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[Itnetlolor]

Okay, my leader has gotten his first letter sent to the king; and it has arrived. The project has broken ground!!!

We have our first of many message pipes (It has also been posted on the front page, and will be archived within).

Spoiler: Y1S1: Year 1, Season 1: Breaking Ground (click to show/hide)

"Alright men, we have found our prime spot to begin our work. Move out!!!"

Here lies where everything begins. We, the "Lucidinn the Sky of Diamonds" have found a place suitable of our name; who would've thought? The skies are clear, the mountain is rich, the land is fertile. Our engineers will be pleased to know that we will not be short in supply of virtually anything. However, it has come to my attention that there doesn't seem to be any fireproof material for us to use with the nearby magma pipe. What a shame. But we'll cope with it.

During the season, our scouts have founded rivers, pools, magma, and a nice open spot we can anchor our ship. Our methods of constructing this beast is rather unorthodox. Unlike most races that build in a dry-dock surrounding the construction, usually underground; much like boats; we'll be building the skeleton and machinery while in the sky. It'll be dangerous, but rather FUN.

...Ah, right; my other scout reported that we are in good terms with most races and cultures in the area, and they support our project. So far, the elves don't know what we're up to, then again, they'll know soon enough. The landscape's beginning to look bare; goblins have been known to walk the area as well, and it has been heard they carry hostile intentions. When we get some more workers sent to us, they'll serve as protection for our project. I doubt they're going to be skilled enough to work on such a sensitive project.

I enclose in this carrier-pipe the drawn map of what's been going on so far. Thank you my liege for permitting me to undertake this project. I will not let you down. And may Armok rain the blood of our enemies, thy will be done.

--Foreman, "Cid" Kalrethdakost
Construction Site

[LegoLord]

Nice little intro there.

If not having magma-safe stones becomes a problem, there is a mod that adds in realistic temperature values for all stones, making some more magma-safe ones (not all of them are, though).  Stuff that's supposed to be in the game eventually, pretty much.

[Sensei]

Iron is magma safe too. And you can totally get away with modding in metal mechanisms, since that just makes sense.

[Itnetlolor]

Okay, I did an initial no-mod experiment. (Before I begin my project; I want to enjoy this, not have FUN before construction commences. No muss, no fuss.)

Will a bridge (retracting in a direction) be capable of supporting a structure without collapsing? Well, no. But by miracle, the bridge itself, and the floor it was on remained aloft. That is, until I retracted the grounded bridge; that then made the unsupported bridge collapse.

If anything, I at least have an idea of how to setup the docking system now. Of course, cave-in will be shut off when construction commences. I was hoping I would only need to turn it off before disembarking. Well that idea flew like pegasus crap. Dropped from the sky, and hit the ground hard.

Though rather blasphemous to megaprojects; I had to savescum. Consider it a bad dream a designer had. Next experiment is waterwheel propulsion via windmills. Mostly for aesthetic effect. Hopefully it will work. To save time from experimenting it myself, has anyone tried this out before? Additionally, I'm going to experiment a multi-link with trigger systems for pilots.

Modifying the engine room, there will be 5 primary levers to toggle the primary engine blocks. In the cabins, there will be levers to toggle each of the individual propellers per wing.

There could also be additional levers for the elevators and ailerons. It's gonna be pretty complex, but the overall effect will be awesome .

Seeing as real life tends to get in the way, I'll try to get this done by any means necessary. This is too good a project to let up on.

EDIT:
Did further experimentation. Apparently, windmills cannot shut off, even if I disengage the gear mechanisms that it's linked to . So, it looks like I can't shut off individual propellers. However, waterwheels ARE affected by windmills, and can function without water being underneath it. HUZZAH! The illusion WILL work!!!

I can setup a total shut off switch as well.

However, I stumbled across something a tad interesting. Apparently gear/lever assemblies can be linked up to do binary operations. As well, if you want it to operate in boolean fashion, be sure to have an additional gear/lever for the desired area, or as a master control switch before the additional gears to be affected. One can make some interesting setups or puzzle games with this knowledge.

For example, in order to operate certain machines, a series of levers must be active; but to open the main passageway, sans active deathtraps, you must input the right number in binary.

How I came across this was by accident with my experiment, it was structured that I have 1 lever to toggle both gears (main axle, and windmill axle), and an additional lever linked only to the primary gear (linked to windmill).

Binary coded switches operated like this: 1st switch = Main axle, 2nd switch = Both axles
00 = Off
01 = On
10 = Off (though main axle is online)
11 = Off (WW axle online, though lacking power due to main being disengaged)

Expand the code, expand the possibilities, expand the megaproject ideas. Overly complex labyrinth anyone? Fun for adventurers; especially the programmable puzzles involving levers, and (if possible) pressure switches.

I'm sure the binary code thing works even better with floodgates and pressure switches. Plus, it should be cheaper to construct and easier to calculate.

EDIT 2:
Okay, it turns out floodgates can't be built in mid-air. So much for THAT rudder idea. Now I ask a question:

What furniture (that can be affected by a lever) can be built/suspended in mid-air? I want to be able to make a functional rudder. And regarding the binary operation I stated previously, you see where I'm coming from with this, right?

