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[kurokikaze]

A large, expensive, complicated goblin-frying machine that only works when there's sunlight has failure written all over it. It might work the first time...

This sounds like FUN. Real dwarven fun.

[shadowclasper]

I think Toady hopes to add some kind of light source tracing at some point, mostly for weather effects like the sun being behind the large cliff/building/creature you're standing next to.

I'm not sure if a solar forge would be technologically feasible for the dwarves, but it certainly would be cool. And get some use out of all that weather that's going on. The other application, the solar cannon, just wouldn't work, though. A large, expensive, complicated goblin-frying machine that only works when there's sunlight has failure written all over it. It might work the first time, assuming the attack just happens to come when the sun is up, but goblins are more attack-by-night-types anyway, and they'd soon learn to wait until it's overcast.

Says who? The AI isn't very inteligent if you haven't noticed. I mean, sure, MAYBE from an offical Lore stand point they'd learn, but they ARE goblins. Further, because we don't have night-day cycles, and the goblins will generally camp outside your base for a while. you could shoot with it while they camp out. You could even put it ontop of a tower and use it that way. I'm pretty sure by the time we have something like THAT we'll be able to aim and fire upon multiple Z-levels with siege stuff.

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

Now we're talking!

Applied Photonic Particle Physics and Waveform Mapping!

That glowing shit from the sky.

[keith.lamothe]

In DF's context, "Sun Physics" means much more than lighting.

What happens to anything that dwarves study for any length of time?

[Rijjka]

They find a way to make booze with/out of it?

[Solarn]

It explodes?

...

Please, Toady, don't make dwarves be able to study the sun. I don't want to live in a desolate frozen wasteland!

[Neruz]

Urist McLeader: "Urist, where the fuck is the goddamn sun?"
Urist McArchimedes: *Whistles innocently*

[keith.lamothe]

Exactly.  The more abstract we keep stellar masses, the longer we avoid Slaves To Armok: We're all stuck in a Black Hole

[Deimos56]

Urist McLeader: "Urist, where the fuck is the goddamn sun?"
Urist McArchimedes: *Whistles innocently*

You guys are thinking too linearly. There's many possibilities...

Urist McLeader: Urist, why the fuck is the sun engraved with an image of you eating cheese?
Urist McArchimedes: *Whistles innocently*

Most of them useless.

[AbacusWizard]

Exactly.  The more abstract we keep stellar masses, the longer we avoid Slaves To Armok: We're all stuck in a Black Hole

Only if the level of detail and complication in world generation becomes (you should pardon the pun) astronomical.

Creating New Region (9283051 rejected)
Initializing...
Preparing pre-solar nebula...
Setting temperatures...
Running gravitational collapse...
Forming protoplanetary disc...
ERROR: solar density sufficient to form black hole. Region rejected.

[shadowclasper]

You've all got it wrong.

If we allow the dwarves to study the sun. It'll mean we get something BETTER than magma. WE'LL GET PLASMA! Come on, dwarves, who worship all fire causing things, are not going to blow up the ultimate fire available to them. They shall figure out how to create reservoirs for it and direct it with screw pumps!

[Spreggo]

Why not just have a mirror building?
You could have it 'oriented up and south' on a lit tile, and another one next to it that transfers it (like gear assemblies with power) which is 'oriented southwest,' and so on, sending the light power in straight lines, diminishing over distance and causing surrounding tiles to be lit.
You wouldn't need a full system of sun light tracing or whatever. The 'light' is created at the mirror pointing upwards, like power is created at a waterwheel.

[AbacusWizard]

Constructable mirrors would be quite handy for bringing light to the underground once light is actually required. Much less messy than candles and torches.

[yuhhaur]

It would be a good "path to heaven" for noble:

Urist McNoble: Isn't that this place should be frozen? Why that I had a feeling that I am in a furnace?
Urist McSolarEngineer: *Whistles innocently*

[kurokikaze]

You've all got it wrong.

If we allow the dwarves to study the sun. It'll mean we get something BETTER than magma. WE'LL GET PLASMA! Come on, dwarves, who worship all fire causing things, are not going to blow up the ultimate fire available to them. They shall figure out how to create reservoirs for it and direct it with screw pumps!

New Megaproject idea: dwarven Tokamak "Gaze of Armok".