New animal/food/skill musings...
in Ideas
A silly group of Glitchen were talking in the slack group today and..well...here you go...
New Animal: Oktopus
Lives in: Your aquarium in home or tower.
Cool, what does it do?: It allows you to craft a whole new range of food.
What's that, food?: Yes, your Oktopus lets you create a whole range of sushi.
Oktopus is self aware and muses on why it isn't prime-handed (has 8 tentacles), wonders when Giants will imagine up another tentacle.
You can bring your Oktopus with you on to the streets of Ur if you craft a Cephalo-pod. This is an aquarium with wheels.
The Cephalo-pod runs on a new bubble type: Aquabubble.
The Oktopus has special affinity for Oktyabrya. Every now and again, or perhaps a certain holiday, an Oktopus appears there and gives away sushi to Glitchen.
To make sushi we need seaweed. Seaweed could grow on the water streets, with different varieties available for different sushi.
You would need to learn a new harvesting skill that lets you gather seaweed. (Perhaps you need to buy or craft a special glove for handling it until you had your Jellisac hands upgrade) You would need to learn some sort of fish keeping skill to have an Oktopus and several levels of Oktocooking to open up the full range of sushi.
New Animal: Oktopus
Lives in: Your aquarium in home or tower.
Cool, what does it do?: It allows you to craft a whole new range of food.
What's that, food?: Yes, your Oktopus lets you create a whole range of sushi.
Oktopus is self aware and muses on why it isn't prime-handed (has 8 tentacles), wonders when Giants will imagine up another tentacle.
You can bring your Oktopus with you on to the streets of Ur if you craft a Cephalo-pod. This is an aquarium with wheels.
The Cephalo-pod runs on a new bubble type: Aquabubble.
The Oktopus has special affinity for Oktyabrya. Every now and again, or perhaps a certain holiday, an Oktopus appears there and gives away sushi to Glitchen.
To make sushi we need seaweed. Seaweed could grow on the water streets, with different varieties available for different sushi.
You would need to learn a new harvesting skill that lets you gather seaweed. (Perhaps you need to buy or craft a special glove for handling it until you had your Jellisac hands upgrade) You would need to learn some sort of fish keeping skill to have an Oktopus and several levels of Oktocooking to open up the full range of sushi.
Comments
EDIT: would the Cephalo-pod be in your inventory?
I started to think "Seaweed isn't just lettuce soaked in salt? Can't you make it in your saucepan?" (I do, in fact, know that seaweed is not salted lettuce.) But I like the idea of making it gatherable in the underwater regions.
*warning - Math Geekness* Um, but if an octopus had an extra tentacle, he'd have 9, which isn't prime...however, if you chop one off, he'd have 7, which is prime. Next prime number after 7 is 11. *Math Geekness over*
On another note, I once mused with Kukubee over having Yakity Yaks in game, They would be a new source of fibre and perhaps yogurt too, They would live in herds on the highlands and we would shave their beards, or yank them off to gain the fibre, This fibre would be to make mattresses, sofas, carpets and such like, maybe even rope. Yanking off a yaks beard would need a high level of animal skill and might also reveal a hidden giant tattoo collect all the tattoo's and gain a bonus for the days fibre/yogurt harvest. Yogurt would be a side bonus from chatting to a yak, after all Yaks like to well talk you know? This would be another great outlet for lore
Another idea was to have yaks give horn and this/these would allow for musical intruments such as trumpet/clarinet/ piano or a glitch version of some or all of these, it could be used instead as an ingredient for glue to stick up our art works or to craft potions perhaps
One other thought, horns would be needed to make alarms for rook attacks?
Ooh, and in addition to crafting an instrument once, there'd be some harvesting and crafting skills you needed for upkeep-- making strings and reeds, which would only be good for a certain number of uses.
I really really want this now! We wouldn't even need yaks; we could do this just with wood and fiber and barnacle glue.
