The Umbra Caverns (And all the stuff that comes with it)

[ConventionArc]

WARNING! EXTREMELY LONG POST AHEAD!
WARNING! EXTREMELY LONG POST AHEAD!
WARNING! EXTREMELY LONG POST AHEAD!

==================================================

NEW REGION: Umbra Caverns

SLIMEPEDIA ENTRY
Deep below the Indigo Quarry a twisting, winding system of caverns has been discovered. Ranchers are advised to bring a flashlight or some other light source when they explore the area, because with the exception of the Phosphor Slimes that inhabit the area, no other natural light sources exist here. Strange slimes that prefer or have adapt to the darkness thrive, along with flora and fauna to support them.

The slimes that live in the Umbra Caverns either require the darkness or moisture, or greatly benefit and prefer it. Blind Slimes are protected from the sun's rays deep in the cavern munching on aromatic roots. Catapult slimes have migrated to the caves, both because their preferred Pitchfruit grows there, and as a nocturnal creature, the shun the sun. Finally, the aquatic dwelling Stinger Slime hunts the various species of fish that live in the cavern.

ENTRANCE
Gaining access to the Umbra Caverns requires that the player has both a Slime Key and has cleared the path to Ash Isle in the Indigo Quarry.

SLIME VARIETY
Pink, Phosphor, Rad, Blind, Stinger, and Catapult Slimes can all be found here, along with the smaller chance of finding a Lucky or Golden Slime

NEW RESOURCES
Glow Garlic has learned to attract slimes by being the only real source of light down in the Umbra Caverns, and even then, its glow is very faint. Pitchfruit, a relative of the Pogofruit, has also learned to cope and thrive in the dark conditions of the Caverns. Additionally, a new source of meat has been found in the Caverns: Carp. Whisker Carp are the females, which lay eggs. The males theoretically come in many colors, but down in the Caverns, only Sable Carp have been seen. Additionally, Carp never stop growing as they age, eventually ending their lives as Big Carp.

INTERESTING FEATURES
Deep within the Umbra Caverns is a set of three doors, each with diamond shaped indentations. Many ranchers have tried to use plorts to gain access, but none have figured out the combination that would open all three doors. Granted, not that many ranchers have tried, what with the door being nearly a mile underground, but some brave souls have tried and failed.

Behind that door, however, lies a treasure chest. This treasure chest takes in a combination of any three plorts, and will give whomever opens it a bounty of items for those three plorts. Three like plorts give more common treasures than only using two like and one different plort. Best results are obtained with three different plorts.

***SECRET INFORMATION***
So, all you need to do to open the doors is use nine different plorts, excluding pink plorts. So, that three plorts per door. The hint will be that as you use plorts, the representations of that slime on the door will vanish. The Treasure chest does give better results for more varied plorts, but three of a kind also has a small chance of spawning three golden slimes, with three pink plorts having the highest chance to do so. Any given combination of plorts should always give the same output.
***END SECRET INFORMATION***

==================================================

NEW SLIME: Blind Slime

DESCRIPTION
A pudgy looking slime (slightly larger than most other slimes, while having less jiggle/higher firmness), pastel green in coloration. Two large, white eyespots exist where most other slimes have actual eyes. Subdued behavior, have a higher tendency to slide or roll along the floor rather than bounce along.

SLIMEOLOGY
Blind Slimes live in the dark depths of the Umbra Caverns, the only known place on the Far, Far Range where they are protected from the sun's rays all day and night. While they have two large, white eyespots, the Blind Slimes navigated entirely by sense of smell and hearing.

RANCHER RISKS
Blind slimes are not dangerous at all to Ranchers. However, it is recommended that only experienced ranchers try to care for Blind Slimes as they have very strict needs. Specifically, they CANNOT be left in the sun for any amount of time. Even a few seconds of sunlight is enough to pop the poor slime with a small squeal of agony. It is recommended that Blind Slimes be given accomodations that can create near total darkness or total darkness.

PLORTONOMICS
While the name of the Blind Plort did cause consternation, its benefits really outweigh it having a slightly silly name. Namely, while it doesn't enhance vision, it enhances the other senses of those who ingest the chemicals found in the plort, specifically smell and hearing. Doctors use them to get a more accurate diagnosis of breathing related issues, while chefs are all enjoying having the nose and palettes that only legendary chefs once had.

