Floor etching

This article is about the structure added by the Anomaly DLC within the Labyrinth. For the recreational activity Children partake in, see Learning.

Floor etching

A crude sketch drawn onto the ground.
With sufficient time, you may be able to decipher it. Select a colonist and right-click the etching to inspect it.

Base Stats

Type

Building

Flammability

0%

Building

Size

1 × 1

Passability

standable

Terrain Affordance

Light

Technical

defName

FloorEtching

Floor etchings are encountered within the labyrinth across most of the map, acting as directional cues which help to navigate the maze.

Summary

Each room within the labyrinth has a chance to spawn a Floor etching^{[Add Details]}. Multiple may spawn in any given room. Etchings tend to be less likely to spawn the closer the room is to the Warped obelisk^[Verify].

In order to investigate the drawing, a colonist must be ordered to decipher the etching, which takes 2,500 ticks (41.67 secs). Once finished, a Letter will appear with a short description followed by the chance of getting a cardinal direction to the exit room. It is not guaranteed that any given floor etching will give a direction. The chance of success seems to be more likely if the etching is further from the exit^[Verify].

Floor etchings use the following strings:

• Activate label: "Decipher..."
• Activate description: "Choose someone to decipher this floor etching."
• Gui label: "Choose who should do this"
• Job: "Decipher floor etching"
• Activating pending: "Deciphering floor etching"
• Activating: "Deciphering floor etching: {1}s"
• Inspect: "Send a colonist to decipher this."
• Message completed: "{PAWN_nameDef} has successfully deciphered the floor etching."

Analysis

As a reliable way to help triangulate the exit room, these drawings should be investigated quickly to help narrow down paths towards a safe exit. Ensure that the area is clear before deciphering, as the task is not instantaneous. It is unknown whether deciphering a drawing in the same room as a sleeping enemy will wake them up^[Verify]. Once a general path can be gleaned from these map markers, it can be much easier to plot out a more time efficient path to freedom.

If the current goal is complete exploration of the entire map tile, these can likely be safely ignored. That being said, the floor etching can still be of help during a full sweep of the maze, as it can help you save the area around the obelisk for last.

Gallery

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  Floor etching variant A

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  Floor etching variant B

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  Floor etching variant C

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  Floor etching variant D

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  Floor etching variant E

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  Floor etching variant F

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  Floor etching variant G

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  Floor etching variant H

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  Floor etching variant I

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  Floor etching variant J

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  Floor etching variant K

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  Floor etching variant L

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  Floor etching variant M

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  Floor etching variant N

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  Floor etching variant O

Trivia

In the game files, there is a FloorEtching and FloorEtchingRambling, with the latter noted to take 10 seconds to decipher, which one would assume to be a floor etching that doesn't give a direction. Both etchings however are defined with 2,500 ticks (41.67 secs), meaning there is no difference in time.

History

• Anomaly Release - Added.