When exploring at the very bottom of the Overworld, where rock is compressed into deepslate by the weight of all that lies above, you’ll occasionally break into a cavern containing something unusual and unsettling.

当你在那岩石都被其上的所有重量挤压而变为深板岩的主世界最底层探索时，你或许会偶然间闯入一个洞穴，里面有着一些不寻常与令人不安的东西。

The first clue that you’re approaching this ominous place will likely be the organic undulating sounds of sculk sensors detecting your movement, followed most likely by the roar of a warden emerging from the rock. If it were me, I'd take this opportunity to turn around, return from the direction that I came, and go back to my quiet life on the surface.

你正接近这个不祥之地的第一个线索也许是幽匿感测体检测到你移动时产生的生物振动声，紧接着很可能是从岩石中钻出的监守者的咆哮声。如果是我的话，我会趁机掉头逃跑，沿着我来时的路返回，回到我平静的地表生活。

You, on the other hand, might be feeling brave or foolhardy enough to explore it. In which case don’t say we didn’t warn you. Welcome to the deep dark – our biome of the month.

但另一方面，你又可能觉得自己足够勇敢或是鲁莽，想去探索它。这种情况下可别说我们没警告过你。欢迎来到深暗之域 —— 我们的本月群系。

The deep dark became an official part of Minecraft in the Wild Update in June 2022, though there was a different deep dark in the Extra Utilities mod for Java Edition, created by RWTema and released in 2013.

在2022年6月的荒野更新中，深暗之域正式成为Minecraft的一份子， 尽管在由RWTema制作、于2013年发布的Java版更多实用装备mod中已经有一个不一样的深暗之域。

It’s an Overworld biome that generates far underground, below areas that have a low erosion value like mountain peaks and plateaus. There’s some light in there, but less than you’d find in most other underground biomes – limited to sculk catalysts, lava, soul fire, and soul lanterns.

这是个生成在主世界地下深处的生物群系，一般会出现在像山峰和高原这些侵蚀度低的区域的下方。那里虽有一些光亮，但远比你在其他大多数地下生物群系中发现的要少——其仅由幽匿催发体，熔岩，灵魂营火和灵魂灯笼发出。

Those latter two are only found in ancient cities, which generate in this biome and add unexplained but intentional architecture to these hidden depths. It’s not clear whether they built their cities at the bottom of the world, or whether geological processes have buried them. However, we have a field expert that knows a thing or two about its visual design – Concept Artist Mariana Salimena.

后两者只能在远古城市中被发现，远古城市生成在这个生物群系中并在这些隐秘的地底深处增添了一些看着难以解释却又十分刻意的建筑。目前仍不清楚是一些生物在世界的底层建造了自己的城市，还是地质作用掩埋了它们。然而，我们有一位领域的专家对其视觉设计有一定的了解——概念艺术师Mariana Salimena。

Mystery, curiosity, and history: these were the main keywords I had in mind when designing the visuals for the deep dark. We wanted the ancient cities to feel like it's made for a larger creature than a player – that's why some of the staircases and room shapes are a bit larger than normal and the City Center is a huge central piece. Instead of using stairs blocks everywhere, we created elevation with single blocks for example. It makes you feel very small!

神秘，好奇和历史: 这些是我在为深暗之域设计视觉效果时脑海中的主要关键词，我们想让远古城市感觉像是为一个比玩家更大的生物建造的——这就是为什么一些楼梯和房间的形状比正常的要大一些，且城市中心是一个巨大的中央部分。比如，我们没有到处使用楼梯方块，而是用一些单一的方块建立起海拔高度。让你感觉自己十分渺小!

The look and feel of the ancient cities were loosely inspired by Central American and South American ancient cities and temple aesthetics, with shapes that play around with the concept of sound and hearing, a core element of this biome's gameplay. As a South American myself, it was really enjoyable and inspiring to do this research and infuse it into the deep dark.

远古城市的外观与感觉轻微地受到中美和南美地区的一些古城与寺庙美学的启发，其形状围绕着声音与听觉的概念，这是这个游戏玩法的核心元素。作为一个南美人，作这项研究并将其注入深暗之域，真的非常令人愉快与鼓舞人心。

—— MARIANA SALIMENA

If you’re planning an archaeological dig, then there are a few things to watch out for. The first are those sculk sensors mentioned above. These detect vibrations caused by movement – walking, placing or breaking blocks, or items falling on the ground. When they hear one, they’ll send a signal to a nearby sculk shrieker that unleashes an almighty howl, summoning the very worst creature you’ll encounter in this biome – wardens.

如果你打算进行考古挖掘，那么有几件事要注意。第一件就是上面提到的幽匿感测体。它们会察觉由移动引起的振动——行走，放置或破坏方块，又或是物品掉落在地上。当它们听到声音，就会向附近的幽匿尖啸体发送一个信号，召唤你在这个生物群系遇到的最恐怖的生物——监守者。

Concept art of the Deep Dark
深暗之域的概念艺术

Wardens are fearsome creatures with the highest health and melee damage in the game. Luckily, they’re blind and can only navigate by smell and sound. That means you’ll need to creep quietly and carefully around this biome if you don’t want to suffer their wrath.

监守者是个可怕的生物，拥有游戏中最高的生命值和近战伤害。幸运的是，它们没有视力，只能通过嗅觉和声音来定位。如果你不想遭受它们的愤怒，你需要安静谨慎地在这个生物群系缓慢行进。

Why would you want to come to this awfully dangerous place? Well, there are a couple of things to be found in ancient cities that can’t be acquired anywhere else. The most notable is probably the echo shard, which you’ll need to craft a recovery compass that points to the direction of your last death. There are also fragments of discs, which can be crafted into a unique music disc if you find enough of them.

你为什么要来到这个十分危险的地方呢？嗯，这是因为在远古城市里有一些东西是在其他地方得不到的。最值得注意的可能是回响碎片，你需要合成一个会指向你最后一次死亡的地点的追溯指针。这里还有一些唱片残片，如果你能找到足够多的残片，你可以合成一个独特的音乐唱片。

It's going to take a while to get fully prepared for such a risky expedition (and to summon enough courage). In the meantime, head back to the surface while you still can and find yourself a nice flower forest and enjoy some sunlight. After all, it’s very dark in the deep dark...

为这样一次危险的探险做好充足的准备(并鼓起足够的勇气)需要一段时间。在此期间，趁你还能回到地表，快给自己找一片漂亮的繁花森林，享受足够的阳光。毕竟，深暗之域可是非常暗的…

【风劲子a译自官网 2023 年 01 月 05 日发布的 Around the Block: Deep Dark；原作者 Duncan Geere】

【本文排版借助了：SPXX v2.4.13】