Cave-Only Ore Spawns

This mod generates ores only in caves, embedded in the cave walls.

You can tune every ore: height range, rarity, vein size, and host rock.

Includes custom prospecting pick modes for cave-ore scouting.

I created this mod because I felt that ore hunting in Vintage Story lacked real danger. In the base game, finding ore was mostly a matter of patience and time investment - eventually, you would find what you needed, and the journey itself rarely felt threatening.

Because of that, progression lost some of its excitement for me. There was little motivation to craft stronger armor or prepare for dangerous expeditions, since most underground threats, including eldritch horrors - could simply be avoided. Mining was time-consuming, but it wasn’t intense.

This mod changes that by moving ore generation into caves. Now, gathering resources means entering dangerous underground areas where combat becomes part of the mining process. You are no longer just searching - you are risking something to obtain valuable materials.

Higher-tier ores generate deeper underground, which naturally means encountering stronger eldritch horrors. The danger rises together with the rewards. Better armor, better preparation, and smarter decisions become essential for survival.

My goal with this mod was to make mining feel like an adventure instead of a routine - to make every valuable ore vein something that must be earned, not just located.

%AppData%\VintagestoryData\ModConfig\CavesOnlyOres.json

Amount Labels Used in Chat:
< 10 — very low
< 20 — low
20–50 — medium
> 50 — good
> 70 — rich
> 100 — extremely rich