Vee's Archaeology Update Pt. 1 - Archaeology Anywhere!
I wanted to finally talk about how I'd improve Minecraft's archaeology system! Archaeology in Minecraft is currently a very half-baked system, being exclusive to about 5 different structures and only being the source of a few, quite niche decorative items. I hope that by the end of this art project Archaeology will be something the player feels the want (but not the need) to do all the time, in many different places, for many different reasons!
To start, I present a little thing I call... Archaeology Anywhere. No more will Suspicious Blocks be confined to just a few uncommon structures - now, any soil block in Minecraft that is not exposed to an Air block will have a 1/100 chance to be replaced by its suspicious counterpart; this includes Sand, Gravel, and the new Suspicious Dirt, Mud, Snow, Red Sand, Soul Sand, and Clay blocks. This will make mining and clearing areas in the overworld more interesting, as terraforming down hills or making a flat space has the chance of you uncovering a suspicious block you'll want to take your time to brush for treasure!
The treasure, at least here on the surface, is usually quite common stuff - Sticks, Wheat Seeds, Raw Copper or Iron, Copper or Iron Nuggets, that kind of stuff. It can also give you access to Carrot, Potato, Pumpkin, Melon and Beetroot seeds in order to start farming these uncommon crops without worrying about finding a village or waiting on a zombie drop. You can even find old, discarded crafted goods such as Paper, Torches, Bricks, some new Pottery Sherds, and old Stone Swords & Spears with missing durability. The rarest item, however, that you can find - is the Trail Ruin Map. Finally, no more hoping to get lucky finding a Trail Ruin exploring around the forest - now, you can just do Archaeology Anywhere and find some unique treasures!
(See here for the Surface loot table for Suspicious soil blocks)
While the loot on the surface may not be much to write home about, it will certainly incentivize players to be more careful while clearing away hundreds of dirt blocks, and add some interesting treasure and rewards for keeping an eye out while doing such a task. As someone who enjoys terraforming, it's sure to be a fun little treat to find the occasional Trail Ruin Map. Plus, who knows what you might find... elsewhere.