The elevators and ailerons are simple enough to make. The rudder is the primary issue at hand.

[LegoLord]

I have an urge to build this with LEGO digital designer.  It'd be an expensive model to buy, but it'd be cool.

[ein]

I have an urge to build this with LEGO digital designer.  It'd be an expensive model to buy, but it'd be cool.

Do it.
I'd buy it if I had the money.

[Itnetlolor]

I have an urge to build this with LEGO digital designer.  It'd be an expensive model to buy, but it'd be cool.

You know? That might actually help me out a bit. Don't forget to make improvements to the design wherever necessary (provided you see any flaws), and disregard some of the initial blueprints. I noticed the bottom deck is rather thin for what it's worth. Then again, it may be the right scale. but the rest of the ship is rather non-scaled. However, the dimensions shouldn't be too hard to analyze.

Send me the blueprint if you do get it done. I have the lego designer program myself too.

Oh, and don't forget, the engine room is 2Z tall. The mess hall kinda overlooks it. The reason is also the fact that the steam canisters are contained within. BTW, I figured I might as well make them tall cylinders. If we're doing the steam thing, I need to contemplate some containment ideas.

Initial ideas:

Z-0 and 1 (recycler) O==*=O | %% | (0 has gear mech. O====O Toggle to start/stop steam engine.) Z- -1    O=O    |7| filler/catch pool    O=O

Setup (side view): O===#O   # = refill hatch from upper floor (Just in case) | %% | | %% |  All made of copper, of course    |7| Water from bottom goes up 1 level, then up another, falls for steam effect, then lather, rinse, repeat.

It can be enclosed, refilled, and steam effect is visible; provided the hatch is open.

PS- Don't forget about the rudders like I did.

PPS- This can lead to some interesting steampunk future projects. Mostly for aesthetic effect.

[LegoLord]

I have an urge to build this with LEGO digital designer.  It'd be an expensive model to buy, but it'd be cool.

You know? That might actually help me out a bit. Don't forget to make improvements to the design wherever necessary (provided you see any flaws), and disregard some of the initial blueprints. I noticed the bottom deck is rather thin for what it's worth. Then again, it may be the right scale. but the rest of the ship is rather non-scaled. However, the dimensions shouldn't be too hard to analyze.

Aye, aye, captain! 

I'll start out with making the bottom deck just to see how well it works out.

[shadow_archmagi]

Good lord, I didn't even know flight was a possibility.

[cerapa]

Good lord, I didn't even know flight was a possibility.

It isnt, unless you are a bird or turn off cave ins, though thats more like hovering.

[LegoLord]

Whoo, boy, 1 DF tile to each 4x4 dot area of LEGOs is a rather large scale.  Just having built the lowest deck's walls and ramps and the second deck's floors alone puts the price up to $175ish.

I'm going to keep building that version, but I think I'll also build a small version.

[Itnetlolor]

Yeah, I tried building it myself. I got the bottom floors done + docking ramps from the ship (open of course), but working with an odd-number of tiles from DF blueprint with nothing but even numbered tiles is a bitch-and-a-half to work with.

Let's not forget, to retain dwarviness, I also used the flat bricks (dimpled) to make the floors. I finished the bottom 2 decks exactly as I designed it on paper at a 1:1 scale. Ugh... I gave up just trying to keep it consistent. I do know, at least, that the bottom floors can work; provided I keep things lined up well.

I may need to expand the cargo spaces a little more so I can support more cargo and trade goods (with the depot on 2nd deck), as well as fitting the steam canisters across all 3-Zs (water catch at the far edge of 2nd deck). It does help to color-code everything in that program, but the cel-shading makes it a little tough to measure correctly. Especially working top-down for most of it.

EDIT:
Why don't we go 1:2 scale instead (1 DFT = 2x2)? More tiles to choose from (making it easier to work with), and not as pricey. Furthermore, any details to add are simple enough to work with. Even the small cylinder pieces or turntables can double as chairs and color-coded 2x2s can be furniture. :shrugs: It could work. Flats can be floor tiles and 2 standard bricks = 1Z, allowing single standards = furniture.

I'm gonna try that out.

[LegoLord]

Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Probably easier to manage, too.

[Itnetlolor]

Yeah, so far, I have the first 2 decks mapped out, plus trade depot.

It's a helluva-lot easier. Plus, I have more stuff to use to keep it pretty. Plus, dividing it by floors is much more manageable too. I get clear glass to work with as well, and the logistics of some parts are easier to work with.

I even figured out some scaffolding methods to use to make floor plans easier to make. Sort of like putting little foam sponges inside and outside the structure until everything's in place, then remove the parts and you're set. However, only in the CG verse is it possible to do that in.

I can imagine how difficult it would be to pull off in RL with real legos.

Price so far: $86.19 USD

Spoiler: Progress so far (The red arrow points north to keep bearings): (click to show/hide)

I'm sure the ramps and stairways are easy enough to tell apart. The dark blue and yellow are supposed to be to bottom-most part of the boilers.

Perspective


1st and 2nd Decks


Combined (T/D view)

EDIT: Fix'd I hope.

I saw it just fine previously.

[Scruga]

I can't see all 3 of the pictures.