Frozen World - Yeti Mountain plus Yeti Playground and Beyond- .
Approached from the left of screen you are in a snow landscape. Opening streets leads you to a distant view of Yeti Mountain, just a basic overall shape of a seated yeti (as with early streets when approaching the Jethimadh Tower) The tundra type landscape grows more snowy as streets opening progresses.These later streets have small piles of snow (like dirt piles) these are a harvestable resource that yield - powdered Snow.
Snow can be compacted into ice blocks using the block maker - these can be used to build snow homes. OR they may be used in constructing ice roads/ skate rinks. Requires a Snowcraft skill
Snow can be added to bubbles, using snowcraft skill, to form soft snowballs and then thrown at other Glitchen (akin to watering with water can or mooning with emotional bear?) Or possible fun snowball fights with teams in an unlockable game (key/game ticket required)
Snow can also be added to hard bubbles to form compact snowballs - these are used in a game of Snow Skittles (surprise game) - using Snowcraft skill plus dropping hard bubbles and using a kick verb
Sitting in your path as you progress is the Yeti foot rise that leads to the large vertical wall of the Yeti (back) Mountain, this has two possible means of scaling.
Climbing up the spinal hair (rope climb) possibly with small platforms (hair tangles for resting) fast route but climbing fast triggers snowslips due to mountain shaking resulting in the Glitchen dropping all the way to the ground level. (Surprise! Yeti laughing as you tickle up its back - yes its a real live Yeti) Solution is to climb up slower and possibly a cling verb to hold on when Yeti laughs.
Up the rib platforms, slower progress this route, can use levitation to reach higher platfoms, Cannot use spinach as the impact breaks the platform causing Glitchen to fall. Taking this route if the Yeti laughs you do not fall all the way down.
Climb leads to Yeti Shoulder - Jumping left from here lands you on snow clouds to collect quoins, however stay on one cloud too long and you sink through cloud and get ice debuff plus a fall down to ground level through several clouds. OR use left & right arrow keys to wriggle free, to prevent fall but you still get ice debuff.
From the shoulder going right leads slightly up and into the Yeti ear - possibly requires a key or a good few digs with the shovel/pick to gain acess to the snow skittles game. Using your crafted compact snowballs you endeavour to clear the skittles in order to progress through the tunnel. The skittles could be icicles or Yeti ear bones or shards of earwax.
This could be a vertical played game using L/R arrow keys to aim, Up/Down for power and space bar to launch.
First set of skittles - Just knock some down to clear a path through to the second set
Second set - a strike or knock them all down to progress to a thrid set
Third set - A strike or a minimum score to progress.
Option to play on to record high score - trophy for accumulated points? Or progress out through the right ear OR possibly to explore internal Yeti structures (can build out this idea)
Within the Ear canals live a new creature, Ear wrigglers, (liken to Jellysacs) They grow out of holes in the ear canal walls, bone structures, they are harvestable using the scoop verb. They could be used for bait - see Fishing in the Yeti Playground thread.
This basically is how you reach the new Yeti Playground .
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actually having to split these ideas due to post size limits
Please forgive the obvious errors ,you have no idea how long this took,I have no idea either lol.
i.imgur.com/uBIFc.png
Yeti Playground and beyond After all the struggles to reach the top and progress through the ear canals, the Glitchen find they are standing on the shoulder of a Yeti, who now offers you the oppotunity to play in its frozen world. Climb up to stand on its muzzle and find a deflated hot air balloon.
Two possible projects
First to construct the basket of the balloon, using items such as planks, and Yeti Fur Rope made from Yeti fur - this is harvestable but only with a Yeti Comb/Brush plus other normal project build items.
Second to inflate the balloon using items such as bubbles/gas/beans/chilly busting chili or hot and fizzy sauce and Hot Geyser Water/Steam
Yeti fur may be crafted into Yeti fur rope using a completely new skill Or possibly blended with compounds using a new admixing skill
Yeti fur may also be used to make insulating blocks to add comfort to new Snow Homes.
