Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-26119768-20170814202524

“''When the torches are kindled and men walk on the sandy floors under the echoing domes, ah! Then Legolas, gems and crystals and veins of precious ore glint in the polished walls; and the light flows through folded marbles, shell-like, translucent as the living hands of Queen Galadriel. There are columns of white and saffron and dawn-rose, Legolas, fluted and twisted into dreamlike forms; they spring up from many-colored floors to meet the glistening pendants of the roof: wings, ropes, curtains fine as frozen clouds; spears, banners, pinnacles of suspended palaces! Still lakes mirror them: a glimmering world looks up from the dark pools covered with clear glass''.”-Gimli, son of Gloin

Caves are something which I believe have been somewhat neglected in Minecraft, especially for such a large part of the gameplay.This is even more egregious in Middle-Earth, which includes an entire race which lives, works in, and cares for caves. This Suggestion seeks to remedy this, and make caves, and the underground in general, into something more than holes you go into when you need more coal.

Marble
Marble is used for many decorative purposes, and is perfect for conveying a sense of wealth and majesty. marble spawns in very large veins, usually hundreds of blocks in total, but it is rather rare to find, which makes a permanent base or quarry the most viable way of mining it. marble comes in 3 varieties, White, Pink, and Black. each of these has a raw form polished form, and brick form.

White marble is the most common, and can be found deep in the white mountains, as well as in the misty mountains, albeit in smaller amounts.Some say it can also be found in the mountains of the Wind, but few have bothered to search for it.

Pink Marble is a bit rarer than white, and is considered a true luxury item. It can be found in the Red Mountains, and to a lesser extent the Iron Hills and Red Desert.

Black Marble is the rarest of them all, and is only found in the Mountains of Harad. it has been speculated that it could be found in the Mountains of Mordor, but few are willing to risk death to find some shiny rock.

Other Blocks
Limestone is a greyish brown rock, found at the bottom of the ocean and in areas which were once underwater. It can be used as a cheap building material.Limestone forms some of the more impressive caverns, as it is easily erodable.

Limestone Stalactites and Stalagmites. These are rather beautiful spikes of varying size and shape, found in limestone caverns. They come in one block or two block tall varieties.

Obsidian is already in the game, but right now it's sort of ugly, and in no way what obsidan really looks like. I propose either a texture change, or a new version of obsidian, which is used in place of vanilla obsidian.

Caves, Caverns, and Glaciers, oh my!
First off, caves. Right now caves are lackluster. They are pretty much completely the same. I'd like to add several features to cave generation: chambers, rivers, and lakes.

Chambers are what you would think, large open areas in a cave. These feature large pillars of rock supporting the cave ceiling, and vary in size.

Rivers: Underground rivers are a feature which would add some variety to spelunking. These are caves which are partially or fully filled with water, and may or may not intersect with other caves. Underground rivers usually start in mountains, and sometimes emerge at the surface to form lakes.

Underground lakes are large bodies of water found underground. Underground rivers might lead to them, or they may just be caused by constant seepage of water through the rock over the centuries.

Second, Caverns. These are a type of cave, and for the purposes of this suggestion are caves formed out of limestone. These caves may be found wherever limestone is found, and are generally larger than regular caves. They can also sport brilliant formations of stalactites and stalagmites.

Third, Glacier Caverns. These are caves made out of ice, formed when something melted away some of the ice. In order for these to work, the depth of ice that the Glacier sub-biome spawns would have to be increased.

Miscellaneous Additions
These suggestions don't fit into either of the above categories, but are part of the whole "cave rehaul" theme.

Water Drip sound: Stalactites will make a dripping sound whenever water drops from them. Echoes: sounds, such as footsteps and tools will echo when in caves.

Gem sparkles: Gems and gold ore will sparkle similar to terraria ores, allowing the Glittering Caves to be true to their name.

Reduced Cave entrances: currently the landscape is pockmarked with cave entrances, which is both unrealistic and a bit annoying. I propose to drastically reduce the amount of open cave entrances on the surface.

And thats all folks! if you have constructive criticism or suggestions, please comment! 