No. Technological progress will be forever locked in the 1400s or lower in some cases. I had read somewhere that after DF v1.0 there will be increased modding support basically to the level of modifying the source, though. Magitek is probably possible, though.
Hmm. If technological advancements were locked in place there wouldn't be a need for scholars and the as yet mostly unused technical knowledge system. 1400 (ish, it is fantasy after all) seems to be the limit to the technological advancements, not the start line.
Once blowing stuff up magically becomes a regular fun way to pass the time, I imagine the stance on blowing stuff up mechanically/chemically will become a bit more relaxed. Especially in mundane worlds.
Hence why I said "lower in some cases". I knew that it's the end limit.
"Forever locked" implies that lower tech civs won't be able to advance over time which, I think, isn't the case. The whole masterplan when it comes to tech is a bit vague at the moment though.
The technical knowledge / books and libraries are the main reason I was wondering. I'm not thinking of some silly RTS style tech-rush type thing of course, just eventual small random developments in the world over hundreds of years of world time. Even if scientific knowledge, base technology, etc stayed at the same level they were at the beginning of the world, you'd expect new, random, and probably useless inventions to pop up using existing tech levels based on sheer "let's see what this does" merit.
If they do pop up during a player fortress, random generation would ensure most of them would be entirely useless:
Memo to Urist McManager, Malachite 278
Urist McScholar has invented a mechanical wax opal menacing spike applicator (for bolts)! Patent pending.
Manager:
For Armok's sake, what is it this time... Somebody get Urist McScholar in here!
Scholar stumbles in.
Manager: What... (waves paper) exactly is this?
Scholar: Well, it's a wax opal spike applicator.
Manager: What does it do exactly?
Scholar: You... simply hook it up to a lever using mechanisms. Then hook that up to powered gears. Then load a stack of bolts into it. Then load wax opals in here. Then a dwarf needs to walk over and pull this lever, and supervise the device for 8 hours until the entire stack of bolts menaces with spikes of wax opals!
Manager: You're aware that we do not, in fact, have any wax opals, and haven't found any during exploratory digging?
Scholar: Well, the human that showed up had an interesting but poorly written treatise on...
Manager: And the device has to be hooked up to a lever with mechanisms?
Scholar: Well yes sir, how would it turn on without a lever?
Manager: Um well, and it has to be powered with gears, while the dwarf does what exactly?
Scholar: He watches sir. The device has been known to jam sometimes and requires supervision to clear...
Manager: AND... McScholar, are you aware that all three of our jewelers are capable of putting menacing spikes of, and this is important,
cut stones we actually have access to on
anything within a fraction of the time this device takes?
Scholar: Well yes sir, but it saves labor! Those dwarves can be doing something else and let the machine do the work!
Manager: Doing something else, like... watching the machine?
Scholar: Exactly, sir! Much less work.
Manager: McScholar, get the hell out of here.
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Topic: Future of the Fortress (Read 3134996 times)