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[Joe-Schmoe]

Ok, I don't post here very often, but I did do a couple searches to find out if this had been suggested already.

...yeeah. This is another mine cart thread.

I think this idea is different, though. Sorry if it *does* turn out to be another sucky KARTS LOLOLOLOL thread.

Anyway, after thinking about it for about five minutes, it became readily apparent that mining carts, as they have been described EXTENSIVELY by others, are just too dang complicated to save you any time.

Oh ok so I mine some ore and then I melt it into bars and then lay those bars as rails? And then I build a cart out of wood + a mechanism...and then invent new code for moving vehicles, being run over, etc? Sounds like 3 peasants could have moved those stones for you while you were still designating the rails to be built. And guess what? Those three peasants will be able to move stones from OTHER LOCATIONS too! That cart you just poured your economy into is going to sit there, useless, unless you needed to move stone from point A to point B AGAIN.

No, no, no. We're thinking about mining carts the wrong way.

My idea is simple:

The "cart" doesn't run on rails. It has wheels that can work all by themselves. I don't know what the acceptable building materials for making a cart will be, or what workshop will produce them, that's irrelevant. Point is, you've got this new type of "furniture" called a Cart.

In order to use the cart, all you have to do is have a Miner go digging in a zone that has been designated for digging. He'll bring the cart along with him, and get to work. The cart wouldn't be so much a mining cart...as a shopping cart for stones. Basically, the cart is either on the tile behind him (As in, every time the miner takes a step, the cart moves into the space he was previously occupying) or on the same tile "under" him, and he mines as normal, but he dumps each stone he gets into the cart instead of letting it drop onto the floor like a douchebag.

When he's done mining (or the cart is full), he just leaves the cart there. Anyone with stone hauling enabled can drag it over to a stockpile and unload it; masons who need stone can walk over and dump it in their workshop, etc.

I would imagine the cart would only be allowed to hold 10 stones, or something like that, otherwise it would be too good. But, in the absence of any empty carts, miners would continue to dig normally. Maybe some system would have to be put in place to assign carts to specific miners, or to specific digging tasks.

Then again, a miner could just stop digging and grab a cart as soon as one becomes available. There could be an extremely simple weighting algorithm wherein the dorf actually checks to see if that would worth his while first (If X = distance to cart, and Y = the number of "dig" designated tiles within X units of the dorf, and X > Y, continue digging. Just for an example.).

tl;dr:

Carts are just Bins that accept stones. Miners carry them around and harvest rocks into them.

Again, sorry if this is just another idiot's thread. I just needed to get this idea out there.

[RavingManiac]

A very, very good idea if mined stone hindered movement, thus requiring stones to be quickly transported out of the mining tunnel so that digging could progress at a reasonable rate. However, this is not the case, but I suppose its still useful for minimizing clutter.

Otherwise, this cart system could be used for tasks other than mining, such as plant harvesting, woodcutting and mass transportation of goods between stockpiles.

[RCIX]

It's all in the balancing. If dwarves carried rock much slower, then mine carts would be a lot more viable. Plus, why not have stone rails? I mean, come on, that has to be a ton of rubble dwarves are hauling. The main reason for putting in mine carts is realism, and it simply isn't realistic to have super-dwarves with gravity guns carrying whole piles of rubble around

[Randall Octagonapus]

but i want to make roller coasters

[shoowop]

I believe you just described a wheelbarrow

[Sfon]

Instead of mine carts and wheelbarrows, could just have a generic cart. Would function like a bin, but for heavy/more objects.

[TomiTapio]

Or you could have a pet donkey that helps you carry the heavy items. Train animal for hauling duty.

[Rowanas]

Traditional carts
would be useful for long paths
often used by dwarves.

[Tehran]

Personally, I
am afraid of my fortress
having tons of rails:

[Rowanas]

Personally, I
am afraid of my fortress
having tons of rails:

Where did you get that?
It appears to be my mum's
OCD network

[Euld]

That screenshot is from Civilization 3 I think.

[Tehran]

That screenshot is from Civilization 3 I think.

Correct!
Civ 3  was kind of fun, but once you get too big, the only thing you ever do is telling your cities to build libraries and stuff. I wonder if civ 4 and 5 are any better.

Oh, and uh, back to the thread... I agree that rails should not be used - or perhaps they should be optional, and allow the cart to go faster. I also really like the idea of the cart being pulled behind a miner as (s)he works. That sounds fairly realistic.

[Euld]

Civ 4 is pretty cool, but very very different.  It took me a while to get used to the changes, and now I can't play Civ 2 or 3 anymore beacause of how different Civ 4 is.  Civ 5... no idea.

[shoowop]

Civ 4 is still rather tedious, combat is still boring as hell.  it's entertaining but the series as a whole refuses to achieve it's full potential

Civ 5 is gonna have a hex combat system, ranged combat, etc; not too mention tons of other features of course. lookin forward to it.

[Ghundio]

Civ 4 plus the mod Rise of Mankind has sucked hundreds of hours outta my life. That mod already added lots of the things the designers are putting into civ 5, except hex movement. Really really good, definatley worth the massive download. Back on topic, I like the minecart/wheelbarrow/portable stone bin idea. Seems simple enough.