Hello,
I would like to suggest the following:
- A Drill: (usefull for making a shaft for a well or figuring out what the layers underground look like...)
[NEEDS_POWER]
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This 3x3 structure (made of gears/mechanisms/...) would puncture the ground and start mining downwards.
It would create a hole in the middle of the 3x3 and channel it out (or the 'mined out tile' gets destroyed, dug up or just channeled, ...)
It would be operated by a MINER (figures!) and he needs a drilling bit (either metallic/diamond tipped) and would need to feed it vertical axles in order for it to be able to dig deeper.
For example: to dig through 2Z layers downwards, he needs 1 drilling bit and 2 vertical axles.
[Q]uerying the structure should give the following options:
-Turn on/off
-Dig
-Retract
(-Replace drilbit)
(Drillbits could wear out over time or break/get lost)
A cap on the amount of Z-levels penetrated could be set, for example, you can only mine down 15Z-levels...
Depending on if it can drill through bodies of water or not, you might be able to clear out aquifers, flood stuff more easily etc etc
- Mineral Processor:(stuck in a mountain with low value rocks?)
[NEEDS_POWER]
Could be a 5x5 where waste (rock blocks,...) exit from > and valuables (gems, metal ores,...) exit from <
things have to be dropped onto ■ from the z-level above it
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Its a bit like a cruncher, it is a structure that consists of Spiked Metal balls, has a Grate in it and you feed it by dropping things into it from the Z-level above it. (Unfortunate accidents anyone?)
There is a chance that the ore yields something else (valuable metals or gems) and possibly a byproduct of waste (like a rock block or two of the same material, but not all 4 the mason would get out of it).
Maybe it needs to use the system of smelters, where the 'ores' are saved up untill enough % has been reached for it to form a unit of the stuff
Preferably I would like to have it be fed by [d]umping things in it from the level above and then it would 'spit' something out on either side (valuables/waste) on the level where the structure was constructed.
Could jam (like weapontraps) where a mechanic needs to clear/clean it.
Could be part of an elaborate trapdesign
[Q]uerying the structure should give the following options
-Turn on/off
-Maintenance (decreases the chance for it to jam) - lubricate it with rock nut oil or something
my 2 cents!
/Edited for formatting/'visualisation'