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[Maximus]

This bug is well-documented on the wiki, but I don't see it on your bugs list, Toady.  Neither carpenters nor metalsmiths will make animal traps -- it's a Trapping job for some reason.

[ctrlfrk]

It also gives you trapping experience, not MWing exp

[GauHelldragon]

maybe this is not a bug? a trapper sets the trap and baits the trap and removes the trap... makes sense to me that a trapper would make the trap too

[Maximus]

Only if "make trap" were a task at the kennels instead of the carpenter's shop or forge.  Then I'd be fine with it.

[Toady One]

It's not a bug, in the sense that this is what I intended, but it is confusing and needs some clarification.  An identical problem will arise if metal mechanisms go in.  Maybe the carpenter should make animal traps, and the metal smith should make metal mechanisms -- but then the mechanic skill in particular seems worthless.  You can't make metal mechanisms in the mechanics workshop without an anvil or something like that, but if you are just using stone mechanisms (yes, I know some of you object to them in the first place), you don't want to use an anvil to create that workshop.

[Walker]

I don't know if this would be complex.. but how about the option of adding an anvil to the mechanics shop on creation.  Just as you select the block/stone, have a anvil/no-anvil option.  That way if you want to make metal mechanisms that is possible.  

Would be nice if there was an added incentive to use metal mechs of course

*Gets starry eyes thinking of clockwork armor*

[Maximus]

This opens several lines of thought for me.  

There could definitely be a distinction in the game between soft and hard metals.  One should be able to make crafts, coins, mechanisms, and probably furniture by cold-working tin, brass, copper, silver, gold, platinum, and electrum.  A "Metalcrafter's Workshop" could be split from the forge, with the forge reserved for working iron, bronze, and steel, plus copper and silver armor and weapons.  You'd still have to smelt the metals first.

Dwarves may be legendary masons, but stone mechanisms are still not very plausible.  Wood mechanisms, on the other hand, are.  So I think mechanics should be able to make wood or soft-metal mechanisms without a forge.  

But not stone.  This would increase the importance of wood and/or metal a bit.  This in turn could be addressed by adding more raw materials to the starting list, such as logs and metal bars.  In fact, those long lists of finished goods available at the start make almost no sense at all.  Who brings crafts with them?  On treeless maps, though, I'd totally bring 5-10 logs if I could.  I'd love to trade for them as well.

Finally, as for traps, I get the sense that you intend for these to be crafted more or less on-site by the trapper.  In that case, they should be buildings, not furniture, and the trapper should build them directly, without using a workshop.  That produces the somewhat implausible situation of a trapper building a trap out of ingots or a log, so maybe the carpenter's shop should have a "Make Planks" option (equivalent to stone/metal blocks) and the forge and metalworker's shops could "Make wire".  Traps should furthermore be buildable out of rope.

Heheh, yet another thought: maybe linking mechanisms should require wire or rope, not mechanisms.  One mechanism for a lever, one for whatever it's connected to, and one wire or rope to connect the two.

[bbb]

don't see why stone mechanism is unbelievable..

we are talking about crude building sized mechanisms, aren't we? (well maybe not building sized.. but big..)

[Maximus]

Because mechanisms would seem to require good tensile strength, which rock generally doesn't have.

[krige]

I don't know... Seen how the windmills work? There really are ROCK mechanisms used in there, with maybe some use of wood (but the gears are all stone). Besides, wood is already expensive, without having to use it for one more thing.

[bbb]

i can understand the "problem" of huge distance between the lever and the gates/etc.. and whatever is used to link and move the 2 mechanisms (water + gravity?) but i don't really see why rock is not possible.. surely it's been used at some point in history

speaking of water.. i'm sure you can have some sort of mechanism made of wood (even better than rock if it's water + gravity)

[Maximus]

The windmills I've seen used wooden gears, but of course the millstone (grinding stone) itself was stone.  I googled windmills a bit and found a reference to something called a "stone nut", only it's a wood or metal gear which drives the millstone.

Yeah, you could make a gear out of stone, but it seems like one of the worst possible materials for that purpose.