OTHER STATS
Diet: Veggies || Favorite Food: Glow Garlic || Default Plort Value: 50 || Harmful: No || Found in: Umbra Caverns

==================================================

NEW SLIME: Catapult Slime

DESCRIPTION
A DEEP purple, nearly black slime with silvery spirals through its body, from a profile look they appear to be a soft L shape, rather than a near circle. Basically the opposite of the Blind Slimes, the Catapult Slime bounces almost constantly, only stopping occasionally for a super strong pounce towards something that has caught its interest.

SLIMEOLOGY
While all Slime are enthusiastic jumpers, none are better at reaching new distances than the Catapult Slime. Nocturnal in nature, these mischevious little slimes pack a serious kinetic blow. Instead of normal Slime, these little deep purple guys appear to be composed mostly of a severely elastic material that they can wind up and stretch to cross vast chasms.

RANCHER RISKS
Watch your step near Catapult Slimes. Daylight irritates them, making them more likely to pounce on you, especially if they think you have food. Sunlight exposed Catapult Largos are always feral. Additionally, while the impact isn't harmful in and of itself, the Catapult Slime's ability to ram ranchers into walls or off of cliffs means that ranchers that want to raise these guys should invest in some Pads, maybe some Armor, and definitely a jetpack.

PLORTONOMICS
Catapult Plorts are both incredibly stretchy and incredibly good at retaining their shape, whilst being incredibly difficult to damage. This means that the material has been used to make very young children's toys, replace elastic bands in clothing, safety bumpers and some car manufacturers are even replacing the canvas of their airbags with the much safer Catapult Plort replacement.

OTHER STATS
Diet: Fruit || Favorite Food: Pitchfruit || Default Plort Value: 45 || Harmful: Yes || Found in: Umbra Caverns

==================================================

NEW SLIME: Stinger Slime

DESCRIPTION
A Vibrant Fushcia color, it's little black barbs poke out the bottom, and are visible through many specimens. While the Puddle Slime is vaguely dome shaped, the Stinger Slime is more nearly jellyfish shaped.

SLIMEOLOGY
A relative of the Puddle Slime, the Stinger Slime spends all of its days drifting about in the water. Unlike their cousins who can get by on water alone, something about the water where they live doesn't meet all of their needs, so they have taken to hunting fish with their stinger barbs. While they do last longer than their Puddle Cousins out of water, they will eventually evaporate if not returned to a body of water.

RANCHER RISKS
The sting backs a mean whallop! Stinger Slimes can not only physically harm you, but the poison in the stinger is a numbing agent (In Game, this would be represented as a hit to your stamina as well as your health). They aren't aggressive in the slightest, but ranchers should be extra wary of the critters as even a single sting could lead to floating in their pond until someone extracts you. The preferred method for dealing with these Slimes is the vacpack.

PLORTONOMICS
Stinger Plorts contain a chemical cocktail that is hands down the strongest anesthetic on the market, with none of the downsides that other, older anesthetics had. Additionally, slime scientists have been able to isolate certain components of the Plorts and create a brand new painkiller, which has been shown to relieve pain of any magnitude.

OTHER STATS
Diet: Meat || Favorite Food: Sable Carp || Default Plort Value: 65 || Harmful: Yes || Found in: Umbra Caverns || Like the Puddle Slime, they get shy in large groups, and don't like to be crowded

==================================================

NEW FOOD: Glow Garlic

STATS
Type: Veggie || Maximal Harvest: 15

SLIMEPEDIA ENTRY
Glow Garlic have proven a culinary hit but a gardener's nightmare. The plant simply cannot grown in sunlight. Leaving Glow Garlic out in the sun for an hour or so results in nothing less than a rotten mess. However, observant gardeners have discovered that if grown in a dark place, the Glow Garlic flourishes, even in wet or dry conditions. This crop will last for several harvests

==================================================

NEW FOOD: Pitchfruit

STATS
Type: Fruit || Maximal Harvest: 20

SLIMEPEDIA ENTRY
An interesting variant of the Pogofruit, the darker, drier fruit grows in caves and other dark places. An excess of sunlight, however, triggers a change in the tree, which causes it to revert back to being a Pogofruit tree, so amatuer gardeners beware. Nonetheless, the challenge is worth it, as the fruit is so jam-packed with nutrients that some people have started substituting one Pitchfruit for an entire meal.