Yeti comb/brush would be one of the items obtained from Fishing.
Hot Geyser Water - Using bottles it is collected from a geyser located within the Yeti playground or surounding streets
Once the balloon is built you then have the ability to launch the balloon (thinking along the lines of the subway train so it would be possible to have several Glitchen in each instanced balloon) You then get to float out over the land to collect snowflakes, there are several to collect possibly musical snowflakes ( as in music blocks) or seven colours, once collected snowflakes add weight to the balloon making it sink slowly lower. Collect them all give a Snowflake Trophy (prism snowflake trophy). The Yeti's breath could create the currents you float in giving a zig zag motion.
Keeping the ballon aloft, requires Hot Air Bubbles, these are crafted using cooking skills/admixing skills
from bubbles/gas/and hot geyser water/steam, Without hot air bubbles the ballon journey is very short, can only maybe collect one snowflake, with the hot air bubbles you can collect more, but a limit could be built in so it is not possible to stay aloft and get all snowflakes in one trip. Making some snowflake duds would add to the challenge, only perfect snowflakes = success
Again from the Yeti shoulder, climb down rib platforms to open a new project Ski Jump
Ski Jump is surprise new game, climb back up once project completed and if you have min 2 planks of wood you can ski down the Yetis arm then be flipped up by its fingers and catapulted over to a flagged target area, each attempt slowly adds to your skills allowing you better longer jumps. (Altenatively key strokes or a new skill set would allow better scores.)
First jumps short of target zone landing in snow piles
Subsequent jumps giving a better chance to reach high score zone - Ski Jump Trophy reward
Possibility of adding new skills for crafting better skis
Opening new area in the Yeti playground
Fishing - Would need to be one of the first of the newly opened areas as it will provide the means by which Yeti fur may be harvested. The Yeti comb/brush item being one of the possible results from fishing in the glacial waters through ice holes, the other possible resource being salmon. Possibilities here for using new skills and other uses for exsisting items for example using a quill feather to fashon a lure, using fireflies to add a glow to a lure. Ear Wrigglers from inside the Yetis ear canals could be used as bait?
Yeti Fur Comb/brush, to enable you to gather( I would say groom but . . . haa ) the vital resource to make ropes and fur bricks and also possibly rugs and blankets.
Hot Water Geyser - for all your hot water/ hot air requirements, primary use is for making hot air bubbles to keep the balloon aloft (actually I think this balloon could be used in other areas maybe combined with teleportation scripts to take you on an arial journey (along set paths) over areas such as Baqala, or possibly to the island areas instead of a subway, but then a Sub subway would be fun too)
Snow Homes - permanant/non permanant residences. Thinking Igloos and then ice castles and possibly snow caves and how yeti fur could be used to provide an insulating layer to make these homes snug, and if you did would that then make the igloo and ice castles non permanentt? either way these would be dwellings set in to the snow streets leading from the yeti playground area, possibly with a geyser and an ice hole as resource features.
Yetis - New creature, Yetis that once you have the yeti fur comb you get to pet and comb(groom being too contentious a word?) I think it would be great fun to meet them in the playground but more frequently in the streets beyond, giving Glitchen more reasons to explore beyond the playground area.
Art work - i.imgur.com/w0GIu.png
Other ideas:-
Frost trees - for harvesting sno cones or for harvesting ice cubes
Ice block mountain - a different source of Ice cubes, location of the snow caves
Skating Rink - skate dancing
Ice sculpture - An artsy possibility
Taboggan Run - fast furious competetive game
more ideas to follow
Giants Jukebox / Pipe Organ
Collect notes instead of quoins
Hunt for rare notes - a treasure hunt throughout the lands of Ur
Using a new skill set to craft music scores - higher level grants longer or more complex scores
Build collected notes into known tunes (Groddle Lullaby for example) that are then stored in the jukebox - requires currants or craftable coins to play. This would be a perfect item for the group halls.
