Hi All,

Finally I finished my sub-project for My Own Mod, where I've implemented dozens of various Gold and Stone mines in all RMS of the standard maps that changes depending on the map.

There are all the graphics with separated shadows for 13 different kinds of Gold mines, based on currency value and trading merchandise of various precious minerals and gems and 11 different kinds of Stone Mines based on merchant and architectural values and the Mohs scale of minerals hardness; all minerals, stones and gems based on historically and geographical locations!

The references canons where all the others minerals are based on, is the following one:



So the list of Minerals and gems are divided in 13 different types of Gold mines in order from the lesser valuable to the better one:


_______________________________HEMATITE_______________________________



It contains 500 Gold and it is the lesser valuable Gold mine in the whole game.

Usually found on Tropical maps as Near Gold.

It was usually used by precolombian civilizations as a kind of primitive pencil used to draws pictograms on walls. The terms origantes then the latin-italian term Matita, wich means pencil.


_______________________________IRON_______________________________



It contains 600 Gold.

Usually found on Rivers maps and as a extra gold scattered all over the map.

Being usually originated near waters zones it present rust on most part of it surface, being used as a scrap metal for merchandise and repairing, so it has not so good value until tranformed into steel, being used so for hiring and equipping the best soldiers.


_______________________________MAGNETITE AND CHALCOPYRITE_______________________________



It contains 700 Gold.

Commonly found on Salt Marsh map.

It is a common iron-originated metal with the intrusion of Chalcopyrite, made up of calcium, mineral rich present in water and humid zones, but with goldish appearence. In past this like-gold minerals was also knows has "Fools' Gold" because it was uslessy gathered by fools peoples.


_______________________________RED OCHRE_______________________________



It contains 800 Gold.

Only present in Yucatan map.

Huge deposits of Red Ochre has been found in the Yucatan peninsula, where still today has been discovered submerged caves with plenty of this mineral.
It was used by Olmecs and Mayans peoples as a precious powder, commonly used for tattoos and cosmetics, arts draws and religious rituals.


_______________________________DESERT ROSES_______________________________



It contains 900 Gold.

It is the Farest gold on Desertic maps

Desert roses are a formation of Gypsum with sand powder, common in most of the desertic zones, especially the north-Saharian part of Africa and even in some Appenninian mounts in Italy, originated in this case, with a mixture of clay deposits.
It was common for desert nomads hunting down these minerals, becoming precious due their lack of availability and rarity of natural discovering, because the best of these minerals appears on surface, already freed by the action of the wind, but, if not gathered in time, the first rain will melt the gypsum component of the Desert Roses, turn them nothing but sand.


_______________________________COPPER_______________________________



It contains 1000 Gold.

Usually it is the nearest gold in most of the map, especially in Desertic and Frozen maps, as well as in Arena and Fortress maps.

In some others maps it is the extra gold scattered all over the map like the Iron mine


_______________________________CHIAPAS AMBER_______________________________



It contains 1200 Gold.

Only present on the Yucatan Map.

Forming the 90% of the Central American Amber reserve, the Chiapas region was largely habitated by a plant Hymenaea, today extinted, able to drop a resin that, once essicated, will form the Chiapas Amber well known and used by Mayans as a decorative stone for jewelry.


_______________________________BALTIC AMBER_______________________________



It contains 1300 Gold.

It appear as Far Gold on all Frozen Maps.

Commonly travels through the Amber Road, a route that starts from Baltics Regions and Russia, it was traded from north Europe to Aegean and Estern-Mediterranean regions since the VI century B.C., it is a common an large resin deposit formed by specific northen europe tree, usually traded as a coin or for making jewelry.


_______________________________OBSIDIAN_______________________________



It contains 1400 Gold.

It is the medium distance gold on most Tropical maps.

The Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass generated by the quick cooling down of the emerging lava.
It was largely used by Mesoamerican civilizations as a jewelry, decorative object, working tools and especially weaponry, such as Macuahuitl swords and Tepoztopilli spears as well arrows heads, like the Mitl, made by Flint point head, and the Yaomitl, the Obsidian point head.

It was also used as obsidian ritual stabbing knives for carving hearts from the chests of sacrifical prisoner or volounteers victims, used in these rituals there's also a polished version of large glass sheets of obsidian, used as a kind of mirror for conjuring mystical visions and make prophecies.


_______________________________SILVER_______________________________



It contains 1500 Gold.

It is the middle canon of gold, usually the medium distance gold on most maps.


_______________________________JADEITE_______________________________



It contains 1700 Gold.

