Odd questions about mines (but not mining)

[pistolshrimp]

I get a kick from learning the mechanics of Salem and perhaps this might stimulate an interesting discussion (these forums seem a little dead these days) if anyone has any answers or thoughts please post.

Do mines have to be built on even ground? I think ive only seen the mine nodes appear on even ground but what if I were to drop some dirt on the node, or dig it down a bit in one corner, would the node disappear or would I just not be able to build a mine on that node?

Continuing on in that direction, can a node be raised or lowered, in other words if I were to build a hill on top of the node could I still place a mine at the tip of that hill? Conversely if I dug a pit could I build my mine at the bottom of that pit?

I am under the impression that if you have a claim over your mine, stealing things from that mine will leave scents. This leads me to assume what ever happens to the mine entrance effects the mine itself. Am I correct in believing that if a mine is in the darkness being in the mine won't protect you from stat drain? What if you build your mine on the edge of the darkness so only half of it is in darkness and the other half is not? What if you build your mine right out side the edge of the darkness and tunnel under the darkness? What if your claim only covers half of the mine? Is it actually only the door that matters?

What if you build you mine at the very west edge of the map and tunnel west, will you encounter an invisible wall or can you mine past the edge of the map?

Why aren't mine entrances used as parts of an effective wall in protecting a base?

Thanks for anyone who can provide some insight here.

Edit: bolded questions for those who hate text

[Kandarim]

Do mines have to be built on even ground? I think ive only seen the mine nodes appear on even ground but what if I were to drop some dirt on the node, or dig it down a bit in one corner, would the node disappear or would I just not be able to build a mine on that node?

Mine nodes can occur anywhere (even over cliffs). Mine entrances can only be built on flat ground.

Continuing on in that direction, can a node be raised or lowered, in other words if I were to build a hill on top of the node could I still place a mine at the tip of that hill? Conversely if I dug a pit could I build my mine at the bottom of that pit?

yes

I am under the impression that if you have a claim over your mine, stealing things from that mine will leave scents. This leads me to assume what ever happens to the mine entrance effects the mine itself. Am I correct in believing that if a mine is in the darkness being in the mine won't protect you from stat drain? What if you build your mine on the edge of the darkness so only half of it is in darkness and the other half is not? What if you build your mine right out side the edge of the darkness and tunnel under the darkness? What if your claim only covers half of the mine? Is it actually only the door that matters?

Correct (and the owner of the claim will be able to teleport from anywhere inside the mine. not so if a leanto is near the entrance!).
There is only a single point of the mine that counts for this (the point you enter it, I think - unsure) so it can't be half in darkness.

What if you build you mine at the very west edge of the map and tunnel west, will you encounter an invisible wall or can you mine past the edge of the map?

mines are instanced and exist in their own personal world. See also: two mineholes right next to eachother won't interfere (as they can also be different metals/purities).

Why aren't mine entrances used as parts of an effective wall in protecting a base?

[quote="pistolshrimp"]


Because we can't choose where to build them: only on mine nodes. I've yet to see two mine nodes exactly next to eachother - nevermind an entire wall of them.

[pistolshrimp]

Thanks for the awesome answers.

Correct (and the owner of the claim will be able to teleport from anywhere inside the mine. not so if a leanto is near the entrance!).

Why/how does a leanto interfere?

Why aren't mine entrances used as parts of an effective wall in protecting a base?

Because we can't choose where to build them: only on mine nodes. I've yet to see two mine nodes exactly next to eachother - nevermind an entire wall of them.

Hmm, I get the idea that two nodes are unlikely to be near each other, however wouldn't just using a single mine entrance as part of your wall mean you had at least one spot which was indestructible? Is it that the benefit from this is just too small to matter?

I find the idea that just the mine entrance doorway needing to be covered by the pclaim interesting, in my travels I've always seen the entire mine covered, it seems like one could stuff more stuff onto their claim by setting it up so just the door is covered, or save a little silver. Perhaps again the benefit here is just too small to really matter.

Can I assume the door to a house works the same way, as long as its covered debuff will effect the entire inside of the house?

[Kandarim]

Thanks for the awesome answers.

Correct (and the owner of the claim will be able to teleport from anywhere inside the mine. not so if a leanto is near the entrance!).

Why/how does a leanto interfere?

No, what I meant was that someone with his HS at a leanto near the mine entrance won't be able to port to boston from anywhere inside the mine. (even though the mine entrance is in the porting range of the leanto).

Why aren't mine entrances used as parts of an effective wall in protecting a base?

Because we can't choose where to build them: only on mine nodes. I've yet to see two mine nodes exactly next to eachother - nevermind an entire wall of them.

Hmm, I get the idea that two nodes are unlikely to be near each other, however wouldn't just using a single mine entrance as part of your wall mean you had at least one spot which was indestructible? Is it that the benefit from this is just too small to matter?

I find the idea that just the mine entrance doorway needing to be covered by the pclaim interesting, in my travels I've always seen the entire mine covered, it seems like one could stuff more stuff onto their claim by setting it up so just the door is covered, or save a little silver. Perhaps again the benefit here is just too small to really matter.

Can I assume the door to a house works the same way, as long as its covered debuff will effect the entire inside of the house?

correct on all accounts. Attackers will always go for the weakest part, so having a partly indestructible wall really doesn't help at all. On both accounts: too small to matter. And yes, the same goes for houses.