Creeper oyster chemistry. (release thread spoilers)

[SterlingRed]

Now that oysters are an ingredient in diamond ingots, this has me wondering exactly what purpose they're serving and what this indicates about creepers themselves. Prior to this latest release, I was under the impression that given their obvious and slightly gag feature origins that they would become a food ingredient or possibly involved in villager trades. But now they're being used in a metallurgical and chemical reaction. Any thoughts or theories as to why Creeper oysters behave as a bonding agent or catalyst or other forging add in?

[Kazuya Mishima]

I thought it was a goof on the phallic morphology of creepers and the Urban Dictionary definition of oyster. After 4.70 i'm even more confused.

[CreeperCannibal]

Whatever is in them may be some kind of cataylist for the creeper's explosion and reacts to both metal and crystals such as diamond. I know of no chemical though :/

[Taleric]

As all the enemies are a form of undead (cubes? Meh), I think the creeper has died from blue balls that then gangrene into oysters. The host's arms fall off and they roam with untapped explosive potential.

The oyster then can be used to diamond tip the iron ingots as a super condenced bonding agent.

Lewd I know, sorry lol, going for the one off answer.

[Stormweaver]

As all the enemy's are a form of undead (cubes? Meh), I think the creeper has died from blue balls that then gangrene into oysters. The host's arms fall off and they roam with untapped explosive potential.

The oyster then can be used to diamond tip the iron ingots as a super condenced bonding agent.

Lewd I know, sorry lol, going for the one off answer.

In short: They provide a kind of sticky you just can't get from slime.

[Wibbles]

Diamond can actually react with molten iron (sciency bit here). Considering you make diamond ingots on a crafting grid with no real source of heat (hence a crucible would have made more sense, but... yeah, tech tree), my theory is that the creeper oysters contain a vast amount of heat able to melt down the iron & diamond, and therefore, science!

[Vexalor]

Diamond can actually react with molten iron (sciency bit here). Considering you make diamond ingots on a crafting grid with no real source of heat (hence a crucible would have made more sense, but... yeah, tech tree), my theory is that the creeper oysters contain a vast amount of heat able to melt down the iron & diamond, and therefore, science!

I don't know if it's so much heat as just something more chemical. Maybe the creeper explosion is triggered by some hormonal reaction to seeing the player, thus originating in the gonads. This chemical/hormone would have to be highly reactive in order to set off whatever bio-explosives creepers run on (based on nitre). Using the reactivity of this chemical, Steve could somehow dissolve and suspend the iron and/or diamonds and thus catalyze the reaction combining them into a single ingot.

[Pseudosavior]

In short: They provide a kind of sticky you just can't get from slime.

Works perfectly with the quote in your signature.

[Sarudak]

The creeper oysters really have me thrown. I would expect a chemical reaction like that (if it is a chemical reaction) to occur in the cauldron. Of course then we would have a circular dependency problem. Lol

[FlowerChild]

The creeper oysters really have me thrown. I would expect a chemical reaction like that (if it is a chemical reaction) to occur in the cauldron. Of course then we would have a circular dependency problem. Lol

Hehe...yup, I feel the same way. I will likely be adjusting the recipe further in the future for that, but for the time being, the current one creates the gameplay I desire out of it even if the particulars are a bit cludgey at present :)

[SterlingRed]

In short: They provide a kind of sticky you just can't get from slime.[/quote]
Haha, okay with the implementation as we currently have it this is probably about as good a short explanation as any.

[devak]

Diamond can actually react with molten iron (sciency bit here). Considering you make diamond ingots on a crafting grid with no real source of heat (hence a crucible would have made more sense, but... yeah, tech tree), my theory is that the creeper oysters contain a vast amount of heat able to melt down the iron & diamond, and therefore, science!

your "sciency bit" is no what you think it is.

Iron can not be "alloyed" with diamond.

So, Oysters somehow cause Diamonds to be fragmented to dust and glued to the iron, permanently. This makes diamond tools actually *diamond tipped* iron tools.

Which brings me to:

why not skip the usual vanilla crafting and make Diamond armor/tool recipes a combination of both diamond and armor.

[Thalarctia]

All the talk about science here makes no sense whatsoever, as "Diamond" in minecraft is just a name for a material thats hard to obtain and powerful, thus valuable. Like with the video posted in the off-topic section about someone calculating the monetary value of a suit made of diamond, it's just an exercise in futility.