Is one of the 3 major gold source in game, it commonly represents the farest gold on most Tropical maps.

The Jade divides itself into 2 sub-categories, the Jadeite and the Nephrite.
The terms Jade cames from Spanish "Piedra de ijada" that litterally means stone of the side, known for its good proprieties on hips and lower back.
The Green Jadeite (Maya), and the Blueish Jadeite (Olmecs) was a rare and hard minerals well used by Olmecs and Mayans as earrings and necklaces, as well as pectoral plates, tools and weapons, other than various decorative objects and rituals icons.



_______________________________NEPHRITE_______________________________



It contains 1800 Gold.

Is one of the 3 major gold source in game, it commonly represents the farest gold on most Asian maps.

The Jade divides itself into 2 sub-categories, the Jadeite and the Nephrite.

White Jade (Nephrite), to not be confused with Gray Jade originated of the Middle-East zone, was used to create many utilitarian and ceremonial objects, ranging from indoor decorative items to jade burial suits. Nephrite was considered the "imperial gem" from about the earliest Chinese dynasties until present.
On the southern part of the Silk Road, yearly tribute payments consisting of the most precious white jade were made to the Chinese Imperial Court and there transformed into works of arts objects by skilled artisans, as Nephrite was considered more valuable than gold or silver.


_______________________________GOLD_______________________________



It contains 2000 Gold.

Is one of the 3 major gold source in game and absolutely the most valuable gold source in the whole game, it commonly represents the farest gold on most maps.

======================================================================================================================================================

Now about the Stone, there are 11 differents types of minerals and stones in order from the lesser valuable to the better one:


_______________________________TUFF_______________________________



It contains 200 Stone and it is the lesser valuable Stone mine in the whole game.

Usually a derivation of limestone, it is abundant in humid territories shuch as marshes and Tropical maps, it is commonly the nearest stone source of most Tropical maps.

Most houses and especially temples in the Central America were build up by Limestones and Tuffs, easily worked with simple tools and very resistant to the time test.


_______________________________SANDSTONE_______________________________



It contains 250 Stone

It commonly forms the nearest stones in most of Desertic maps.

Essentially a mixture of different layers of sand, clay, mud and oter small parts of various intrusive rocks, it is a common and abundant rock in desertic and arid zones, easy to work with water, then resistant once cooked or let driyng under the sun, making good bricks for masonry.


_______________________________STONE_______________________________



It contains 300 Stone

Standard rock common in most map as a nearest or medium stone source or as an extra source scattered all over the map.


_______________________________LIMESTONE_______________________________



It contains 350 Stone

Commonly it is abundant in humid territories shuch as marshes and Tropical maps, it is commonly the medium stone source of most Tropical maps and Salt Marsh.

Most houses and especially temples in the Central America were build up by Limestones and Tuffs, easily worked with simple tools and very resistant to the time test.


_______________________________SLATE_______________________________



It contains 400 Stone

It is the common stone source for Fortress, Arena and most Alpine maps as well mediterranean ones, being the nearest or the unique stone source of these maps

It is a foliated metamorphic rock, composed most by a mixture of clay and volcanic ash, commonly found in Europe, used for walling end especially roofing buildings; also used as decorative and religious monoliths and artistic purposes in place of canvans, making good uses for lithography (the art of carving and drawing stones).


_______________________________BASALT_______________________________



It contains 450 Stone

It forms the common stone source on Islands, Archipelago and Rivers Maps, while form the Near and Medium distance stone source on Scandinavia Map.

(Personally my favoured one because it was really entartaining make it geometrical shapes pixel-by-pixel and then merging them together, astonishingly!!! )

It is an extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of lava rich in magnesium and iron exposed at or very near the surface of the Earth's Crust. More than 90% of all volcanic rocks on Earth are basalt.

During the cooling of a thick lava flow, contractional joints or fractures form If a flow cools relatively rapidly, significant contraction forces build up. While a flow can shrink in the vertical dimension without fracturing, it cannot easily accommodate shrinking in the horizontal direction unless cracks form; the extensive fracture network that develops results in the formation of columns. These structures are predominantly hexagonal in cross-section, but polygons with three to twelve or more sides can be observed. The size of the columns depends loosely on the rate of cooling; very rapid cooling may result in very small columns, while slow cooling is more likely to produce large columns.


_______________________________ALABASTER_______________________________



It contains 500 Stone

It forms the farest stone source on Desertic maps and the unique stone in the standard version (not Tropical) of the Salt Marsh map.