Crafting the jukebox - wood, plastics, molyb (chrome replacement) glass
Bubbles + Color = lights for Jukebox
Maunfacture of componants
Hares (on a G string) - random idea
Giants Pipe Organ (think Captain Nemo and Davey Jones in POC)
Large Keyboard, players jump on keys to play note, maybe also use L/R to select stops?
Scrolled Music so even non musical Glitchen can play
Select aTune to play to a Selected Giant
Single Mode: - Tunes less complex , rewards less to encourage group play
Group activity more players > more complex tune > higher rewards
Reward levels tie into how correct tune is played and if Giant Selected enjoyed the tune played
and possibly additional content
When Giant selected = Loves tuned played = Tuned played 100% correct unlocks Pipe Dreams
Players can then climb up to top of pipe organ and jump into one of the pipes to collect dreams
Pipe Dreams:- May be any or all of the following
Craftable recipe for an item - these could be toys, foods/ drinks/ decoration items for home/hall customisation
Pieces of Dreams that build into a background story for each Giant, these could be linked to whichever Giant was selected to hear the tune.
Scores or parts of scores to collect for new tunes to play.
Collectable items - stars, balloons, balls, bubbles gems
Nightmares - could be you to lose heath/mood get a debuf that makes you spend x time sleepwalking or scared stiff and thus unable to interact till buff is expired you gain a trophy for x numbers of nightmares so effort to complete tune is not a total loss.
Each pipe would hold a different collectable so its the players (unseen) choice as to what prize they get, the pipes could close after one player enters or allow players to enter same pipe but gain different rewards.
Mood lights to illuminate the room, so players can also watch a performance and gain a mood boost over a period of time,
Unlockable play mode
Lava Pipes Globules that can grow out of the base of the pipes eventually float like a bouncy castle globules float up slowly but are forced down when jumped on, standing will allow them to rise slowly up if they reach too high they pop, if too many players jump on one and they reach floor they also pop. The globules themselves spilt and combine in random patterns.
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An underwater area, Entry would be down a waterslide to land you on a huge sponge that produces bubbles. You would need one of these to make a bubble helmet to allow you to breathe underwater. (But wouldnt it be better if we could just breath, after all why limit the experience to that of the real world, some of us will never get to go beneath the waves in real life so here in Ur we could have the chance to be truely free in water . which prompts for an underwater skill set to allow wannabee merglitchen the ability to remain under the waves for prolonged or indefinite time.
There could be other sponges to bounce on and you could collect pearls. (perals of wisdom - possible collect them all type idea to build out Grendalines age story? )There could be underwater homes (or clamavans) and caves to explore. Perhaps we could build an oxygenator so our homes would have air, and have porkupine fish and octohens who squeeze back if you annoy them.
Kelp forests would be the equivelent of on land trees except they are very slippy so clmbing them would need a new skill or an adhesive? Something made from jellysacs perhaps. (OMGiants, theres a line from a song that goes "seaweed stalks and a fish that walks" - but what fun to swap it around and have walking Kelp and a fish that stalks you (underwater Juju?)
If you died you'd be sent to Davey Jones's Locker rather than Hell, and have to make rum rather than squishing grapes.
New plants called Grendalines' tears, that you harvest for sea salt (or plain salt or possibly the underwater equivelent of spice trees?) Urs history suggests that a great flood ended an age, so Grendalines sorrow could be tied into this new plant?
I love the look of the sea slugs, some of them are truely beautiful, we should have them in Ur, perhaps have one for each Giant? The new neon shoes concept would allow them to glow, They need not be slugs or fishes, some new creature imagined?
Coral beds that are equivelent to either herb gardens or plant gardens.
