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[Normandy]

I did a quick search for the keyword 'alloy' on the suggestions forum and the dev page, didn't turn up. Though I do admit my search wasn't too thorough.

There is framework in the game for alloying, obviously, in the form of modding. But it doesn't lend to much flexibility - every single alloy has to be defined, often laboriously and messily. Why not make alloys on the fly, in game? It is not unthinkable for dwarves, masters of the forge, to make alloys as they wish.

Imagine for a moment that you wish to make an aluminum floodgate, since aluminum is very light. But the floodgate has to be magma-proof. My thinking is instead of creating a door entirely of nickel, why not make an alloy of aluminum and nickel? You'd get a door lighter than one entirely of nickel, but one that is magmaproof. Another example might be a giant hammer. With the metal traits coming in, it might be better to have a heavier hammer. But say lead isn't sturdy enough to stand up to repeated use. So simply alloy the lead with some iron - the hammer is still very heavy, but now it won't wear out as quickly. Other uses include diluting scarce metals with wanted qualities/value (such as nickel silver or billion), adding new properties to items (e.g. bronze), etc... Mixing doesn't even have to be limited to metals - IIRC wootz steel was made by adding glass.

In-game, you could have menus for the creation of alloys (I imagine it'd be like the embark screen, showing a list of discovered metals which you can mix the ratios of). You'd have templates of alloys (some of which would come with the game), which you could name as you will. These alloys then essentially become metals, treated the same way as any of the base metals are (e.g. there'd be a specific menu option in a metalsmith's forge for metals of this alloy, items made of this alloy would show the name of the alloy).

[Sensei]

Hrm... maybe. Were you thinking that the metal would just use the best of it's two sets of traits? Or would it average them out?

This could mean, for example, you might have to add nickel a few times to aluminum to get it be, say, 3/4 nickel's attributes and 1/4 aluminum's attributes- that's probably not going to help the weight much. Players would still probably want to create their own metals in the raws anyway.

On a side node, it would be HILARIOUS if the RNG named your new alloys. "This is a Laborious Toad Silver Throne..."

[LegoLord]

Any two metals don't necessarily make an alloy, and an alloy doesn't necessarily have a mixture of traits.  You mentioned hammers from lead;  one old practice was to make a hollow hammer out of a sturdy material and fill it with lead.  I had suggested this soon after hearing HFS metal would be too light in the next release to make effective hammers.  This same technique can be applied to making floodgates and other types of furniture that may need to be lightweight but sturdy.  In fact, simply plating a wooden floodgate in nickel would probably be lighter than making an alloy of aluminum and nickel and making a solid floodgate from that.

[Neonivek]

I should also state that Bronze defies your method as well.

Copper and Tin are both soft metals

Steel is also made of weaker components (Though Iron isn't all that weak

I cannot remember what it is called when you mix two metals together that don't form alloys... Slag?

[Dakk]

It'd be great to try and make something akin to damascus steel in DF. It'd also add another interesting feature, custom, player made alloys that can be stronger then stell or stupidly weak, or have aditional effects (lead alloy-spears poisoning everything they pierce).

[LegoLord]

Damascus steel isn't really an alloy; it's actually one type of steel laced with another type.  The 1400 process isn't really known, but it did involve glass as a flux.

[chucks]

Damascus steel isn't really an alloy; it's actually one type of steel laced with another type.  The 1400 process isn't really known, but it did involve glass as a flux.

Isn't that the very definition of an alloy?  Lacing a metal with another material?

[Silverionmox]

Damascus steel isn't really an alloy; it's actually one type of steel laced with another type.  The 1400 process isn't really known, but it did involve glass as a flux.

Isn't that the very definition of an alloy?  Lacing a metal with another material?

You asked for it

An alloy is a partial or complete solid solution of one or more elements in a metallic matrix.

So, it's mixed metals, deriving its properties from the difference in structure caused by the different size of atoms.

[LegoLord]

Alloys are uniform mixtures.  Damascus steel is not.  Damascus steel is one alloy laced with another.  For example, you may find a mineral layer laced with native gold.

[bjlong]

Yeeeeeah, metallurgy is pretty complex. Plating would cover these suggestions much more efficiently.

[Sensei]

...so, with all the complexities involved with metallurgy, it seems so far that it would be far more logical just to add reactions than an alloy generator.

[TrombonistAndrew]

My opinion too. Stick with writing reactions.

Remember, it's not just the reactions that are simplified for the game; it's the periodic table of elements, too. You don't have any handy lithium in the game, for example, which is common in some modern alloys.

[LegoLord]

Before anyone suggests that we be able to make lithium in vanilla DF, well, lithium is a relatively new development.  Using 1400 methods, the stone would just melt, assuming it has a melting point low enough.  Even if they did, lithium is highly reactive in elemental form.  It would explode unless they had a way to store it safely.

[Virex]

I cannot remember what it is called when you mix two metals together that don't form alloys... Slag?

There´s no such thing as a "mix of two metals that don't form an alloy". An alloy isn't neccesarely a perfect solid solution and wikipedia is a bit misleading on that point. It's very possible to have an alloy in which you have alternating areas of both metals used to form the alloy, or even alternating areas with solid solutions of different composition. Cast Iron's a good example of an aloy that does just this, as is the alloy used for solder.

[eerr]

does electro-plating count as making an alloy?