Past time for me to update this thing:
The intention of this thread is to gather together all of the invention ideas, technological progress ideas, as well as a great many pre 1400s inventions that *might* actually exist in the game, list them, discuss them, and figure out both
IF and
HOW they might fit into the game, for the further entertainment and enjoyment of all, especially me.
The exception to this will be the two pre 1400 AD inventions most in contention:
Gunpowder/blackpowder,
Steam engines/steam power.
I'll include information and reference materials about them, provided they concern pre 1400 AD technologies only, but bitching about them
being/not being in the game, or
being/not being suitable for the game, will be outside of the intentions of this thread (OFF-TOPIC, or atleast partly OFF-TOPIC, in other words).
In other words, feel perfectly free to talk about them, but please don't disrupt the thread with them, or I'll yell at you in front of your friends, make fun of your screen name, do whatever I can to make your life miserable, and in general, be a seriously square prick.
I'll also include a list of whatever post-1400 inventions (as well as ones that seem modern, but that I either can't determine, or can't be arsed to research, the date on.) that I personally like, and personally feel *might* be fun to see in the game, with an emphasis on their being vaguely "dwarfy".
Please note that this section of the megathread will fall entirely and exclusively under my own judgement/idle whim/drug-fueled god complex, and if you have a problem with my not including something you like, then you should have thought about that before you suggested something post-1400 AD.
Finally: I'll try to keep a running tab on alien/magical "technology" that seems like it would fall under the aegis of this particular thread, but that probably couldn't (or at best, shouldn't) be invented by dwarfs, for balancing reasons.
I'll also include, or disclude, whatever the hell I want from the rest of the Suggestions Thread, as I see fit.
Also, there are some extremely good, informative posts in the main body of the thread. Please give people who put a lot of time and energy into this project your courtesy and respect, and please give everyone who posts here the same respect.
---------------------------------------------------------
Technological Progress Ideas:
Some Artifacts could infact actually be new inventions--Some Artifacts could be *unique* inventions, for instance, a dwarf invents an 'Antikythera Mechanism'.
Economical and industrial growth (in the form of Guilds) might lead to new processes/reactions.
New Invention Ideas (also, specific case inventions that wouldn't/couldn't be invented outside of the confines of the DF world, or atleast outside of a fantasy universe. Adamantite alloys/giant turtle tech, for example.):
Various types of golems/automatons.
Giant Animal (turtle) Technology (chelatricity).
Pre 1400 Inventions:
Artesian Well, 1126 AD
The Compass, 12th century AD
The Hourglass, 1338 AD
The Crankshaft, pre 1206 AD
The Mechanical Clock, 13th-14th century AD
The Waterclock, between 1600-4000 BC
Horseshoes, 9th century AD
The Abacus, 2700-2300 BC
Grindstones, 834 AD (probably earlier)
Magnets, 12th century AD
Mirrors, 1180 AD
Rat traps, 1170s AD
Spectacles, 1280 AD
Tidal Mill, 7th century AD
The Treadwheel Crane, 1220s AD
The Waterhammer, 1100s or earlier AD
The Winepress, 1100s AD
The Wheelbarrow, 1170s AD
Primitive Flamethrower/Greek Fire, 1st Century AD.
The Sauna, as early as 4-5000 BC.
Here's an article on Finnish sauna-culture, that might be useful as a guide for dwarf culture, seems quite "dwarfy" to me, including the idea of saunas (and possibly other specialized areas? = Certain creatures might only "haunt" certain areas) being haunted by a "sauna-tonttu":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_saunaThe Repeating Crossbow(Chu Ku No)/repeating ballista
The Dioptra, 3rd century BC.
The Refractive Quartz Lens, around 1000 BC?
The Orrery, around the 1st century BC
(I'm thinking, as a giant ball- room-sized orrery of all the planets/moons, this could be a cool artifact, maybe created by a dwarf with access to a dioptra/refractive lens, after a fey mood?)
Essential Oils (oil of clove, rose oil, what have you), 11th century AD.
Kerosine Lamp, 9th century AD.
Screw Conveyer (application of the Screw Pump), 3rd century BC.
Ceramics/Pottery (30000BC)
Seige Engines:
Trebuchet (Traction-400BC, Counterweight-1200AD).
Catapult/Mangonel/Onager (399BC).
Ballista/Scorpion (400BC).
Battering Ram (pre 900 BC).
Assault Ladders (ladders are pre 8000BC).
Seige Tower (pre 900 BC).
Siege Hook (pre 120 BC).
Gastraphetes (pre 420BC)/Oxybeles (pre375BC).