Subrays - transport system
Waterglitchen -
Pirates if you have water you are so gonna get asked for pirate themed stuff
Sailors already seeing some wardrobe ideas
Fisherglitchen all types, from deep sea to shore to rivers and ice holes - myself I want a kinder way to harvest perhaps tickling as in trout or singing as in sirens or wailing rather than its cruel counterpart. Or using a bait but without a hook so the fish just sucks?
Islanders living in tropical paradises a place for our Glitchen to play, build sand sculptures or castles, beachball.
Merglitchen truely waterglitches that dwell mostly underwater, harvesting and crafting beneath the waves, ohh give us gills and even finned tails.
The Whirlpool - swirly whirly water that you float in, how long can you remain within the vortex?
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Touring Holidays - submitted to the ideas forum New - added Mobile Home ideas
What if you could go on vacation to another area, leaving your home ready for your return ?
There would be a limited number of Holiday Days per Glitchen Year.
You would take a limited bag capacity into which you could add items of your choice , or just leave them empty and go with the flow, in areas around Ur there would be an option to set up camp and you would choose a period of time to go camping.
Once on holiday you would be unable to return home (What!! you're on holiday get out there and enjoy yourself) You can return home once the holiday period had elapsed. You can move campsite during you holiday period, so if you fancy a tour of several areas that would be possible.
Entry into the holiday accomodation would work the same as with a house. Storage in the holiday home would be limited, maybe a storage box? At the end of the holiday items in the storage box can be frog mailed home for a fee.
Each holiday home would have a crop/herb plot/pot to grow essentials plus a wood tree for fuel. And to cook* a campfire.
At night you get to sing* around the campfire, this would attract (collectable) fireflies (no matter what area you were in) The more singers, the more /better chance to catch them.
Several holiday home styles could be available (see below for some ideas)
Different areas could have different mini game/quest type activities
(*New skills/skill tree could be added to allow new recepies / singing / fishing )
Reasons to have Touring Holidays
You could go holiday in a new area to see if its a place you might want to live. Try it out before you buy a home there.
Group holidays with your friends, enjoying the fun activities together.
Meeting new friends. Sharing resources to make wonderful barbecues*/ fun drinks* maybe even new games?
URDISH - Flying saucer for the moon
SPUD(nik) -. which if you can catch it has some neato info hidden in puzzles within it, a bit like a tardis its bigger inside than out) . Should be mobile, interactive, & fun. It could be a little like the ball approaching it would normally make it move away from you.
Lost Marbles - theres alreay something like this in Ix
Loose Screws - well could be the Giants lose them occasionally
Groddle Skull Homes
Bedowin Tents
Yurt
Tipi
Gypsy Caravan (love the idea but what would tow it?)
Balloons
Dancing
Some sort of music /juke box - with themed music maybe, so wartery ones for nylon Phool
The mansion needs a ghost and the phool some fishes to swim with us
Mood lights would be wonderful, the ones that change with sounds or touch
A splash pool and a slide into it ^^ (put on the back burner)
A velcro wall you could stick to
A glitter canon
Fireworks
A cake, we def need a celeration cake, that you can only take one/two slice(s) of each
A team game idea
Teams of ? ( no team should be bigger than +2 of the smallest team)
Team Puzzle Boards - A Maze - Puzzle Pieces
Basics - Large puzzle board in an area accessible to team members, they leave area to enter a maze in which puzzle pieces are hidden, each glitchen can only carry one piece at a time, once you have a puzzle piece you head back to your team area to add the piece to the puzzle.
Pieces added using spring boards? ladders? ledges?
Several ways to play, once a few pieces found one person (their choice) remains in area to sort pieces and add to the team puzzle, or you add your piece allowing all members to hunt new pieces.
Each team has different puzzle - no stealing other teams pieces
OR
Each team same puzzle, pieces can be taken if, no team member in their puzzle area and piece is on ground not added to puzzle.
