#environment/lighting studies/experiments in magma save.....

[mroddmod]

some recent stuff i've done in magma bc im kind of addicted to using it lol

[kemendin]

Atmospheres

One of my favourite things in writing is setting the scene - the environment, the atmosphere, the vibes. And this becomes a fun little challenge I give myself when I’m trying to bring to life a canon setting in a game.

I look at screenshots and game footage, and I study the environment there - the colours and sounds and textures, the physicality of it, but also the mood. How it makes me feel when I look at it, and also how it makes the POV character feel, because those two reactions may be quite different. And then I figure out just the right words and cadence to really bring what I perceive to life in my writing.

For instance, I love the unsettling feeling of the Rakata vaults in SWTOR, and the whole vibe of Belsavis in particular, so I really tried to convey that in this fic:

Even in the depths of the cell blocks, Belsavis was never quiet. A low hum of energy was nearly constant as it carved its way through the ancient structures, and power gleamed in cold colours from the sockets set high in the walls. In the vast dimness of the corridors, the lights flickered like dying stars, and like eyes they seemed to follow the path of the intruders. Watchful. Waiting.

It was cold in the hollow passages beneath the snow. Some of the vaults were oddly temperate, warmed by the thermal energies of the planet where magma welled up through the crust. But here, Caspian’s breath shivered from him as he trotted along the sloping floor towards the surface. Scourge padded along behind him, an ever-present crimson shadow. Even though the angle of the floor put him below Cas, it did little to diminish the sense of his looming stature.

BG3 also has such rich, immersive environments, so even my so-far limited experience in describing them has been a blast. I’m very proud of my description of the Shadow-Cursed Lands from my first fic:

Here, though, it is different. The shadows that stifle this once-fertile landscape are thick, and coiling, and hungry. They do not merely lurk, waiting to consume the follies of the ill-fated; they are predators seeking prey, and they gnaw on the bones of the dead even as they stalk the steps of the living.

Dhamari can hear their hunger scraping around the edges of the campsite, where torches - plucked from rotting corpses on the roadside - now flutter and fight to keep the menacing fog at bay. The party has hunkered down for the night in as secure a space as they could find - a wide lip of stone sheltered by jutting crags on two sides and facing out into empty air on a third, exposed save for a few scraggly trees that still cling, quivering, to the precipice. More ash-grey branches hang overhead, twisting out from cracks in the uneven stone, their red leaves rattling in an erratic wind.

There is a foul tang on the air, the metal scent of dark magic wrapped around decades of decay. Even the fruits of Gale’s excellent cooking had borne the taste of it at dinner, but on the whole, the group had been too subdued by the atmosphere around them to offer much complaint. The meal was taken in taut silence, and then the weary adventurers had dispersed to their bedrolls, most drawing their tent flaps tight against the unsettling sounds emanating from beyond the boundaries of the campsite. Now, only Halsin keeps watch - minding the central fire, or else softly pacing the perimeter to check that the smaller wards of flame still burn.

I’m working on my next one now, which takes place in the Underdark/Grymforge. This is likely not the final version, but I’m already very pleased with the atmosphere I’m evoking:

The shoreline that greets them after their shrouded sail across the Ebonlake is not a welcoming one. There is torchlight to part the shadows, but it is harsh and brazen, and it glares in bronze reflections off broken stonework that climbs up and up into the cavernous darkness.

Long ago, this was perhaps a proud and impenetrable fortress. But now the structure is cracked and desecrated, seared by time and fire and caged by makeshift scaffolds that allow the duergar interlopers a means of clambering across the ruins. Yet shadows remain, uneven and treacherous, caught in the crevices formed by history’s slow forgetting of this place.

There is no beach to slide beneath their spiny craft, only a narrow wharf of straight-hewed stone jutting out into the unfathomable waters. Several other boats similar to their own are already moored there, looking unnaturally still until the silent ripples of the two new arrivals set the lake to lapping at their hulls.

So yeah! I find it’s important to establish the scenic backdrop of the story, because my brain is playing it like a movie in my head and I gotta know what it looks like and what the vibes are. (Can you tell I like describing eerie, abandoned places? xD)

[bedrock-to-buildheight]

Habituation of the arctic creeper Pyrius arbuscula

Abstract

It was observed that arctic creeper (Pyrius arbuscula) sightings around human dwellings have increased by 6% on average each year. Greenhouses are prepared with varying heat, light, and domestic cat (Felis catus) conditions to determine the cause. Results indicate that the arctic creeper's behavior is due to resource scarcity during winter months.

Introduction

A creeper is any lifeform in the genus Pyrius. They're distributed across most terrestrial biomes of the Overworld. Arctic creeper are found in snowy biomes such as tundra and snowy taiga, with occasional sightings in ice spike biomes. Due to harsh conditions, they are shorter and less inclined to explode during winter, as creeper spores will die in these temperatures.

Methods

Groups of 3 creepers were collected and put into greenhouses set up with each of the following conditions:

(1) No alterations

(2) Lighting simulates 16-hour day

(3) Lighting simulates 16-hour day, heat source provided (magma block column)

(...)

(8) Lighting simulates 16-hour day, heat source provided, cats present

The creepers' behaviors were monitored daily. The creepers' wellbeing were examined every two week to avoid stress to both them and the examiners. Data was gathered over 2 months, during which temperature was around -5°C to 0°C.

All surviving creepers were released after the experiment save one, which has been adopted by a researcher.

Results

In all conditions where cats were present the creepers expressed signs of distress. They would, however, approach the heat source if it was available, regardless of cats. Growth rate are higher in those provided only heat compared to those provided only light.

Conclusions

It is possible that their more docile winter behavior combined with a need for heat and light has made players more tolerant of their presence, which in turn emboldened arctic creepers to ignore cats in favor of resources.

If you're cold, they're cold. Bring them in.

Additional OOC fun facts

Pyrius means fiery. Pulvis pyrius means gunpowder. Arbuscula means shrub. Tiney little boom boom

Some creepers died bc that's what happened when you put living things under prolonged stress

This is inspired by wild animals in urban environment

I have never written or do an actual study

This is seperate from the comic worldbuilding I have going on