Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[thistleknot]

Great idea no?

Imagine, a steam magma forge.

Allows easy placement of a power source underground, only requires a water source (i.e. a shaft from an above ground river blocked by a floodgate).

Consumes a little water, turns it into steam, driving energy underground.

There are other ways to get power underground, but I thought the idea had it's merits.

Hell, even carry the steam power to being able to use coal to drive some sort of above ground machines, such as trains (why not, we got minetracks now!)

[10ebbor10]

Toady set a tech cut off at 1450. While there are exceptions to that and it is true that some Greek designed/build a primitive steam engine, I seriously doubt It'll get in.

Besides, It has been suggested countless times already.

[thistleknot]

Toady set a tech cut off at 1450. While there are exceptions to that and it is true that some Greek designed/build a primitive steam engine, I seriously doubt It'll get in.

Besides, It has been suggested countless times already.

huh, I did a search on it, first for steam, then steam power.  I only did a cursory glance, but didn't see anything in the top 3 listings related to steam power exactly.

And what does a tech cut off at 1450 mean?  Are you talking real world developmental year?

[Chagen46]

Yeah, basically, no civ will ever have tech past what real-life humans had beyond 1450 or so.

That means no steampunk or dieselpunk (which I think is way cooler than steampunk), sadly.

[JanusTwoface]

The built in site search doesn't always work particularly well.

Try Google with the 'site:' operator:
Google Search for site:www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?board=5.0 steam power

The first several (at least for me) are all more or less the same as what you suggested, at least one of them from 2008. So it has been discussed fairly often before.

Although I agree with you that it would be neat, it's not likely to happen as Toady One doesn't particularly seem to like the idea of steampunk dwarves. So it goes.

[Silverionmox]

Placing a "steam generator" seems a bit lame to me as a way to produce power.

However, if steam pressure existed, you could probably build some kind of giant steam engine or at least a giant steam cannon without violating the tech limit explicitly. (A tech limit that really should remain in place, I might add.)

[penguinofhonor]

I've personally seen at least a dozen steam power threads.

I'd like limited steam power, personally. A steam engine would just be a power source. It would require buckets/water below it and magma/fuel. No steam vehicles or anything like that, just power for turning axles and gears.

[CorruptUser]

Toady set a tech cut off at 1450. While there are exceptions to that and it is true that some Greek designed/build a primitive steam engine, I seriously doubt It'll get in.

Besides, It has been suggested countless times already.

The aeolipile, by Hero of Alexandria.  It was not a steam engine despite what people say; it was at most a spinning toy.  Saying he invented the steam engine is like saying I pioneered space combat from all of my childhood doodles.  Granted that this is also the guy that invented Solar Powered Deathrays, the Vending Machine, and Automatic Doors, but still.  The aeolipile was to steam engines what those propeller toys are to airplanes.

[NW_Kohaku]

More to the point, Toady is not constraining suggestions just to an arbitrary cutoff date, but to anything that he feels "undermines the aesthetics of the world he wants to create", or something like that. 

He's specifically said he will not have steampunk dwarves and will not have guns (although gunpowder that explodes may be acceptable), since he wants to have a more Lord Of the Rings type of fantasy and isn't interested in recreating Arcanum. 

[thistleknot]

okay, above ground steam engines no, but at least a magma steam forge being used as a source of underground power was my main goal, although not necessary to achieve underground power, I find it easier than trying to get power grids down there.

[NW_Kohaku]

okay, above ground steam engines no, but at least a magma steam forge being used as a source of underground power was my main goal, although not necessary to achieve underground power, I find it easier than trying to get power grids down there.

You should read up on The Additional Traps/Mechanics Wishlist.  Not only was this a thread that went before and incorporated basically every source of power that was feasible for dwarves to exploit, but also because it was one of the top voted winners of the Eternal Suggestions Voting, and is slated to go into the game in some form in the devpages already.  (Search "Improved Mechanics" in the devpages.)

Part of the reason that this isn't met with much enthusiasm is that this concept has already be talked largely to death, and most general principles behind it have already been explored. 

It's also a little hard to take seriously the notion that magma that is pulled away from the magma sea would be able to infinitely convect or conduct heat out of itself without expressly being magic.  Unless there was a mechanic to enforce the notion that magma has to circulate back to the magma sea, magma as an infinite heat source is a little too exploitable, and the whole notion of Dark Ages geothermal powerplants is a little silly. 

[dizzyelk]

Even though it'll never happen I still would love to see it. Just so my dwarves could build one of these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXET1kvEOAY

[Naryar]

If I was Toady I would just make windmills produce (more?) power when they share a tile with steam.

Also, pretty sure 1450 is the early gunpowder age => bombards (not firearms though) and landmines.

[Tierre]

In 1450 there were already early hand-held powder firearms. Like in Russian history - in 1480 year mongolian horde was actually finally banished from russian lands forever after fireams were used on river Kalka in a "battle" (they were actually just standing on different banks of river and russian militia used those first crude firearms to shoot to mongols (with almost no damage) and they withdrew after some hours). Those firearms wemt from Europe so in 1450 they should diffinately be in Europe already.

Even more - first siege cannons were used in Calais siege by englishmen in 1346 which 104 years earlier than max tech age by Toady. So some firearms can be implemented unless Toady specifically says - 1450 tech but no guns EVER even if they were there

[Jake]

So some firearms can be implemented unless Toady specifically says - 1450 tech but no guns EVER even if they were there

Don't worry, I've got it covered. [/shamelessplug]