES

Quarry Quicksand - Made from the quarrying process of extracting minerals from a open pit mine / quarry by pumping washout from the dust and fine particles of quarrying into a slurry pond to dry up and harden to be reused as clay and other construction materials that could be recycled. See video of a quarry mud pit below. Quarry slurry pits can be bottomless depending upon size and can be very dangerous if they trap you. Video of someone "Obsessed with Mud" diving into one of these slurry pits.
 

Mixing the materials below could be used to build a artificial quicksand pit in game

Powdered clay + Water = Wet Clay

Peat + Water = Wet Peat

Dirt + Water = Mud

Sand + Water = Quicksand

Silt + Water = Siltsand

Cornstarch + Water = Oobleck

Quicksand and Seasons

Another feature for this I have to recommend is related to the seasons update,

During winter area's of mud etc. like a bog or swamp or river or beach quicksand should freeze solid so you can walk on top of the mud without worry of falling or sinking into it. Also during the early spring or late fall a bog or form of mud that is not frozen should be very cold and could cause hypothermia like in real life.
 

Edited September 20, 2020 by Cameron Textor
Simplifying title

[Soliton]

This is a really good suggestion as it could be adapted into a number of game mechanics.  As you stated, just having it naturally spawn would definitely enhance the  survival experience.  I do wonder if it would be possible for it to take on the "look" of surround blocks so as to be disguised.  Alternatively, for each biome having a slightly different look would make a player pay closer attention to the environment (e.g. Goldenrod flowers in TFC to signify the presence of clay) and add to the immersion.  

Also, I like your suggestion of being able to make it (assumedly in barrels?).  This would be great for building moats around your settlement or just as an animal trap.  If so, then adding the ability to camouflage would be helpful. 

Lastly, I suspect you would need to create a item that functions like a horizontal ladder (kept in inventory) so you can escape once you are stuck.

[Cameron Textor]

Another feature for this I have to recommend is now with the seasons update,

During winter area's of mud etc. like a bog or swamp or river or beach quicksand should freeze solid so you can walk on top of the mud without worry of sinking into it.