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[Fenrir]

This idea can't be implemented until much later, but here it is anyway:

For every workshop "reaction", there is a [TECH:min year:max year]. Min year and max year is the range of time in years when the technology to perform the reaction is dicovered/invented. In this way we could control when things become available, so we could add the [TECH:1085:1143] tag to the "Make Iron Musket" reaction and have dwarves invent firearms somewhere in the range of year 1085 to year 1143. Inventions appear on the Legends screen.

[Nite/m4re]

Good idea.

[Tahin]

This could actually be made even more complex, by having entries in the raws for each individual tech advance, how they relate to eachother, who can start out with them, etc. and then allow you to learn them yourself either through trial and error with a sufficiently skilled dwarf, or through trading with other civilizations.

You would automatically start with whatever advances your home civilization has when you start out, and you would get "updates" every time you trade with the dwarven caravan. They would give you any tech advances they have made, and you would give them yours.

Foreign traders could trade tech advances with you, as well. These would have to be worth quite a bit, and could possibly alter your standing with your home civilization, as you did just give the secrets to adamantium-forging to the elves.

[Fenrir]

Technological advances could define ages.
We could add [AGE:The Age of Gunpowder] to the "Make Iron Musket" reaction. Once all technologies with the same age tag are invented, the new age would begin.

[Railick Stonemane]

I had a very similiar idea to this but with skills instead of inventions. Say, have a skill that can only be learned once two or three other skills have reached a certain level. For instance, once the magic skill is in the game have any dwarf who has Magic, Weaponsmith, and Metal Crafter to legendary gain the skill Magic Weapon Crafting, which would start from dabbling. On a second note, skills like these could be slightly dangerous because they require such advanced dwarves, and the first few levels of skill could be dangerous to learn (Say having a magic sword blow up in your face because you did the spells on it in the wrong order for example) Just something to think about for much much latter on like said before.

[Capntastic]

I'm sort of against this idea because it imposes a non-gameplay limit on what I, the player, can do.

[Fenrir]

quote:Originally posted by Capntastic:
<STRONG>I'm sort of against this idea because it imposes a non-gameplay limit on what I, the player, can do.</STRONG>

Not really. You'll have access to all the tech available in the year 1050, which is all the tech already in the game. Another thing which would go well with this is the ability to choose a year to start in, like starting in the year 235 or 1450. All of this could of course be edited in the raws if you don't want to wait, or there could be an init option for tech limits.

[ilnar]

quote:Originally posted by Capntastic:
<STRONG>I'm sort of against this idea because it imposes a non-gameplay limit on what I, the player, can do.</STRONG>

history is importantto the game, also makes the game more real.

unles we want our dwarves to have come into being knowing everything they will ever know,,,, which is sad,,,,

[Skyrage]

It would be interesting if there was a lot of technology + if location of your fortress and resources available determined to an extent what would be invented + a certain amount of randomness so that you don't invent the same stuff all the time.

If it was just a plain "have X, Y and Z in order to intent A or B" then it would become boring really quickly and frankly it'd then be a pointless feature. Inventions aren't created "just like that".

[Dame de la Licorne]

Something I was thinking as I was reading through this thread:
Say you need to have some prereqs for each new invention (whether applied or theoretical).  You could have some moods result in the applied inventions (if you're lucky) without needing all of the prereqs (so if you're only missing one prereq, you might get lucky with a mood).  I do approve of the idea, as long as there's an option for the player to play around with when inventions occur since some people might want them later and others may want them earlier, like the current init options.

[AlbeyAmakiir]

When asked later how he made such a wonderous object, he replied "Your guess is as good as mine  :confused: ".

With the moods creating inventions early, it might make sense if they could not make it again till they had all the prereqs, but immediately after rather than after someone works at it for a while.

[Red Jackard]

This would be wonderful if related tech levels were damaged when civs died out and what not.

A DF dark ages...

[ January 13, 2008: Message edited by: Red Jackard ]

[Quift]

quote:Originally posted by Fenrir:
<STRONG>This idea can't be implemented until much later, but here it is anyway:

For every workshop "reaction", there is a [TECH:min year:max year]. Min year and max year is the range of time in years when the technology to perform the reaction is dicovered/invented. In this way we could control when things become available, so we could add the [TECH:1085:1143] tag to the "Make Iron Musket" reaction and have dwarves invent firearms somewhere in the range of year 1085 to year 1143. Inventions appear on the Legends screen.</STRONG>

I oppose this thought on the basis of it being eurocentrist and the by product of an hegelian thought.

Technology is historically not a steady forward motion, but a series of scattered inventions found and lost during the ages. creating a consistent tenchological development would not only misrepresent history as is occured, but more importantly misrepresent why it occured.

if technological progress is made part of DF then that neccitates some very specific conditions for the actual development to occur, and not a universal law of the DF universe, something which would only reinforce this basically flawed strain of thought. something akin to this would allow the single, or very small nr of civs where development indeed do occur to in the later ages completety dominate the others. (and there is nothing to say that your civ is one where technology progresses quickly, your's might aswell be china. Which mean that you think youre in the lead, and the strongest civ on the globe til you get humiliated by a small country on the other side on the globe.)

[Asehujiko]

So this will result in ending up with Tradeclasps, a Pigtail Cruise Missile but not be given a silo to actualy fire it for the next 500 years?

There should also be a limitation that prevents it from being chosen as civ icon, favorite item, engraving subject and mandate.

Sometime during the year 1061:
"You there, metal crafter!"
"?"
"Make me a quantum flux capacitator and be quick about it!"
""

[Mipe]

One thing I like about DF is that its world is generated randomly with its own history and culture. Sort of alternate universes. The technology, if any, should follow the same suit.

Inventions, however, don't just happen at some time and suddenly enable all related developments.

Explosives already are available, just nobody has managed to develop safe and useful weapons from them. It takes a stroke of genius in random (nonetheless genial) person (dwarf) to discover a way.

However, the path from invention to actual development is still long, full of trial and error.

Dwarven inventors... now that is worth exploring. What would they come up with, would depend on available resources and circumtances they live within.

Lots of saltpeper and no hostiles in an area = no need for weapons = saltpeper is developed for economy. Nobody thinks of weapons until the necessity is there.

On other side, if the area is very hostile (kobold and goblin wars), dwarven inventors would seek ways to improve safety and gain an edge over enemies, so weapon development would be active. Again, it would depend on available resources; no saltpeter, no gunpowder, no muskets (unless different resource with similar properties is found).

There is no point inventing a boat within a vast desert... Except maybe if they are developed as 'dune boats' that ride the wind.

Dude, wait. THAT IS AWESOME.

Bring on the dwarven inventors!