It is a mediterranean rock very similar to marble, made up by Gypsum and Calcite, making it softer than other stones and easy to work.

It has different varieties of colour, but the most common are the White-pinkish variety, used since the egyptian and greek civilizations as a decorative and ornamental object (indeed the greek term "Alabastron" indicate a jar specifically made by Alabaster rock) and jewelry, and especially for carving statues and temple columns.


_______________________________WATER ALABASTER_______________________________



It contains 500 Stone

Commonly present on most Water maps, especially Salt Marsh, Mediterranean and Rivers Maps.

It is a water variation of the previous Alabaster, but in this case is based on Shore Fishes unit, but instead of food it contains stone, don't know why AI simply don't consider them as a resource, even if added in the villagers abilities tab, and don't gather them, they are manually clickable by human player, but not the AI, so it has most an aestetic value on the maps, even because it is randomly spawned in single unit of water alabaster, so it will not give you a good incoming in the overall gameplay.


_______________________________MARBLE_______________________________



It contains 550 Stone

A common stone source, especialy on most Mediterranean and Standard maps as a farest stone source.

Like alabaster, a common mediterranean stone used for carving statues and build up temples in the mediterranean zone.


_______________________________GRANITE_______________________________



It contains 600 Stone

Specifically the Asian Red Variation of Granite, this hard rock forms most of the farest stone source on all the Asian maps.



_______________________________DIORITE_______________________________



It contains 650 Stone

It is a common rock formation in northen emisphere and frozen landscapes, so it is commonly the farest stone source of all the Frozen maps.

It is a very hard rock compared to the other listed above, so, for this reason, it is the best stone source in the whole game.


===========THE STORY SO FAR============

Obviously a good work can't be done without proper research, inspiration and workarts as a base, so I need to say I spent near the last 2 weeks of my life by costantly "study" and search in first place, then taking notes on paper sheets like old good labourers as ever done by writing evrithing necessary for carrying on the project...
Everything started once a day, playing a simple game in Rise of Nations Thrones and Patriot (being here I suggest all of you to play this game very similar to our beloved Age of Empires) and I noted a resource on terrain.... it was the Amber, so I just opened the installation folder of Rise of Nations and discovered all the various Resources in TGA format, open them and just saw the graphics of the Amber with the transparent background, just copied it on a Gold Mine frame extracted from AoE 2 and.... oh my... that's astonishing, that Amber fits so well in game and also don't suffer from the colour loss due the limitating 8-bit palette (256 colours).... so I start gathering all useful graphics from here and there, others completely made from scratch hand made pixel-by-pixel, and researches starts in every places, at home with lapot I've accumulated near 100 files from pictures, graphics and search links, then the researches keeps on every where they could, every time I got a bit o free space during my day, through mobile phone at the bus stop, at bar, restaurant ecc...
So, once the researches ended, and the block notes was filled and complete, with all the necessary info and ordered list from statistics and regional location, I started making graphics, then making all separated shadows, because most of these new minerals are taller than a villager, like you can see in this photo:



So, then I implemented in the Data, by also adding the ability to mine the new mineral IDs for both the male and female stone and gold miners, so added the ability list for 4 villager units, and once all minerals has been tested and properly works with the AI (apart the Water Alabaster already stated above) I've insert all of them in the constant list in the 54000.bina file in the gamedata_x1.drs file and then just added as a variation for each climate for various map just like the tree variation is applied in every map.

Example of the bina code:
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/* FAR GOLD */

if FROZEN_MAP
create_object BALTIC_AMBER
{
number_of_objects 4
group_placement_radius 3
set_tight_grouping
set_gaia_object_only
set_place_for_every_player
min_distance_to_players 25
max_distance_to_players 35
min_distance_group_placement 7
max_distance_to_other_zones 7
}
elseif DESERT_MAP
create_object DESERT_ROSE
{
number_of_objects 4
group_placement_radius 3
set_tight_grouping
set_gaia_object_only
set_place_for_every_player
min_distance_to_players 25
max_distance_to_players 35
min_distance_group_placement 7
max_distance_to_other_zones 7
}
elseif ALPINE_MAP
create_object GOLD
{
number_of_objects 4
group_placement_radius 3
set_tight_grouping
set_gaia_object_only
set_place_for_every_player
min_distance_to_players 25
max_distance_to_players 35
min_distance_group_placement 7
max_distance_to_other_zones 7
}
elseif ASIAN_MAP
create_object NEPHRITE
{
number_of_objects 4
group_placement_radius 3
set_tight_grouping
set_gaia_object_only
set_place_for_every_player
min_distance_to_players 25
max_distance_to_players 35
min_distance_group_placement 7
max_distance_to_other_zones 7
}
elseif TROPICAL_MAP
create_object JADEITE
{
number_of_objects 4
group_placement_radius 3
set_tight_grouping
set_gaia_object_only
set_place_for_every_player
min_distance_to_players 25
max_distance_to_players 35
min_distance_group_placement 7
max_distance_to_other_zones 7
}
else
create_object GOLD
{
number_of_objects 4
group_placement_radius 3
set_tight_grouping
set_gaia_object_only
set_place_for_every_player
min_distance_to_players 25
max_distance_to_players 35
min_distance_group_placement 7
max_distance_to_other_zones 7
}
endif
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Easy and satisfying enough to entartain my self in the deep of RMS!