Cheiroballistra (chariot-mounted ballista-pre 113AD)
Philosophical "Idea" Inventions:
Code of Laws, 1760 BC
Mathematics, pre 1900 BC, may be divided into individual disciplines--Calculus, for instance, is pre 1095 AD.
Measuring Systems (generic), used throughout human history
Alphabet (Runes), Egyptian Heiroglyphics, 3200 BC, Proto-Norse (Elder Futhark) Runes, 2nd Century AD.
Gambling (generic), used throughout human history.
Geometry/Architecture.
Astrology/Astronomy.
Language/Writing.
Teaching Methods.
New Architecture/Structural Engineering:
Arches (basic version is the Roman arch-could just be called an "arch" in the game. There are also the Ogive (gothic arch), horseshoe, corbelled, trapezoidal, elliptical, parabolic, and catenary arches, Vaults and Domes also fall under the "Arch" heading). Used throughout human history.
Tar Roads/Pavements, 8th century AD.
Ventillators/Ventillation, pre 12th century AD.
Hypocaust/Central Heating, 25 BC.
Architectural Aqueduct, 1st Century BC.
Giant "Sunshade" Structure. 1st Century AD.
Bricks (7500 BC)
Cement (pre 126 AD)
Parchment (pre 500 BC)
Papyrus (3000 BC)
Paper (approx 200 AD)
Vellum (pre 800AD)
Ink (Egyptian Ink 2000BC):
India Ink (aka Masi, 400 BC)
Atramentum (approx 400 AD)
Sepia (natural product of squids, almost certainly used prior to 1400AD)
Iron Gall Ink (1200AD)
Walnut Ink (natural product of walnuts, probably used prior to 1400AD, but I haven't found hard evidence.)
Reservoir Fountain Pen (953 AD)
Stylus (used since the invention of writing)
Paints (picture art-atleast 30,000BC, back to cave paintings)
Dyes (Naturally occurring, used throughout human history)
Science (the use of natural properties to "invent" new ways of doing things):
Magnetism (use of lodestones)
Long-Distance Communication (use of fire/smoke, possible use of 2 cans and a rope?)
Alchemy/Chemistry
---------------------------------------------------------
Controversial Items: For these items (steam, gunpowder, and rubber), I require either a battle they featured in, a physically existing example of the tech, and/or a pre 1400AD illustration of the device, along with an article.).
Steam Power Related Items:
Aeolipile (rocket style jet engine invented by Hero of Alexandria), 1st century
Gunpowder Related Items:
Gunpowder (pre 1044AD)
Hand Cannon (1260 AD)
"Fire Lance" (early gun/flamethrower, pre 1000AD)
Grenade (pre 100AD)
Fireworks (approx 1200AD)
Post 1400/"Modern" inventions: (These must be items that it would be reasonable-
to me-to expect that a pre 1400AD society could have invented, if they'd only gotten around to doing it.)
Rubber Items (1888 AD, but was invented when the extract from a rubber tree plant was accidentally mixed with sulfer and heated by mistake):
Slingshot (pre 1900 AD)
Sunglasses
Aluminum Crossbow Bolts
Various modern metal alloys
The Lightning rod (early 1700sAD).
Could, with a limited understanding of electricity, prevent lightning-strikes, protecting buildings from damage, were lightning able to damage buildings in the game.
The Spyglass/binoculars, could be created by combining bone (hollowed) with refractive quartz lenses.
Slingshot: Probably requires vulcanized rubber, so post 1800AD.
Crusher (Rolling Bladed Pillar Trap): Date unknown.
Polybolos (repeater ballista, existence questioned)
Weird Tech (These are items that either would have required magic/advanced, yet dubious, science to work, were legendary items of dubious historical existence, but determined-by me-to be cool enough to make the cut, or items that are just so amazing that, even if they really did exist, might as well have been Artifacts.):
Portals/devices allowing instant communication/teleportation between two different points, such as a gate to the elemental plane of Fire.
Earthquake Detection/Direction Finder.
Mass driver (Uses magnets to accelerate a object without requing any additonal force.).
---------------------------------------------------------
I'll elaborate on all of these categories as I have the time to do so, and as it becomes necessary/convenient.
For a different "framework", based on how these inventions could actually be fit in to the game, based on DF's setup/limitations, and the adjudged ease or difficulty of actually adding them into the game, please check out Granite26's excellent post on page 3.
For additional Forum suggestions, I'm just gonna go ahead and blatantly steal from Granite26's signature, and link to the Additional Mechanics/Traps Wishlist:
http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=23799.0She/He's a lot smarter than I am about how all these technical things actually
work, whereas I just like to research them, so I recommend checking out the thread.