Wilderlands Ground Layers

<h1 data-start="83" data-end="110"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">Wilderlands Ground Layers</span></h1> <p data-start="112" data-end="216"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Wilderlands Ground Layers is a lightweight worldgen patch mod for <span class="hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline"><span class="whitespace-normal">Vintage Story</span></span>.</span></p> <p data-start="218" data-end="330"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">It modifies <code data-start="230" data-end="248">blocklayers.json</code> to rebalance soil, gravel, and sublayer generation in subtle but meaningful ways.</span></p> <p data-start="332" data-end="457"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The goal is simple:</span><br data-start="351" data-end="354" /><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Make surface and sub-surface terrain feel more natural, more layered, and more strategically important.</span></p> <hr data-start="459" data-end="462" /> <h2 data-start="464" data-end="479"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;">Core Changes</span></h2> <h3 data-start="481" data-end="517"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Reduced Gravel Surface Frequency</span></h3> <ul data-start="518" data-end="625"> <li data-start="518" data-end="576"> <p data-start="520" data-end="576"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Decreases how often gravel generates as a surface layer.</span></p> </li> <li data-start="577" data-end="625"> <p data-start="579" data-end="625"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Reduces the prevalence of large gravel biomes.</span></p> </li> <li data-start="577" data-end="625"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Creates up to 8 gravel/soil layers on top of rock layer, creating deeper soil in the world.</span></li> </ul> <hr data-start="627" data-end="630" /> <h3 data-start="632" data-end="662"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Expanded Soil Layer System</span></h3> <ul data-start="664" data-end="836"> <li data-start="664" data-end="713"> <p data-start="666" data-end="713"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Generates <strong data-start="676" data-end="712">up to 8 soil layers at sea level</strong>.</span></p> </li> <li data-start="714" data-end="777"> <p data-start="716" data-end="777"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Soil depth decreases progressively as world height increases.</span></p> </li> <li data-start="778" data-end="836"> <p data-start="780" data-end="836"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Creates more realistic soil profiles in lowland regions.</span></p> </li> </ul> <hr data-start="838" data-end="841" /> <h3 data-start="843" data-end="870"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Barren Soil Integration</span></h3> <ul data-start="872" data-end="1098"> <li data-start="872" data-end="932"> <p data-start="874" data-end="932"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Adds barren soil as deeper sublayers beneath fertile soil.</span></p> </li> <li data-start="933" data-end="1015"> <p data-start="935" data-end="1015"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Allows barren soil to occasionally generate as a surface layer in previous gravel biomes.</span></p> </li> <li data-start="1016" data-end="1098"> <p data-start="1018" data-end="1098"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Creates visually striking mixed &ldquo;barren zones&rdquo; composed of gravel and poor soil.</span></p> </li> </ul> <hr data-start="1100" data-end="1103" /> <h3 data-start="1105" data-end="1132"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Gravel Transition Layer</span></h3> <ul data-start="1134" data-end="1370"> <li data-start="1134" data-end="1205"> <p data-start="1136" data-end="1205"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Adds gravel as a frequent final sublayer between soil and solid rock.</span></p> </li> <li data-start="1206" data-end="1300"> <p data-start="1208" data-end="1300"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Players will often encounter gravel just above bedrock under medium and low fertility soils.</span></p> </li> <li data-start="1301" data-end="1370"> <p data-start="1303" data-end="1370"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Makes the underground transition feel more geologically consistent.</span></p> </li> </ul> <hr data-start="1372" data-end="1375" /> <h3 data-start="1377" data-end="1399"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Blue Clay Deposits</span></h3> <ul data-start="1401" data-end="1533"> <li data-start="1401" data-end="1433"> <p data-start="1403" data-end="1433"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Introduces blue clay deposits in barren soil layers.</span></p> </li> <li data-start="1434" data-end="1489"> <p data-start="1436" data-end="1489"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Can generate in deeper soil layers near the rock bed.</span></p> </li> <li data-start="1490" data-end="1533"> <p data-start="1492" data-end="1533"><span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Encourages deeper excavation in lowlands where soil layers are thicker.</span></p> </li> </ul> <hr data-start="1535" data