==================================================

NEW VACUUMABLE THING: Carp Roe

STATS
Type: Item || Hatches into: Whisker Carp (25%)/Matching-Color Carp (75%)

SLIMEPEDIA ENTRY
Found in calm areas of ponds and streams, Carp Roe are little baby Carp eggs. The external color of the egg indicates both the region of the Far, Far Range from which the Carp hails, and also dictates what color the Carp will be if it is born a boy. Slimes have no interest in Carp Roe, namely due to its tiny, tiny size.

==================================================

NEW FOOD: Whisker Carp

STATS
Type: Meat || Gender: Female || Maximum Offspring: 20

SLIMEPEDIA ENTRY
Don't let the dapper, thin mustache fool you, these fish are the queens of their pond. Capable of laying tens of thousands of eggs in their life, they are prized not only for their abundant numbers for feeding Slimes and Humans, but also many ranchers also raise Carp for Carp shows, and some even tend ponds just for the sake of relaxing, as Carp are very low maintenance.

==================================================

NEW FOOD: Sable Carp

STATS
Type: Meat || Gender: Male || Maximum Offspring: 10

SLIMEPEDIA ENTRY
A variant of the Carp that lives in the Umbra Caverns. Their unusual black coloration is thought to try and help them blend into the background of the caverns to avoid their predator, the Stinger Slime. However, their curiousity for things splashing about the surface, combined with the Stinger Slime's near infinite patients, means that the camoflauge is usually short-lved in it usefulness.

==================================================

NEW FOOD: Big Carp

STATS
Type: Meat || Gender: Both || Maximum Offspring: 0

SLIMEPEDIA ENTRY
Carp never stop growing, even as they get old. As they get older, however, their scales become a rainbow of colors. While Big Carp provide big meals, most ranchers prefer to use these Carps in Carp competitions as they are often the flashiest, and of course the biggest, Carps in the competition. For the purposes of counting Carp in an Aquarium, Big Carp count as two Carp.

==================================================

NEW RANCH PLOT: The Aquarium

STATS
Cost: 350

SLIMEPEDIA ENTRY
Aquariums are a useful tool for keeping fish, especially for the Far, Far Range's new craze Carp Competitions. Aquariums can host Carp, though as the Aquariums are much smaller than the streams and ponds they are used to, so they will get stressed out and not produce eggs if the Aquarium becomes too crowded.

AVAILABLE UPGRADES
> Water Filter (Cost 400) This keeps the water of the aquarium pure, ensuring that Carp Roe has the best chance to hatch, halving its hatching time
> Flake Feeder (Cost 500) This feeds your Carp for you, keeping them happy and healthy, resulting in Whisker Carp generating Carp Roe twice as often
> Auto Lid (Cost 750) This lid keeps both you and Slimes out, though you're clever enough to use the button to open the Aquarium when you need to get Carp out. Automatically closes after 15 seconds.
> Water Pump (Cost 750) This causes a flow-through of water, replenishing any that is lost
> Bubble Castle (1500) This items does absolutely nothing except look really neat

OTHER NOTES
> I imagine the aquarium as being quite tall, and as Beatrix is currently a robot who doesn't need to breathe and sinks like a rock, there should be an internal set of stairs so in the event a player falls in, they can get out again.
> I was deliberately vague about the number of Carp that can comforably live in an aquarium, namely because the Big Carp count double, but the number should be between 18 & 24

==================================================

NEW PLOT UPGRADES

SOLAR SHIELD
Plot: Garden || Cost: 425 || Notes: This item will automatically detect and deploy when you plant a light-sensitive plant in the garden, protecting it from the sun's rays, but allowing other plants to grow normally by staying retracted. Automatically retracts when harvest finishes or a plant is removed.

AUTO-FEEDER
Plot: Pond || Cost: 500 || Notes: While Puddle Slimes do not require food, Stinger Slimes do, so this auto-feeder works exactly like the ones of Corrals.

FOUNTAIN
Plot: Pond || Cost: 1000 || Notes: This item greatly increases the rate at which Ponds refill, making it to where Pond Slimes in moderate numbers cannot deplete the pond and even if the rancher fills their vac-pack with water, it will refill much faster than it would otherwise.

==================================================

NEW EXTRACTOR: Seeder

COSTS
Novice Cost: 10 Pink Plort, 6 Crystal Plort, 3 Stinger Plort
Advanced Cost: 20 Pink Plort, 12 Crystal Plort, 6 Stinger Plort

DESCRIPTION
Cylindrical in a similar fashion to the other extractors, the Seeder has two major components: the grinding wheel and the moisture collector. The grinding wheel is visible and makes up the majority of the bottom of the extractor. It is a large, metal, flywheel that chips off bits of the nearby ground, turning them to dust and depositing that dust in the extractor's main body. The moisture collector up top should look something like a de-humidifier, with a mostly purple plastic body.