===========NOW THE CREDITS SO FAR=========================

I need to say that, first of all, most of the descriptions, scientific and historical infos came directly from the various google researches i've made.

HEMATITE

Made as a base of the Titanium resource from Rise of Nation Thrones and Patriot, then cut a bit and manually added the rust part on surface.
The metal column are hand-made by me pixel-by-pixel.
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IRON

A part of the Marble resource from Rise of Nation Thrones and Patriot, just cut the upper part and manually recolored and added the rusty part on the surface and the various iron's sheets layers.
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MAGNETITE AND CHALCOPYRITE

Just the purple Ore Mineral resource (equivalent of AoE stone) taken from Star Wars Galactic Battelgrounds: The Clone Campaign and then manually recolored.
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RED OCHRE

Taken from the rocky debris of destroyed great buildings from Rise of Nations Thrones and Patriots, then i just sharpened some frames, recoloured( at best chance to get the Red Ochre colour, due 8-bit palette limitation) and added dust and ochre powder around the base of the mineral.
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DESERT ROSE

To be honest, I didn't expected such a good result once ended, especially on the white pieces, but yes these don't came from Rise of Nations Thrones and Patriots, eh!
I just searched google pictures, then masked, resized and put on proportion in order to fit in the AoE 2 engine.
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COPPER

Just another Rise of Nations Thrones and Patriots resource, just a bit cut and resized in order to make different frames composition.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CHIAPAS AMBER

As I said in the above "Story so Far" section, this was the spark that starts the thunderstorm in my mind, so the first Rise of Nations Thrones and Patriots resource tested with good result, and the one that incitate me to carrying on the project.
Like Copper, just a bit cut and resized in order to get different frames composition.
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BALTIC AMBER

Is just a recolored version of the above Chiapas Amber, nothing too complicated.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OBSIDIAN

Just took few tiny rocks from the Titanium resource from Rise of Nations Thrones and Patriots, all the rest biggest, pointy and ground stripes are completely hand made by me.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SILVER

It is just the Rise of Nations Thrones and Patriots resource Titanium, just a bit cut and resized in order to make different frames composition.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

JADEITE

Just pictures taken from google and then resized and a bit increased the brightness/contrast in order to fit with AoE 2 palette.
One of the frames has been took from the big pictiures posted above in the "Story so Far" section.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NEPHRITE

Like Jadeite, a couple of frames has been taken from google and adapted to AoE 2 engine, then other frames has been made completely from scratch by hand by me.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

GOLD

It is just a recolored version of the above Silver, just took me a bit of time to find the right shape of gold that fits with the AoE 2 palette.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TUFF

Part of these frames has been taken from the Stonehenge resource of Rise of Nations Thrones and Patriots,then recoloured based on the Original The Conquerors "Ancient Stone Head" Eye-Candy in order to fit with Tropical landscapes and Mesoamerican Buildings.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SANDSTONE

All frames taken from Canyon rocks Eye-Candy from African Kingdoms Expansion, instead one of the frames has been edited and lowered in heigh by me because it was too towering.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

STONE

Just a resized and cut parts of the The Conquerors Rock Eye-Candy, nothing special, but better than the original stone mine's plastic gray.
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LIMESTONE

Taken inspiration by google pictures without any copy/paste or resize/recolour, but this time made completely by hand pixel-by-pixel by me.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SLATE

Just pictures taken from google and then resized and cut in order to fit with AoE 2 engine.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

BASALT

Absolutely my favoured one, like Limestone, just taken inspiration by google pictures without any copy/paste or resize/recolour, but this time made completely by hand pixel-by-pixel by me.
It was really entartaining merging all the colums together and gazing upon the satisfying result!
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ALABASTER

Just pictures taken from google and then resized and cut in order to fit with AoE 2 engine.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