Game over when a team completes their puzzle
or after set time when the team with the highest number of correctly added pieces wins only pieces added to the puzzle board would count.
Puzzles should refelect the team size, so teams of 5 would need less pieces than teams of 20
Pinata - works for all zones, would be possible to shower gift to all Glitchen in the zone, gifts could be items or possibly various sized quoins such as giants favour, learning time boosts, with one or two cherished items such as a cubimal box? Pinatas would appear randomly in the hour party space, could be several appearances but eventually it would break open could have an energy guage to show progress.
Themed Pinatas:
Pitchen Lilliputt it would be an oversized hen to squeeze,
Double Rainbow a giant emo bear to hug
Mazza'la Gala a ghost to splank would work for this zone
Nylon Phool a giant jelly fish to bounce on
Toxic Moon a giant lunar tick (metal creepoid ) to moon or spinning piggies
Scavenger Hunt - randomly spawned items you collect during the party that can be traded for small rewards at party close - could be one party at a time or saved for better prizes over several parties.
Two NEW Party Spaces
The Hallowed Moon:- for all were glitchen and wild party animals, with a moon you can bay, yodel, yowl and howl at!!
and
The Dance hall:- Where elegance meets disco ball.
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Ears that substitute as wings, do the tips flap, or like bees/ humming birds the whole ear vibrate
Source of Honey/ Currants? If we went with the honey idea, bunnies poop, collected and put into a barrel, new skill fermentation, produces after time a cask of honey which in the same way grain is unbundled can be decanted into jars. Whiskers that are pure sugar cane, allowing for heaps of sweet recipies.
Idea for them to run through a pre flight routine much like air hostess with ears rather than arms
Coat patterned ( Stellar hare = stars, Hare - o -naught= anchors or zeros or bald (hair oh nought) Hare net = mesh pattern )
Make them pets we can catch and care for, but highly strung so you just have to treat them well, if not the become sullen and if you still fail to attend to the ir needs they turn into tar bunnies, once a tar bunnie is created you are inclined to investigate it, leave your glitch afk and it will be drawn to the strange black statue, its sticky and eventually you will stick to it, after struggling you will either be freed, with a loss of energy and mood, but more xp or the bunny will become attachrd to you so that you have to carry it with you making movements slower and using energy and mood, but, you get to stick to other glitches, they casn eventually break freee earning a good mood boost and some xp, if enough glitchen stick to you the tar becomes mastic and you are unstuck and gain a new resource, rubber/gum.
If rubber mabe it can be fashioned into some kind of drum ot trampoline or strings for a guitar type item. If gum it could be used to scale walls, stick things together.
Also we have fishing areas but you dont use bait you have to catch them with your hands, and we have underwater areas, but the seaweed and boat ideas and davy jones etc etc maybe they could add areas near there? or with certain things could add them to the water too
And new animals would be cool yaks , goats, sheep, bison, octopi....honestly the weirder the better! plus odd things harvested from them, something like that, or maybe eventually add 1 seprate animal that is only in each specific climate, or areas
Any music or creative ideas or mini games...anything like that the more variety we have to do the better IMO, there is a giant piano street btw
As others have said any streets that have different types of weather, or climates that we dont have yet is a big .....please!
Concerning the holiday stuff there is a holiday for each Giant, so 11, plus Easter, and Glitchmas, and Pii day, and Doom month (which seems to be for Rook/Trisor ) a Glitch/ Eleven day is 4 hours long, so 6 game days take 1 real world day. Which means ...saying each Holiday has something official coded for it at some point. It will be easy for there to not be many days free that dont fall under some sort of holiday. Which means vacation homes would pretty much be available all the time.
