Print

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

[Fossaman]

The lack of engravings on constructed walls has always bothered me. I understand why, supposedly the 'blocks' that get used are just little bricks. But there's no option to make real, BIG blocks. So what I propose is this:

A new digging designation: Quarry.  This would be performed by a mason.  Once he's finished, a stone 'block' (I'd just rename the little blocks for this, I think. Not sure what else to call a two ton chunk of rock) will be created on the square that's just been quarried.

Now, there's two ways to go with this from here:

1: Blocks can be moved like any other object.

2: Blocks have to be pulled by gangs of dwarves with ropes and chains, and log rollers, and can't be taken up stairs. They have to use ramps instead. This is the one I'd go for.  Once put in place, the block would act just like a section of natural wall. It could be smoothed or engraved, fortified, etc.

[Duke 2.0]

 Block light?
 Not crumble when involved in a cave-in?
 Allow farming without bugs?

 Huzzah!

 And I can imagine pyramids being made with a massive sandstone quarry.

[Tormy]

The lack of engravings on constructed walls has always bothered me. I understand why, supposedly the 'blocks' that get used are just little bricks.

I don't understand why. Engravings on constructed walls should be possible, even if it's made out of little bricks. Perhaps the quality of the engravings on construced walls wouldn't be that good compared to the engravings on normal walls, but ah well.

[Warlord255]

If expanded,this could be a way to relocate engravings.

Also: Smoothed metal ore or gem walls.

[Impaler[WrG]]

Seems reasonable, the game already allows you to move 'real' stone so long as its moving strait down

A piece of un-mined stone that is disconnected from the rest of the map and caves-in will move downward until in comes to rest on top of another piece of solid stone and it will then indistinguishable in that new location from native stone.

How easy or difficult moving these things should be is debatable, It will seem odd if a normal stone which is also capable of making a wall is easily carried when the large block must be hauled Egyptian-style.  If normal mining made more stones and more stones were needed to make a wall it might balance out.  Also I could see dwarfs being able to lift these solid blocks with a lot of chains and pulleys, the engineering to do that should not be beyond their grasp.  Also I think the name 'Megalith' would be more appropriate.

It would also be nice if their was some game-play advantage to this type of wall over a normal constructed wall, perhaps normal walls can be more easily broken by sieges (battering rams, catapulted boulders etc etc), I believe their is a preference for larger stones in fortifications because they were in fact more resistant to bombardment.

[Warlord255]

Ramps would feel more appropriate than chains/pulleys for now. I can see the hauling code for animals being used, with or without someone behind pushing.

I can also imagine what would happen if this act were dependant on/trained up strength and/or toughness. Training soldiers by having them pull massive blocks of raw stone.

[Mephansteras]

Training soldiers by having them pull massive blocks of raw stone.

That does sound rather dwarven, doesn't it?

[Jisaan]

No real objection here, except that I don't think a mason should be able to excavate rock, or at least not without a tool of some sort. I'd say a miner would make more sense.

On the other hand, I'm generally of the opinion that constructed walls should just be more like their natural counterparts to begin with... Stay together during collapses, capable of being engraved upon, etc. In that case, there wouldn't really be as much of a point to this. Though it would be nice for building walls that don't start looking like they're smoothed.

[Skynet 2.0]

I think it would be a bit redundant to have a whole new type of construction material, and don't see too much benefit from adding it. It would be better to add this property to constructed walls made of stone blocks, rather than raw stone. They would be a flat and smooth enough surface to engrave on, and the dwarves would put them together well enough that they might not come apart if they fell.

And I can imagine pyramids being made with a massive sandstone quarry.

Pyramids are usually made of limestone.

[Warlord255]

Stay together during collapses,

Immediate application: Drop walls into the ocean/magma/rivers. While tremendously useful, might make some megaprojects obsolete.

[BradB]

I like the idea of being able to dam with them!

[Fossaman]

Hmm. I hadn't thought of using them to dam stuff with, but when you think about it, dropping bloody great chunks of stone into a river seems like a good way to alter its course.

[BradB]

They'd be great, once you drop one in, you could just push the next one over the top of it and down.

This would require PUSHING though not pulling so dwarves would need to be able to both pull and push them.

[Granite26]

codewise - pushing and pulling should be functionally equivilant

[Duke 2.0]

And I can imagine pyramids being made with a massive sandstone quarry.

Pyramids are usually made of limestone.

 Curse you Wikipedia!

 Eer, these are Dwarven pyramids! Although they would likely be made of granite.