Suggestions, suggestions...
Heh, you've guessed parts of stuff which comes with the "invention" update. Basically you won't have those workshops but you will have to "invent" them. You will use tons of vellum and get a low chance to get a specific "technology plan" which you use to build a special workshop.
An idea, probably not original. Since we are having so much trouble finding decent resources why not add some more types of metals / alloys / crystals, erc. that are not based off of iron or bronze. As I see it the problem right now is that all the good weapons are Steel of one flavor or another. Why not make some materials that are just as good or even better than steel and have nothing to do with Iron? Here are some ideas.
I will include more fictional metals for sure.
1. Probably easy but lame - Make more minerals that can be used to make iron.
This won't actually solve the problem because one or two more minerals won't matter in a huge amount of ores we have.
2. Cooler but probably more difficult - Reproduce the Iron to Steel process but use another fairly common base material instead of Iron. Use increasingly rare other resources to combine it until it is somewhere close to Red Steel. It could have different properties, however, so it isn't totally redundant.
I can't just make something like "steel" from other metals because I don't know how would it work at all
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3. Really Cool but probably really hard - Create some Magic / Fantasy / Steampunk based materials that use a combination of minerals, gems, woods, animal products, etc. along with alchemy and different forging techniques to make some really unique and different materials. For instance:
Okay...
* Mithril, Dureum, Dwarfeum, Unobtanium, Flubber, whatever.
Sorry, no unobtanium, hardtofindium and wheredidiputitium for you. I just can't stand such silly names, I wonder how did movie producers fall so low by allowing "inobtanium" in Avatar
. However Mithril will be added as a transformation for the aluminum, and it will appear along with moon silver and sun gold in a "celestial forge", a building you have to invent.
* Gem items such as a Crystal axe or Diamond Helm. Use a gem base material such as actual gems, glass, quartzite and obsidian and change it with Alchemy or add materials to it combined with magma or something until it is a material suitable for high end weapons and armor.
Geomancer's workshop will allow some silly stuff, along with crystal daggers and glass armor. I know it's silly but I am a fun of TES (mostly Daggerfall and Morrowind) so I will just look another way and tell them that it includes some magic, so it's no longer a "glass" per se
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* Blood / Chaos Items - Create a spiffy item using one of the above methods then take it to the War Altar with a unit of something’s blood and it gives you that Item highly enhanced as a Blood or Chaos Item. The amount of the enhancement could be based on the type / rarity of the blood. Cat blood vs Giant or Dragon blood for instance.
I don't plan to check the value of blood, any blood is good for the blood god! However I've already made "blood steel" which will be used by orcs, and you will be able to make it too. I will probably replace Red Steel with it, because really, so many steel alloys is too crazy even for me. And yes, you will require bodyparts and Shrine of War to make them.
* Gadget based items - Once again make a spiffy item then take it to the Mechanic who turns your Ruby Sword into a Ruby Chain sword of doom.
Too steampunk-ish for my DF theme I think, but maybe as a very late invention... Yeah, maybe.
Thanks for suggestions, you power up my creative little machines (undoubtfully operated by small hamsters in wheels in my head) so it inspires me to make it faster
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I've got an idea for dogs: I could make their castes with specific skills (swordsman for bulldog, bowman for spaniel etc.) and make profession graphics for them (and change skill names according to castes, so "swordsman dog" would be "bulldog dog").
Bulldog dog... Heh...
Nah, I won't do it for a while, just thinking out loud here
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@Deon,
Can't you just replace the name 'dog' with a breed that is like the default dog (whatever that is).
Other thing: All stone items are called rock items at the manager screen and the workshops, but your beds are called stone beds. Could you change them to rock? Would feel a bit more (DF) natural.
(same for dismantling stone items)
Yeah, I will do it, thanks for telling me, I actually didn't notice this difference which is quite big for the "manager" menu.