WATER ALABASTER

Just pictures taken from google and then resized and cut in order to fit with AoE 2 engine.
But then, added an underwater pixelated layer out of anchor in order to create the illusion of emerging objects from water.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MARBLE

A mixture of 2 resources taken from Rise of Nations Thrones and Patriots, the Stonehenge and the Marble resources, just cut and resized a bit in order to create different frames combination.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

GRANITE

Just pictures taken from google and then resized and cut in order to fit with AoE 2 engine.
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DIORITE

Just pictures taken from google and then resized and cut in order to fit with AoE 2 engine.
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==========IN GAME APPEARENCE===========

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A northen-Saharian zone, presenting Alabaster on the rocky cliff, Sandstone that emerges from sand clums and a Copper deposit recently discovered by the wind's action.



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As rarest as gold, this Desert Roses deposit has been eroded by desert gusts of wind, really difficoult to find in such perfect conditions on surface, will be your scout enough skilled to map all the borders in searching of precious resources!?



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A mediterranean river coast presenting land Alabaster and a more white variant of Water Alabaster.




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Some Mayans Kab Ob villagers has been sent in the deep of the Jungle for gathering more Tuff for further expand the Mayan Empire strenght by build up more temples for the Sun God.
Still, they didn't discovered the Hematite deposit lying in the near woods.



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An undiscovered frozen landscape, the uncatched Baltic Amber emerges from the once-wood hill, and the Diorite rocky formation stand near the frozen coast... Will you be able to gather these precious resources in time, while surrounded by unbuildable ice?!



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This is how Gold Rush appears right now... it makes me really greedy for shiny objects like magpies, so I need to stop gazing upon this picture! AAAHHHRGH!!!



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A volcanic isle near the Yucatan peninsula, a dried Chiapas Amber has been found at the feet of a coastal woods, while on the other part of the bay, a Basalt formation stands towering the water... it will be a good spot for another Sun Temple?!



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A Mongolian steppe landscape, showing a mixture of standard Stone and precious Silver near a meadow where, the new Moschus are feeding themselves, but beware the woody hills, fierce Snow Leopards predators are lurking for the hunt!
Will be this harsh ground a good place where to grow up your khövgüüd?!



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A river coast during autumn, it show a fell dead tree on the shallows, blocking the already-narrow passage near a Water Alabaster rock, while exposed to oxygen and water, a surface layers of pure Iron ore is getting rusty.



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A Yucatan coast, showing Tuff debris standing under the humid shadow of a tree near an old deposit of Chiapas Amber.
On the shore some crumbly Red Ochre rocks appears since the last high tide, while fishes and turtles enjoying the still-fresh water of the sunrise!



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A Salty Marsh featured by varieties of mineral forms, most based on calcite and gypsum ores predominant in humid and water zones.

Here you can see a Water Alabaster near the shoreline and a frail Limestone near it, also a Magnetite and Chalcopyrite fake gold.



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Here, a deep jungle space hosting a good and precious combo of Hematite, multi-purpose Obsidian emerging from the underground and a really rare and huge fomation of Jadeite, maybe more valuable than gold!
These are perfect natural resources for putting on the best ritual for Quetzalcoatl that even the Sun itself will never fall at night! Hurry up, or you will be the next sacrifice if your Tlamacazqui will not receive these resources in time!



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An asian Bamboo glade, still keeping undiscovered natural resources such as the Red Granite and the most important of them all, an Imperial Gem, that Nephrite formation will surely give you a good pass through the Silk Road, if you really want to come back to your Venezia, Mr. Polo!



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A mediterranean gypsum coast, made up by Water Alabaster and the hard and precious Marble on land.
These forms the best stone source on the mediterranean coast, so, will be your navy enough strong to keep protection on these quarries, or your miners will fall, killed or enslaved by mediterranean pirates?!



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An European continental mountaneous zone, made up by landsliding slopes, these Slate cliffs will be a suitable trench mine, where, maybe some villager will never came back to their wives and sons.



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A northen Europe island where most of the coast is formed by Basalt rocky shoreline, could be this Ireland, or be specific a postcard sent from the Giant's Causeway to you by a villager in holidays when you PC is switched off?!



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That's all guys and girls, hope you like them and please let me know if I'm wrong somewhere in this project, I surely think that here in this forum lurks some expert student of mineralogy and geology that will surely give me good feedbacks in order to improve this project!

Greetings

AƒƒÄ the Cleric

[This message has been edited by AFFA the Cleric (edited 08-20-2020 @ 05:50 PM).]