If Notch had called it mithril, adamantium or verydifficulttoobtainium, creeper oysters being able to infuse iron with it would make perfect sense, as it would be pure fantasy, without anyone trying to link it to the reality we live in.

[devak]

All the talk about science here makes no sense whatsoever, as "Diamond" in minecraft is just a name for a material thats hard to obtain and powerful, thus valuable. Like with the video posted in the off-topic section about someone calculating the monetary value of a suit made of diamond, it's just an exercise in futility.

If Notch had called it mithril, adamantium or verydifficulttoobtainium, creeper oysters being able to infuse iron with it would make perfect sense, as it would be pure fantasy, without anyone trying to link it to the reality we live in.

im an engineer, i can't help it.

[MoRmEnGiL]

It's simple. "balls to vmc diamond tools, now they need iron." :P

[SterlingRed]

All the talk about science here makes no sense whatsoever, as "Diamond" in minecraft is just a name for a material thats hard to obtain and powerful, thus valuable. Like with the video posted in the off-topic section about someone calculating the monetary value of a suit made of diamond, it's just an exercise in futility.

If Notch had called it mithril, adamantium or verydifficulttoobtainium, creeper oysters being able to infuse iron with it would make perfect sense, as it would be pure fantasy, without anyone trying to link it to the reality we live in.

Well yes the diamond is a bit of a tangent. However, chemical reactions in btw and the ingredients making sense has been part of this mod so far. There's actually been several discussions of it before. Usually fc creates features like this in such a way that with a little cleverness the recipes can be figured out since they make sense from the current usage of the materials. In this case, Creeper oysters suddenly have a unexpected use which begs the question, why? And furthermore what is a Creeper made of or what is its origin that it's balls serve this function?

[DaveYanakov]

The fact that the iron in a tool cannot be converted has led me to believe that the mechanism is similar to Dr Horrible's transmatter ray. The oysters temporarily turn the iron into a cumin-scented, doughy affair, allowing diamond dust to be kneaded in before it reverts to a lattice structure. Bingo bango, diamond infused iron ingots. Resmelting these ingots results in the diamond carbon structure burning off and being lost as slag. Attempting to infuse more than one ingots volume or a shape more complex than a small box would take too long and you would end up with your hands embedded in a diamond hard metallic lump for the rest of your short life.

[obl1terat1ion]

Maybe its whats IN the oysters that we should be looking at...

[savagelung]

However, chemical reactions in btw and the ingredients making sense has been part of this mod so far. There's actually been several discussions of it before. Usually fc creates features like this in such a way that with a little cleverness the recipes can be figured out since they make sense from the current usage of the materials. In this case, Creeper oysters suddenly have a unexpected use which begs the question, why? And furthermore what is a Creeper made of or what is its origin that it's balls serve this function?

I don't think that's quite right -- BTW mechanics make just enough sense to be reasonably well-understood, but aren't perfect representations of reality because that wouldn't be fun. The excess chemistry discussion here is misplaced: it's a game where a single water wheel provides unlimited mechanical energy. Delving into the serious chemistry isn't productive, but I'm super curious about the role of creepers in the overall BTW lore.

So, back to the topic... Given that creeper oysters at least contain a chemical catalyst that can combine iron and diamond, I would guess they play a role in their explosion mechanism as well. Ever since FC made creepers drop nitre instead of gunpowder, it seems like they would need a second component to catalyze the nitre into an explosive result. I find it thoroughly entertaining that this catalyst is secreted from their "oysters" - somehow it goes from there to wherever the nitre is stored in their body...

I have an image of Steve turning around to see a creeper impregnating itself with an chemical catalyst and then murdering him in a violent explosive reaction. Poor Steve suffers the trauma of witnessing such things and then being reborn into a monster-filled world.

[Taleric]

BTW 4.7 "The Search for more Oysters"

[Pucc]

So, back to the topic... Given that creeper oysters at least contain a chemical catalyst that can combine iron and diamond, I would guess they play a role in their explosion mechanism as well. Ever since FC made creepers drop nitre instead of gunpowder, it seems like they would need a second component to catalyze the nitre into an explosive result. I find it thoroughly entertaining that this catalyst is secreted from their "oysters" - somehow it goes from there to wherever the nitre is stored in their body...