EXTRACTS
> Common: Square Crystal
> Uncommon: Sapphire Chip
> Rare: Sparkilite
> Exclusive: Umbridian Shard (Umbra Caverns)

==================================================

NEW SLIME SCIENCE RESOURCES

SQUARE CRYSTALS
Rarity: Common || Obtained from: Seeder || Other Notes: Square crystals are the by-product of the Seeder making more refined crystals. As a result of basically being entirely man-made, these off-white crystals are nearly completely cubic.

SAPPHIRE CHIP
Rarity: Uncommon || Obtained from: Seeder || Other Notes: While sapphire is well know to humanity, the pigment giving minerals of the Far, Far Range have produced a few unique and coveted shades of blue, which the Extractor helpfully forms into easily shipped discs.

SPARKILITE
Rarity: Rare || Obtained from: Seeder || Other Notes: Sparkilite is often called "solid glitter" as no matter what angle the light is applied to it at, it shines like a perfectly glitter-covered object. Only, you know, without getting glitter everywhere.

UMBRIDIAN SHARD
Rarity: Exclusive to Umbra Caverns || Obtained from: Seeder || Other Notes: Umbridian Shards are nature's example of near perfect black. They absorb all but 0.00001% of light applied to them.

==================================================

NEW SLIME SCIENCE GADGETS

ARMOR
Being a slime rancher on the Far, Far Range can be a difficult and sometimes dangerous prospect. That's why many ranchers have turned to wearing some kind of bodily protection when out on the Range looking for slimes and resources. Armor comes in many different varieties, from simply pads to elaborate and ornate fashion statement to simple yet state-of-the-art full protection.

TERM MEANINGS
Damage reduction is how much the armor reduces damage dealt to you. If the damage reduction is 5, then a hit that would normally deal 12 damage would only deal 7. Integrity is effectively the health of the armor. Armor takes the damage instead of you, so while it taking reduced damage potentially, it is still taking damage. When an armor's integrity reaches 0, it is discarded as it is no longer provides protection, and a new set of armor will need to be crafted.

BASIC ARMOR
Recipe: 10 Pink Plorts, 10 Rock Plorts, 15 Square Crystals || Damage Reduction: 0 || Integrity: 100 || Other Notes: Other than simply being an extra health bar that doesn't regenerate, Basic Armor provides no other benefit

RIOT ARMOR
Recipe: 10 Pink Plorts, 10 Catapult Plorts, 20 Square Crystals || Damage Reduction: 8 || Integrity: 50 || Other Notes: Riot Armor is good for exploring areas prone to infestations of Tarr or dense with Feral Slimes

HEAVY ARMOR
Recipe: 20 Pink Plorts, 10 Indigonium, 10 Sapphire Chip || Damage Reduction: 15 || Integrity: 30 || Other Notes: This armor is also quite heavy, reducing your run speed and jump height, however it makes you far harder to be pushed around by explosions and Catapult Slime pounces.

SHINING ARMOR
Recipe: 20 Pink Plorts, 10 Crystal Plorts, 10 Sparkilite || Damage Reduction: 5 || Integrity: 150 || Other Notes: The prickly spines of this armor means that any slime that tries to take a bite out of you will receive damage, potentially dispersing the slime.

SCARY ARMOR
Recipe: 10 Hunter Plorts, 10 Blind Plorts, 10 Umbridian Shard || Damage Reduction: 0 || Integrity: 80 || Other Notes: When wearing this armor, non-Largo slimes will treat you as though you were a Tarr, and try to get away from you.

==================================================

So, there's my first post. Sorry about the wall of text, but I'm not much of an artist.

[EmeraldPlay]

First off, good job with the post! You must've put a lot of effort into making it.
I love the idea of these caverns and the treasure chest puzzle.
As for Blind Slimes, they are good, but I don't understand some things about them. How do you exactly keep them on your ranch? It seems like all you have to do is to put them in the grotto or use a solar shield on a corral, but then they would be rather easy to keep unless they have some way of being able to escape the corral easier than other slimes.
I like the Catapult Slimes.
Stinger Slimes are great.
Love the food ideas too.
The aquarium sounds great, but... Beatrix is not a robot (unless that was a joke).
The plot upgrades are good.
This new extractor sounds good, but as for its color (and this is kinda unrelated to the thread stuff), there would have to be purple echoes (and that's because if you didn't know, extractors when put in the ancient ruins dig up echoes corresponding to their body color and rarely gold echoes).
I like the idea of armors.

