Gem Ores - SilentChaos512/SilentGems GitHub Wiki

There are 48 gem ores, one for each gem. The 16 classic gems spawn in the overworld (and most other dimensions), 16 dark gems are found mostly in the Nether, and 16 light gems are found mostly in the End. Default spawning mechanics and config options are outlined below. Config options for world generation are in the "world" category, near the bottom of the file.

Harvesting

  • You will need a pickaxe with mining level 2 (iron-tier) to harvest.
  • Fortune and silk touch work.
  • Gem ores can be processed in the some machines from other mods (grinders, crushers, etc.)

Default Ore Generation

These are the default world generation settings. You may tweak them to suit your needs.

In Minecraft 1.13.2, a few types of gems are selected for each biome, with some variation in vein size, count, and min/max height. This is currently based on your PC username (subject to change, I'm still experimenting). In the Nether and The End, multi-gem ore spawns instead, as those dimensions do not have many biomes. Again, this may change.

In 1.12.2 and lower, the type of gem is selected randomly when generating each vein. All gems are equally common, but the randomness can make them seem unbalanced.

Classic Gems

  • Found at Y-levels 5 ~ 45
  • Fairly common (up to 10 clusters of up to 8 blocks per chunk)

Dark Gems

  • Found at Y-levels 30 ~ 100 (just about everywhere above level and below the ceiling)
  • Fairly common, with 12 or 13 placement attempts per chunk
  • Larger veins than classic gems

Light Gems

  • Found at Y-levels 16 ~ 64 (basically any level on the main island)
  • Fairly common, with 12 or 13 placement attempts per chunk
  • Same vein size as classic gems

Other Gem Ore Generation

Gem Regions

Gem regions (disabled by default) will cause only one or two types of gems to spawn in different areas. By default, regions are 12x12 chunks in size and there is a 75% chance of a region have two gem types instead of one. Gem regions could be used to encourage exploration.

Gem Geodes

Gem geodes are deposits of dark/light gems found in the overworld. But, the gems are encased in a shell of hardened rock, which is as tough as obsidian. Each gem ore block inside is a random gem from the set, so you will get several types from one geode.

Customization options in the config file:

  • Min/max Y-level
  • Cluster count/size
  • Weights for each gem type, allows you to make certain gems more/less common than others. Note that this is a weight system. Just increasing the weight of one gem will not make more spawn. You will get more of that gem and less of others, but the same total amount of gems.
  • Gem regions feature (see above)
  • Gem geode configs (structures can be tweaked or disabled entirely; see above)

The Hunt

Because of the large number of gems and the random nature of spawns (as mentioned above), it may take a little time to find the exact gems you are looking for. Keep mining, they are out there! If you continue to have issues finding a specific gem, you can also use Chaos Altar Transmutation to create it (see recipes in JEI).

Ancient Versions

Gems were less common in classic Silent's Gems (Minecraft 1.8.x and earlier). They spawned roughly 6-8 veins per chunk and at Y-level 40 and below. There were only 12 types of gems, all found in the overworld.