I remember thinking this some time ago - if posted something like this before I apologize. There are a large number of stones and gems but outside of museum donations you cannot do much with them other than sell them. It is a good source of money but they are actually pretty cool looking and there are so many. I was thinking that this would be a really interesting area to expand. I envisioned an additional proficiency area that could be added to make the mining more in depth as a profession/focus (like foraging and fishing). There are all the metals and gems that you need in order to create a jeweler's or metalwork studio... especially now that there is the option for the hilltop farm. The materials could be used for sculpture and jewelry items, the basics being: necklaces, bracelets, earrings. But in addition there is also Leah's sculpture work. Emily or Sandy are also really "new age" and could utilize the crystals in products. I've started to really flesh out an idea and would be willing to work on it with someone who is better at modding... (just send me a message if you want to work on something) I'll post in the modding thread too. I'm taking lessons but I just don't know C# well enough to program it myself.
That would be quite an interesting addition. The art of crafting jewelry, baubles, and accessories. A studio that maybe robin adds to the list for you to build. Always nice to have other options. Then from there maybe 1 or 2 crafting devices to refine the process, beyond what we already have.
Biggest issue with this is that some of the gems tend to not drop as often as we would like. From watching the forums, I feel I can say the community tends to be allergic to shiny items that might take a significant amount of time to gather materials for.
True, but if your at a stage where mining is your primary activity or you have the hilltop farm it might be a great idea. As it stands there are almost no uses other than sale and an occasional quest. While I love it, when you get to a certain point in the game it becomes very static and loses the replay enjoyment. It might be just something that happens with games that are open ended. Its my opinion that in general the goal orientated portions hold more interest. I think its the way many people are wired. Having an objective or goal is in many ways more satisfying. Past year three it becomes more routine and harder to find things to do. Of course there are player defined goals that could be self imposed. In my thinking though, if this game is part wish fulfillment for the classic harvest moon style of gaming - long term accomplishments or goals could really make it even better.
I like this idea. I'm a jewelry fanatic anyway so I'd love the ability to make some shiny things in the game. I actually collect gems, but past the "10 of each" goal I set for myself I just end up selling the rest off. It would be great to be able to turn them into something nice - gifts, decorations, or just items to sell. Perhaps they could be combined with clay to make some nice pottery - that would give us something to use all the extra clay for too. We could have little kilns to fire the pottery and add gems later to decorate them. Or, we could trade a certain number of them in for a nicer item to put in our house, a bit like the museum rewards but these would all be along the same lines as the big geode. (I love that thing.)
