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[TurnpikeLad]

I realize this is stuff that has been in the game for 20 years so probably not first on the list for reprogamming.

However, the conversion efficiency of unmined rock to boulders and the way that efficiency interacts with miner skill has been tweaked a number of times since 2006, so it's not as if mining mechanics are off the table for possible improvement.

The observation I want to make is that the process of mining doesn't usually create a bunch of large boulders that can be carved into nice stone blocks. It usually makes a lot of rubble. The better you are at mining, the faster you can remove chunks of ore or coal from the rock, but you aren't trying to get big nice pieces of stone for masonry.

On the other hand, if you want a really nice piece of stone in the real world, the best way to get it is to cut it directly from a quarry rather than to shape a boulder into a slab or whatever.

I think it would be cool to allow quarrying to be designated separately from mining, and for quarrying to directly create blocks rather than chunks or boulders. Quarrying would always be slower than mining, but an expert quarrydwarf would leave behind a block close to 100% of the time. Most mason tasks would require blocks rather than boulders.

[impala]

Wasn't the reason for these changes that the boulders start to clutter and cause other problems? This would sound like one solution.

Another solution could be some form of "rock-counter" that could hide the dug up stone as rock-units into each nearby boulder, or somewhere else, like global fort inventory.

And agree that stone blocks should be another source for all rock-craving needs. Similarly, logs could be sawed into planks for some efficiency, just a similar 1->3 conversion rate.

There's a lot of ways these could be handled.

[jecowa]

Being able to guarantee usable stone sound nice. Would mining still have a chance to produce usable stone? It’s convenient getting it from mining- especially at the start of a new fortress when you need tables, chairs, and mugs, etc.

[TurnpikeLad]

Wasn't the reason for these changes that the boulders start to clutter and cause other problems? This would sound like one solution.

Another solution could be some form of "rock-counter" that could hide the dug up stone as rock-units into each nearby boulder, or somewhere else, like global fort inventory.

And agree that stone blocks should be another source for all rock-craving needs. Similarly, logs could be sawed into planks for some efficiency, just a similar 1->3 conversion rate.

There's a lot of ways these could be handled.

I'm imagining boulders having fewer uses than they have currently, and being generated less often by mining. Perhaps they could be used for small crafts, rubble or concrete construction, roads, catapults, stonefall traps.

Being able to guarantee usable stone sound nice. Would mining still have a chance to produce usable stone? It’s convenient getting it from mining- especially at the start of a new fortress when you need tables, chairs, and mugs, etc.

Maybe the mugs, but probably furniture would require quarried stone.

[Salmeuk]

yeah, unlikely to be implemented, but what a simple and beautiful idea. my take is that you would quarry in order to produce blocks, with some kind of boost to efficiency or production (say, 10 blocks per tile instead of the current 4 you would produce from any given boulder). so players who enjoy construction are given a motivation to quarry, while players merely digging tunnels and chambers would prefer the OG digging.

I cringe thinking about the days when boulders were dropped almost every tile... sooo much wasted time hauling and moving stone.

two sub-suggestions:

1. when quarrying as designated activity, the above floor tile is removed as in 'r'amp digging. this forces players to create large empty spaces akin to IRL quarries.

2. maybe players could also have an option to 'sculpt in place', which would be similar to engraving or even a sub-set of the stonecutting / engraving skills. this designation would produce immovable statues, allowing players to adorn their various creations with sculpture of gargoyles and dragons. this is akin to the construction method that created the megalithic Kailasa Temple.

[TurnpikeLad]

1. when quarrying as designated activity, the above floor tile is removed as in 'r'amp digging. this forces players to create large empty spaces akin to IRL quarries.

Or, quarrying needs to be designated from above like channeling. That would force you to have at least two Z-levels of quarry, and would also allow you to quarry down from a dirt layer to a stone layer.

Quarrying dirt could create peat or sod blocks that could be used for fuel or spreading on rock for agriculture.. quarrying sand or clay could replace sand/clay gathering zones in generating raw material for pottery or glass. Quarrying ore would create ore blocks that would need to be able to be refined somehow (3x blocks = 1 metal bar? Whatever it is, mining->refining should be as or more efficient than quarrying->refining at transforming unmined ore into metal)