Project Resonance – Rebuild the Ancient City using MineColonies

Latest update 1.5.1.:New Townhall & Portal Decorations!

Project Resonance is a MineColonies blueprint pack centered on reclaiming the Ancient City and uncovering the story of a civilization that listened too deeply.

The vast halls of the Deep Dark are transformed into residential districts, guard towers, farms, plantations, and infrastructure, all built directly into the original ruins. Corridors become homes. Intersections become watch posts. Forgotten chambers grow food again.

Getting Started

1. Locate an Ancient City

Mountainous biomes have a significantly higher chance of generating Ancient Cities.
Tools like Xaero’s World Map, Xaero’s Minimap, or Nature’s Compass can greatly speed up the search.

Tips:

Enable cave mode on your minimap
Search around Y-50
Increasing render distance helps reveal large underground structures faster

2. Clear the Sculk — Carefully

Begin by clearing sculk veins and shriekers without triggering the Wardens.
You may choose to:

- Secure a small area first, or

- Fully cleanse the city before building

Both approaches are valid — choose your own level of risk.

3. Start at the Central Access Tunnels

The recommended starting area is near the main tunnel with pillar structures leading toward the city center.

Many early-game buildings are located here, including:

Town Hall
Mine

This area provides the smoothest early progression.

4. Evaluate the Ruin Before Committing

Not every Ancient City is ideal for rebuilding.

Before committing long-term, check whether the ruin supports:

Warehouse
University
Restaurant / Tavern

If key structures are missing or poorly placed, consider locating a different Ancient City for a better overall experience.

5. Understand Ruin Types & Building Placement

Not all buildings require the same amount of intact ruins.

The Town Hall uses multiple pillar structures and connected hallways

Most other buildings rely on smaller, localized ruins

If a specific ruin appears to be missing:

Look for highly decrepit remnants, some ruins consist of only a few remaining blocks

These fragments are still valid foundations for reconstruction

Alternatively, you may:

Clear a duplicate ruin and rebuild a different structure in its place

Be aware that this approach is more resource-intensive, as you lose the advantage of blocks already pre-placed by the ruined variant.

Progressive Restoration

Each structure evolves through five narrative-driven levels:

Level 1 – Ruin
Broken stone, cracked bricks, fences, torches, and bare essentials — barely functional, but survivable.

Level 2 – Repair
Structural damage removed, walls sealed, stability restored.

Level 3 – Restoration
Roofs, decoration, full functionality, and light use of Domum Ornamentum blocks.

Level 4 – Prosperity
Heavy decoration, architectural detail, and carefully placed rare blocks.

Level 5 – Resonant Decay
Sculk-integrated designs and very rare blocks — not excessive, but deliberate.
This stage represents the city’s fall, where sculk was once used as a regenerative material before it seeped into the foundations, multiplying with every echo.

Lore Embedded in the City

Lore is not optional flavor — it is built into the structures themselves.

Many buildings can contain lecterns with written books, revealing fragments of the city’s history as you upgrade:

Why the city was built

How sculk was first discovered and used

How progress turned into obsession

How the city ultimately fell

As the colony grows, new fragments appear — written by scholars, builders, guards, children, and leaders who once walked these halls.

Your choices determine whether you repeat their mistakes or carve a more sustainable future from the same stone.

Living Infrastructure

The city sustains itself through:

Underground farms and plantations

Vertical agriculture and water-integrated growth

Practical layouts adapted to cavern life

Everything is designed to feel grown into the ruins, not placed on top of them.

New Changes:
Added starter kit and introduction book! find the Deep Dark fast with a free Nature's Compass!

Added both `Arda's Sculk` and `Deeper and Darker` mods. - It will give you 2 options to open the portal (warden heart of the igniter) and best to find a second ancient city if you want to see both. `Deeper and Darker` will add hostiles in the Ancient City as well (on breaking vases).

You will spawn above a Deep Dark biome, but it may not contain an Ancient City.

Project Resonance - Ancient City