I dont want to rain on anyones parade of ideas but on the other hand before we get too far down the road of alternate house ideas, i guess ill point it out. Ill just quote what was on the other thread, sorry for quoting but....
ladyceres
January 19
"@Felix empty home streets are not a problem because they don't take up any room in Ur. Empty houses on Ur streets do take up space. Visiting an empty home street of a player that chose not to continue harms nothing. Empty houses on Ur streets make for discontent if someone wants to move into a house that someone has abandoned - yet could also return to at any time. I find the notion of eviction after X period of time a bit too punishing if RL takes over for a while.
I generally am trying to take a back seat to these sorts of threads since I know this is space for all of you to debate stuff without developer input. In this case, the old housing code is not included. It will not be coming back in the same form it was. Home streets + towers are *certain* to remain a fixture of the game. Group halls have been discussed for months and we're all in favor of having them, though we haven't decided on their implementation (since it's way down the list of Things We Need For a Functioning Game..in fact, it's not even ON that list). Having them on Ur streets is an option, as well as having other hubs where you can walk along streets of clubhouses, leaving Ur undisturbed.
I will step out for now - back to your regularly scheduled debating! "
Its from this thread https://humbaba.elevengiants.com/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/248/neighborhoods-vs-home-streets#latest
Which that means theres 2 plans for different types of housing planned or they want to have 2 at least. Not meaning to make anyone stop thinking of house ideas but with the above in mind it might make more sense to come up with ideas that would work with what we know were getting or could be smaller modifications to it.
How about instead of a third house system Vacation Rooms? somewhat like the Party packs which those once activated you could add more time to the Party if you wanted with currants, anyone attending that Party could. How about its different Vacation spots, like ones Faereluth suggested ? and if everyone exits it just automatically shuts? Since its for Vacations could limit it to small groups , say 10 ppl or less.? and not have the timer maybe. You also wouldnt need to have 2 ppl to activate it i remember that with Party packs u had to
I like the idea of a vacation room, a bit like a party space but with small feats that a group of friends could try to complete.
Or perhaps instanced like a seam street, or a way to make something like the autumn day but for a group/friends to share
I guess the main dfference would be Party packs can hold large groups and Vacations would be for smaller ones, and are more like different house or small streets and smaller in size than the Party Packs are. Party Packs should be large in size and more activity themed, and Vacations should be more location themed? does that make sense?
Some ideas ppl come up with could be added to what we already have and other things ppl have ideas for would need to be brand new things, its been awhile since ppl have been in game, it was more of just saying what we do have not what would or wouldnt work, no idea what will or wont , on the housing thing i just felt it best to inform is all rather than not
Pearls - these would be grown in sea beds (naturally) we would tuck pearl seeds into the sea beds and play lullabys to them to help them to grow, when they are grown we can harvest them and would receive unpolished pearls, we can then either
1) Shuck them into new pearl seeds
2) Use them
or
3) Polish them (only certain ones can be polished see below
Polish Pearls - Among the pearls would occasionally be a different coloured pearl, these rarer pearls (some might be very rare) are unshuckable (this would prevent them being accidentally lost) they unlike the plain common pearls, are able to be polished.
Polishing pearls would require taking them to an octopus, who would charge you for the service, this could be a use for some of the basic pearls, and could be combined with other materials and some IMG as payment to the octopus.
The octopus would be instanced as with the hells bartender thus avoiding the lag of the Tool vendors.
Once the pearl is polished it can be read, but not by us but by our piggies
Placing a pearl before a piggy would cause it to recount a small part of Urs history
Gathering all the different pearls would let you hear the full story, perhaps we would need to visit the Hog Father for this?
It could be that small groups could pool their polished pearls and then hear the story faster, but it should also be possible for single players to achieve, just maybe at a slower rate.
New skills would be needed of course
Underwater Gardening
Siren Singing
Arm Wrestling Octopusses maybe?
also
Our polishing Octopusses could also be used to craft beads
beads might be made from corals
Corals could be another crop(set of crops) from the sea beds
Beads would allow us to make jewelry, hair ornaments and perhaps new potions
and the thought train has ground to a halt for now heh