Overall, this is amazing! Easily one of the best stuff I've read on the forums.
Welcome here!

[ConventionArc]

Thank you for your response. To address your points:

The entire thing about the Umbra Caverns was to take advantage of the fact that some slimes will acknowledge how bright it is outside. So the Catapult slimes were supposed to be irritated with it and the Blind Slimes were supposed to be damaged by it. I was effectively making the trade-off of Blind Slimes disappear INSTANTLY in sunlight (no grace period like you get with Phosphor Slimes) for their plorts being more valuable. Yes, you're supposed to be able to use the Solar Shield/Grotto to protect them (and technically the Catapult Slimes).

Yes, I know that Beatrix is neither a Corgi nor a Robot. I've seen the chibi picture. I was indeed, as you said, making a funny by commenting on her ability to stand at the bottom of bodies of water and not drown. :)

I decided about mid-way through that purple/black would be major colors for the Umbra Caverns and a lot of things from there, so that's why the extractor is purple. I've only done a little bit with the Ancient Ruins (honestly need to remember to put a teleporter there to get there easier), and hadn't had a chance to actually place an Extractor there (I basically grabbed some Phase Lemons and Quantum Slimes and then booked it home to care for the Largoes there). I personally like the idea of purple Echoes. I should hope that maybe we get all colors of Echo (or at least one or two more).

As an aside, I see the chart you reference in your signature, but how did you turn it into an avatar? Just take it into an image editor and crop out the ones you didn't want?

[EmeraldPlay]

Thank you for your response. To address your points:

The entire thing about the Umbra Caverns was to take advantage of the fact that some slimes will acknowledge how bright it is outside. So the Catapult slimes were supposed to be irritated with it and the Blind Slimes were supposed to be damaged by it. I was effectively making the trade-off of Blind Slimes disappear INSTANTLY in sunlight (no grace period like you get with Phosphor Slimes) for their plorts being more valuable. Yes, you're supposed to be able to use the Solar Shield/Grotto to protect them (and technically the Catapult Slimes).

Yes, I know that Beatrix is neither a Corgi nor a Robot. I've seen the chibi picture. I was indeed, as you said, making a funny by commenting on her ability to stand at the bottom of bodies of water and not drown. :)

I decided about mid-way through that purple/black would be major colors for the Umbra Caverns and a lot of things from there, so that's why the extractor is purple. I've only done a little bit with the Ancient Ruins (honestly need to remember to put a teleporter there to get there easier), and hadn't had a chance to actually place an Extractor there (I basically grabbed some Phase Lemons and Quantum Slimes and then booked it home to care for the Largoes there). I personally like the idea of purple Echoes. I should hope that maybe we get all colors of Echo (or at least one or two more).

As an aside, I see the chart you reference in your signature, but how did you turn it into an avatar? Just take it into an image editor and crop out the ones you didn't want?

Oh, I get it now.

As for the not drowning thing, I wonder if the devs are going to change that for the final version of the game.

As for the avatar, that's what I did.

[Crabby]

Does the blind slime look like a pink slime but green and no eyes not to forget it's slightly taller than that or does it have any unique things like the rocks on the back of the rock slime or as I said before

[ConventionArc]

Oh, I get it now.

As for the not drowning thing, I wonder if the devs are going to change that for the final version of the game.

As for the avatar, that's what I did.

Swimming can be a bit of a tricky thing to do, as is evidenced by so many games getting it wrong. Personally, I kind of like it because it would allow them to hide entire groups of things underwater and give us a weird new area to explore without worry that we were going to die due to a simple mistake.

Does the blind slime look like a pink slime but green and no eyes not to forget it's slightly taller than that or does it have any unique things like the rocks on the back of the rock slime or as I said before

Even though the Blind Slime does not have eyes properly, it does still have two big white eye-spots that are set further apart than slime's normal eyes, giving them a 'derp' appearance. Their other major noticable fact is that they are less 'jiggly' than other slimes. If you imagine the other slimes as water balloons half-way full of water, then the Blind Slimes would be water balloons full to near-bursting.