Are we assuming that Creepers are all male here? (the invert of Jurassic Park) What about the females if there are any? I know for a fact that not all Creepers drop Oysters which leads me to believe there are male and females of the species and since all Creepers are capable of going boom. A catalyst for their explosive tendencies seems incorrect.

It could perhaps be some kind of acidic solution of which both Iron and Diamond are soluble in at room temperature the resulting mixture when left over time sets hard into a durable and workable material. The resulting conclusion is that those folks into bestiality better stick to their sheep. Mmm acidic love juices.

[TheGatesofLogic]

So, back to the topic... Given that creeper oysters at least contain a chemical catalyst that can combine iron and diamond, I would guess they play a role in their explosion mechanism as well. Ever since FC made creepers drop nitre instead of gunpowder, it seems like they would need a second component to catalyze the nitre into an explosive result. I find it thoroughly entertaining that this catalyst is secreted from their "oysters" - somehow it goes from there to wherever the nitre is stored in their body...

Are we assuming that Creepers are all male here? (the invert of Jurassic Park) What about the females if there are any? I know for a fact that not all Creepers drop Oysters which leads me to believe there are male and females of the species and since all Creepers are capable of going boom. A catalyst for their explosive tendencies seems incorrect.

It could perhaps be some kind of acidic solution of which both Iron and Diamond are soluble in at room temperature the resulting mixture when left over time sets hard into a durable and workable material. The resulting conclusion is that those folks into bestiality better stick to their sheep. Mmm acidic love juices.

yeah... No
They are definitely all male, given that they are simply a giant walking penis that explodes whenever it's angered I would assume that any *additional* genitalia would be a little bit excessive.

IMO opinion stormweaver's explanation makes the most sense, although with the most recent change to fishing I'm a little worried about going in the water now. Fish have a hell of an appetite...

[Niyu]

Also, if animals or villagers in minecraft don't have diferent genders why should monsters have them?

[The Phoenixian]

So, back to the topic... Given that creeper oysters at least contain a chemical catalyst that can combine iron and diamond, I would guess they play a role in their explosion mechanism as well. Ever since FC made creepers drop nitre instead of gunpowder, it seems like they would need a second component to catalyze the nitre into an explosive result. I find it thoroughly entertaining that this catalyst is secreted from their "oysters" - somehow it goes from there to wherever the nitre is stored in their body...

Are we assuming that Creepers are all male here? (the invert of Jurassic Park) What about the females if there are any? I know for a fact that not all Creepers drop Oysters which leads me to believe there are male and females of the species and since all Creepers are capable of going boom. A catalyst for their explosive tendencies seems incorrect.

It could perhaps be some kind of acidic solution of which both Iron and Diamond are soluble in at room temperature the resulting mixture when left over time sets hard into a durable and workable material. The resulting conclusion is that those folks into bestiality better stick to their sheep. Mmm acidic love juices.

I think there may be a few points to consider here: Firstly, If Savagelung's idea has merit, then the creeper oysters may have more in common with digestive organs or hormonal glands than testicles. Secondly, Given that creepers have nothing in common with Earthly life I think it is worth consideration that their reproductive nature matches: It may well be that they actually reproduce by killing and warping the souls of their targets into new creeper souls and slipping into the Minecraft world in the night and/or they could have been produced by the endermen/stronghold builders as a weapon with which to keep extradimensional entities (like Steve) from mucking up their mobtrap/world: hunting him via slipping into the weak spot in reality his presence creates.

Alternatively, the other "sexes" of creepers could be spiders and holding with the above theories we could have a dichotomy where the "Male" of the monster species (Spiders & Zombies) hunts animal prey to warp the souls into new offspring while the "female" (Creepers & Skeletons) acts as a pure weapon against it's targets.

There's a lot further I could go on here but that gets a bit away from the thread topic than I'd like to go.

[jakerman999]

You're letting the earthly concept of gender get in the way of your thinking here folks(somewhat of a ninja by The Phoenixian, you're not). What if creepers were some form of highly mobile plant life? Nitre could be something extra they suck out of the soil, or a byproduct of their form of photosynthesis. They reproduce by spraying seeds everywhere when they explode, the seed pod being what we call the oyster.

Then it's a question of what nutrients a baby creeper might need that could have this effect on diamonds and iron.